I beg to move that the Bill be read a Second Time. The Bill proposes to effect temporary economies in local administration by the reduction of salaries of local officers on the same lines as the economies effected in the public services under the Public Services (Temporary Economies) Act, 1933, but its provisions will operate from the 1st January, 1934, to the 31st December, 1934, instead of in the current local financial year ending on the 31st March next. The Bill is introduced in response to demands for economies in the local services voiced by several local bodies. The necessity for the Bill also arises on account of the provisions of Section 11 of the Public Services (Temporary Economies) Act, 1933, which lays it down that deductions shall be made from grants payable to local bodies in the year 1933-34, such deductions to be proportionate to the extent to which monies paid by way of grant are ordinarily applied towards the payment of salaries. There is a further provision that no such deductions shall be made from local government grants where the local body itself makes deductions from salaries to the satisfaction of the Minister. The "minimum" deductions set out in the Bill are proposed as the deductions which shall be made to meet the requirements of the Act of 1933, and owing to the change in the period of operation of the Bill from that originally contemplated some slight amendments are made in the wording of Section 11 (2) of the Act of 1933.
A large proportion of the expenditure on local government services and on vocational education and agricultural instruction is met out of Government Funds and the present Bill in effecting reductions in local salaries will secure some economies to the State in connection with the recoupment from Central Funds of the cost of certain local salaries. The terms of appointment and the conditions of service of local officials vary considerably and while the provisions of the Bill define the expression "Officer" as meaning any person in the employment of a local authority, the Bill contains different provisions to meet the cases of different classes of officers having due regard to the nature of the remuneration and tenure of offices peculiar to such classes. Local officers to whom the provisions of the Bill will apply might be classified as:—
(a) Whole-time officers occupying pensionable positions.
(b) Part-time officers occupying pensionable posts such as dispensary doctors.
(c) Permanent part-time officers holding non-pensionable posts.
(d) Officers employed in a temporary capacity for considerable limited periods.
(e) Persons employed to discharge occasional services.
The salaries payable to local officers may be classified under the following headings:—
(1) Scale salaries with cost-of-living bonus varying half-yearly in accordance with variations in the cost of living.
(2) Inclusive fixed salaries in many cases determined a number of years ago when the cost of living was much higher than at present and fixed at the time with due regard to the then cost of living. Such salaries may sometimes include a temporary allowance generally regarded as a bonus, but not varying and, as a rule, much less than a bonus calculated with reference to increase in cost of living. As such allowances are not subject to variation, they will be regarded under the Bill as part of the fixed salaries.
(3) In some cases officers, with either salaries carrying cost-of-living bonus or inclusive salaries also enjoy other allowances or benefits given otherwise than in money.
It is, therefore, proposed to fix two scales of reductions in salary, one for officers with salary carrying bonus which has varied regularly in accordance with the cost of living, and another for officers on inclusive salaries. In the case of officers with salaries and bonus varying in accordance with the cost of living, the scale of reduction will be the same as that applicable to civil servants under the Public Services (Temporary Economies) Act, 1933. For local officers with inclusive salaries, the reductions will be on the scale laid down in Part II of the Schedule to the Bill. In these cases the amount of salary exempted from special reductions will be fixed at a lower figure than that fixed for officers whose emoluments have varied with the fall in the cost-of-living bonus, so as to secure a reduction that would correspond approximately with the reductions in salary caused by the fall in bonus, and by the special reduction in emoluments proposed in Part I of the Schedule.
Special provision is made to meet the cases of officers with remuneration made up partly of a salary carrying a variable bonus or allowance, and partly of a fixed salary. In such cases that part of the remuneration which is variable, together with the salary upon which the variable amount is calculated, is subject to the lower rate of reduction set out in Part I of the Schedule, while the fixed portion of the salary which has hitherto suffered no reduction will be subject to the higher rate of reduction provided for in Part II of the Schedule. In the case of persons employed to discharge occasional services, such as engineers or architects employed for particular works, the scale of reduction is fixed at 5 per cent. Fees received by a local officer from whatever source are to be reckoned as salary, and for this purpose each local officer will be required to submit an estimate showing his total emoluments from all public sources, and where such emoluments consist partly of fees, an estimate of the probable amount of such fees or other remuneration received during the financial year. Where emoluments are payable by two or more local bodies the total ascertained deduction will be shared in proportion to amounts payable by each body. Any cases of dispute will be determined by the appropriate Minister, whose decision will be final and binding.
In the case of dispensary doctors, a special provision is included in the Bill to the effect that £50 of their annual salary shall not be taken into account in the calculation of the deductions. The scales of deductions which I have now reviewed are set out in the Bill as the minimum deductions required to be made in the present year, but the Bill gives further power to the local authorities to make such deductions additional to the minimum deductions as they may in each case think proper, provided that any additional deduction so made shall be subject to the sanction of the Minister.
