asked the Secretary of State for Air whether the Manpower Economy Committee have reported on the utilisation of manpower and maintenance units; and whether they have investigated the situation at No. 4 M.U.

Under their terms of reference, the Manpower Economy Committee have been considering questions of a general nature; and not the use of manpower in any single unit of the R.A.F. For this purpose they are inspecting stations both at home and overseas, and they will no doubt consider whether they should visit No. 4 Maintenance Unit. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the information which he has given me about this unit; as a result, we are making special investigations, and I hope that substantial economies may be made.

Would my right hon. Friend tell the House what instructions have been given to commanding officers to reduce personnel as far as possible ?

There are standing instructions on that; and not only so, but a special branch of the Ministry is constantly considering the matter.