asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons claiming to be political refugees have been extradited from this country in each year since 1918; and to what countries.

The information for which my hon. Friend asks could not be obtained without prolonged and detailed scrutiny of the cases of all persons who have been extradited since 1918.

Is it not a fact that the position, in so far as it is known to the Home Secretary, reveals a fine tradition of political asylum in this country, and will my right hon. Friend do everything in his power to maintain it?

Yes. I think that that record is maintained so far as I have been able to investigate the matter and I am personally determined that nothing shall be done to break it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has now received from the United States authorities the requisition necessary to enable him to consider the merits of the case of Herr Eisler; if he has now satisfied himself that this case has a political content and political implications; and what action he proposes to take.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet received a requisition from the United States Government for the extradition of Herr Gerhardt Eisler.

I received the request for the extradition of Mr. Eisler on 23rd May, and, in accordance with the usual practice, I have forwarded it to Bow Street. The application for extradition is now sub judice and it would be improper for me to make any comments.

Before forwarding the requisition, could my right hon. Friend at any point have considered its contents and the merits of the case; could he have taken any action?

I think it would have been very unwise of me to do so.

When my right hon. Friend does have to adjudicate between this individual and the Government of a big Power will he satisfy himself not only that the technical charge can be substantiated, but also that it is not a pretext for political action?

This matter is before the court tomorrow. It will not come in front of me again until a decision has been reached by the court. It would be very wrong of me to say anything today that might prejudice the issue one way or the other.

Is there not a possibility that the delay has been deliberate on the part of America in the hope of getting this man smuggled out of the country during the Parliamentary Recess, and will the Home Secretary assure us that nothing of that kind will happen?

I am bound to say that I do not think any undue delay has occurred. I can give the House the assurance that I shall not depart from the answers I have given earlier today in the event of the case taking a certain course, but I am very anxious today not to say anything that would make it difficult for the case to be considered in an unprejudiced way by the court.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what request was received from the Southampton police authorities for Scotland Yard officers to accompany the local officers in their execution of the warrant for the arrest of Gerhardt Eisler; and on whose instructions were these Scotland Yard officers so detailed to act.

No request was made by the Southampton Police for the services of Metropolitan Police officers. In accordance with the normal practice in extradition cases, approach was made by the United States authorities to the Metropolitan Police. As an act of courtesy, two officers of the Metropolitan Police specially experienced in extradition matters accompanied the United States representatives to Southampton, where those representatives went to apply for a warrant.

Is it not the case, contrary to what my right hon. Friend suggests, that this answer reveals that the attempt to represent this as a normal extradition procedure really is not justified and what we see now, with M.I.5 obviously coming into it, is a plot between that organisation and the American Secret Service, in which the Home Office have most unhappily become embroiled?

M.I.5 had no part whatever in it.

How does the right hon. Gentleman know?

Because I have inquired. I have previously told the House that this case has given me the greatest personal anxiety and continues to give me the greatest personal anxiety and I have taken every step I can to ensure that the procedure shall be absolutely correct. It is normally the Metropolitan Police who are approached because it is normally at Bow Street that extradition proceedings are taken. Furthermore, the foreign embassies are situated in London. In this case it was finally decided that the Suothampton Bench was the appropriate bench to which the United States officials should apply for an extradition warrant.

Can my right hon. Friend say who decided that? Were the Americans given this technical advice by some Department of the British Government to enable them to put the thing across in a way most convenient to them; and if Bow Street is normally the court used for applications, why was this done in a sort of under cover way at Southampton?

Speech.

Be quiet.

As my right hon. Friend showed some impatience, may I venture to explain that in this House we have never been able to get the slightest elucidation of what happens in M.I.5, and that is the only reason for asking how my right hon. Friend knew?

