§ 22 and 23. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for War (1) how many National Service men with a wife and child, or children, went absent without obtaining leave in the last two years;
(2) how many National Service men with a widowed mother living alone, or with young children, went absent without obtaining leave in the last two years.
§ Mr. SoamesThis information is not available.
§ Mr. AllaunIs the Minister aware that I know of nine such cases in Salford, and, no doubt, there are many others in that city, that there must be large numbers of men throughout the country who have gone home for this reason, and that some of these men have been punished up to six times for doing so? Does he realise that all that I am asking is for the addition of these two categories to the five listed by the Minister of Defence as qualifying, prima facie, for exemption from service or compassionate discharge?
§ Mr. SoamesNo, Sir. We discussed this in Questions at this time last week, and I said then that we cannot take the fact that the man is the son of a widow as being necessarily a reason for his discharge, but where there is hardship therefrom and a compassionate case arises, he can be discharged on compassionate grounds.
§ Mr. StracheyWould not the Minister consider the suggestion of giving a new directive, or getting the appropriate Department to do so, to ease the conditions either for call-up or for compassionate discharge in these respects, in view of 380 the fact that there is now no shortage of men?
§ Mr. SoamesIt is obviously one's endeavour to ensure that the grounds for compassionate discharge are as easy as they might be where there is hardship, consonant with the requirements of the Service, and certainly we will continue to aim at that.