§ 15. Mr. W. Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for War how many miners or ex-miners have been recruited in Scotland in each of the last four years; and how many of them have been from Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Fifeshire, respectively.
§ Mr. RamsdenThe figures for miners recruited in the whole of Scotland are as follows:
| 1958 | … | … | … | … | 391 |
| 1959 | … | … | … | … | 471 |
| 1960 | … | … | … | … | 341 |
| 1961 | … | … | … | … | 241 |
§ Figures are not available to show which counties they have come from.
§ Mr. HamiltonWhy cannot the Minister get the figures for each county? Is he aware that there is a feeling that because of the rundown in the mining industry miners are increasingly turning to the Armed Forces— partly because of that, and partly because the Army is not subject, like the mining industry, to the pay pause policy of the Government? Will he seek to get more detailed figures than those which he has given to the House, because he has no answered the Question on the Paper?
§ Mr. RamsdenI could give the figures by recruiting offices, which correspond broadly, but not exactly, to the counties. I will gladly, if the hon. Member wishes, circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT. As for the second part of the hon. Member's supplementary question, I do not think the figures bear out his imputation, because the trend of those recruited from the mines has been falling sharply, particularly between 1960 and 1961, whereas the overall figure for recruiting in Scotland is up by 20 per cent. Therefore, I do not think the figures substantiate what the hon. Member is trying to say.
§ The following is the information:
| FIGURES BY RECRUITING OFFICES | ||||
| — | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 |
| Ayrshire (Dumfries) | 20 | 43 | 28 | 31 |
| Lanarkshire (Glasgow) | 80 | 60 | 68 | 47 |
| Fifeshire (Dundee) | 100 | 160 | 94 | 79 |