asked the Secretary of State for War whether instructions will be issued to increase the percentage of men on leave weekly, and thus enable all members of a unit to have four leaves per year?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton (Mr. T. Smith) on 3rd July, of which I am sending him a copy. The existing arrangements which are based on the operational requirement that not more than 10 per cent, of a unit shall be absent at any time, are normally sufficient to enable four periods of seven days' leave to be taken in the year.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the daily Army ration of tobacco, cigarettes and chocolate, respectively?

There is no ration of tobacco or chocolate for troops serving at home. At certain overseas stations there is a free weekly issue of two ounces of tobacco or cigarettes to each man. Chocolate is included in the ration scales of certain overseas commands as an alternative to cheese, the scale of issue being two ounces of chocolate in place of one ounce of cheese.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he realises the position brought about by the inability of members of His Majesty's Forces stationed abroad to marry at the present time, and that an Act passed after the Recess may be too late to prevent children being born out of wedlock; and will he devise some emergency legislation to meet this situation?

As was stated to my hon. Friend in an answer on 16th July, there is no evidence of any widespread desire for facilities for marriage by proxy, which I assume my hon. Friend has in mind, and there is no present intention to introduce legislation of this kind. The Bill referred to in the answer of 16th July relates solely to personnel of His Majesty's Forces stationed in this country and is designed to meet some of the difficulties which arise when members of the Forces who have made arrangements to get married are moved at short notice or are unable to get leave.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many British officers and other ranks indicating the unit in which they served were taken prisoner in Greece during the operations: whether the legation of the United States of America in Athens has been able to improve the conditions of the concentration camps at Corinth and other places; and whether there is any early move of these prisoners of war to Italy contemplated, in view of the economic conditions now prevailing in Greece?

No definite information has yet been received from Germany with regard to the number of British soldiers taken prisoner in Greece or the units to which they belong. I have not heard of any proposal to move British prisoners in Greece to Italy, but I understand that they are being transferred to Germany as quickly as transport facilities permit, and that most of them have already left Greece. In the meantime, the War Organisation of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John have placed £5,000 at the disposal of the International Red Cross and £10,000 at the disposal of the British Ambassador at Angora for the purpose of making such local purchases in Greece as may be necessary to meet the immediate requirements of these prisoners who remain. I am also informed that the Hellenic Red Cross is spending about 1,000,000 drachmas a month for similar purposes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the recent action of financial speculators in Russian oil shares; and whether any action can be taken to prevent these long-term gambles, which tend to reduce the moneys available for investment in War Loans?

The sum involved in such transactions is relatively insignificant. Any effect they may have on the war savings campaign would not be sufficiently noticeable to justify my taking any action.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether any royalty has been paid, since 3rd September, 1939, in respect of petrol or landing fees at a certain aerodrome; and, if so, how much has been paid during the financial years 1940 and 1941?

Until it was requisitioned in October, 1939, the partial use of this aerodrome by the R.A.F. was covered by pre-war agreements under which payments were made for delivery of petrol and oil and for landing rights. The amount of compensation to be paid for taking over the aerodrome has not yet been agreed, but provisional payments—based on the sums which would have been paid under the pre-war agreements—have been made on account subject to adjustment in the light of the final figure. From April, 1940, to June, 1941, £2,100 has been paid in this way.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will consider allowing ground staff and other airmen to be released for two or three days to help in agricultural work in the immediate mediate neighbourhood of their station; and if he will also consider releasing men for longer periods in the same way as they are released from the Army?

I am afraid that the demands of operations and training upon the services of R.A.F. personnel preclude the adoption of a general arrangement such as that suggested in the first part of the Question. As regards the second part, the practice in the Royal Air Force, as in the Army, is to consider individual applications on their merits.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what steps are being taken to provide mobile canteens at pit-heads so that miners may have hot soup and sandwiches at hours convenient to them?

In consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Mines, my Noble Friend has been considering what steps can be taken to improve the feeding facilities for the miners. It appears that the needs of the miners will be best met, not by mobile canteens, but by canteens located at pitheads which will supply snacks in the form of sandwiches, meat pies, or sausage rolls to the miners for consumption tinder-ground. Where there is a demand for meals, an effort will be made to ensure that the necessary facilities will be provided. Considerable progress has already been made on these lines. On the latest information available canteens catering for some 160,000 men are already established and proposals are in hand for canteens which will cater for a further 288,000 men. The Miners' Welfare Commission is defraying the cost of equipping the canteens.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether action has now been taken to prevent eggs accumulating in packing stations, and so deteriorating in quality?

