§ Mr. Perkinsasked the Minister of Labour whether he will inquire the reasons why there are so many men under 21 years of age at present employed in agriculture in the county of Gloucester?
§ Mr. BevinYoung men under 21 years of age are not indefinitely retained in agriculture in Gloucestershire or any other county unless they are identified as key workers. The process of identification is not yet complete in respect of men born in 1923 and 1924. As regards the 1923 1959W age-class and the first half of the 1924 age-class, those not so identified by 1st January, 1943, will thereafter be called up; those in the third quarter of the 1924 age-class not so identified by 1st February, 1943, will thereafter be called up. Men born later than the third quarter of 1924 have not yet been required to register under the National Service Acts.