§ Mr. RENDALLasked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether girls and women who volunteered for work at the Yate (Gloucester) aerodrome have been recently discharged, and why; whether a yet larger number of women not before employed have been taken on in their stead, and why; whether those discharged are receiving out-of-work donation as the result of this method of procedure; if those discharged were regarded as inefficient, how long had they previously been employed without such defect being discovered; why, if the work has diminished at the aerodrome, there are now employed a greater number of women than were employed a month ago; and what are the reasons for the unusual methods of business adopted by the Air Ministry at Yate?
§ Major-General SEELYI have now received a further report on this matter. The numbers of women discharged and 2039W enrolled since the 1st April last are as stated in the reply which I gave my hon. Friend on the 29th May; but I am now able to explain more fully the reasons for the action taken. In April last the work in connection with the construction of aeroplanes at Yate had greatly diminished, and this opportunity was taken to recommend the demobilisation of certain women who were considered inefficient, but with whose services it had not been possible previously to dispense. These women's places had to be filled. A further twelve of the "yet larger number" referred to by my hon. Friend were taken on to replace women discharged on compassionate grounds; six were merely converted from the status of civilian subordinate to that of member of the Women's Royal Air Force. At the same time the growth of salvage work has tended to more than counterbalance the diminution of construction work. In reply to the third part of the question, I have no information as to how many of the women discharged are receiving the out-of-work donation. In reply to the fourth part of the question, the answer is that they had an average service of six months.