§ Sir L. Lyleasked the Minister of Labour whether he can give some approximate "idea of the ages of the 198,913 men on the Central Register and of their types of activity prior to the war; and whether he can arrange for a committee of business men to examine all their papers to see if, and how, their offers of services can be utilised in the interests of the State?
§ Mr. AsshetonAn age analysis of the persons on the Register is not available. In certain main categories, the occupations followed prior to the war were approximately as follows:
Engineers 107,000 Scientists 29,000 Architects and Surveyors 22,000 Accountants 12,000 Almost all these persons are already engaged on work of some degree of national importance and can only be transferred elsewhere if the new work is considered to be of greater importance. The Central Register already has advisory committees representing the professions concerned, and while I do not want to reject any proposal that may increase the utility of the Register I do not think that the appointment of a further committee would be of advantage.