asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to proceedings in the High Court concerning the dismissal of a man called Knight by the Guildford Corporation; and does he propose to intern Knight under the Defence of the Realm Regulations?

I have seen reports of these proceedings in the Press. I am not aware of any circumstances which would justify me in directing the detention of Mr. Knight.

asked the Minister of Health how many surface shelters have electric lights burning all night in them in London; and whether, in the interests of fuel economy, he can arrange for switches to be installed in each shelter so that this waste of electric light can be avoided?

I have no information which suggests that electric lights are being unnecessarily kept on at night in surface shelters in London, and I should be glad to look into any case which may have come to my hon. and gallant Friend's notice. Following a circular which I issued on 29th May, the Regional Commissioners have reminded local authorities in London of the need for the utmost economy in the use of lighting and heating in shelters, and that lights should be turned off whenever the shelters are not in use. The local authorities have also been recommended to reduce the number of shelters in use and therefore needing to be lit. The Majority of shelters which are lit by electricity have been fitted with separate switches. Material and labour are not available so to fit the remainder.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether, in view of the return of children to London following the closing of schools in reception areas for the summer holidays, he will now consider making evacuation compulsory;(2) whether he has any plans in view to enforce the return of children after the summer holidays from London, where their homes are, to the reception areas where the schools have been provided for them?

The arguments against any general policy of compulsory evacuation were fully explained by my predecessor in the Debate in this House on 13th June, 1940. Subsequent developments have not, in the view of the Government, invalidated those arguments, and it remains their considered opinion that compulsory evacuation would be justified only in cases of military necessity.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the general dissatisfaction among voluntary street fire-watchers at the numerous unwarranted abstentions from this service, which add to the number of hours and nights of duty to be undertaken by the volunteers, he will make the duties compulsory for all persons not ordinarily exempt?

I am aware that there are persons who are exempt from fire guard duties who should not be exempt. Steps are being taken to remedy this defect and I hope to be able to make a statement shortly.

asked the Home Secretary the number of previously undetected bombs which have been discovered in the London regional area since the date of the Southwark explosion on 6th June, to the latest convenient date; and the names of the boroughs in which such discoveries have been made?

It would not be in the public interest to give further details on this matter.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will issue a direction to police authorities under his control that licences for the purchase of new private motor-cars for police duty will not be applied for while a plentiful supply of good second-hand motor-cars remains on the market?

A licence for the purchase of a new car would not be issued by the Ministry of War Transport without the prior approval of my Department, and it is in fact necessary to rely almost wholly on the purchase of second-hand cars to meet police requirements.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will see that police authorities in Scotland do not apply for licences for the purchase of new private motor-cars for police purposes so long as a plentiful supply of good second-hand motor-cars is on the market?

The answer is in the affimative. No new private cars have been purchased by police authorities since February, 1942. During that period only second-hand cars were purchased for replacement purposes.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport how many special licences for the purchase of new motorcars were issued during the last six months; and whether he is satisfied that it was in every case essential for the purchaser to have a new motor-car rather than a second-hand one?

During the six months ended 30th June, 1942, 1,202 licences were issued to persons or firms engaged in work of national importance to acquire 1,620 unregistered motor-cars. Included in these numbers are those sanctioned for use by the Police and Government Departments. During the same period, 545 applications were refused. In answer to the second part of the Question, I am glad to inform my hon. Friend that arrangements have been made to terminate the manufacture of motor-cars in the near-future. So long as they are available they will be accorded to those who can show that they have the greatest need for a new car.

asked the Home Secretary how many of the seven men sentenced for black market activities at the Central Criminal Court, on 10th July, were alien by birth; how many had been naturalised: how and when Seymour Sidney, stated to have been born ins Russia, became a British subject; and whether any of these persons have been referred to the Advisory Committee for the consideration of the revocation of their certificates of naturalisation?

