§ 48. Mr. A. R. W. Lowasked the Minister of Defence whether each Service Minister is able to put his own proposals into effect for increasing the number of Regulars in his own Service, or if no such proposals can be made in one Service until a plan for all three Services has been agreed by him.
§ The Minister of Defence (Mr. Shinwell)Proposals originating in one Service are normally discussed with my Ministry and with the other two Service Departments. They are often adopted for application to all three Services and not infrequently modified and improved in the process. There is certainly no question of imposing uniformity for its own sake.
§ Mr. LowDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that, at this moment, speed is of the essence of this matter, and will he give an assurance that he is doing all he can to see that co-ordination does not result in delay?
§ Mr. ShinwellCertainly.