Vol. 404 No. 5
54 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will make a statement on comments made by the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade in his report for 1989, when the Director stated that he would like to see a regional office re-established with a certain minimum level of staffing in each office, but that he was unable to provide such a service because the financial allocations were insufficient.
The deployment of staff resources within the office of the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade is the responsibility of the Director who is independent in the performance of his functions. I understand that the Director has no plans at present to establish regional offices.
As regards finances, I am at present considering allocations for this year for my Department, including the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade. There was a substantial increase in the staff of the Director's Office during 1990.
55 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will make a statement on the comment of the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade that it was regretted that he did not have enough resources for the important tasks assigned to his office; that over the 11 years in his position as a director he had no part to play in choosing staff for his office and that all the staff of the office were chosen and assigned by the Department of Industry and Commerce; that it was not possible to recruit even a few staff members with special and professional experience from outside the ranks of the Department and that he has been making these points since he took office in 1979 but had not received a reply.
I am aware of those comments made by the former director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade in his annual report for 1989, to which the Deputy refers.
My Department, in common with others, have had to adapt to the Government's continuing requirement to control public service numbers and pay costs. The Director's office has fared, in terms of resources, better than any other part of my Department; during the course of 1990 the staff complement in his office was increased from 23 to 30, an increase of some 30 per cent over the level referred to in his 1989 report.
Regarding financial resources, the travel allocation sought by the Director's office for 1990 was granted in full and indeed augmented by 10.5 per cent, which represents in total an increase of 43 per cent on the 1989 allocation.
These increases in staff numbers and financial resources reflect the importance which I attach to the office of the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade.
The staff in the Director's office are all established civil servants who have been recruited by the Civil Service Commission and assigned to my Department. Quite obviously, the former director personally could have no function in such recruitment and as already stated has fared substantially better, in terms of staffing resources, than any other area of my Department. I should also point out that the Director has access, as required, to the expertise of the professional accountants serving in my Department.
