asked the Prime Minister whether he is now able to state the date and place of the meetings of the Council and Assembly of the League of Nations, and the composition of the British delegation?

The Secretary-General of the League of Nations has now transmitted a new proposal to the members of the League of Nations to the effect that in present circumstances the Fourth Committee of the Assembly, rather than the Assembly itself, should meet to discuss the budget. This proposal is now being considered by the members of the League.

What is the point of trying to avoid a meeting of the Council of the League in view of the fact that it is necessary that they should meet in order to elect a new judge to the Permanent Court of International Justice and for budgetary reasons?

The hon. Member will realise that this proposal was made in order to pass the budget, and, in fact, the initiative was taken by certain neutral countries who made a proposal to the Secretary-General who passed it on to the States members, who are now considering it. As regards the election of a judge, His Majesty's Government have not lost sight of that matter.

Have any proposals been made as to the election of a judge from any quarter?

Not that I am aware.

I beg to give notice that I shall call attention to this matter on the Adjournment next week.

asked the Prime Minister the terms of the communication made to the League of Nations with reference to Great Britain's entry into the war?

I am circulating the terms of this communication in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has any information as to the execution of at least 800 Jews when the Germans took Przemysl before the Russians arrived; and whether, as the Soviet Government is understood to have made a detailed inquiry into the matter, he will make further inquiries from them as to this matter?

No, Sir, but my Noble Friend has asked for a report.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is now in a position to report to the House on the result of his investigation in regard to the distribution of leaflets by German agents in neutral countries, relative to the alleged supply of gas-shells to Poland by the British Government?

Information has reached His Majesty's Government that these leaflets have been widely distributed in various neutral countries. Steps have been taken to give the widest possible publicity in foreign countries to official statements refuting the German allegations.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether there is any limitation in the age qualification of commissioned officers in the Royal Air Force in regard to the payment of wives' allowances; and will he inform the House at what age the Government recognises such claims?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. T. Williams) on 8th November.

Are the same allowances to be paid to the dependants of airmen as are paid to the dependants of soldiers?

I said on 8th November that an Order was recently issued, for the period of the present emergency, that all married officers whether of the Regular or non-Regular branch of the Royal Air Force should receive a marriage allowance without any age limitation.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many volunteers of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve were mobilised on the outbreak of war and have not yet been asked to report to any unit, but have been drawing full pay and detention allowance since mobilisation?

All officers of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve took up duty immediately on mobilisation. Of the airmen who were mobilised, a relatively small proportion are still in receipt of pay without employment but they are being absorbed in Service vacancies as and when training facilities are available. It is anticipated that all will be so absorbed by the end of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that in certain instances insurance companies are refusing to pay claims on insurance policies on the lives of men killed on active service in the Royal Air Force, owing to the policy containing a clause to the effect that it would be void if the life assured should die as a result of engaging in aviation, whereas for a small extra premium this clause would have been deleted by the company; and whether he will take steps to ensure that members of the Royal Air Force are protected in such cases, in view of the hardship caused to the wives and children of such men?

No such cases have been brought to the notice of my Department. The Air Ministry has always used its best endeavours to persuade insurance companies to quote the most favourable rates possible in regard to aviation insurance and the companies have made considerable concessions. As regards the. second part of the question, particulars of the terms of insurance available for those entering the Royal Air Force are published in pamphlets circulated throughout the Service and all ranks are made aware of the available facilities. The widow of any member of the Royal Air Force killed on active service is, of course, eligible for a pension as well as for allowances in respect of her children.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many officers and non-commissioned officers of the Auxiliary Air Force have done no training since their mobilisation; what is the amount of pay and allowances paid to these officers and men to date; how many of them are still engaged in their civilian employment; and when it is expected they will be able to start on the work for which they are being paid or training for such work?

All Auxiliary Air Force personnel called out for service since the Force was embodied have been undergoing training or performing duty. A very small proportion of the personnel, being men who were engaged on essential work in industry, were not called out or have been returned to civil life and they are not eligible for Royal Air Force pay and allowances.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will consider recommending that the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross should be made applicable to all ranks of the Royal Air Force without class distinction as in the case of the Victoria Cross in the Army?

