§ Dame Joan Vickersasked the Minister of State for Defence, in view of the fact that there is a shortage of employees in 20 different trades in Her Majesty's Dockyard, Devonport, if he will consider allowing qualified men and women who in the past have been debarred because they have had a court sentence to be able to be taken on or reinstated in the dockyard.
§ Mr. BuckEx-offenders are not automatically debarred from Ministry of Defence employment. Applicants with criminal records are considered on their merits bearing in mind both the nature of their offences and the duties to be filled.