asked the Minister of Labour how many appeals were made by his Department during the period April, May and June, 1947, against the decisions of military service hardship committees to call up men for military service; and in how many cases have these appeals been successful.

Twenty appeals for the grant of postponement were made to the Umpire in April, May and June, 1947. The results of these appeals may or may not have yet been announced, and I regret that, without going through all the files both for and against postponement, I can only indicate that the cases where an appeal has been made by the Minister of Labour for postponement almost always succeed because they are in accord with precedents established by the Umpire.

Does the same apply when the appeal is the other way round—when it is an appeal by the Ministry to bring a man into the Services against the wishes of the committee?

I did answer a Question by the hon. and gallant Gentleman on that point. I see the interlocking point. But in these cases we appeal only where the committee has obviously gone against a previous umpire's decision. We have to direct attention to it.