§ 7. Mr. Langford-Holtasked the Secretary of State for War whether he will draw the attention of the chairmen of all nationalised industries to the undesirability of their requiring that half of the time taken by their employees to attend Territorial Army camp shall be at the expense of the employee's annual holiday.
§ Mr. SoamesThe nationalised industries allow at least one week's paid leave to their staff for training with the Reserve Forces, and several of them follow the example of the Civil Service, who in most cases allow two weeks. This compares well with the level of response in the country as a whole, and I believe, therefore, that it would not now be appropriate for me to make a further approach to the nationalised industries.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing this subject again to notice. Recruiting to the reserve forces is better now than at any time since the war. I hope that as many employers as possible will encourage this most welcome trend by allowing their staff to train without sacrificing their ordinary holidays.