§ Sir R. Glynasked the Minister of Defence what are the duties and responsibilities of county Territorial and Auxiliary Forces associations in regard to R.A.F. Auxiliary units and Air Cadet units; and what is the position of Sea Cadets and their administration in relation to county Territorial and Auxiliary Forces associations.
§ 2 Mr. P. Noel-BakerI have been asked to reply. County joint associations exercise an extensive range of powers and duties connected with the organisation and administratio. of the Auxiliary Air Force which are assigned to them under Clause64Wa of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907. I am sending the hon. Member an up-to-date list of these responsibilities. The duties of the county associations in regard to the Air Training Corps have not yet been precisely defined. The day-to-day administration of the Corps is the responsibility of the A.O.C.-in-C. Reserve Command. The Air Council's policy is, however, to link the A.T.C. as closely as practicable through its local committees, with the county associations, so that the latter can assist the Corps in its local contacts, and on such questions as accommodation and amenities, recruiting, the provision of instructors and other similar matters. As co-operation develops further, the Air Ministry hope, from time to time, to define more formally the associations' responsibilities towards the A.T.C.
The administration of the Sea Cadet Corps is controlled by the Sea Cadet Council, which is composed of equal numbers of representatives of the Admiralty and the Navy League, with representatives of other interested bodies as may be necessary. The Sea Cadet Council has recently arranged for Sea Cadet Corps Units to be represented on county associations in order to obtain the benefit of their valuable advice and long experience, on an informal basis, in local matters similar to those mentioned above in connection with the A.T.C.