As I stated recently, I am considering the conditions of eligibility for the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Why should there be any delay in coming to a decision on this matter? Five men did equally meritorious service, and one of them gets a lower award simply on the ground of his social standing.

I do not think that is the case, but, as I said on the last occasion, there are many considerations to be taken into account, and it is a matter on which I shall have to consult the other Services.

What other considerations are there which have to be taken into account?

Can the right hon. Gentleman give us an assurance that there will be no distinction on the ground of rank, and that the only basis will be one of merit?

That is a matter which I am considering now.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether any arrangements have been made, or are contemplated, for the granting of leave to the personnel of the Home Fleet?

Instructions have been issued that the officers and men of all sea-going ships in home waters and those serving at isolated bases are to be given as much leave as circumstances permit. Subject to operational requirements, every opportunity will be taken to give leave when ships are refitting, docking, undergoing repairs or cleaning boilers; and administrative arrangements are being made to enable the fullest possible advantage to be taken of these opportunities for rest. At least 14 days leave a year will be given and leave will not be restricted by any maximum when circumstances allow of more being given. Officers and men serving in stationary ships, at shore bases, or in shore establishments will be given leave at the discretion of administrative authorities within the maximum of the peacetime leave scale with a minimum of 14 days a year. Although a general grant of leave at the ordinary leave periods will not generally be practicable under war conditions, the authorities at the ports have been authorised to grant up to seven days' leave this Christmas where-ever this is found possible without detriment to the work of the establishments.

May I ask whether, as in the case of the Army, free railway vouchers will be provided to the men?

Yes, Sir. The same will apply—two free warrants a year.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will bear in mind the desirability of according the maximum facilities for recreation ashore to the ships companes of the Home Fleet; and what steps he is taking to ensure this?

The desirability of giving leave to ships' companies for recreation ashore is fully realised by Flag and Commanding Officers. Measures are being taken to provide clubs, canteens, cinemas and recreation grounds at those ports and bases where these do not already exist. In addition the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes have already established canteens at some 20 ports, and I am glad to say that local municipal enterprise has, in several instances, taken the initiative in providing reading and rest rooms for naval personnel.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied that every possible facility for physical recreation ashore has been granted to the ships' companies of the Home Fleet during recent weeks?

Yes, Sir, subject to operational requirements.

Is it not the usual practice that such facilities should always be granted?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the amount of prize bounty distributed after the Great War; and how many persons received such bounty?

The total amount of prize bounty distributed during and after the war was £176,850. I regret that information concerning the number of officers and men receiving prize bounty is not now available.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the expenditure of this large sum of money is quite unnecessary, as our sailors may be expected do do their duty without this reward?

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in connection with the compensation payable by the Government to the railways, an acceptable formula has now been arrived at; and at what date it will be possible to announce the terms?

All I can say at the moment is that discussions on this complex subject are proceeding and that the importance of reaching an early settlement is fully realised.

Is it not a fact that some scheme for nationalising the railways is under consideration by the Ministry of Transport now, and is that the reason why the delay in making payments to the railways has been so long?

If it is under consideration in the Ministry of Transport, it has certainly not reached the Minister yet.

In view of the strange nature of that reply, I beg to give notice that I propose at the earliest opportunity to raise the whole matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will take steps to introduce special cheap rail tickets to enable relatives to visit inmates of sanatoria situated a long way from their homes on Sundays, as the complete suspension of Sunday excursion tickets makes it impossible for poor families to visit their sick relatives for long periods at a stretch?

While I sympathise with the desire of relatives to visit inmates of sanatoria, I regret that it is not possible, in present conditions, to arrange special cheap railway facilities for this purpose.

Will not the Minister reconsider this matter and discuss it with the railway companies, in view of the fact that, in general, sanatoria are very far out in the country and that in many cases it is very costly for people to travel to see their relatives and friends there?

I have discussed it with the Railway Executive Committee.

In view of the fact that a number of the inmates of sanatoria have been evacuated to very distant parts of the country because the sanatoria they were in have been taken over by the military, will not the right hon. and gallant Gentleman reconsider the answer he has given?

