asked the Secretary of State for War (1) the calibre of the gun mounted on the German Royal Tiger tank together with the weight of its projectile;

I gave the hon. Member the particulars he asks for about the Royal Tiger in the reply I gave him on 16th January. It would clearly not be in the public interest to give details of British and Allied weapons being used against the enemy.

Is it not a fact that we have nothing at all equal to the gun on the Royal Tiger that is capable of piercing 5½in. of armour at 2,000 yards, and that the Russians already have a tank with a 5-inch gun on it?

The hon. Member is giving information, but as he said I did not give him the details about the Royal Tiger, this is my answer to the Question he asked on January 16th as to the calibre of the gun and the weight of the projectile:

"We have not yet received the complete details of the King Tiger. I understand, however, that it carries an 88 mm. gun firing a projectile weighing 22.4 lbs. …" [OFFICIAL REPORT; 16th January, 1945; Vol, 407, c. 17.]

Is it not true that in spite of our limitations, we seem to be doing very well on the Western Front?

I was under that impression; the only evidence to the contrary is from the hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Stokes).

Can the right hon. Gentleman say, approximately, how many of these German Tiger tanks have been knocked out by our armoured fighting vehicles and anti-tank guns, and how do they compare in manœuvrability?

I will see if I can get figures about the first part of the question. With regard to manœuvrability, which I regard as a much more important quality than mere size, there is no comparison.

Arising out of the Minister's second reply, is he aware that I have a letter in my hand dated 6th February from soldiers at the front complaining that there is absolutely nothing among our armour equal to the Tiger?

I will, on the appropriate occasion, which will arise fairly soon, produce the authoritative opinion of the soldiers about the comparison of the British and German tanks.

Would it be possible for one of these tanks to be placed in the tea room for the benefit of the hon. Member?

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of the anxiety caused by letters being returned to relatives of serving soldiers overseas because the unit has moved on and the address to where they have gone is not known, so the letters fail to reach them; and what steps are taken to ensure the correspondence reaching its destination.

My hon. Friend will be aware of the great difficulties there are in forwarding mail to men who go into hospital or change their units, but very extensive arrangements have been made to meet these difficulties. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for forwarding to me two letters which have been returned to sender. Enquiries are being made to establish whether they could reasonably have been reposted to reach the addressee.

I have asked this Question only to draw attention to the matter, so that people will know we are watching this sort of thing and endeavouring to put it right.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is now in a position to make a statement as to the report of the inquiry he promised to make into the conditions at Helmsley Camp where six men were killed in their beds by falling trees.

Five men lost their lives as a result of this tragic accident and I take this opportunity to express my sympathy with their relatives. The accident was due to a storm and no one was to blame. As I said in my answer to my hon. Friend on 6th February, there is always some such risk when a camp is situated among trees. It is impossible at this stage of the war to rebuild the camp elsewhere or to move the men. But a number of trees have already been felled and felling will continue.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this is not an isolated incident? Numerous trees have fallen there and it does not need much investigation to know that they are old elm trees.

My information is that the last incident, which did not result in any deaths, was in 1942.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that in the Glider Pilot Regiment Army officers draw field allowance whilst R.A.F. officers serving in the same camp cannot draw it; that Army and R.A.F. Glider Pilots of equal ranks and doing similar work, are paid at different rates; that a commander of a Glider Pilot unit has no powers of punishment over N.C.O.'s of his unit, if these belong to the other service; and whether he will cause these and other anomalies due to the mixing of personnel of the two services in Gider Pilot units to be regularised as early as possible.

As I said in my reply to my hon. and gallant Friend on 6th February, the Glider Pilot Regiment is part of the Army but for operational reasons R.A.F. officers and men have been attached to it. This may well be only a temporary arrangement, and, in these circumstances there are almost bound to be some discrepancies between the conditions under which the officers and men of the Army and the R.A.F. are serving in the Regiment. But, as a matter of fact, I understand that the rates and conditions under which field allowance is issuable to R.A.F. officers are the same as for Army officers and that whenever N.C.O.'s of the R.A.F. and airmen are ordered to serve with a Glider Pilot unit, the commander of that unit is empowered to punish them as if they were Army N.C.O.'s or soldiers.

Is my right hon. Gentleman aware that these are not minor administrative difficulties, but are in fact quite considerable difficulties? Is he aware that any officer commanding a unit of mixed personnel will certainly not consider them minor difficulties?

I think an officer commanding such a unit might be in a position to inform himself authoritatively of his powers. He certainly ought to know where to go for information as to his powers if he does not already know them.

asked the Secretary of State for War if men serving in the B.L.A. are able to buy postal orders for the purpose of making small purchases by mail from home.

Yes, Sir. Men serving in the B.L.A. are able to buy postal orders at Army post offices and Field post offices.

Is there any lower limit to the amount of postal orders?

I do not know. There is an upper limit in the ordinary Treasury Regulations and there is a Regulation in 21 Army Group prohibiting bulk purchase of postal orders which might be used to further black market operations.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that one man who wanted a postal order for 3s. 6d. was told that he could not buy one for less than£1?

Perhaps the hon. Member will give me a specific instance. It is a very small matter and the Regulations are quite clear.

asked the Secretary of State for War why on 23rd February, 1945, every N.C.O. and private in a certain battalion which a fortnight earlier had removed from Clacton to Felixstowe had 2s. deducted from his pay for barrack-room damage at Clacton; and why this punishment was inflicted on men who had never been to Clacton owing to absence in hospital, etc.

Inquiries are being made into this incident about which I had not previously heard.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether in those exceptional cases where a man served in an allied army prior to joining the British Army, his period of service in the allied army will be taken into account for purposes of demobilisation.

I am afraid not.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give some reason? It is unfair to these men who have done two or three years' fighting who, through no fault of their own, were not able to join the British Army before, that their previous service with an Allied Army should not count.

I do not think the case has any merits whatever.

I beg to give notice that I will raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for War by what means next-of-kin can send urgent communications to officers and men of the B.L.A.

Next-of-kin may communicate about urgent private affairs by telegrams which are sent by Army channels used for operational traffic. In this connection, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply I gave my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Darwen (Captain Prescott) on 13th February.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that, at present, anyone wishing to send an urgent communication to an officer or man of the B.L.A. must first apply in writing, either to the War Office or to the record office concerned?

As these telegrams have to go by operational channels, some means of limiting the number of really urgent cases must be found. In any case the postal service, which I believe all goes by air to the B.L.A., is now so quick that there is no real advantage in sending these urgent telegrams at all.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can announce the composition of the Canadian First Army now engaged in operations against the enemy.

I regret that I cannot give my hon. and gallant Friend the full composition of the First Canadian Army now engaged in operations against the enemy, as such information would be of the greatest value to the enemy at the present time while the battle is still in progress. As my hon. and gallant Friend is no doubt aware, the strength and composition of an Army vary with the tasks assigned to it. He has, no doubt, seen in the Press mention of some United Kingdom units which are fighting as part of this Army. United Kingdom troops in fact form two-thirds of the First Canadian Army at the present time.

Is it a fact that some three weeks ago there appeared in the Canadian Press a statement to the effect that the British contingent formed some 75 per cent. of the First Canadian Army?

There is not a vast deal of difference between two-thirds and three-quarters. In any case, the composition of the Army varies from time to time.

Could my right hon. Friend make clear to the public whether there is a British First Army or whether the Canadian First Army is the British First Army?

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has any further information in regard to our prisoners of war in German territory occupied by our Russian Ally.

The arrival of 14 officers and 464 other ranks at the transit camp at Odessa has been reported by our Military Mission in Moscow; the names of those arriving are now being received and next-of-kin are being informed as soon as possible. Perhaps I could interpolate that about half of the names have arrived so far. We have otherwise received no further information about British Commonwealth prisoners liberated by the Red Army since the reply I gave a number of hon. Members last Tuesday. I should like to take this opportunity to inform the House that the British Red Cross War Organisation sent supplies to Russia some time ago and these are now being called forward for our men. Supplies have also recently been sent to Odessa.

Can my right hon. Friend give an idea of the total number of prisoners of war released by Russia as people in this country seem disappointed at the small number and the lack of news?

Beyond the answers I have given already, the only authentic numbers I have are these: 14 officers and 464 other ranks. These have arrived in Odessa. As to others, various stories have been received but are not immediately verifiable. I will certainly give all the information I receive, but my hon. Friend will be aware that I have given answers in the House from time to time showing that the Germans have been very hastily and very inconsiderately removing numbers of our prisoners further back into Germany.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether he has yet had an opportunity to complete the inquiries he promised into the allegations that the Germans are segregating Jewish prisoners of war from other prisoners of war, and in view of the grave anxiety caused by the report, can he expedite the inquiry?

I think it was last week my hon. Friend asked me this Question. Those inquiries can only be made through the Protecting Power, and it is a matter of many weeks before those inquiries can mature in information. I am afraid I can only say that it is no good expecting an early answer.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is now in a position to say what is the result of his inquiries with regard to the alleged ill-treatment of British prisoners of war in Bulgaria.

According to such information as I have the position is as follows. Prior to the signature of the armistice there were between 30 and 40 British prisoners of war in Bulgaria. They were placed in camps with Americans, who far outnumbered them. I regret to say that some of our prisoners were put to death; it is not known how many but the number is certainly under 10. Enquiries are still being made. The physical conditions under which all our prisoners lived were entirely unsatisfactory. Their food was inadequate and the treatment they received was rigorous and on occasion brutal. I understand that the commandant and two officers of one prisoner of war camp have been arrested and confined. The commandant of another committed suicide while he was waiting to be interrogated. Twenty-three Bulgarian officers and other ranks are in close arrest and 19 in open arrest for their share of the responsibility for this ill-treatment. British ex-prisoners of war who have passed through Bulgaria since the signature of the armistice report, however, that they have been treated satisfactorily.

Will my right hon. Friend take steps to see, when these inquiries are complete, that those found guilty shall be appropriately dealt with by the British authorities?

That raises the whole question of the machinery for dealing with war criminals. I should not like to answer it without notice.

asked o the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction of repatriated wounded or sick prisoners who find the arrangements made to provide them with civilian necessities while at home are much too slow to operate; and will he try and improve matters.

Repatriated wounded and sick prisoners of war are sent on leave to their homes as soon as they are fit to go. Detailed instructions have been issued to enable them to obtain rations, handkerchiefs and privileged priced cigarettes and tobacco. Arrangements are also made for them to be placed on the Service Register as electors. I have not heard of complaints about the present arrangements.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that complaints have been made, and will he speed up action by the Government Departments concerned?

To the best of my belief action has been speeded up and the arrangements are in force. If, instead of general complaints of unsatisfactory conditions, the hon. Lady will give me something specific to investigate, I will certainly do it.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether Government plans for post-war training and employment are communicated to prisoners of war in Germany and Japan.

No, Sir, but arrangements have been made for information about the plans for post-war training and employment to be given to all prisoners of war as soon as possible after their liberation from German hands. Similar arrangements will be made for prisoners now in Japanese hands.

Why cannot these Regulations, which would be of great interest to prisoners of war, be sent out?

Most of the prisoners of war are travelling up and down Germany in extremely uncomfortable conditions. Also, to send these regulations in any large numbers would clog up the arrangements for prisoners getting mail, and so would not be very much to their liking.

Could not one copy be sent to the senior officer of each existing camp?

asked the Secretary of State for War what proportion of the gardeners of the Imperial War Graves Commission, employed up to 1940 in France and Belgium, have now been given permission to return to their duties and families in those countries.

Of 343 gardeners available for re-employment by the Commission, 70 have so far resumed their duties in France and Belgium.

Does my right hon. Friend expect to send the others back soon?

I cannot say. "Soon" is not a precise term. It will certainly be as soon as we can.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is still retaining the several hundred architects, engineers and other members of the building industry who were employed in the construction of Mulberry, or is he making them available for supervisory work or to prepare schemes for post-war housing.

I have been asked to reply. As the hon. Member will be aware this great work was carried out by a large number of co-operating contractors who employed their own technicians. No architects and only about a dozen engineers and other technicians were directly employed by the Ministry of Supply. One or two remain to clear up certain outstanding matters.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are something like 300 architects, engineers and quantity surveyors, who are in very short supply, who would be able to do the preliminary work, if necessary, for about 100,000 building trade operatives when the war ends?

They are not being held by the Ministry of Supply.

My Question was put down to the Secretary of State for War.

The War Office is not having any of these people either.

asked the Minister of Works whether he is satisfied that an adequate percentage of the building labour available is being allocated to the rebuilding of factories.

The many urgent demands for building labour greatly exceed the labour available, and I am satisfied that as large a percentage of the labour force as can reasonably be apportioned at present has been allocated to factory building.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will indicate the duties and responsibilities of the Judge-Advocate General.