I do not intend to answer the last part of that supplementary question. The American Embassy approached the Metropolitan Police with a statement that they intended to apply for an extradition warrant. The man would be within the jurisdiction of the English courts in Southampton Water and it was, therefore, thought that the Southampton magistrates, within whose jurisdiction he would be, were the appropriate people to issue a warrant.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to bear in mind that many of us who do not agree with him politically realise the extreme delicacy of the matter he has had to handle and have confidence in his scrupulous integrity?

asked the Minister of Health whether he will now report on the methods of Dr. Voeller, of Kassel, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease; and on the advisability of his methods being adopted in this country.

This investigation is not yet complete, but I will make the results known as soon as they can be assessed, which will not be for some months yet.

While recognising the possibility of some reports of these cures being exaggerated, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman is satisfied that when these cases of cures are reported they are followed up by his Department in great detail?

We arranged for eight patients to go to Germany. Only four have yet returned. I am informed that it is necessary for six months to elapse before a judgment can be made.

Apart from any action which my right hon. Friend has taken in this case, can he say whether there is any department of his Ministry the duty of which is to check up on the claims that are made in America and Switzerland of successful treatment in cases of Parkinson's disease and disseminated sclerosis; and will such a department investigate them, and find out if they are really working?

This is one of the investigations which has been put in hand. Investigations are taking place all the time when there are definite lines of research to be followed.

Can the Minister say whether there are any obstacles against these methods of treatment being carried out on an experimental scale in this country?

No. It was first suggested that there was a person in Germany about whom it was alleged that he had a cure for this disease. We are now testing that claim. I hope that no unnecessary publicity will be given to the claims until we have assessed their worth.

asked the Minister of Health how many dentists are now operating the general dental service of the National Health Service; and what is the latest estimate of the annual cost of the general dental service.

There were 9,347 dentists on the dental lists in England and Wales on 1st May. The Ministry of Health Estimates, Class V (2), provide £28,204,000 for the cost of the general dental service in England and Wales.

Then how is it that this estimate is so much higher than the original estimate? Why was the original estimate so far out?

I do not quite know to what the hon. Member is referring. If he is referring to the Supplementary Estimate which was debated, I thought that a full answer was given to the satisfaction of the Opposition at that time.

asked the Minister of Health how many people are employed by the Dental Estimates Board.

Seven hundred and fifty-seven.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that in the case of an eleven year old boy at Kettering an oculist's prescription under the National Health Service was handed to an optician six months ago and no spectacles have yet been delivered; and what steps he proposes to take to expedite the delivery of spectacles to schoolchildren in the area, whose eyes may be damaged by work at school without proper spectacles.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for East Islington (Mr. E. Fletcher) on 19th May.

Is not my right hon. Friend aware that that referred to a scheme by which opticians might give priority; and will he consider the advisability of arranging for doctors and ophthalmic surgeons to give priority in the case of these children, particularly where delay may obviously be very bad for their eyes?

It is extremely difficult to work a priority service. If too many people are put into the priority classes, that merely disturbs the distribution of spectacles all round. I am doing my very utmost in this matter. We have increased production by 50 per cent. above what it was before this scheme started, but the demand for spectacles still exceeds production.

Would not one useful step towards avoiding these delays to schoolchildren's spectacles be to put visitors from abroad at the bottom of the waiting list?

I had not time on Tuesday to give the explanation about visitors from abroad. The fact is that hon. Members opposite are riding that horse to death. If we eliminated all the medical attention given to visitors from abroad, it would equal less than 01 per cent. of the total health expenditure.

When this scheme is prepared and in operation, will my right hon. Friend take steps to see that it is sufficiently publicised, particularly in the schools?

Certainly.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind the very serious effect which this delay is having upon many schoolchildren who are having to sit in the front row in class because they cannot see, and who are also suffering grievously from headaches?

I believe it is desirable that we should try to provide spectacles for these young children as early as possible; but they went without them for many years previously.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to relieve the shortage of spectacles in Swindon.

While delay is unfortunately general I am not aware of any peculiar difficulties in Swindon. All possible steps are being taken to increase the supply of spectacles generally, both by expanding production in this country and by imports from abroad.

If I send my right hon. Friend a report showing that Swindon people have been kept waiting for eight months, and sometimes for a year, will he look into it?

