asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will consult with the Secretary of State for Air, and, in order to save unnecessary tank-shipping, appoint officers to every Army and Air force unit whose duty it would be to report each week, in writing, the names of all to whom petrol and oils were issued, so as to ensure that the journeys, distances and purposes for which they were issued conform with Government regulations?

Stringent instructions have been issued to secure rigid economy in the use of petrol and oil, and the necessity for constant supervision is stressed. The regulations provide that all issues are traceable to individuals and that the purpose of the issue is recorded. Commanding officers are responsible for ensuring the observance of orders, and I do not think it is necessary to appoint special officers. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air informs me that similar rules are observed in the Royal Air Force.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will consider the advisability of reducing the cost of postage on letters sent by ordinary mail and on air mail by those serving in His Majesty's Forces overseas, especially those in the Middle East, as the present charges are too costly for the men to keep in touch with their relatives and friends at home?

Free postage is already accorded to letters not exceeding two ounces in weight posted by His Majesty's Forces in France. The postage on letters from His Majesty's Forces in other countries overseas where no actual war operations are in progress are in general the same as for letters posted by civilians in the same country. I regret that I do not feel able to approach the foreign and overseas postal authorities concerned with a suggestion for the reduction in the rates charged in those cases. I regret also that owing to the restricted aircraft accommodation available for the conveyance of mails on the Empire air routes I am unable to offer any reduction in the charge for air transmission by these services.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, with a view to closer control of the transference of troops from one locality to another so that without hindering efficient training there may be no unnecessarily frequent shifting of troops, he will satisfy himself that, in every case, there is justification for large or small bodies of men being shifted from place to place at the frequent intervals now permitted?

If the suggestion is that no move should take place without specific War Office authority, I do not consider such a rule is necessary or practicable. I think that my hon. Friend may rest assured that troops are not moved without justification.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the total value of Government building contracts held by Western Engineering, Limited; when the company was formed; what is its capital, and what has been its previous experience of building?

The total value of building contracts at present being carried out by this company for the War Department is about £460,000. The company was formed in May, 1939. The present capital is understood to be £11,000. The company is stated to be a subsidiary company of a very large firm of public works contractors, and associated with a firm of builders, contractors and estate developers. On behalf of the former company, it has already carried out satisfactorily some contracts for hutted camps.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the arrangements for the repair of petrol cookers are satisfactory; what percentage of those used by anti-aircraft defence of Great Britain are out of action; and whether he will arrange for the provision of stoves in lieu of petrol cookers in order to benefit the health and temper of the troops, and save many thousands of gallons of petrol per month?

Arrangements for repair of petrol cookers are now satisfactory, arid, although considerable trouble has been experienced, it has been to a large extent due to the unskilled efforts of users to repair them. About 14 per cent. of those used by anti-aircraft units are out of action. Provision of coal fired stoves to replace the petrol cookers with anti-aircraft units is being made.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has considered the representations made to him by Fife local authorities for the granting of a definite rent allowance to the dependants of serving men; and what steps he is taking in the matter?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. and learned Member for Greenock (Mr. R. Gibson) by my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General for Scotland on 26th February last.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has been consulted with regard to the proposed acquisition by the Government of 750 acres of productive arable land in the Wetherby area as a factory site; and whether he will endeavour to secure that such land should be preserved for agriculture and an alternative site provided on non-productive land?

The answer to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. Having regard to the requirements of the Ministry of Supply as to the site of this factory, I regret that it was not possible on the occasion of such consultation for my Department to suggest an alternative site in the district on land of lower agricultural value.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether he has any information as to the progress which has been made in the construction of the railways from Diarbekr, in Turkey, towards Kirkuk, Iraq, and towards Teheran, Iran?

I have no information indicating that any constructional work has yet been undertaken.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department the salary paid to Miss Margaret Mary Downes, who has been appointed administrator in the Export Credits Guarantee Department of the Board of Trade; and whether this salary is the same as would be paid to a male administrator transacting exactly the same duties?

The officer referred to was a successful candidate at the competitive examination held in 1939 for appointments to the assistant officer grade, and was appointed to the Export Credits Guarantee Department on 3rd October, 1939. Her commencing salary of £250 is the same as that paid to male officers of that grade. The men's scale rises to a maximum of £625 and the women's to a maximum of £510.

asked the Minister of Economic Warfare how many civil servants who were selected at the outbreak of war for transfer to his Department because of their previous experience on trade statistical work, etc., have now been transferred away from his Ministry; what was the reason for such transfers; and whether he is satisfied that the efficiency of the Ministry has not been lessened by the loss of trained and experienced staffs?

The answer to the first part of the hon. Member's Question is that eight clerical officers and four super-clerical officers have been transferred from the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Economic Warfare. Eleven of these officers were temporarily lent by the Board of Trade at the outbreak of war, and they have been returned at the request of that Department owing to pressure of work there; the remaining officer had become redundant owing to reorganisation. The answer to the last part of the Question is in the affirmative.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in making his plans for the development of the export trade, he will bear in mind the special position of the oversea countries of the Empire and the necessity for the reorganisation and expansion of inter-Imperial trade which will be necessary at the end of the war?

