asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that in some of the rural areas the numbers of Civil Defence personnel and Home Guards are very small and that men already serving in air-raid precautions and other Civil Defence services, many of whom are ex-service men who, having joined before the inception of the Home Guard, are prevented from transferring to it, he will consider instituting a greater measure of cooperative training between the various units in order that each section of the Civil Defence services or Home Guard may be available for action with either service as fire-fighters, air-raid precautions duties or defensive action, as the occasion may demand?

There must be increasingly close co-operation between Civil Defence and the Home Guard and members of each service must be fully informed of the organisation and role of the other. The Home Guard are already giving valuable aid to Civil Defence in meeting enemy air attack. When the occasion demands defensive action the Civil Defence services will still be charged with their duty of safeguarding civilian life and property. The two services are distinct, but in some areas the authorities have found it possible to allow individual mem- bers of one service to become members of the other, and exercises are frequently held in which both services take part.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction existing amongst officers of fire brigades with the appointment of men of experience extending only over a few months and from smaller fire authorities to principal positions in the State-controlled fire service; and whether he will arrange for full consideration to be given to the promotion of officers with many years' experience and training in fire fighting?

No, Sir. I am not aware of any general dissatisfaction; on the contrary, my right hon. Friend is satisfied that the careful arrangements (including the establishment of selection boards) made for the selection of officers for the National Fire Service have resulted in appointments in which merit has been the only consideration and which already are proving to be justified in practice. I should like to emphasise that long experience in peace time fire fighting is not the only qualification for appointments to the National Fire Service in time of war.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has seen a copy of the camp rules for the Tatura internment camp, Australia, where transported internees are detained; whether he is aware: that the internees resent the assumption that they have Nazi or Fascist sympathies and the implications conveying this in the rules; and whether, in view of the unnecessary humiliation imposed upon the internees, he will make representations on the matter to the Australian Government?

The hon. Member has kindly sent me a copy of the rules to which he refers. As may be inferred from the heading to them, they apply to a group of camps, in some of which are prisoners of war and internees of Nazi or Fascist sympathies. I do not. therefore, see how any objection can be taken to a rule forbidding Nazi or Fascist propaganda or salutes.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will allow early reconsideration of the decision to stop evening classes after black-out time if there are no raids, in view of the fact that many potential students cannot attend at weekends, and so prefer the evening time?

It is assumed that the hon. Lady refers to evening classes organised by the London County Council. The importance of enabling these classes to continue if reasons of security permit is fully realised and the subject is again being considered.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the danger to the patient and the difficulty to the surgeon in operating in a civilian-duty gas-mask; and whether he will consider an immediate issue of service-type gasmasks to all surgeons, surgeons' assistants and theatre staff who may be called upon to operate in hospitals situated in the vulnerable areas?

I am advised that there would be no advantage in substituting the service type of respirator for this purpose.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport, whether when there is a small cargo space unused on any ship from a British Dominion, he takes steps to get from the Ministry of Food a licence for so-called non-essential products to be carried so as to avoid the ship sailing with the space unusued; and, if not, whether such a policy can be followed?

There is ample cargo of an essential nature available in the Dominions. Non-essential products could thus only be loaded at the expense of essential cargo, and the circumstances visualised by my hon. and learned Friend do not arise.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is aware that considerable hardship has been caused to Civil Defence personnel travelling to their work when they have had to move owing to being bombed out; and whether this grievance is to be met by classifying them as shift workers?

Shift workmen's tickets can be obtained on the railways by whole-time Civil Defence workers who are employed as artisans, mechanics or labourers. Other whole-time Civil Defence workers can take advantage of the concession announced recently, by which, when travelling between their homes and places of employment, they can obtain return railway tickets valid for two days at the cost approximately of single ordinary fare for the return journey.

asked the Attorney-General what use is being made of the Wartime Liabilities (Adjustment) Act; and whether, with the object of making it of greater value than at present, he will take what steps are necessary to persuade the public that it is not a measure either of public assistance or bankruptcy?

