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part of the exceptionally, heavy work he is now obliged to perform. In the proposals made in the scheme presented by the Council in 1917 this relief was provided for by the appointment, not necessarily from the existing staff, of controllers for each of the three chief Departments of the Institute, involving an expenditure of £1,800-£2,400 a year. If now the operations of the Institute are to be restricted to their present lines the Committee are of opinion that it is essential that the Director should be able to delegate to an Assistant Director some share of his present onerous duties which have increased with the development of the operations of the Institute under the Act of 1916.
The Council desire me to point out in reference to the details of the Estimates appended to the Report of their Committee that these are to be regarded as provisional. Later on some adjustments in salaries, titles, and personnel will be needed, without however affecting the total expenditure which the Council ask that they should be placed in a position to meet.
:
The Right Hon.
Viscount Milner, G.C.B., G.C.M.G.,
Secretary of State for the Colonies.
I have, &c.,
ISLINGTON.
Chairman of the Executive Council.
REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.
The Committee have carefully considered the recommendations of the Hewins Committee in relation to, the preparation of Estimates for the ensuing year. They have also considered memoranda (attached) submitted by the Chairman of Council and by the Director.
In the current year the Estimates show a large deficit, which, as in the case of former deficits, is to be met from the savings of earlier years which form the Deposit Account. As a temporary expedient this course is justifiable, but, apart from the limited capacity of the surplus fund, the continuance of this method of meeting part of the necessary annual expenditure of the Institute is to be strongly deprecated on general grounds.
Apart from this consideration, the Committee have arrived at the conclusion that it will not be possible to carry on effectively the present operations of the Institute with no other improvement than an increase in the salaries of the present members of the staff, as suggested- in the Hewins Report.
As is shown in the attached memorandum by the Director there is already extensive delegation of "technological" work, and the Committee are satisfied that there is no possibility of effecting any financial saving, or indeed any real economy by further delegation to other bodies of work of this character. They are quite clear that there is at present no real overlapping by the Imperial Institute in this respect, and that it is above all desirable that nothing should be done to interrupt or interfere with the integrity of the plan of operations on which the commercial success of the work of the Institute has so far depended.
The Committee having arrived at these general conclusions, appointed a Sub-Committee to examine the details fully and to prepare a draft estimate of the essential financial needs of the Institute.
The Committee observe that the increased deficiency in the Estimates for the current year is largely the result of the payments which have been made to members of the staff on active service. As it is hoped that these allowances will disappear in the coming financial year, they have not been provided for in next year's Estimates. The members of the staff on their return will, however, require to be paid at higher rates than those they received when they left for the war, so that, except by dispensing with the services of the few substitutes engaged in the junior ranks, there will be little, if any, actual saving in this respect.
It has been necessary this financial year to increase the salaries of certain members of the staff, and to grant a general bonus on nearly all salaries. Having regard to the scales of pay on which these bonuses were granted (10 per cent, on salaries above £300 and 15 per cent. on salaries below), the Committee conclude that these bonuses will have to be continued.
It has also been necessary to grant on two separate occasions bonuses to the whole of the labour staff, whose wages with these bonuses are certainly not above the current rates, and therefore these payments must also be continued.
A few additions to the junior staff were made from time to time last year which it will be necessary to retain. It is now essential that provision should be made for the increased work placed on the existing staff, especially through the appointment, in connection with the Act of 1916, of new Committees to advise as to the operations of the Institute in their respective
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spheres. Four separate Committees have been brought into existence for the Dominions, and one for India, whilst in addition there are five Technical Committees at work. Apart from the clerical duties and correspondence entailed, each of these ten Committees requires periodical reports on work in progress, which can only be prepared by or under the supervision of senior members of the staff, who must also be responsible for the preparation of the special information on the various subjects which are under discussion by these Committees and especially by the Technical Committebs. In order to provide for this Committee work to be done effectively by senior members of the staff without the strain and pressure which now exists, the Committee recommend the appointment of some additional staff to enable the current work of the Institute to be more expeditiously conducted.
In suggesting eight additions to the staff the Committee have considered only the require- ments of those Committees which are at present at work, although they are aware that it is highly desirable that certain additional Committees should be appointed.
Having reviewed the work and the staff assigned to it in each of the existing departments of the Institute, and effected such economies as seem possible, it is evident to the Committee that some assistance should be afforded to the Director in the general supervision of the operations of the Institute, which is now altogether beyond the capabilities of any one man, however great his abilities and energy may be. The Committee strongly recommend that an Assistant Director should be appointed and they have accordingly provided for this post at a salary of £750 in the draft estimates.
Passing now to the principal recommendation of the Hewins Report, that the salaries of the staff, and especially of the senior members, should be increased, the Committee are in entire agreement that this action is very necessary and in the interests of the Institute should not be delayed. At the same time, effective provision must be made, as now suggested, for the conduct of the work of the Institute, which imposes an undue strain on the staff at its present strength.
The proposals now made for increases of salaries, which have been most carefully con- sidered in detail by the Sub-Committee, will improve the position of the staff and still leave the remuneration on a modest scale.
These increases include the usual increments which are made annually to salaries and also the increases necessary in the salaries of men returned from military service.
Adjustments, in some cases involving economies, have been made in the case of certain posts consequent on resignations and promotions. Provision has been made for small increases in the general expenses of the Institute, other than salaries, which are necessitated by the higher cost of materials.
The net result is that the Committee are of opinion that additional expenditure of £8,910 is required, and they consider that this is the minimum additional sum with which the present operations of the Institute can be properly carried on.
The Committee trust that the Council will be prepared to support and put forward a request that this sum should be provided by the Treasury in addition to the present grant-in-aid.
In this connection the Committee desire to point out (i) that this sum is estimated for next year only, and that it has not been considered desirable at this stage to suggest a scale of annual increments to salaries for future years, although this provision of increments will be necessary if the conditions of service are to be satisfactory to the staff; and (ii) that this sum being chiefly for wages and salaries is the equivalent of a much smaller sum at pre-War rates. The Committee would also remark that the proposals for the re-organisation and extension of the operations of the Institute proposed by the Council in 1917 would, if they had been accepted by the Treasury, have involved at the present time a much larger expenditure than the £13,000 then estimated.
The Committee greatly regret that these proposals were not accepted, and that the Council has been asked to provide only for a continuation of the present work of the Institute much on its present footing. If, however, the necessary financial provision they now aek for is granted, they are confident that further financial support can be secured for the Institute in other directions, which would enable the Council to provide for the development and extensions which it is reasonable to look for from an active and progressive institution. It is, however, evident to the Committee that such financial assistance from other quarters, including the Dominions, will await the provision by the Home Government of the increased support now asked for in order to place the present operations of the Institute on a satisfactory footing.
The Committee are satisfied that the result which will accrue to the commerce and industry of this country alone will abundantly justify the moderate expenditure by the Treasury now suggested, and in this connection they would refer to the resolution recently passed by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and forwarded to the Prime Minister, expressing appre- ciation of the work of the Imperial Institute and suggesting its more liberal endowment by the Home Government.
The Committee append, for the information of the Council, details, under the principal heads, of the increased expenditure recommended, and a draft summary of receipts and expen- diture estimated for 1919-20.
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