asked the Secretary of State for Air how many Royal Air Force officers and civilian employés of the Air Ministry have been seconded to the Ministry of Information; and what is their rank and to which Department are their salaries charged?

An assistant Press officer and five officers in clerical grades have been seconded from the Air Ministry to the Ministry of Information. Their normal salaries will be borne on Air Votes.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that many men who volunteered for the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and were only partially trained at the outbreak of war are now prevented from passing their trade test in war-time, thereby losing all opportunity of promotion and a higher salary than their present one of 2s. a day; and whether he will take steps to alter the position?

Owing to the large numbers of men called up for service and the pressure of work at training establishments some men have necessarily had to wait before passing their trade test. Additional facilities are now being provided. I should add that it is the intention to dispense with the customary trade test in respect of a number of these men and to re-muster them to a higher trade as soon as they have attained the necessary proficiency.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that under the Milk (Special Designations) Order, 1936, samples of milk collected and submitted by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Corporation to the bacteriologist for examination, still show many unsatisfactory results; and what steps are being taken to protect the public against this contaminated food, and particularly for an improvement in the low-wage stan- dards of many farm-workers employed in this industry which would conduce to this end?

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Health is in communication with the corporation with regard to the first part of the question. As regards the latter part I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to his written question on 27th September.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the war will affect the grants made under the attested, tuberculin tested and accredited herds schemes; or whether the present extra bonus will continue to be paid by the Milk Marketing Board for these categories of milk as heretofore?

The Milt Industry Act, 1939, which provides for the payment of quality premiums in respect of tuberculin tested and accredited milk and milk from attested herds, remains in force and the premiums will accordingly continue to be paid for those categories of milk by the Milk Marketing Board. The premiums are independent of the bonus payable under the Tuberculosis (Attested Herds) Scheme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will consider giving power to local authorities to cultivate suitable unused land directly for the raising of vegetables and other foodstuffs if sufficient persons are not forthcoming to take up allotments?

I have every hope that as in the last war sufficient persons will be forthcoming to cultivate as allotments all unoccupied land suitable for the purpose. There should, therefore, be no necessity for local authorities themselves to undertake the cultivation of such land.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in the instructions he has issued to county war executive committees, he has left to local discretion the percentage of land which must be ploughed up on each farm as long as the quota for the whole county is attained?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 29th September to a question asked by the hon. Member for Wrexham (Mr. Richards).

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that employés in Government munition works had their wages stopped for time lost in commencing work due to the recent air raid alarm; and what action it is proposed to take on future occasions?

It is the intention to apply in Government industrial establishments the arrangements with regard to time lost through air-raid warnings which are applied generally in the analogous industries. This intention has been communicated to the Trades Unions concerned with an intimation that any action in this matter must from the point of view both of the Government and of the Trades Unions be subject to further experience of what is involved.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the State will demand the payment of death duties on the estates of officers killed in action?

I would refer the hon. Member to the provisions of Section 38 of the Finance Act, 1924, from which it will be seen that if the estate of an officer killed in action passes to his widow, lineal descendants, lineal ancestors, brothers and sisters or descendants of brothers and sisters, the law provides for exemption from Death Duties on the first 5,000 thereof and for relief on the remainder the amount of which is dependent upon the age of the deceased.

asked the Minister of Supply whether, in connection with the supply of clothing to the combatant services, the lay-out of each garment is left to. the planning of the manufacturer; whether the cloth rags left over from the lay-out and manufacture are the property of the Government or the manufacturer; and how many firms have been entrusted with the manufacture of clothing for the troops?

Makers of clothing for the Army, for which the Ministry of Supply is responsible, are required to cut and make in conformity with Government patterns and specifications. Sample garments and patterns to guide manufacture are supplied by the Ministry. The contractor is charged by the Ministry for all yardage supplied from Government stocks, and the cloth rags or cuttings remain his property. About 500 firms are at present employed in the production of uniform clothing ordered by the Ministry.

asked the Attorney-General whether it is intended to legislate on the lines of the Execution of Trusts (War Facilities) Acts, 1914 and 1915, whereby a trustee who had joined His Majesty's Forces could, by power of attorney, delegate the trusts, powers and discretions vested in him, whether or not he remained in the United Kingdom?