Yes, Sir; steps have been taken to draw the attention of packing stations to instructions previously issued to them which should ensure that the collection of stocks at these stations is reduced to a minimum.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what is the official estimate of the number of eggs that went bad or were damaged since the egg-rationing scheme came into force in the interval between leaving the producer and reaching the consumer?

No complaints of deterioration or breakage of home-produced eggs have been substantiated since the beginning of the Control Scheme and I am satisfied that the loss of such eggs from these causes has been exceedingly small.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what percentage of imported eggs are either found to be bad or broken on distribution to the trade and the public?

No exact figures are available since the percentage varies according to the quality of the consignments and the nature of the packing in which they reach this country. All imported eggs are examined on arrival, and any cases showing signs of damage are put aside for repacking. It is impossible to say what percentage are broken or deteriorate after eggs have left the Ministry and are in the hands of the trade.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food the average cost of production of potatoes in Lincolnshire; and how this corresponds with the control price?

I regret that I am not in a position to give an estimate of the average cost of potato growing in Lincolnshire.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware of the practice in the greengrocery trade by which wholesalers in the market are obliging retailers who wish to purchase tomatoes to buy, in addition, given quantities of lettuce, rhubarb, peas and other vegetables, whether they require them or not; and whether he will take steps to prevent this practice?

Yes, Sir. I welcome the opportunity of saying that such practices as my hon. Friend describes are offences under the Food (Conditions of Sale) Order. Certain cases of this type are now under investigation and proceedings will be instituted in all cases if the necessary evidence can be secured.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that the Order which prohibits the supply of rationed goods to shopkeepers with less than 25 registered customers does, at the same time, deprive them of customers for other commodities; that, in the poor districts of London, it is a hardship not only upon the customer but also upon the shopkeepers, many of whom depend for their livelihood upon the supplying of small quantities of goods to people with very limited incomes, and will he reconsider this Order?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave on 22nd July to a similar Question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Profumo). I have only to add that there is a keen demand for most types of unrationed food and I see no reason to suppose that that demand will be prejudiced by a withdrawal of rationed foods.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply (1) whether he is aware that, as a result of the directions of a Royal ordnance factory traffic controller, the transport arrangements for workers from a certain place have been wholly altered, with the result that some men cannot go to work at all, others fail to get to work on odd days, and as many as 64 workers have (o crowd into a 32-seater omnibus, and, in order to perform an eight-hour day, they are away from home for 11 hours 40 minutes, although the factory is only some 14 miles away; and what steps he proposes to take;(2)whether he is aware that the system of transport of munition workers to a Royal ordnance factory is wholly unsatisfactory, that as many as 64 workers crowd into a 32- seater omnibus, and that men are unable to proceed to work on account of the transport arrangements; and whether he will take the necessary steps?

In consultation with the workers' representatives and the regional transport commissioner of the Ministry of War Transport, revised services were recently- introduced from a particular area to the Royal ordnance factory in question, using one railway train instead of a large number of buses. The object was to shorten travelling times, to effect economy in transport and to permit of recruitment of labour in a wider area. The new service benefits a considerable body of workpeople, but involves cutting out temporarily a rail service from one town and conveying workers by a feeder bus service to the railhead. As recruitment grows, it is hoped to provide a direct train from the particular place with consequent reduction in travelling time. I have no knowledge of the workers stated to be unable to get to work. If particulars are furnished, I will have the circumstances examined. I understand that 64 workers were accommodated in a 32-seater omnibus, but on one occasion only. That vehicle was operated by a local authority, which should have provided two vehicles, but one broke down and a substitute was not available at short notice.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply whether he will state, in tons, the amount of waste paper collected by local authorities in 1940?

The amount of waste paper collected and sold by local authorities in the year 1940 was 248,851 tons.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply the terms of reference and powers of the committee appointed under the chairmanship of Lord Essendon to consider the problem of redundancy in the tinplate industry; and whether the interests of the communities affected will be protected?

The terms of reference of Lord Essendon's Committee are:

"To consider and report on the application to the tinplate industry of the policy of concentration of industry described in the Board of Trade Explanatory Memorandum on Concentration of Industry, having regard to the measure of redundant plant existing in the industry."

