asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation what is the number of industrial and non-industrial civil servants in his Department at the most recent convenient date; and what is the establishment up to which recruitment is intended at the present time.

The number of industrial and non-industrial civil servants in the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1st November, 1947, was as follows:

—		Industrial.	Non-Industrial.	Total.
Headquarters	…	Nil	1,655	1,655
Outstations	…	1,921	3,747	5,668
Total	…	1,921	5,402	7,323

The comparable establishment at the same date, up to which recruitment is intended at the present time, was as follows:

—		Industrial.	Non-Industrial.	Total.
Headquarters	…	Nil	1,837	1,837
Outstations	…	2,244	4,609	6,853
Total	…	2,244	6,446	8,690

The numbers of industrial and non-industrial vacancies as at 1st November, 1947, were therefore 323 and 1,044 respectively.