As my hon. and gallant Friend will have seen, my Noble Friend the Lord Chancellor yesterday presented in another place a Bill entitled Execution of Trusts (Emergency Provisions) Bill.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that, owing to the numbers of evacuees and business firms now established in certain reception areas, the postal and telephone services have seriously deteriorated, letters, in most cases, taking two days for delivery from London to parts of Buckinghamshire; whether such delay is due to lack of staff at the despatching or receiving end; and can improvement be hoped for in the immediate future?

I am not aware that there is any general delay of two days in the delivery of letters from London to places in Buckinghamshire, but owing to the suspension of certain trains formerly used for mails the time taken for transmission of letters addressed to Chalfont St. Giles has been increased in certain cases. The possibility of using additional trains for these mails is now under consideration, and I am hopeful that some improvement will be made in the service in the near future.Owing to the causes stated by my hon. Friend and also to the large number of circuits withdrawn for defence purposes some congestion has resulted in the telephone service. In addition to the measures which have already been taken to provide telephone service for persons and firms moving to the reception areas, and to improve the service generally, I have appealed to private users to refrain from using the telephone except for essential calls. These steps will, I hope, do much to improve the position.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will give reconsideration to the suspension of provisional drivers licences in view of the fact that the demand for trained drivers is likely to increase and fresh recruits will be necessary?

Yes, Sir. I have carefully reconsidered the position and the issue of provisional licences is now being resumed.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether steps can be taken to increase the petrol allowance for medical practitioners in country districts; and especially in those districts where the normal child population has been greatly increased by evacuation from danger zones?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28th September to a similar question by my hon. Friend the Member for the Isle of Ely (Mr. de Rothschild).

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will make arrangements for local authorities to post the fixed current prices of foodstuffs and other essential commodities in the windows of Post Offices and other suitable buildings where they can be seen by the public?

I am arranging that a list of the retail prices of foodstuffs, as prescribed in the Ministry's Orders, shall be available to the public at each of the local food offices throughout the country. Some of the existing Orders regulating prices include a specific requirement that notices of the retail prices shall be displayed in the shops and I am considering the practicability of extending this requirement to all controlled foodstuffs.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will require local authorities to cancel notices to quit which have been served upon tenants of property condemned for clearance and thus retain for the time being all available house property; and whether he is aware that certain authorities are insisting on the demolition of property which might usefully be retained until the emergency is past?

I have no power to require local authorities to cancel notices to quit which have been served on the tenants of condemned houses. In any event such a course would appear to be unnecessary and undesirable in cases in which the rehousing accommodation has been provided. I have, as my hon. Friend is aware, advised local authorities that their action under clearance and individual demolition orders should stop short of demolition and, when giving this advice I was influenced by the consideration that condemned houses, although unfit for human habitation, might, in the event of a considerable destruction of housing accommodation as a result of enemy action, be brought into use. As regards the last part of the question, I am not aware that local authorities have proceeded further than to issue notices to quit.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information whether he will consider a poster campaign throughout the country reproducing cartoons emphasising German methods and German aims?

My Noble Friend has noted my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion for consideration in relation to the general planning of any future poster campaigns.

asked the Home Secretary whether for public guidance, he will ask the different local authorities in the country what is the aggregate amount they are spending per week on air-raid precautions work, and what addition it will mean to the local rates?

Local authorities have been asked to furnish particulars of their estimated expenditure on air-raid precautions in the present half of this financial year and of their monthly expenditure on the pay of whole-time volunteers. They will also be asked shortly to furnish particulars of their estimated expenditure in the three months ending the 31st December next. In these circumstances I do not think it would be opportune to call for further special returns such as my hon. Friend suggests.