§ 42. Mr. G. W. H. JONESasked the Prime Minister whether, in the twelve special trades for which local technical advisory committees have been appointed under the Ministry of Labour scheme for training disabled sailors and soldiers, upwards of 400,000 persons were employed before the War within the London area; whether for the same area only about 3,500 disabled sailors and soldiers are allowed to be trained per annum for such trades under the scheme'; whether the smallness of this number is due to restrictions imposed by the local technical advisory committees; whether he will inform the House of the nature of such restrictions in the several trades and to what influences they are due; whether over 5,000 disabled sailors and soldiers within the said area are waiting for training in these trades under the scheme; and what steps he proposes to take to remove these restrictions as to number so as to enable these men to enjoy the advantage of training under the said scheme.
§ Lieut.-Colonel GILMOURI have been asked to reply to this question. The number of special trades for which local technical advisory committees have been set up in London is 17, and, according to the 1911 census, the number of persons employed in these trades within the London area was about 318,000. Such restrictions as exist in the London area and elsewhere are often necessary in the interests of the men themselves to prevent the overcrowding of any particular trade and the training of men in trades for which they are not suitable, with consequent unemployment. The number of ex-service men applying for training in the special trades in London appears to be about 3,000. Should it appear that any local technical advisory committee is unreasonably restricting the number of men for training, the Department would take the question up with the Committee and with the national advisory committee for the trade in question.