§ Mr. G. Hutchinsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can grant some relief to the volunteer wardens, in view of the long and onerous duties which they have already performed.
§ Mr. H. MorrisonYes, Sir; local authorities in all Regions other than London and the South and East of England, were informed a month ago that, subject to the directions of the Regional Commissioner the hours of stand-by duty of part-time members of the Civil Defence Services should be reduced from a maximum of 48 hours in every four weeks to 12 hours. Similar instructions will be issued shortly to local authorities in London and the South and East of England. For operational reasons it will be necessary to require longer periods of duty in many areas; but I hope that the period of standby duty will usually be reduced to a maximum of 24 hours.