§ Mr. SMITHERSasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can now give any information as to the numbers of military reservists proposed to be raised in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics?
Mr. A. HENDERSONAccording to the best available information, about 1,200,000 men are called up annually for training in the Soviet Union, of whom 400,000 are rejected at once on various grounds. Of the remainder, 450,000 are drafted into regular and territorial armies, and 350,000 receive military instruction in factories and other organisations. His Majesty's Ambassador has been officially informed by the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs that all rumours with regard to an increase in the reserve of the Red Army are without foundation.