Oral Answers to Questions — Royal Air Force – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 3 Rhagfyr 1947.
Mr Gordon Touche
, Reigate
12:00,
3 Rhagfyr 1947
asked the Secretary of State for Air why civilian motor drivers employed by the R.A.F. cannot be replaced by training conscripts, and thus save manpower and expense.
Mr Geoffrey De Freitas
, Nottingham Central
The R.A.F. already train suitable National Service men as drivers, and to increase the amount of such training would not save manpower or expense.
Mr Gordon Touche
, Reigate
Is it not true that large numbers of R.A.F. conscripts are not allowed to become drivers?
Mr Geoffrey De Freitas
, Nottingham Central
Our training facilities are naturally limited, as my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour indicated last week. We have to put first on the training course those who are Regulars because we get greater productive returns out of them.
Mr Edward Fleming
, Manchester, Withington
Could the Minister say how many civilian drivers are still employed by the Royal Air Force?
Mr Geoffrey De Freitas
, Nottingham Central
Yes, Sir, I can. It is not a question of still employed, because we intend to employ them permanently. There are 3,000 such drivers who are employed mostly in such directorates as the Directorate of Work which, in the Royal Air Force, is a civilian directorate entirely run by civilians.
Mr Gordon Touche
, Reigate
Why not use Service drivers in their place?
Mr Geoffrey De Freitas
, Nottingham Central
Because there is no economy in throwing out trained civilians and using up skilled manpower in training men straight from civilian life.
Major Geoffrey Bing
, Hornchurch
Is my hon. Friend aware that these civilian drivers are not included in the total of military personnel given in the Defence white paper, and will he make representations to his right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence to see that these totals are amended to include the large numbers of persons who, up to now, are not included under military employment?
Mr Geoffrey De Freitas
, Nottingham Central
That has not been brought to my attention before. Of course, they are included in the Estimates, but I will certainly look into the matter.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