We are endeavouring to run the railways as a self-supporting concern, and I do not think that in cases where a concession could not be made on a self-supporting basis it is permissible to insist on it being given.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in order to help the revival of the restaurant and amusement business of London, and to maintain the morale of the people by giving them the opportunity of some measure of recreation and relaxation, he will endeavour to arrange for a reasonably late theatre train on all lines from London to the suburbs and nearby towns?

I am advised that adequate facilities are already available to serve suburban stations. In view of other urgent demands upon both the personnel and material of the railway companies, I do not feel justified in asking them to extend these facilities.

Does not my right hon. and gallant Friend consider that the provision of facilities for recreation are of such great importance at the present time that he would be justified in asking transport undertakings all over the country to make special concessions?

There are many urgent things to be done at the present time, and I must exercise some discretion.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in the interests of business and having regard to the restrict-tion of train services outside the rush-hours, he will arrange to reduce the period of non-availability of cheap-day tickets from the present three hours, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., to two hours, and to ensure that the railway companies in fixing the limits shall have regard to the train services rather than fix uniform times on all lines and to all stations?

The Railway Executive Committee have represented to me that a reduction of the period of non-availability of cheap day tickets from three hours to two would, in existing circumstances, cause overcrowding of trains during the evening peak period when regular passengers are travelling, and that it would be impracticable to introduce special modifications of the period in relation to individual lines or stations. I do not, therefore, feel justified in pressing the Committee to modify the existing limitation in the manner suggested by my hon. Friend.

Is my right hon. and gallant Friend aware that owing to the withdrawal of trains and the reduction of services this three hours dead period is, in many cases, 4½ hours, and in some cases nearly five hours?

Here again I have made a concession in response to representations from various quarters. If the situation becomes such that further concessions can be made, no one will be more pleased than I, but I have to consider the working of the railways in the interests of traffic as a whole.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can now arrange for some form of cheap-day tickets on the railways, in order to enable parents of evacuated children to visit them?

I am glad to say that in consultation with my right hon. Friends the Minister of Health and Secretary of State for Scotland I have been able to make arrangements under which with the necessary co-operation by the local authorities, special cheap rail facilities will be available for visits to children and others evacuated under the Government scheme. The general aim will be to provide special train facilities on Sundays at monthly intervals to reception areas where services at cheap fares are not already available and to which the return journey can be made in one day. The return fares will be at the rate of the ordinary single fare for distances up to 80 miles and for longer distances at less than that rate, so that the return fare for a place 100 miles distant will be 11s. and for a place 160 miles distant 12s. 6d.

It is essential that advance information should be available to the railways in order that adequate rail facilities should be provided and, therefore, tickets for these special trains will only be issued on production of a voucher at the railway booking office. These vouchers will be issued in the localities from which the children were evacuated under arrangements with the local authority, where also any necessary information as to the station of departure and route to be followed can be given to avoid unnecessary congestion at the railway booking offices. In order that due notice may be given to the transport authorities as to the numbers to be carried it will be necessary that the issue of vouchers shall cease eight days before the day on which the excursion will run, that is, for a train running on 3rd December a voucher must be obtained on or before 25th November. On 3rd December, special facilities will be provided from London and Edinburgh to a number of reception areas, and on succeeding Sundays other areas will be similarly served. The possibility of providing special facilities from other towns will be considered with the local authorities concerned. The special train facilities will not be available on 24th or 31st December owing to the abnormal traffic conditions at those times.

Will the right hon. and gallant Gentleman consider the few cases in which the distance of the children from home is greater than can be covered by the parents in a single day; and whether some special facilities might be granted to parents in those cases?

We have considered that point carefully. The right hon. Gentleman will see that it raises very great difficulties in regard to accommodation in the reception areas where the billets are already all occupied. The scheme which I have outlined is a start. I hope it will be successful and that we may be able to extend it.

In regard to the question of sickness, will cancellation of the eight days be allowed, and will the railway fare operate as the Minister suggests?

People will have to get the vouchers eight days before the journey, but, as at present advised, I do not suggest that they should pay the money until they actually go to the station.

What I am asking is whether, in cases of sickness, where parents wish to visit children who have been evacuated to a distance, it is intended to apply the same rule about the eight days?

