32
(c) crown copyright Catalogue Reference:CAB/24/168 Image Reference:0011
(c) crown copyright
Catalogue Reference:CAB/24/168 Image Reference:0011
(THIS DOCUMENT IS TIE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNXO MAJESTY'S GOYBRHM5BT).
0 A B I N E T
UNEMPLOYMENT GOMITTSE,
RELIEF OP UNEMPLOYMENT,
PROGRESS OP SCHEMES AUTHORISED BY THE GOVSRNMEH T.
Notes f o r t hethe fo r thcoming
use of M i n i s t e r s in c o n n e c t i o n Debate on Unemployment.
w i t h
INTRODUCTION UNEMPLOYMENT AND TRADE POSITION.
J . R T I . Schemes i n i t i a t e d by p r e v i o u s Governments
whioh have been c o n t i n u e d and e x t e n d e d by the
n r e s e n t Government .
i R T I I . Schemes i n i t i a t e d by t h o p r e s e n t Government,
I1TOR0DUCTI0N.
TJHEMPLQYMEHT AND: TRADE POSITION.
On the 7 th J u l y , the l a t e s t da te for which f i g u r e s
a r e a v a i l a b l e , the Live R e g i s t e r of unemployed persons
was -
M ? £ Women ^ ^ e j ^ e s Tota l
774,900 191,500 58,000 1 ,024 ,400
On the 9th June the corresponding f i g u r e s were
764,321 200,705 62,439 1/327,515
On the 21st January 1924 the fig-ares were
917,792 252 ,721 81,839- 1 ,251 ,822
On the 9 th J u l y 1923 the f i g u r e s were
928,254 227,529 69 ,329 1 ,223,622
These f i g u r e s show a s u b s t a n t i a l improvement ever
the corresponding p o s i t i o n l a s t yean when the u sua l s ea sona l
d e c l i n e se t in remarkably e a r l y . I t i s probable tha t the
present f i g u r e s on the whole r ep re sen t the bes t l i k e l y for
seme t ime , a s normal ly the seasona l d ec l i n e would
be expected to s e t in s h o r t l y . The improvement r e p r e s e n t s
a r e a l improv&stent, I . e c , the d iminut ion i n the Live R e g i s t e r
does not r ep re sen t any great, i n c r e a s e of men taken on for
improvised r e l i e f work.
The Board of Trade a n t i c i p a t e tha t the re w i l l be a
con t inua t ion of the very slow gene r a l improvement i n t r a d e
t h a t has been developing i n t e r m i t t e n t l y for the l a s t two or
th ree y e a r s . While the s m a l l e r t r ade s appear a t the moment
to be in a b e t t e r p o s i t i o n , the l a r g e r i n d u s t r i e s for a
number of reasons are l e s s promis ing . The Iron and S t e e l
' (i) ? 1 ..
t r a d e i s s u f f e r i n g from a c e r t a i n amount of fore ign
competit ion.. The Engineer ing and Sh ipbu i l d ing t r ade s
f ind orders d i f f i c u l t to o b t a i n . The p r o s p e r i t y if
the coa l t r ade l a r g e l y produced by the Ruhr p o s i t i o n i s
now waning owing i n p a r t i c u l a r to German compet i t ion in
Northern Europe, and the cot ton t rade i s hampered by the
h i gh p r i c e of raw m a t e r i a l .
The f l u c t u a t i o n s i n the Live R e g i s t e r which have
been marked w i th in r ecen t weeks are mainly due to the
i n s t a b i l i t y of the cotton t rade . , Egypt ian cotton sp inne r s
a re s t i l l we l l employed, but the weaving s e c t i o n i s pa t chy .
There i s no prospect however of f u l l time working u n t i l
cot ton i s ob t a inab l e at a much cheaper p r i c e . P r i ce s of
raw cotton have been h igh owing to weather r e p o r t s , but the
most recent American Bureau Report ,,gave a h i ghe r f i gu re for
the cotton crop than had been a n t i c i p a t e d wi th the r e s u l t
t h a t there was an immediate f a l l in the p r i c e of cot ton .
The informat ion on the cond i t ions of growth has not been
qu i t e as favourab le a s the Report suggested and the p r i c e
i s r e a c t i n g a c c o r d i n g l y , I t i s too soon to report
d e f i n i t e l y how the crop i s p rogre s s ing and the prospects
of employment in the t r ade w i l l depend very l a r g e l y on the
p r i e s p o s i t i o n .
The wool s i t u a t i o n i s v a r i a b l e but owing to the
f irmness of the raw m a t e r i a l the pos i t ion on the ("hole i s
sound., though the re a re hot l a c k i n g one or two s igns of
a downward movement in the manufactur ing s e c t i o n .
' .. (ii) : IMM^M - IMP!:1 ;
P A R T I .
Schemes i n i t i a t e d by previous Governments which have been continued and extended by the present Government,
I . MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE,
The 1923/24 programme of land dra inage and water supply ttGE
jfER schemes has now been completed. 387 dra inage schemes and 72 J F p g S . water supply schemes having been c a r r i e d out . A c t u a l l y a
'24 l a r g e r number of schemes were approved, but s^me had to be X
Jne. abandoned owing to the c o n s i s t e n t l y bad weather and water cond i t i - n s ; The t . t a l e s t imated coat of the schemes c a r r i e d out
75$ of which i s wages i s £388,000,/of which the Government undertook to advance
£296,000 in the f i r s t i n s t a n c e , a smal l por t ion of which (about-.
£34,000) w i l l u l t i m a t e l y be r e c o v e r a b l e . The average number
of men per week to whom employment has been g iven , p r i m a r i l y i n
r u r a l a r e a s , was 3 ,800 up to May 12th l a s t , when the schemes
1 were normal ly intended to end, and 2^900 from May 12th to June
30th , the f i n a l date for completion., di- Most of the sohemea r e f e r r e d to above were i n progress on
Feb. 7 th , 1924 but s ince tha t da te the t o t a l expenditure has been approx imate ly £192,000, of which £150,000 was in wages,
.1924., This f i g u r e i s , of course , inc luded i n the t o t a l s g iven above. The Government have made p rov i s ion for the continuance
of these schemes on a l a r g e r s c a l e from October 1 s t , 1924, a A G E
I e r date e a r l i e r than t h a t f ixed for l a s t y e a r . The v a r i a t i o n of SLY c e r t a i n condi t ions w i l l , i t i s hoped, l e ad to a r a t h e r l a r g e r
type of scheme being c a r r i e d out , but the main th ing i s t h a t y g i - the Government have a l lowed next y e a r ' 3 schemes to be prepared ramme; dur ing the present summer so tha t i t i s expected, that more
schemes w i l l be c a r r i e d out i n 1924/25,. and that-, in any c a s e , a l a r g e r number of schemes should, be ready to s t a r t on October 1st than has been the case i n prev ious y e a r s , when the d e c i s i o n as to the next programme was not announced u n t i l e a r l y autumn. At the present moment a l l concerned are engaged on the p r epa r a t i o n of the 1 9 2 i / 2 5 programme for which at present £170,000 has been voted up to March 31s t , 1925 as a beginning , i t being d i s t i n c t l y understood that more funds w i l l be asked for as J , and when r e q u i r e d .
i p I I THE BOARD OF AC-RIOULTU5E FOR SCOTLAND
Iirain- l u r i n g t h e y e a r e n d e d 30th June , 1924, some 757 mi
J j v e m e n t Land Improvement and Dra inage schemes were approved i n lie and [ i e an S c o t l a n d . I t tsas e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e s e schemes would g ive
Porks. employment t o 3 ,100 men. The t o t a l cos t of t h e schemes. amounts t o £ 9 3 , 0 0 0 , of which £71 ,000 r e p r e s e n t s w a g e s .
