Ministry of Production and Board of Trade: Regional Boards of Industry: Files

These files of the Production Council's Industrial Capacity Committee, the Production Executive, the Ministry of Production and the Board of Trade successively relate to their responsibilities for their regional organisation.

They include papers on the constitution and functions of the Regional Boards and Advisory Committees, on the Citrine Committee, which sought to strengthen the organisation and powers of the Boards, the defence of factories against air attack or invasion, Prisoners of War Allocation Committees, organisation and functions of the Production Executive, reconversion of industry after the war and the Distribution of Industry Act 1945.

A few files continued in use or were started in the Board of Trade and Treasury.

Topics

Internment

Manufacturing

Trade and commerce

The administrative machinery of the Production Council, which was formed in May 1940, worked through the semi-autonomous Central Priority Department, which was nominally part of the Ministry of Supply.

The function of the Production Council was to plan the best use of manpower and material resources. It inherited four Committees, namely Manpower, Joint Materials and Production, Works and Building Priority, and Transport. Later two new Committees were set up by the Council, the Industrial Capacity Committee and the Sub-Committee of Principal Priority Officers.

The Production Council was dissolved in December 1940 and replaced in January 1941 by the Production Executive. The purpose of this Executive was to bind closely together the whole framework of production and supply. In addition it was responsible for the area organisation.

The area organisation had begun in January 1940 with the setting up of twelve Area Boards of the Ministry of Supply covering Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In August 1940 it passed under the control of the Production Council's Industrial Capacity Committee, which strengthened them. In 1941 they were renamed the Production Executive's Regional Boards.

A Minister of Production was appointed on February 1942. Among his duties were those hitherto discharged by the Production Executive. These included responsibility for the Regional Boards and allocation of industrial capacity. During May and June 1942 the regional organisation was reformed. On 13 July 1942 a Ministry of Production was established and the area boards subsequently came under the chairmanship of the Regional Controllers of that Ministry.

This was the position throughout the remaining war years. On the cessation of hostilities in 1945 the Government merged the Ministry of Production with the Board of Trade. On 20 October 1970 the Department of Trade and Industry absorbed the duties of the Board of Trade and responsibility for the regions is now carried out by the Regional Industrial Development Division.