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Health has just informed me that in necessitous cases of that kind the parents would travel free.

The statement which we have just heard limits this concession to children who have been evacuated under the Government scheme, but the right hon. and gallant Gentleman will be aware that many children have been evacuated privately, thereby saving the Government trouble. Can he not extend this concession to those other schemes?

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that Yorkshire pits are working short time owing to the shortage of railway wagons; that some pits are reduced to working little more than two-thirds of their capacity; and what steps he is taking to overcome the difficulty?

I am not aware that there has been a shortage in the supply of wagons to the Yorkshire collieries to the extent that the hon. Member suggests, and I shall be glad to investigate at once any specific case of shortage on this scale. I know, however, that some difficulties in the supply of wagons in this area have arisen. Consultations have taken place between the representatives of the railways, the Mines Department and the collieries in the area with a view to dealing with the present exceptional circumstances. The main difficulty is the increasing number of wagons which are standing laden with coal. My right hon. Friend, the President of the Board of Trade, and I have recently made an appeal to traders and industrialists to see that wagons are loaded and unloaded with the utmost dispatch. This matter is being closely watched and, if necessary, further steps will have to be taken to expedite the release of wagons.

Is the Minister aware that not an individual pit but numbers of pits are not working for nearly one-third of their time? In view of the necessity for these wagons, and the fact that we are being asked to produce 30,000,000 tons more coal this year, is it not time that something drastic was done to make people release wagons which are being held up much longer than they ought to be?

My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and I prefer to proceed at first by what I may call co-operative methods. If the appeal which my right hon. Friend and I have made for the quicker release of these wagons is unsuccessful, we shall have to take other measures.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that certain full-time air-raid precautions ambulance drivers have to pay for their driving licences; and whether he will either arrange that such drivers receive free licences or recommend to local air-raid precautions authorities that they shall meet this charge?

I have no power to remit the statutory fee for a driving licence. In the case of the ambulance drivers to whom the hon. Member refers, it would be for the local A.R.P. authority, who are not within my jurisdiction, to consider any particular instance whether they would meet the charge for a driving licence.

Am I to take it that the Minister does recommend to local authorities that these men, who are getting £3 a week, should have this concession granted to them?

No, Sir, I should not presume to recommend anything to the local A.R.P. authorities because they come under another Minister.

Can the Minister say when the driving test will be re-instituted?

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that, owing to the discontinuance of the driving test, holders of provisional licences are having to pay 5s. for a further provisional driving licence every three months; and whether he can make some other arrangements so as to relieve this class of driver from this additional expense?

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the discontent that exists among holders of provisional driving licences owing to the suspension of the official driving tests; and whether, in view of the considerable unemployment that prevails at the present time among people of over military age, many of whom are expert drivers, he will consider the reintroduction of these driving tests at an early date?

Yes, Sir. The transfer of the driving examiner staff to urgent war duties inevitably caused inconvenience to many people who were thereby prevented from taking the driving test. I am glad to say that the progress made with the road transport emergency organisation will now enable me to release some of the examiners for their ordinary work. Applications for driving tests will be accepted in the regional offices on or after 1st December, and I am making arrangements for resumption of the official driving test as from 1st January next.

Is it the case that the R.A.C. have volunteered to provide the personnel necessary for carrying out these tests; and will my right hon. and gallant Friend make use of that offer, which has been made in order to facilitate these driving tests?

No, Sir. Grateful as I am to the organisations in question, I think it essential that the test should be carried out by my own trained examiners.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will arrange to increase omnibus services in the London area?

Since the beginning of October improvements have been introduced on a number of routes, and as from to-day there will be 160 to 200 additional omnibuses in operation. The necessity for economy in the use of imported fuel must involve some reduction in the number of omnibus services operated by the board as compared with pre-war standards, but within this limitation the board are doing everything in their power to provide an adequate service.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman bearing in mind that with the approach of the Christmas shopping season the number of people desiring to travel by public vehicles will be greatly increased?

Unfortunately, the approach of the Christmas shopping season does not give me any more petrol.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that there are notices posted up on different routes this morning that those routes will not have buses on them from to-day?

