asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, as the prices of soft fruits have been fixed with the intention of diverting such fruits to the jam manufacturers, it is his policy to deprive the public of fresh fruit; and whether he will consider making, in the absence of imported fruits, home-grown fruit available for consumption in its natural state?

My hon. Friend will understand that the additional fruit which is needed by jam factories in order to raise the preserves ration to 16 ounces per month, cannot also be consumed in its natural state. With regard to the latter part of the Question, the canning of certain varieties of soft fruits has been prohibited and the canning of other varieties restricted this year, in order to ensure that as much as possible of the soft fruit crops not needed for jam manufacture, is put into consumption in its natural state.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in view of the losses by enemy action of millions of pounds of foodstuffs through their being concentrated in warehouses and docks, he will, in the public interest, arrange that such stocks should be decentralised and distributed throughout the country in the smallest possible holdings, thereby materially reducing the risk of large losses; and to what extent measures toward this end have been taken?

It is not clear to me why my hon. Friend should think it necessary to refer to losses due to enemy action in terms of "millions of pounds." Bulk foodstuffs are usually spoken of in terms of tons. The expression used by my hon. Friend may easily create in Germany an exaggerated idea of the success achieved by enemy action in this country and at the same time create quite unnecessary anxiety among our own people. In view of the terms of my hon. Friend's Question it may be desirable for me to say that the total losses of foodstuffs in this country due to enemy action have up to the present been negligible. The steps which he suggests in his Question have already been taken so far as circumstances permit.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what is the present price of spring onions per pound; whether onions of a type controlled at 4??d. per pound are being prematurely gathered and marketed as spring onions in bunches or otherwise at the rate of 4s. per pound and upwards; and whether, in view of public exasperation at this unchecked profiteering, he will take immediate steps in the matter?

As I have already explained in answer to previous Questions, spring onions are not normally sold on a weight basis and any statement of the price per pound is, therefore, misleading. As regards the last part of my hon. and gallant Friend's Question certain steps are about to be taken but it would not be in the national interests to announce these in advance.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been called to the difficulty in obtaining tomatoes and strawberries from the moment price control was fixed in each case; whether he can make any statement as to the reason; and whether any steps have been taken to facilitate distribution and supply?.

I have already dealt with the first part of this Question in a reply to the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Jackson). As regards strawberries, I have already explained that it is necessary to divert supplies of soft fruits from the fresh fruit market to the jam manufacturers in order to secure the jam supplies of the country until next summer.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food (1) how many tons of ware potatoes have been sold by his Department for pig food during the past six months; and why these potatoes were not kept as a reserve supply to meet a possible end of the season shortage?(2) whether he is aware that there has been a potato famine in Birmingham and district during the past week-end; and to what extent this position has been arrived at through the faulty handling of this crop by his Department?

:Approximately 277,000 tons of ware potatoes have been purchased by the Ministry in Great Britain and sold for stock feed and for processing in the last six months, of which about 95 per cent. were potatoes of varieties which would not keep for end of season requirements. Stocks of potatoes in Birmingham have recently been heavy and the shortage which has been reported from some districts in the last few days has been due to the rapid deterioration of supplies in the hot weather combined with the exceptional lateness of the new season's crop of early potatoes and not to any faulty handling of supplies by my Department.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will make inquiries as to what has become of the many thousands of pig-heads which used to be available for purchase by the London manufacturers of sausages and cooked meats who required these products for pork brawn, which is in constant demand by the general public in working-class neighbourhoods?

:The heads of pork pigs are rationed meat and are issued to general butchers with pig carcasses, except in some instances where the heads are cut off for distribution to pork butchers to make up their allocation of manufacturing meat. The only other pigs' heads which are now available for manufacturing purposes are those from bacon pigs. Such heads as are retained by bacon factories for manufacture are included as part of their allocation of manufacturing meat. Any heads not so retained are transferred to the Wholesale Meat Supply Associations for distribution to pork butchers for manufacturing into sausages, brawn and other small manufactured goods.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why the producer of milk from best attested herds only received is. 4¼d. per gallon, including cost of transport to wholesalers, whereas the retailer receives 2s. 8d. per gallon?

