§ 27. Mr. Wiggasked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the quotas, in terms of numbers of men and dates, which he has authorised in connection with the recruitment of the Territorial Army Emergency Reserve or "Ever-readies", and the number of men actually enlisted; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ProfumoAs I explained to the hon. Gentleman on 11th July, 1962, the quotas were imposed only for the first three months. One hundred and thirty-seven officers and 3,457 other ranks have been enlisted. Recruiting is slower than I would wish, but is nevertheless proceeding steadily.
§ Mr. WiggWould the right hon. Gentleman give the House a categorical assurance that the quota as at 1st November was 11,250? Is it not quite clear, on the basis of his own figures, that the Government managed to get only 33⅓per cent.? In these circumstances, does it not mean that the Government must look again at the "Ever-ready" policy?
§ Mr. ProfumoI have said that recruiting is going slower than I would like it to, but the hon. Gentleman will remember that when we were discussing the setting up of the Territorial Army Emergency Reserve, I stressed that this was a long-term effort. Although I should like to see a greater long-term build-up, I am glad that recruiting has now settled down to a regular pace. I do not think it is a question of our having failed, but of progress being slow. If I might further answer the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, in the liglht of initial experience, I found that certain misunderstandings existed, and I therefore consulted the British Employers' Confederation, which gave me very helpful advice. Subsequently, the Council of the Confederation decided to follow the lead set by the Government and recommend to its members that they 965 should consider the possibility of making up She balance of pay for "Everreadies" called up for service. If this is thoroughly known about and comes about, it might make quite a difference in the build-up.
§ Mr. WiggWhile the House will be obliged for the latter part of the right hon. Gentleman's answer, may I ask him to answer the question I asked him? Is it not a fact that the War Office quota was 6,000 men by 1st June and 11,250 by 1st November?
§ Mr. ProfumoThese are the quotas, established for two reasons. One is that we might get more volunteers, and the second is that I wanted to be quite sure that the terms did not end at the same time, but ended in a staggered period. The quotas have been quite useful for the latter purpose.