The figures for the London area are as follow: The London Adjustment Offices have inquired into 260 cases, most of which are still being investigated, and have approved eight schemes; 27 protection orders and two adjustment orders have been made by courts in London. Instructions were given to supply figures for the three months ended 30th September for the rest of England, but they are not yet available. The figures for the next three months will be a fairer test of the extent to which the Act is proving useful, as by then the courts will have made orders in the cases already commenced. I will consider from time to time whether steps are necessary and can usefully be taken to remove any misconceptions about the Act, but I doubt whether people are holding aloof because they fear that the measure is one of public assistance or bankruptcy, but I will be ready to consider whether any misconceptions exist and if so whether steps can usefully be taken to remove them.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in dealing with repairs to, or clearances of, damaged property, in the interests of all-round economy, he will consider giving instructions to replace the present system of cost plus percentage, either by a schedule of fixed prices with competitive profit percentage attached and a time completion clause or, alternatively, by lump-sum contracts; and whether on this type of work he will put some limitation on the weekly hours to be worked and to prevent Sunday work save in exceptional instances?

My right hon. Friend has given careful consideration to the matter raised in the first part of the Question and he has reluctantly come to the conclusion that neither of the forms suggested by my hon. Friend offers a practicable alternative to the prime cost contract for work which must be carried out immediately after a raid. For more permanent repairs, local authorities have been instructed to secure lump-sum tenders. Likewise my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Home Security, who is responsible for clearance work, has given instructions that the prime cost contract should only be used where it is impossible to proceed on the ordinary basis of tender and specification. The form of contract now in use by local authorities follows the model drawn up by a Committee which represented Government Departments and all sections of the building industry. My right hon. Friend has reminded local authorities of the need in connection with such contracts for the exercise of the closest possible supervision. Instructions have already been issued on the lines suggested in the last part of the Question.

asked the Minister of Labour whether any rules have been laid down to govern cases of women working in factories who desire leave in order to be at home with their husbands when on short leave from the Army, Navy or Royal Air Force; and whether permission for such leave is normally given in factories, and under what conditions?

Factory managements have been urged to arrange, so far as reasonably possible, for women workers to be given leave of absence when their husbands are home on leave, and inquiries show that managements generally are acting reasonably in the matter.

asked the Minister of Labour whether an instruction has been issued to Employment Exchanges prohibiting the submission of men over 65 years of age for employment at Royal Ordnance factories; and will he take steps to ensure that all able-bodied men shall have equal opportunity of assisting in the country's war effort?

The answer to the first part of the Question is in the negative. The practice in regard to workmen seeking employment in the Royal Ordnance Factories remains as stated in the answer given on 7th May, 1940, to the hon. Member for Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths) by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply, of which I am sending a copy to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the urgent necessity for the provision of canteens and sleeping accommodation for road transport workers in certain areas; and whether he is ensuring joint action by the Ministries concerned?

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has been able to make satisfactory arrangements for roadside meals and accommodation of road transport workers?

The urgency of making improved provision for meals and sleeping accommodation for road transport workers is fully recognised, and the details of a scheme drawn up after consultation with members of the Food Sub-Committee of the Road Haulage Central Wages Board are now being worked out by the Ministry of Food, Ministry of War Transport and my Department. I hope it will be possible to announce the details of this scheme and to put it into operation very shortly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether a public announcement will be made for the guidance of persons whose ration books containing the margarine coupons have been lost or destroyed; whether forms will be issued containing an affidavit to be made; and where and when such forms can be obtained?

As was announced in the Press on 30th August, members of the public who have lost their clothing coupons, including those marked "margarine" in the 3rd Edition Food Book, or have lost the ration document itself, will shortly be able to obtain replacement by making a declaration before a Justice of the Peace and sending this to the Local Area Collecting Office of the Board of Trade. The declaration forms are now being printed and a further announcement will be made as soon as they are ready.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will allow mothers to purchase babies' napkins without coupons, as these are a necessity?

No, Sir. The issue of 50 coupons to expectant mothers, together with the issue of coupons to babies at birth, should, I am advised, be sufficient for the purchase of a suitable number of napkins.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether washable coats, aprons and overalls, required by workers handling food products in shops and stores can be exempted from coupon requirements?

