§ 13. Sir Richard Aclandasked the Minister of Labour whether he will explain the machinery he proposes to use to overcome the present difficulties which the International Labour Branch will encounter because they cannot give an 379 internee a job until he is released, while he will not normally be released until a job has been found for him?
§ Mr. BevinThe question of release from internment is not a matter for my Department but for the Home Office, and under present arrangements the International Labour Branch of my Department is not primarily concerned with finding employment for persons who are interned. The categories at present eligible for release are set out in the recent White Paper (Cmd. 6217), though further categories may be added later.
§ Sir R. AclandWill the right hon. Gentleman consult with the Home Secretary to see whether there is some way in which an agent of this International Labour Branch might be able to go into the internment camps and discover what skill there is available among reliable men, and take that information to likely employers?
§ Mr. BevinI take the view that any interference on the part of my Department with the question of internment will nullify the whole object of the scheme that I have attempted to work out. The question of internment, and release from internment, is one of security and of judicial decision on the part of the Minister of Home Security. My task begins when he has finished his. If I go beyond that, I believe I shall upset the whole scheme.
§ Sir R. AclandWill the right hon. Gentleman state what his task is in finding work, since these men will not be released until they have found it?
§ Sir R. AclandI will raise the question when an opportunity presents itself.