HC Deb 21 October 1954 vol 531 cc1374-5
40. Mr. Edward Evans

asked the Minister of Labour why it is not possible to defer the call-up of Mr. M. C. Meadows, Beccles, particulars of whom has been sent to him by the hon. Member for Lowestoft; whether he is aware that his employer has already two sons serving in Her Majesty's Forces; that the deferment is asked for only until one of these can be returned to his former employment; and that the call-up immediately of this man will inflict hardship on his firm, it having been found impossible to replace this man who, according to the custom of the trade, is still an apprentice.

Sir W. Monckton

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary has written to the hon. Member setting out the circumstances in which Mr. Meadows' deferment can be continued for a further 12 months.

Mr. Evans

While thanking the Minister for his co-operation in this matter, may I ask whether it does not disclose an undesirable position in his Department, since the age of this boy on leaving school was not known to the authorities, and that the conditions of apprenticeship in his trade were excluded by the Department despite the evidence produced to the Department by the employer and by myself.

Sir W. Monckton

As I understand the facts, both the applicant and the employer made a mistake about the date of the commencement of employment, and that misled the Department. I am sure that the mistake was not deliberate, because it was not in their interests.