asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that a growing number of local unemployment assistance boards are refusing to accept certificates from applicants' own doctors in support of requests for extra nourishment; whether this is as a result of instructions issued centrally; and whether he will assure the House that it is not intended to reflect in any way on the integrity or competence of the members of the medical profession in these centres?

I am informed by the Board that medical certificates indicating the need for extra nourishment arising from some specific pathological condition are normally accepted without question. In some instances, however, certificates are given in quite general terms to persons who are not otherwise receiving medical attention and in these cases the practice is to make further inquiry before deciding whether the allowance should be increased. In certain other cases where doubt arises, the question is referred to the regional medical officer of the Ministry of Health. The Board have no reason to believe that doctors regard these steps as reflecting on their integrity or competence.

Are we to understand that the certificate of an applicant's own doctor for extra nourishment is accepted by the Board?

That is the normal course.

On what ground can the Board reject a medical officer's certificate? They will not know anything about the man or his wife, or whether they want this extra nourishment or not?

It is the duty of the Board to decide whether extra nourishment is to be given.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will inquire into the circumstances in which the Warwick Unemployment Assistance Board refused to grant an increase over 48s. in the allowance of Mr. H. R. Cole, of 104, Millers Road, Warwick, although the allowance was for a family of nine persons and Mrs. Cole was pregnant; and whether it is intended that the wage-stop clause shall be rigidly applied in cases such as this?

I am informed that the question whether the allowance of 48s. should be increased was referred to the Appeals Tribunal whose decision, as the hon. Member is aware, is final.

Does that mean that there is a rigid application of the rule not to go above 48s. in any circumstances?

No, Sir. There is no foundation for the suggestion in the last part of the question. The facts are these. A weekly allowance of 48s. was paid to Mr. Cole from 20th December, 1938, to 21st April, 1939. This allowance, which was twice confirmed by the Appeals Tribunal, was not subject to wage-stop adjustment, but in view of wage-stop considerations no winter addition was made. On 21st December a lump sum grant of £2 was made to meet exceptional needs partly arising from Mrs. Cole's pregnancy. The area officer used his good offices whereby free milk was granted for the applicant's wife by the Infants' Welfare Department, as well as free milk and travelling expenses to the hospital for a child who had to undergo an operation. Application for a grant to meet the cost of a layette was refused, as this kind of need is also met by the Infants' Welfare Department. When Mrs. Cole was confined the allowance was increased to 62s. 6d. for two weeks from 21st April, which amount is substantially in excess of the applicant's normal wage. Straight assistance is now 49s. 6d., but an allowance of 53s. 6d. is being paid temporarily in order to provide for the special needs arising from the illness of the infant. I have given these facts because I would like the House to understand that the applicant has appealed on 10 occasions to the Appeals Tribunal during the last three years.

May I ask whether free milk was granted by the Board?

It was granted by the Infants' Welfare Department.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that an applicant in such circumstances is entitled to appeal 10 times and 10 times more?

I am not complaining, but I am saying that he did so.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that the able-bodied unemployed in Durham, numbering 476, are costing the county £26,936 for the year 1939; and whether anything will be done by his Department to take these people over so as to make their maintenance a national and not a local charge?

I have given this matter further consideration, but have nothing to add to the reply I gave to a similar question by the hon. Member on 26th April, 1938.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that £26,000 is a serious matter to an area which is heavily burdened with rates, and can he not see his way to take these people over—they are able-bodied—and make their maintenance a national, and not a local charge?

We have often debated that matter in the House, and I cannot add anything to it now.

asked the Minister of Labour whether an arrangement has yet been made by which all firms under Government contracts should get their labour at the local exchanges?

My hon. Friend will realise that in view of the wide range of occupations and skill involved, the adoption of his proposal gives rise to a number of practical difficulties, which must be carefully examined before any final conclusion is reached. This examination is proceeding as rapidly as possible, but I am not yet in a position to make any definite statement.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that in the meantime local unemployed are not benefiting to the extent they might from work which is carried out under these contracts?