I should like to see that question on the Paper.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the fact that a headlight on a motor-car properly blacked out should not show a light higher than about three feet from the ground, he will make arrangements for the better illumination of traffic signs which are usually seven feet or more above the ground?

Now that the new headlamp masks are coming into general use, steps are being taken to remind local authorities of the detailed instructions for the illumination of traffic signs contained in the memorandum on "Aids to Movement of Traffic" issued by nry right hon. Friend, the Minister for Home Security, in June last. Where there are local difficulties in securing illuminations, the possibility of lowering the signs is being explored.

asked the Minister of Transport the number of street accidents, fatal or otherwise, in Glasgow since 3rd September, 1939; and the number of cases in which intemperance was the proved primary cause?

During the period from 4th September, 1939, to 5th November, 1939, inclusive, 52 persons were killed and 893 persons were injured in road accidents in Glasgow. Information is not available as to the number of cases in which intemperance was the primary cause.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware of the widespread allegations that are being made by certain officials in Glasgow that intemperance is the cause of many of the accidents, and does he not think, in view of these allegations, that the Ministry of Transport ought to make inquiries with regard to them?

As I have pointed out before to the House, an inquiry into the primary cause of every accident is an extremely difficult thing. We had two periods in which this was done—in the year ended 31st March, 1937, and in the calendar year 1935. We have not been able to continue that in peace time, and it is still less possible to continue it in war; but in the periods when these analyses were taken statistics went to show that the cases in which intemperance was put down as the primary cause amounted to less than 2 per cent.

Was the intemperance on the part of the pedestrians or of the drivers?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information whether, in view of the far-reaching misconceptions of British Empire policy displayed abroad, as exampled in the recent speech of the Premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, he will prepare and execute without delay a world-wide campaign to educate public opinion on the elementary facts of the British Empire?

I can assure my hon. Friend that the need for spreading the facts about the British Empire is constantly borne in mind by all sections of the Ministry of Information. Every opportunity has been, and will be. taken to emphasise the Empire's unity and strength, and to explain its structure, to foreign countries.

Will those facts be sent to South Africa?

South Africa speaks for itself.

asked the Parlia mentary Secretary to the Ministry of In formation whether in the reorganization of those departments which specially deal with Near East, Middle East and India, he is enlisting the assistance of any orientals in these departments so as to ensure that British propaganda and other forms of publicity may be undertaken with due regard to oriental psychology?

Every information section attached to British posts in the Near and Middle East employs persons who are nationals of the country in which they work; while in the Ministry itself the appropriate sections have frequent advice and assistance from such persons. In India, the Ministry works in the closest co-operation with the Bureau of Public Information, Government of India, the staff of which is largely Indian.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information whether his attention has been called to the fact that in Peru there are a number of provincial papers which do not pay for any of the usual Press services which supply foreign news; that the only foreign news they get is supplied to them, free of charge, by the German Foreign Office; that though the individual circulation of each paper is small the combined circulation is considerable; and will he take steps to see that these papers are supplied, free of charge, with foreign news by his Department?

I am aware that German news is offered free of charge to some provincial newspapers in Peru, but it is by no means the case that British news is not available or remains unpublished. For example, the B.B.C. has made arrangements with the news agencies concerned for rebroadcasting, and for republication in the Press, of their news bulletins; and other steps to meet the needs of the smaller papers are under careful consideration.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are many neutral countries where the conditions are substantially such as are described in this question and where German news has a very great advantage, and will he consult with the Post Office and the Air Ministry with a view to the improvement of the air mail service and the cutting of postal rates?

We are continually trying to improve the communications, but I hope the hon. Gentleman will give me an example of any country that he has in mind.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that it takes five or six days for mail material to reach the Balkans, which are of great importance, and it is more than six weeks since this question was raised in the Advisory Council, and that very little has been done?

Communications with the Balkans are being steadily improved.

Is my hon. Friend not aware that German news is more interesting because it has no connection with the facts?

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in almost every case where German propaganda is carried to other countries, it is sent in the language known to the people in the country to which it is sent, and that it is sent in that condition from Germany to those countries—I mean, that it is not sent in the German language and translated there?