In the case to which my hon. Friend refers there were 10 persons convicted, of whom six were sentenced both to imprisonment and fines and four were fined only. Of the 10 men six are natural-born British subjects and two are aliens, one being of French and the other of Rumanian nationality. As regards the remaining two, Sidney became a British subject at the age of 12 when in 1901 his father was naturalised and the son, being an infant and resident with his father in the United Kingdom, acquired British nationality by virtue of the provisions of the Naturalisation Act, 1870, which has now been repealed. The remaining man was born in Poland and naturalised in 1928. The offence in his case was not keeping accurate records as required by the Food Control Order. He was fined £50 but not sentenced to imprisonment. The circumstances of this case are not such as to bring it within the provisions of the law relating to the revocation of certificates.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Small Pigkeepers' Council is insisting that a village produce council, including in its activities a pig club, is not entitled to affiliate with the council as such; whether separate accountancy and management of the pig club section of a village produce association is required for such affiliation; and will he get this altered as, owing to the difficulty of providing the personnel for such separate accountancy and management in country villages in wartime, the promotion of pig clubs is being seriously delayed?

The arrangements for the supply of rationed feeding stuffs to pig clubs, and for the retention for domestic consumption of some of the pigs fattened, make it essential, in order to ensure efficent administration and to avoid the risk of abuse, that the personnel of pig clubs registered with the Small Pig Keepers' Council should consist solely of pig keepers. There is, however, no reason why officials of a village produce association should not also act in a separate capacity as officials of the pig club, and there is no evidence that the requirement mentioned is delaying over the country as a whole the formation of new pig clubs.

asked the Minister of Information whether, in view of the fre- quent convictions of farmers and smallholders for cruelty to animals useful for human food, the various county war agricultural committees are required to investigate the desirability of depriving such defendants of any stock at all and to dispose of it, if they think fit, elsewhere in the district?

I have been asked to reply. I cannot accept the implication contained in the first part of my hon. Friend's Question, and I do not consider it desirable to require the county war agricultural executive committees to act in the manner suggested in the second part.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the estimated annual cost for the current year of the salaried officers, rent of premises, office and transport expenses, etc., connected with the Domestic Poultry Keepers' Council and its area organisations; and whether there is now any justification for continuing to incur this expenditure?

The estimated cost of the organisation of the Domestic Poultry Keepers' Council during the current year is £29,000. The number of domestic poultry keepers exceeds one million, a large proportion of whom are amateurs and need advice to prevent waste of foodstuffs and secure more eggs for human consumption. The Council is also responsible for similar assistance to domestic rabbit keepers. I consider that in these circumstances the expenditure of the Council is amply justified. I would add that the Council's organisation includes nearly 2,000 voluntary workers, whose efforts in this national cause I greatly appreciate.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how much land approximately in acreage is now occupied by the Army and the Royal Air Force, giving the figures separately for England, Scotland and Wales?

It would not, I think, be in the public interest to publish these figures.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the hard- ship likely to be caused to the towns of Eye and Framlingham through the calling-up of doctors which will leave each of these large rural areas with only one medical practitioner; and whether he will consider allowing two doctors for each of these districts, particularly in view of the changed circumstances owing to war conditions?

I am informed by the Central Medical War Committee, whose local committees are responsible for selecting doctors for recruitment to the Forces, that with the assistance of neighbouring practitioners the areas referred to can be adequately served. I am not prepared to dissent from the view of the committee, having regard to the great need for economy in medical man-power, to which I recently drew attention when introducing the Estimates of my Department.

asked the Minister of Health whether, where no staff superannuation scheme exists, an approved society, under the National Health Insurance Acts Regulations, may make a grant out of administration funds, based on years of service, to the widows of late members of their staff?

No, Sir. An approved society could not properly make to the widow of a deceased member of their staff a grant out of the funds available for administration.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of complaints of members of the Amalgamated Engineering Union resident in the Sunderland area that tuberculous patients, owing to the shortage of nurses, are unable to obtain prompt treatment and that patients requiring the same are compelled to wait months before admission to sanatoria; and whether steps will be taken to remedy this disability?

