§ 20. Mr. Dalyellasked the Postmaster-General how many persons between 15 and 18 years are employed by the Post Office; and how many are granted day release.
§ Mr. DalyellIn the light of the Henniker Heaton Report, why does not the Post Office make day release compulsory?
§ Mr. MawbyWe make day release compulsory for technical courses. While we still make day release for general education voluntary, we encourage it as much as we can.
§ 25. Mr. W. Hamiltonasked the Postmaster-General how many boys and girls, respectively, he employs in Scotland; and how many are allowed day release for educational purposes.
§ Mr. MawbyAt the last return in October, 1963, the numbers of staff under 18 were 592 boys and 396 girls, of whom 541 and 272, respectively, were having day release.
§ Mr. HamiltonDoes the hon. Gentleman recognise that this is a much better record for day release than the deplorable record of private industry but that, nevertheless, it leaves quite a lot to be desired? What steps is the Department taking to pioneer compulsory day release for all these boys and girls, to give a much more imaginative lead to lagging private industry in this respect?
§ Mr. MawbyAs I have said, we make it compulsory for all technical education and we do all we can to make possible and to encourage young employees to attend for general education in day release. Obviously, there are problems in an organisation such as ours, which 196 works in diverse areas where educational facilities differ. We are trying as best we can, however, to make certain that as many as possible attend on day release.