I realise the fact, and that is why I am making an examination.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his Department co-operates with the League for Ex-Service-men, in placing tractor-drivers and skilled agricultural labourers?

No, Sir.

Has this organisation placed its services at the disposal of any employment agency?

I know nothing about it.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that 110,000 persons who have retired, and are not seeking work, are included on the unemployed register in order to preserve their pension rights, and that 500,000 persons because of the normal and short interruptions to their jobs are also included in the unemployment figures; and will he, therefore, devise a means of qualifying the published theoretical unemployment figures so that the published unemployment totals may more accurately represent the position?

It is a statutory requirement that any person desiring to maintain his health insurance and pension rights on the ground of unemployment can obtain evidence of unemployment under the franking arrangements at the Employment Exchange only if he can show that he is in fact available for work. I cannot agree, therefore, with the first statement in the question. As regards the second statement, it is of course clear from the statements issued by my Department that a considerable proportion of the total number unemployed consists of persons who are temporarily stopped from employment or have been unemployed for very short periods. As mentioned in the reply to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Lyons) on 4th May, I am always ready to consider suggestions for improving the method of presentation of the statistics.

Is there any evidence that this is the experience of Lincoln? Are people there on the register who are not really unemployed?

I do not understand that it refers to Lincoln. I understood it was a general statement made outside the House at a gathering recently.

Does the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that this question has been put down with no intention of casting any reflection on people who are unemployed, but in order to get an accurate return of the unemployment figures?

I am aware of that.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will warn the rearmament authorities that the last published unemployment figures cannot be used as an indication of the available reserve of unemployed labour in case of emergency, in view of the total including, for pension rights, 110,000 persons not seeking work, and 500,000 persons, classed as unemployed, whose employments are only interrupted temporarily and for normal causes?

I do not think these authorities are under any misapprehension with regard to the true position, which, as I have explained, in reply to the previous question put by my hon. Friend, is not precisely as stated by him.

Is there a record of persons who are unemployed and who are not seeking work, and, if so, how many members of the other House are on the list?

Does this mean that the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. Liddall) is complaining?

asked the Minister of Labour the number of boys and girls who have been transferred to employment other than seasonal work under the Juvenile Transference Scheme for the 12 months ended the last convenient date; and how many of these were returned home during that period on the ground that they were unsuitable for that vacancy?

During the 12 months ended 25th March, 1939, 3,941 boys and 4,536 girls were transferred through the Juvenile Transference Scheme to employment of a non-seasonal nature. Information as to the number of these juveniles who returned home for reasons of unsuitability is not available.

Have any hostels been erected for juveniles who cannot find lodgings where they have been transferred?

It would take a long time to explain the position, but the whole scheme is set out in the recent report of the Ministry of Labour.

Are travelling warrants given to juveniles to enable them to return home when they become unemployed?

That depends entirely on the circumstances.

What are the aftercare societies doing to assist boys and girls who have to return?

The question relates to transference. I have a number of statistics but I must answer the question on the Order Paper.

asked the Minister of Labour why Employment Exchanges in South Wales continue to make offers of work at Corsham, Bath, to unemployed men when, on the basis of the number of acceptances already in hand and the number actually given employment, no such work exists?

In order to avoid delay in meeting the anticipated requirements at Corsham, steps are taken in advance to invite applications from persons who appear suitable for the work. The time taken in considering individual particu- lars and selecting applicants is unavoidable, but I am not aware that the number of applications obtained is in excess of requirements after taking into account wastage which occurs through persons being unsuccessful in selection or no longer available when required to commence work.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are people who accepted at the Rhondda exchanges an offer to work at this place before Christmas, 1938, and that the fact that those people have so accepted work is acting as a pronounced deterrent to other people who are considering any such offer, with the consequence that the exchanges use these circumstances—

rose —

May I put it in this way? Is the Minister aware that the only effect of the continuation of this, process is to deprive of their unemployment benefit those who refuse to accept.

No, I cannot accept that.

Will the Minister accept my statement of that fact, that a number of men are so affected, as being the truth?