The return to the milk producer varies slightly according to the Milk Marketing Board region in which he is situated. The retail price of milk also varies according to population areas. The figures quoted by my hon. Friend are substantially correct for North Wales for the month of June, 1941. The retailer does not himself retain the difference between the price to the producer and the price to the consumer. He purchases his milk at the "regional price," which in June was 1s. 8½d. per gallon. Furthermore, the retailers' margin varies from month to month, being in England and Wales generally higher in the summer months than the winter months; while the return to the producer is higher in the winter than the summer. It is therefore misleading to base any comparison of producers' and retailers' earnings on the figures of any particular month.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that there are still cases where milkmen only make six deliveries a week; that this is a deleterious practice especially in warm weather; and whether he will take further steps to make a seven day a week delivery more general?

While the practice of restricting milk deliveries to six days a week is substantially less prevalent than was the case one month ago, there is still a number of towns and villages where a milkless day operates. My Noble Friend has appealed to distributors to maintain a seven-day delivery service in the interest of the consumer. The great majority of distributors has responded to this appeal. Consideration is being given to the further action which might be taken in those centres where the appeal has so far proved fruitless.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the constitution of the Chinese Currency Stabilisation Board; whether both British and Americans are serving on it; and whether the funds advanced respectively by the British and American Governments have been pooled so as to cover exchange transactions between China and either Great Britain or the United States of America?

The Stabilisation Board of China is to consist of five members, three of whom will be of Chinese nationality, one of American and one of British. The board has not yet been formally constituted. The sterling and dollar funds will not be pooled but will be separate funds though managed by the same board.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) whether, in view of their great value to the anti-Nazi cause, he will use his good offices with the Soviet Government to secure the immediate release and re-encadrement in Egypt, or elsewhere, of the 220,000 trained Polish officers, non-commissioned officers and men at present prisoners of war in Russia;(2) whether he will use his good offices with the Soviet Government to obtain their permission for the speediest possible entry into Russia of officials of the International Red Cross for the relief of prisoners of war and refugees at present in that country?

I would prefer at present to make no statement in reply to these Questions

asked the Minister of Information the names of the committee set up to advise the British Broadcasting Corporation on broadcasts in Russian and their qualifications for this task.

No committee of the kind referred to in the Question has been set up, but the B.B.C. have collected the necessary staff to deal with broadcasting in Russian.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Governments of Crown Colonies, Protectorates and Mandated Territories have been advised to enact legislation similar to the provisions of the War Damage Act in this country; and whether, in the case of public utility undertakings, the principles announced for this country will be followed.

Copies of the War Damage Act, 1941, have been sent to the Governors of the Colonies, Protectorates and Mandated Territories in order that they may consider, in the light of local circumstances, whether similar legislation is required. Public utility undertakings are, however, excluded from the operation of Part I of that Act. The question of legislation to cover war damage to public utility undertakings in the Colonial dependencies cannot usefully be considered until the policy of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom has been settled.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply whether he is aware that the collection of salvage in the townships of Bwlch and Llangynidr, Breconshire, has been enthusiastically organised by the voluntary organisations, and that they are quite discouraged by the failure to clear the dumps; and whether he will take the necessary steps.

The townships referred to are within the district of the Crickhowell Rural District Council. I am informed that the individual parish councils in that district organise salvage collections, the proceeds from the sale of the collections being devoted to local comforts funds. No representations have been made to the Ministry of Supply of any -dumps awaiting clearance in the district, but I am making inquiries.

asked the Secretary of State for War, whether he is aware that in the regimental orders of a regiment, particulars whereof have been communicated to him, instructions were recently given to officers registered as electors in a constituency where a by-election was pending, to report to a certain address in order that facilities might be given for them to record their votes; and why no similar instructions or facilities were given to non-commissioned officers and men.

I am having inquiries made and will communicate with my hon. and learned Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Home Secretary, what are the present functions of the Welsh Church Commission; what are the administrative costs of running the department per annum; what salary and expenses are drawn by the Commissioners; and whether, in view of the taking over of tithe rents by the State, he will consider the advisability of winding it up or, alternatively, review its present composition in the light of its present work.

The present functions of the Welsh Church Commission are those laid down in the Welsh Church Acts, 1914 and 1919. and include the following: