§ Mr. D. Jonesasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware of the complaints coming from the camp occupied by 684 Squadron in Siam, about the delay taking place to men due for repatriation, in some cases amounting to more than five weeks, that the food served up to the men is bardly cooked, lacks variety and in some instances is unfit for consumption; that it is prepared by Siamese cooks who do not understand European methods and tastes; and what steps he proposes to take to have these complaints put right.
§ Mr. de Freitaspursuant to Mr. STRACHEY'S reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 15th May, 1946; Vol. 422, C. 299] supplied the following statement:
In announcing the reduction of the overseas tour for single men in the Royal Air Force to three years, my predecessor said that it could not immediately come into operation on 1st April for all the men concerned, but would take until 1st October to complete. This was emphasised to the Service but even so it seems that there has been some misunderstanding of the position, which is evidently what happened in the case to which my hon. Friend has referred. The Command have taken special steps to explain the position again to all their units.
The accelerated progress of the release scheme, together with the shipping commitments involved, is the main reason for the difficulties of messing to which the second part of the Question refers. I think, however, that the unit are doing their best to overcome these difficulties; the Siamese cooks work under the supervision of members of the R.A.F., and the airmen's own messing committee consider that the messing is already up to average and is still improving.