§ 34. Mr. Edeasked the Home Secretary whether volunteer air-raid wardens and other Civil Defence personnel who lose 2080 wages through responding to an air-raid warning may be paid from public: funds for the loss of such remunerative time?
§ Sir J. AndersonIn general, part-time volunteers who are in employment arrange to give their services outside their working hours. But I recognise that some of them would wish to take up duty when an air-raid warning is given and to serve during the period of the raid; and I should hope that, as employers have an interest in seeing that the local air-raid precautions services are effective during raids, they would arrange, wherever practicable, to release volunteers on their staff for this period of public duty without deduction from wages, especially where the duty can be performed near the place where they work and the volunteers can return soon after the raid is over.
§ Mr. EdeDoes the right hon. Gentleman regard this as a charge on the employer and not on the public?
§ Sir J. AndersonYes, Sir.
§ 43. Mr. Parkerasked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the recent dismissal of three Indian air-raid precautions workers by the Paddington Borough Council, in spite of the fact that 50 air-raid precautions workers at the station signed a protest against these dismissals; and whether he will take immediate steps to see that this position is rectified and does not occur in future?
§ Sir J. AndersonThe enrolment and dismissal of individual members of the public air-raid precautions services is a matter for the local authority concerned, and not one in which I have any jurisdiction to interfere.
§ Mr. SorensenWould the right hon. Gentleman make representations to the local authority, especially in view of the desirability that no impression should go abroad that we are distinguishing between white and Indian subjects of the Empire?
§ Sir J. AndersonI do not think that it is right I should make representations in a matter in which the law gives me no authority to interfere, but I will certainly see that the question and answer are brought to the notice of the local authority concerned.
§ 50. Mr. Rhys Daviesasked the Home Secretary whether he has now received sufficient evidence to show that there are many persons in paid posts as air-raid wardens continuing their normal business, and thereby drawing two incomes at the same time; and whether he is taking steps to abolish this practice?
§ Sir J. AndersonI have examined the letters which the hon. Member was good enough to send me. Persons are not ineligible for whole-time paid service in the air-raid precautions service because they arc in receipt of an income from other sources, but they must be in a position to give whole-time service for such hours of duty as are required of them and to take the necessary training for their service. I am having inquiries made in some of the casese which the hon. Member has brought to my notice, in order to make sure that these conditions are being complied with.
§ Mr. DaviesIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that in one town the mayor, the town clerk, the surveyor and a large number of town councillors have all been given jobs and they have appointed each other to paid posts; and does he not think that the time is ripe that that scandal should be looked into?
§ Sir J. AndersonI certainly think that that matter ought to be looked into, but it was not disclosed, as far as I observed, in the letters which the hon. Gentleman sent to me.
§ Mr. DaviesWill the right hon. Gentleman be good enough to look into that case when I send him the letter relating to it, and will he take note, too, that the council is a Tory council?