The claims submitted on behalf of distributive workers are now under examination, and additional coupons will be awarded to those whose needs are found to exceed the normal civilian allowance.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the serious detriment to public health caused by the deficiency of spare parts and replacements for frigidaires and similar appliances; and whether, in view of the importance of saving wastage of food, he will do all in his power to expedite the manufacture of such spare parts, since at the present moment the manufacturers and agents cannot even give an approximate date for any deliveries or repairs?

I think that delays in the repair of domestic refrigerators are due more to a shortage of skilled labour than to lack of repair parts; but, if my hon. and gallant Friend will give me details of any particular cases, I shall be glad to look into them.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that at some road works being carried out in the main street in the village of Uxbridge, near the junction of Harefield Road, a policeman is stationed for directing traffic who is equipped with two police signals, electrically controlled; and whether he is satisfied that this expense is justified when the signalling can be done equally as well by the use of a red flag?

Yes, Sir. I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that the use of portable traffic signals enables the traffic to be held up at the right place at each end of the excavation by one policeman instead of two. One man with a red flag in the middle of the excavation could not effectively control the shuttle service of traffic.

asked the Home Secretary the number of violent assaults made on officers at Dartmoor Prison during the past 12 months; the number of sentences of corporal punishment awarded; the number carried out; how many sentences have been quashed; and the reasons for not carrying out the recommendations of the visiting justices?

There have during the last 12 months been seven cases of gross personal violence against officers at Dartmoor Prison. As a result of three of these assaults sentences of corporal punishment were awarded against four convicts. In none of these cases was the sentence quashed, but in one case, where two convicts were concerned, I reduced from 18 to 12 the number of strokes ordered for one of them because, though both were guilty of violence, there was a difference in the degree of guilt. As regards the remaining four cases, one has not yet been dealt with by the Board of Visitors; in two cases the Board awarded punishments other than corporal punishment because, I understand, there was medical evidence that the prisoner was unfit for corporal punishment; and the fourth case was the case of two convicts who, while awaiting corporal punishment for an assault on an officer, committed a further assault on the governor. The sentence of corporal punishment for the first assault was carried out but for the second assault a different type of penalty was imposed.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that Messrs. Kia-Ora purchased and stored large quantities of lemons which largely perished owing to lack of cold-storage facilities; and whether he will take steps to prevent such waste in future?

I have made careful inquiries into this matter and I am satisfied that my hon. Friend has been misinformed.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he has any information regarding the prewar Danish method for dealing with eggs; when it may be made available; and did the Danish method involve the marking of all eggs with the farmer's name and date when eggs left the farm?

Information about the Danish system of egg marketing was published in the reports of the World Poultry Congresses which were held from time to time before the war. The system provided for the sale of eggs to packing stations, some of which required the supplying farmers to mark their eggs, but it is understood that the practice was not general.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware of the system of secret commissions existent in the Covent Garden market; and whether he will take strong action to prevent this assistance to operators in the black market?

I am aware of the system of secret commissions referred to by my hon. Friend. It has come to notice in a number of areas and is not confined to any particular market. My hon. Friend may rest assured that every effort is being made to detect such transactions, although evidence, for obvious reasons, is difficult to secure.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in view of the difficulties for retailers and disappointment to the public in general arising from the premature announcement of large overseas purchases of food which may not always reach this country, he will intimate to Dominion and foreign Governments which are sending these foods to us the appreciation that would be felt in this country if such announcements were delayed until the consignments had in fact reached this country?

No, Sir. I have no reason to think that the published contract figures are not a reasonable indication of quantities of food which will in fact reach these shores, and in many cases the size of the contracts is a matter for congratulation on the part of the supplying countries, particularly the Dominions.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in view of the fact that milk is not to be rationed this winter and that supplies of fresh milk may even be more than last winter, it is proposed to modify the present nil issue of fresh milk to Royal Air Force units and permit stations to have some quantity however small of fresh milk?

It is not anticipated that supplies of liquid milk this winter will exceed those of last winter. The present demand for milk is considerably greater than estimated production during the winter months. In view of this and the necessity for ensuring that adequate supplies will be available for mothers, infants, children and invalids, a scheme of controlled distribution will be introduced next month on the lines indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead, East (Mr. White), on 6th August. Adult consumers will receive part of their supplies in the form of condensed milk which will be available in much greater quantities than last winter. With the co-operation of the Departments concerned it has been arranged that, save in special circumstances, the supply of milk to the Services shall be in this form.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, under the new guaranteed scheme of milk supplies, milk is to be guaranteed to all children of appropriate age at school and not merely to those children attending State-aided schools, in view of the fact that under war circumstances all children of that age require milk?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to an oral question on this matter to-day.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will consider extending the cheese ration to barge-men working on the canals, who complain that they have great difficulty in obtaining even rationed foods and also in securing adequate sustenance for the strenuous work they have to undertake?