His Majesty's Judge-Advocate General, who is appointed on the recommendation of the Secretaries of State for War and Air, and holds his office under Letters Patent from the Crown, superintends the administration of military and air force law in the British Army and Royal Air Force respectively at home and abroad. This includes similar duties in relation to the Royal Marines when subject to military law, and to the Auxiliary Territorial Service and the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

Is this official a military officer or a civil servant?

I would not like to answer that conundrum offhand. He is appointed, as I say, under Letters Patent, on the recommendation of the Secretaries of State for War and Air.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this officer may be three in one; and is there any evidence to show that he is any one of the three?

Perhaps I may state that I have been reading Gibbon again, and there has been a great deal of trouble about the nature of the Trinity in the history of our planet.

As the W.R.N.S. come under the Naval Discipline Act, does the Judge-Advocate General deal with them?

If they were excepted from my list, the answer is "No." My hon. Friend might ask the First Lord of the Admiralty.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place a copy of the minutes of evidence taken at the inquiry into Constructional Scheme No. 1 of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board on 27th to 30th December, 1944 and 3rd and 4th January, 1945, inclusive, in the Library for the perusal of Members.

Yes, Sir. A copy of the evidence is being placed in the Library to-day.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases have now been transferred from the lists of Scottish voluntary hospitals and treated under the emergency hospitals scheme; and what are the financial arrangements with the voluntary hospitals for treatment of such cases.

Under a scheme which I arranged with the Scottish Branch of the British Hospitals Association in January, 1941, 32,250 patients from the waiting lists of voluntary hospitals in Scotland have been treated in emergency hospitals set up by the Department of Health for Scotland. For this service an overall charge of 30s. per case, irrespective of the length of stay, is made against the voluntary hospital. I might add that the scheme has had a considerable effect in reducing the waiting lists and has been of immense benefit to thousands of patients.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is aware that the number of mines winding coal in this country decreased from 2,919 in 1900 to about 1,695 in 1944, and that some of them were closed because separate colliery companies failed to agree on co-operative pumping schemes to prevent flooding; and is he satisfied that he has sufficient legal powers to prevent that happening in future.

I am aware that a number of pits have been closed through trouble with water, and it may well be that

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the rate of accidents, fatal and non-fatal, in the mining industry in each of the last seven years in relation to man-shifts worked and 100,000 tons of coal got, respectively.

As the answer involves a number of figures, I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Could my hon. Friend say whether there is an improvement in those figures as compared with seven years ago?

Yes, Sir; I think the tendency is for the fatal accident rate to decrease, but unfortunately the non-fatal accidents rather tend to increase.

Has my hon. Friend noticed that nearly as many coalmines have been closed in the last 45 years as there are remaining in operation at present, and could he see whether there is not some legal power somewhere to prevent colliery companies quarrelling among themselves in future and closing good pits because they refuse to join co-operative pumping schemes, leaving thereby large areas derelict?

I am well aware that many pits have been closed and why some of them were closed, but I cannot go into it at Question Time.

Is my hon. Friend aware that practically all colliery owners who are quarrelling with one another in this connection are Conservatives?

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power on what date the Report of the Technical Committee advising him on coal production is to be available.

My right hon. Friend expects to receive this report very shortly.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he has submitted the American Mission's Report on the British coalfields to the Technical Committee advising him on coal production, with a view to their considering the recommendations contained therein.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. and gallant Friend gave on the 12th December last to a question by the hon. Member for Stourbridge (Mr. Morgan).

In view of the fact that the report cannot be published because the evidence was given in secret, could my hon. Friend say on what authority the miners' evidence was disclosed to the coal-owners through the medium of this report?

The position has been made clear on more than one occasion, and I told the hon. Member a few days ago that the report was submitted in confidence to the Technical Committee so that they could have the benefit of the evidence which is in the report.

The hon. Gentleman has misunderstood the purport of my supplementary question. On what authority was the miners' evidence, which was given to the Commission in secret, disclosed to the Technical Committee, which consists of coalowners' representatives?

I am afraid that I cannot answer that offhand.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the cost incurred in the erection of the miners' hostel at Rotherham; the total accommodation of same; the number accommodated in it at the moment; the highest number who at any given time have been accommodated; and the number of youths who have been directed to the mines in the district.

