§ 28. Mr. de Freitasasked the Secretary of State for Air what plans he has for increasing the strength of the Women's Royal Air Force so that volunteer women can carry out many of the clerical and administrative tasks at present undertaken by National Service men.
Mr. WardWe want at least to double the size of the Women's Royal Air Force, and we are urgently considering plans to this end.
§ Mr. de FreitasWill the Secretary of State consider completely redesigning the women's uniforms—doing away with the military style, with tunics and buttons, and getting a well-known dress designer to design something really feminine?
§ 30. Mr. E. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for Air how many officers of the Women's Royal Air Force are employed in the Education Branch; and how many of these officers receive a salary of more than £1,000 a year.
§ Mr. JohnsonAs none of these officers gets £1,000 a year, is it not, to put it mildly, extremely misleading to put an advertisement in the Press appealing to 407 ladies to join this branch of the Royal Air Force, which reads:
When you gain your commission you earn a good salary, and this can rise to more than £1,000 a year?May I have an assurance from my right hon. Friend that it is not his intention to deceive the women joining this Service in the way that the men were deceived when the party opposite was in power?
Mr. WardWhen a member of the W.R.A.F. is promoted to the rank of wing officer, her basic pay does rise above £1,000 a year. At the moment, it happens that there are not any wing officers.
§ Mr. de FreitasBut will the Secretary of State look at this matter? It is really most important if he connects this allegation of his hon. Friend with his Answer about doubling the size of the W.R.A.F. It is these misleading things that do enormous harm in the long run.