§ Mr. Hepworthasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that it was found in 1917 to 1918 that the larger a staff of a Government Department the more unnecessary work it made for itself and for other Departments and that, if he orders an arbitrary reduction of 50 per cent, of the staffs of every Department set up since the beginning of the war the usefulness of such Departments will not be diminished or retarded; and will he order an immediate combing out, to be followed by monthly revisions of staff to prevent increases?
§ Sir J. SimonThe committee on the organisation and staffing of Government offices of 1917 to 1919 recommended a number of economies in individual Departments. They reported, however, that their conclusions had in practically every case been to the effect that, speaking broadly, the numbers and organisation of the staffs of Government offices did not compare unfavourably with those of large commercial houses. Moreover, at the present time the staffs of the various Departments are under continuous review.