The cost of erecting the hostel is expected to be about £74,000; it was planned to provide accommodation for 350, but after building had started the sleeping accommodation was reduced to 200. Owing to the unexpectedly large proportion of men allocated for coal-mining employment in the Rotherham area, who either live in the neighbourhood of collieries or have found lodgings for themselves, it has not yet been necessary to open the hostel, but if the flow of men directed to Government training centres continues at the present rate, it may be necessary to do so shortly. As regards the last part of the Question, the number of men directed to mines in the Rotherham area is about 320.

In view of the shortage of housing and the terrible overcrowding in the district, may I ask the Minister to expedite the opening of this hostel as much as possible?

I will certainly convey that information back.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the average weekly compensation paid to injured adult mineworkers.

I regret that the information is not available.

May I ask your guidance on this Question, Mr. Speaker? I submitted it to the Ministry of Fuel and Power, which had entertained it for months in discussions and correspondence. This transfer has taken place without any notification to me.

I cannot dictate to Ministers who shall reply to a Question. It is for the appropriate Minister to reply.

In this case the Ministry of Fuel and Power have entertained the matter by discussion and correspondence, and it was to that Department that the Question was submitted.

Miners are not called up for military service merely because they may have been absent from work for a short time on account of illness or industrial disease. Such action is taken only when my right hon. Friend is satisfied, on the medical evidence available, that a return to coal-mining would be detrimental to the worker's health or that he is likely to be permanently unfit for that work. Our officers consult the appropriate officers of the Ministry of Fuel and Power on all these cases.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that a few weeks ago a miner was taken from opencast work and spent five months in the Army, and was then allowed to return to the mining industry, and that I have had particulars of a similar case sent to me this morning? Is he aware that we are losing miners, who are spending time and effort being trained in the Army, and are finally sent back to the mines?

I think that it was admitted, in the first case to which my hon. Friend refers, that a mistake was made. If a mistake has been made again, and if he sends me particulars, it will be rectified.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what action is being taken to bring about a great increase in the supply of electric power as soon as possible on the termination of hostilities; and have steps been taken to increase to its utmost the productive capacity of power plant production for home consumption and for export.

I regret that I have nothing to add to the reply which my right hon. and gallant Friend gave to my hon. Friend on 20th February.

Does my hon. Friend agree that post-war industrial efficiency will depend on the availability of large supplies of electric power at as cheap a rate as possible, and, if so, what action is being taken to plan to bring that about?

I can give an assurance to my hon. Friend that all is being done that can be done to see that existing capacity is sufficiently worked and that extra capacity is extended as quickly as possible.

Is not my hon. Friend sorry now that the Central Electricity Board cancelled such a lot of plant a few years ago?

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power on what authority the Electricity Commissioners have authorised undertakings to purchase electrical equipment for post-war requirements from specified areas such as Scotland, the Northeast coast and South Wales.

I presume my hon. Friend is referring to a letter sent by the Electricity Commission to all authorised electricity undertakers on 1st February. The purpose of this letter is, I think, clear from the following extract:

"It would be of the greatest assistance in maintaining employment at the highest possible level on the conclusion of hostilities, or as and when war contracts are terminated, if undertakers could now proceed to place advance orders."

Is my hon. Friend not aware that these are not the main producing centres of electrical equipment? Does he intend to direct this industry into those new areas?

The letter sent out made it clear, I think, what the purpose was. I believe my hon. Friend will agree that one cannot maintain full employment after hostilities unless some planning is carried out.

Would not the Minister agree that it is far better to direct industries to go where people live and have established their homes, than to drive people from their homes?

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he has considered the Report recently issued by Mr. Devereaux regarding the development of West Cumberland and which has since been adopted by the Cumberland Development Council; and will he state the steps taken to implement the Report;

This report, together with much other material bearing on this subject, has been carefully examined by my Department. A number of projects are on foot for the development of existing industries, and the introduction of new industries, in West Cumberland. Some of these are now in course of negotiation and, as my hon. Friend will appreciate, it would be premature to give details until the arrangements have been completed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if attention has been called to the large number of workpeople discharged from High Duty Alloys, Limited, Distington, during the last four months; and what steps have been taken to introduce new industries, to meet this position, in accordance with the policy outlined in the Government's White Paper on Full Employment.