No, I cannot do that. Only about a fortnight ago we provided the hon. Member with a table from which he should draw different inferences.

asked the Minister of Labour whether it is intended that the newly-appointed Commissioner for Special Areas shall concentrate upon the provision of alternate economic activity in places that have become or are becoming derelict; and can he give some indication as to how he hopes to succeed in this undertaking?

The functions of the Commissioner for the Special Areas are laid down in Section 1 (i) of the Special Areas (Development and Improvement) Act, 1934. They are the initiation, organisation, prosecution and assistance of measures designed to facilitate the economic development and social improvement of the Special Areas. I have no authority to instruct him to concentrate on any one of these functions to the exclusion of the others.

Is it not a fact that one of the functions of the Commissioner is to assist in the revival of economic activity in derelict areas? Are we not now entitled to ask whether the newly-appointed Commissioner will begin to do the work that has been so long awaiting him?

The hon. Member asks for a Debate on a subject about which the House is very well informed. I can assure him that every effort will be made to carry out the purposes which Parliament meant to be carried out under the Act.

When can we expect the Commissioner to begin his task?

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware of the shortage of female labour in the West Riding of Yorkshire clothing trade; and whether, in view of the fact that there are 300,000 women and girls on the unemployed registers, he will consult trade union officials associated with the Special Areas with a view to concerting schemes to train unemployed women in those areas, or for their transfer to the employment awaiting them at trade union rates in districts at a distance from their homes?

I am aware that there are shortages in the West Riding clothing trade owing to the exhaustion of the local supply of skilled labour. Training for this work is normally best carried out by employers in their own premises, and my Department will be glad to co-operate with employers wishing to engage and train unskilled workers at rates of pay enabling them to live away from home. Some employers have aimed at meeting the difficulty by establishing branches in the areas in which there are large numbers of unemployed women.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state in which part of the West Riding of Yorkshire there is a shortage of female labour?

If the hon. Member will put a question on a Paper, I will give him particulars.

Will the right hon. Gentleman take steps to ensure that no person is transferred to these districts unless the job is more than a temporary one?

The issue would not arise. The House will understand that my answer refers to the West Riding clothing trade.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) how many men between the ages of 20 and 21 years are registered at the various Employment Exchanges in the County Borough of West Ham;

(2) How many men between the ages of 20 and 21 years are registered at the various Employment Exchanges in the City of Birmingham;

(3) How many men between the ages of 20 and 21 years are registered at the various Employment Exchanges in the Borough of Bournemouth?

The only available statistics relate to persons aged 18 and under 21 years, and are as follow: West Ham … … 515 Birmingham … … 546 Bournemouth … … 65

asked the Minister of Labour (1) the number of factories erected on the Treforest Trading Estate; the total cost met out of public funds; and the number of persons employed;

(2) The number of factories erected in South Wales and Monmouthshire by the Special Areas Reconstruction Association apart from the Treforest Trading Estate, the total cost met out of public funds, and the number of persons employed?

Inquiries are being made with regard to these questions and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Will the right hon. Gentleman have these figures circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT?

I shall be glad to do that.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in the course of his negotiations with the Institute of Journalists with a view to using their members for Government posts of a specialist character in the event of war, he asked the Institute to compile a list of its members available for such a purpose; and whether he has approached the National Union of Journalists with a view to utilising its members for similar work?

No request has been made to the Institute of Journalists to compile a list of its members for the purpose mentioned. A committee of the Central Register Advisory Council has, however, been appointed to advise on the position of journalists in relation to the Central Register and both the Institute of Journalists and the National Union of Journalists are represented on this committee. The committee will meet at a very early date.

asked the Minister of Labour whether any statistics are available showing the number of workers provided with paid holidays; the average duration of the holiday; and what proportion of the workers concerned are affected by a provision for the return of the holiday pay to the employer or deductions from future wages?