As I have previously explained, the special ration of cheese is not a supplementary ration in respect of heavy work, but is intended to meet the needs of certain categories of workers who take their mid-day meal with them to work, and I feel that the grant of the special ration to canal barge-men could not be justified. If my hon. and gallant Friend will furnish me with particulars of cases where difficulty has been experienced in obtaining rationed foods I will look into them.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food the usual difference in the prices of food sold at British Restaurants and any ordinary local neighbouring catering establishment of the same size and standing; and to what such differences in price are attributable?

Local authorities are required by the Ministry to conduct British Restaurants on a fully self-supporting basis. The prices charged for meals should be sufficient to cover overhead expenses, including amortisation of capital expenditure, and a small margin for contingencies. The capital expenditure involved in establishing British Restaurants varies, mainly according to the structural adaptations which may be necessary in each case. Running expenses also vary. It is not possible to fix a standard price for meals and I am therefore not in a position to answer my hon. Friend's Question as to the usual difference in price between food sold in British Restaurants and that sold in neighbouring comparable catering establishments. Speaking generally, however, prices in British Restaurants are lower and this is no doubt due to the fact that, as previously stated, these Restaurants are conducted on a self-supporting but not a profit-making basis.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, to avoid the black market, he will prescribe that no firm, dealing in food, should be allowed to handle any products which they have not been in the habit of handling previous to the war; and what objections there are to such a regulation?

The policy of my Department as regards the issue of licences to traders who were not dealing in a commodity before the war has already been indicated in the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Lipson) on 6th August. Whilst it is intended to withhold licences from traders not dealing in a commodity before the war who have recently affected only casual dealings in that commodity, it would not be generally in the interest of consumers to prevent a trader who is now regularly distributing a commodity in the normal course of his business from continuing to do so solely on the ground that he was not handling it two years ago.

asked the Secretary of State for War, under what code of family allowance will officers come who are over 30 years of age and who marry after 1st January, 1942; and whether steps will be taken to prevent the compulsory adoption by them of the new rate which might operate to the officers' disadvantage as against the old code?

Any officer serving as an officer before 1st January, 1942, whether he marries before or after that date, will receive family lodging allowance at the old rates, unless he himself elects before 1st January, 1942, to come on to the new code.

asked the Minister of Health whether it is within the province of the Central Medical War Committee to prevent the granting of commissions to medical officers employed in the Home Guard; whether there is any representative of the Home Guard on this committee; and whether there is any appeal from the decisions of central or local medical war committees in connection with the employment of medical officers in the Home Guard?

In order to avoid undue interference with the medical organisation of the locality, Army Council instructions provide that no medical practitioner is to be enrolled in the Home Guard unless previous permission has been given by the local medical war committee. It is open to any practitioner aggrieved by the medical war committee's decision to communicate with the Central Medical War Committee under whose general directions the local committees act in this as in other matters relating to the selection of doctors for war-time services. If he is dissatisfied with the conclusion of the central committee and wishes to make representations to me I shall of course be prepared to consider them. There is no representative of the Home Guard as such in the membership of the central committee, but an observer attends on behalf of the War Office.

asked the Secretary of State for War the circumstances in which an officer of the Somerset Light Infantry, to whose case the attention of his Department has been called by the hon. Member for the Tamworth Division, was overpaid £81 through the mistake of the paymaster; for how long the mistake persisted; what percentage of his monthly pay has since been deducted; whether he consented to the method of recovery; and whether the action taken was in accordance with the usual practice?

I have already written to my hon. Friend about this case. There are some points in his Question into which I am looking further and I will send him a full reply in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has any statement to make as to when disabled prisoners of war will be repatriated?

