asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether steps have been taken to arrange for the conversion of surplus stocks of potatoes of the 1940 crop into dried meal for feeding pigs and poultry; and if so, when such meal will be available for use?

Some surplus potatoes are being converted into dried meal for feeding to livestock, including pigs and poultry. Supplies of the meal are limited, but these are available for distribution by the port area grain committees.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what foodstuffs, and what quantities of each class, were ear-marked for pigeons registered for the National Pigeon Service; how many pigeons were so registered; and how many persons were registered, or listed, as owners of these pigeons?

The ultimate aim of the National Pigeon Service is 400,000 birds in private ownership in addition to those already owned by the Services. The food required for these pigeons would be 7,350 tons per annum, but I am unable to reply to the last part of the Question as the recruitment of members of the National Pigeon Service is not yet completed.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in view of the urgent need of oranges by the sick, he can now make any statement as to the possibility of importing concentrated orange juice?

:My Noble Friend is in consultation on this question with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health. There is nothing that I can at present add to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham (Sir R. Gower) on 6th March.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, as in the case of the carrot crop of the country, he proposes to purchase the coming onion crop?

Yes, Sir. This decision was announced on the 15th February last.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that when a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary calls at a Colonial port no duty boat is provided for the men when they go ashore as is done for the Royal Navy; and whether he will take steps to ensure that this hardship is remedied?

It is general practice for routine duty boats to be provided at Colonial ports to enable crews of Royal Fleet Auxiliaries to go ashore and to return to their ships. If this service is inadequate it is open to the master to engage boat attendance if he considers the cost justifiable. The extent of the boat service necessarily depends upon the facilities available at the port.

asked the Minister of Economic Warfare whether he is aware of the considerable amount of shipping traffic which still takes place in the Western Mediterranean between North African ports and French and Italian ports, respectively; and of the fact that much of this traffic is of definite advantage to Italy and Germany; and whether steps can be taken to exercise more effective control over such shipping, whether or not it keeps within the three-mile limit?

The answer to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 25th March to the hon. Member for East Wolverhampton (Mr. Mander).

asked the Secretary of State for Air the number of raids, and the degree of their intensity, carried out against Berlin and Cologne since 1st March?

Since 1st March there have been three heavy raids on Cologne and two on Berlin; there has been one other raid on Cologne which, though on a smaller scale, was highly effective.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in order to prevent reliance being placed on National Registration identity cards as evidence of identity, he will direct that the word "identity" be deleted from the title?

My hon. Friend appears to have in mind a somewhat narrow interpretation of the term "identity." The persons who are entitled to inspect National Registration Identity Cards should be well instructed as to the nature of the evidence which they afford; and I have no reason to believe that their title can give rise to any misconception.

asked the Minister of Labour whether the registration of all single women between 21 and 30 years of age is a prelude to the general registration of women of more mature years?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary on 20th March. There will be a national registration on 19th April next of all women born in 1920, whether married or single. Women born in 1919 will be registered in the near future. No decision has yet been reached as to other age groups.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that there is a compulsory order that women working at a factory of which he has been informed must wear caps and overalls; that some of the women complain of heat; and whether he will investigate the matter to see if some modification of the dress could be allowed which will cause less inconvenience in warm weather?

I will have inquiry made at the factory to which my hon. Friend refers, but I would point out that suitable caps and overalls are widely recommended in the interests of safety as well as on other grounds.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Buildings what exactly is being done to obtain proper records of architecturally valuable buildings which are liable to be damaged by enemy action in Great Britain?

A National Buildings Record has been set up to index existing records of architecturally valuable buildings and to fill in the gaps which the index reveals. It will also record any historical or structural evidence which damage may disclose. The record is administered by an advisory council, of which the Master of the Rolls is chairman. The Minister of Works is represented on the council and a contribution is made from public funds towards the expenses of the record.

asked the Minister of Information whether it is by direction of his Department that it is forbidden to use re-directed envelopes for letters sent to Southern Ireland; and will he take steps to withdraw this prohibition in order to save paper?

The use of re-directed envelopes in overseas mail is only prohibited where a gummed slip is used. In view of the difficulty of censoring letters redirected in this way the prohibition cannot be withdrawn.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the admitted defects in respect of Army-Air co-operation in Flanders have been remedied; and whether the use of small civil-type aeroplanes for the benefit of the Army in this respect has been fully investigated?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to-day to my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Mr. Morgan).

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is his intention to issue a special badge, as was done in the last war, to those men who have enlisted but who have afterwards been discharged from the Army on medical grounds?

I hope that it will be possible for an announcement to be made on this subject before long.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of a grave injustice suffered by tenants of houses that have been requisitioned for military purposes, who are offered as a rent a sum considerably less than they are compelled to continue to pay to their landlords; and will he take the necessary measures to remove this injustice?

I am aware that the sum offered as compensation in respect of requisitioned houses may in some cases be less than the rent paid by the tenant under previous agreements. As my hon. Friend is aware, however, the War Department is bound by the provisions of the Compensation (Defence) Act, 1939, and under that Act compensation must be assessed by reference to the rent which might reasonably be expected to be payable by a tenant under a lease granted at the time when the property is taken over

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what provision has been made for the protection of British bondholders in view of the fact that it was their money which built the Shanghai-Nanking Railway and the Tientsin-Pukow Railway, and that these concerns are now controlled by a Japanese company with revenues of about 1,000,000 yen a month?

His Majesty's Government have made repeated representations in respect of both these railways requesting that arrangements should be made to meet the obligations to the British bondholders and to allow the British railway staff to function in accordance with the provisions of the loan agreements. I regret that no satisfaction has yet been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any recent report on the working of the agreement between the Shanghai Municipal Council and the Japanese authorities for the policing of the "Bad Lands" in Japanese control outside the settlement boundary; whether he is aware that last November house-breaking by armed robbers and the holding up of people in the streets, including foreign women, were frequent occurrences; whether the Shanghai municipal police are still denied entrance to the "Bad Lands"; and whether there has been any improvement in the situation in recent months?

:After negotiations extending over a period of several months, an agreement providing for the establishment of a joint police force for the Western Extra-Settlement Area at Shanghai was signed on 1st February. It came into force on the 15th March, on which date the Shanghai municipal police were withdrawn. While conditions in the area have continued to be unsatisfactory in recent months, it is yet too early to judge what result the new agreement will have

asked the Minister of Supply, with regard to an order for a large number of pulley blocks now being put out to tender, why the firm of Tritonia, Limited, has not been included in those firms; whether he is aware that this firm has already executed several orders for other Government Departments for their patent pulley block; and whether he will now include this firm among those who are invited to tender?

I am aware that this firm have secured orders for their patent pulley block from certain Government Departments. They were not invited to tender on this occasion as it was considered that they were not adapted for the production of the particular type of pulley block required.