asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he can make any statement upon the effect of our intensified bombing attacks upon Germany, and our fighter and bomber operations over occupied territory; and whether he can make a further statement on the growing striking power of the Royal Air Force, and the possibility of air parity with Germany in the near future?

The scope of Royal Air Force operations is increasing both by day and by night. Our night bombing is on a heavy scale and is being steadily and skilfully maintained. Evidence of the damage is accumulating and is published as it becomes available. By day we are forcing a reluctant enemy to give battle and we are inflicting substantial damage on his factories and communications, on his shipping and on his fighter force. What is still more important, we have compelled him to maintain large air forces in the West to resist our growing assaults. With regard to the second part of the Question, Bomber Command dropped in May this year more than twice the tonnage of bombs dropped in May last year, and in June they dropped more than half as much again as was dropped in May. My hon. Friend asks me about obtaining air parity with Germany in the near future, but I must decline to be drawn into prophecy. I will, however, gladly assure him that no efforts are being spared to obtain first parity with and then overwhelming superiority over the German Air Force.

Are these attacks succeeding in affording relief to our Russian Allies, and is there any indication that the Luftwaffe are heading to the West?

I had better not say anything about the movements of the Luftwaffe. Certainly the attacks are having a considerable effect on the morale of the German people.

I take it for granted that the Minister knows that Moscow has been bombed and he now knows what he should do?

When the right hon. Gentleman says we dropped twice the tonnage that we did in May last year, does he include in that total bombs dropped from French bases in May, 1940, and does he include in the May, 1941, total occupied France as well as Germany?

All parts of France. The more significant fact that I mentioned is that we dropped half as many again in June as we did in May.

The tonnage dropped this year includes occupied France?

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will consider the formation of a Royal Air Force film unit, for the purpose of recording actual operations and co-operating in the making of films with a news and propaganda value here and abroad?

Yes, Sir. This matter is already under consideration.

The right hon. Gentleman has given us a number of promises in regard to these film units of the R.A.F. As we are still getting all our propaganda films from Hollywood, will he give his personal attention to this, particularly with regard to the appeal to youth?

The Question refers to the formation of a film unit. We certainly have been arranging for the production of films. That has been going on for some time. The only matter which is now under consideration is the formation of a film unit which is the subject of discussion with the Minister of Information and other Departments concerned, and I have no doubt the film unit will be in being before long.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why women medical officers recruited to the Royal Air Force are not given the rank, status and title accorded to male medical officers in the service?

:Women medical officers commissioned for service with the medical branch of the R.A.F have the status of officers, and the relative ranks pertaining to their duties, and they are addressed as medical officers.

I should like to know why the title is not given, as in the case of male medical officers, and whether the right hon. Gentleman thinks it decent and congruous that a woman medical officer should have to be addressed as Miss Smith, Medical Officer, with the relative rank, squadron leader or whatever it may he?

In the case of women's services, such as the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and the nursing services, special designations apply to the members.

Does the right hon. Gentleman recognise that women medical officers are in a quite different position from other women officers? They have gone through the same training and have the same duties and responsibilities, which include discipline. The danger is, as is always the case, if they are not given a proper title.

asked the Minister of Air craft Production whether he is aware that a certain hotel of which he has been in formed has been requisitioned and the proprietors evicted; that the hotel is now being run as a catering establishment with bars open for the supply of refreshments; that the proprietors offered their services to manage the concern but were refused; that the concern is now run by people who have no knowledge of that particular business; and is he now in a position to say whether he will restore the hotel to the proprietors.

It is not correct that the hotel is being run as a catering establishment or with open bars for the supply of refreshments. It was necessary to requisition the hotel in question, partly for office accommodation and partly for use as a mess. The part of the premises used for the latter purpose serves as an extension to a pre-existing mess, and the enlarged mess has been organised under the pre-existing managerial arrangements. In view of these arrangements, which have proved satisfactory, it has not been practicable to make use of the services of the late proprietors.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that the larger portion of the hotel is still being used for messing by the pilots, and can he give any substantial reason why the skill of the proprietors of the hotel could not be used for this purpose?

