§ SIR BARRINGTON SIMEON (Southampton)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, when the presence of men engaged in the Ordnance Survey Offices, who are members of the Volunteer Forces, is annually required in camp in order to promote efficiency, leave of absence is granted to them with the stipulation that they must make up the time lost; and, if so, whether, should the camp last for a fortnight as is probable this year, these employees will be necessarily engaged at work for an additional two hours per day for forty-four days to make up the lost time; and whether steps may be taken at once to place these men on the same footing as those employed by private individuals, who almost without exception grant the necessary leave of absence without deduction of pay.
§ *THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (MR. LONG, Liverpool,) West DerbyThe practice of the Ordnance Survey is substantially as stated by my hon. friend. The question whether Volunteers employed in the Government service on weekly wages should receive their civil pay when in camp or otherwise engaged on Volunteer duty is one which obviously should not be settled by reference to any particular Department alone, and I propose to bring the matter under the notice of my right hon. friend, with a 1310 view to ascertain what is the practice elsewhere and what are the wishes of the Treasury respecting it. My hon. friend will understand that whenever civil assistants desire to devote their ordinary leave of absence to Volunteer work, every facility is given to enable them to do so.