Ministry of Food: Establishment Department

MAF 127

1934-1957

This series includes the usual records of establishment business, as well as files on the setting up, staffing and organisation of both the Food (Defence Plans) Department of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Food, and on liaison the two during transfer of functions. Also contained are reports, stock records, exhibits, statistics etc. of the main divisions of the department, papers of the Oxford Establishment, files on organisation and methods, telecommunications, schedules, programmes and schemes for the distribution and control of food. Some files relate to the merging of the Ministry of Food with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Contains some files re-registered from the OM file series: MAF 331

OE file series

Public Record(s)

English

• Board of Trade, Food (Defence Plans) Department, 1937-1939
• Ministry of Food, Establishment Department, 1947-1955

338 files and volumes

Topics

Trade and commerce

Food and drink

Fishing

Communications

Farming

The Establishment Department under the Director of Establishments was concerned with the structure and organisation of the Ministry of Food and with the methods used in carrying out the ministry's work. It was also responsible for the provision and maintenance of an adequate staff. The organisation of the department varied during the years of its existence, but generally consisted of four or five divisions each handling certain aspects of the work under the following main headings of: conditions of service; personnel and complement; divisional and local organisation; organisation and methods and office control and common services. There was also a small secretariat which acted as a focal point and provided a secretarial service for committees of general interest to the department.

During the Second World War, an Establishment Section was set up at Oxford to service the Potato and Carrot (Finance) Division. This was an outpost of the Establishment Department, and was organised on the same functional basis as the headquarters to which it reported.