asked the Minister of War Transport if he can give the tonnage of cargoes handled, both imports and exports, by the dock workers throughout the United Kingdom during the period of the war.

:It is not possible to give precise figures of cargoes handled by dock workers during the war or to distinguish between cargoes such as bulk grain, coal and bulk oil which are largely dealt with by mechanical means and those which involve direct handling by dock labour, nor is it possible to say what proportion of cargoes have been handled under war conditions by civilian and military labour respectively. But my hon. Friend may be interested to know that the total amount of dry cargo imports and exports, including bulk cargoes passing through the U.K. ports during the war amounted to about 250,000,000 tons, exclusive of the coastal trade and of military stores and equipment.