Dur ing t h e p e r i o d 7 t h Feb rua ry t o 30 th June , 1924,
some 314 schemes have been approved , t h e t o t a l c o s t of which
was £ 1 7 , 6 5 5 . The a r e a b e n e f i t e d by t h e schemes i s 193 ,400
a c r e s of h i l l l and and 2 5 3 5 a c r e s of a r a b l e . About 1,300 y
men have o b t a i n e d employment. In a d d i t i o n t o t h e above , a
s p e c i a l g r a n t o f £4 ,875 h a s been made i n a i d o f t h e H e b r i d e a n
Road Works, oaw r e s u l t of which has been t h a t t h e Loca l i n Lewis f u r t h e r
A u t h o r i t y / h a s been a b l e t o o b t a i n / a s s i s t a n c e from t h e M i n i s t r y of T r a n s p o r t - On t h e a v e r a g e about 1 ,100 men have been
employed on t h e s e r o a d s .
b ra in - The Board of A g r i c u l t u r e f o r S c o t l a n d p r o p o s e a n fete, p . e x p e n d i t u r e of £35 ,000 on t h e 1924-25 programrne f o r Land T25 . u
name. D r a i n a g e , e t c . Works, I f unemployment remains a c u t e and
s u i t a b l e a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r g r a n t s a r e r e c e i v e d o n t h e same s c a l e
a s i n t h e l a s t two s e a s o n s , i t may be n e c e s s a r y t o a sk f o r
a d d i t i o n a l funds in o rde r t o e n s u r e t h e p r o v i s i o n of t h e f u l l
m e a s u r e o f r e l i e f which t h e W o r l r r a r e capab le of a f f o r d i n g .
r Q f P a r l i a m e n t has been a sked t o v o t e £3.00,000 f o r s u p p l y i n g Jlats Ip-ci a t l e s s ' t h a n cos t p r i c e , Seed Oats and Seed P o t a t o e s t o n e c e s s i fo s c o t t a r s ,
p e a s - t o u s c r o f t e r s , / e t c , i n t h e S c o t t i s h c r o f t i n g coun t i e s . . Th i s r s * a s s i s t a n c e has p r e v e n t e d w i d e s p r e a d unemployment on t h e h o l d i n g s
d u r i n g t h e Spr ing months , and tho h a r v e s t r e s u l t i n g w i l l p r o v i d e
employment in t h e Autumn and a c h i e f means of s u b s i s t e n c e f o r t h e
p o p u l a t i o n of t ho H i g h l a n d s and I s l a n d s t h roughou t t h e W i n t e r .
H I . POST OPflCiil IJHEMPLOYJIEHI BCHMES.
1HB 192-3/24 PROGRAMME.
TEE 1 9 2 4 / 2 5 PEOGRAMJKE.
The Post Office schemes for 1923/24 covered
(A) Duct l a y i n g for te lephone c a b l e s , and
(B) Post Office London Ra i lway f l ) the cons t ruc t i on
work, and (2) the e l e c t r i c a l equipment.
As r e g a rd s (A) 455 m i l e s of duc t s have been l a i d
a t a cos t of £585,000; 4 ,000 men be ing employed for
5 months on the work which i s now completed,
As r e g a r d s (B) ( l ) , par t of the l a y i n g of the
permanent way p l a t fo rms , e t c . , (ebout 6 months' work)
remains to be done. So far £48,000 has heen expended
and £79,000 remains to he spent .
With regard to (B) (2) e l e c t r i c a l equipment\- A l l
the c o n t r a c t s have been p l aced , the approximate cost
of the w-̂ rk be ing £335,000.
The t o t a l es t imated cost of a l l the under t ak ings
r e f e r r ed t o above i s £1 ,042 ,000 , of which £528,000 has
so f a r been expended, l e a v i n g £414,000 to be expended.
The Treasury have approved the Post Office cons t ruc t i on
engineering/"programme for 1924/25 a t a t o t a l of
approximate ly £8 ,250 ,000 . A supplementary programme i s
be ing prepared by the Post Office i n case the Government
d e s i r e t h a t a d d i t i o n a l works not covered by the
au thor i s ed programme should be a c c e l e r a t e d .
E Z 3 ? C e [ rJ1L VZZ^S SGHSMB^
The t o t a l amount s a n c t i o n e d . ; up t o Juna^30 t iu -1924^
under t he E x p o r t C r e d i t s Scheme i s £ 2 8 , 0 6 3 , 6 7 7 . . Tha
t o t a l c r e d i t s a c t u a l l y g r a n t e d up t o t h e same d a t e amount
t o £ I 0 , 6 0 8 l f 3 ; The d i f f e r e n c e be tween t h e amount s anc v
t i o n e d and the amount advanced or g u a r a n t e e d i s p a r t l y
accoun ted f o r by b u s i n e s s fo r which a g u a r a n t e e had been
s a n c t i o n e d not b e i n g f i n a n c e d by t h e Government or on Govern
meat g u a r a n t e e and p a r t l y by s a n c t i o n s which have n o t y e t
b e e n , b u t w i l l , i n due c o u r s e , be t a k e n u p . She g u a r a n t e e
scheme was approved i n t h e s p r i n g of 1921 b u t l i t t l e use
was made o f i t by t h e commercial p u b l i c u n t i l 1922 . I n the
summer of t h a t y e a r v t h e amount g u a r a n t e e d reached i t s peak
a t a b o u t £250 ,000 a month . Since June 1923 t h e r e has been
s t a g n a t i o n i n new b u s i n e s s , t h e r e a s o n s f o r which a r e b e
l i e v e d t o bo g e n e r a l want of b u s i n e s s combined w i t h the '
n e r v o u s n e s s r e s u l t i n g from t h e d i s a s t r o u s e x p e r i e n c e s of
t r a d e r s i n so man;/ marke t s d u r i n g t h e slump p e r i o d ; tho
want of knowledge i n t h e b u s i n e s s w o r l d of the f a c i l i t i e s
o f f e r ed by the E x p o r t s C r e d i t s Department and a l s o to some
e x t e n t t o the i n c r e a s e d c a p a c i t y of t r a d e r s t o t r a n s a c t
t h e i r own b u s i n e s s w i t h o u t a s s i s t a n c e . The q u e s t i o n of
g i v i n g g r e a t e r p u b l i c i t y t o the, scheme i s e n g a g i n g the
c l o s e a t t e n t i o n of a l l c o n c e r n e d .
The scheme a p p l i e s t o e x p o r t b u s i n e s s t h roughou t t he
wor ld e x c e p t B r i t i s h tndi&V Ceylon , t he S t r a i t s S e t t l e m e n t s
and H u s s i a . . With r e g a r d t o the f i r s t t h r e e the E a s t e r n
Banks, a n d - t h e Manches te r Chamber of Commerce a r e opposed
t o t h e i r i n c l u s i o n and t h e r e i s a l s o good r e a s o n
t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h e e x i s t i n g b a n k i n g f a c i l i t i e s
a r e a d e q u a t e .
As r e g a r d s R u s s i a , t h e Depar tment have con
f e r r e d w i t h Aroos b u t t h e on ly ca se s u b m i t t e d h a s
b e e n one r e l a t i n g t o t h e p u r c h a s e of h e r r i n g s
(about £50 ,000 ) and even i n t h i s c a s e the a p p l i c a n t s
were n o t p r e p a r e d a p p a r e n t l y t o comply w i t h t h e
c o n d i t i o n s . The Arcos Company have approached t h e
Trades F a c i l i t i e s Committee b u t b o t h i n t h i s a s in
t h e Expor t s C r e d i t s c a se t he p r i n c i p a l d i f f i c u l t y
a p p e a r s t o have been one r e g a r d i n g s e c u r i t y .
There i s no r e a s o n t o suppose t h a t any p r a c t i c e
b i o changes i n the r e g u l a t i o n s now g o v e r n i n g the t
E x p o r t C r e d i t s Scheme would l e a d t o i t s b e i n g
u t i l i s e d more f r e e l y .
- 4a
V, TRADE FACILITIES- ACT SCHEMES.
On the 31st December, 1923, the t o t a l Exchequer
cont ingent l i a b i l i t y au tho r i s ed by the Trade F a c i l i t i e s
and Loans Guarantee Act , 1922, in r e s p e c t of c a p i t a l
was £50 ,000 ,000 , -u;o. the t o t a l amount i n r e spec t of
which the Treasury had agreed to g ive gua ran tees was
j u s t ofer £58 ,200 ,000 , By the recent Trade F a c i l i t i e s
Act passed by the Gov-orniiient the amdunt of the Exchequer
cont ingent l i a b i l i t y has been i nc r e a s ed from £50,000,000
to £65 ,000 ,000 and Treasury guarantees have" r i s e n
approximate ly £10,000 ,000 from £38,200 ,000 to £43 ,200 ,000 .
