§ Major Sir E. COATESasked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether 1303W the National Service Commission has been empowered to carry out the duty of providing and distributing labour in connection with agriculture without any previous consultation with the executive committees of the county war committees, who have already been carrying out this work to the entire satisfaction of the Board?
§ Sir R. WINFREYThe National Service Department is required to give priority over all other demands to the claims of agriculture for all labour which is or may be available for agricultural work, and is solely responsible for supplying such labour from all the sources from which it may be recruited, with the exception of any labour controlled by the Employment Exchanges, which may be applied for direct from that Department by the war agricultural executive committees. The Board determines the proportion in which the labour so supplied shall be allocated to each county in England and Wales. The distribution of the allotted labour within their respective counties is the duty of the war agricultural executive committees, who were not consulted as to the arrangement with the National Service Department.