§ 6. Mr. Butcherasked the Minister of Labour if it is still the policy of his Department to withdraw skilled farmworkers from agriculture for work in the mines.
§ Mr. BevinIt is not, in general, my policy to withdraw men from the main agricultural occupations. Young men who, on registration under the National Service Acts, fail to obtain deferment because they are not key workers, become available for calling up. Such men, if selected in the coalmining ballot, are directed to coalmining instead of being posted to the Forces. Men who volunteer for coalmining are accepted if it is decided that they can be spared from agriculture.
§ Mr. ButcherWhile thanking my tight hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask him to bear in mind the great difficulty there is in gathering the potato and sugar-beet harvests, and to postpone this calling up until the early spring?