asked the Secretary of State for War what number of soldiers of the Regular and the Territorial Army have been freed from other military duties to perform full-time clerical work on the headquarters staff of his Department; what number of these have been given executive rank; and what number have had previous experience as professional clerks?

Approximately 400 military clerks, normal entrants into the Regular or Territorial Armies, are employed in the War Office. About 160 of them state that they were clerks in civil life. I am not clear what the hon. Member means by executive rank.

How is it that 250 out of 400 have never had any experience, prior to going into the War Office, in the work that they are actually doing now—clerical work; and why is it that so many qualified clerks are out of work and these people are being kept away from their own job of soldiering to do clerical work?

There have always been clerks in the army, and a large proportion of these men who are now employed as clerks at the War Office are employed there under training.

Can the hon. Gentleman say what social influence takes them away from the work that they ought to be doing to do the work of men who are out of work?

No social influence.

asked the Secretary of State for War what number of men, who enlisted under the Military Service Act, 1939, have been freed from other military duties to perform full-time clerical duties at the War Office; and what number of these have had previous experience as professional clerks?

Eight soldiers called up under the Military Training Act, 1939, are employed as clerks in the War Office. They were all clerks in civil life.

May I ask again what social influence brings young men of this character into the War Office, which is merely a hide-out from the job they ought to be doing in the army?

I do not know what the hon. Member means by social influence. There is no new departure in having soldiers employed at the War Office on clerical duties.

I mean the same kind of influence that brings wives and daughters of highly paid officials into the Departments.