It is estimated that over 9,000,000 workpeople are entitled to annual holidays with pay under collective agreements or other arrangements. The most usual period of the holiday is one week or six days, but in certain cases longer periods up to 14 days are fairly common. I am not aware of any arrangement which provides for the return of the holiday pay to the employer or deductions from future wages, except possibly in coal-mining. In that industry the district agreements cover some 730,000 workers and, in general, provide for the cost of the holiday payments to be taken into account in the ascertainments which determine the share of the surplus applicable to wages.

Do those figures include the agricultural workers who have been granted three or four days holidays with pay?

Yes, in so far as they are covered by the agreements.

There would be about 500,000 of them, I suppose?

I could not give the exact number offhand.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any information as to how many manual workers are not covered by these agreements?

If the hon. Member will put a question on the Paper, I will give him the best answer I can. He will understand that we can give precise information about those who are covered by the agreements, but it is not quite so precise—and indeed is more in the nature of an estimate—in the case of those who are not covered by the agreements.

asked the Minister of Labour whether in view of the approach of the Long Vacation, he can give any indication as to when University undergraduates are to be called upon to undergo their military training?

I am not yet in a position to make any statement on this subject beyond saying that owing to the necessary preliminary steps by way of registration and medical inspection it will not be possible to issue calling up notices so as to require Militiamen to attend for military training before the end of June at the earliest.

Is not the Minister aware that the Long Vacation commences about the middle of June, and that there may be a serious effect upon these undergraduates who make an effort to attend vacation courses?

There is a number of complicated questions in this matter, and I am seeing the Vice-Chancellors of the Universities and all the Members of Parliament representing the Universities on this subject.

Will the Government consider finding some more appropriate name for these people in military service than the term "Militiamen?"

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now in a position to fix the date on which the conference of local authorities of Wales and Monmouthshire is to be held to deal with the report of the Committee on the Anti-Tuberculosis Services in Wales?

No, Sir. I am naturally anxious that this conference should take place as soon as possible, but I do not think that it would be expedient for it to be held before the individual local authorities have had full opportunity of considering the issues raised in the report. Meanwhile I am proceeding with interviews and correspondence with individual authorities.

Can the Minister indicate at what date he thinks it will be possible to convene this conference, in view of the great urgency of the matter?

I am not waiting for the conclusion of the conference before taking steps. I am proceeding to do so in advance of the conference. Naturally, I am anxious that the local authorities should have a full opportunity of being able to submit their considered views at the conference when it takes place. I am not in a position to give the date when it will take place.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now in a position to make any statement as regards action he proposes to take to give effect to the recommendations of the recent Committee of Inquiry into the Anti-Tuberculosis Service in Wales and Mon-mouthshire?

Yes, Sir. The report drew attention to the high incidence of tuberculosis in Wales and pointed out that the ratio of beds to cases is lower in Wales than in England. It is clearly desirable that all practicable steps should be taken to reduce infection arising from contact with active cases. The first step in this direction must be to reduce the long list of waiting cases which now exists, particularly in South Wales. I am accordingly arranging for the immediate construction in South Wales, under the emergency hospital arrangements, of a new hutted hospital of some 600 beds which will be made available in peace time to the Welsh National Memorial Association on favourable terms. The provision on similar terms of some 200 beds in hutments attached to an institution in North Wales is also proposed, and arrangements for Central Wales, possibly in the Shrewsbury area, are under consideration. I hope that this new accommodation will be available for the treatment of tuberculosis within the present year. This would be without prejudice to the plans now under consideration by the Welsh National Memorial Association. In addition, I have, starting from this week, detailed three of my housing inspectors to undertake a careful survey of the rural counties of Wales and to discuss with the local authorities concerned the best methods of solving their housing problems. I am also in conference with the authorities concerned on other aspects of the committee's recommendations.

May I ask whether in the next few days my right hon. Friend will take note of the great satisfaction afforded by his prompt and sympathetic action?

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman how long Shrewsbury has been in Wales?

I have never for a moment been under the misapprehension that Shrewsbury is in Wales. I was explaining the arrangements for Central Wales which are under consideration, and said that those arrangements might well be made in the Shrewsbury area.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the sites of these hutments in South Wales have been decided upon, and, if so, whether they have been selected in consultation with the Welsh National Memorial Association?

