§ Mr. Cocksasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will now withdraw the statement recommending farmers and farm workers to refuse to enrol in the Local Defence Volunteers, in view of the fact that agricultural workers are the most likely people to be on the spot to deal with invasions from the air?
Mr. HudsonWhen the Local Defence Volunteers were formed, it was pointed out that some farmers and farm workers might find it impossible to enrol because of the pressure and importance of their work on the farm; but there has been no recommendation from the Government that they should refuse to enrol, and those unable to do so were urged to give the Defence Authorities all the help they could. There is no objection to farmers and farm workers joining the Volunteers provided that they do not undertake obligations which would defeat the object of reserving these men from military service. It has consequently been agreed that undertakings entered into by agriculturists should not include liability for whole-time service, and that there should be local consultation between the officer responsible for the Local Defence Volunteers in the district and agricultural representatives so as to ensure that there is no avoidable interference with farm work.