Ministerial Responsibility
45.
asked the Prime Minister whether he will appoint one Cabinet Minister to be exclusively responsible for dealing with the needs and problems of demobilisation.
I see no reason to alter the present system by which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour, in conjunction with the Service Ministers, is responsible for putting into effect the demobilisation scheme which has been approved by the Cabinet.
Despite the inability of the Government to appoint one Minister to deal with all demobilisation problems, would it be possible to appoint a Minister to bring pressure on all three Services to secure the release as quickly as possible of a couple of good fullbacks to stand up to the Moscow Dynamos?
Detention (Release Deferment)
53.
asked the Minister of Labour by what authority and for what reasons Servicemen are held back one group in the Class A release scheme for every two months that they have spent in detention.
As stated in the White Paper, Cmd. 6548, on which the Government's release scheme is based, the war service which counts for release purposes is whole-time service in the Armed Forces since 3rd September, 1939, which counts for Service pay. Periods of detention do not count for Service pay and, therefore, do not come within this definition. There would be no justification for making an exception to the general rule in favour of men who have undergone detention.
Was there any indication in the original scheme as explained in the House by the then Minister of Labour that there was going to be this particular discrimination?
I could not say without notice.
Will the Minister explain this point? I understand his answer to be that as periods in detention do not count for Service pay, therefore they do not count in the period for release. By what authority is it held that half the period spent in detention does count since the whole period spent in detention equally does not count in Service pay?
Perhaps I may draw a parallel. A man who comes out of the Services and goes into industry ought not to be faced with a different position from that facing those who go out of the Services and go into prison.
The question I put to my right hon. Friend wag this: Why docs he count half the time spent in detention towards the period calculated for Class A release if the reason for not counting the first half is that it does not count for Service pay?
If my hon. Friend will put that question on the Paper, I will try to answer it.
54.
asked the Minister of Labour on what grounds the decision was made to hold back men for release in Class A by one point for every two months spent in detention; and, in particular, if consideration was given to the fact that this, in effect, constitutes a double punishment for the one offence and penalises not only the man but his wife and family.
With regard to the first part of the Question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today on a similar Question to the hon. Member for Maldon (Mr. Driberg). As regards the second part, no question of punishment is involved. Interruptions of paid service from other causes, for example periods of leave without pay, do not count towards release from the Forces, and it would be wrong to give specially favourable treatment to men whose paid service is broken by a period of detention.
In view of the extremely illogical and inhumane nature of this discrimination, I beg to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Adjournment, if ever I am lucky in the ballot.
Students
56.
asked the Minister of Labour if, in view of the shortage of teachers, he will include under Class B releases art students who had put in over two years as students at a university with a view to entering the teaching profession.
Part-trained teachers whose training can be completed in not more than one year may be released in Class B. If any student preparing for a qualification as a. teacher of art recognised by the Ministry of Education has had his course of training interrupted by his war service and could complete his training within a year, he should communicate with the college authorities so that the question of his release may be considered.
Does this apply to architectural students as well as to art students?
I thought art was part of architecture.
Can my right hon. Friend say when we are going to get the booklet on demobilisation so that we may know the answers to these things?
I expect it will be in the Vote Office tomorrow.