3. Mr. Graham Whiteasked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider the advisability of making application for the release from internment, subject to security conditions, of distinguished engineers and scientists qualified to render national service to the common cause at the present time, in the fields covered by the Ministries of Aircraft Production and Supply?
§ Mr. BevinThe International Labour Branch of my Department already maintains close contact with the Home Office in this matter.
§ Mr. BevinNo, Sir. I have previously explained that I do not propose to interfere with the obligations and duties of the Home Office on questions of security; but there is close collaboration between us in dealing with the problem.
§ 12. Mr. Manderasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. F. G. Friedlander has been deported to and interned in Canada, as Mr. Friedlander was educated at an English public school, was a senior scholar at his college, took his B.A. degree in 1939 in mechanical sciences, has done distinguished work in mathematics, some of which is being published by the Royal Society, has just been elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; and, as there is urgent need for people with his qualifications, whether he will make arrangements for him to return to this country at the earliest possible moment?
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Herbert Morrison)A communication has already been sent to Canada saying that it has been decided to release Mr. Friedlander and asking that arrangements may be made for his return to this country at the earliest opportunity if he so desires.
§ Mr. ManderCan my right hon. Friend say whether any disciplinary action has been taken against the person or persons responsible for these extraordinary cases of people being sent overseas by mistake? Are they to be disciplined or not?
§ Mr. MorrisonNo, Sir, I cannot say. As the hon. Member will appreciate, this is a matter which is not wholly concerned with one Department.
§ 13. Mr. Manderasked the Home Secretary what arrangements are made for aliens who are released from internment on account of old age and illness and who are destitute; and in what way and through what funds they would be maintained?
§ Mr. MorrisonBefore persons are released on account of age or illness, inquiries are made as to the arrangements available for their care and treatment. As regards the maintenance of those who are destitute, the position of those who are released from internment does not differ 1122 from that of those who have not been interned. As my hon. Friend knows, there are arrangements for assisting such people made by voluntary organisations which have been assisted since the outbreak of war by Government grants.
§ 23. Mr. G. Straussasked the Home Secretary why women internees in the Isle of Man camps are allowed to receive less pocket-money than the men?
§ Mr. MorrisonIn the male camps internees are not allowed to be in possession of any money, but may draw on the amounts standing to their credit within certain limits, which at present vary in different camps, for the purpose of making purchases at the camp canteen. In the Rushen camp, where the women internees though confined to the district are not segregated from the local inhabitants and are free to spend money in the local shops, they are allowed only 5s. in cash a week, but, in addition, they may purchase goods approved by a responsible camp officer up to the amount available in their camp accounts. The weekly cash limit has been imposed for security reasons.
§ Mr. StraussIs it not a fact that in the Isle of Man men's camps men are allowed to draw up to 10s., whereas, in the women's camps, women are allowed to draw only up to 5s.?
§ Mr. MorrisonThe circumstances are different in the cases of men and women.