asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport on whom he proposes to place the onus of making good the damage to any goods as a result of being despatched in un-sheeted railway wagons?

Owing to the shortage of sheets which then existed, a direction was issued in August last requiring the conveyance of goods from the ports unsheeted, where necessary to ensure prompt clearance, and prohibiting double-sheeting. At the same time the railways were relieved by order from liability for damage due to obedience to the direction. Any question of liability arising is a matter for determination by the Courts. The position has now, I am glad to say, so far improved that the prohibition of double-sheeting is being suspended.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether he is aware of the inconvenience caused to passengers to Leigh, Benfleet, Westcliff, Southend and Shoeburyness, who travel to these prescribed areas not knowing them to be so restricted; and whether, in order to mitigate this trouble and ease the burdens upon the police who are compelled to turn these people away, he will arrange that at stations such as Fenchurch Street, Barking and Upminster notices are displayed informing would-be travellers of the areas where no entry is permitted?

Lists of stations to which pleasure travel is prohibited are exhibited in poster form at all stations, including those mentioned by my hon. Friend.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Buildings why permission has been given for the rebuilding of a news cinema at Victoria Station when labour and building materials are urgently required for more important purposes?

Only the entrance was damaged and the repair work has been kept down to a minimum, salvaged materials being used as far as possible. The cinema provides relaxation and entertainment for the travelling public, who frequently have long periods to wait at the station in war-time conditions and who include large numbers of His Majesty's Forces. It was for this reason that a licence was granted.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Buildings whether it is the intention to move again the tenants of North End House, West Kensington, who were evacuated from one block of those flats last August to make room for refugees; and, if so, whether, as there is so much vacant accommodation in London, a second removal of these tenants at considerable public expense will be avoided?

It is the intention to take more accommodation at North End House, West Kensington, for the housing of a further party of evacuees. It is essential that they should be kept together and it is not possible therefore to house them in isolated vacant premises, as my hon. Friend suggests. The alternative arrangement which has been made for rehousing the dispossessed tenants in other accommodation in the mansions was suggested by a deputation representative of the tenants themselves as being acceptable to them.

asked the Minister of Information how many letters from Nazi leaders in Germany to persons in this country have been stopped by the censorship during the war?

I am sure my hon. Friend will realise it is contrary to the public interest to answer questions relating to the operations of the postal censorship which, by their nature, must be treated as secret.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give some approximate "idea of the ages of the 198,913 men on the Central Register and of their types of activity prior to the war; and whether he can arrange for a committee of business men to examine all their papers to see if, and how, their offers of services can be utilised in the interests of the State?

An age analysis of the persons on the Register is not available. In certain main categories, the occupations followed prior to the war were approximately as follows:

Engineers	107,000
Scientists	29,000
Architects and Surveyors	22,000
Accountants	12,000

Almost all these persons are already engaged on work of some degree of national importance and can only be transferred elsewhere if the new work is considered to be of greater importance. The Central Register already has advisory committees representing the professions concerned, and while I do not want to reject any proposal that may increase the utility of the Register I do not think that the appointment of a further committee would be of advantage.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of applications received for training under the Ministry of Labour's training scheme for welfare supervisors; the number that have passed for training; the number who are undergoing, or who have undergone, the training; and the number who have been placed into appropriate employment?

The total number of applications received up to 27th May was 2,063 of which however 1,663 have been judged to be unsuitable. Two hundred and thirty-six have been accepted and 136 are still under consideration. Of the 236 accepted, 43 subsequently withdrew their applications. Of the balance of 193, 132 have completed the course; 48 are now taking it; and 13 have not yet begun. The number of students who have already found employment is 58 and I understand that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply is proceeding immediately with a further substantial number of appointments in Royal Ordnance Factories.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps are taken to advise employers of the existence and particulars of persons trained under the Ministry of Labour welfare supervisors training scheme; and what method is adopted to place such trained persons into touch with employers?