Certainly.

asked the Minister of Health why supplies of the Medresco hearing aid are being exported when there is still so much delay in meeting demands in this country.

I would refer to the reply I gave on 5th May to the hon. Member for Stafford (Mr. Swingler) and the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Viscountess Davidson).

Is the Minister aware that another make of hearing aid is being exported by the Medresco people, and would not it be better if the Minister contracted to take over the whole of the output of this company, so that there would be more hearing aids available for the people in this country?

The output of the Medresco hearing aid will shortly be doubled. In the meantime the aid that is being exported is not the Government hearing aid. Of course, it is essential in all these matters to have a proper balance between home demand and the export market.

Can the Minister say whether any part of that doubled production will be for export, or will the whole be available for home consumption?

I am speaking of the Medresco aid, and the whole production will be for the home market.

Does the Minister think that the 30,000 people waiting for this hearing aid will be satisfied?

I am satisfied that all those people who have had the Medresco aid—almost all of them—are highly satisfied, and before very long the waiting list, I hope, will be met. There are 25 centres open in the country at the present time, and as soon as we get the hearing aids they will be made available.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that there are three low grade defective children in St. Margaret's General Hospital, Epping; that they are confined to bed in the wards of the aged and chronic sick patients; that they have been there for many years; and what steps he proposes taking to remove these children to more appropriate surroundings in accordance with the spirit of the Children Act.

I am aware that there are three low grade mentally defective children in this hospital, and the hon. Member may be assured they will be removed as soon as alternative accommodation is available.

May I ask my right hon. Friend whether any steps are being taken to extend and expand the accommodation for children of this type? There are many thousands of them in the country in their own homes, but where they are in hospital they are actually taking up the care of nurses which ought to be devoted in another direction?

I quite agree that this is a serious problem which, of course, accumulated during the war as a consequence of the fact that there was no new building, and I am taking urgent measures to try to deal with it.

Has my right hon. Friend seen the report which the relevant authority has just sent up saying that it may be eight or ten years at the present rate before all these defectives are accommodated, and will he take note of the proposal in that report that temporary accommodation should be built at once?

I do not know what report my hon. Friend is referring to, but it sounds very pessimistic.

May I ask the Minister how many low grade mental defectives there are on the Front Bench?

In view of the fact that these three children have been, respectively, seven, seven and four years in this hospital, could my right hon. Friend make them a very early charge on his attention?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that owing to a shortage of accommodation for mentally defective children and mentally defective people, frequently these mentally defectives have to be certified by doctors when they are not really deserving of certification, because they can get into a home or shelter only if they are certified.

I would be loath to believe that children are certified who ought not to be merely in order to get accommodation. That is a very serious statement to make.

It is true.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the inadequacy of existing facilities for the care of the chronic and aged sick in the city of Birmingham; and what steps he proposes to take to improve such facilities.

The regional board has two groups of experts investigating the problem, and will take further action in the light of their reports. Meanwhile unused beds are being brought into use wherever possible, and arrangements made with the local health authority for home nursing.

Whilst I appreciate that answer, is the Minister aware that within the past year more than 90 aged persons, chronically sick, have been admitted to mental hospitals; would he consider this aspect of the problem, especially in view of the fact that I understand that about 17 died within one month of admission, which really is a very grave matter?

With all respect, it is not enough to give the proportion of old people who died within a month of being admitted to hospital. People do die, and the assumption that they died because they went to hospital is one we ought not to make. When it is said that people are in mental hospitals, I would remind the House that during the war a great deal of the E.M.S. was in fact housed in separate parts of mental hospitals. They are not in the mental hospital as such but occupy the same physical accommodation as other people.

The right hon. Gentleman cannot get away with that. Is he aware—he should be aware—that of the first 31 of these aged people of over 65, to whom the hon. Member has referred as being admitted to hospital, 25 died of heart diseases, which was nothing to do with mental affliction. Is it not absolutely wrong that these old people should be certified as mental cases for the first time in their lives?

