HC Deb 05 December 1945 vol 416 cc2463-4W
Lieut.-Colonel Lindsay

asked the Under secretary of State for Air when the hon. Member for Solihull can expect a reply to his letters, of 15thSeptember, about L.A.C. Edge; of nth October, about L.A.C. Bate and of 16th October about Rev. T. Sharp, in regard to each of which a reminder has already been sent to him.

Mr. Strachey

The hon. And gallant Member will now have received my letters of 30th November and 1st December. I must most sincerely apologise not only to the hon. And gallant Member but also to other hon. Members—for the long delays in answering their letters. But my correspondence from Members has risen from an average of 40 a day last August to 250 a day this week. My staff has been progressively reinforced but it is not easy to build up an organization capable of dealing promptly and at the same time properly with this quite unprecedented flood of work.

Mr. Lipson

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will arrange the release, without further delay, of Flight-Lieutenant B. Hawkins, age 40, who was appointed assistant architect to the Cheltenham Town Council in July; who is needed to enable the corporation to proceed with their housing programme; and whose release has been recommended by the Ministry of Health.

Mr. Strachey

We are releasing Mr. H. O. Hawkins at the end of this month.

Lieut.-Colonel Byers

asked the Under secretary of State for Air why Corporal Fletcher, A.T., 1471904, No. 2 R.S., R.A.F., Yatesbury, near Calne, Wiltshire, a radar mechanic in release Group 25 and a qualified schoolteacher, has not been offered a Class B release since he is not fully employed in his present job and is required as a civilian schoolteacher.

Mr. Strachey

I regret the oversight in not offering release in Class B to Corporal Fletcher with other teachers in his group; it was due to a breakdown in the sorting machines dealing with Class B release. We have now offered him release in Class B in case he should prefer to leave the Service now rather than wait until January when he becomes due for release in Class A.