§ 71. Mr. Prenticeasked the Minister of Labour if he will give up-to-date figures of the numbers employed, and the number of vacancies, in the general and specialised branches of the Factory Inspectorate.
§ Mr. WoodOn 3rd June, 1959, the number of inspectors employed in the General Inspectorate was 341. One was awaiting appointment and there were 20 vacancies, taking into account a net increase of four posts very recently authorised.
In the Specialist Branches, 70 were employed. There were four vacancies in the Engineering Branch, nine in the Chemical Branch, one in the Electrical 7W Branch and two in the Medical Inspectorate. An open competition is being held this month with a view to filling the vacancies in the Engineering and Chemical Branches, and one additional medical inspector will shortly take up duty.