I cannot accept the statement that old people are being certified as mental cases in order to be taken into hospital. That is a gross and offensive charge against the doctors concerned. When the statement is made that a certain percentage of old people died from heart failure, well, old people have been dying from heart failure for millions of years.

Not when they have been committed as mental patients.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that I have been the chairman of a big mental hospital in Birmingham and that the statement made by the hon. Member for Solihull (Mr. M. Lindsay) is quite untrue?

Before 5th July last the care of old people was the obligation of the local authorities and since 5th July it is the regional hospital Board who are not prepared——

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. As regards the certification of people, it is the responsibility not only of a doctor, but of a magistrate. Is it in order to suggest in this House that magistrates have not properly discharged their duty and that a wrong certification has resulted?

One must not make reflections on magistrates.

As the right hon. Gentleman must be aware, in the terminal stage of life there is very often muddleness and it is quite easy to certify people in order to find accommodation for them when previously they would never have been certified because there was accommodation available provided by the local authority.

The assumption which is being made, and the charge which is being made, is that the doctors concerned and the magistrates concerned are certifying old people as mental who might not be mental. The politics of the Opposition are now leading them into making the most grave charges.

In view of the serious statements made which suggest wrongful certification, will not my right hon. Friend cause an inquiry to be made?

Certainly I will cause an inquiry to be made, but I do think that before allegations are made in this House which might cause grave pain and anxiety the facts should first be ascertained. The hon. Members should be ashamed of themselves for saying such things.

rose——

I do not think that we should continue this battle any longer.

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. It is one of the rules of this House that an insinuation should not be made. I, for one, ask whether you think it is right that the right hon. Gentleman should accuse Members of the Opposition of exploiting cases of great tragedy purely for political ends?

One can always accuse a party of doing all sorts of things. To accuse individual Members is another matter, but parties can always be charged. We always charge each other's parties with all sorts of offences.

Might I say that there was no such implication in my Question? I was only concerned at the large number of sick people who had been admitted to mental hospitals.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent the Birmingham mental hospitals are understaffed; and what steps are being taken to step up the recruitment of nurses in such hospitals.

I assume that my hon. Friend has in mind nursing staff. At Winson Green Hospital the deficiency of female nursing staff is 28 per cent. and of male 27 per cent. At Rubery Hill the deficiency is female staff 50 per cent., male staff nil. Persistent efforts are being made to recruit staff through the Ministry of Labour and by local recruiting campaigns and advertisement. Nurses' salaries have recently been increased.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that a number of those who are caring for the mentally sick are very much concerned that one of the things retarding recruitment of nurses to mental hospitals is likely to be the American film, "The Snake Pit," and could he make any statement or take any action?

That is entirely another question.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the reason why these mental hospitals are comparatively understaffed is because of the transfer of the aged people referred to in the previous Question who are now being treated as mental cases for the first time?

That statement is wholly inaccurate.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware——

We cannot go back to the previous Question.

I should like to give notice that in view of the fact that my information has come from a Socialist who is chairman of the mental hospital concerned, and as the right hon. Gentleman classes it as quite untrue, I will endeavour to raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been called to the remarks of Mr. Justice Harman, in the Chancery Division, on 11th May, as to the destination of legacies to hospitals; and if he will introduce amending legislation to clear this matter up.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been called to Mr. Justice Harman's judgment in re Kellner's Will Trusts, in which reference is made to the faulty drafting of Part 2 of the National Health Service Act, 1946; and whether he proposes to introduce legislation to amend that Part of the Act.

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Swingler) on 19th May.

Why did the right hon. Gentleman try to kill all the finer instincts of charitable people by his materialistic policy? Why does not the Minister answer?

asked the Minister of Health how many applications for confirmation of provisional registration under Sections 1 and 4 of the Medical Practitioners and Pharmacists Act, 1947, have been made; how many of these applications have been granted; and what is the reason for the delay or delaying with the remaining applications.

Twenty-nine, of which nine have been granted. As regards the others, the General Medical Council have not yet been able to complete the inquiries necessary to satisfy them that the statutory conditions are fulfilled.

asked the Minister of Health if he will take immediate steps to settle outstanding accounts rendered by chartered accountants for service to hospitals.

