§ Mr. Marplesasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether it is his intention to arrange for the early return to London of the civil servants now employed in North Wales and Bath; and whether he is aware of the hardship and expense of civil servants who are separated from their families.
§ Mr. Walter EdwardsRepresentations have been received from certain of the staff, including technical civil servants, as to the hardship and expense falling on those moved from London to Bath, mainly in consequence of the separation from their wives and families, which results from the continued location of certain Admiralty Departments in Bath. There is unfortunately no possibility of an early return of those Departments to London: the essential difficulty is the shortage of office accommodation in London. My288W hon. Friend will appreciate that it is necessary, for the sake of efficient working, to maintain a certain grouping of Departments, and that it is not possible to transfer individuals away from their Departments in Bath to work in detachment in London. I regret that such considerations preclude an early return to London. No Admiralty staff were evacuated from London to North Wales.