35. Mr. Vaneasked the Secretary of State for Air why the release of R.A.F. meteorologists has fallen behind other trades; when he anticipates it will be level with the average of releases; and whether he is satisfied with the recruitment of civilian meteorological assistants to replace Service personnel.
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerThe release of Royal Air Force meteorologists has recently fallen below the general level because we have not yet been able to recruit and train enough civilians to take their place. I am not satisfied with the present arrangements for recruiting civilians and I hope that these arrangements will be improved without delay. I cannot now predict how soon this may affect the date of release.