HC Deb 13 February 1940 vol 357 cc596-7W
Colonel Baldwin-Webb

asked the President of the Board of Trade at what time the principal officers of the Department commence work at the present time; and whether, with a view to expediting business and increasing efficiency, he will arrange for more of the important members of the staff to be on duty by 9 o'clock?

Sir A. Duncan

The normal hours of work in the Board of Trade were advanced at the beginning of the war to secure a general commencing hour of 9 a.m., and the senior officers of the Department have adjusted their hours of work accordingly. So far as I can judge, the principal officers of the Board of Trade are fully alive to the necessity for increasing all forms of war effort, and are at present working even longer hours than before the war, when the pressure on senior officers was already presenting a serious problem.