HC Deb 05 November 1946 vol 428 cc1201-6
36. Sir Ralph Glyn

asked the Minister of Labour how many applications have been received from British housewives and secretaries of institutions asking that Austrians, willing to undertake domestic service, shall be examined and provided with exit permits from Austria so as to take up positions in the United Kingdom; how long does the process take; and how many Austrians have reached this country as a result of this procedure.

Mr. Isaacs

The answer to the first part of the Question is 481. The average time taken to clear applications in Vienna has, hitherto, been six to eight weeks. As regards the last part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 24th October. I cannot say how many of these for whom permits have been issued have reached this country.

Sir R. Glyn

Would the right hon. Gentleman consult with the five Departments concerned in this matter in order to speed up the arrival of these people in view of the extreme shortage of labour in hospitals and other institutions, which do not know where to turn for labour because there is, apparently, no British labour available?

Mr. Isaacs

Such consultations have taken place and are continuing. We are hopeful that the period of four months which elapses from the beginning to the end of procuring permits will be considerably reduced, but there is a great deal of difficulty in the matter of transportation itself and, very often, some difficulty in getting the countries concerned to allow their nationals to leave.

Earl Winterton

Will the right hon. Gentleman consult the British Hospitals Association on this question in order that he may realise the desperate need of hospitals for this labour which his Department is deliberately holding up?

Mr. Isaacs

In regard to the first part of that supplementary question, I would inform the noble Lord that we are fully seized with the great importance of this matter. As to the second part, the noble Lord is wrong in thinking that there is any deliberate holding up of this labour.

Mr. Gallacher

May I ask the Minister to see that every precaution is taken to ensure that these Austrians will not be brought to this country and used to cut down the wages of British workers?

Mr. Isaacs

The answer is that such steps have already been taken; I have already refused applications for people to be brought in to provide service as sweated labour.

Mr. Sidney Silverman

With regard to the last part of the original Question, can my right hon. Friend say whether, in fact, anybody has arrived so far?

Mr. Isaacs

Yes, Sir. I think I have another Question on that later on and I will not answer it at the moment. I will say, however, that quite a considerable number have arrived and they have proved very suitable people for the job.

40. Mr. Janner

asked the Minister of Labour how many aliens have been permitted to enter this country during the current year to take up domestic service; and, in view of the shortage of domestic servants, what further steps are being taken by his Department to encourage the further admission of suitable aliens for this work.

Mr. Isaacs

Under official schemes of recruitment, 181 Belgian women and 300 women of Baltic origin from displaced persons camps in the British Zone in Germany have been brought to this country during 1946 for domestic work in hospitals. The recruitment of displaced persons is still proceeding. Under the individual permit system which was reintroduced during April, 5,500 permits have been issued. My Department is already taking all the steps open to it under both schemes.

Mr. Janner

Can the Minister say in respect of persons for whom permits have been granted, how many have arrived?

Mr. Isaacs

I have already told the House. The number is 181 Belgian women and 300 women of Baltic origin who have arrived. Another 5,500 permits have been issued, but how many of these persons are in process of arriving I cannot say.

Mr. Skeffington-Lodge

Would my right hon. Friend consider the formation of a pool of potential recruits overseas, with which individuals here could be put in touch, because individual inquiry does not seem to work out very satisfactorily?

Mr. Isaacs

That point has repeatedly been raised. We are making efforts first to secure the satisfaction of the urgent needs of hospitals and institutions and then, if the demand looks as if it will grow, we can turn to the question of giving such assistance as we can to individual applicants.

Mr. Godfrey Nicholson

Is it not a fact that prospective employers have to promise in advance to pay expenses and matters of that sort? What remedy have these prospective employers if the foreign domestics leave within a week or two and seek other employment or leave the country?

Mr. Isaacs

That is another question, but it is a question of importance, and if the hon. Gentleman will put it down I will look into it.

Mr. Janner

Would my right hon. Friend state the reason why such a small proportion of the number for whom permits have been granted has arrived?

Mr. Isaacs

I thought my hon. Friend was aware of some of the upset conditions on the Continent. I have no detailed information. My job is to see that we sort them out, check them and find places in which to put them when they come here, but I do not know the reasons which delay them.

44. Mr. Sparks

asked the Minister of Labour how many aliens have been admitted to this country to take up nursing and domestic duties in hospitals; whether their rates of pay and conditions of service are similar to the rest of the staff; and what are their nationalities.

Mr. Isaacs

One hundred and eighty-seven for nursing duties and 611 for domestic duties The rates of pay and conditions of service are the same as for British workers. Three hundred of the domestic workers are Baltic displaced persons, and 181 are Belgians. The nurses are mainly Dutch, Danish, Belgian and Norwegian.

Mr. S. Silverman

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in the figures which he gave in answer to this Question and to Question No. 40, no Austrians are mentioned, and are we, therefore, to draw the inference that no Austrians have yet reached this country?

Mr. Isaacs

Evidently, under this scheme none have reached this country, because they are not in my list. My hon. Friend has made the point about Austria, and I will look into it and see if there is any special difficulty in that connection.

Major Guy Lloyd

On a point of Order. Surely, unwittingly, the right hon. Gentle- man misled the House just now, because I gathered that he definitely said that a number of Austrians had come in.

47. Sir R. Glyn

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many applications have been made by Austrians in the two British Zones of Austria for permission to come to this country and engage in domestic work; and whether it is the intention of the Control Commission to use every endeavour to give assistance to such persons, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, and thus relieve the present difficulties confronting hospitals and other institutions as well as provide individuals desirous of obtaining domestic help.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. John Hynd)

The number of applications from Austrians under the approved scheme is 34. This number relates to the whole of Austria, and separate figures are not available for the British Zone. Every endeavour is being made to expedite the handling of such applications.

Sir R. Glyn

Is it not a fact that 14,000 persons of that type in Austria wish to come here? Is not the difficulty one of transportation as much as anything else, and will the hon. Gentleman do his utmost to speed it up?

Mr. Hynd

I am not aware of the number who are anxious to come here, and I do not know how anybody could be. This scheme is different from that for displaced persons who are ready to be moved in bulk for these purposes. The Austrian scheme is part of the other scheme for alien employees, which is under the Ministry of Labour, in respect of which individual applications have to be made and individual assent given on the other side, and it has to go through the Austrian procedure as well as our own.

Mr. Boothby

Is not the figure given by the hon. Gentleman proof that this scheme as it stands is a complete farce?

Captain Crookshank

As we have been informed that none have arrived, can the hon. Gentleman say whether any of the 34 have left Austria?

Mr. Hynd

I am not in a position to say that. All I can say is that visas have been issued.

Mr. S. Silverman

Can my right hon. Friend explain why it takes so very much longer, in a scheme designed for an exactly similar purpose, to take people from Austria to England than it does to take them from a Baltic province to England? Does it indicate the lack of a sense of urgency in the Control Commission in Germany and Austria?

Mr. Hynd

I am not aware that we are getting people from the Baltic provinces. What we are getting, as far as I understand it, are Baltic nationals from the displaced persons camps in Germany, which is a different proposition, and that is under the direct control of the British authorities. In the other case, we have to find out from the Austrian authorities whether these people are available, whether they can be traced and whether they are prepared to come over; and then they have to be released by the Austrian labour machine.