§ 79. Lieut.-Colonel Sir Assheton Pownallasked the Minister of Health why he has refused a grant in lieu of outdoor uniform to nursing auxiliaries of the Civil Nursing Reserve, recruited through the British Red Cross Society and the Saint John Ambulance Brigade, this decision being inconsistent with the original policy which gave such members a grant towards their indoor uniform?
Mr. M. MacDonaldI presume that my hon. and gallant Friend refers to those 666 nursing auxiliaries in the Civil Nursing Reserve who elect also to be members of the British Red Cross Society or the Order of St. John. In the latter capacity they are entitled to wear the normal outdoor uniform of the Society or the Order. Employed members of the Civil Nursing Reserve who do not join the Society or the Order, are eligible for free outdoor uniform which remains the property of the Government and must be returned when the member ceases employment in the Reserve. I have not felt able to justify the issue of a cash grant in lieu of this uniform to those members of the Reserve who are able through membership of the Society or the Order to purchase a uniform which becomes their own property. But I should be prepared to consider the possibility of enabling such members to secure the outdoor uniform of the Civil Nursing Reserve on exactly the same terms as any other member of the Reserve, if that course was acceptable to the Society and the Order.