I have not received complaints to the effect suggested in the first part of the Question, but if my hon. Friend can let me have further particulars I will look into them. My information is that on 30th June last there was in Sunderland a waiting list of eight and that the nursing staff for sanatorium beds is very little below establishment.

asked the Minister of Health (1) how long it will be before the report is available of the Tuberculosis Committee of the Medical Research Council, which was set up at his request last year, to undertake a speedy investigation into things which might be done as a matter of immediate practical reform;(2) whether he will now call for a summary of the Tuberculosis Committee's findings up to date so that action can be considered forthwith on any recommendations made?

I understand that this report is almost complete and that it will be reaching me very shortly. It will contain interim recommendations as to the steps to be taken forthwith.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of recent developments, he will take the necessary powers to make vaccination against smallpox and injections against other infectious and epidemic diseases compulsory?

No, Sir. I am advised that recent occurrences have not afforded any justification for such a change of policy as is suggested, but I shall continue to do all in my power to encourage immunisation against certain infectious diseases, either as a routine or when special circumstances call for such action.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the decrease in the numbers of practising midwives and the danger of a breakdown in the maternity service, he will take steps to effect an improvement in wages and conditions of service for all actively engaged midwives; and what explanation he can offer for the substantial falling-off in mid-wives practising in 1941 as compared with 1940?

I have appointed a committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Rushcliffe, to draw up agreed scales of salaries and emolument for midwives. The numerous calls upon nurses, many of whom are also midwives, are, I think, mainly responsible for the fact that some of the midwives previously practising have been diverted into other channels.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that while the increased incidence of tuberculosis in females of the age group 15 to 25 is maintained, there is a sharp rise in two new categories, children under five years of age and inmates of mental hospitals; what suggestions the Medical Research Council has made to explain the rise in the first category, young women; and whether he has any explanation of the rise in the two new categories cited?

Yes, Sir. The points referred to in the second and third parts of the Question will, I understand, be dealt with in the report on the inquiry made by the Medical Research Council, which I am expecting to receive very shortly.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the hardship caused by the operation of Section 123 of, and the Eighth Schedule to, the Local Government Act, 1929, whereby, under paragraph 14, certain persons taking up employment under a local authority with the object of furthering the war effort are bound to work without any payment whatever for their services; and whether he will consider what action can be taken to remove such hardship?

I am aware of the statutory provisions referred to which relate to compensation for loss of office, but they do not have the effect mentioned in the Question. Remuneration payable for the new employment would not operate to reduce the amount of compensation unless the two together exceeded the remuneration for which compensation was granted. I am not satisfied that any hardship is involved which calls for amending legislation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he can give any information in connection with the case brought against Burneys, Limited, Rochdale, related to the purchase of rationed commodities; how many people were concerned in the case; and the amount of the penalties imposed?

Burneys, Limited, were prosecuted at Rochdale on 13th July together with 10 other persons and firms. The summonses related to supplying and obtaining rationed foods illegally and to other offences against Ministry of Food Orders. The persons and firms so prosecuted were convicted, the total fines imposed amounting to £11,200.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether a smallholder or cottage gardener who has less than 25 hens can grow potatoes and other crops suitable for human consumption for the sole purpose of feeding his chickens?

The use of certain crops, including wheat and potatoes, for feeding to livestock is subject to restrictions particulars of which I will give to my hon. Friend. Other crops, however, are not subject to these restrictions and there is nothing in any Orders of my Department to prevent a poultry keeper, if he has facilities, from growing such crops for feeding to his poultry.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware of the injustice involved when a Service man is killed in battle and his widow is no longer eligible for a grant of free milk and vitamins for her children; and whether he will reconsider his decision on this point?

The basic regulations of the national milk and vitamins schemes provide that milk and vitamins may be supplied free where the weekly income of two parents is 40s. or less, or of a surviving parent 27s. 6d. or less, plus 6s. in respect of each non-earning dependant. I do not feel that there is any injustice in a person whose income is in excess of the amount mentioned being ineligible for free milk and vitamins.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been called to the closing down by the egg branch of his Department of the packing station of Mr. J. E. Ratcliffe, of Church Farm, Ratby, Leicestershire; and whether as this man has traded for 25 years as collector and wholesale retailer; has acquired an electric grader at the cost of £50 as a condition of obtaining a packer's licence, granted last year; is, with his wife, the sole worker, both being over military age; and as 75 per cent. of the eggs handled are brought to the station by local producers, thus avoiding any waste of petrol, he will reconsider the closing of this packing station?