S ince the 7 th February , 1924, the Trade F a c i l i t i e s
Committoe have recommended gua ran tees to the extent of
£8 ,859 ,000 , Among the ,/pr inc ipa l i tems a r e the fo l lowing :
£2,000 ,000 . The Korth B r i t i s h Aluminium Co. Ltd,
Equipment of a Power S t a t i o n and Aluminium Fac t o r y .
£600,000. For cons t ruc t ion of V e s s e l s on, the C lyde , .
£400,000, Uni-on C a s t l e Steam- F or - o on s t r uc 11 en of sh ip CfJ! a ship at Govan.
£1 ,600 ,000 , The Anchor L ine , For cons t ruc t ion of th ree sh ips a t Gsvati,
£600,000, Lloyd Sataudo, Genoa- i
For cons t ruc t ion of a sh ip a t Dnlmuir,
£600 ,000 . B r i t i s h and Af r i c an Steam HaviRation Co,
For purchase of p l a n t , e t c , i n Great B r i t a i n for cons t ruc t ion of v e s s e l s at B e l f a s t ,
£850,000. P a c i f i c Steam Navtg a t i o n Oos
- d i t t o
£500,000, Company iti S:ud-*n under Sud-m Government. For the cons t ruc t ion
a Ra i lway of
Most of the guarantees- . 1B . . r e spec t . of ' s h ipbu i l d i ng
represent-.-commitments en te red in to by the Trade F a c i l i t i e s
Act Committee p r i o r to the House of Commons Debate
in the Spr ing of 1924, In a l l other c a s e s the
c i rcumstances are e x c e p t i o n a l and. ample j u s t i f i c a t i o n for
the i n d i v i d u a l gua ran tees e x i s t s J .
The Trade F a c i l i t i e s Act Committee have before them,
a t the present moment va r ious a p p l i c a t i o n s t o t a l l i n g
about £10 ,000 ,000 , Among the se may be mentioned
e l e c t r i c a l p r o j e c t s from Japan end Greece and r a i l w a y
proposa l s from Yugo-S l av l a , Tasmania, Eew Zealand end
A u s t r a l i a , but of course i t would be premature to say
whether any , and i f so which, of these a p p l i c a t i o n s w i l l
m a t e r i a l i s e , ,
(MOTE; The l a t e s t f i g u r e s r e l a t i n g to Trade F a c i l i t i e s w i l l be c i r c u l a t e d to M i n i s t e r s p r i o r to the Debate . )
Apart from s p e c i a l schemes for the r e l i e f of
unemployment, under t a lon by Departments, the Contract ing
Departments have been requested to a c c e l e r a t e t h e i r
con t r ac t work so f a r a s t h i s can be done w i t h due regard
to.economy and e f f i c i e n c y . where I s no reason to b e l i e v e
t h a t so f a r a s the Contracting Departments a r e concerned
the a c c e l e r a t i o n of con t r a c t s has not been c a r r i e d out
to the f u l l e s t p r a c t i c a b l e e x t e n t .
!Bhe fo l lowing a re i n s t ance s of the a c c e l e r a t i o n of
the Government eont raot w o r t : -
Since 7 th February l a s t the Air M i n i s t r y have
a c c e l e r a t e d con t r ac t s fo r the prov i s ion of a i r c r a f t ,
a e roeng ines , c l o t h i n g , t r anspor t , f u rn i t u r e and works of
the aggrega te v a l u e of approximate ly £4 ,400 ,000 ; i n the
r e s u l t 10 ,000 men w i l l be cont inuous ly employed on
a i r c r a f t c o n s t r u c t i o n ; 5,000 men on engine cons,truetion
and the works con t r ac t s w i l l provide about 12,500 men-months
employment.
The Sec r e t a r y of S t a t e for A i r has i n d i c a t e d t h a t i f
n the Government can s t a t e e a r l y that s u b s t a n t i a l l y over
and above the p rov i s ion in the current e s t i m a t e s w i l l be
made a v a i l a b l e f o r the r e l i e f of unemplcymen t a programme
can be worked out in the course of - the next few months
which w i l l produce a s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e in the amount nf
employment in the a i r c r a f t and a l l i e d i n d u s t r i e s , ,
The p rov i s i on for works in r e l i e f of unemployment
was aade in the Office of Works Estimate, fo r 1923/24 a i d
1924/25 to the ex t en t of £289,535 and £66,415 r e s p e c t i v e l y ,
line whole of the programme, inc lud ing this p rov i s i on , has
now boon p r a c t i c a l l y completed. (
C o n d i t i o n s g o v e r n i n g the i n c l u s i o n of t h e S e r v i c e s i n
t h e v a r i o u s unemployment r e l i e f programmes were
(1) Tha t t h e works were n e c e s s a r y .
(2) Tha t t h e y could be put i n hand w i t h o u t much d e l a y .
(5) Tha t t h e e s t i m a t e d e x p e n d i t u r e on l a b o u r bore a h i g h
p r o p o r t i o n t o t h a t on m a t e r i a l .
I t may be of i n t e r e s t t o n o t e t h a t among o t h e r i m p o r t a n t
works c a r r i e d ou t hare been the renewal of t h e e l e c t r i c l i g h t i n g
i n s t a l l a t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h e whole of t h e Government b u i l d i n g s
i n W h i t e h a l l and t h e o v e r t a k i n g , t o a v e r y l a r g e e x t e n t , o f
t h e a r r e a r s of i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l d e c o r a t i v e work which had
accumula ted d u r i n g and i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r the war . Ment ion
may a l s o be made of t h e r e c o n d i t i o n i n g of t h e bed of t h e l ake
in S t . . J a m e s ' s P a r k .
e r Y/hile t he Of f i ce of Works a re u n a b l e t o g ive d e t a i l e d r e s he p a r t i c u l a r s , i t may be assumed t h a t a programme amounting i n l a of t he a g g r e g a t e t o a p p r o x i m a t e l y £30.),000 cou ld be pu t i n hand loy
and e x e c u t e d in the p e r i o d October 1924 t o March 1 9 2 5 . I n
a d d i t i o n t h e r e may be ' remanet ' cha rges amount ing t o a s much as
say £50 ,000 t o be^ met from p r o v i s i o n i n t h e 1925/6 E s t i m a t e s .
Among o t h e r matters which cou ld be i n c l u d e d i n t h i s programme
a r e the r a i s i n g of t h e s t a n d a r d of d e c o r a t i o n of Emplo7fment
Exchanges so f a r as p o s s i b l e , h a v i n g r e g a r d t o t he t e n u r e on
which t h e b u i l d i n g s ,a re h e l d , I t may f u r t h e r be p o s s i b l e t o
I n c l u d e s p e c i a l a d d i t i o n a l p r o v i s i o n . t o r a i s e the s t a n d a r d of
roads oh Government Housing E s t a t e s . I n o r d e r t o u n d e r t a k e
t h i s f u r t h e r programme i t w i l l be n e c e s s a r y for a d d i t i o n a l
s t a f f t o be engaged and i n a l l p r o b a b i l i t y P a r l i a m e n t would
have t o make p r o v i s i o n by means of Supp lementa ry E s t i m a t e s f o r
p r a c t i c a l l y t h e whole of the p robab l e e x p e n d i t u r e .
v i i A w o B & M m p i e a .