The answer is that is has changed and become an ordinary mess. It is not run as a hotel, nor are the general public allowed in. The whole organisation is along the ordinary lines of messes.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that a very special vendetta has been carried on against these people by the representative of Scottish aviation, who has been largely responsible for a great deal of the trouble caused at the hotel? Can he show any substantial reason why a representative of a private firm should be able to interfere with the management of a requisitioned hotel?

He is not making any profit out of this. If we go on much further, we shall be giving away the position.

Owing to the unsatisfactory nature of the Reply, I give notice that I shall take an early opportunity of raising the matter.

asked the Minister of Aircraft Production by what date he expects the McClintock agreements to become completely inoperative; and how many firms have such agreements at the present time?

The second McLintock agreement became inoperative on 7th June, 1941, when the notice of termination expired. Virtually the first McLintock agreement has also ceased to operate, although it continues to apply where items remain to be delivered from contracts placed before the 2nd March, 1939, and will not become completely inoperative until these contracts are finally completed. Seventeen firms were parties to the agreements.

Is the Minister able to say when these long-term contracts are likely to be completed?

The items are quite small. They are practically all for spare parts, and there is nothing very substantial.

Has any new basis of fixing prices been arrived at in substitution of the McClintock agreements?

That is under negotiation now.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is aware that a luxury coach service operates from London to South Wales twice per day; that this service is sometimes duplicated and triplicated; that it runs almost parallel to the railway passenger service; and whether in view of the inadequate omnibus transport for munition workers, he will terminate this extravagant use of national resources?

I cannot identify the particular service to which my hon. Friend refers, but the Regional Transport Commissioner for the South Western Region reports that he has authorised a limited service from Cheltenham to Swansea and Treherbert which makes connections with London coaches. He has satisfied himself that the majority of persons carried are intermediate passengers making cross-country journeys which could not be effected by rail without great difficulty.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that a substantial number of people who have been evacuated from London to South Wales use this service in order to come back to London because it is so cheap?

I am not aware of that, but I think we have to keep some of these cross-country services going. They are running at only one-quarter of what they were in pre-war days.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware of the astounding nature of his Reply that it is necessary to run a cross-country service from Swansea and Treherbert to Gloucester because people cannot travel any other way? Is he aware that workmen are idle because they cannot be conveyed to available employment owing to lack of buses in that area?

I would not like to say that there is a failure of transport in South Wales. We know that transport is difficult in those valleys, but I would like any particular instances to be brought to my personal attention.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is aware of the recent decision of the Fife County Road Board to request the London and North Eastern Railway Company to reopen the passenger stations at Boarhills, Stravithie, Kingsbarns and Kelty in order to reduce congestion on the omnibuses serving these places; and whether, in view of the essential public interest and importance of these stations being reopened, he will consult with the railway company as to the possibility of acceding to the: request?

I am making inquiries and will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is aware of the concern caused by the North-West Regional Transport Commissioner's request about the saving of petrol and oil; that a high percentage of that consumed in this area is in workpeople's services; that, as the people require some relaxation at week ends, the workpeople's services need to be increased; and what is the policy of the Ministry in the matter?

Services required to take people to and from essential work must have the first call on the allotment of motor fuel for road passenger services. Subject to the need for economy fuel is also made available for reasonable recreational facilities for workers with proper regard to the length of the journey, the availability of other means of transport and the effect of the supply of vehicles and drivers for essential services.

In view of the increased traffic requirements arising out of war needs, has the Minister considered the need of eliminating pre-war restrictions, such as interchange of systems and the number of people carried on buses; and is he satisfied that the Ministry are taking steps to avoid a repetition of our experience last winter?

