asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware of the shortage of land girls in Bedfordshire; and will he give instructions that girls who wish to serve in the Land Army should be permitted to do so and not directed to other forms of National Service?

Having regard to other even more urgent requirements in certain areas, I cannot go as far as my hon. Friend asks, but it is my policy to allow freedom of choice to suitable applicants to join the Women's Land Army wherever this is possible.

Is the Minister aware that in Bedfordshire we require about 2,000 land girls to help us with our harvest this year?

I know the demand is very heavy, but I do not know the exact number required.

asked the Minister of Labour whether facilities under the further education scheme will be available to members of the Women's Land Army?

Yes, Sir. Although the scheme is primarily intended for persons demobilised from His Majesty's Armed Forces and their Auxiliary and Nursing Services, together with the Merchant Navy, Police Auxiliaries, full-time Civil Defence and Civil Nursing Reserve, persons who have served in other forms of war work, including the Women's Land Army, will be eligible for consideration.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is in a position to make a further statement on the supply of female domestic labour to the hospitals?

I am not yet in a position to add to the reply given to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Lipson) on 18th February, 1943, a copy of which I am sending to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of working days lost in industry through strikes and disputes for the first three months of this year?

The aggregate number of working days lost in stoppages of work due to industrial disputes during the first two months of this year, so far as reported to my Department, is estimated to have been about 78,000. Corresponding figures for March are not yet available, but will be given in the April issue of the "Ministry of Labour Gazette," to be published towards the end of this month.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he took to enforce the special powers granted to him under the Strikes Act with regard to the 1,527,000 working days lost in 1942?

Prosecutions are instituted in all suitable cases, but my hon. Friend will appreciate that indiscriminate recourse to this remedy would not be likely to be effective. I cannot condemn too strongly any attempt to settle disputes in wartime by a strike instead of using the proper negotiating machinery, but I would point out that the number of working days lost in 1942, though higher than in 1941, was far below that experienced in any of the years of the last war.

While thanking the Minister for his reply, may I ask whether he is taking every possible step not only by means of his statutory powers, but also by persuasion, to try and get a 100 per cent. war effort throughout the country?

I think my record since I have been in office answers that.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind the stupidity of employers as well on some occasions?

Will my right hon. Friend bring in an Order to compel Members to attend in this House instead of elsewhere?

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the recent award to the engineering industry in this country has left marine engineers seething with discontent?

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that Samuel Naylor, of South Hetton, Durham, whose age is 18 years, was ordered by the National Service Officer to work below ground; that the boy has expressed a horror of working underground, preferring to join the Navy or do anything rather than obey the instructions issued to him; that, in view of his refusal, he was sentenced to three months imprisonment; and whether, in view of all the circumstances, he will instruct the National Service officer in this and similar cases to use greater discretion before seeking to force anyone to engage in work underground to which they have a strong objection?

Mr. Naylor, whose age according to my information is 19 years, appealed against a direction to work underground given at the request of the Ministry of Fuel and Power, and the Appeal Board upheld the direction. In view of the grounds he gave for his refusal a special medical examination was arranged, as a result of which he was pronounced fit for underground work. There is no basis for suggesting that the National Service officer did not exercise proper discretion. In view, however, of the peculiar difficulty which cases of this type sometimes present, I am considering with my right hon. Friend whether any further precautions are practicable.

While I am exceedingly obliged to my right hon. Friend for the latter part of his reply, may I ask him whether it is possible to make it retrospective in this case? Further, does he recognise that this young man—whether he is 18 or 19 is beside the point—has decided that in no circumstances will he work underground and that he prefers to join the Navy or work in any other occupation, however dangerous? He has been sentenced to three months' imprisonment, which has made him a criminal, and the State is deprived of his services for a considerable time. I am quite sure my right hon. Friend is not happy about that, and I would ask him to look into the matter.

I ought to explain that in such cases I am really the agent of the Ministry of Fuel and Power, but I will go into the matter with the Minister.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that while we regret and deprecate boys being sent to prison, we also regret that after an Order has been made, which they are determined not to comply with by not going down a mine, they walk about doing nothing?

Will the Minister see that the process is reversed, so that those who object to going into the Forces should have the opportunity of going underground?

We give an opportunity now to young men to go underground as an alternative to joining the Forces. A large number of men have exercised that option and in that way have assisted in keeping up man-power in the pits.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that boys outside the mining industry have two opportunities, either of joining the Forces or going down the mines? Why not give the same opportunity to boys working on the surface? Many of these boys are psychologically unfit for work underground.