As ce r t of t h e i r programme for r e l i e v i n g
unemployment in r u r a l a r e a s the Government have
decided to extend the a c t i v i t i e s of the F o r e s t r y '
Commission a nd to i naugura t e a new po l i c y combining
the genera l p o l i c y of a f f o r e s t a t i o n wi th the- p rov i s ion
of f o r e s t hold ings^
Approval Las been g iven for the s y s t ema t i c
e s t ab l i shment in fu ture of f o r e s t ho ld ings and the
prov i s ion on reasonab le terms of houses and l and
for the f o r e s t ho lders who w i l l a l so be guaranteed
not l e s s than 150 days work in the f o r e s t each y e a r ,
'$ho Government have a l s o decided i n p r i n c i p l e
to r e v e r t to the a f f o r e s t a t i o n programme contemplated
in the report of tho Forest ry Sub-Committee of the
Reconstruct ion Committee and in the Fores t ry Act of
1919 and Lave au thor i s ed in pursuance of t h i s po l i c y
the a c q u i s i t i o n by the Forestry commission dur ing
the current f i n a n c i a l year of 50 ,000 a c r e s of l and
s u i t a b l e for the po l i cy of a f f o r e s t a t i o n in a s s o c i a t i o n
with the p rov i s i on of f o r e s t h o l d i n g s .
The.Porestry Commission have a l s o been au tho r i s ed
to car ry out daring the cur ren t f ia&noisl y e a r road.-
Disking and o ther works of a permanent cha r a c t e r i n the
va r ious f o r e s t s anfiwr the Commission^ cont ro l and a l s o
fo r e s t r y ope r a t i ons such as the p l an t i ng and p r e p a r a t i o n
of ground oad t he s c r u b - c l e a r i n g of l and . The
Forestry Commission have a l s o been au thor i s ed ' to
continue to a s s i s t by means of g r an t s tho development of
municipal ana p r i v a t e wood-lands in- accordance wi th the
approved arrangements under the Act of 1923 .
Ecu a d d i t i c n h i expenditure- to be incur red by
the fo r e s t r y CommissiOij i n tne. f i n s u e i a l year 1924-25
for the purposes i n d i c a t e d above i s es t imated a t
££75,000 which the House of Commons w i l l be i n v i t e d to
vote on the au^plemfchtrirjy e s t ima te i n due course .
The above p roposa l s w i l l enable the f o r e s t r y
Couuais&ion to employ 7,000 men in the w in te r and
2,300 i n the summer a s a g a i n s t 4 ,600 men in the w in te r
and 1,300 in the summer, under the arrangements now in
ope ra t ion .
- 10 & 11
V I L J MJJHI33HY 0?^lAHSPOHT.
UHSMPIOYlvIIB !P WO I C S JBOADS)
Under Programmes a u t h o r i s e d by prev ious Governments
between 1920 and January 1924, a t o t a l expend i tu re of
£37,250,000 was provided f o r , Sowards th i s . , t he Government
con t r ibu t ion i s to be £22 ,500 ,000 .
On the 1 s t February , which i s the nea r e s t date for
which f i g u r e s a r e a v a i l a b l e , the re remained to be d e f i n i t e l y
promised to i n d i v i d u a l schemes under these programmes, a sum
of about £4 ,000 ,000 . Between 1 s t February and 30th June,
£3,000,000 of t h i s ba lance had been d e f i n i t e l y promised to
l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s for s p e c i f i c s Che mas l e a v i n g a t t h e r-resent
time only a sum of-£1,000 ,000 s t i l l to be a l l o c a t e d to
p a r t i c u l a r p r o j e c t s , This sum of £3 ,000 ,000 , which lias' been,
a l l o c a t e d i n g r a n t s dur ing the pa s t f i v e months, may be
taken to r e p r e s e n t work t o the t o t a l va lue of about £5,000,000.
Out of the t o t a l v a l u e of these programmes of £37,250,000,
the re had boon spent by 30th June an es t imated t o t a l of
£15 ,500 ,000 , l e a v i n g yet . t o bo d i sbur sed a sum of £21,750,000 -
The expend i ture during the f i r s t q u a r t e r of 1924-25
( i . e , 1 s t A p r i l to 30th June) on these schemes ha s been jj
approx imate l y £l5 25G4 O0O: and the a n t i c i p a t e d fu ture
expend i ture i s somewhat a s fo l lows !i
1924-25 (remaining nine1925-25 . w , o1s t A p r i l . 19 26 onwards
months) . . . .
. . . £5 ,500 ,000 £.7̂ 000 j000
. £ 0 , 2 5 0 , 0 0 0
£21,7 50 ,000
IfflB BHOGHAMMS OF JS3 PHSSS*T GOVSBKMSNT,
fhe xrreser.it Government has i t s e l f au thor i s ed a fur ther
programme amounting in a l l to a n expend i ture of £13,500,000,
towards which the Government w i l l con t r ibu te n e a r l y
£10,400,000-, This i s earmarked for d e f i n i t e purposes as
fo l lows
Liverpool L a c o a s h i r g Road. £
3 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
(b) lew C h e r t s e y Soad 1 ,500 ,000
V a r i o u s Road Schemes 3,00.0,000
(d) Br i dg es 1 ,000 ,000
S e c o n s t r u c t i o n of s e c t i o n s oft r u n k r o a d s (approved by C a
main b i n e t ) 5 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
1 3 , 5 0 0 j 0 0 0
Under t h i s new programme t h e r e h a s n o t , of o c u r s e , been
s u f f i c i e n t t ime for any work t o be commenced, o r indeed f o r a n y
d e f i n i t e g r a n t s t o De made.
As r e g a r d s i t e m ( a ) , ( t h e L i v e r p o o l - L a n c a s h i r e Road)
no f u r t h e r p r o g r e s s can be r e p o r t e d i n the n e g o t i a t i o n s w i t h
the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s c o n c e r n e d , but the course o f t h e s e
n e g o t i a t i o n s w i l l be a s s i s t e d by t h e a c t i o n which h a s b e e n
t a k e n in a p p o i n t i n g S i r R icha rd Redmayne t o r e p o r t upon t h e
m e r i t s of a l t e r n a t i v e r o u t e s in t h e l i g h t of p r o b a b l e f u t u r e
mining s u b s i d e n c e .
As r e g a r d s i t e m ( h ) , ( t he lew C h e r t s e y Road) , owing to
the magni tude of t h e programmes a l r e a d y in c o u r s e of e x e c u t i o n
in M i d d l e s e x and S u r r e y , i t does n o t a p p e a r l i k e l y t h a t t h e
c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h i s new road w i l l be commenced w i t h i n the n e x t
s i s months .
As r e g a r d s i t e m s ( c ) and (d) a l a r g e number of r o a d and
b r i d g e schemes s u b m i t t e d by l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s a r e now unde r
examina t i on by t h o s t a f f of t h e M i n i s t r y o f T r a n s p o r t , a n d
g r a n t s w i l l be i n d i c a t e d a s soon a s p o s s i b l e .
As r e g a r d s i t e m (e) - t h e p r o p o s e d e x p e n d i t u r e o f £ 5 , 0 0 0 0 0 0 s
on t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f main t r u n k r o a d s - t h e D i r e c t o r Genera l
of Roads lias had s e v e r a l p r e l i m i n a r y c o n f e r e n c e s w i t h r e p r e s e n t a
t i v e s of t h e County C o u n c i l s c o n c e r n e d . Repor t s have been
c a l l e d fo r from a l l t h e M i n i s t e r s D i v i s i o n a l Road E n g i n e e r s ,
o u t l i n i n g t h e work t h a t cou ld most u s e f u l l y be u n d e r t a k e n on
the s e l e c t e d r o u t e s , and t h e s e r e p o r t s should be a v a i l a b l e by
the end of t h i s weeks A f t e r t h i s i t w i l l he p o s s i b l e t o
de te rmine t h e e x a c t scope of the o p e r a t i o n s , and the
a d d i t i o n si
which i t w i l l he n e c e s s a r y t o make t o t h e s t a f f
of t h e Depar tmen t .
I t shou ld be added, however , t h a t the o p i n i o n of t h e
Law O f f i c e r s of t h e Crown on c e r t a i n doubts which have been
e x p r e s s e d as to t h e M i n i s t e r ' s powers i n t h e m a t t e r , . . . 35
i s be ing t a k e n .
I I I . GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
The f o l l o w i n g n o t e s may be added on the e a r l i e r s c h e m e s :
( l ) Glasp;ow - Ed inburgh Road.