I am fully aware of the suspension of the packing station of Mr. Ratcliffe. There were eight packing stations in Leicester and its immediate neighbourhood and investigation proved that the needs of the area would be fully met by three. The other five, selected after careful consideration, of which Mr. Ratcliffe's was one, were therefore closed to meet the urgent need for economy in transport and man power. My Noble Friend is not prepared to reconsider this decision. My information is that most of the small quantity of eggs handled by Mr. Ratcliffe were either collected by himself or by a licensed buyer. Mr. Ratcliffe will, I understand, be compensated for his loss of business from a fund contributed to by the remaining packers.

asked the Minister of Suply whether, in view of the need for metals and to reduce labour on nonessential work, he will take steps to acquire for war purposes all unnecessary affixed brass and other metal plates; and whether he will give early notice to owners, and to those who will be responsible for collection?

The Ministry of Supply is now organising a special appeal for non-ferrous metals, including unwanted household brass and copper. I am glad of this opportunity to emphasise the importance of the public responding to this drive by handing over to the local collectors all brass, copper and other non-ferrous articles such as, for example, brass plates no longer essential.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Planning whether an officer has been appointed to deal with the question of the collection of scrap metal from collieries and other industrial undertakings in the county of Durham; and how much metal has been collected up to date?

The appointment of an officer to deal particularly with the collection of scrap metal in the Durham and Northumberland coalfield is under consideration. During the last nine months over 33,000 tons of metal have been collected in the County of Durham by my Department in addition to the ordinary scrap collected through the trade.

asked the Attorney-General whether, in view of the fact that many people under the age of 21 years have been killed in air-raids, he will introduce a short Bill to give to all infants for the period of the war the authority to make wills which has been granted to soldiers, sailors and airmen who have not yet attained the age of 21?

The Government do not propose to introduce legislation for the purpose indicated by my right hon. Friend. The rule that infants cannot make wills has been long established in English law. The exemption from this rule which has been extended as a matter of privilege to infant soldiers, sailors and airmen is founded on principles which do not apply to members of the civilian population.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will end the practice or the rule under which commanding officers have power to stop a soldier's pay up to 28 days, including the allotment made to his wife and family?

The hon. Member appears to be under a misapprehension. In cases where a soldier's pay is stopped for not, more than 28 days the allowances to his wife and family continue unaffected.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether Messrs. Herman Shapiro, Limited, of Doncaster, hold a contract for the purchase of horses which are aged or unfit for the Army service.

No, Sir. I am glad to take this opportunity of correcting in this respect the answer given to my hon. Friend on Tuesday, 9th June, which was based on a misinterpretation of a report which had been rendered on his Question.

asked the Secretary of State for War on what principles soldiers are released to help on farms; and will he make this easier where strong grounds can be shown?

The release of soldiers from the Army for agricultural purposes is governed by the same principles as release for other purposes of national importance. Upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Agriculture cases are examined by a joint committee of the War Office and the Ministry of Labour and National Service, who consider the relative value of the man's services to agriculture and in the Army. If this committee so recommends, the soldier will normally be released.

asked the Secretary of State for War what tropical kit allowance is payable to officers serving in Canada who have been instructed to provide such kit?