Yes, Sir. I regret that there has been some delay in dealing with these claims.

The Minister may regret it, but I ask him what he proposes to do about it, because apparently the forms on which application should be made have been out of print since 10th February, and it is impossible to get hold of them. Will he see that at least forms are printed so that payment can be made forthwith?

Certainly, Sir.

asked the Minister of Health if he is satisfied that, in view of the increased and increasing speed of modern transport, he has adequate powers to control the introduction into this country of infectious diseases from overseas.

I am considering whether any further powers are needed. The general question of quarantine control will next month come before the Second World Health Assembly. The problem is not simply to control infectious disease, but to control it with the minimum hindrance to traffic.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether his existing powers include the absolute right to refuse to allow people to land from ships that are in quarantine?

I believe that there are powers which can be exercised in certain cases to that effect, but I am not quite satisfied that they are adequate and I am making inquiries.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent his regulations authorise port medical officers at ports in the United Kingdom to prevent persons who have been in contact with infectious diseases from landing; and what conditions they are permitted to impose before allowing such persons to land.

As the answer to the hon. Member's Question is long, I will, with permission, circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Health how many rural water schemes are at present in course of being carried out; and how many have been approved but are awaiting permission to proceed.

Since the end of the war, 1,730 rural water supply schemes have been authorised to proceed. I cannot state without individual inquiry how many of these schemes have been completed. In addition, to date, 199 schemes have been approved in outline. Thirty-three of these schemes have reached the stage at which the promoters have been authorised to call for tenders.

Is it not a fact that many of these schemes which have been approved by the right hon. Gentleman's Department have been waiting for months for leave to proceed with the work? Would he not give an assurance that in the cases where labour and materials are available leave to proceed with these schemes shall be given forthwith?

That is always done. I think that the evidence that we are proceeding with the utmost expedition in this matter is to be found in the fact that since 1945 schemes have been put in hand and approved equal to the numbers in 20 years before the war.

Will the right hon. Gentleman do his utmost to make available greater supplies of piping which are the big drawback to the active prosecution of these schemes? Will he see that a high priority is given for supplies of piping for this purpose?

Certainly. We are giving all the priority we can. We would not have needed to give so much priority today if it had been given previously.

asked the Minister of Health why he refused to allow the Horncastle Rural District Council to purchase the Air Ministry Water Installation at Market Stainton; and whether he is aware that it was proposed to use this installation to provide a temporary water supply for the villages of Market Stainton, Sotby and Baumber.

This matter has been reopened and I am at present negotiating with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air and the Horncastle Rural District Council to agree a basis upon which the installation can be purchased by the rural district council in order to provide a temporary supply of water to Market Stainton and certain other villages until a comprehensive scheme can be put into operation.

Will the Minister realise during these consultations that the alternative supply of water which these people have must inevitably be far worse than the temporary system which is proposed?

asked the Minister of Health if he has yet received the report from his Engineering Inspector who has been surveying the Ripon and Pateley Bridge rural district area with a view to providing a water supply scheme; what decision has he arrived at; and what amendments has he suggested to the former plans of the rural district council.

The report on this survey which relates to the whole of the West Riding of Yorkshire, is not yet completed.

The Minister gave that same reply three months ago. Can he now give any idea when the report will be completed?

No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now satisfied that the use of eel grass has proved successful for sound insulation in respect of flat buildings.

Eel grass is a recognised material for sound insulation but not better or cheaper than certain home-produced materials.

In view of the other insulating qualities of this material, particularly in regard to heat, is my right hon. Friend prepared to recommend its use in order to save fuel as well as for the purpose of sound insulation?

No, I am not prepared to recommend the import of a material for this purpose if we have suitable home-produced material.

asked the Minister of Health what assistance is given by his Department to local authorities which are prepared to provide temporary accommodation for evicted families; and what conditions must be observed in order that premises may be approved by him for this purpose.