I am, of course, in close consultation with the Welsh National Memorial Association and also with the medical officers of health of the counties concerned, but the actual sites have not so far been decided upon.

Regarding what the Minister said about surveys of housing conditions in rural areas, is he not aware that what is needed is not another survey, but action?

I thoroughly agree, and that is why I have said that I am to discuss with the local authorities the best means of solving their housing problems, and action is very badly needed indeed.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will consider the setting up of a committee to examine the present rating system, with a view to a uniform system for the nation being adopted?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4th May by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Stoke (Mr. E. Smith), of which I am sending him a copy.

Would it not be possible to refer to the committee which is already considering the valuation scheme, the larger question with regard to rating?

I do not think so. The present committee has a very important but limited task, and I do not think we could refer the larger question to it.

Does the right hon. Gentleman take into consideration the serious situation which is arising owing to the increased burdens placed on local authorities by new legislation, and does he realise that unless something is done soon there will be serious difficulties?

In view of the burdens now placed on the shoulders of all the small traders, shopkeepers and ratepayers throughout the country because of the burdens on the local authorities, will my right hon. Friend try to expedite the recommendations of that committee?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that if the Government increased old age pensions, this would have an appreciable effect on the rates in certain areas?

asked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the copy of a resolution passed by the Middlesex County Council calling for legislation to secure for local authorities, either directly or through the State, some portion of the enhanced values and/or revenues created in consequence of public enterprise and expenditure; and whether he proposes to take any action?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, I am not contemplating the introduction of legislation for this purpose.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that when an important county council like the Middlesex County Council, which has an overwhelming Conservative majority, passes a resolution of this sort, it is an indication of the seriousness of the financial position of local authorities?

I always attach the greatest importance to the resolutions of local authorities, whether they have overwhelming Conservative majorities or not.

asked the Minister of Health whether it is his intention to introduce legislation to secure more effective town and country planning and to ensure the better preservation of the countryside?

Certain proposals for amending legislation are in hand, including suggestions made in the recent report of my Town and Country Planning Advisory Committee.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider hastening this legislation as the present legislation is wholly inadequate either for rural planning or the preservation of the countryside?

Is it not urgently necessary that there should be some right of appeal against a decision of an interim development authority granting permission to build, and will not my right hon. Friend consider introducing a short Bill with this object before further national assets have been irretrievably ruined?

There is a Royal Commission sitting on that matter, and it would be discourteous for me to express an opinion in advance of its report. Furthermore, owing to the congested state of legislation before the House, questions of additional legislation should not be put to me but to the responsible authority.

Does my right hon. Friend realise the very strong anxiety which is felt all over the country at the gradual ruining of natural beauty and the destruction of all our hopes of a national park?

asked the Minister of Health to what authority members of the public or a preservation society should appeal against action by a local town planning authority that will lead to the spoliation of a place of great natural beauty?

Where a planning scheme is operative the scheme specifies in what circumstances and to what authority an appeal as suggested may be made. Where a planning scheme is being prepared but is not operative, the decision rests with the local authority in whose areas the development is proposed, and although third parties may inform the local authority of their views, they have no legal right of appeal. Where no resolution to prepare a scheme has been passed, there is no authority to whom any appeal of the kind suggested can be made.

Is it not essential that there should be some appeal if anything worth while is to be the outcome of efforts to preserve the countryside?

The question of appeal means to some extent the overriding of the local authority by the central authority, and while that may be very desirable it is not a step which can be lightly undertaken.

Does not my right hon. Friend think, in view of the time which has elapsed since the Act of 1932 came into force, that the procedure under the Act is unsatisfactory and calls for some immediate alteration?

As I said in reply to another question, there is a Royal Commission sitting upon this subject, and it is no doubt about to report at an early date.

asked the Minister of Health how many houses have now been built, or are in course of building, to replace slum-dwellings and to relieve overcrowding, respectively; and how many more it is estimated are needed in each case?

