§ Mr. Ness Edwardsasked the Minister of Labour the numbers of appeals made under the Armed Forces Act for postponement of military service, and the number of such appeals allowed, for the exchange areas of Bargoed, Cardiff, and Caerphilly?
§ Mr. E. BrownThese statistics are not maintained separately for Employment Exchange areas, and I can only give the information for wider areas. In the area comprising Cardiff, Barry, Bridgend, Bute Docks, Caerphilly and Maesteg, 54 applications for postponement were granted without reference to a hardship committee up to 30th March. A corresponding figure for Bargoed is not available, as for this purpose it is grouped with 11 other local offices. The hardship committee covering Cardiff, Barry and Bute Docks granted 55 applications and refused 119, and the hardship committee covering Bargoed and Caerphilly granted 44 applications and refused 21 up to that date.
Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Minister of Labour how far hardship tribunals under the National Service (Armed Forces) Act are bound by umpire's decisions and whether such tribunals hold themselves entitled, if they consider the special circumstances justify it, to deal with individual applications for postponement of service in a manner which conflicts with an umpire's decision?
§ Mr. BrownUmpire's decisions on appeals from Military Service (Hardship) Committees are decided on the facts of 725W the individual cases. Where the umpire lays down general principles it is for the committee to decide how far these principles are applicable to the circumstances of particular cases which come before them, and if they consider that the special circumstances of any particular case render a particular decision of the umpire not applicable, they are at liberty to decide accordingly. It is, however, my duty to make an appeal to the umpire in any case where it seems to me that the committee's decision, having regard to the circumstances of the particular case, is at variance with the principles laid down by the umpire.