Yes, Sir. The important considerations to which my hon. Friend refers will certainly be borne in mind.

asked the Minister of Labour the reduction in the numbers of disabled ex-service men registered as unemployed during the past 12 months; and the numbers of disabled ex-service men placed in vacancies notified to Employment Exchanges during the same period?

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of war-disabled pensioners who are insured under the Unemployment Insurance Act, and the numbers of war-disabled pensioners who have been notified that they are no longer considered to be suitable candidates for employment during the latest two periods of 12 months available?

Employment Exchange.				Men aged 18 and over.	Boys under 18 years.	Women aged 18 and over.	Girls under 18 years.	Total.
Pontypool	…	…	…	1,571	85	222	70	1,948
Blaenavon	…	…	…	492	4	49	40	585
Pontnewydd		…	…	537	17	35	21	610

I regret that no statistics are available giving the information asked for in the first part of the Question. With regard to the second part of the Question, I am not aware of any case of this kind. The Employment Exchanges make every effort in association with the King's Roll Committees to place all disabled ex-service men on the register desiring employment.

asked the Minister of Labour the numbers registered as unemployed at 15th January, 1940, in Hull, Liverpool, Newcastle, Cardiff, and Fleetwood, respectively, and the corresponding numbers at the first convenient date after 3rd September, 1939?

The following table shows the numbers of unemployed persons on the registers of Employment Exchanges in the undermentioned areas at 15th January, 1940, and 11th September, 1939:

Area.	15th January, 1940.	11th September, 1939.
Hull	15,205	12,637
Liverpool (including Bootle).	64,150	63,462
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.	15,446	13,719
Cardiff (including Penarth).	9,538	9,879
Fleetwood	2,247	1,704

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can supply particulars of the number of persons registered as unemployed during the month of February, 1940, at the Pontypool, Blaenavon, and Pontnewydd Employment Exchanges, men, women, boys, and girls stated separately?

The following table shows the numbers of unemployed persons on the registers of the Employment Exchanges in question at 12th February, 1940:—

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give any information as to the number of British ex-members of the International Brigade in Spain who have been excused military service on the grounds of conscientious objection or other causes, and as to how many ex-members are now serving with the Forces?

I have not this information.

asked the Minister of Labour what provision and check exists for ensuring that conscientious objectors who have been ordered to obtain work of national importance in fact do so; whether there is any schedule of classes of work considered proper for fulfilling the conditions imposed and whether there is any time limit fixed; and what is the number at the last convenient date who were and who were not performing such work?

I have this matter under consideration, but I would point out that under Section 5 (8) of the National Service (Armed Forces) Act it is open to any person to inform a local tribunal that a conscientious objector has failed to observe the condition of his registration, and if they are satisfied as to such failure there is provision for dealing with the case again de novo. There is nothing in the Act to define the work which tribunals should specify, except that it must be work of a civil character and under civilian control. The statistics asked for in the last part of the Question are not available.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he will make an up-to-date general statement on the work of the Area Boards, Area Advisory Committees and area officers?

In answer to a Question by the hon. and gallant Member for Preston (Captain Cobb) on 25th January, I gave a general statement of the duties of the Area Boards and Area Advisory Committees which form the area organisation. I also described the progress which had been made in setting up the Area Advisory Committees in answer to a Question by the Noble Lady the Member for the Sutton Division of Plymouth (Viscountess Astor) on 29th February. A great deal of the work has now been done and I anticipate that the full area organisation will be functioning shortly. The Area Boards in the Midland, South-Western, Southern, East and West Riding, North-Western, Eastern and Northern Areas are complete and I hope it will be only a matter of days before the remaining five boards are also ready. I am anxious that the Area Advisory Committees shall start on their work as soon as possible and arrangements have been made for the committee in an area to be inaugurated immediately the secretary to the Area Board has taken up duty. So far the Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Lincoln, Manchester, Bristol and Leicester Committees have already met. The Sheffield, Newcastle and Glasgow Committees should be meeting within the next few days. I expect that the committee at Belfast will be starting work very shortly and this will complete the first list of 11 committees, the setting up of which was regarded as a matter of urgency. The Engineering Employers' Federation and the Trades Union Congress General Council are now preparing their nominations for the remaining 12 committees and I hope that it will be possible for these to start work within the next few weeks.The committees have been supplied with details of various stores for which additional manufacturing capacity is needed and which it is thought the smaller firms could make. It is the intention that the committees shall make recommendations to the Area Boards regarding firms which they think could undertake this work and I hope that in this way it will be possible to give more work to smaller industrial establishments. Arrangements have also been made to refer offers of capacity from engineering firms to the committees, in order that we may have the benefit of their views as to the kind of work these firms may be able to undertake. As soon as the area organisation is complete I hope that all offers from engineering firms will be received through that channel. In this connection I should like to reiterate what I have said before, that it is open to any manufacturer, group of manufacturers or any joint body, federation or chamber, provided that such a body is itself strictly a non-profit organ- isation, to approach the secretary of the Area Board with any proposal. I should add that the Federation of British Industries and the Association of British Chambers of Commerce have been asked to arrange for their local officers to assist the Ministry by rendering such practical help as they can give in an advisory capacity to the secretaries of the Area Boards.The area officers are the local representatives of their respective Departments on the Area Board and their primary duty is to do everything possible to assist in the creation and maintenance of production capacity by keeping in close touch with their colleagues of the other Supply Departments and the Area Advisory Committees. The area officers of the Admiralty and the Air Ministry, who are now being appointed, have no direct technical functions but the Ministry of Supply area officers, who have been appointed for some time, are directly responsible for progressing the Department's munition contracts in their areas. The progressing of Admiralty and Air Ministry contracts is carried out by technical staffs, already in existence, who will have contact with the Area Boards through their own area officers. It is probable that an officer representing export trade interests will also be attached to each Area Board.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether, in the case of mothers whose young sons lose their lives before they can claim to be affording support to the family, the assistance which such a son might, had he lived, have given to the family is taken into consideration by his Department when deciding a claim by such a mother for a pension or allowance?

