§ Mr. Craven-Ellisasked the Minister of Production whether he will make a statement on the regional production boards organisation set up some months ago; how frequently these boards meet; what is the permanent staff; and can it be estimated by what percentage production has increased or benefited as a result of these boards?
§ Mr. LytteltonThe regional boards normally meet once a month. The staff of the Ministry of Production working in the 11 regions and in the district offices amounts to 703 in all. Since their reconstitution last July the boards have rendered valuable service to production in a variety of ways, but it is not possible to express this in quantitative terms. I append a statement describing some of the more important features of their work in recent months.
Following is the statement:
Since the reconstitution of the regional boards in July, 1942, it has been found desirable to include the regional director of the machine tool control, and the regional controller of the factory and storage premises control, as members. The boards are thus now representative of all the main interests concerned with production. Satisfactory progress has been made in housing regional staffs of the Supply Ministries and the Ministry of Production together in the same building. This has been achieved in all regions except one where the arrangements are not yet complete. While the work being done in the regions comes under special review at the monthly meetings of the regional boards and at the weekly meetings of their executive committees, the daily contacts which are now possible between the representatives of the various Ministries have an important and beneficial effect upon the smooth working of the whole machinery of the regional boards.
Regional machinery has been established and is, in general, working 1399W satisfactorily for dealing with the regional problems such as advising the Ministry of Labour and National Service on prospective demands for local labour; the supervision and utilisation of the regional and district capacity offices; inquiry into cases of difficulty referred by joint production committees; the submission of proposals to headquarters in respect of firms that are overloaded with orders; the provision of assistance and advice to firms working at less than full efficiency, particularly those working on sub-contracts for a number of Departments; the development of outworking and other special means of relieving labour scarcity in certain districts; the examination of proposals to place additional work in congested districts; measures to encourage the placing of additional work in areas with available labour; adjustments of labour and capacity following on changes in production programmes, etc.
Reports on these and similar matters are received and considered at the regular meetings of the full boards and their executive committees, where the non-official members of the boards are available to give advice and assistance. The boards also have the advice of 75 district committees. In addition to dealing with purely local matters affecting production, many of these committees are sponsoring schemes of mutual aid between firms in their districts by means of which practical experience is pooled for the benefit of all who are engaged upon a particular line of production. The regional staffs have completed a number of surveys of heavily loaded districts, as a result of which action has already been taken or is being taken to effect a measure of relief. I am satisfied that in all these ways the regional organisation is rendering an increasingly valuable service to production.