The numbers of dwellings completed at 31st March last to replace slum dwellings and for the abatement of overcrowding were 273,255 and 23,915 respectively. At that date about 51,000 dwellings were under construction under the Housing Acts, most of which will be allocated to the above purposes. No exact estimate of the number of further houses required is possible at the moment, but it is probably about 250,000 to 300,000.

When does my right hon. Friend hope that this extra number will be completed?

I cannot say without notice.

asked the Minister of Health the number of houses built by private enterprise with State assistance for letting and/or sale for the 12 months ended to the last convenient date; and the number of houses at present in the course of construction?

During the 12 months ended 31st March, 1939, the latest date for which figures are available, 4,196 houses were built by private enterprise with State assistance. The number of such houses under construction at that date was 2,253. It may be assumed that all the above-mentioned houses have been, or are being, built for letting.

Has the Minister any statistics of the number of these houses which are occupied by the owners or the persons who built them?

Nearly all these houses are for letting and not for the owners.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the resolution passed by the Leyton Borough Council and addressed to him, deprecating the attempt to curtail the social services of the Essex County Council, detailing the cause of the increase of the county rate, and proposing means by which the burden of high rates could be alleviated; whether he proposes to take any action to adopt the proposals of the Leyton Council to repeal the De-rating Acts, to rate site values and empty properties, to secure increased block grants and to make air-raid precautions entirely a national charge; and whether he is aware of the increasing expenditure in Essex due to the need of supplementing old age pensions?

The resolution has been brought to my notice. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative.

Does the right hon. Gentleman propose to do anything to relieve the undoubted burdens of the ratepayers of Essex by transferring some of those burdens to the national Government? Is he not aware that there is a mischievous attempt being made in Leyton through the activities of the Leyton and Essex Ratepayers' Association to cut down the social services, and in view of that will he take some steps towards relieving the burdens of the ratepayers?

It is inadvisable for me to interfere between the ratepayers and that particular authority.

asked the Minister of Health what body is the town planning authority for the Edale district of the county of Derby; whether it has submitted and had approved a town planning scheme for the area, and, also whether the proposal to grant Messrs. Brown Bayley's Steel Works, Limited, permission to erect works there is in accordance with that scheme?

The planning authority for the Edale district is the Chapel-en-le-Frith Rural District Council, acting as interim development authority pending the completion and approval of a planning scheme for the district. Such a scheme is, I understand, being prepared by the Peak Joint Planning Committee on which the Chapel-en-le-Frith Rural District Council is represented. This scheme has not yet been submitted for my approval.

Do not incidents such as this, following upon other attempts at vandalism, some successful and others unsuccessful, suggest that my right hon. Friend ought to take powers to appoint an authority which will be able to recommend sites suitable for industrial purposes and sites which ought not to be used for that purpose because it would destroy the amenities of the countryside?

That question goes far beyond the question on the Paper.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that in connection with the proposal to build a steel works at Edale, the Government are offering a substantial subsidy to the firm in question; and will he, in view of the widespread protests against this threatened destruction of natural beauty, ensure that public money is not used to make it possible?

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a site which forms the core of the High Peak district has been provisionally chosen for the erection of a steel works, in spite of the fact that it has been scheduled as an evacuation area for children; and whether he will intervene to ensure the choice of a more suitable district for this industrial development?

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that Edale, in the Peak district, where a Sheffield steel manufacturer proposes to build works for making steel for aeroplanes is a reception area; and what action he proposes to take to prevent the erection in such an area of a munitions factory inviting attack?

As was indicated in the reply given yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Mr. Keeling) by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air, our information is that the Interim Development Authority have agreed in principle to the proposed development at Edale. But he is proposing to see representatives of the firm forthwith, and, in consultation with myself, to consider whether further action is practicable with a view to the firm's securing an alternative site.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether State money is being offered towards the building of this factory?

That question had better be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air.

Does not my right hon. Friend think it is essential at this time that all town planning authorities should be instructed to respect the information given out by the Lord Privy Seal as regards evacuation?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, according to a statement in the Press this morning, the site has been taken over and building has already begun?

