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3RD DRAFT
and the professional head of the organisation was appointed in
November 1974. Many of the Committee's further recommendations
are being implemented; others are still under consideration.
26. The setting up of an Army Welfare Inquiry Committee was
announced in the House of Commons during the Defence Debate on
13 May 1974. The Committee, under the Chairmanship of
Professor J C Spencer, is well advanced with its task of reviewing
welfare provision for Army personnel and their families in the
United Kingdom and hopes to report late in 1975.
27.
In the meantime, Unit Families Officers with a special respon-
sibility for family welfare (and formerly confined to infantry
battalions) are to be introduced in all field force units. The
Housing Commandant Organisation, which has proved so successful in
the United Kingdom, has been extended to the British Army of the
Rhine.
Cyprus
28. Special arrangements were made to assist with the many
administrative and domestic problems arising out of the evacuation
of families from Cyprus.
Improvements of Conditions for Troops in Northern Ireland
29. A great deal of effort is being devoted to improving the
emergency accommodation and general amenities for troops in
Northern Ireland. Improvements include better recreational
facilities, a free air-letter card postal service between
Servicemen and their families in Great Britain or in West Germany,
and further telephone concessions.
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CONFIDENTIAL