§ Mr. Lipsonasked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in view of the fact that there are now over 20,000 air defence cadets of whom nearly half propose to apply for air-crew duties on reaching the age of 18, he will give the Air Defence Cadets Corps the same recognition that is given to the Officers Training Corps?
Captain BalfourThe suggestion made by the hon. Member has been recently considered. I am, however, unable to accept it since the qualifications of aircrew personnel for commissions as pilots or observers cannot be judged alone by standards reached in ground training received before or after joining the Royal Air Force, but must include proficiency in the flying syllabus.