As this question of whether there is a public subsidy is a matter of vital importance, will the Minister himself ask the Secretary of State for Air whether there is a subsidy before he sees the firm?

Certainly, but the Secretary of State and myself will see the firm together. It is not my impression that there is any subsidy of the kind.

Will the right hon. Gentleman point out that there are areas in Lancashire which would welcome these works just as much as Edale does not want them, and that Lancashire is the original home of steel-making?

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the answer and of the urgency of the matter, I give notice that I will raise this question on the Adjournment at the earliest opportunity.

asked the Minister of Health whether Edale, in the heart of the Peak district, is already completely protected by the Town and Country Planning Act, or is under an interim development order, or is not subject to any town planning protection whatsoever?

The Edale area is under interim development control. A resolution to prepare a planning scheme for an area including Edale has been adopted by a joint committee of the various bodies concerned, but the scheme is not yet completed.

Can my right hon. Friend say whether more than 1 per cent. of the entire country is now completely controlled by the Town and Country Planning Act?

I could not answer such a question without notice.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in collaboration with the Minister of Agriculture, he is giving consideration to the terms of the resolution which has been sent to him, unanimously carried at the conference on the wider aspects of nutrition recently convened by the British Medical Association, which urged upon the Government the formulation of a long-term food policy, in which the requirements of health, agriculture and industry, should be considered in mutual relation; and whether he is taking any steps to implement the suggestion contained in the resolution that an educational campaign should be launched, to encourage the increased consumption of foodstuffs held to be desirable on nutritional grounds?

The resolution has not yet been submitted to me, though I am aware of its terms and shall, of course, give careful consideration, in consultation with such of my right hon. Friends as are concerned with the matter in its various aspects, to any representations which may be made to me by the British Medical Association in support of it.

As the right hon. Gentleman is aware of the terms of the resolution, has he no concrete proposals for implementing them?

I am sure the hon. Gentleman would not pronounce upon a resolution, even if he were aware of its terms, until it had been formally submitted.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has seen the information given by the medical officer of health for the port of Manchester, in his report for the year 1937, regarding a statutory notice served on the owners of a vessel in respect of food-lockers, forecastle floor, stove pipe, port lights, and water tank, and that the vessel has not been inspected since the notice was served; when, and in what circumstances, the notice was served; and what steps were taken in Manchester or elsewhere to see that it was complied with?

I am making inquiries from the port health authority, and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that some port medical officers of health include in their published annual reports particulars of the informal and statutory notices served in respect of nuisances and defects in crews' quarters, together with particulars of the notices complied with, while others do not; and whether he will give the complete figures for all ports as supplied to him by these officers?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As the hon. Member is no doubt aware, port medical officers of health are not at present required to give this information in their annual reports, and I am considering, in the light of the representations which he has made to me, whether or not it should be required in future. I am sending the hon. Member some information relating to his questions of 4th May which have a bearing on the present question.

Will the Minister undertake to let me know the action he takes?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has noted the statement of the medical officer of the Weymouth port health authority in his report for 1937 that out of 141 informal notices served in respect of nuisances in crews' quarters 67 had been complied with and that 103 of the nuisances dealt with in previous annual reports had been found to have been satisfactorily abated, at visits to the port of the ships concerned during the year; whether the 67 outstanding notices have since been complied with; and whether there are still any nuisances that have not been abated?

I am making inquiries from the port health authority and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will take early steps to secure adequate publicity for the Government's wishes in the matter of elderly persons and invalids who, acting on instructions in the air-raid precautions handbook on "The Protection of Your Home against Air Raids," may have made personal arrangements for evacuation in case of emergency; and are now, in some cases, uncertain whether it is their duty to preserve these arrangements or to modify or cancel them in the interests of the priority classes of evacuees?

Yes, Sir. An opportunity for a full statement of the Government's wishes in regard to evacuation will arise when Part VIII of the Civil Defence Bill is considered in Committee. It is already generally known that the Government's plans for evacuation provide for certain priority classes. The allocations under these plans which have been made to local authorities have made allowance for private arrangements which have already been made. I hope that there will be no necessity to interfere with such arrangements made by elderly persons and invalids.

