§ Mr. Mawbyasked the Minister of Labour if he is satisfied that the present hours of opening of his local offices are in accordance with the needs of the public; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HareIn the larger centres of industry and population the present arrangements, which include late opening on one evening of the week, appear to be satisfactory. But the evidence from a special inquiry I have had made suggests that in the areas served by my smaller local offices we might meet the needs of the public better if, in place of Saturday morning working, these offices were kept open late on an evening during the week. At present little use is made of them on Saturday morning. I have therefore decided to re-organise the working of about 500 of my offices154W on these lines, but they will still open on Saturday wherever a local need arises, temporarily or otherwise. Offices in which a Youth Employment Officer is stationed will always open on Saturday. If experience shows that these arrangements do not meet the demand, I shall of course alter them again.