asked the Minister of Labour what is the Government policy towards youths who, having just finished secondary education, aged approximately 17, responded to the national call by joining the Territorial Army in 1939 and were embodied before they could begin their apprenticeship; and whether he will include these men, under the scheme of interrupted apprenticeship already in force for those who had completed even one week's apprenticeship.

One of the basic principles of the Scheme for Interrupted Apprenticeships is that the young man concerned had commenced a period of training and that this was broken by his call-up for war service. Different considerations arise in the case of the young men to whom the hon. and gallant Member refers and such cases can be considered more appropriately under either the Further Education and Training Scheme or the Vocational Training Scheme according to the standard of education reached and the kind of training required.