The fact that a deceased son had been unable to make a contribution to the support of a parent before enlistment would not of itself be a bar to the grant of pension.

—	Passengers.	Railway Servants.	Other Persons.	Total.
September, 1938 to February, 1939	34	111	25	170
September, 1939 to February, 1940 (Provisional).	64	132	17	213

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will consider the advisability of transferring to home service men over 40 years of age who are serving on the seas and replace them with younger sailors who may be available?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which was given on 6th December last to the hon. and gallant Member for North Portsmouth (Sir R. Keyes). Some progress has been made with the relief of the older men, but this can only be done as and when the supply of trained younger men is sufficient to meet all fleet requirements. It is impracticable to man the Fleet entirely with men of 40 years of age and under.

asked the Minister of Transport what was the number of casualties from motor accidents, causing death and non-fatal injuries, respectively, during the six months ended 3rd March, 1940, with the equivalent numbers for the corresponding period last year; and, in their various categories, accidents caused on railways and any other form of transport ascertainable, with the corresponding figures for the same period last year?

The precise information desired by my hon. Friend is not available. No figures have been compiled of the numbers of persons injured in road accidents in Great Britain during the past six months or of the numbers of casualties in which motor vehicles were concerned. The total numbers of persons reported to have died during the two six-monthly periods as a result of road accidents are:

September, 1938, to February, 1939	3,439
September, 1939, to February, 1940	5,165

On the railways the numbers of fatalities which have occurred in connection with all movement on rail during the corresponding periods are:

asked the Minister of Health whether there is any appeal from the decision of the Milk Marketing Board to withhold payments from a local authority, because it thinks the milk supplied under the cheap rate for schools, Circular 1840, is being wrongfully consumed?

No provision is made in the scheme referred to in Circular 1840 for an appeal against a decision of the Milk Marketing Board to withhold payments, but I am assured by the Board that payments would not in any case be withheld unreasonably or without prior consultation between the Board and my Department.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now in a position to announce the result of the negotiations which have been proceeding between representatives of the teachers' organisations and his Department on the subject of billeting allowances for evacuated teachers?

I am glad to say that it has now been decided, with the agreement of the teachers' organisations, that evacuated teachers of State-aided schools with certain continuing obligations at home shall receive allowances over and above the 5s. billeting allowance which the Government already pays in respect of lodging to the householder with whom they are billeted. These allowances will also be payable under certain conditions to teachers who have made their own arrangements for accommodation in the reception areas. The effect of the new scheme is, broadly speaking, to put evacuated teachers on an equality with evacuated civil servants, though it has been modified in certain particulars at the teachers' request to meet their special circumstances. The cost of the allowances, the payment of which will be undertaken by the local education authority or body normally responsible for paying the teachers' salaries, will be an evacuation charge. The new scheme will be retrospective as from 29th January last, which is the date on which the terms for evacuated civil servants were finally settled, and payments will begin as soon as the appropriate machinery for receiving and considering claims for allowances can be set in motion. In addition, evacuated teachers, like evacuated civil servants, will be eligible to receive two free return journeys to their homes each year, and the difference between the cost of a return journey and the single fare on three occasions in the same period. I am asked by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland to say that the same arrangements will apply to Scotland.

asked the Secretary for Mines how long the instruction or order which provides that individuals shall only be supplied with two hundredweights of coke or coal at one time will remain operative; and whether consideration is being given to the drain on national resources, particularly the increased consumption of petrol and expenditure of time, which this uneconomic method of delivery entails and the probability that any increased cost thereby incurred will result in an increase in price to the consumer?

I can assure my hon. Friend that the considerations which he mentions are constantly in mind and that the two hundredweight restriction will be lifted as and when circumstances permit.