Officers proceeding to Canada are now warned before departure that tropical kit will be required, and are eligible to receive the normal allowance granted to officers proceeding to a tropical station for the first time. This is £5 if the outfit allowance originally paid to them was £40 (or £45 if they were commissioned on or after 1st January, 1941). If the outfit allowance originally paid was £30 (or £35), this amount is increased to the full allowance of £40 (or £45), on proceeding to a tropical station for the first time, and no additional allowance is issued specifically for the purchase of tropical kit. It has, however, only recently been decided that tropical kit is required in Canada, and officers already in the country have therefore had to purchase locally. Owing to the cost of purchase in Canada a special grant of 48 dollars has been approved for such officers. A similar grant would be considered for officers leaving this country on very short notice with no time to get tropical kit before going.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that in the West of England, builders' emergency organisations were formed at the express wish of the Government; whether he has placed any contracts with these organisations; and whether he proposes to place any in the near future?

I am aware that builders' emergency organisations have been set up in various parts of the country under the auspices of the Ministry of Works and Planning as consultative and advisory bodies. They do not undertake contracts and the War Department has placed no contracts with them.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that, in the West of England, builders' emergency organisations were formed at the express wish of the Government; whether he has placed any contracts with these organisations; and whether he proposes to place any in the near future?

The answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes." As to the second part, these organisations are purely advisory in their functions. The last part of the Question does not therefore arise.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, to remove misapprehension, especially so far as secondary schools are concerned as to the reasons for which schools are to be kept "open during the holidays, he will broadcast a statement for the benefit of parents and pupils, teachers and local education authorities, indicating what purposes can be served by keeping the schools open, and what kinds of programmes he has in mind for the children who attend?

The purposes to be served by keeping schools open and the kind of programme contemplated are described in the Board's Circular 1596, a copy of which I am sending to the hon. Member. Arrangements have been and are being made by local education and school authorities to inform teachers, pupils and parents on these matters. I am most grateful to the teachers, who have made a generous response to this circular.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will empower local education authorities to give financial assistance, when considered desirable, to Air Training Corps units, as they can already do to units of Sea Cadets.

Units of the A.T.C. receive from the Air Ministry a substantially higher measure of grant-aid than units of the Sea Cadets and Army Cadet Force receive from the Admiralty and War Office respectively, and the Air Ministry have taken the view that it is not desirable that their grants, which are sufficient to cover the cost of the primary activities of the corps, and which may, where necessary, be augmented from a central fund maintained from Air Votes, should be supplemented by grant-aid from educational funds. As, however, the hon. Member will see from Administrative Memorandum No. 278, a copy of which I am sending him, local education authorities are encouraged to give A.T.C. units all possible assistance in the way of the provision of classes, instructors and the use of premises.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will give an estimate of the number of boys and girls and men and women teachers now teaching under Part II and Part III education authorities, respectively; the number of ex-teachers who have temporarily returned to their profession during the war; the number of scholars of both sexes for whom the Board would have to make provision when the school-leaving age is raised to 15 and 16 years, respectively; and the number and type of teachers who would then be required?

I append the latest figures of full-time public elementary school teachers. There are in addition a small number of student and pupil teachers but exact figures are not available. No figures of ex-teachers who have temporarily returned to the profession are available. In reply to the remainder of the Question I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for the English Universities (Mr. E. Harvey) on 14th July, a copy of which I am sending him.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he can state, for the year 1938–39, the percentage of ex-public elementary school pupils, aged between 10 and 11, admitted to secondary schools in the county councils of Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Kent, Lancashire, Merionethshire, Staffordshire, Surrey and the West Riding, and in the county boroughs of Birmingham, Blackpool, Bolton, Bradford, Brighton, Burnley, Eastbourne, Gateshead, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Merthyr Tydfil, Oxford, St. Helens, Southport, Swansea, Wallasey, West Ham and West Hartlepool?

I regret that the information required is not available, since under war conditions the collection and compilation of statistics has been reduced to a minimum.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that a deputation from the Federation of Education Authorities for Wales interviewed his predecessor before their removal to Bournemouth asking that a separate department be given to Wales to deal exclusively with Welsh educational problems; and will he now consider the request and grant the transfer formerly applied for in view of the general demand for such an office in Wales?

