§ Mr. Bartleyasked the Minister of Labour how many agricultural workers have been taken into His Majesty's Forces since 1st October, 1951, up to the most convenient date; and to what extent the evidence in his possession shows that such loss of manpower has seriously aggravated the manpower problems in the agricultural industry.
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§ Sir W. MoncktonBetween 1st November (when the calling-up of men affected by the termination of the general suspension of the calling-up of agricultural workers began) and 30th November, 1951, 2,978 agricultural workers were posted to the Forces. I have no evidence that the calling-up of these men out of the 900,000 male workers (including working farmers) regularly employed in agriculture, has had any appreciable effect on the manpower problems of the industry.