HC Deb 19 October 1944 vol 403 cc2517-8
22. Sir Herbert Williams

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that no action has been taken by the Finsbury Borough Council as a sequel to the Home Office Circular No. 73 of 1944; that four members of the emergency committee are employed in Civil Defence duties; and what action he proposes to take in this matter.

Mr. H. Morrison

According to my latest information, two members of the Finsbury Emergency Committee hold appointments as an unpaid deputy controller and an unpaid chief warden respectively, two members of the Committee are unpaid wardens and one councillor is a paid staff officer in the warden service. So far as Circular 73 is concerned, only the appointments as deputy controller, chief warden and as paid staff officer are open to question. So long as the heavy flying bomb attacks continued I thought it right to leave this question in abeyance, but now that the severity of these attacks is greatly diminished and since large cuts in the London Civil Defence Services are about to be made, I propose to ask the local authority to give renewed consideration to this matter.

Sir H. Williams

Will the right hon. Gentleman apply a little more pressure to this, the strangest of all local authorities?

Mr. Morrison

I am well informed about local government in Finsbury. I will see what I can do.

Mr. Godfrey Nicholson

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that civil defence in Finsbury is extraordinarily efficient?

Mr. Lipson

Is the right hon. Gentleman proposing to take similar action in the case of other officers?

Mr. Speaker

That is another question.