Arrangements for the repatriation of British and German prisoners of war who are incapacitated by wounds or sickness are now nearing completion. It is hoped that over 1,000 British prisoners and some 500 medical personnel and chaplains, who are also entitled to repatriation under the International Convention of 1929, will arrive in this country some time this month. With the same object in view, negotiations have been initiated with the Italian Government. But in this case the negotiations are not so far advanced, nor is the examination of the British and Italian wounded by the mixed medical commissions yet completed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the members of the Association of Municipal Corporations are disappointed by the reply he gave to the deputation, which he and the Minister of Health received on 22nd July, on the question of meeting the loss of rate revenue suffered by local authorities arising out of war conditions; and whether, in view of the dissatisfaction his reply has caused, he is prepared to reconsider his decision?

I have received no further representations from the Association of Municipal Corporations since the deputation to which my hon. Friend refers, but I am afraid that it would not be possible for me to reverse the decision which I gave to them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of war damage contributions have been paid up to the present time; and whether the authorities, in cases of refusal to pay, are enforcing steps to collect the money?

The total amount of war damage contribution collected to date is about £24,000,000 which is nearly two-thirds of the estimated total of the first instalment due on 1st July. As regards the second part of the Question, the ordinary procedure for recovery of Income Tax is being followed for recovery of war damage contributions.

asked the Minister of Health whether in view of the recent Report by his chief medical officer, stating that there had been a rise in the mortality from tuberculosis in females between 15 and 25 years of age, he will give the figures of such mortality in this age-group for the last five years; and whether he will take steps to elucidate the causes of this selective mortality in order to institute measures to deal with it?

The information asked for in the first part of the Question is given in the following table: —

Female Death-rates per million (England and Wales) Tuberculosis
—		Respiratory.		Other Forms.
		Ages 15–20.	Ages 15–20.	Ages 15–20.	Ages 15–20.
1936	…	670	1,039	129	97
1937	…	652	1,029	130	116
1938	…	605	931	132	93
1039	…	601	955	137	90
1940	…	692	1,103	1456	132

For 1940 the rates are provisional, and based on the 1939 population. Investigations along the lines referred to in the second part of the question are being undertaken. I have been promised the help of the Medical Research Council in these investigations.

asked the Secretary for Mines the amount of money collected in the Royalty Fund for pit-head baths up to date in South and West Yorkshire, respectively; how much each district has spent upon pit-head baths at present in use; how much has been spent or earmarked for pit-head baths actually in course of erection; and what is the remaining balance in hand in each district?

The Mining Industry Act (1926), which instituted the Royalties Welfare Levy and directed that the proceeds should be appropriated for providing pithead baths, included a provision that no part of the proceeds should be required to be allocated to any particular district. As an administrative measure for the equitable distribution of expenditure, however, the Miners Welfare Commission has so far followed the practice of apportioning the proceeds of the respective coal districts according to output. On this basis the figures asked for are as follows up to 31st July last, the latest date for which the amount of the proceeds is available: —

		South Yorkshire.	West Yorkshire.
		£	£
(a) Estimated proportion of the proceeds of the Royalties Welfare Levy received to the 31st July, 1941	…	866,500	327,000
(b) Sums expended or earmarked for expenditure on pithead baths which had been completed or were under construction at 31st July, 1941	…	777,500	313,000
(c) Balance of (a) over (b)	…	89,000	14,000
As the construction of certain baths has been interrupted owing to building restrictions, it is possible to reduce the sums earmarked under (b) by £18,500 in the case of South Yorkshire, and by £15,000 in the case of West Yorkshire, increasing the figures under (c) to £107,500 and £29,000 respectively.

asked the President of the Board of Education, (1) what percentage of children in England and Wales are now receiving meals in schools; whether the provision of meals in schools is still an object of the policy of his Department; and whether he is taking any steps to secure the necessary facilities and accommodation;(2) whether he proposes to take any steps to increase the provision of meals for schoolchildren; and whether he has taken up this matter with the local authorities?