This scheme, and methods of applying for particulars of persons trained under it, have received considerable publicity in the Press. The British Employers' Confederation have furnished information on the subject to affiliated bodies, and the Department has done so directly to a large number of individual firms. Students' are given special facilities for. entering their names on the Central and Supplementary Registers, and particulars of all those who have taken the course are furnished to the Institute of Labour Management and the Industrial Welfare Society. It is known that a number have found employment through these channels. Lists of students have also been furnished to the Ministry of Supply.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will take immediate steps to alter the rule that soldiers may not work on the same job as labourers in the construction of aerodromes?

I am not aware of any such rule.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of the numerous inquiries now being made, any additional labour of any sort is required in the Royal Dockyards?

Requirements for labour in the Royal Dockyards necessarily fluctuate according to the amount of work in hand or in view. I regret that it is not possible to answer my hon. Friend's Question more fully without disclosing information from which the enemy would derive advantage.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he is satisfied with the current output of anti-aircraft guns and tanks, respectively, in this country; and whether any of the factories engaged on this work are working the full 24 hours a day?

Output of the categories referred to is rising in accordance with forecasts, and shift work involving 21 to 24 hours a day is in general application, although all the shifts are not yet fully manned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) the number of proof gallons of spirits, distinguishing from Imported and home-produced, and the number of gallons of imported and British wines retained for consumption in. Great Britain, excluding Northern Ireland, during each of the years ended 31st March, 1939 and 1940;(2) the number of standard barrels of beer, respectively, retained for consumption in Great Britain, apart from Northern Ireland, during each of the years ended 31st March, 1939 and 1940?

Approximate quantities of spirits, wine, British wines and beer retained for home consumption in Great Britain, excluding Northern Ireland, during each of the years ended 31st March, 1939 and 1940, were:

	1939	1940
Spirits—
Home-made Proof Gallons.	9,009,000	9,469,000
Imported Gallons	1,207,000	1,483,000
Imported Wines Gallons	14,855,000	13,891,000
British Wines Gallons	6,025,000	6,424,000
Beer—
Home-made Standard Barrels.	17,999,000	18,339,000
Imported Barrels.	671,000	653,000

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, following on the scheme which the Government is encouraging at the present time whereby the amount of money that the public have for spending is reduced at a time when there is less to be bought, he will confer with the Minister without Portfolio with a view to formulating a scheme so that in times of peace some plan will be available to ensure finance conforming to the potentialities of plenty?

My hon. Friend may be assured that financial questions will be appropriately considered in connection with plans for the period after the war.

asked the Minister without Portfolio to state the different Departments whose activities will be involved in the coming comprehensive survey of existing social service schemes, which is to be regarded as an essential preliminary to legislation, as part of post war planning?

As announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health on 22nd May, I have arranged with all the: Departments concerned for a comprehensive survey of existing schemes of social insurance and allied services which will be considered in due course by the Committee on Reconstruction Problems of which I am chairman. Sir William Beveridge has accepted my invitation to become chairman of an Interdepartmental Committee which will conduct the survey, taking into account representations received from responsible organisations and persons concerned with the problems involved.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will define the term "nervous shock of a commotional character," used by his Department in connection with the compensation payable under the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme?

The term "nervous shock of a commotional character" as used by my Department refers to nervous shock resulting directly from physical violence, including concussion, blast or burial.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware of the heavy funeral expenses falling on poor persons when several of their family are killed in an air-raid, in view of the fact that the Ministry of Pensions only makes grants for civilian defence workers or persons gainfully employed; and whether, as civilians are now in the front line, he will give all air-raid victims a funeral at the public expense, like soldiers killed in action, or establish a national funerals fund, and so remove any necessity for poor persons to seek help from the Public Assistance Department?