I am prepared to delegate to housing authorities power to requisition large unoccupied houses suitable for adaptation at reasonable cost to provide emergency accommodation. Expenditure incurred in providing this accommodation is reimbursed.

Would the Minister be willing to add to that provision a grant to help local authorities who wish to put up accommodation of the hutment type?

I would like to have the precise scheme before me before making a judgment.

asked the Minister of Health what proposals for the provision of temporary accommodation for evicted families have been submitted to his Department by the Harrow Urban District Council; and with what result.

Proposals have been submitted and tenders invited for the adaptation of a requisitioned property to provide emergency accommodation for six families.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the fact that Mr. Thackrah, 66, Karnac Road, Leeds, wishes to build 50 modern flats to let in Horsforth and is prepared to offer them to the council in order to diminish their housing waiting list, and that the housing in this, the largest village in England, is being held up owing to the restrictions relating to the issue of building licences for houses which can be built by private builders, if he will increase the quota of building licences allocated to that councl.

No, Sir. The discretion given to local authorities to issue up to one-fifth of their allocation by way of licences is the utmost concession that can be made at this time consistently with the housing policy of the Government that houses should be available at reasonable rents to those in greatest need.

Is the Minister aware that by rejecting this offer to build houses to let at a reasonable rent, he is inflicting unnecessary hardship upon the homeless people in this urban district?

What would happen is that if we inflated the housing programme in this area, it could only be done at the expense of other areas.

If there are any builders and building materials to spare in that part of the country, would my right hon. Friend bear in mind the great housing problem which faces a neighbour of Horsforth—the Leeds City Council?

As I said, once one makes a concession in one part of the country, it must always be done at the expense of somebody else unless we are able to inflate the housing programme as a whole.

asked the Minister of Health how many families have been evicted from rest centres in London during the last two months; which were the centres concerned; and why were these evictions ordered.

Three families have been evicted, one each from Argyll Road, Cadogan Gardens, and St. George's Square, for failure to pay the weekly charges. Notice of eviction has been served on 17 other families for the same reason; in 13 cases satisfactory proposals for payment have since been made, in the others the notices are still outstanding. In addition, notice of eviction has been issued in six cases because of a refusal to accept offers of permanent accommodation; in two of these, the notice was withdrawn on appeal, and in the other four the offers were accepted after the issue of the notice.

Does the Minister appreciate that the three who have actually been evicted were elected by the residents of these rest centres as chairmen, or other appropriate officers, of their residents' associations? Does he appreciate that in the working-class movement there is a word for this kind of treatment?

I also have a word for those people who are misleading these people into the hardships they are now suffering, but it is a word which one cannot use in the House of Commons. These people have not been evicted from this halfway house or rest house because they were the leaders. They were evicted because they seemed to consider that public funds should bear whatever charges they themselves want to impose upon them.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the hardship involved in the case of the lowest income groups, he will reduce the present minimum charges for rest centre accommodation.

The charges for children have already been revised to prevent hardship.

Although the charge for board and accommodation of three guineas a week for husband, wife and child may not be oppressive in the case of a man earning £6, £7 or £8 a week, does not my right hon. Friend think that it is definitely oppressive in the case of a man earning £4 a week, especially when he has also to pay for all the other necessaries of life?

This matter is administered by the local councils, and individual hardships are taken into account.

Would my right hon. Friend look into the matter again?

This rent includes the hire of the furniture, does it not?

Yes, and other services.

In view of the very unhelpful reply, I shall endeavour to raise this matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the hardship which is being caused to working class families by the practice on the part of industrial and agricultural interests of buying occupied houses and then appealing for possession on grounds of business necessity; and if he will introduce legislation to prohibit this practice.

Representations have been made on this matter so far as premises required for agricultural purposes are concerned. The position is governed by Section 3 and paragraph (g) of the First Schedule to the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions (Amendment) Act, 1933, and can be considered only as a part of the general review of that legislation.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in agricultural areas it is becoming increasingly common for workers in other industries necessary to the countryside to be displaced for the purpose of housing agricultural workers; and is he also aware that this will cause disproportionate development in the economy of the countryside if it is persisted in?

