§ 116. Mr. Dribergasked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that the Commandant (Room 39), Central Ordnance Depot, Branston, Burton-on-Trent, habitually fails to reply to letters from demobilised Servicemen awaiting delayed issues of clothing, though such men are instructed, on demobilisation, to write to him if the clothing is not delivered within 28 days; that two ex-Servicemen, of whom he has been notified, have written repeatedly without receiving any acknowledgment; and if he will take steps to ensure the prompt acknowledgment of such letters, with explanation of the delays, and to expedite the delivery to these two men in particular, of the raincoats and shirt for which they have been waiting 10 and 11 weeks, respectively.
§ Mr. Bellenger:All available staff at Branston is being employed to ensure the rapid despatch of clothing, and this inevitably means some delay in dealing with the large volume of correspondence about individual items of clothing. The difficulties are, however, of a temporary nature due to the recent rapid rate of 128W release and I hope that they will be overcome in the near future. At the end of March five civilian clothing depots were closed and staff is being transferred to Branston; this will enable correspondence to be dealt with more rapidly. The two individual cases to which my hon. Friend refers are being investigated.