When the grant made by my Department is not applicable local authorities have the duty of arranging funerals for civilian casualties on behalf of the State in much the same way as the Defence Departments undertake the funeral arrangements for members of the forces. Grants are provided by the Ministry of Health from State funds for the cost of these funerals, which are thus no less honourable than the burial of a soldier and impose no charge on the relatives.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can see his way to release from quota control not only the higher priced surgical belts and corsets but also the cheaper corsets which are essential for persons of limited means, and which have also a surgical purpose?

The surgical corsets and belts which have been licensed for supply without restriction under the Limitation of Supplies Orders are defined by type and not by price. If the hon. Member knows of any other special types which are needed for surgical reasons, I shall be glad to have particulars.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will consider the advisability of amending the Trading with the Enemy Act, with a view to making it apply to British subjects resident outside Great Britain, in view of the fact that at the present time persons who are not resident in Great Britain and businesses or corporations which are registered abroad and owned by non-resident British subjects can, if they wish, at present trade with the enemy?

No, Sir. I do not consider that amending legislation as proposed would serve any useful purpose; and it would be impossible to enforce. Very few cases have come to my knowledge of British subjects resident abroad, or of businesses owned by them, trading with the enemy. In all cases suitable steps have been taken.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will grant a special clothes ration to officers and men who have recently left, and in future will leave, the Armed Forces on account of disability, invaliding or discharge so that they may have a reasonable stock of clothes on their return to civil life?

This and other related questions are being considered by the Board of Trade in consultation with the Navy, Army and Air Force authorities.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that man-power, which may be required in maintaining the commercial life of the nation, is being called up before an opportunity has been given to consider applications by the firms involved under Groups II and IV; and whether he will give consideration to this matter?

Admission to the Register of Protected Establishments, for which provision is made in the revised Schedule of Reserved Occupations and Protected Work, only affects the reservation position of men in occupations for which two ages of reservation appear in the Schedule and who are between the two ages. A public announcement is being made immediately explaining that it is not intended to call up any such men until decisions have been reached on their employers' applications for admission to the Register of Protected Establishments and, that, in any case, even where the men concerned become de-reserved because the applications are rejected, they will not be required to attend for medical examination before 1st July, the date on which State B is reached. I am not aware that there has been any departure from these arrangements.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware of the diffi- culty of securing Group IV forms for firms registered within this category; and whether he will take the necessary steps to correct this matter?

It has been decided, after consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Works and Buildings, to remove the dual ages of reservation for building operatives from the Schedule of Reserved Occupations and to allow the present single ages to continue in force, until further notice. Consequently it will not be necessary to proceed with the arrangements referred to under Group IV of the Schedule which will be suitably amended. If building employers employ men in dual age occupations affected at Stage B, which will be reached on 1st July, it is open to them to apply for admission to the Register under Group 11 if they are qualified to do so in respect of their Government contracts.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is now able to give particulars of the proposed shipment of food from the United States of America to Eire?

As has been announced in the Press, I understand that the Eire Government have accepted President Roosevelt's offer to permit the purchase of two freighters as well as a Red Cross gift of 500,000 dollars' worth of supplies. No details of these proposed shipments are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that a certain hotel has been acquired on lease for the accommodation of rescued and injured lascars; to what extent this involves the displacement of men who have been long resident in this hotel; and whether he will consider meeting the urgent needs of these sailors by utilising the public halls and other buildings in the district that have been requisitioned but are meantime lying unused?

I have been asked to reply. Yes, Sir. I understand that the hotel has been leased by private arrangement between the proprietor and the occupier of a boarding-house for Indian seamen which was destroyed by enemy action, and that in consequence about 217 residents have been displaced. These are understood to have found other accommodation. The public halls in the area are, I am informed, under military requisition and in any event are unsuitable for the purpose.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the success of the airgraph letter scheme now being operated for the benefit of the troops, from Palestine to this country, he will consider establishing a similar alternating service from this country to Palestine?

