HC Deb 21 May 1942 vol 380 cc366-7
69. Mr. Bossom

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Buildings approximately how many of the 13,510 members of staff of his Ministry, performing duties of a technical nature, are below the call-up age limit; and whether he will release these to join the Forces and replace them by experienced technicians above Service age?

The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Buildings (Mr. Hicks)

There are approximately 800 of the professional and technical staff who were below the age of reservation when they registered for military service; of this number 126 are to be released, 48 are medically unfit for service, 130 are still under consideration for release and application for deferment of call-up has been made for the remainder, approximately 500. Efforts have been and will continue to be made to obtain suitable substitutes for this number, which includes architectural staff, engineers and estate agents.

Mr. Bossom

In view of the great difficulty from which middle-aged architects and engineers are suffering at the present time, could the Parliamentary Secretary state whether it is the policy of his Ministry to do the same with experienced and established architects and drive them out of business in the same way as the medium-sized experienced builders have been driven out of business?