§ 1. Mr. Liddallasked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware of the conditions prevailing at a remote Scottish station, of which he has been informed, that men are being worked from 8 a.m. to 9.30 p.m., with no interval for relaxation or recreation; and whether he will instruct the officer commanding the station that it is part of his duty to make provision for reasonable rest and leisure for those serving under his command?
§ The Secretary of State for Air (Sir Archibald Sinclair)I have made inquiries, and I find that the complaints which my hon. Friend has received are exaggerated. There is still much work to be done to complete the camp, and for this reason certain men in the works flight are at present required to work longer hours than usual in order that full advantage may be taken of the fine weather and long evenings. No man, however, works longer than 60 hours a week. The remote situation of the station necessarily causes inconveniences which cannot be wholly obviated, but as far as practicable they are being minimised by the provision of entertainments and other amenities.
§ Mr. LiddallIs the right hon. Baronet aware that the hours at the station have in many cases been reduced in the past few days by four hours per night? Is that because this Question has been tabled?
§ Sir A. SinclairI feel sure that that cannot be so. I do not know whether the hours have been reduced in the last few days. My information relates only to the time before the Question was put down. It is possible that the hours are being reduced, because the work on this station has now progressed a fairly long way.