§ 16. Mr. Lindsayasked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of the fact that pre-service training units recruit at different ages and cover much common ground between the ages of 14 and 16, he will take the initiative in 346 giving central guidance, in order to preserve the balance of continued education, technical instruction and pre-service training?
§ The President of the Board of Education (Mr. Butler)In the advice given to local education authorities in Circular 1577 particular attention was drawn in paragraph 14 to the needs of the age group 14–16 to which my hon. Friend refers. I am keeping this question under review.
§ Mr. LindsayIs it the policy of the Government to have pre-service training for the whole of those between 14 and 18 years of age, because at the present time, as he knows, there are some half million young people in those units and there is a shortage of places and would it not be better to concentrate on the years 16 to 18?
§ Mr. ButlerThe age differs according to the unit into which the boy or girl goes. As my hon. Friend knows, in the case of the cadets the age is slightly younger than in the case of the A.T.C.