A c o n t r a c t has been l e t f o r t h e s e c t i o n of t h i s road
l y i n g n e a r e s t t o Glasgow, and work w i l l be begun w i t h i n the
nex t few d a y s .
HI
(2) C o n t r a c t s have been l e t f o r s e c t i o n s of t h e new a r t e r i a l
r o a d s i n Kent, Middlesex and H e r t f o r d s h i r e , which a r e be ing
c a r r i e d out fo r t h e b e n e f i t of London unemployed.
As r e g a r d s p o s s i b l e f u t u r e s c h e m e s : -
Lower Thames T u n n e l .
I n s t r u c t i o n s have been g i v e n t o S i r Maurice P i t z m a u r i c e
t o e x t e n d t h e scope of h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and t o r e p o r t as
t o t h e advan tages and d i s a d v a n t a g e s of a l t e r n a t i v e s i t e s fo r
t h e Lower Thames T u n n e l .
x N o t e . Tints o p i n i o n w i l l be c i r c u l a t e d i s soon as r e c e i v e d .
I X . UHBIvtHiOYIviHi IT GRAN IB 0 O M M I J a E E .
VTitb. the approva l of the Government: the Unemployment
Grants Committee have cont inued to fo l l ow the po l ioy and
procedure accep ted by p r ev ious a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s save only
in two minor, but not unimportant respects . , H i the r to
i t has been rz\ Inseparable condi t ion of g r a n t t b a t - t h s
M i n i s t r y of Labour should c e r t i f y t h a t the d i s t r i c t was
one in which "Unemployment not 0 thai-wise provided for
e x i s t s " u Under the new arrangements the volume of unani
ploy meat in a p a r t i c u l a r a r e a i s to bo regarded by tha
Committee a s one f a c t o r among others in c o n s i d e r i n g whether
c r not a g r an t should be made in r e s p e c t of that a r a a ,
'2ha second p o i n t r e l a t e s to the r a t e of 'wages to be paid
by tho Local Author i t y to u n s k i l l e d msiic Hitherto t h i s
r a t e l ias not exceeded Y5 per cent (or in c e r t a i n oases
87^ per c en t ) of t h e Loca l A u t h o r i t y * s lowest r a t e dur ing
the p roba t i ona r y period of s i x months, I t has now been
dse ided t h a t in cases where the Local A u t h o r i t y under takes
the work by d i - s o t l a b o u r the r a t s of wages pa id must not
exceed the Loca l A u t h o r i t y ^ r a t e fo r i t s own workmen on
s i m i l a r c l a s s e s of work or the r e cogn i s ed d i s t r i c t r a t e
(whore such, e x i s t s ) i f thai; i s l o w e r 0
I t w i l l be remembered tha t the Unemployment Grants
Committee a s s i s t s r e l i e f works in the fo l lowing wajrps
( l ) Works f inanced otherwise than by loan,, 60 per cent of the wages pa id to unemployed nan t a t on on for the j o b u
(B) Works f inanced by l o a m ( a ) Non-revenue producing works
65 per c e n t of the i n t e r e s t and s i n k i n g fund charges on loans r a i s e d f o r the work f s r h a l f the per iod cf the loan , s u b j e c t to the maximum of 1 5 y e a r s 0 ' )\
(b) Revenue producing works 50 per cent of the i n t e r e s t ; on loans r a i s e d for the work for 15 y e a r s or the f u l l pe r iod of the l o a n , whichever i s the l owes t .
(:o) Grants to p u b l i c u t i l i t y companies. 50 per ceac ef i n t e r e s t a t a r a t e f i x ed by the Committee on the cost of the a c c e l e r a t e d works c a r r i e d out which r e l i e v e unemployment,, I h e ' g r a n t s a r e payab le for a pe r iod of y e a r s determined by the l e n g t h of time by which the work i s a c c e l e r a t e d and a l s o t h e pe r iod a t which the work i s l i k e l y t o become r e a sonab l y remunerat ive and a r e s u b j e c t to c e r t a i n s a fegua rd ing p rov i s ions as to the l i m i t a t i o n of d i v i dends , e t c ,
SUITS 0? T"KE , From 20th December, 1920, when ihs Committee HMIITESrS ' TIVITIES ooimrancud ope r a t i ons , t o 23rd June, 1V24. t h e cost to BATE.
the Exchequer in r e s p e c t of works based on the 6g per cent
of the wages B i l l amounts approx imate l y t o £3 ,500 ,000 .
In a d d i t i o n , the Exchequer l i a b i l i t y in respec t of a l l
works approved by the Committee g r an t s on the b a s i s of
i n t e r e s t or i n t e r e s t and s i n k i n g fund charges for the
same per iod i s e s t ima t ed to amount to £22,000,000? The
c a p i t a l c o s t o f the works in gues t ion amounting t c
approx imate l y £50, .000,000.
For the por iod from 29th June,,, 1923, to S l a t March,
1924, works to t h e v a l u e of n e a r l y £19,000,.000 on the
loan b a s i s were approved, for g r a n t and schemes to a n
e s t ima ted t o t a l va lue of over £2 ,100 ,000 , were approved
f o r g r an t on the wages b a s i s . In other words1, no fewer
than 3 ,560 schemes of a t o t a l va lue of over £30,000,000
have been cons idered in the 12 months ending 23rd June 1924
and i t should, be noted tha t the whole of the sohenBO
submit ted a r e undoubtedly of g r e a t e r pub l i c u t i l i t y than
was the case in the preced ing y e a r s , S ince the Committee
s t a r t e d ope r a t i ons no fewer than 8,350 schemes of a
c a p i t a l v a l u e of over £50,'"CO,000 have been approved fear
g r a n t . These schemes involve 2 ,250 ,000 jten-months of
d i rect ; l o c a l employment and a t l e a s t a s much aga in In
i n d i r e c t employment in the manufacture of m a t e r i a l s fo r
the schemes *
Dur ing the p e r i o d - f r o m 7 t h F e b r u a r y , 1924,, t o
23rd J u n e , 1924, t h e Unemployment G r a n t s Ocmmittee h a r e
app roved a l t o g e t h e r 750 schemes to a t o t a l v a l u e of
a b o u t £ 5 C 500,000 wh ich w i l l g i v e d i r e c t employment f o r
a b o u t 175 ,000 m e n - m o n t h S o
fbe Committee have a t p r e s e n t u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n
schemes of a t o t a l v a l u e of n e a r l y £ 3 . 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 , r e p r e s e n t i n g
works to be s t a r t e d i n t h e coming autumn and w i n t e r 0
In a d d i t i o n a l a r g e number of t h e schemes a p p r o v e d d u r i n g
t h e p r e s e n t y e a r w i l l u n d o u b t e d l y c o n t i n u e t h roughou t
the w i n t e r a n d s t e p s have been t a k e n t o i n v i t e Loca l
A u t h o r i t i e s t o s u b m i t f u r t h e r p r o p o s a l s . While i t i s as
y e t too e a r l y to be a b l e t o form any c l o s e e s t i m a t e o f t h e
volume o f f r e s h p r o p o s a l s t o be put fo rward in r e s p o n s e
to t h e C o m m i t t e e J 6 i n v i t a t i o n , t h e r e i s good r e a s o n t o
b e l i e v e t h a t t he number and v a l u e of t h e schemes wh ich ,
e v e n t u a l l y , t h e Committee w i l l a s s i s t t h e g r a n t w i l l
a t l e a s t e q u a l , f o r t h e w i n t e r c f 1 9 2 4 / 8 5 , t h e s a t i s f a c t o r y
f i g u r e s of t h e w i n t e r 1923/24, .
P£A R T I I j ,
Schemea i n i t i a t e d by t h e p r e s e n t Government .