If the hon. Member is suggesting that we do not use the language of the countries to which this news goes, he is really mistaken.

I beg to differ.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to ensure that bakers whose cost of production enables them to sell the 2 lb. loaf at 2½d. wholesale, are safeguarded from being black-listed, and are assured of regular flour supplies?

I shall be happy to consider any evidence which my hon. Friend has in his possession to the effect that flour supplies are not assured to bakers selling bread at the price quoted.

Does not the fact that this bread is produced and sold at a profit at this price demonstrate that the price which is being charged by the price-fixing association of milling combines, which has exploited the public for years and years, is a well known scandal?

My hon. Friend's supplementary raises quite a different question. If he wishes to raise any particular case, he cannot do better than follow the procedure stated in my answer.

Is my hon. Friend not aware that my supplementary was very much to the point?

If I produce evidence of a case where a gentleman is being kept out from this kind of business, will the hon. Gentleman look into the matter?

Certainly.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, since the price of flour is now controlled by the Government, whether he can state the price which the Government are charging to bakers in London and the provinces, respectively; and whether he can say if this is the standard price, or whether there are variations in the varieties of flour which is sold at these prices?

All flour mills are now required to make a straight-run flour of not less than 70 per cent. extraction. The price throughout the United Kingdom is fixed at 22s. per sack of 280 lb. delivered. Any variations which occur in the flour sold are due to variations in the grist available.

Is it not a fact that, owing to the amount of flour bought instead of wheat, many millers are to-day not producing flour at all?

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will, when considering the question of rationing of food, give special consideration to workers engaged in heavy industries such as steel works, mines and railways; and will he make provision for canteens which provide for these employes at the various works in the country?

In answer to the first part of the question so far as the present rationing scheme is concerned, I would refer to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Cocks) on 9th November. In answer to the second part of the question, arrangements will be made for industrial canteens on the lines of those for catering establishments generally.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether, under any system of rationing, special arrangements will be made for delicate persons and invalids to obtain additional allowances?

The hon. Member's proposal is already receiving consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the question of future purchases of herring by the Government is under his consideration; and whether he will make a statement on the matter?

There is no present intention to introduce any new Government scheme for the purchase of herring. As the hon. Member is aware, the undertaking given by the Government to purchase the surplus catch of herring landed at East Anglian ports relates to the current season only.

Will my hon. Friend give consideration to the question of future purchases of herring throughout the war?

I will give my hon. Friend that assurance.

Is my hon. Friend aware that large quantities of Clyde herring are being cast back into the sea because there is no price for them, and will he not fix a minimum price as well as a maximum price?

My hon. Friend knows that Clyde herring at this time of the year are of a particular kind and are not suitable for general consumption.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why some retailers are finding it difficult at the present time to purchase any supplies of dried fruits, such as sultanas and raisins?

Supplies of dried fruit for the Christmas trade are arriving much later than usual this year, but large quantities are now at the ports or are just arriving. Every effort is being and will be made to distribute these arrivals, which should go a considerable way to meeting any shortage.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will increase the supply of feeding-stuffs in the West of England, as the shortage is causing a diminution of pig and poultry products and consequent loss to the producers?

Yes, Sir. Action on the lines suggested has already been taken.

May we know when there will be a supply of feeding-stuffs in the West of England?

The difficulties with regard to feeding-stuffs apply to the country as a whole, but the particular difficulties of the West country have been met. During the week ending 4th November we despatched large supplies of barley to the Bristol Channel ports.

Will my hon. Friend remember that the shortage in West Cornwall has been particularly acute?

Certainly.

Are these benefits to be confined to the West of England?

No, Sir, but they hvae a particularly large pig population in that part of the country.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether, in view of the shortage of bacon and the difficulty owing to the scarcity of imported feeding-stuffs of increasing the supply of pigs, he will instruct bacon factories to cure mutton in the same way as they cure the carcases of pigs and make mutton-bacon to make good the shortage of bacon made from pigs?

I am arranging for an experimental cure to be made, and will communicate the results to my hon. Friend, who, I hope, will be prepared to assist in the consumption of the product.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I have eaten the product, and that if his bacon people cannot make it, any farmer's wife in Perthshire will tell them how to do it? I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. C. Davies), who is well acquainted with it.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he is aware that there are great numbers of deer in the Highlands which the proprietors would gladly dispose of on reasonable terms; and will he arrange for their purchase and distribution, accompanied by instructions as to the proper method of cooking venison?