Yes, Sir. The question of the future employment of the workers released from this factory is being examined at the present time, and I am in close touch on the matter with those of my colleagues who are most immediately concerned.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to direct industries into Lancashire in order to maintain employment there when factories at present on war work come to the end of their orders.

As I have previously stated, there has been a large amount of new industrial building in Lancashire during the war, and I hope that these modern factories, for which I have already received many applications from industrialists, will be fully used, when they are no longer required for war production. I have already announced that the Government factory at Speke has been leased to the Dunlop Rubber Company, Limited.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in the weaving area of Lancashire there are no new factories and no new looms on which to employ people, and that if we are not going to revert to the previous large scale unemployment there, some new industries will have to be brought into that area?

Under what conditions are these factories leased to firms?

That is another question altogether.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why action has been taken to prevent new industries or factories from being started in Stoke-on-Trent; if it is his intention to facilitate industrial development in the area; what action has been taken since his visit to North Staffordshire; and how many pottery manufacturers and others, respectively, have inquired about the use of Government factories in the area.

No action has been taken to prevent new industries or factories being started in Stoke-on-Trent. As I have previously stated, I am confident, and will do my best to ensure, that Government factories, which have been built during the war, when they are no longer required for war purposes, will be fully used for peace-time production. I have received inquiries regarding the post-war use of Government factories in the Stoke area from two pottery manufacturers and a number of firms in other industries.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the specific factors that were taken into consideration when determining which areas of the country are to be regarded as future development areas.

I would ask my hon. Friend to await the statement which I shall make on the Second Reading of the Distribution of Industry Bill.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in pursuance of what powers the Oxford laundry zoning scheme was put into force; and under what legal sanction proceedings are taken for its infringement either by customer or laundry.

This scheme is a voluntary one and was introduced, at the request of my Noble Friend, the Minister of War Transport, and myself, in order to secure the maximum saving of petrol, rubber and man-power in furtherance of the war effort. Details were worked out by a committee of Oxford launderers in consultation with my Regional Director of Laundry Services and the Regional Transport Commissioner. No proceedings for infringement of the scheme have been taken or are contemplated. The scheme depends for its success on the co-operation of the launderers in the area, and I am glad to say that this has been forth-coming.

Does not that answer mean that, having been endowed with ample powers by Parliament, the right hon. Gentleman has, in effect, imposed a scheme, by arriving at an agreement between himself and the trade in such a form that Parliament cannot pray against it? If he calls that a voluntary agreement, can he tell us who volunteered?

The launderers, whom I approached and invited to volunteer. There is no doubt much voluntary effort is still to be welcomed in furtherance of our war effort.

Ought the voluntary effort to take the form of a conspiracy in restraint of trade?

The greater part of the war effort is restraint of trade, for a very good purpose.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the scarcity and the unpopularity of farthings as units of currency, he will order them to be disregarded in the fixing of maximum retail prices or, alternatively, permit of adjustment in price, by mutual consent, between tradesman and customer, without recognised infringement of the maximum retail price orders where neither party is able to furnish a coin of this value.

The principal Maximum Prices Orders provide that retail maximum prices are to be rounded to the nearest ½d. if the price of the article does not exceed 5s. and to the nearest 1d. if it exceeds 5s. Only for a few articles of very low value are maximum prices fixed in farthings. I am not aware that this practice has caused inconvenience or dissatisfaction and I do not propose to alter it. I could not permit any arrangement between a tradesman and his customer for the payment of more than the legal maximum price, but there is nothing to prevent a tradesman from charging less than that price.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that a tradesman who, by mutual consent with his customers, accepted an extra farthing was recently fined £40 for so doing, and that, as a result, customers who now wish to buy commodities the price of which involves a farthing, in o many cases cannot get them unless they have that coin?

I have had no complaint, but if the hon. Member will send me the particular case, I shall be glad to look into it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the steady decline in the production of cotton goods is due to one factor only, namely, inadequate labour supply; and will he take energetic measures, in consultation with the Minister of Labour, to remedy this serious position and to devise some ameliorative action.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply and I are in constant touch with my right hon. Friends the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Production on this matter. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour informed my hon. Friend on Thursday last, further measures are in hand for increasing the number of workpeople in the spinning section of the cotton industry. My right hon. Friends and I Eire also in touch with the Cotton Board in regard to the action which the industry itself is taking, and must in future take, to attract new recruits.