I can only ask my hon. Friend to read his own speeches on manpower, which he has made in this House.

That is no answer.

asked the Minister of Labour when it is intended to publish the usual up-to-date Annual Reports covering the work of his Department and the factory inspectorate?

In accordance with the general practice in this respect, the publication of the Annual Reports on the Work of the Ministry has been suspended since the beginning of the war. This does not apply to the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories, but I cannot yet say when his Report for 1942 will be ready.

Can my right hon. Friend explain why the Ministry of Labour have not issued their Report when other Government Departments have issued theirs?

I think our work speaks for itself.

asked the Minister of Health when he intends to publish the usual up-to-date Annual Report covering the work of his Department?

I hope to publish a summary Report in three months' time.

Would it not be much better if the Report was published to Parliament before the Chief Medical Officer makes pronouncements upon the statistics?

Not at all. I am sure the pronouncements have evoked general interest.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning the present number of his staff; the number before it was transferred from the Ministry of Works and Planning; the estimated annual cost of his Department; and the annual cost when it was attached to the Ministry of Works and Planning?

The number of the staff is at present 183, of whom 145 were transferred from the Ministry of Works and Planning. The estimated cost of my Department for the current financial year is £172,430. Since certain services were common to the Planning Department and other Departments of the Ministry of Works and Planning, it is impossible to give a separate figure of the annual cost of the Planning Department of that Ministry.

asked the Secretary of State for India the circumstances that have led to the Premier of Bombay relinquishing his office?

The resignation of Mr. Fazl Huq, who has been Premier of Bengal since the introduction of Provincial autonomy in 1937, occurred in the normal course of procedure under Provincial representative institutions. He was not dismissed from office.

Did Mr. Fazl Huq give any explanation for his resignation, and is it connected in any way with the political situation in India?

The explanation was given to the Parliament of Bengal.

Could the Minister say what it was?

It was given at some length.

Then could the Minister give us a précis?

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is able to encourage the continuance of the efforts of Mr. Rajagopalachari and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru to bring about a measure of agreement among Indian leaders?

It should not be necessary for me to repeat my previous assurance that the efforts of Indian political leaders to find a measure of agreement continue to be welcome to His Majesty's Government and the Viceroy.

Would the Minister use his influence to see that some opportunity at a suitable time is found for conversations, which at present are impossible?

No, Sir. I think I made it clear the other day that there would be great objections to consultations with the Congress leaders without definite assurances and guarantees of a different line of conduct on their part. As regards other leaders, they have been meeting frequently but, I am sorry to say, without agreement.

Can the Minister say whether that method was applied to Irish prisoners in the last war?

asked the Home Secretary whether he will now rescind or modify the Vehicles (Control) Order, 1940, concerning the locking of motorcar doors, so that it shall not apply in urban districts during the hours of daylight, in view of the considerable waste of police time involved in the Metropolitan police area in enforcing it?

I regret that I am unable at present to add anything to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Woodbridge (Mr. Ross Taylor) on 18th March.

Is it not a fact that a large number of presecutions result from the locking of the doors, and that the police are wasting their time in that way? I do not know whether my right hon. Friend has heard of Mr. Frank Randle, the comedian?

I quite appreciate the point to which my hon. and gallant Friend has drawn attention. It is one of the factors I will keep in mind in reviewing this matter from time to time.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has any statement to make regarding the Tube Shelter Inquiry conducted by Mr. Dunne?

When I informed the House on 10th March of the accident which had occurred in the previous week at a London shelter I stated that an Inquiry into its causes was to be held in private, but that, subject to security considerations, the conclusions would be published. Mr. Dunne carried out this Inquiry with thoroughness and expedition and made a lengthy and informative report which, whilst drawing attention to certain matters which might possibly have been contributory causes, shows the accident to have been due to a fortuitous combination of circumstances. It is impossible to make a fair summary of the report or even of the conclusions, without conveying information valuable to the enemy. The omission of some of the conclusions on security grounds disturbs the balance and must have the effect of misleading any reader who has not had access to the full text. In these circumstances the Government have regretfully felt bound to decide not to publish the conclusions. It is difficult to judge how far all the factors that contributed to the accident could have been foreseen and provided against, but after careful consideration I have reached the conclusion that acts of culpable negligence are not properly to be included amongst the causes. Certain suggestions were made by Mr. Dunne for modifications of existing arrangements which might reduce the risk of a further disaster of this kind, and action is already being taken to introduce these modifications, not only at this shelter but at similar shelters elsewhere. Mr. Dunne, I may add, dismisses as without foundation the rumours that the accident was caused by a Jewish panic or induced by Fascists or criminals for nefarious purposes.

