Oral Answers to Questions — Aliens. – in the House of Commons at on 4 August 1924.
Dorothy Jewson
, Norwich
asked the Minister of Labour how many inspectors and investigators are employed in the Trade Board Department; by how many have these numbers increased since he took office; and will he ask the Treasury for a further grant, in view of the bad wages and conditions of many workers?
Miss Margaret Bondfield
, Northampton
As the reply is necessarily a long one, I propose, with my hon. Friend's consent, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
The total number of inspectors sanctioned for the Trade Board Division of the Ministry of Labour is 60. Of these, three are headquarters staff engaged in general control, and three are engaged from headquarters on special inquiries. 48 officers have either been allocated, or are in process of being allocated, to seven divisions in which inspection has been decentralised, and the remaining six inspectors will be appointed later. The total inspectorate, including the headquarters staff and special inquiries officers, sanctioned when my right hon. Friend assumed office, was 30, though, in addition, 10 officers were working as trade board inspectors on loan from other Departments of the Ministry. Further, as part of the decentralisation of inspection, provision has been made for secretarial assistance in each division.
With regard to investigation, which is carried out not by the Trade Boards Division, but by the Statistics Division, for the general work of investigation (including that in connection with the Trade Boards Acts) carried out by them, the total number of officers sanctioned is 28 (including four officers in control). This figure compares with the total staff of eight in post at the time mentioned in the question.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
