The second half of the Prime Minister's speech was devoted to questions arising from the review which had been made of civil and military defences, to see what arrears or deficient cies had been revealed in the recent emergency period.
On the civil side, he declared, the review was complete, and, while it naturally showed that the preparations were far from comprehensive or perfect, nevertheless, he was of the opinion that had they been put to the test, they would have worked a great deal better than many people supposed.
The Government, however, had come to the conclusion that the whole subject of the Air-Raid Precautions had assumed such gigantic proportions and complexities that a selected Minister was required to give his whole attention to it.
Sir John Anderson, as Lord Privy Seal, would, in fact, be Minister of Civil Defence, having direct charge of air-raid precautions as well as being responsible, in consultation with the other departments concerned, for arrangements for national voluntary service.
In connection with Air-Raid Precautions, Sir John Anderson would be a member of the Committee of Imperial Defence, Mr. Chamberlain explained.
Committees, representing all depart. ments affecting Air-Raid Precautions, would be set up as part of the organization of the Committee of Imperial Defence.
As to national service, the Government was satisfied that it was desirable and practicable to meet the need of civil defence by voluntary n, suitably organized.
The review of military, naval and air defences was not fini:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.