HC Deb 30 July 1942 vol 382 c662
2. Mr. Rhys Davies

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will give figures showing the results to 30th June of appeals made to conscientious objectors' tribunals under Section 5 of the National Service (Armed Forces) Act, 1941, by men imprisoned for failing to submit to medical examination; why three divisions of the Appellate Tribunal have each granted recognition to less than half the appellants while the other three divisions have each recognised three-quarters or more; and whether this indicates a geographical distribution of conscientious objection or the need for greater uniformity in dealing with the men concerned?

Mr. Bevin

As the statement giving the statistics desired consists of a Table of figures I will circulate it, if I may, in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

The Appellate Tribunal is an independent judicial, authority, and I am not prepared to speculate as to the reasons for the different proportions of appeals allowed.

Following is the statement:

Applications under Section 5 of the N.S. (No. 2) Act, 1941.
Division of the Appellate Tribunal. No. of applications heard up to 30 June, 1942. Previous order varied by the Appellate Tribunal.
Southern England No. 1. 151 127
Southern England No. 2. 175 86
Southern England No. 3. 119 93
Northern England 123 59
Wales 8 6
Scotland 96 43
672 414