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he has taken in conjunction with the Forestry Commission or otherwise, to make available as food the deer in Scotland?

Preliminary inquiries into the possibilities of the better utilisation of the venison supplies available in Scotland are proceeding. Consideration of the problem has, however, not yet reached a stage at which I can usefully make a statement.

Is not the hon. Gentleman aware that unless people are shown how to cook venison—they are so out of doing it—it will be useless and as dry as a stick? Is he aware that if it is properly cooked it is a lovely food? I have eaten it many times.

Will the hon. Member reply to my question?

We are in touch with the Forestry Commission.

Will it help the hon. Gentleman if I supply him with a recipe for cooking venison?

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether, in view of the fact that there are ample supplies of cod-liver oil to meet all requirements including children and nursing and expectant mothers who have been evacuated, he can now say why the British suppliers are only supplying one- third of the normal requirements at a price which is double what it was two months ago?

Deliveries of cod-liver oil through the trade have been somewhat reduced with the object of conserving stocks pending the completion of plans for safeguarding future supplies, but adequate quantities are available to meet all the requirements referred to by my hon. Friend. The rise in prices is less in this country than in others, and is due to increased cost of raw material and reduced turnover.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has now been able to arrange for a sufficient supply of maize to ensure the continuous manufacture of medical glucose?

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he is now satisfied that sufficient raw material exists to enable the users of glucose to carry on adequately?

Arrangements have been made to allocate regularly supplies of maize to producers of glucose sufficient to enable them to produce a substantial part of their normal output. The allocations will cover the manufacture of medical glucose.

Is there any hope of a full supply in the near future, and is the hon. Gentleman in touch with the Minister concerned in this matter? We do not know who is responsible.

We accept responsibility. The allocation will provide for two-thirds of the working capacity of the manufacturers concerned, and in view of the fact that some of their products are of a luxury nature we do not think that this is an unreasonable allocation.

asked the Minister of Supply to what extent the increase in the price of coal recently sanctioned will affect the price of steel, and whether this has been allowed for in the revised prices of steel recently announced?

The recent increases in the maximum prices of iron and steel were necessitated by the higher cost of imported materials, together with increases in steel costs arising from the operation of sliding scales. It is not intended that the recent advance in the price of coal should lead, for the present, to any further increase in the maximum prices of steel.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he is prepared to investigate the possibility of making a full use of the Scottish ironfounding industry by substituting where possible the use of cast-iron for steel and thus relieve the pressure on the steel industry; and whether he will consult with the ironfounding industry for this purpose?

Yes, Sir. Close attention is being given by the Controller of Iron and Steel ,in consultation with representatives of the ironfoundry industry, to the question of relieving the pressure on the steel industry by the substitution of iron castings for steel wherever practicable and I have myself received a deputation on the matter.

May Bilsfon be considered in any such scheme?

I can hardly imagine Bilston being left out of account.

asked the Minister of Supply which of the Nuffield subsidiaries has undertaken sub-contracts for the supply of Bofors gun-mountings at prices varying from £220 to £190?

The firm to which the hon. Member presumably alludes is not a Nuffield subsidiary. I am not willing to publish the name, but I have no objection to giving it to the hon. Member in confidence.

Will the Minister explain how he reconciles his statement to-day with his statement on 24th October, when he said that the Nuffield Company made a large number of these gun mountings through a sub-contractor. Surely that implies that sub-contractor "A" is a subsidiary of the Nuffield Company?

It does not imply anything of the kind. The Nuffield subsidiary is the agency firm which looks after the factory. Sub-contractor "A," to whom the hon. Member is presumably referring, is not a Nuffield subsidiary or related to them in any way.

asked the Minister of Supply (1) the authorised increase in price of home-grown pit-wood; and also the increase in price of pit-wood supplied by the Forestry Commission;

(2) the reasons that were accepted by him as justifying the increase in price charged by the Forestry Commissioners for home-grown pit-wood?