asked the Secretary of State for War what period of home leave is now granted to men drafted from one overseas Command to another.

:None, Sir, as a general rule. Embarkation leave is granted before departure from the United Kingdom for an overseas tour, during which the men are liable to be moved from one Command to another to meet changing requirements. Arrangements have been made, where time and movement facilities permit, to send men via the United Kingdom and to give them leave when they are moved, but this cannot always be done.

Will my right hon. Friend say whether it is not now possible, the war being over, to allow this home leave in the vast majority of cases, at any rate from Western Europe, when a man is posted, say, to the Far East?

The hon. Member knows that men going from the B.A.O.R. to the Far East are at present given leave, and when they are going from the C.M.F. to the Middle East it sometimes happens that their leave is advanced. They are given leave, but in view of the urgent circumstances, this cannot always be guaranteed.