§ 18. Mr. Butcherasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will give an assurance that the need to occupy Germany for at least five years still exists; and whether he will enter into agreements with selected members of the Control Commission staff on that basis.
§ Mr. BevinAs far as can be foreseen at present, the answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes." As regards the second part, a proportion of the present staff of the Control Commission have agreements covering employment for approximately five years. The question of offering agreements for longer periods is under consideration.
§ Mr. ButcherWhile I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his reply, may I ask if he could give any indication of the proportion of the staff who have contracts for five years or more?
§ Mr. BevinI could not give that information now, and I could not state the proportion of the staff who will get longer contracts because the whole question of the Control Commission is in a state of flux, and I have to get the staff down to a level which can be maintained ultimately.