HC Deb 30 November 1960 vol 631 cc388-90
37. Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will make a statement giving details of the success achieved by the incentive scheme in the recruiting drive at the Royal Engineers depôt, Gillingham, with the payment of £2 and one week's leave for each recruit; how many soldiers received official payment of 10s. for testifying in a local newspaper to the advantages of Army life; and how many have been promoted to lance-corporal for bringing in recruits.

The Secretary of State for War (Mr. John Profumo)

The incentive scheme to which the hon. Gentleman refers ran between 10th and 29th October. Two recruits were obtained, and a sergeant and a corporal each received payment of £2 from Royal Engineer Corps funds. No extra leave was granted. No awards were made for articles published in the Press, nor was anyone considered for promotion to lance-corporal. Instructions have been reissued to prevent a recurrence of schemes of this kind.

Mr. Dodds

Is it not the fact that 50 per cent. of the recruits were brought in as a result of a fed-up civilian seeing a sergeant-major in the street and asking where he could join up, for which the sergeant-major qualified for a payment of £2? In view of some of these crazy activities of commanding officers, is it not time that there was a little discipline, and that they should be ordered to submit their private-enterprise schemes to the War Office before being allowed to bring them to the public notice? Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that these are the things that deter many intelligent men from joining, as they refuse to come under the command of nitwits?

Mr. Profumo

I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman that this officer was a nitwit at all. I cannot accept that. Certainly, his action was misguided, but I am quite convinced that what he did was, he thought, in the interests of recruiting. I, personally, prefer to leave the initiative for recruiting at the local level, rather than to try to control the whole thing from the War Office.

Mr. Strachey

If the Minister thinks that this officer's action was in the interests of recruiting—nitwit or not—why has he forbidden the officer to do it again?

Mr. Profumo

With respect, I think that the right hon. Gentleman did not quite hear what I said. I said that I have no doubt that what the officer did he thought was in the interest of recruiting. I explained that this is against War Office policy, but that I am not prepared to have everything to do with recruiting controlled from the War Office. I am quite certain that we are well advised to allow local initiative.