HC Deb 17 October 1939 vol 352 cc712-3W
Mr. Kimball

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that unemployed men on the dole have been refused as volunteers; and will he, in consultation with the Minister for War, arrange that when an unemployed man, whose previous trade appears in the reserved schedule, tries to enlist he shall not be refused without some special inquiry as to the length of time he has been unemployed and the future possibility of employment in his trade?

Mr. E. Brown

Men who are reserved under the Schedule of Reserved Occupations cannot be accepted for whole-time National Service even though they may, at the time they volunteer, be unemployed. In cases in which, on grounds such as those mentioned by my hon. Friend, doubt arises as to a man's appropriate industrial classification, the matter will be reviewed with the assistance of numbers of the Local Employment Committee.