§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKE(by Private Notice) asked the right hon. Member for Barnard Castle (Mr. A. Henderson), as representing the Department of National Service, whether the Director has said that he is calling for 500,000 volunteers, and whether this figure may be accepted by hon. Members and others who are taking part in the National Service campaign as an accurate statement of the demand for labour which the Department has been created to meet?
§ Mr. BECK (Vice-Chamberlain of the Household)My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. The 500,000 in question was a round figure which the Director gave as being sufficient to meet needs which he knew to exist at that moment. It was not intended to represent the limits of our needs, and if the prospective demands for labour which have been reported materialise, there is no doubt that the figure will have to be very considerably extended.
§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the mention of any figure must necessarily be misleading, as more than half the men who are asked to volunteer are actually engaged in the National Service: and will he ask the right hon. Member for Barnard Castle to refrain from mentioning any figure whatsoever in future?