An airgraph service for letters from this country to members of His Majesty's Forces in the Middle East, including Palestine, corresponding to the service recently introduced in the homeward direction, will be started as soon as the technical arrangements for dealing with the correspondence in the Middle East can be completed.

asked the Attorney-General the names of Members of this House who arc on the Attorney-General's list for Crown prosecutions in the several assize areas or hold the position of standing counsel to a Government Department?

With regard to the first part of the Question the Attorney-General is free to nominate any counsel whom he may think suitable for public prosecutions where the prosecution does not fall to be conducted by Treasury counsel or by any standing prosecuting counsel to a Government Department. There is no official list of those exclusively entitled to such nominations, though I keep for my own use a list of those junior counsel whom from time to time I know of as likely to be suitable. All practising barristers in the House are available for consideration for these nominations. The only member of the House who holds the position of a standing counsel is the hon. Member for Eccleshall (Sir G. Ellis) who is junior counsel for the Crown in peerage and baronetcy cases.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what steps are being taken to provide meals for householders, not necessarily homeless, who, by reason of enemy attack and failure of essential services, are unable to prepare cooked meals in their own homes?

My Noble Friend has asked local authorities in cities and in large towns throughout the country to establish as quickly as possible centres, to be known as Emergency Feeding Centres, at which members of the public will be able to obtain hot meals at reasonable prices immediately following heavy air attack. With a view to supplementing the cooking facilities at these centres local authorities have also been asked to enlist the assistance of commercial catering establishments and works canteens for the purpose of providing in emergency cooked food in bulk for delivery to the Emergency Feeding Centres. In a period of great emergency the local authority might find it necessary in addition to employ the catering trade in the area for the serving of meals of a denned character in their own premises at a prescribed price and my Noble Friend has conferred powers upon local authorities for this purpose. The type of meals to be served by commercial catering establishments during an emergency and the prices to be charged for them will be the same as those to be served in the local authorities' Emergency Feeding Centres. All approved expenditure incurred by local authorities upon cooking equipment for the centres and all approved operating deficiencies will be reimbursed by the Ministry of Food. I may explain that the Emergency Feeding Centres are intended primarily for those who are in a position to pay for their meals and who will require the services of the centres for a few days only. They should not be confused with British Restaurants establised by local authorities under the auspices of the Ministry of Food nor with the rest centres already organised by public assistance authorities under the auspices of the Ministry of Health in England and under the auspices of the Department of Health for Scotland which provide for the needs of people rendered destitute and homeless as a result of enemy action.

asked the Home Secretary whether any rules have been issued to prison and camp governors making it clear that the detention of British subjects who are not convicted is not of a punitive nature; and, if so, whether he is satisfied that such regulations are being adhered to in all such places of detention, both before and after the case of the detainee has been dealt with by the advisory committee?

The answer to both parts of the Question is in the affirmative. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on 1st May to a Question by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Cleveland (Commander Bower).

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his Department recommends a special set of suitable menus for use in British restaurants; and whether he can state their nature?

Two sets of menus for British restaurants covering the requirements for a full mid-day meal have been prepared by the Ministry of Food and copies have been distributed to local authorities which have organised British restaurants. In these menus meatless as well as meat dishes have been included and a special set of menus to meet Scottish tastes has also been issued. I shall be glad to provide my hon. and gallant Friend with copies should he so desire.

asked the Home Secretary whether cheese is still supplied to prisoners and, if so, to what extent, and whether he will consider the adoption in gaols of at least one meatless day a week?

Cheese is included in the prison dietary but the allowance of cheese or meat does not exceed that allowed under the general rationing scheme. There are normally three meatless days a week.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will issue a list of all the trade advisers of the Ministry of Food, together with an indication of the function of each, on the lines of statements published in the Official Report on 7th and 14th November, 1939?

In view of the space which the statement would occupy in the OFFICIAL REPORT, I will, with permission, place copies in the Library of the House for the convenience of Members.

asked the Secretary of State for War, who appoints the Board of Management of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes; and upon what representative or other basis are the members of the board selected?

