Worcestershire (Hansard, 8 March 1951)

§ 6. Mr. Nabarro
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of Civil Defence personnel required as an immediate target in the county of Worcestershire; the number that have been recruited to the latest convenient date; and whether he will make a statement in regard to progress.

§ Mr. de Freitas
The peace-time establishment, provisionally estimated at 3,600, is under discussion with the county council. At the end of February, 1,600 had been enrolled. Recruitment in recent months has greatly improved.

§ Mr. Nabarro
May I invite the attention of the Under-Secretary of State urgently to two points: first the preparation of a reception scheme for rural areas which lie contiguous to industrial belts; second, for the publication of a scheme for industrial premises, so that large numbers of semi-trained Civil Defence personnel, with experience of the last war, can be embodied at once?

§ Mr. de Freitas
On the first point, we are working on a planned scheme with the Ministry of Health, and a training manual will soon be published covering the welfare side of reception areas. The answer to the second part of the Question is that a statement will be made fairly soon.

§ Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd
In the case of this county, will the target be fixed solely in regard to the needs of the county areas or will it also take into account the possibility of rendering assistance to big urban areas, for example, Birmingham?

§ Mr. de Freitas
Provisional peace-time estimates take into account the rendering of assistance to urban areas, especially on the welfare and evacuation sides.

§ Mr. Paton
In the interests of recruiting, would it not be well to avoid having a very considerable number of Civil Defence personnel as "an immediate target," as stated in the Question?

§ Mr. Nabarro
Would the Minister bear in mind that there are very special problems in these scattered rural areas, which may be called on to receive hundreds of thousands of evacuees from densely built-up industrial areas and, therefore, will have special need for guidance in their reception problems?

§ Mr. de Freitas
It is perfectly true that they expect to receive hundreds of thousands of evacuees, but in the orderly manner of evacution during the last war. That is what we are planning. We are taking this matter into consideration in our planning with the Ministry of Health.