A campaign for stimulating the provision of meals for schoolchildren was initiated in the summer of 1940 and my Department has been very active in impressing upon authorities the importance of this service both by correspondence and through His Majesty's Inspectors. The approval of proposals has been much expedited by authorising inspectors to deal with them locally within certain financial limits. As a result of these measures the service has been doubled during the past year and approximately 300,000 children or 6 per cent. of the pupils in elementary and secondary schools in England and Wales were receiving meals at school or school canteens before the summer holidays. While the building of new accommodation cannot generally be contemplated, steps have already been taken to facilitate the supply of cooking and dining equipment. My policy is to secure a further rapid expansion of this service and fresh measures to this end are under active consideration.

asked the Minister of Information whether he is aware that the observance of the Big Ben Dedicated Minute at 9 o'clock each evening is being kept in many countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and America; and will he take all possible action to enable this observance to become universal?

Yes, Sir, I am aware that this practice is widely observed, and I can assure my hon. Friend that the Ministry of Information will in the future, as in the past, give it suitable publicity.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the situation of the six new orthopædic units in Scotland; how many orthopædic surgeons are engaged, and the number of junior surgeons or medical staff appointed in each case; and whether these units are run on the lines recommended and approved by the Delevingne Committee?

The orthopædic units in question are at Stracathro Hospital, Angus; Princess Margaret Rose Hospital, Edinburgh; Peel Hospital, Selkirkshire; Larbert and Killearn Hospitals, Stirlingshire; and Hairmyres Hospital, Lanarkshire. There are ten orthopaedic surgeons, of whom four are employed whole-time. The junior staff consists of one junior surgeon who acts as Registrar in each of the units, except Peel Hospital. Other junior medical staff is attached to each unit by the Medical Superintendent according to the number of orthopædic cases under treatment, up to a maximum of three per two hundred beds. The answer to the last part of the Question is in the affirmative.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs what diplomatic contacts exist at the present time between any of the Dominion Governments and the Vichy Government?

The Vichy Government maintain Ministers in Canada, the Union of South Africa and Eire, and the Government of Eire maintain a Minister at Vichy.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is now in a position to announce in detail what the method of recruitment for the Foreign Office is to be?

The method of recruitment is only a part of the reform of the Foreign Service of which I announced the broad outline to the House on nth June. My hon. Friend will realise that the detailed application of these reforms requires considerable elaboration, and I am not yet in a position to make a further statement. There can, of course, be no new entry until after the war.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what was the cause of the delay in occupying or taking control of Teheran by the Russian and British forces; why it was that hundreds of Germans were allowed to leave the city in fleets of motor omnibuses and motor cars specially commandeered for their use by the Iranian authorities on the approach of the Allied troops; and what has become of the Germans in question?

As regards the first part of the Question I have nothing to add to the Prime Minister's statement yesterday. As regards the second part, I think that my hon. Friend must be under a misapprehension. Arrangements were made by the Persian Government, with the approval of the Allied authorities at Teheran, for the return to Germany of the German Minister and his staff, who were accompanied by the women and children of the German colony. The remaining Germans found in Teheran are, with the exception of certain persons exempted by the Allied authorities on the grounds of age, religion or anti-Nazi feeling, in the hands of the Allied military authorities.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty why all compass makers have not yet been supplied with the requisite information to enable them to adapt their binnacles to receive the heeling error coils provided by the Admiralty for new ships nearing completion; and why this information has been given to three compass makers only, who are thus placed in a privileged position?

The implication in the first part of the Question is incorrect; the normal practice is to design heeling error coils to suit the type of binnacle, not to adapt the binnacle to suit a standard coil. There are thus many forms of coil. The British Nautical Instrument Trade Association were informed some months ago that the Admiralty would give firms all possible assistance in designing heeling error coils for their own particular makes of binnacle. In addition, the Association has been informed that the Admiralty will design a coil for any binnacle, provided a specimen binnacle is made available. It is still open to firms to accept this offer, but only three have so far taken advantage of it.

asked the Minister without Portfolio whether he is aware that, for some years prior to the war, the Sheffield City Council made repeated efforts to find work in new directions for the large numbers of Sheffield unemployed; and whether he can give any indication as to the directions in which employment may be found after the war, in order to prevent a repetition of the serious position previously prevailing?

The general question of unemployment is one of the most important problems which is under the consideration of the Government in connection with reconstruction after the war and I can assure my hon. Friend that full account shall be taken of the experience and knowledge of local authorities in this matter.

asked the Minister without Portfolio whether he will appoint a Royal Commission to make recommendations for the rebuilding of British civil aviation after the cessation of hostilities?