Arising out of the answer, for which many people will be grateful, does my right hon. Friend anticipate being able to give some guidance as to the case of invalids other than blind persons in the priority class who, for some reason, are not at present able to make personal arrangements for evacuation?

I hope to be able to give general guidance.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind when making this statement that local authorities are installing thousands of garden shelters in houses occupied by old age pensioners, and that if these pensioners are to be evacuated and their cottages left empty it will cause unnecessary expense?

No one will try to evacuate these persons against their will.

asked the Minister of Health the number of persons certified insane in the year 1938; and whether this is an increase over the years 1937, 1936 and 1935?

The number of persons certified insane in 1938 was 17,276. This is lower than the number certified in 1937, 1936, or 1935.

Do the figures include Scotland?

No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Health the number of institutions and number of persons directly or indirectly under the Board of Control?

The number of institutions under the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts, 1890 to 1930, and under the Mental Deficiency Acts, 1913 to 1938, is 182 and 288 respectively. The number of persons notified as under care under these Acts on 1st January, 1939, was 157,584 and 89,904 respectively; of these 153,749 and 46,054 were in institutions. The Board of Control are directly responsible for the State Institution for Mental Defectives, which contains 1,475 patients.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these thousands of people and 2,000 institutions are never under discussion in this House unless the appropriate Vote in the Ministry of Health Estimates is asked for, and that the matter is very seldom discussed; and does he think that a satisfactory state of affairs?

I am afraid that the subjects which are raised on the Estimates are not in my discretion.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the intention of the Denbigh County Council shortly to erect new county offices in Ruthin at a cost of £80,000 to the local ratepayers; and whether, in view of the unprecented burden of rates and taxes at present being borne in the national interest, he will either refuse to authorise such expenditure or order its postponement?

Yes, Sir. The necessity for the offices has been established, on grounds of the inadequacy and unhealthy conditions of the existing offices, after public local inquiry. I issued my formal consent to the necessary borrowing last month.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the council have already been offered the buildings of the old gaol?

asked the Minister of Health whether he can now state the policy of the Government towards the report of the National Parks Committee, 1931?

The Town and Country Planning Act, 1932, which was passed after the publication of the report of the committee to which the hon. Member refers enables many of the objects aimed at by the committee to be secured under planning powers, and in dealing with planning schemes this purpose has been constantly in mind.

In view of what has been happening in Edale, does not the Minister realise that definite action ought to be taken upon this report, and is not eight years long enough even for this Government to make up its mind?

Is it not true that the Act of 1932 has totally failed to ensure the preservation of national parks, and will the Minister not take into consideration the practical and modest proposals of the report of 1931?

I do not agree that the Act has totally failed, because special attention has been paid to it in schemes such as that affecting the Lake District and various parts of the South Downs.

Have the Government decided not to accept either of the two proposals put forward by the National Parks Committee?

No, Sir, the hon. Member would be wrong in that assumption.

Then is it that they cannot make up their minds?

asked the Minister of Health whether he will introduce legislation to ensure that an internal district drainage pumping plant used solely for the drainage of agricultural land comes within the Agricultural Derating Act?

I am afraid that I cannot undertake to introduce legislation for this purpose.

Is not the Minister aware that it is only in the past year that local authorities have made demands for rates on these pumping plants, and that those demands will be detrimental to the success of the land drainage schemes?

I am afraid that I could not undertake to introduce further legislation at the present time.

Will not the Minister do something to help the agricultural community?

asked the Prime Minister the reasons for the transfer of Sir Donald Banks from the Air Ministry to the Import Duties Advisory Committee; whether he has yet returned from his mission in Australia, when he was notified of the transfer; and whether his services will still be available for co-operation with the Air Ministry?

These posts are filled by the selection of the most suitable persons, for which reason Sir Donald Banks has been appointed. He was informed of the Government's intention before leaving this country; and on his return from his present mission he will assume the duties of his new office which do not include the type of service suggested in the last part of the question.