Mr. Dugdaleasked the Secretary of State for War the number of caretakers in requisitioned buildings, respectively authorised and engaged in each command and the terms of employment offered to them?
§ Sir J. Grigg1,921 caretakers are authorised in all commands, 778 are at present engaged. I append the details. The present position is by no means satisfactory but there has been a great improvement in the last month or so. Originally, a caretaker was set to look after a specific building and when the building was reoccupied by the Army the caretaker would lose the job. Caretakers in a given area are now pooled and look after the buildings in that area. This has given them a certain security of tenure in their jobs. Most of them are paid 12s. 0d. for a shift of not less than 8 hours with a liability to attend for up to 12 hours.
Following are the details:
Command. Authorised. Engaged. Eastern 285 120 South-Eastern 277 135 Northern 250 102 Scottish 170 15 Southern 469 150 Western 277 152 London District 104 15 Northern Ireland District 89 89 1,921 778