Does the right hon. Gentleman——

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. Is it not usual for the hon. Member who put the original Question to be called if he wishes to put a Supplementary Question?

Not necessarily.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise what deep resentment will be felt by the hundreds of relatives of the persons who were victims of this unfortunate disaster? Does he realise the bad effect there will be on the morale of the people if a suspicion arises that he wants to conceal the facts that have been stated to the magistrate who made the inquiry? Therefore, will he reconsider his decision, since we have to consider not only information, if any, which might be of use to the enemy, but also the morale of the people whose relatives were victims of the accident?

As the right hon. Baronet would expect, I have given that aspect very full consideration. I think the House and the people of the district concerned know me sufficiently well to believe that I would not wish to suppress this report in order to protect anybody. I would not do that, but I am in the dilemma that if I seek to make a summary, it will not be a fair summary if I eliminate those points on which there are security objections. If, on the other hand, I take risks about security, I may well be inviting further trouble for the district concerned. I am sure nobody would wish me to do that.

In view of the possibility of very widespread feelings of misgiving and misunderstanding in the absence of a report, will my right hon. Friend use his well-known ingenuity to try to discover some formula which would convey the main facts to the people without conveying facts that would be useful to the enemy?

If there should be widespread misunderstanding, I must take that and put up with it. It would not be fair that there should be misunderstanding. I can assure my hon. Friend that this has been most carefully considered by the Government, with every desire to publish the report, but we feel, with a full sense of responsibility, that we should be acting contrary to the national interest, and particularly the interest of the district concerned, if we were to make publication.

Seeing that a number of completely unfounded rumours have been going round, would it not be possible to produce what might be called a negative report definitely eliminating rumours about certain alleged causes that were found not to be causes? For example, my right hon. Friend himself referred to a rumour that spread like wildfire all over London that the accident was caused by panic among the Jewish inhabitants of the shelter. Cannot he do something to make it widely known that there was no panic?

I do not think I ought to be drawn into further discussion. I think the hon. Lady will agree that I have made a very handsome observation on that point in order to destroy the rumour.

Can the right hon. Gentleman see his way to give a clean bill of health in this unfortunate disaster to the London Passenger Transport Board?

I am much obliged to my hon. Friend. I can say straight away that the London Passenger Transport Board has no responsibility in the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Education to whom the Green Book, issued in connection with the promised Education Bill, has been sent; and whether he proposes to make it available for the general public?

I am sending to my hon. Friend a copy of the answer I gave to a Question on 31st July, 1941, containing a list of the bodies to which copies of the Green Book have been sent. This memorandum was prepared by officers of the Board to serve as a basis of preliminary discussions with the representatives of those with whom the Board are associated in the education service. It has now fulfilled the object for which it was prepared, and I feel that no useful purpose would be served by extending its circulation. In any case the stock is now exhausted, and I do not propose to reprint.

Will it be made available to Members of the House?

I think it would be better if the House awaited a rather more developed scheme.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that this book is being continually quoted against Members of Parliament?

I think perhaps it would be wiser if Members of Parliament awaited something rather more considered.

Is the book in the Library?

No, Sir.

Will a copy be placed in the Library?

I do not think it would serve a useful purpose. If the hon. Member desires to discuss the matter with me, he is certainly at liberty to do so.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been drawn to the proposal of the Wiltshire Education Committee to establish a community centre in the county for the greater development of the cultural life in the countryside; and whether the Board favour such proposals?

I have been interested to see from local Press reports that the Wiltshire Education Committee have recently discussed the desirability of establishing a community centre in the county. The Board have not received any definite pro- posal from the authority for that purpose. They would, of course, be glad to consider any such proposal should the authority decide to put one forward.

What steps is my right hon. Friend taking, if any, to encourage local education authorities to submit such schemes?

The possibility of starting community centres is well known to the authorities, and I should be only too glad to consider any such scheme put forward by the Wiltshire education authority.

asked the Minister of Health whether there has been brought to his notice the memorandum of the Glasgow Medical Officer of Health approved by the Health Committee of the Corporation, urging the creation of a permanent health and medical service for merchant seamen at the major British ports, to include the setting-up of a central representative committee which would unify, or at least co-ordinate, the minor functions now distributed over several administrations; and whether he will consider taking action on these lines?

