§ 37. Sir J. Lucasasked the Secretary of State for Air whether those young pilots who volunteered before the war, or were accorded short service commissions for four years, are accorded any opportunity to get permanent commissions; and, if not, whether such opportunity will now be accorded in approved cases, in view of the fact that these young men have been bearing the brunt of the battle and deserve well of the nation?
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Air (Captain Harold Balfour)Post-war requirements cannot be estimated until the end of the war, and consequently the grant of permanent commissions in the Royal Air Force has been suspended except in the case of those officers who had already been provisionally selected when the war began. When selection is resumed after the war, the claims of all suitable officers will be considered.