1 . MIHI-^J-RY OF-AGRICULTURE,
As a r e s u l t of r e p e a t e d a p p e a l s which have been made
t h e Government have a c c e p t e d t h e p r i n c i p l e of a c e r t a i n
measure of f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e t o w a r d s p u t t i n g in o rder t h e
main trunk cf t h e R i v e r Ouee from t h e mouth t o B r o w n s h i l l
S t a u n c h , i n c l u d i n g t r a i n i n g t h e r i v e r i n t o deep w a t e r . The
whole q u e s t i o n i s now t h e s u b j e c t of d i s c u s s i o n between t h e
M i n i s t r y of A g r i c u l t u r e and t h e Ouse Board and a p r e l i m i n a r y
m e e t i n g ha3 a l r e a d y been h e l d ,
I t i s hoped t h a t t h i s a c t i o n on the p a r t of t h e Governmen
w i l l no t on ly r e s u l t i n p u t t i n g t h i s g r e a t r i v e r i n a p r o p e r
s t a t e , t h e r e b y p r o t e c t i n g one of t he most v a l u a b l e a r e a s i n
England a g a i n s t f l o o d i n g , but w i l l a l s o r e s u l t i n a permanent
s e t t l e m e n t of t h e d i s p u t e s which l a v e been going on for
g e n e r a t i o n s between t h e Uplands and Pen i n t e r e s t s ,
As has a l r e a d y been announced t h e Government have
d e c i d e d t o r e c l a i m a s m a l l a r e a of Grown f o r e s h o r e on t h e
s h o r e s of t h e Wash, abou t 7 m i l e s from. K i n g ' s Lynn ; so a s
t o a r r i v e a t some d e f i n i t e c o n c l u s i o n as t o t h e c o s t of
r e c l a m a t i o n work g e n e r a l l y . The q u e s t i o n of t h e t e n d e r t o
be a c c e p t e d f o r t h i s work i s s t i l l under c o n s i d e r a t i o n - .
t I u g A R BEET. The Government have a c c e p t e d i n p r i n c i p l e
p r o p o s a l s fo r t h e / 9 ? a n t of S t a t e f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e
t o the Sugar Beet i n d u s t r y f o r t h e p u r o o s e of e x t e n d i n g
and d e v e l o p i n g t h a t i n d u s t r y and a s s i s t i n g i n t h e r e l i e f
of r u r a l unemployment .
I f t h e s e p r o p o s a l s a r e put i n t o o p e r a t i o n t h e r e i s
r e a s o n t o e x p e c t t h a t a t l e a s t 6 new suga r b e e t f a c t o r i e s
w i l l be o u t i n band a t o n c e . Each new f a c t o r y would c o s t
a t l e a s t £ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 , of which £150 ,000 would r e p r e s e n t
t h e c o s t of p l a n t and m a c h i n e r y . A c o n s i d e r a b l e amount
of work would be p r o v i d e d , t h e r e f o r e , f o r t h e e n g i n e e r i n g
i n d u s t r y , and i t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t t h e whole of the
machinery r e q u i r e d cou ld be s u p p l i e d .by B r i t i s h m a n u f a c t u r e r s .
Each f a c t o r y would employ 500-600 men
d u r i n g t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g s e a s o n from October t o J a n u a r y . I n
a d d i t i o n , e a c h f a c t o r y would employ 50-60 men a l l the y e a r -a
r o u n d , The growing of b e e t for s i x new f a c t o r i e s would
r e q u i r e an a d d i t i o n a l a rea of 24 ,000 a c r e s i n t h e f i r s t y e a r ,
a n d , a s i t i s g e n e r a l l y a g r e e d t h a t each 10 a c r e s of bee t
r e q u i r e s an a d d i t i o n a l man, enroloyment would be p r o v i d e d fo r
2 ,400 more men on t h e l a n d , Moreover , a d d i t i o n a l l abour
would be r e q u i r e d to s a t i s f y t h e i n c r e a s e d demand fo r t r a n s
p o r t f a c i l i t i e s which would a r i s e w i th t h e development of
t h e i n d u s t r y .
An e x t e n s i o n of t h e sugar b e e t i n d u s t r y w i l l , t h e r e f o r e ,
have a m a t e r i a l r e s u l t i n p r o v i d i n g a d d i t i o n a l employment on
t h e l a n d , in t h e f a c t o r i e s and i n some of t h e t r a d e s which
a r e most h a r d l y h i t - e . g . t h e e n g i n e e r i n g t r a d e ,
$ NOTE: C a b i n e t 40 (.24) C o n c l u s i o n 9 , I t w i l l be remembered t h a t w h i l e t h e G0vernmer.1t have approved t h e p r i n c i p l e of a S t a t e g r a n t , t h e q u e s t i o n of "the" p r e c i s e form in
' which Stata- a s s i s t a n c e - s h o u l d be g i v e n - I s s t l l l - u n d o r cons i d e a t i o n ,
' I I , ' FISHERY BOARD POP. SCOTLAND.
Ibemo of The F i s h e r y 3--,ard fo r Scot land a r e c a r r y i n g mt 3 fo r
Jsoerraen a scheme of loans for fisherates?., for the purchase of h e r r i ng r the rchase d r i f t n e t s . Herring
lift, Ne t s . Par l i ament has voted a sum of £150,100 for the purpose
Normally the amount of the loan I s 50$ of the cost of the n e t s
to he prov ided , w i th s p e c i a l terms fo r e x - S e r v i c s men. I f
ad.vanta.ge i s t aken of the scheme i t w i l l enab le f ishermen to
obta in f o r t h e i r i n d u s t r y a d d i t i o n a l c a p i t a l up to £150,000,
on moderate t e r m s , and w i l l r e s u l t i n improved employment, nob the
only i n/he r r i ng f i s h i n g i n d u s t r y i t s e l f , but a l s o i n those
branches of the t r a d e engaged in the hand l ing and cur ing of
f i s h and in the not making i n d u s t r y ,
no
ittaiional.
gentle g h p i o y m e n t .
I I I , BOARD OF EDUCATION.
A p a r t from works r e l a t i n g t o s c h o o l h u i l d i n g s which
have been a s s i s t e d by t h e Unemployment G r a n t s Committee
t h e Board of E d u c a t i o n have r e v e r t e d t o t h e i r o l d p r a c t i c e
of c o n s i d e r i n g on t h e i r m e r i t s a l l p r o p o s a l s i n r e s p e c t Q f
E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l s , Secondary S c h o o l s , T e c h n i c a l Schoo l s
and N u r s e r y P o h o o l s , and f o r t h e development of t h e Schoo l
Medical S e r v i c e . I f Loca l E d u c a t i o n A u t h o r i t i e s r e s p o n d
t o t h e B o a r d ' 3 i n v i t a t i o n a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount cf work
w i l l be p r o v i d e d i n t h e b u i l d i n g and o t h e r a l l i e d t r a d e s ,
The Board a r e working i n c l o s e c o n s u l t a t i o n wi th the
M i n i s t r y of H e a l t h ao as t o avo id any d i f f i c u l t i e s which
may a r i s e t h r o u g h c o m p e t i t i o n of b u i l d i n g l a b o u r as be tween
t h e p r o v i s i o n of houses and e d u c a t i o n a l b u i l d i n g s .
The Board , on 18th June l a s t , i s s u e d a c i r c u l a r t o
Loca l E d u c a t i o n A u t h o r i t i e s s t a t i n g t h a t t h e y are p r e p a r e d
t o c o n s i d e r p r o p o s a l s from t h o s e A u t h o r i t i e s t o make byelaws
u n d e r S e c t i o n 46 of t h e E d u c a t i o n Act , 1 9 2 1 , r e q u i r i n g
c h i l d r e n t o a t t e n d s c h o o l t i l l t h e end of t h e s c h o o l t e rm
i n which t h e y A t t a i n t h e age of f i f t e e n , . The Beard have
a l s o i n v i t e d t h e members of t h e J u v e n i l e O r g a n i s a t i o n s
Committee t o u n d e r t a k e as soon as p o s s i b l e , in c o n j u n c t i o n
w i t h t h e l o c a l J u v e n i l e O r g a n i s a t i o n s Commit tees , a f u l l
r e v i e w of t h e problem of unemployment amongst s choo l l e a v e r s
and. i t i s hoped t h a t t h e y w i l l be a b l e t o d e v i s e means fo r
m i t i g a t i n g t he mora l and m e n t a l d e t e r i o r a t i o n which must
fo l low i n t h e i r case upon a p ro longed per iod , of unemployment .
