85. Mr. Vaneasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the hardship caused to owners of one-man businesses whose release from the Forces under Class C is now being refused solely because their businesses had to be closed down when they volunteered or were called up; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure these men are not treated less generously than men whose position was exactly similar at the beginning of the war but who were able to find someone nominally to keep their businesses in existence for them and so improve their claim to be released now.
§ Mr. LawsonCompassionate cases, of whatever sort, are dealt with on their individual merits. Owners of one-man 35W businesses which were closed down on their entry into the Army are not altogether excluded from consideration. An extremely limited number of cases where the opportunity of reopening is unlikely to recur if the business is not reopened immediately can be considered. Any further relaxation of the rules would either be at the expense of other types of compassionate cases or would be liable to interfere with releases under Class A.