We are certainly doing a great deal to see that last winter's experience is not experienced again. With regard to the particular points in the first part of my hon. Friend's Supplementary Question, I should like him to put them down.

asked the Minister of Information whether, in view of the fact that a memorial plate has been placed in St. Paul's Cathedral to an American who is described as having died that England might live, he will ask the British Broadcasting Corporation and others involved in publicity and propaganda to instruct themselves in the precise meanings of the all-inclusive term "Britain," and the sectional terms "England," "Scotland," "Wales," "Ireland," etc., to prevent offence being given to the other component parts of the nation and the Empire?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him by the Lord Privy Seal on 17th June last.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the rather thoughtless use of the restricted term by our English friends causes grave hurt to the patriotic sentiments of the people of the smaller and perhaps considerably less important parts of the Empire, and will he stress this point when dealing with the B.B.C.?

I dare say we all stand in need of instruction. I will let my hon. Friend into a dark mystery. I myself was responsible for writing that inscription.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the use of the term "Ireland" instead of "Northern Ireland" in Parliamentary Questions causes equal offence?

Is it not highly offensive to all Scotsmen to refer to the designation "Scotland" as a sectional term?

Is it not a fact that this memorial has nothing to do with the B.B.C., propaganda or publicity, but that it is a memorial to a gallant American airman who gave his life for this country in the Battle of Britain?

asked the Minister of Information whether he will arrange with the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the British war news to be issued in Russian by the Press department of the British Embassy in Moscow on similar lines to the news bulletins now issued in English by the Press department of the Soviet Embassy in London?

I am consulting His Majesty's Ambassador about this suggestion.

asked the Minister of Information for what reasons, respectively, Miss Elsie Bowerman and Miss Dorothy Spencer resigned their positions as principals to the Public Meetings and Voluntary Societies section of the Home Division of the Ministry; and whether any women now remain in higher administrative posts in this division?

Miss Spencer said that her resignation was a result of the reorganisation of the section, and Miss Bowerman gave no reason. Apart from these vacancies, which are under consideration, there are 10 women holding responsible positions in the Home Division, though none is as highly paid as the two who have resigned.

Does the right hon. Gentleman hope to be able to replace these ladies by men of equal experience, responsibility and knowledge, and not of military age?

That raises a thorny question, because this Question is obviously an inspired one.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the real reason these ladies resigned was that they could not stand the persons who were put over them, and in view of the change of Minister will he be good enough to reconsider the staffing of the Department?

If these ladies could not stand the gentlemen put over them, I suppose that there would be lots of other people who would resign from the Ministry.

In the reorganisation of the Department will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that the head of the section has had experience of running public meetings and that the late Minister of Information paid a tribute to the running of the Public Meetings Department?

I will take good note of my hon. Friend's advice.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the best organisers of public meetings in this country are the Communist party?

On a point of Order. Is it in order for me as a supplementary questioner to give notice that owing to the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I will raise the matter on the Adjournment?

It is open to any hon. Member to speak on the Adjournment.

Owing to the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I will raise this matter on the Adjournment.?

asked the Minister of Information whether he will arrange for the British Broadcasting Corporation to adapt the morse "V" signal as their call sign for all broadcasts?

As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary informed the hon. Member for Eye (Mr. Granville) yesterday, the "V" morse signal has been introduced as an interval signal in the B.B.C.'s European services. It is not proposed, however, to use it in the home and Empire services, at any rate for the present.

asked the Minister of Information how many men and women of age groups which have been called up are still retained in the Ministry of Information; and what steps are being taken to replace them by those who by reason of age or otherwise are ineligible for war work?

:The staff of the Ministry, excluding the Postal and Telegraph Censorship, now includes 295 men born in the years 1904 to 1922, and 164 women born in the years 1917 to 1920. Of the 295 men, 187 are reserved under the Schedule now in force; 62 are film technicians, employed either in the Crown Film Unit or on the Regional staff of the Ministry, and their age of reservation is under discussion with the Ministry of Labour and National Service; 31 are medically unfit for active service; and only 8 have had their calling up deferred at the request of the Ministry. Women employed in the Civil Service have not been called up for other national service. The possibility of employing women and older men in place of men of military age is constantly borne in mind and substitution is already taking place in certain grades. But a high proportion of the staff consists of men and women with specialised qualifications and there are no large blocks of routine or repetition work in the Ministry. The whole question of the reservation of Civil Service staff is under consideration by the Committee presided over by Lord Kennet.