I am aware that this practice is developing more in the rural areas than elsewhere for reasons that are obvious to hon. Members in all parts of the House, but we cannot deal with this problem in isolation from an Amendment to the Rent Restrictions Acts as a whole.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can give an assurance that the Forestry Commission are giving priority to planting the 40,000 acres they hold of land which is plantable, but not yet planted, though previously having carried a woodland crop, before planting land that has never been afforested.

The hon. and gallant Member can be assured that felled woodland areas held by the Forestry Commission are being replanted as rapidly as possible. It is not, however, possible to carry out the necessary planting programmes unless afforestation proceeds simultaneously with the replanting of felted areas.

Does it not seem that the Forestry Commission are today planting fresh land which is of potential grazing value and leaving derelict land which is suitable for planting untouched? Are they not, in fact, to those who are asking for beef, giving wood instead?

The hon. and gallant Gentleman has not really listened to the answer which I have given him, and if he looks at the reply in the OFFICIAL REPORT tomorrow and at the reply which I gave on 24th September, he will see that the point is covered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will consider attaching a feedingstuffs ration, granted to an ex-Service man, to the ex-Service man himself rather than to his holding.

No, Sir. On return to pig or poultry keeping, the ex-Service man is placed in the same position as if he had been in this country when holdings were registered in 1941 and had since retained possession of his holding. If, after his return, he transfers elsewhere, the ordinary rules apply, and he cannot normally take his ration with him. If however the hon. Member cares to draw my attention to any particular case, I will gladly look into it.

May I ask the hon. Gentleman if, in view of the fact that the ration was granted to the ex-Service man because he himself had been away on service during the war, it would not be more helpful if the ration was given to the man himself rather than to the holding, which he may have to leave for one reason or another?

The point I am making is that because there were such cases we tried to place them in the same position as anybody else. Therefore, the same restrictions apply to the ex-Service man as to others.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why bush clearing and the reclamation of derelict land have been excluded from the provisions of the Marginal Protection Scheme, S.I. No. 536 of 1949; and what is the estimated annual expenditure under the Marginal Protection Scheme.

If the hon. Member will refer to paragraph 7 of Statutory Instruments 1949, No. 536, he will see that bush clearing has not been excluded. Grants may be given for bush clearing and the reclamation of derelict land in special circumstances according to my right hon. Friend's discretion. The estimated annual expenditure on the Marginal Production Scheme in England and Wales is £300,000.

Would the Minister explain what is meant by the statement that the work can only be done at not less than the normal charges? Does this mean that they are unable to get preferential treatment?

We ought to be very careful about this, because we do not want to use the limited amount of money which is available for the purpose for one or two very costly schemes, and we would rather spread the money over a larger number of small schemes.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in respect of marginal land for the improvement of which he is offering a grant, it is his normal practice not to approve schemes unless they provide for the feeding of an increased number of beef type cattle.

No, Sir. There is no necessary connection between the Marginal Production Scheme and the keeping of more beef cattle. My right hon. Friend leaves it to the discretion of his county agricultural executive committees whether the desired increase in output on assisted farms should be in the form of meat, milk or crops.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why he intends to appoint to the position of Assistant County Agricultural Officer (Executive) to the Caernarvonshire Agricultural Executive Committee a person with no knowledge of the Welsh language.

My right hon. Friend is advised, in making these appointments, by selection panels. The Selection Panel in this case included representatives of the Caernarvon Agricultural Executive Committee. They interviewed both English and Welsh speaking applicants and unanimously recommended for appointment the person deemed to be the best qualified for the post.

While in no way impugning the technical qualifications of the gentlemen appointed, may I ask my hon. Friend to explain how this officer is expected to conduct conferences and interviews in a county where 95 per cent. of the farming community is Welsh speaking?

There are two points to bear in mind about that. This officer has been with the Committee for three years, and in a very senior post in which he got along quite well; secondly, the appointment is really that of an internal administrative officer much more than a field man outside.