The rules regarding the appointment of the Board of Management of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes are contained in paragraph 34 of the Articles of Association, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will direct that pensioners re-enlisted before mobilisation under War Officer letter No. 33/Misc. 2879/A.G. 1 (c), dated 22nd May, 1939, and living out of barracks, who have in the past suffered a deduction of is. 8d. per day from their pay as a condition of receiving rations, but who have been provided with bread, meat, tea and sugar only, and no cash allowance, shall be refunded the amount of the said deduction as the consideration partly failed; whether he is aware that, by the terms of the said letter, full rations are issued and messing cash allowance is paid in respect of such pensioners, who are in mess, against a deduction of is. 8d. per day from their pay; and what is the purpose of the discrimination between those pensioners living in and those living out?

As I have stated in answer to previous Questions, pensioners re-enlisted before mobilization were given special rates of pay and are not entitled to draw rations in kind in addition. Where rations are provided, is. 8d. a day is deducted from the pensioners' pay in accordance with the letter referred to. If my hon. Friend has reason to believe that the deduction made has not been in accordance with the terms of the letter and will send me particulars, I will have the cases examined. As I have previously stated, these re-enlisted pensioners, if they live out of barracks, arc not entitled to have rations provided at all and instructions are being issued to make this clear.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will appoint a medical officer at the War Office to make personal contact with senior medical officers of the Home Guard in order that the physical condition of this force shall be known at first-hand to his Department?

I do not think that such an appointment is necessary. The Director-General, Home Guard, is in close touch with the Director-General, Army Medical Services, on all medical questions affecting the Home Guard, and no difficulty has been experienced in obtaining first-hand information where necessary of conditions in the Force.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether senior medical officers are to be appointed for the larger Home Guard commands; what rank they will have; and when it will be possible for them to commence their duties?

In addition to the battalion medical officers to whom I referred in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for South Croydon (Sir H. Williams) on 25th March, arrangements will shortly be made for the appointment of zone medical advisers with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, wherever such an appointment is considered essential.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many officers and members of the rank and file, respectively, have been killed in road accidents in this country in each of the last six months?

I regret that this information is not available and could only be obtained by an analysis of the reports of every inquest held during the last six months. As regards statistics of accidents in which Army vehicles were involved, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer given to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Ayr Burghs (Sir T. Moore) on 13th May, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the proportion of whole meal bread being supplied by the Royal Army Service Corps; what particular steps are being taken by the Royal Army Service Corps to encourage its production and use; what efforts are being made to train messing officers and Army cooks in modern ideas of nutrition; and what proportion of the present messing officers' course is devoted to nutritional science?

The present arrangements made by the Royal Army Service Corps for the supply of bread to troops in this country provide for the issue of both white and brown bread, the latter being made from wholemeal flour. The proportion of the latter consumed varies with the taste of the troops in different localities, but is about 12 per cent, for the Army at home as a whole. Arrangements are now being made to change over gradually to the new Government 85 per cent, extraction wheatmeal flour. As regards the last two parts of the Question, the training of messing officers and cooks in the production of a properly balanced diet forms an important part of the instruction given at cookery schools. and training centres.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the work of the Mechanised Transport Corps is officially recognised; to what extent it consists of transporting elderly military men who might more usefully go by omnibus or train; and how are its members able to secure all the petrol they use in so doing?

The Mechanised Transport Corps is not officially recognised by the War Office and does not receive petrol from Army stocks. The question of the provision of petrol from civil stocks is a matter for my hon. Friend the Secretary for Petroleum.

asked the Secretary of State for War why the figures given on 29th April do not contain any reference to the case of Private Norman Filsell, No. 97001636, who was sentenced to six months' detention at Hereford on 25th November last, such sentence being confirmed in a letter from Colonel R. E. Barnwell for the Director of Personal Service at the War Office, dated 26th January, 1941?