Has my right hon. Friend yet discovered that there are sections of the Ministry that are superfluous and even mischievous?

It may surprise my hon. Friend to know that I arrived at the Ministry only yesterday, and it will take me a little time to look around.

asked the Minister of Information whether he will place in the Library copies of the talk broadcast about Mr. P. G. Wodehouse on the evening of 15th July; and also copies of the broadcast or broadcasts by Mr. Wodehouse on which this talk was based?

I will send to my hon. Friend a copy of the broadcast by Cassandra. Reports of the broadcasts by Mr. P. G. Wodehouse are contained in the Monitoring Digests for 2nd and 9th July, which are already in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Information (1) whether he will place in the Library the names pf those who, during the last six months, have broadcast, respectively, for British and Imperial, and for foreign audiences, marking in some special way those who have broadcast more than six times each; and whether he will continue to deposit similar lists every week;

(2)whether the principal object of propaganda to foreigners being to bring to their attention what is known and what is thought by the British people, he will accordingly devise and use all the means he can to ensure that Members of Parliament know what statements and opinions are being published to foreigners by His Majesty's Government and the British Broadcasting Corporation?

I am afraid I cannot undertake to furnish the lists of broadcasters desired by the hon. Member. The labour of compiling such lists would be out of all proportion to the utility they would serve. As for the contents of our broadcasts to foreign countries, they can be heard by any member of the public who has the interest to listen to them.

Are not such lists already compiled?

I am advised that the lists named number more than 15,000.

The Question asks whether all statements and information published to foreigners by His Majesty's Government could be made known to Members of the House and the public. Does the reply include leaflets which are issued by His Majesty's Government to foreigners, as well as the broadcasts?

As my predecessor has several times informed the hon. Member and other Members, it does not include leaflets. Those are secret documents.

asked the Minister of Information whether he is aware of the recently published official Catholic Report on the persecution of the Catholic Church in Poland; and whether, in view of Herr Hitler's claim to be fighting a crusade against Russia, at this moment, he will, by the dissemination of this book throughout the world, expose the falsity of any such claim?

Yes, Sir, I am aware of this book, and I am satisfied that it is receiving a wide dissemination. It is indeed part of a continual stream of information about the persecution of the Churches in Germany and the occupied countries which is being distributed all over the world through many channels

asked the Minister of Information whether, in arranging for the broadcasting on Sunday evenings of songs of our Allies, he will, as a matter of courtesy consult with their representatives in this country with a view to selecting representative items acceptable to them.

The B.B.C. will select the programme, but the representatives of our Allies will be consulted to ensure that it is acceptable to them.

asked the Minister of Information whether he will consider printing and giving special circulation to the postscript broadcast on Sunday last by Mr. Raymond Gram Swing?

No, Sir. This excellent broadcast was reproduced in many newspapers, and I do not think the taxpayer's money should be wasted by further reproduction.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty who was responsible for recent display advertisements in newspapers urging the 19's, when registering, to express preference for the Royal Navy; and is he aware that Members are receiving many letters from young men belonging to naval families, and keen to serve in the Navy, complaining that they have been ordered into the Army against their choice?

This advertisement was issued in the normal course. In reply to the second part of the Question, an urgent and important Army requirement arose recently, which made it necessary to allocate to the Army a certain number of men who had expressed a preference for the Navy, but had not yet been called up. The naval requirement is only postponed, and the men now allocated to the Army will have to be replaced by recruitment in the near future.

Do I understand that men who have come from naval families and are anxious to get into the Navy, but have been put into the Army against their will and against the wishes of their families, will have an opportunity of transferring from the Army into the Navy?

No, Sir, that is not so. Unfortunately, we cannot do that in all cases, but we are considering the special cases of men who have had previous service in the Navy and who are in these categories.

Is it not very unfortunate that a large-scale advertisement should have appeared in the public Press urging on the 19's to ask to be put into the Navy and then that they should have been told that they cannot go into the Navy but must go into the Army?

