§ Captain Prescottasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that many prisoners of war, now doing agricultural labour, have expressed a desire to engage in agriculture in England when peace returns and that some have acquired considerable knowledge of farming; whether, when such men return to England, steps will be taken to collect and collate such knowledge; and whether all possible steps will be taken to assist such men to engage in agriculture on demobilisation should they still desire to do.
Mr. HudsonI am aware that some prisoners of war wish to engage in agricultural work after the war, and that they are following courses of study with that 53W object in view. I hope there will be opportunities for such men in the industry or in ancillary occupations, but the extent and nature of the opportunities cannot be foreseen at this stage since they depend partly on decisions in regard to post-war agricultural policy generally.