§ 40. Mr. PETOasked the Minister of National Service whether, in every region where a committee has been set up, on which members from the Co-operative Congress sit, to consider the exemption from military service of the general secretaries, managing secretaries, departmental managers, buyers, and managers of branch stores of the co-operative societies, a similar committee will be set up on which private retail traders shall sit to consider the analogous case of private retail traders and their employés whether, if they recommend the retention of private traders or their employés, they will be granted protection certificates as in the case of the employés of co-operative societies under Instruction No. 123; and, if not, if he will at once withdraw these special privileges granted to co-operative societies?
§ The MINISTER of NATIONAL SERVICE (Sir A. Geddes)My hon. Friend appears to be under some misapprehension. There is nothing new in the policy of issuing protection certificates to men deemed to be indispensable for the retail distribution of food. On the recommendation of local food committees, through the Ministry of Food, a considerable number of private traders and their employés already hold such certificates. As I informed my hon. Friends the Members for Merthyr Tydvil and Tower Hamlets on the 24th instant, I would welcome the organisation of private traders by regions so that their cases could be dealt with in a similarly simple way to that in which we are dealing with co-operative retail food distributors.
§ 42. Mr. TICKLERasked the Minister of National Service if he is aware of the dissatisfaction created amongst retail grocers and owners of one-man businesses at the notice issued by his Department to tribunals, that joint committees of co-operative societies and representatives of the Ministry of National Service are to be set up as advisory committees to con- 20 sider the cases of exemption from military service of certain classes of co-operative employés engaged in retail food distribution; and will he order that similar powers be granted to representatives of the Retail Grocers' Association and owners of one-man businesses?
§ Sir A. GEDDESI am aware that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about the committees established to advise the Ministry of National Service in connection with the recruitment of men engaged in retail food distribution. These committees have no power either to consider questions of personal hardship or to grant exemption. Their sole function is to give such advice as will enable the Department to co-operate with the Ministry of Food. At present we have to deal with the cases of private traders through advisory committees of chambers of commerce, local food committees, advisory committees to National Service Representatives and tribunals. If the hon. Member can suggest a less complicated system which will command the confidence of all private food traders, no one will be more grateful than I.