The L o c a l E d u c a t i o n A u t h o r i t i e s have power , under S e c t i o n 86
of t h e E d u c a t i o n A c t , t o a i d schemes of t h i s g e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r .
and t h e Board have a l r e a d y informed the A u t h o r i t i e s t h a t t h e y
a r e p r e p a r e d t o cons ide r on t h e i r m e r i t s 1 p r o p o s a l s fo r t h i s
p u r p o s e . I f t h e p r o p o s a l s a r e approved t h e e x p e n d i t u r e
would r ank f o r a $0 p e r c e n t g r a n t from t h e Boayd, - 21 -
s i i
IV. ELECTRICAL DEVELOPMENT.
The Government a r c conv inced t h a t no s o l u t i o n
of t h e unemployment problem I s p o s s i b l e w i t h o u t a g r e a t
r e v i v a l of B r i t i s h t r a d e and i n d u s t r y . The l ow er ing of
B r i t i s h c o s t s of p r o d u c t i o n I s a c o n d i t i o n p r e c e d e n t t o
any such r e v i v a l , and e x t e n s i v e deve lopement of e l e c t
r i v a l u n d e r t a k i n g s w i l l t e n d / a marked d e g r e e t o r educe
t h e c o s t of p r o d u c t i o n and w i l l a l s o r e l i e v e unemoloyment
by p r o v i d i n g a v e r y l a r g e volume of work f o r s k i l l e d men
i n c e r t a i n i n d u s t r i e s .
The Government a r e a d v i s e d t h a t t h e b e s t and
most p r a c t i c a b l e methods of s t i m u l a t i n g e l e c t r i c a l
development a r e : - I
( 1 ) The a t t a i n m e n tt h r o u g h o u t
of one s t a n d a r d f r equency t h e c o u n t r y ; and
( 2 ) The l a y i n g of main t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s c o u p l e d i n c e r t a i n c a s e s w i t h d i s t r i b u t i o n sys tems I n a r e a s where such, l i n e s do n o t e x i s t and would nott h e n e a r
be l a i d f u t u r e .
i n t h e o r d i n a r y way i n
To s e c u r e s t a n d a r d i s a t i o n t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y
i t w i l l be n e c e s s a r y t o a l t e r t h e p r e s e n t f r e q u e n c i e s on
t h e n o r t h - e a s t c o a s t , on t h e C l y d e , I n Birmingham and. t h e
S o u t h - w e s t Midlands D i s t r i c t , i n p a r t s of London and In
South Wales . The change over in t h e s e n o n - s t a n d a r d a r e a s
w i l l e n t a i l c o n s i d e r a b l e o r d ; r s f o r new e l e c t r i c a l mach
i t i e r y , l i v i n g work t o s k i l l e d men. The e l e c t r i c a l a d v a n t
ages of t h e p r o p o s a l a r e t w o - f o l d :
( 1 ) o t a n d a r d i s a t i o n w i l l e n a b l e e l e c t r i c a l m a n u f a c t u r e r s t o r educe t h e numbers of t h e i r s t o c k s and p a t t e r n s , t h u s c h e a p e n i n g p r o d u c t s and a s s i s t i n g m a n u f a c t u r e r s t o oompete w i t h o t h e r c o u n t r i e s ;
( 2 ) I n t e r - c o n n e c t i o n s of t h e c a p i t a l g e n e r a t i n g s t a t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y w i l l be g r e a t l y f a c i l i t a t e d , Such a n a t i o n a l p o l i c y of i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n means i n c r e a s e d e f f i c i e n c y and economy and g r e a t e r s e c u r i t y of s u p o l y .
GTRICALSMISS10H
Frequency s t a n d a r d i s a t i o n throughout the
country would probably t a k e from three t o f i v e years
t o c a r r y o u t . As t h e change over w i l l c o n f e r no
immediate d i r e c t b e n e f i t on those i n t e r e s t e d i n the
product ion and consumption of e l e c t r i c i t y i t w i l l
probably be n e c e s s a r y t o e f f e c t the reform on the b a s i s
of a s u b s t a n t i a l p r o p o r t i o n , i f not the whole of the
c o s t , being borne by the Exchequer.
With a view t o the e a r l i e s t p o s s i b l e d e c i s i o n
be ing t a k e n , the Government have arranged for an expert
r epor t on the whole matter t o be f u r n i s h e d f o r t h w i t h .
I t i s expec ted t h a t t h i s repor t w i l l be ready i n October
n e x t . I f the r e p o r t i s f a v o u r a b l e , the Government w i l l
t h e n be p r e p a r e d t o cons ider whether a s u b s t a n t i a l pro
p o r t i o n , i f n o t t h e w h o l e , of the d i r e c t c o s t of the
p r o v i s i o n and i n s t a l l a t i o n of new machinery, e t c . , which
w i l l be r e q u i r e d shou ld be. ,borne by pub l i c f u n d s , and t o
t a k e immediate s t e p s t o s e c u r e the p r a c t i c a l g o o d - w i l l
and c o - o p e r a t i o n of t h e p a r t i e s concerned.
To produce e l e c t r i c i t y cheaply i t i s necessary ;
t o c o n c e n t r a t e I t s g e n e r a t i o n i n l arge s t a t i o n s and
d i s t r i b u t e i t a t h i g h t e n s i o n t o s u b - s t a t i o n s . Further
more the main s t a t i o n s should be I n t e r c o n n e c t e d . The
h i g h oos t of t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s i s a grea t o b s t a c l e t o
such development and t ends t o Cause the p r o v i s i o n of such
l i n e s t o be delayed u n t i l they are immediately p r o f i t a b l e .
A c c e l e r a t e d e l e c t r i c a l development p r e - s u p p o s e s the l a y i n g
of t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s w e l l i n advance of immediate r e
qu lrements . I t w i l l be unders tood , however, t h a t main
t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s c o n n e c t i n g d i f f e r e n t d i s t r i c t s oannot
be u s e f u l l y l a i d u n t i l , under the scheme mentioned above,
the frequency of the two d i s t r i c t s has been made the
.same. A c e r t a i n number of t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s , however,
w i t h i n d i s t r i c t s where the frequency i s a lready standard
"axtd l i n e s -for^ the - -purpose - c d " ' d i s t r i b u t i o n , i n a r e a s
where e l e c t r i c i t y I s n o t a v a i l a b l e can be u n d e r
t a k e n a p a r t from t h e s t a n d a r d i s a t i o n of f r e q u e n c y
m e n t i o n e d . i n t h e f i r s t p a r a g r a p h .
The Government have d e c i d e d t o a u t h o r i s e t he
E l e c t r i c i t y Commiss ioners t o c o n f e r w i th t h e Municipal
and I n d u s t r i a l E l e c t r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n s w i t h a view %o
s e c u r i n g t h e maximum deve lopmen t of t h e main t r a n s
m i s s i o n sys t em on t h e f o l l o w i n g t e r m s : - .
( a ) Work t o be a s s i s t e d t o be main t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s a s defined, i n S e c t i o n 56 of t h e E l e c t r i c i t y ( S u p p l y ) A c t , 1919 , and s u b j e c t , a s m e n t i o n e d i n ( b ) be low, t o s u b s t a n t i a l schemes of d i s t r i b u t i o n i n a r e a s where e l e c t r i c i t y i s n o t a v a i l a b l e .
( b )
(b ) The work must be of a k i n d which t h e u n d e r t a k e r s have n o i n t e n t i o n i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e of c a r r y i n g out w i t h t h e i r own r e s o u r c e s and must n o t be a c c e l e r a t e d work i n t h e o r d i n a r y sense or mere a d d i t i o n s t o or e x t e n s i o n s of schemes a l r e a d y i n o p e r a t i o n .
( c ) The f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e t o be g i v e n t o c o n s i s t of a g r a n t t o l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s or companies u n d e r t a k i n g approved works i n d i v i d u a l l y or j o i n t l y s u f f i c i e n t I n amount t o make up t h e n e t r e v e n u e ( a f t e r a l l o w i n g f o r d e p r e c i a t i o n or s i n k i n g f u n d s ) a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t h e p a r t i c u l a r work t o a r a t e of i n t e r e s t ( a p p r o v e d by t h e T r e a s u r y ) on t h e e x p e n d i t u r e " incurred u n t i l such t ime a s t h e n e t r evenue i s s u f f i c i e n t t o meet t h i s c h a r g e , or fo r t e n y e a r s whichever I s l e s s .