I have no doubt that the committee, on which both the employers and the workpeople in the industry are represented, will take into consideration all relevant factors.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply whether he can give any estimate of the stocks of second-hand non-ferrous scrap metal in this country at the present time; and what steps he proposes to take to reduce these stocks to normal?

According to returns made by 220 merchants and 30 ingot makers, the stocks of copper, brass and other copper alloy scrap amounted to some 24,000 tons on 31st May, 1941. These stocks are not unduly large in view of the present scale of manufacturing industry. The Ministry of Supply encourage the use of a proportion of scrap metal wherever practicable, and have undertaken to buy low grade ingots of copper and brass which can be made from the inferior grades of scrap.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he is requesting local authorities to be responsible for the storage of coal for the winter; and what arrangements are being made for such storage?

I have already referred in this House to the assistance which local authorities have given to the Mines Department in regard to coal storage, and I am anxious that this should continue. While the financial responsibility for the reserve stocks in question has throughout rested with the Government, the help of local authorities has been invaluable in acquiring sites and making arrangements for stacking. Adequate sites have now been secured in most areas and I think it is inadvisable to transfer the responsibility as suggested.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is in a position to disclose what arrangements have been made for the agricultural worker whose need for protective clothing, without coupons, is as great as any factory worker, but who is at present refused equality of treatment?

Certain items of protective clothing used in agriculture are already exempted from the rationing scheme. Other special needs are included in the discussions mentioned in the reply given to the hon. Member for West Fife (Mr. Gallacher) and others on 24th June.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the scarcity of juvenile clothing, especially in the reception areas of the West of England; and whether steps can be taken to ensure that further supplies may be made available in districts where there are a large number of evacuees?

Yes, Sir, and as similar reports have been received from other districts, it has been decided to relax, until 30th September, the quotas under the Limitation of Supplies Orders on children's garments as well as on certain other goods in short supply. In addition, and for a similar period, arrangements have been made under which the clothing manufacturers may receive certain kinds of cloth, used for the garments in question, outside the quotas and without being required to surrender coupons under the clothes rationing scheme.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, with reference to the War Damage Act, 1941, Part II., how he reconciles the information given in the Explanatory Memorandum B.S. 4, Section 29, to the effect that a person renting part of an unfurnished house, or even a room, is a householder, with the Treasury regulation providing that not more than one person shall be treated as a householder by virtue of his position in that household?

The term "household" is used in the sense of a substantially separate establishment. There may thus be several households in one house, although there can be only one householder in each of the households in that house.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will consider giving special financial concessions, such as the abolition of the means test, in considering applications of widows who have lost sons in this war, and who are in receipt of pensions for husbands lost in the 1914/18 war.

The Select Committee of 1921 took the view that to justify the grant of a parent's pension the test of need broadly interpreted should be satisfied. This principle was incorporated in the 1940 Warrant, the provisions of which were fully considered by my statutory advisory committee. I should not be justified in differentiating between persons for whom the State is already making substantial provision and those who derive equal incomes from other sources.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that workmen from Northern Ireland, moved to English factories by the Ministry of Labour, were promised that they should be given leave to go to their homes once every six months, and that their fares would be paid both ways; that there are cases where this engagement has not been carried out; and whether he will take steps to rectify this hardship?

No, Sir, but if my hon. and gallant Friend will give me particulars of these cases I will make inquiries.

asked the Minister of Labour his intentions with regard to the calling up of women; and especially the maximum age likely to be reached?

My right hon. Friend proposes to register women born in the years 1916 to 1910 at intervals during the next five months commencing on 2nd August. While he cannot forecast the maximum age to which it will be necessary to go, as this depends on the progress of the war, the demands for man-power are so heavy that it is very likely that further age-groups beyond these will have to register.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the cost of establishing a factory canteen for 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 workers, respectively?

It is not possible to quote such a figure as my hon. Friend desires. It may, for example, be a question of converting, for cooking facilities, some accommodation near an existing mess room, or it may be a question of acquiring additional land and constructing a new building. The cost varies so widely according to the circumstances of the particular case that it is not possible to indicate any standard.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether he has received any official intimation that the Vichy Government has recognised the Government of Nanking?

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether he will consider consulting with the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics with a view to establishing a field for work for the British Council in Russia with a view to making Russian people acquainted with the British outlook and way of life?

