§ 46. Mr. Peytonasked the Minister of Labour the reasons for the continued refusal to grant deferment from National Service to Mr. M. P. Sawyer, Wambrook, near Chard.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodThis man has not been granted deferment because in the opinion of the National Service Deferment Board, in consultation with the Agricultural Advisory Panel for the area, his call-up for National Service would not lead to a substantial loss of food production.
The Board has received further medical evidence from Mr. Sawyer's employer in support of a renewed application for deferment and has asked the Panel for its advice.
§ Mr. PeytonDoes my right hon. Friend realise that the last part of his Answer will be welcomed, because something seems to have come unstuck in this case? This young man has had his call-up postponed on four occasions on grounds of hardship. It seems unreasonable to take away the only one of three brothers who is able to run this remote farm.
§ Mr. MacleodI understand my hon. Friend's anxiety about this case. He knows that we have given a great deal of time and study to it within the Department. I do not think that it would be right for me to sit as a sort of court of appeal from these bodies, which inevitably have much more knowledge of these cases than I. The man will certainly not be called up until the matter is finally settled.