§ 9. Mr. Berryasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how many members of the R.A.F. have been prevented from attending the death-bed and for funeral of their fathers and mothers for the years 1944 and 1945.
§ Mr. de FreitasI am afraid we do not keep any records showing the information required by my hon. Friend. He may, however, be interested to see the full and sympathetic instructions issued to overseas commands about compassionate postings and I am sending him a copy. Even in wartime we did all we could to get men home quickly when needed in these cases.
§ 10. Mr. Berryasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what is the average time taken by his officers between notification of illness of an airman's parent and the visit to verify the report; and what steps he proposes to take to prevent waste of time in such cases.
§ Mr. de FreitasI assume my hon. Friend is referring to visits made to verify reports of dangerous illness when an airman who is overseas may be wanted at home. Such visits are usually made on the day that the Record Office is notified. I cannot agree that this shows any waste of time.