§ Major Beamishasked the Secretary of State for War to what extent women are being voluntarily recruited for the A.T.S.; and how many have volunteered and been accepted since VJ-Day.
§ Mr. BellengerBetween VJ Day and the end of September, 1946, about 21,500 women applied to join the A.T.S., of whom nearly 11,000 were accepted. During 1946 the average number enrolled has been just under 600 a month.
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§ Major Beamishasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the growing public concern that so many women are being kept in the Services; how many women are now in the A.T.S.; by when the last of these women will have been demobilised, and whether he will speed up the whole release scheme and review the system of deferments.
§ Mr. BellengerI am not aware of any such public concern. On 30th September there were 48,00o A.T.S. (including over 2,000 in A.T.S./E.F.I.) still serving. The release of A.T.S. is proceeding according to a phased programme similar to that for men and it is only possible to speed up the release of A.T.S. in relation to the rundown of Army commitments and the new intake of volunteers. I can see no reason for reviewing the system of deferment, which is on the same basis as that for men. as provided for in the Release Scheme.