The Government have g i v e n most c a r e f u l and
a n x i o u s c o n s i d e r a t i o n t o t h e v e r y i m p o r t a n t q u e s t i o n
of r a i l w a y e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n . . The problem i s b e i n g
e x p l o r e d to. t h e f u l l e s t e x t e n t and e v e r y e f f o r t h a s
been made t o p r e s s on t h e Ra i lway Companies t h e
d e s i r a b i l i t y of u n d e r t a k i n g any p r o p o s e d e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n
a t t h e p r e s e n t t ime w i t h a view t o r e l i e v i n g unemploy
ment. . ' . ,
V, SEVERS BARRAGE.
The Water Power Resou rces Committee i n t h e i r 1
Th i rd I n t e r i m Repor t on T i d a l Power d a t e d 1 s t December 1980
drew a t t e n t i o n to t h e d e s i r a b i l i t y of i n v e s t i g a t i n g the
p o s s i b i l i t y from the commercia l s t a n d p o i n t of u t i l i s i n g
the t i d e s f o r mot ive power p u r p o s e s , w i t h p a r t i c u l a r r e f e r e n c e
to the S e v e r n . The Committee on the i n f o r m a t i o n b e f o r e
them wore n o t i n a p o s i t i o n d e f i n i t e l y to recommend a scheme
but c o n s i d e r e d t h e r e was ample j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r a f u r t h e r
and more d e t a i l e d e n q u i r y i n t o a number of d i f f i c u l t t e c h n i c a l
and economic p r o b l e m s .
During the economy campaign c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e
Commi t t ee ' s p r o p o s a l was: postponed ' . . The Government have
however r e v i v e d the m a t t e r . I t i s c l e a r t h a t a scheme of a
b a r r a g e a c r o s s t he Severn , i f p r a c t i c a b l e , c o u l d n o t be u sed to
a l l e v i a t e u h e m p l o y m e h t e x i s t i n g a t p r e s e n t o r i n the n e a r
f u t u r e , bu t the m a t t e r i s one of the g r e a t e s t i m p o r t a n c e from
the p o i n t of v iew of c o a l c o n s e r v a t i o n and the deve lopment
of n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s . The immense r e s e r v o i r of power t h a t
would be p r o v i d e d i f fee scheme were p r a c t i c a b l e would ad\d
d e f i n i t e l y t o t he i n d u s t r i a l c a p a c i t y of the coun t ry and i t
is' : A c c o r d i n g l y e n t i r e l y i n k e e p i n g w i t h t h e a t t i t u d e of t he
Government t o w a r d s the problem of unemployment i n the f u t u r e
t h a t a c a r e f u l examina t i on s h o u l d be made o f the p r o j e c t . ,
At t h e r e q u e s t of the P r e s i d e n t of t h e Board of
Trade a sma l l i n f o r m a l Committee were asked to a d v i s e as t o
the n a t u r e and scope o f the e n q u i r i e s which 3hculd be
u n d e r t a k e n and t h e i r p r o b a b l e c o s t . The Committee have
r e p o r t e d t h a t e x h a u s t i v e su rvey and i n v e s t i g a t i o n a r e
n e c e s s a r y to e n a b l e t h e Government ; to a r r i v e a t a c o n c l u s i o n
as t o
(a) the p r a c t i c a b i l i t y o f a b a r r a g e ; and 1
( b ) ' i t s p o s s i b l e e f f e c t s on o ttier - i n t e r e s t s i n the r i v e r
e s p e c i a l l y n a v i g a t i o n b u t I n c l u d i n g a l s o l and
d r a i n a g e and f i s h e r i e s . . .
i
I n c l u d i n g the i n v e s t i g a t i o n which is 111 he
n e c e s s a r y i n t o the c r u c i a l q u e s t i o n of f o u n d a t i o n s and the
survey end the p r e p a r a t i o n of a p r e l i m i n a r y power scheme
"based on the d&ta o b t a i n e d s h o u l d they be f a v o u r a b l e , t h e
e n q u i r y would tcke a minimum p e r i o d of t h r e e y e a r s and
c o s t between £ 7 5 , 0 0 0 and £ 9 5 , 0 0 0 .
In view of the g r e a t a d v a n t a g e s t o be d e r i v e d
i f t he scheme were found p r a c t i c a b l e and the n e c e s s i t y
of t a k i n g a l l s t e p s p o s s i b l e to improve the i n d u s t r i a l
e f f i c i e n c y of t h e c o u n t r y wi th a v iew to mee t ing f o r e i g n
c o m p e t i t i o n , t h e Government have dec ided to a u t h o r i s e
the e n q u i r y .
The e n q u i r y can be c o n v e n i e n t l y d i v i d e d i n t o s t a g e s
which w i l l r e v e a l the p r a c t i c a b i l i t y o f the scheme and the
e x t e n t t o which f u r t h e r e x p e n d i t u r e may be n e c e s s a r y a
The f i r s t s t a g e would be an immediate g e o l o g i c a l
survey of the f o r m a t i o n o f the ne ighbourhood of t he
a l t e r n a t i v e s i t e s which have been proposed f o r the b a r r a g e
and a r e p o r t b e f o r e the end of t h i s yea r a s t o t h e
p o s s i b i l i t y of c o n s t r u c t i n g a b a r r a g e on one or more of
the t h r e e s i t e s p r o p o s e d on the a s s u m p t i o n t h a t s a f e
f o u n d a t i o n s e x i s t . I t must be ment ioned t h a t the b u i l d i n g
of a b a r r a g e on the Severn would be one of t he most
d i f f i c u l t e n g i n e e r i n g f e a t s eve r a t t e m p t e d .
The n e x t s t e p would be to a s c e r t a i n w h e t h e r i t
i s p o s s i b l e to f i n d s a f e f o u n d a t i o n s fo r a b a r r a g e a t a
p o i n t s u i t a b l e for t h e purpose i n view. U n t i l n e c e s s a r y
b o r i n g s have been made i t i s i m p o s s i b l e to answer tha s
q u e s t i o n and the e x p e r i e n c e a l r e a d y g a i n e d w i t h the Severn
Tunnel a s w e l l a s the g e o l o g i c a l f o rma t ion i n the lower
v a l l e y of the Severn i n d i c a t e t h a t the s e l e c t i o n of
a p o s s i b l e s i t e , may n o t be e a s y and t h a t the n e c e s s a r y
b o r i n g s w i l l be d i f f i c u l t t o make,
While the g e o l o g i c a l su rvey and the c o n s i d e r a t i o n
of the e n g i n e e r i n g p rob lems ' were p r o c e e d i n g s a r r a n g e m e n t s
would be made fo r b o r i n g o p e r a t i o n s fo r t h e s p r i n g of
1925, b u t the work would n o t be a c t u a l l y begun u n l e s s t h e
c o n s u l t i n g e n g i n e e r s r e p o r t f a v o u r a b l y by t h e end of t h e
y e a r . I f the r e p o r t a s to t h e e n g i n e e r i n g p r a c t i c a b i l i t y
was u n f a v o u r a b l e i t would o b v i o u s l y be w a s t e o f money
and e f f o r t to p r o c e e d w i t h t he b o r i n g . The pos t of t he
g e o l o g i c a l s u r v e y and t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e c o n s u l t i n g
e n g i n e e r s r e p o r t would be between £2 ,000 and £2 ,500
and t h e b o r i n g from £10 ,000 t o £ 1 5 , 0 0 0 . The t o t a l
e x p e r i m e n t a l e x p e n d i t u r e t h e r e f o r e on the f i r s t s t a g e s b e i n g
from £12 ,000 to £ 1 7 , 5 0 0 .
V I . THE KOTJSIEG P R O P O S A L S .
H o t e t o b e s u p p l i e d b y i h e M i n i s t r y
o f H e a l t h .
W h i t e h a l l G a r d e n s , S , W . ( l )
- J u l y 1 5 t h 1 9 8 4 .
