asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the Bournemouth Town Council has agreed to the appointment of Mr. Rudolph Schwarz, an Austrian, to be Director of Music to the corporation; that several British musicians of the highest qualifications were among the applicants for the post; and whether, in view of the desirability of encouraging native talent, particularly as few opportunities occur for permanent appointments as conductors in this country, he will ask the Bournemouth authorities to reconsider the appointment.

I am aware of the proposed appointment. The position is that an application for permission for Mr. Rudolf Schwarz to stay in this country in order to take up the appointment has just been received and is now under consideration. No decision has yet been reached.

Is the Minister aware of the very grave anxiety among musicians of all classes at this appointment of a foreign musician when there were 72 British applicants for this post, some with the highest musical qualifications and recommended by some of the greatest composers in this country? Is he also aware that in the case of the Scottish Orchestra, Covent Garden, and the B.B.C. Theatre Orchestra, permanent appointments have recently been given to foreigners, to the detriment of British conductors? How on earth are we to train conductors to fill responsible positions when these permanent positions are given to foreigners?

Is it not time we took a broader view? Will the right hon. Gentleman congratulate the Bournemouth Town Council on appointing this man, especially if he happens to be the best man? Is he aware that I know of two British conductors who have recently been appointed to very high positions in this country?

All I can tell the House is that these factors will be kept in mind.

Would it not be best for the Minister to leave this alone and to leave the whole thing to the good sense and taste of the British musical world?

Is the Minister aware that, according to a statement made by the chairman of the committee which made this appointment, one reason why they appointed a foreigner was that no British applicant applied?

Can we have an assurance that the Minister of Labour and his colleagues do not favour the application of a closed shop against Mendelssohn, Bach and Beethoven?

asked the Minister of Labour what is the total number of his Department's hostels; how many of these have recently been transferred from the Ministry of Supply and how many further hostels still under the Ministry of Supply are intended to be transferred; how many of them show an annual surplus over their operating costs; and what is the cost to the public over a period of 12 months, up to the last convenient date, representing the total deficit on operation of all these hostels for which he is responsible.

Hostels to house transferred industrial workers are administered on my behalf by the National Service Hostels Corporation, local authorities and voluntary agencies. At the end of March, 1947, the total number of such hostels was 106, of which 63 were under the control of the corporation. Fifteen were recently transferred from the Ministry of Supply and one other is to be transferred in a few months. None of these shows an annual surplus over operating costs. Grants totalling £1,371,000 were made to the corporation during the year ended 31st March, 1947, to meet the deficits on the costs, including capital charges and maintenance services, of the hostels under their control. In addition, grants totalling about £15,000 were made during 1945–47 to the various local authorities and voluntary agencies to meet the deficits on the running costs of small hostels managed by them on my behalf. Expenditure on premises and equipment of these latter hostels is normally borne by the Ministry of Works: separate figures of such costs are not available.

Can the Minister say of the hostels recently transferred which have doubled and trebled their administrative staffs, what facilities are granted to the administrative staff to know whether they are operating successfully or not, and what incentives are given to the management to increase the efficiency of the hostels under their control?

I think that is very wide of the original Question. If the hon. Gentleman will give me particulars of these hostels which have doubled and trebled their administrative staffs, I will look into it.

In view of the fact that there is a loss of something like £1 million, does the Minister think that this is a very satisfactory augury for State management in other Departments?

There may be a monetary loss—

There is.

—but these people would be in a far worse situation where there were no houses for them if these hostels on which they relied did not exist. This is to meet the present situation.

Would the Minister point out that the National Hostels Corporation is expected to run at a loss as a deliberate policy and that it is not a case of unskilled administration as has been suggested?

That is correct. It gives me the opportunity which I welcome of saying how much I appreciate the voluntary services of the members of this corporation who are placing their great skill and knowledge at our disposal.

Losing money.

asked the Minister of Labour why his Department is dismissing employees owing to redundancy and failure to pass a written examination after 20 years' satisfactory service.

Staff are naturally not retained in my Department in excess of the requirements of the work, and the appointments of temporary officers who become redundant are terminated in accordance with the provisions of an agreement on order of discharge made by the Departmental Whitley Council. The agreement provides in general for the retention of officers with long service in preference to those with shorter service.

Is it not a fact that one of these officers who served for more than 20 years was dismissed because more civil servants were being recruited to the so-called permanent grades, and will the Minister give an assurance that officers with this length of service will not continue to be displaced because of new recruitments?

I am afraid that the hon. Member has been misinformed as to the facts—

This is in a letter I have received—

The hon. Gentleman has had a letter about this case. This man left our employment and then came back, and when a man comes back his service dates from the time when he returned and not from the time when he was previously with us.

asked the Minister of Labour to what extent persons suffering from tuberculosis are being debarred from benefiting from the provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, 1944, on account of the nature of their disability and the necessity of undergoing a medical examination as a condition of participating in superannuation schemes of the industries concerned.

Sufferers from tuberculosis are not debarred from benefiting from the provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a not unnatural reluctance on the part of employers to admit people suffering from T.B. to jobs that are reserved for disabled persons, and can he look into this to see that T.B. sufferers are given the same treatment as is accorded to other disabled persons?

They are, in fact, given that treatment. Obviously there are some kinds of occupation in enclosed premises or where the workers work in close proximity to each other where it is not wise to have this class of person, but there are many other occupations where they can be, and are, so employed. I have no real complaint against employers for making an unreasonable distinction.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the action of Messrs. Adrema, Limited, East Acton, in dismissing five employees for distributing leaflets adjacent to the exhibition of the firm's goods at the British Industries Fair, drawing attention to the existence of a trade dispute at the firm's factory; and whether he has yet been asked to intervene in the strike which has consequently arisen.

I am aware of this incident. There is adequate negotiating machinery in the engineering industry to deal with such matters.

Is the Minister aware that this dispute originated with the interference of the Engineering and Allied Employers' Federation, which appears to have insisted that three men should not be reinstated at the end of the fuel and power crisis, and in view of the strike-fomenting activities of this association, is there anything that can be done to avoid incidents of this character arising as a consequence?

My hon. Friend refers to interference by some outside organisation. I would like to impress on the House very sincerely that interference by Members of Parliament against the action of trade unions encourages unofficial strikes and does not help to stop them.

Is the Minister bearing in mind that the underlying cause of this strike is apparently the design of the firm to victimise certain employees—using the fuel crisis as a basis—by refusing to reemploy them?

Should that be so, then those men have a proper line of approach, and should take the matter before their trade union. Ignoring and side-stepping their unions and getting the matter raised on the Floor of the House does not help, but injures their case.