I have seen this memorandum, and the Secretary of State for Scotland and I will keep it in mind in our consideration of the wider question of a comprehensive national health service.

asked the Minister of Health why it is that air-raid precaution wardens in hospitals, in contradistinction to air-raid precautions wardens elsewhere, do not have any scheme of ranking?

The wardens referred to by my hon. Friend are not members of the Civil Defence General Services, and any scheme of ranking for them would be a matter of internal administration within the discretion of the governing body of the hospital at which they are employed.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these men suffer a definite hardship just because they are employed by his Ministry instead of the Ministry of Home Security? They have to take orders from men junior to themselves who happen to belong to the Ministry of Home Security.

I should like to see that Question down in terms. I have not had any general representations about it.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the British Medical Association is advocating the pasteurisation of tuberculin-tested milk; and whether he is satisfied that the process is necessary and desirable?

The answer to the first part of the Question is: "Yes, Sir." On the second part, I am advised that, though the risk of contracting tuberculosis from drinking raw tuberculin-tested milk is remote, the danger of its conveying other milk-borne diseases can only be removed by adequate heat treatment.

In view of the fact that tuberculin-tested milk is frequently mixed with dirty milk, is not general pasteurisation desired by some in order to preserve for keeping purposes this filthy mixture which has not even the decency of turning sour in order to warn the general public of its danger?

I advise my hon. friend to read my answer.

When will the long-awaited statement on the subject be made? The Government have promised it for a long time past.

That is not for me to say.

Can we have a milk-bar in this House?

asked the Minister of Health whether he will publish for public guidance the exact nature of his notification to the large hospitals throughout Britain of the coming review of rehabilitation measures for the sick and injured?

Yes, Sir. A copy of the letter which I have sent to a number of hospitals on the subject of rehabilitation treatment will be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the serious scarcity of petrol for hospital ambulances in the Black Country; and will he endeavour to remedy this state of affairs?

I am aware of only one instance in or near the area mentioned in which difficulty has arisen about petrol allowance for a hospital ambulance. In this case the Petroleum Officer, some months ago, questioned the amount applied for, which showed an increase on the previous rate of consumption. The matter has since been under negotiation with the Hospital Authority, who have now submitted a revised and much reduced application, which has been agreed. I will send my hon. Friend particulars of this case, and if he has any others in mind he will no doubt let me know.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a leading doctor at Bilston made a serious complaint a week ago?

It may be that my answer will throw light on that.

asked the Minister of Health whether priority will be given in all building for civilian purposes to the reconstruction of council houses and those being bought through building societies?

The question of postwar building priorities is one for decision by the Government after consideration of the advice given to them by my Noble Friend the Minister of Works, who is surveying the whole field in consultation with the other Ministers concerned. But I gladly repeat the assurance which I gave recently in the House that I shall press for the highest priority for housing work in view of its vital importance to the health and well-being of the nation, and I shall certainly have regard to the important point raised by my hon. Friend.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider this point? Many people who have been buying their own houses want to know if there is any chance of their being rebuilt quickly after the war, because it will have some effect on whether they keep up their payments now or not.

Certainly.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in planning the erection of cottages after the war, he will state the contemplated average size of the gardens which shall be attached thereto.

The matter is under consideration by my Central Housing Advisory Committee, and I shall consider the advice I receive from them in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Town and County Planning.

Will the right hon. Gentleman also consider the need for allotments to go with cottages?

asked the Minister of Health whether, in his scheme for postwar building, special attention will be given to the construction of small houses for the use of aged married couples?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Health whether local authorities in cases of acute lack of accommodation, are entitled to lease large empty houses which need a minimum of reconstruction, and accommodate therein sets of families under municipal supervision?

Local authorities have power to lease houses under Section 72 of the Housing Act, 1936, but reconstruction would be subject to the terms of the lease.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that Mr. and Mrs. Hilditch, of Binley, near Coventry, after having had a house built for them, found the plans disapproved by the local authority concerned; and whether he will warn the public not to order building operations to be started before the necessary approval of plans has been obtained?

I am informed by the rural district council that this building contravenes their by-laws in several important respects. This unfortunate position would have been avoided if the plans had been deposited with the council in the ordinary way. The building seems to have been erected by a person who was not ordinarily engaged in the building trade. All regular builders are aware of the normal obligation to deposit with the local authority plans of a proposed building, and I do not think that any special warning is called for.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can increase the minimum quantity of furniture supplied to transferred war workers in billets where they are accommodated in bare rooms only; and whether he will take steps to impress further on the householders concerned that hospitality to such workers is a social duty of importance in the war effort?