No, Sir. I have appointed an inter-departmental committee, under the chairmanship of Lieut.-Colonel Sir Francis Shelmerdine, Director-General of Civil Aviation, to make recommendations as regards the reconstruction, organisation and development of civil aviation after the war.

asked the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether he has considered the investigations of the Federation of Citizens Association in Jamaica into the economic conditions at Caviliers, St. Andrews; and what steps are being taken to deal with the social distress, housing and intense poverty revealed?

No information has been received in the Colonial Office with regard to these investigations. The Governor of Jamaica has been asked for a report.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the housing conditions in the village of John John, near Port of Spain, Trinidad, British West Indies, are still as bad as when condemned in 1938 by the Forster Commission; whether the exact complete wording of the report of the medical officer of health on this village, not quoted in full in that Commission's report, can now be given; and how long will such conditions be allowed to continue?

The Government of Trinidad have lately carried out important slum clearance and rehousing schemes in the neighbourhood of Port of Spain, and are continuing with this work so far as war conditions permit. Inquiry is being made of the Governor as to the present position in the particular village mentioned. The statement to which my hon. Friend refers in the second part of the Question was made in evidence before the Disturbances Commission, and was not, so far as I am aware, an extract from any report.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the inquest proceedings on the Irish schoolteacher, Miss Katherine Donnellan, who was found drowned in Trinidad, British West Indies, are available; whether the inquest was held in private or public; how soon after the death was the inquest held; whet her there was a post-mortem examination; and whether this report can be seen by interested Members of Parliament?

My Noble Friend his received from the Governor of Trinidad a copy of the record of the proceedings at the inquest on Miss Donnellan which was held in public. Miss Donnellan escaped from the internment camp during the night of the 23rd June and her body was found on the 24th June. The inquest was opened on the 28th June. A post mortem examination was made at the Colonial Hospital, Port of Spain. The record of the proceedings is available at the Colonial Office, and if any hon. Member desires to inspect it there, my Noble Friend will be glad to make the necessary arrangements.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether he can state the figures for convictions for predial larceny in the Island of Trinidad for the years subsequent to the report of the Forster Commission; and whether the local committee on this subject has made valuable suggestions and done good work?

Convictions for predial larceny in Trinidad were as follow:

1937	24
1938	36

Inquiry is being made of the Governor as to the numbers in 1939 and 1940; and also as to the last part of the Question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, how many of the 1,200 survivors of the "Patria" have now been released from prison; how many of those released have joined the forces; and whether there is in Palestine any women's force corresponding to the Auxiliary Territorial Service, etc., which female prisoners of this sort would be allowed to join?

Of the 1,698 survivors of the "Patria," who have been in detention in Palestine, 1,043 have so far been released, and further releases are being made subject to the investigation of individual bona fides. All the male detainees who have been released have been given the opportunity to volunteer for enlistment with the Forces; 31 have joined the British, and 77 the Czech, Forces. There are in Palestine no women's forces corresponding to the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware of the mental anxiety of the older married flying instructors in the Volunteer Reserve at the elementary flying training schools, caused by financial difficulties resulting from the lack of living accommodation on these aerodromes and the inflated cost of living out; and whether he will consider granting all married flying instructors over the age of 35 at the elementary flying training schools squadron-leaders' allowances, irrespective of their present rank?

No representations have been received in my Department which support the suggestion made by my hon. and gallant Friend in the first part of the Question. As regards the second part, an officer of 35 years of age holding a post as flying instructor would normally have reached a rank not lower than flight lieutenant, and, whether, living with his family or separated from them, would receive allowances practically equal to those of a squadron leader.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that flying instructors at the elementary flying training schools are compelled to live out; and whether, in view of the difficulties of obtaining accommodation in certain areas of which he is acquainted, he will endeavour to give them reasonable warning before posting them to other stations?

Yes, Sir, but it will be appreciated that the exigencies of war make it necessary on occasions to effect postings at very short notice.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why he has stopped the issue of anti-catarrh vaccine for officers and men in the Royal Air Force?

A general issue of anti-catarrh vaccine is not made, but supplies are available in all cases where individual medical officers consider this treatment, desirable.