I am aware that a deputation from the Federation of Education Authorities for Wales and Monmouthshire was received by my predecessor in office as recently as 16th July, 1941, on the question of a separate department in Wales to deal with Welsh educational problems. Having regard to the inconveniences which would result from the separation of the Welsh Department from the administrative branches of the Board and from the executive and clerical grades, the staff of which are common to England and Wales, I do not think, on the information before me, that the formation of a separate Department in Wales would in war conditions conduce to the more efficient conduct of the business of the Department.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many local education authorities have notified him that boys were unable to join pre-service units and other organisations or to take advantage of evening classes owing to excessive hours of work?

In the case of over 40 areas the information received by my Department contained references to long hours worked by boys, and in a few of these cases it was suggested that long working hours precluded participation in evening classes, or other Youth Service activities. I have sent my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service all information in my possession for examination, together with any information given by local education authorities to H.M. Factory Inspectors and local Employment Exchanges in accordance with the arrangement set out in Administrative Memorandum No. 371, a copy of which I am sending the hon. Member.

asked the Home Secretary in what nature of cases the photograph and/or finger prints of a person accused are taken before he appears in court; whether in all cases where a prisoner is sentenced his photograph and fingerprints are taken; what becomes of these means of identification in cases where subsequently a free pardon is recommended; and how the individual can be satisfied that they are not preserved either locally or in any other place?

Where a person is committed to prison, either to await his trial or after conviction, his photograph and finger-prints may be taken in pursuance of regulations made under Section 8 of the Penal Servitude Act, 1891. If an untried prisoner objects an order of the Secretary of State or an application in writing signed by an officer of police of not lower rank than superintendent, and approved by a Justice of the Peace, or in the Metropolitan Police District by the Commissioner of Police or an Assistant Commissioner, is necessary. Photographs and finger-prints are normally taken in indictable cases and in certain other specified cases. If a person is charged with an offence but is not committed to prison, the police normally take his finger-prints and photograph in the same kind of case. This action is, however, taken only if the individual raises no objection. If the photograph and finger-prints of an untried prisoner who has not previously been convicted of crime are taken by the police or by the prison authorities and the individual is subsequently discharged or acquitted by the court, these records are forthwith destroyed or handed over to the person concerned. If a free pardon is granted, the police and the prison authorities act in the same way as if the individual had been acquitted. An individual to whom a free pardon is granted and who has not previously been convicted of crime may at any time approach the chief officer of police concerned for an assurance that the police records have been destroyed. As I have informed my hon. Friend the records in the particular case in which he is interested have already been destroyed.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he can furnish a table showing the numbers of individuals above the limit of exemption for Income Tax for the past year, classified by ranges of income up to £250, £250 to £500, £500 to £1,000, £1,000 to £2,000, £2,000 to £3,000, £3,000 to £5,000, £5,000 to £10,000, £10,000 to £25,000, £25,000 to £50,000, £50,000 to £100,000 and over £100,000, together with the amount of income assessed in each range of income and the total tax payable thereon as compared with similar particulars for the year 1938–39?

The information desired is given in the following table:

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give an assurance that no advance copies of the Beveridge Report were made available to a part-time assistant Press officer at the Board of Trade before the report was made available to the House of Commons; and whether he will give an assurance that, in cases where priority reports are issued to the Press, they are given out to the whole of the Press and that no official connected with the Board of Trade is allowed to make personal contact with individual journalists for the purpose of conveying inspired views?

Some officers of the Board of Trade, including the Press officer apparently referred to, saw the Beveridge Report before its publication on 28th April. The answer to the second and third parts of the Question is "Yes, Sir."

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the cost of advertising for each Government Department for the period commencing 1st September, 1939, to 30th June, 1942?

Following are the figures from 1st September, 1939, to 30th June, 1942.

asked the Minister of Information to what extent he is responsible for controlling and scrutinising advertisements from the various Government Departments or for acting in an advisory capacity in this connection; and whether he will confer with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to see what steps can be taken to centralise and organise the advertising of the various Government Departments with a view to effecting economies and preventing unnecessary overlapping?

