asked the Minister of Labour (1) what are the proposals of His Majesty's Government with reference to work-sharing for the distribution of employment and the consequential decrease of continuous unemployment;

(2) whether he can now make any statement upon the practicability of the introduction of a seven-hour day or a five-day week in industry?

As I informed the House yesterday, I have arranged for immediate consultation with representative organisations of employers and workpeople regarding the general question of hours of work, and in this connection the particular points to which my hon. Friend refers will undoubtedly be brought under review.

While thanking the right hon. Gentleman for what he has said, may I ask him whether he will consider giving the benefit of the advice of his Department to any firm which desires at once to put into operation any scheme for the shortening of the working week?

Yes, I shall be only too glad to do so.

Am I to understand from the reply of the right hon. Gentleman that the Government are definitely going to recommend to the employers the adoption of the seven-hour day and the five-day week?

No, Sir. The hon. Member must not understand something that I never said. I said that I was going to discuss, I hoped, with industries individually the possibility of the absorption of more workers by means of the shortening of hours.

Are we to understand from the right hon. Gentleman's statement last night that the question of discussion would be overtime? Is he going to bring up these other matters in addition? Is he going to recommend to the employers that they should adopt these other things in addition to leaving off overtime?

It is not only a question of overtime, but the hours of work generally.

Is the right hon. Gentleman himself in favour of recommending these things?

Is it a fact that those firms which have already experimented with the 5-day week have in each case