I am not clear what the hon. Member has in mind, but if a householder on whom a war worker has been billeted is unable to provide a bed or bedding, arrangements have been made for these articles to be supplied from public stores. If the hon. Member will let me know of any particular difficulties which have been experienced, I will have inquiries made, and I will look into the matters raised in the document to which he has referred in his recent letter to me. As regards the last part of the Question, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service and I take every opportunity to impress on householders the importance of this matter in the national interest, and I am glad to say that in general the response is very satisfactory.

Will the right hon. Gentleman look into the situation in the particular districts referred to in the document?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Health whether transferred war workers are permitted to go on living in private houses, in which they have been billeted, during the absence, on holiday or for other causes, of the householders?

In such circumstances it would be the normal practice to move the person billeted to other accommodation for the time being.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is an unpatriotic minority of householders who do treat billetees with rudeness and inhospitality and will even go away for a week or two in order to avoid having workers billeted in their houses? Can he do anything about this?

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning how many town planning schemes are in existence which were sanctioned before the outbreak of the present war?

One hundred and forty-seven planning schemes now operative in England and Wales had been approved before the outbreak of the present war, and 10 more have been approved and become operative subsequently.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the schemes are reputed to cater for a population of approximately 300,000,000 people, and that no consideration has been given to the preservation of agricultural land? Will the Minister see that when replanning these plans, full consideration is given to the preservation of agricultural land?

Certainly, Sir. The problem to which my hon. and gallant Friend calls attention is well known to my Ministry and will be borne in mind.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether he is aware that many local authorities offer less than £6 per. week to planning officers; and whether he is satisfied that such remuneration is adequate to attract trained and experienced experts?

I do not think that the offer of such a salary would be sufficient to attract trained and experienced experts in planning, but I have no information which supports the suggestion that many local authorities are offering less than this amount to such officers.

Will my hon. Friend investigate? If he does, he will find that nearly all the advertisements for town and country planning officers before the war were for a salary of £6 per week or less? Did not the absence of authoritative knowledge largely cause the failure of the 1932 Act, and ought we not to avoid repeating the same failure?

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning, as the Minister of Health is now urging local authorities to proceed with their plans for postwar housing, whether he will restrict or define the location and approximate extent of new industries, or the revival of old ones, in any area?

The preliminary housing arrangements, which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health has asked housing authorities to make, are limited to a one-year's building programme, on which the major problems of reconstruction referred to by the hon. Member are not likely to arise. In regard to these problems, I would refer him to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House made to the hon. Member for Central Leeds (Mr. Denman) on 10th March, 1943.

Does not my hon. Friend recall that the local authorities have been asked to acquire the full size of all areas of both bombed sites and sites that will be needed for housing; and can they do this intelligently without this information regarding the extent of new industries, and these sites will not be required only for the first year's work but will form a material part of their full housing programme?

Will the hon. Gentleman represent to his noble Friend that a good deal of confusion is arising in the country as to where the respective responsibilities for housing as between the Ministry of Health and his Ministry lie and what are the lines of demarcation, and will he take an early opportunity to clarify the position?

There must be some confusion because the hon. Member referred to my Minister as my Noble Friend. That is not my Department. I think that the confusion is being rapidly diminished.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will confer with the Minister of Labour with a view to ensuring that full-time agricultural workers are not directed by the Ministry of Labour, through their local branches, to engage in part-time work with the National Fire Service, which entails their sacrificing some of their working hours on the farm; and, in cases where they have to travel long distances of three or four miles, whether they can be made immune from this form of duty, having regard to the importance of the utmost production from the land?

Conditions of employment and other personal circumstances are taken into consideration before directions to undertake Civil Defence work are issued; and there is provision for a directed person to appeal on grounds of exceptional hardship. I do not think it would be practicable to arrange for the exemption of all or any class of agricultural workers from liability to perform part-time Civil Defence duties, but I will be glad to look into any particular case where an obligation to perform such duties by an agricultural worker is causing interference with food production. In cases of this sort where hardship is involved, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour has already expressed his willingness to look into the matter, but no complaints have yet been brought to his notice.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there are three Departments concerned—the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Labour and the Home Office? Does he not realise that what is everybody's business becomes nobody's business? Is he not trustee for the agricultural community? Is not this interfering with food production, and ought not something really substantial to be done about it? I beg to give notice that, owing to the unconvincing nature of the answer, I will raise this matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will consider, in the interests of good farming and forestry, a national policy of the destruction of rabbits, except in suitable enclosed places where they can be grown for food?

