asked the Minister of Labour whether the contacts which his Department has with nationalised industries has enabled him to discover the number of railwaymen who have been rendered redundant by the cuts in railway services.

I understand that no railwaymen have been rendered redundant by the recent cuts in railway services.

If thousands of trains are taken off and the same number of men are kept in full employment, does not it make a mockery of the policy of full employment and show that men are being kept on to do nothing?

So far the Railway Executive have found it possible to absorb traffic staff displaced as a result of cuts in the passenger train services by transferring them to other work to relieve a staff shortage.

But what are they doing?

Is not my hon. Friend aware that there is a considerable sick list on British Railways at the present time, and that it has been rather fortunate that there was this surplus of men available to be absorbed in this particular manner?

Will the hon. Gentleman look into the reason for the dismissal of a large number of men from the Lancing railway works? I have been unable to get a reply from Lord Hurcomb. Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary can give me a reply.

That is another question.