I appreciate the importance of the hon. Member's suggestion, which I will certainly keep in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether he can make any statement with regard to the international situation in the Southern Pacific?

His Majesty's Government are aware of persistent reports to the effect that the Japanese Government intend to take action to obtain naval and air bases in southern Indo-China. The reports are the more significant since they coincide with a Japanese Press campaign of innuendo against Great Britain in respect of both Indo-China and Thailand. I welcome this opportunity therefore to state that the alleged designs of Great Britain in both these countries are entirely non-existent. As regards Indo-China our relations have been much restricted since the collapse of France, though a limited amount of trade continues. As regards Thailand, our policy is governed by our treaty of non-aggression with that country. That treaty is not designed to obtain exclusive advantages and it is not directed against any third party except in so far as such third party may attempt to interfere with those excellent neighbourly relations, political, economic and other, which have always existed between Great Britain and Thailand.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the members of the county borough of West Ham passed a unanimous resolution in support of the Forest Gate hospital site to be used for the purpose of a civil defence depot; and why he refused to sanction the application?

I have been asked to reply. My hon. Friend appears to be misinformed. The site to which he refers was selected by the emergency committee for a depot, and approval has been given for putting the necessary work in hand. Objections to the proposal were, I understand, raised by the public assistance committee, but the site was selected from a restricted choice and, after the fullest consideration, it appeared to be the one most suitable for the purpose.

asked the Home Secretary what further action he intends to take to provide intermediate treatment for young delinquents between probation and prison or Borstal; whether he is aware that hostels to which juveniles are sent in certain circumstances do not earn grant; and whether he will enable such hostels to earn grant in the same manner as approved lodgings.

Proposals for the provision of additional facilities of the kind indicated in the first part of the Question were included in the Criminal Justice Bill, consideration of which had to be postponed at the outbreak of war. Facilities provided under existing legislation include approved homes and hostels, and additional homes and hostels are being approved wherever possible. I understand that the second part of the Question relates not to persons who are found guilty of offences but to cases in which a supervision order made for the care and protection of children and young persons under the Children and Young Persons Acts, 1933 and 1938, includes a provision as to residence. In these cases which are fortunately not numerous there is no power under the existing law to make a contribution from public funds whether the residence is to be in a hostel or in lodgings.

asked the Minister of Information whether he will send to Members instances showing how their speeches or Questions arc made use of for enemy propaganda?

In reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. M. Samuel) on 26th March last, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster promised to institute an arrangement of this kind. This has been done and I shall be glad to continue the practice.

asked the Minister of Information whether he will make arrangements to have recorded on gramophone discs the recent Sunday-night broadcast speech of the Prime Minister on the German attack on Russia?

I understand that records of the speech will shortly be placed on the market in the normal way.

asked the Minister of Information whether he will make available in the Library of the House of Commons all the reports of the Ministry of Information surveys of public opinion?

As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pointed out in the House on 1st August, 1940, the reports of the War-time Social Survey are always available for the inspection of Members at the Ministry of Information. The reasons he then gave for not placing them in the Library of the House still hold good. Such other reports on public opinion as are prepared in the Ministry are intended for Departmental and inter-Departmental use only. These reports frequently contain information of military value, so that it would obviously be undesirable to give them a wide circulation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Buildings whether, in estimating the cost of the new hostels for agricultural workers at £130 per head, excluding the cost of sites, these are for single men only, and if not what family is assumed in making the assessment of cost; and what is the estimated life of these hostels?

The hostels are for single men or women. Their form of construction varies because the policy is to use materials that are readily available and methods which take a minimum of time. Those of the lightest construction would last four-eight years—others considerably longer. They are intended to be temporary.

asked the Secretary of State for War what steps have been taken to improve the condition of the people of Somaliland since its re-occupation by British troops, in view of the great distress of the people following the Italian occupation and the military campaigns in their country; what steps are being taken to increase the share of the people in the Government of the Colony; and whether any improvements which are being introduced are being extended also to the former Italian colony?

Everything possible is being done by the military administration to restore the conditions which existed prior to the evacuation of British Somaliland and thus to facilitate the resumption of normal civil government. But no question can arise at this stage of making important constitutional changes. The measures which are being taken for the welfare of the former Italian colonies in East Africa are related to the special needs of those colonies, which are not in all cases the same as those of British Somaliland.