A national campaign for the destruction of the wild rabbit has been in progress since the outbreak of war and has achieved a considerable measure of success. Even if it were desirable, it would not be feasible, in view of the shortage of wire netting, to enclose places for the production of wild rabbits for food.

Is it possible after the war to get enough wire netting for this purpose, and is it fair that when every other inhabitant of this country is being regulated to death Brer Rabbit should be free to do as he likes?

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many farmers there are at work in agriculture; and how many agricultural labourers similarly employed?

I regret that these figures are not available for publication during the war.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has considered the resolution sent to him recently by a conference of Essex blacksmiths, saddlers, wheelwrights, thatchers and hurdlemakers, drawing attention to the small number of men now engaged in these essential trades; and whether he will introduce a scheme for training apprentices or take other steps to secure a revival of these trades?

My attention has been called to the resolution referred to by the hon. Member, and I am aware that the national bodies concerned are also considering the need for action to secure the revival of the crafts in question. For the steps which are being taken by my Department in the interests of rural crafts, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply yesterday to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Tonbridge (Sir A. Baillie).

Taking one of these crafts alone, will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind, having regard to the acute shortage of rural houses, the importance of keeping alive the craft of the thatcher; and can he indicate whether these matters are likely to be covered in the forthcoming Luxmoore Report?

I cannot answer from memory the last part of the Question. As to the first part, I am in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour on this subject.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the theatrical productions on which in 1942 the Entertainments Duty was waived?

I regret that the information asked for could not be made available without a disproportionate expenditure of time and labour.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Memorandum on Post-war Currency and International Clearing, circulated to representatives of the United Nations in Europe attending the Treasury conference and to the observers of the United States of America, China and Russia, can now be made available to Members of this House?

As my hon. Friend is aware, this paper was available to the House yesterday.

Are we to understand that the whole of the Memorandum is embodied in the White Paper?

indicated assent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the official statement made in America on the amount of Lend-Lease afforded to the Allies by the United States of America, he is able now to state the amount in sterling of Lend-Lease facilities afforded to the United States Government?

No, Sir. This mutual aid in a common task is not reckoned in terms of dollars or of pounds.

Is my right hon. Friend not aware that very full statements have appeared in America on the aid given by the United States of America to the United Nations? Surely my right hon. Friend reads some books and knows what is happening, and would it not be in the public interest that we should know?

No, the hon. Member is quite on the wrong basis.

It is very unsatisfactory.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that in the Manchester "Wings for Victory" week a separate record has been kept of subscriptions by stamps, certificates, deposits in the banks and Defence Bonds; whether he will have the final Manchester results published and cause all other organisers of "Wings for Victory" weeks to do likewise?

In reply to the first part of the Question, I am aware that the Manchester Committee, in common with other local savings committees, keeps a record of these particulars. In reply to the second part, it is open to any local committee to publish these particulars and many do so; I do not consider that it is necessary to issue any further instructions.

Is my right hon. Friend really interested in getting at what are the genuine savings of the people, and does he not agree that all these "Wings for Victory" weeks are inflated by the banks holding off investments for two or three weeks beforehand and then piling them all in?

I know that the hon. Gentleman has some particular views on this matter, and I shall be publishing shortly a White Paper in which many of the facts which he desires will appear.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that Questions like this asked by the hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Stokes) are likely to discourage savings?

No, Sir, I do not think people will take any notice of them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that in the cases of men in the Services overseas who send small parcels home and pay postage duty on these parcels at the place of despatch, the parents or relatives of these men are being called upon to pay additional sums on receipt of parcels, amounting in three known cases to 5s., 8s. 8d. and 15s. 5d.; and whether he is prepared to take any action in the matter?

Customs duty is, of course, payable in this country on receipt of a dutiable parcel in addition to the postage paid by the sender. But I have recently authorised a concession by which each member of His Majesty's Forces serving overseas may send home free of duty four parcels a year subject to certain limits and conditions. The full details of the concession have been notified to the Forces.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware how very discontented and disturbed both the parents and the soldiers overseas are that charges should be imposed such as have been set out in the Question, and of the hardship and discontent that arise when these men, who have very little money, learn that after they have sent these parcels home their parents have to pay these charges on receiving them?

It was in an endeavour to meet that situation that I have made this concession.

Is it possible for the Chancellor to make these new conditions known to Members of this House?