§ 35. Mr. Albuasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Civil Defence instructors have re-qualified; and what proportion they represent of the total number of instructors.
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeThe scheme which was promulgated last year is serving its purpose and good progress is being made with it, but it will be some time before complete figures are available and it would in any case be misleading to express them in the form of a percentage of the total number of instructors. Centrally-trained instructors are not required to requalify until four years after the date of their original qualification, and in fact less than 10 per cent, of the existing centrally trained instructors are immediately affected. All existing locally trained instructors are required to requalify this year but the period within which they must do so does not expire until 31st March or in certain cases 31st August. If the hon. Member would like to have interim figures relating to any particular category of instructors and will be good enough to let me know what he wants, I shall be glad to supply them and to explain the position more fully than is possible within the limits of an answer to his Question.