asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the handbook, "The Protection of your Home against Air Raids," referred to in page 24 of the second edition of Handbook No. 1, has been published; and, if so, why there is no copy in the Library?

The handbook in question has been published, and a free distribution to householders has been made. Hon. Members should have received copies as part of that issue. I am, however, arranging for copies to be placed in the Library.

asked the Lord Privy Seal why, in handbook No. 2, Appendix A, the number of permissible occupants in gas-protected rooms, depends upon the area of the room without any reference to its height?

The figures to which the hon. Member refers were intended to apply to rooms of normal height which is, I am advised, from 8 to 10 feet. This is made clear on page 9 of the Handbook "The Protection of your Home against Air Raids," published last year, a free distribution of which was made to the general public.

asked the Lord Privy Seal why, seeing that there would be serious risk of very rapid suffocation in any smaller shelter than those referred to in Air-raid Precautions Department Circular No. 28/1939, these shelters only allow for about eight square feet per occupant, whilst in handbook No. 2, Appendix A, the minimum allowance is 20 square feet per occupant?

I am aware that the amount of space per occupant in the steel householders' shelters which are to be supplied by the Government is less than that which has previously been recommended in general advice issued by the A.R.P. Department regarding unventilated shelters. The householders' shelters will not, however, be unventilated, as the entrances will not be entirely closed in.I am not sure from what publication the hon. Member derives the figure of 20 square feet which he quotes: but it does generally correspond with a recommendation that there should be 75 square feet of surface, counting floor, walls and roof, per occupant. That recommendation which was related not only to gas-tight shelters but to prolonged occupancy, is at present being reviewed in the light of practical tests which are now being carried out.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, whether he is aware that the titles of air-raid precautions handbooks Nos. 1, 2, and 3 mentioned in the first edition of handbook No. 2 are totally different to the titles mentioned in the second edition; and whether, in order to prevent confusion, he can issue a list showing which handbooks, memoranda, circulars, etc., are now in operation and which are superseded?

The material contained in the first edition of Handbook No. 2 was subsequently made the subject of a number of separate publications, which necessitated the renumbering of the handbooks. As regards the second part of the Question, an up-to-date list of handbooks and memoranda, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy, is contained in every issue of these publications. So far as circulars are concerned, I will, as indicated in a reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. T. Smith) on 8th December last, consider at an appropriate time the question of re-issue in a consolidated form.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he can now say, as a result of the survey by the local authorities in London, how many steel shelters can be usefully erected in the London area?

The information so far given to me by the local authorities is not sufficiently complete to enable me to supply this information.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, whether he has yet circulated, for the guidance of local authorities, a draft contract of service for air-raid wardens; and, if so, what are its terms?

A form of conditions of service for volunteers accepted for whole-time or part-time service in war in the Air Raid Precautions Services was circulated to local authorities on the 4th of this month, together with a form of undertaking to be signed by the volunteer. The terms of the undertaking are as follows:

"I have read and accept the above conditions of service for volunteers for the Air Raid Precautions Service, and I undertake to serve with the

local authority for Part-time whole-time Service when

called upon in an emergency.

Signature

Date"

asked the Lord Privy Seal what progress is being made in north-east Cheshire in regard to the provision of air-raid trenches and shelters?

I understand that the County Authorities are well advanced in their survey of basements for public shelters. The reconstruction of trenches dug during the emergency is in hand.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he has yet sent his promised circular regarding the strengthening of basements to the local authorities concerned; and, if not, when he proposes to do so?

A circular dealing fully with this matter will be sent to the local authorities concerned in the early part of next month.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has considered the report sent him by the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, East, of a collision between a German tank and a British motor car driven by a British tourist; and whether he will inquire from His Majesty's Ambassador in Berlin as to what action has been taken against the tourist?

My attention has been drawn to an account in the Press and I am making inquiries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now state the total amount of the payments made by His Majesty's Gov- ernment to Reuters News Agency during the international crisis last September?

I have been asked to reply. No payment has as yet been actually made. A Supplementary Estimate shortly to be presented to the House of Commons will include a sum of £6,000 as provision for the payment to Reuters News Agency of expenses incurred in increasing their daily output of news to foreign countries since September, 1938, at the request of His Majestys' Government. The expenses consist mainly of the cost of transmission of additional words by Post Office wireless telegraph stations.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he can state the rate of accidents, fatal and serious, respectively, per 1,000 persons employed in the coal mines of Great Britain and France for the years 1935 to the most recent date?

The methods adopted in Great Britain and France for determining the numbers of persons employed differ materially and do not provide a reliable basis for the comparison of the accident rate of the two countries. I am, therefore, giving the hon. Member the fatal accident rates per 100,000 man-shifts worked. Even these, however, are not strictly comparable, because in Great Britain all accidents which result in death within a year and a day of the accident are included, whereas in France it is usual to comprise in the annual totals only those accidents which involve death within the calendar year in which the accident occurred. The figures are as follows:

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the report by Colonel Mount on his investigation into the Castlecary railway disaster indicates fault on the part of a signalman; and, as that finding is one by a single individual, is he prepared, having regard to the serious effects upon the signalman in question, to instruct further investigation by an independent tribunal representative of his Department, the railway company, and of the workman, in order that complete justice may be afforded?

I am aware of the findings of this report and have no reason to think that any further investigation is either necessary or desirable.

asked the Minister of Labour how many factories, workshops, shops, and other businesses employing labour have been started and how many have been taken over by immigrants who have entered this country from Germany and Austria during the last two years; how many persons of British and how many of foreign nationality are employed therein; and which are the trades and industries concerned?

I regret that I am not in possession of the precise information desired by my hon. Friend. The Board of Trade survey of Industrial Development which takes account only of factories in which 25 or more people are employed shows that in the year 1937, 13 new factories were established by or with the assistance of German and Austrian promoters. Corresponding particulars for 1938 are not yet available.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of Austrian and German refugees, respectively, who are known to have entered domestic service in this country?

As my hon. Friend will be aware applications for the admission of foreigners to this country which are based solely on refugee grounds are dealt with by the Home Office. I understand from my right hon. Friend that, since the annexation of Austria in March, 1938, his Department has authorised approximately 4,000 visas to enable women refugees from Greater Germany to enter this country for employment in domestic service.I should add that during the same period 6,156 permits have been issued by the Ministry of Labour for the employment of German and Austrian women in private residential domestic service here and, although in these cases the applications were dealt with on ordinary employment grounds, it is probable that many of the foreigners concerned must now be regarded as refugees. I am unable to give separate figures for Austrians and Germans or to say how many of the foreigners in question have arrived or are in employment in this country.