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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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and control over the organization and staffing of the Registry; and that he should be the office authority in matters of Registration and Registry procedure; the Paper Deposit and Records Revision Section should be placed under his charge. We further consider that, in view of the great increase of late years in work and staff. the status of the Staff post should be reconsidered.
Work of Registry.
14. We have taken into consideration the fact that certain duties have been assigned to the Registry in the Colonial Office which are not normally assigned to such branches in other departments of the public service; and we consider that it will be necessary to make arrangements for duties other than those connected with the registration and despatch of correspondence to be undertaken by experi- enced clerks. We are also of the opinion that additional supervision will be required in the Sub-Registries if arrangements cannot be made to centralize the work, and we have made what we consider the necessary provision in Appendix III.
Confidential Clerks,
15. To provide for the work to be taken from the Registry, we suggest the extension of the present system whereby "Confidential Clerks" are attached to the departments. At present, eight Second Division Clerks are in receipt of allowances while performing the duties of "Confidential Clerks "; we are of oipnion that it will be necessary to provide for at least eight additional Clerks, who, with the "Confidential Clerks," would be graded in the higher grade of the Clerical Class, and entrusted with the initial action on certain classes of correspondence, the ciphering and deciphering of telegrams, and with drafting and such other duties as may be delegated from the departments, in addition to the work taken from the Registries, which would include the noting of precedents and subjects, searches, preparation of précis, etc.
We have made provision for the additional staff which we consider will be required to provide for work taken from the Registries; but we are not in a posi- tion to estimate the numbers necessary to deal with work which may be devolved from the departments.
Promotion of Typists.
16. We are of opinion that recourse should be had to the special machinery recommended in paragraph 63 of the Joint Report, with a view to promoting Typists to the Clerical Class in the Colonial Office.
Accounts Department.
17. In view of the ruling that questions involving Imperial funds are to be referred at an early stage to the Accounts Department, we recommend that the numbers and grading of that department should be reconsidered at an early date Our recommendations are therefore provisional.
General Department.
18. We have suggested the provision of a separate staff to deal exclusively with matters relating to the establishment of the Colonial Office. We are agreed that the creation of a separate section for this purpose is necessary to afford some relief to the General Department. We are of the opinion that the scale of salary of the Staff post in the General Department should be improved. We consider that the work assigned to the clerk dealing with pensions and promotions is of such a nature as to justify the creation of a post on the same scale.
19.
Library.
For convenience the Library may be dealt with in three sections: (a) Legal, (b) General, (c) Records and Paper Room.
(a) The work of the Legal Section (which is quite distinct from the general work of the Library) has increased both in volume and importance during the last few years. We consider that provision should be made for a Staff post on the scale £400-£15-£500.
(b) As regards the general work of the Library, it must be borne in mind that a long apprenticeship is required before an officer becomes fully efficient; and that as the staff is in constant contact with the outside public it is necessary that the personnel should be maintained at a high level. We recommend that in addition to the Assistant Librarian, who should be graded as "Higher Grade, Clerical Class," provision should be made for an officer of the same grade whose primary duty should be the cataloguing.
20.
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(c) We suggest that the question of the staffing of the Paper Room of the Library with a special grade of Paper Keepers should be considered. We are agreed that the work of the Paper Room is not of such a nature as to justify the employment of the Clerical Grade.
Staff Clerks.
We have dealt with the Staff Clerks whose present scales carry maxima
in excess of £400 per annum on the lines of paragraph 71 of the Joint Report.
Concluding Remarks.
Increase of Work.
21. In considering the estimated establishment shown in the Appendix, it should be borne in mind that the staff of the department has not kept pace with the volume of work. The numbers of registered papers (which may be taken as providing some measure of the work of the department) which totalled 135,575 in 1913, has risen to 315,792 in 1919, an increase of one hundred and thirty-three per cent., while the authorized staff dealt with in this report, which numbered 97 in 1913, at the present time is 150, an increase of fifty-four and six tenths per cent. only. To cope with the increased volume of work it has been necessary to employ clerks on overtime (the weekly average of which has varied between two hundred and fifty and three hundred hours) and to call upon officers who are not entitled to payment for overtime to give an attendance in excess of the normal hours. We consider it desirable that arrangements should be made to discontinue overtime attendance as soon as possible, and to emphasize the necessity for the provision of an adequate staff to carry on the work of the department in the normal hours of attendance.
Prospects of Promotion.
22. We think it desirable to call attention to the necessity for the provision of an adequate number of higher posts to which persons recruited to lower grades may expect promotion. We feel that it is essential that persons employed in the Colonial Office, in whatever capacity, should not be in a worse position than others who may be assigned to other departments of the public service, and that full use should be made of the arrangements suggested in paragraphs 45 and 51 of the Joint Report for the selection of officers for administrative work.
Training.
23. We are not yet in a position to make recommendations on the future training of the staff of the department, on which we propose to make a separate report.
24.
We wish to express our appreciation of the manner in which our Secre- taries have discharged the duties which have fallen upon them in connexion with the preparation of this Report.
H. T. ALLEN (Secretary).
H. W. THOMPSON (Assistant Secretary).
8th May, 1920.
B
W. H. EGGETT (Chairman).
W. H. SCOFFHAM.
ALEX. FIDDIAN,
WALTER F. WESTBROOK.
R. A. WISEMAN.
SYDNEY R. PUGHE.
F. KENNEDY.
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suggest that the question of the staffing of the Paper Room of y with a special grade of Paper Keepers should be considered. eed that the work of the Paper Room is not of such a nature as he employment of the Clerical Grade.
Staff Clerks.
dealt with the Staff Clerks whose present scales carry maxima per annum on the lines of paragraph 71 of the Joint Report.
Concluding Remarks.
Increase of Work.
dering the estimated establishment shown in the Appendix, it mind that the staff of the department has not kept pace with rk. The numbers of registered papers (which may be taken as easure of the work of the department) which totalled 135,575 in 315,792 in 1919, an increase of one hundred and thirty-three per uthorized staff dealt with in this report, which numbered 97 in nt time is 150, an increase of fifty-four and six tenths per cent. th the increased volume of work it has been necessary to employ (the weekly average of which has varied between two hundred se hundred hours) and to call upon officers who are not entitled ertime to give an attendance in excess of the normal hours. We ble that arrangements should be made to discontinue overtime as possible, and to emphasize the necessity for the provision of to carry on the work of the department in the normal hours of
Prospects of Promotion.
< it desirable to call attention to the necessity for the provision of er of higher posts to which persons recruited to lower grades tion. We feel that it is essential that persons employed in the whatever capacity, should not be in a worse position than others ied to other departments of the public service, and that full use the arrangements suggested in paragraphs 45 and 51 of the Joint ection of officers for administrative work.
Training.
not yet in a position to make recommendations on the future iff of the department, on which we propose to make a separate
to express our appreciation of the manner in which our Secre- ged the duties which have fallen upon them in connexion with this Report.
etary).
4ssistant Secretary).
W. H. EGGETT (Chairman).
W. H. SCOFFHAM.
ALEX, FIDDIAN.
WALTER F. WESTBROOK.
R. A. WISEMAN.
SYDNEY R. PUGHE.
F. KENNEDY,
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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