The great majority of these men were far beyond the age of 19. Their average age would be about 30.

Does the hon. Gentleman realise that a large number of these men would never have volunteered for the Navy unless this advertisement had appeared? They were under age, they were not liable to serve and they were members of naval families. Is it not possible, having regard to the strong feeling which exists on this matter, for some special arrangement to be made for these boys to be got out of the Army and put into the Navy?

There was a very special requirement, and it was considered vital that the Navy should help the Army out in this particular difficulty. The men who have been drafted from the waiting list into the Army are stoker and steward candidates who arc of a lower medical category and a higher average age, somewhere about 30.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I can give him instances which do not square with that statement at all, cases of perfectly fit young men who volunteered specially for the Navy? The needs of the Army may be urgent, but was it not possible to recruit for the Army others who are liable to be called up, because there must be lots of them?

Will this not result in the Army getting a lot of discontented soldiers, while the Navy might have had contented sailors?

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the fact that these men, who volunteered for the Navy because they had a desire to go into the Navy, found themselves drafted into the Army is causing a lot of discontent?

Yes, I am aware that it has caused great disappointment, and I can assure the House that this decision was not taken without realising that that would be the case, but when the Army had urgent need for these men it was not considered right that the Navy, which had a long waiting list of men whom they could not take in at once, should hold in reserve these men of higher age. The average age of the men who are being transferred is between 25 and 30.

When will the Navy be able to accept these men?

We are taking young men in now.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can make any statement with regard to recent measures taken against the Nazi U-boat campaign; and what success such measures have met with in the battle of the Atlantic?

While I regret that I am unable to give details of recent activity against the U-boats, I can state that the results lately achieved have been encouraging.

In view of the fact that the First Lord was able to make a statement on this matter at a public luncheon, may I ask my hon. Friend whether, having regard to the interest and concern felt in this matter both here and in the United States of America, the First Lord will, with due consideration for public security, be in a position to make a statement on the subject in this House before very long?

I am sure that my right hon. Friend will always do his best to respond to such an invitation, but hon. Members know that it is the deliberate policy of the Admiralty not to talk about our successes against U-boats.

Would it not be perfectly possible, without giving away information to the enemy, without specifying times and places, to give a little more information to the public, who are so interested in the work of the Navy, especially of His Majesty's auxiliary vessels, the officers and men of which have to suffer such hardships?

I think my right hon. Friend is well aware of the interest which is taken in this particular matter, but it must be remembered that the enemy takes far greater interest in anything that we publish.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty why women medical officers recruited to the Navy are not given the rank, status and title accorded to male medical officers in the service?

Only one woman medical officer is employed, and she holds the relative rank of surgeonlieutenant, R.N.V.R., and receives the pay of an officer of that rank. She wears the distinguishing stripes of a surgeon-lieutenant on her sleeve.

Does my hon. Friend recognise that that distinction is entirely insufficient for the duties that are required of the officer in this case and, in general, that the Admiralty are behindhand in not having women medical officers?

If we were to supply women doctors to look after the W.R.N.S. personnel, it would mean duplicating the medical staff, and that would lead to inefficiency. The W.R.N.S. were canvassed on their wishes in the matter, and only two-and-a-half per cent. expressed a wish to have women doctors.

That shows how reactionary the Navy is.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that several hundred baskets of herring were dumped into the sea out side Ayr Harbour on 28th June, 1941; that the fishermen were offered manure prices for herring that were in good condition for human consumption; that the fishermen are at the mercy of the buyers; and what steps he intends taking to pre vent a recurrence of this waste of human food?

:Yes, Sir. The herrings in question were small, immature soft herrings, which could not have arrived at an' market in a condition fit for human consumption. There is no difficulty in disposing of all herrings fit for human consumption which are landed.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that: that is not the opinion of the fishermen, who are experts on the quality of fish?

That may be so, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that there was no sale whatever for this fish, The fish would not stand transport and was fit only for manure.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that the catches taken on 27th and 31st June were quite good, and can he give any explanation why the catch on 28th June, from the same shoal, was such a bad lot?