The soldier to whom my hon. Friend refers was sentenced to six months' detention, but two months were subsequently remitted by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the command concerned. The period of detention was therefore correctly shown in the statement given on 29th April as four months, and it was on this period that a further remission of one-third earned by the soldier was based.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the suggestion for a speedier and more centralised method of making anti-aircraft barrage calculations has been favourably considered by the relevant Department of his office?

I think that my hon. Friend will agree that it would not be in the national interest to disclose any detailed information on this subject, but I can assure him that the question of securing greater accuracy of anti-aircraft fire is under constant review, and any suggestions submitted to my Department are given the most careful examination.

asked the Secretary of State for War what principle guides the announcement of units taking part in engagements with the enemy; and whether, in view of the fact that another Department have announced the naval units engaged in the sinking of the "Bismarck," he will publish the military-units which took part in the Grecian expedition?

The principle followed by my Department is to give as much information as possible regarding the units taking part in active operations, provided that no assistance is thereby afforded to the enemy. In accordance with this principle, the names of the regiments which took part in the recent campaigns in Greece, Abyssinia and Crete will be published within the course of the next few days.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a considerable number of Jewish soldiers serving in His Majesty's Army in Palestine are unable to speak English but are very desirous of learning to do so; and whether he is willing, in the interest of military efficiency and of good personal relations with superiors and comrades, to accede to the request which has been conveyed to him by the Jewish Soldiers Welfare Committee to provide, say, nine teachers to give the necessary instruction?

I am having this proposal examined and will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will prohibit, as inconsistent with the customary privacy accorded by the Revenue authorities to the income of individuals, the practice of some regimental paymasters, who send to units lists of the amounts of Income Tax to be charged monthly to the accounts of other ranks with instructions for the restriction of cash issues?

Under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, tax chargeable on official pay is deductible out of the pay as and when it is paid. It is clearly necessary for the amount deductible to be notified to those responsible for issuing pay and keeping accounts. I cannot agree that this involves any inconsistency with the customary privacy accorded by the Revenue authorities and I would point out that the amount of tax deductible from the salary or wages of a civilian employer has similarly to be notified to his employer who is required to deduct it from pay.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Private Richard Bowman, No. 2985258, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, is a prisoner of war in Germany; that his mother, two brothers and sister were all killed in an air raid; that his father, who has to meet very heavy funeral expenses, wishes the son's allotment of 7s., formerly made to the mother, transferred to himself; and whether he will have this done without waiting for the actual signature from Germany which may be impossible to obtain?

While I have every sympathy with the soldier's father in this unfortunate case, I am afraid that I have no power to dispose of any part of his son's pay without the latter's consent. My hon. Friend will appreciate, that the regulation requiring the soldier's own authority for making such allotments was so framed in order to protect the soldier's own interests, and I do not think that the House would wish to see it altered. Arrangements have recently been made, however, for the transmission of letters to and from prisoners of war in Germany by air, and I hope that as a result of these arrangements there will be no undue delay in securing the soldier's consent to the transfer of the allotment. I am considering, in this particular case, what steps I can take to help expedite a reply from the soldier.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he can now say on what date the Red Cross are going to publish a balance sheet showing how the money subscribed for prisoners of war by private individuals, regimental associations, etc., has been expended?

I understand that the accounts of the War Organisation of the British Red Cross Society and Order of St. John for the first year of the war have been published and are available on application at the headquarters of the War Organisation. Further accounts will be published annually.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is satisfied that the training of pilots and air crews in this country and in "the Empire Training Scheme is likely to keep pace with an increasing output in the production of British and American operational aircraft?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in the light of the lessons of Crete, he is satisfied that the aerodromes of Britain can be adequately defended?

Certainly and the lessons of Crete will be drawn upon for the further improvement of our airfield defence.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the total number of hostile aircraft destroyed over and around the coast of Great Britain during the month of May, both by day and night?

