§ Mr. Kirbyasked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that applicants for apprenticeships in the Royal Air Force are given medical and educational examinations near their homes, and if such are successfully passed, they are then required to proceed to Halton or West Drayton for further examinations; that this sometimes necessitates the applicants relinquishing their employment, and if they are unsuccessful in the later examinations they find themselves deprived of their former employment as a result of their effort to serve King and country; and can he arrange such final examinations in such a way as to avoid applicants having to give up their employment before being accepted for service?
§ Sir K. WoodI am aware of the difficulty to which the hon. Member refers and steps are taken to overcome it as far974W as practicable. The educational examinations for apprenticeships at Halton, Cranwell and Cosford are carried out by local educational authorities; and candidates for entry as boys at West Drayton are nominated by local authorities. There is no subsequent educational test at Halton, Cranwell, Cosford or West Drayton, but as boy entrants do not pass an educational examination they appear before a Selection Board of Royal Air Force Officers at West Drayton.
All candidates are advised to have a preliminary medical examination at home which many local education authorities are also willing to arrange. This preliminary examination is arranged with a view to minimising the risk of subsequent rejection but it will be appreciated that it does not remove the necessity for an official medical examination of all candidates. It is not practicable, for many reasons, to arrange a wide distribution of Royal Air Force medical boards for the purpose of examining candidates near their homes. A medical board has been set up in Scotland in order to relieve Scottish candidates of the necessity of travelling to England for the sole purpose of medical examinations.