I cannot speak for the catch on 27th June, but I am sure there was no catch on 31st June. I can assure the hon. Gentleman there really was no sale in any possible market for that on 28th June.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether any arrangements exist for making sure of an adequate weekly milk supply for children over the age of five not attending a school where the State-aided school milk scheme is in operation?

This is one of the matters which is being considered at the present time in the review of milk distribution arrangements which my Noble Friend is now making.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why in Barnsley district, where heavy industrial workers are a large part of the population, on the week ending 5th July practically all the meat supplied was foreign; whereas in Harrogate, where the population is not industrial, the meat supplied that week was English; and can he take steps to remedy this position in the future?

Owing to the overriding necessity for economy in transport, it is no longer possible to maintain the principle of qualitative distribution of meat. Livestock must now be consumed as near as possible to the collecting centre and imported meat as near as possible to the port of entry. Harrogate lies in a producing area and Barnsley in an industrial area. Barnsley received only about 10 per cent, of home-killed meat in its allocation for the week ended 5th July. In view of the need for economy in transport, I cannot give any undertaking to change the principle upon which allocation is made under existing conditions.

Is my right hon. and gallant Friend aware that the state of affairs described in the Question has gone on now for two weeks, and are we to understand that nothing is being done to allay the disquiet caused when residential towns receive preference in regard to English meat and industrial towns, where miners and heavy industrial workers live, receive such a small quantity of English meat?

I can assure my hon. Friend that in other parts of the country it works in exactly the opposite way. We have to consider the saving of transport, but I can give instances in other parts of the country where residential quarters get frozen meat and others get English meat.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that disquiet has been caused in industrial districts where the workers have been asked to increase their output?

I cannot understand why it should cause any disquiet, because the meat they have got is perfectly good.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in view of the losses incurred by distributors in having to accept eggs with all faults in accordance with the Ministry's terms, and to the fact that recently a large percentage of the eggs so accepted have been bad, in some instances the losses being as high as 30 per cent., he will arrange for consideration to be given to claims in those cases where eggs are proved to be out of condition, and where excessive breakages occur?

An allowance to cover breakages and other faults is given to distributors when allocations are made. A greater allowance is made where tests indicate that it is necessary. Instructions have been issued that no boxes of eggs showing signs of breakage are to be allocated to distributors.

Is it not a fact that in the weeks prior to 30th June, when the present scheme came into operation, a large quantity of Australian eggs was issued to the trade, of which a high percentage was out of condition, and that the Ministry's officials at Colwyn Bay —

I think the hon. Member had better put that question down.

May I have an answer to the first part of my supplementary Question? May I put it briefly in this way? Is it not a fact that the Ministry's officials have instructed their port egg agents that they must not allow more than 1 per cent, for claims in regard to eggs imported prior to 30th June, and will a proper allowance be made for that period?

One per cent, is the usual allowance, but in this particular instance retailers would claim against the wholesalers and the wholesalers would get in touch with the Ministry. Of course, in the peculiar circumstances which existed recently, we should meet them.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that shopkeepers are greatly perturbed about this, because the percentage of bad eggs is much higher than I per cent, and people are bringing them back and asking for their money back?

I regret to say that what my hon. Friend says is true with regard to the percentage. It has been much higher than I per cent, in some cases. I may inform my hon. Friend that the eggs to which reference has been made came from a country which hitherto has not been an exporter of eggs. The circumstances were peculiar and quite abnormal, and, as I have informed my hon. Friend, full allowance will be made for the loss.

Will the right hon. and gallant Gentleman say whether the allegation is true or not that imported eggs were held nine weeks before being distributed?

That is entirely without foundation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will take steps to inform the public that the fact of a customer being registered with a retailer for eggs does not necessarily guarantee that supplies of eggs will be available for that customer; and that the responsibility for making supplies available rests with the Ministry of Food and not with the retailer?

Registration is intended to secure an equitable distribution to retailers of such supplies of eggs as are available, but the public have been informed that no definite supplies are guaranteed. It rests with each retailer to apportion such supplies as are allotted to him fairly among his customers and he is under an obligation to do so.