The figures asked for by my hon. and gallant Friend are:By day, 63; by night, 144.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the total number of hostile aircraft destroyed either in the air or on the ground in the Mediterranean and Middle East during the month of May?

So far as is at present known, about 240 enemy aircraft were destroyed in operations in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of war during May. Information is, however, incomplete, and this number may prove to be substantially less than the true figure.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will give the monthly totals so far this year, as he did last year, of the British, German and Italian aircraft destroyed?

An analysis of British official communiqués shows the total number of British and enemy aircraft lost or destroyed in the air on all fronts in the first four months of 1941 to have been as follows:

	British.	German.	Italian.
January	39	69	152
February	84	67	284
March	70	121	113
April	67	237	88
Total	360	494	637

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the owners of a country farmhouse near Alton, Hants, are charging a lady and child, who have had to be evacuated, £2 15s. per week for two small rooms and a tiny kitchenette, without food; that the Alton Rural District Council, who have been appealed to on this matter, are not giving any protection to the tenants, who are obviously being exploited as a result of the war; and whether he will make inquiries into this case?

No, Sir, but I am making inquiries and will communicate with my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Minister of Health whether, when the new National Health and Pensions Insurance Scheme is introduced, he will consider making the cards available for one year instead of for six months, as is the case with unemployment insurance cards, thus saving labour and paper?

The possibility of securing economy by the substitution of a yearly Health and Pensions Insurance contribution card for the two half-yearly cards now in use has been carefully considered from time to time and was discussed with the Consultative Council on National Health Insurance shortly after the outbreak of war. After weighing the arguments for and against the suggestion, the Council unanimously decided that they could not then recommend its adoption but I will certainly see that the matter is considered afresh in the light of present circumstances. I would point out, however, that a yearly card would cover the period of a contribution year, running from July to June and that the change, if found practicable, could not take effect until July, 1942.

asked the Minister of Health the number of insured persons who failed to register with a medical practitioner in the past year; what becomes of the fees which should be paid in respect of them; and whether medical men suffer financially as a consequence of such non-registration?

I regret that the information asked for in the first part of the Question is not available. The total amount payable to insurance doctors for any year is determined after consultation with the Government Actuary and is based on his estimate of the total number of persons entitled to medical benefit on the average during that year without reference to the question whether they have selected doctors or not. The answer to the last part of the Question is therefore in the negative.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that at least 67 medical men are engaged in the deliberations of the Medical Planning Commission to deal with the position of the medical profession after the war and primarily to prepare evidence to be submitted to a Royal Commission; and whether he will arrange with the Central Medical War Committee that the services of these doctors should be more usefully employed in the interests of the State?

I am aware that the British Medical Association has invited a considerable number of representative medical men and women to become members of a Medical Planning Commission whose terms of reference are: —

"to study war time developments and their effects on the country's medical services both present and future."

I am not aware that the object of the Commission is "primarily to prepare evidence to be submitted to a Royal Commission." The members of this Commission are performing a useful public service in devoting part of their time to this work and I hope their deliberations will result in constructive suggestions which will make for an improvement in the country's medical services. The answer to the last part of the Question is in the negative.

asked the Minister of Health the amount paid out in relief and other expenses on behalf of Channel Islands refugees since 1st June, 1940, and the various sources from which this money has been drawn?

To 31st March, 1941, the latest date for which figures are available, approximately £202,000 has been provided out of Exchequer funds in respect of maintenance and other expenses, including billeting charges. During this period, the Channel Islands Refugees Committee have expended £18,332 on relief and clothing. The funds of the Committee are derived wholly from voluntary contributions, except that £2,000 of this expenditure was provided by the Exchequer towards the cost of the provision of clothing for the children who were evacuated from the Channel Islands unaccompanied by their parents. In addition, the Channel Islands Refugees Committee have received and distributed among the evacuees large consignments of clothing from the American Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross and other bodies.