§ 2. Mr. Liddallasked the Minister of Labour the personnel of the committee dealing with deferments now functioning under Lord Lytton; its functions; the date of its establishment; and how many sittings it has had to date?
§ Mr. BevinWith my hon. Friend's permission I will circulate a list of the members of this Committee in the OFFICIAL REPORT. The functions of the Committee are to advise my Department on applications for the deferment of men and women subject to the National Service Acts who are employed in the commercial theatre. The Committee was set up on 5th March, 1942, and has held 32 meetings.
§ Following is a list of members of the Committee:
- The Rt. Hon. the Earl of Lytton, K.G., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., Chairman.
- Percival M. Selby, Esq., Vice-Chairman, Theatrical Managers' Association.
- J. Christie, Esq., Provincial Entertainments Proprietors' and Managers' Association.
- F. Dambman, Esq., The Musicians' Union.
- Nat. Day, Esq., Association of Touring and Producing Managers.
- Harry Foster, Esq., Agents' Association.
- R. H. Gillespie, Esq., Entertainments Protection Association.
- Will Hay, Esq., Variety Artists' Federation.
- S. E. Linnit, Esq., Society of West End Managers' and Theatrical Managers' Association.
- Capt. J. R. Pickering, Association of Circus Proprietors of Great Britain.
- Llewellyn Rees, Esq., British Actors' Equity Association.
- Percy Rowland, Esq., Theatres War Service Council.
- Firth Shephard, Esq., Society of West End Managers.
- H. R. Wright, Esq., National Association of Theatrical Employees.
- Horace Collins, Esq., Secretary, Society of West End Theatre Managers.
§ 3. Mr. Liddallasked the Minister of Labour the date of constitution and functions of the May Committee dealing with deferment of service; the number of sittings of this Committee; the date of its last sitting; and the number of deferments it has recommended, male and female, respectively.
§ Mr. BevinThe May Committee was set up in June, 1941, to advise my Department on applications for the deferment of men subject to the National Service Acts working for E.N.S.A. or C.E.M.A., and its terms of reference were subsequently widened to cover female artistes subject to the National Service Acts. There have been 30 meetings of the Committee, the last of which was held on 27th October, 1943. The number of men and women at present on deferment upon the recommendation of the Committee is 507 and 548 respectively.
§ 4. Mr. Liddallasked the Minister of Labour the number of male and female persons, respectively, under the age of 38 who have been given deferment to work for E.N.S.A. and of these the respective numbers whose work for E.N.S.A. is not full time; and what steps he is taking to secure replacements of these in clerical and administrative positions by persons of a higher age or discharged from military service.
§ Mr. BevinDeferment of calling up has been granted for 178 men below the age of 38; 548 female artistes, born between the years 1918 and 1924 inclusive, are retained for work with E.N.S.A. All of 1270 these men and women are working full time for E.N.S.A. In addition, there is a number, not readily ascertainable, of older female artistes and of female administrative and clerical staff of all ages retained for work with E.N.S.A. The possibility of finding substitutes for persons employed in an administrative or clerical capacity is kept under review but is at present limited by the demands for additional staff to meet the expansion of entertainment for members of the Services at home and abroad and for workers in industry.