Does the necessity to economise in transport apply to eggs, or should all eggs be well travelled in these days?

We economise as much as possible with eggs and other products.

Why should the distribution stations be where they are, and why should not the local producer immediately distribute the eggs?

I do not know whether my hon. Friend would say that if he lived in one of the cities of England. The object of the egg scheme is to get equitable distribution. If the principle suggested by my hon. Friend applied to other commodities, there would be a good many complaints from people outside.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, to save transport and labour and to reduce the possibility of damage in transit, he will allow egg-producing localities to retain, in the first instance, the ration of eggs to which they are entitled and the surplus only to be sent to packing stations?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will take steps to ensure that localities in which eggs are produced shall be entitled to purchase locally-laid eggs, and that their needs shall be satisfied before they are compelled to purchase imported eggs?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he has given instructions that home-produced eggs should be supplied to customers in areas in which they are produced, and that imported eggs should remain in the neighbourhood of ports, in order to avoid unnecessary transport and delay in distribution?

I cannot accept the suggestion that consumers in producing areas are entitled to a first priority in home-produced eggs. The object of the egg control scheme is to distribute eggs as evenly as possible throughout the country. Transport of eggs will, however, he reduced as much as possible and for this reason the needs of egg-producing areas will normally be met from supplies arising in those areas, although at certain times of the year it may be necessary to supplement the supply of home-produced eggs in producing areas.

Does my right hon. and gallant Friend agree that the present system is wasteful both of eggs and of transport, and that there is a good deal of dissatisfaction in egg-producing localities because eggs are taken away from those localities, and people are given in exchange bad Irish eggs?

There is a great deal of exaggeration about this matter. There have been no bad Irish eggs on a large scale. The bad eggs came from very much further away. The distribution scheme is really a perfectly simple one. There are over 600 collection stations in England, and the whole collection and distribution has worked on the whole very satisfactorily, much better than we thought it would at the beginning. That is in regard to home-produced eggs, which is what these Questions apply to.

How many of these collecting stations have been unable to absorb local eggs, which have been sent back or allowed to go bad?

The reason for that, in every case, has been that they themselves had taken on more than they could manage, with the result that they had had delivered to them, in accordance with their own wishes, far more eggs than they could handle.

Is the Minister aware of charges that eggs are allowed to go bad at the farms because they are not collected? Upon whom does the responsibility rest for seeing the eggs delivered to the packing stations or collected by the packing stations?

What my hon. Friend has said confirms my point that there is a good deal of exaggeration about this. The hon. and gallant Member for Coventry (Captain Strickland) stated that eggs were going bad because they were at the collecting stations in far too large numbers. My hon. Friend has just stated that they are going bad because they are at the farms. They cannot be at both.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food to what extent eggs are still being imported from the Americas?

Eggs are being shipped, but I do not think that it is in the public interest to give exact figures.

Does the right hon. and gallant Gentleman confirm the statement that the cost of the importation of these eggs is about five times the cost of the necessary feeding-stuffs to provide the same quantity of eggs produced in this country?

That is not so, but I have not facts or figures with me here to deal with that point.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that National Vegetable Marketing, Limited, invited the Midland wholesale fruit trade to nominate a person for the position of area controller, and that, after doing so, their nomination was rejected in favour of a personal friend of Mr. George Munro, a director of the board; and whether, as this action has given rise to great dissatisfaction, he has any statement to make thereon?

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the similar Question by my hon. Friend on 9th July.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that large quantities of old potatoes were released to wholesale- retailers last week-end, and that in the Rhymney Valley the wholesale-retailers confined the sale of these potatoes to their own shops, refused to give supplies to the ordinary retailer, pocketed the wholesaler and retailer profit, causing great hardship to the population who had to queue up for hours to get their supplies from the wholesale-retailer shops; and whether he proposes to take any action to deal with the problem?

Inquiries are being made, and if my hon. Friend will put down his Question again next week, I will endeavour to let him have a reply.