The Ministry of Information is the central organ for the conduct of Government publicity and is in effective control of the advertising campaigns of all Departments excepting two.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware of the waste of sawdust, of which it is estimated that 1,000 tons a day are produced; whether any research has been made to turn sawdust into fuel briquettes, wood alcohol, manure or pulp for paper making; and, in view of the present fuel problem, what action he is prepared to take in this connection?

I have been asked to reply. I am aware that a large quantity of sawdust is available. Some of it is being used. Research with a view to finding useful outlets for the remainder has been in progress for some time and these investigations are being continued. There is little prospect of large quantities being utilised either for wood alcohol, paper pulp or fertiliser; these uses are scientifically possible, but not practicable under war conditions. As regards the utilisation of sawdust in the manufacture of a briquette for burning, recently some advance has been made in this direction and an initial plant is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will consult with the Paymaster-General with a view to ensuring that Scottish interests shall receive their full share of consideration in any scheme for future development works?

Yes, Sir. I am in close and constant touch with my colleagues, including my right hon. Friend the Paymaster-General, on this matter.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he has completed the investigation into the use of petrol and motor-vehicles for the rehearsing and production of a play in an aircraft factory; whether the firm have or have not been found at fault; and what action is being taken in the matter?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the French warships at Alexandria came under British control previous to the Vichy-German armistice; what orders Admiral Godefroy has recently had from Premier Laval; and how such a communication has reached him?

An agreement was made between Admiral Godefroy and the Commander - in - Chief, Mediterranean, shortly after the Vichy-German Armistice, which, as my hon. Friend will recall, became effective on 25th June, 1940. This agreement provided for the immobilisation of the Vichy ships in Alexandria. The Vichy Government have published a statement that on 26th June this year the

The investigations are not yet complete.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will state, on a comparable basis, the prices at some date about June or July, 1939, and at the nearest date to July, 1942, for which statistics are available, of all the main by-products of coal obtained in the manufacture of coke, including benzole, toluol, creosote, phenol and naphtha?

Toluol, creosote and phenol are not obtained as such in the manufacture of coke. Toluol is a byproduct of crude benzole and creosote and phenol are produced in the distillation of crude tar. The price received for crude benzole depends upon the quality of the material and is at present based upon the C.I.F. price of motor spirit. Toluol is under the control of the Ministry of Supply. Creosote and phenol are under price and distribution control by the Ministry of Fuel and Power. No exact statistics exist regarding the prices received for creosote oil in 1939. The nearest comparable figures at present available are:French Admiralty sent instructions to Admiral Godefroy that in the event of British forces evacuating Alexandria, the squadron was to attempt to reach a French port. If they found this impossible, they should remain in Alexandria under the French flag. In no circumstances were they to follow the British in their withdrawal or to allow the ships to fall into foreign hands.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will issue instructions to ensure that prisoners of war are marched on foot to their work in as many cases as possible and are not unnecessarily conveyed in petrol-consuming lorries over short distances?

This is a question for the employing Departments, who are, I understand, guided in their practice by considerations of economy, not only of petrol, but also of time. So far as concerns the War Office there is no objection to the prisoners walking to their work, except that if the distance is more than three miles they must have an escort.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) the number of licences granted, to the last available date, under the Location of Retail Businesses Order, 1941, showing, separately, each, category of goods and services within each of the price regulation regions;(2) The number, to the last available date, of licences applied for, and the number of licences granted, under the Location of Retail Businesses Orders, 1941, for hairdressing services, giving separate figures for each of the price regulation regions?

I am sending my hon. and gallant Friend the information for which he asks.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Planning whether he is aware that a good deal of requisitioning of furnished houses and flats is taking place in the London area and elsewhere, while empty premises, close to the places commandeered, appear to be available; and why this is not avoided?

The requisitioning of premises in occupation is avoided wherever practicable. The number of furnished flats and houses requisitioned by my Department recently is small and of these a substantial proportion was unoccupied. It sometimes happens that in blocks of flats most of which are vacant there are a few occupied flats which it is necessary to requisition. There are various factors to take into account in selecting accommodation and it is not possible to restrict the choice entirely to empty premises.