As it would appear from the answer that everybody is getting into touch with everybody else, can my right hon. Friend tell fee House what in fact is being done? Is it not the case that when civilian production gets to the low limit that it has reached in this particular trade, the matter becomes one of urgent war priority?

What is happening is that the Ministers concerned with production in Lancashire are in touch with each other to see whether we can divert some of the labour now employed in making munitions to the spinning of cotton. That is the problem we are considering, but, evidently, we must not prejudice the production of munitions in this critical stage of the war. The cotton industry is not an attractive industry, compared with the making of munitions, and that is one of our troubles.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the steady decline of an adequate labour supply is due to one cause only, and that is the failure of the employers in other trades to provide labour with decent wages or reasonable security of employment? May I ask him whether the Government will devise any ameliorative action in regard to that matter?

I answered that question last week.

Is it not possible that a number of war industries imported into Lancashire could be transferred to the special areas where unemployment exists at the present time, and thus release cotton operatives?

In relation to the supplementary question of the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. Silver-man), may I ask the Minister whether it is not based on lack of information, and cannot be borne out by the facts?

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can yet announce any Government proposals designed to assist the cotton trade of Lancashire to recover export markets in order that it may make its contribution to the 50 per cent. increase in the country's export trade which the Government have declared to be necessary.

As I have previously stated, it is the view of His Majesty's Government that, for some time after the war, the cotton industry should be able to sell overseas, at good prices, all it can produce for export. When I discussed post-war problems with leaders of the cotton industry in September last, I urged them to take certain immediate steps to increase the efficiency of the industry. As I informed my hon. Friend the Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. Silverman) last Tuesday, discussions on this matter between the various sections of the industry, under the auspices of the Cotton Board, have been proceeding, and I have asked the Chairman of the Cotton Board to keep me informed of their progress.

The Question asks what the Government are doing. In September the Minister told the industry what it had to do. What the industry wants to know is what the Government propose in regard to the export trade specifically.

To encourage export trade to the utmost extent, consistent with the prosecution of the war effort and the maintenance of essential civilian supplies.

Has my right hon. Friend included, among the steps he has suggested to the industry, the provision of a legal minimum wage, so as to alter the position whereby, before the war, a weaver could work 48 hours a week for less than 20s.

One of the points I raised with the industry, as I stated at the time, was the modernisation of the wage structure, which is primarily a matter for the employers and workers in the industry to work out in detail.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has considered the Palache Report on tendencies to monopoly in the film industry; and whether he can make a statement on it.

As I have previously stated, in accordance with the suggestion made to me by the Films Council, I have, in the first instance, invited the various sections of the films industry to let me have their views on the report. I am still waiting to hear from certain sections of the industry.

Can my right hon. Friend give any estimate when he Will get those answers and when he will have a view of his own?

When I shall get the answers depends upon the sections of the industry concerned. So far, out of eight associations which, following the advice of the Films Council, I have consulted, I have had replies from only three. It is not my intention to begin to form a view unless I have those communications.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is now in a position to relax the restriction on the length of men's socks.

No, Sir. This restriction has resulted in a substantial saving of yarn, which is required for other kinds of clothing, particularly infants' wear.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that these short-length socks are just as unpopular as the austerity suits were? Will he remove this restriction at the earliest possible moment?

The earliest, possible moment will be used to give priority to infants over males who prefer a long sock to a short sock.

Is the Minister aware that these socks are always relaxed because they are not long enough to be restricted?

Are the women to be asked to make a contribution?

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can make any statement on current imports of children's Wellington boots from Canada; anl if there is to be a distribution of these in addition to the distribution of such boots announced by him recently.

The first consignments of children's Wellingtons from Canada, to which I referred in reply to Questions on 6th February, are expected to arrive in a few weeks' time. These supplies will be small in relation to the total demand and special arrangements have been made to ensure that they are distributed to children in rural areas.

Thank you.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider the advisability of arranging that towels and overalls should be decontrolled; that wool should be supplied in place of yarn for children's socks and jerseys; and that one pair of sheets and at least one blanket per household should be released, in accordance with the request of the standing conference of women's organisations at Wolverhampton.

I regret that, owing to the shortage of textiles, I cannot see my way at present to adopt my hon. Friend's suggestions regarding towels, overalls and sheets and blankets. As regards wool, the supply of yarn for the hosiery industry and of hand knitting yarn for the shops is being maintained at the highest possible level.