asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether the prosecution of Miss Lillian B. Mitchell and Messrs. Charles Witt and Edward S. Boast at Sudbury on the 15th September, was instituted with his knowledge and consent; whether the methods employed by his officials to obtain convictions had his approval; and will he institute inquiries into the means adopted, especially in the case of the prosecution of Miss Mitchell?

The prosecutions referred to were instituted by the Sudbury Food Control Committee and my Noble Friend sees no reason to disagree with the action taken. The officers concerned appear to have acted according to their instructions throughout and in no way to have exceeded their duty. Accordingly I am of the opinion that no inquiry is necessary.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether the prosecution of Mr. William C. Barnes, at Sudbury, on the 15th instant, was instituted with his knowledge and consent; who was arbiter as to the condition of the oat flakes which were alleged to be fit for human consumption; whether this person had any expert knowledge of the subject; and what compensation will be awarded to Mr. Barnes for loss of time in attending on this abortive prosecution?

The prosecution referred to was instituted by the Sudbury Food Control Committee. There was no reference to the headquarters of the Department. I understand that evidence of the condition of the oat flakes was given by a divisional enforcement officer and by the food executive officer. Neither officer has expert knowledge of oats. No question of compensation arises in this case.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in view of the permission given to householders to make ice-cream for their own use, he will sanction co-operation between several neighbouring householders by which one will make the ice-cream and distribute it to the others, who will jointly defray the cost of the materials?

No. Sir.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether an adequate supply of milk will be provided for miners at the pit canteens?

Supplies of milk are available to pithead canteens on the same basis as other canteens. This supply is adequate for serving milk with hot beverages, but in the present supply position it is not, generally speaking, practicable to allocate milk for direct consumption to canteens which have not obtained it in the past.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is prepared to authorise, on payment, the publication in pamphlet form of the principal "Food Facts" and recipes which have appeared in the public Press?

Selected recipes from Ministry of Food advertisements have been issued from time to time in the form of leaflets, which are available to the public free of charge, and various Ministry of Food recipes have been published in 6d. booklet form. This policy will be continued as far as the supply of paper permits.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what has been the cost of National Vegetable Marketing Board, Limited; and what proportion of that cost has been recovered from the trade?

The National Vegetable Marketing Board was established by my Department to undertake the distribution of carrots and onions of the 1941 crop. The sale of carrots was subsidised and although a small profit was made by the company out of the sale of onions, this was more than offset by the "loss" on carrots. The administrative expenses of the company, including directors' remuneration, salaries, wages and rentals, from its inception on 13th May, 1941, to 31st July, 1942, amounted to £99,478, no part of which was recovered from the company's trading.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what progress has been made since 15th April with tests of the watercraft designed by Mr. George Constantinesco?

I understand that Mr. Constantinesco has privately made arrangements for the development of the watercraft referred to, but no technical information has yet been given to the Admiralty about the craft or about the progress made.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that shipbuilding on the Clyde is handicapped by the distance that workers have to travel to their work owing to the fact that their houses have been destroyed by enemy action and cannot, under existing arrangements, be rebuilt; and what steps he is taking to remove this handicap and enable these workers to respond to the full to recent Government appeals for increased shipping production?

The housing of war workers in Scotland is primarily a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and I would refer the hon. Member to the replies which my right hon. Friend has already made to similar Questions put to him on 6th October. The steps which have been taken to improve transport difficulties have been dealt with by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport. My officers on the Clyde are fully alive to the importance of proper travelling facilities and are constantly in communication with the Regional Transport Commissioner over the difficulties which have arisen and the measures to be taken to remedy them.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty why no naval or air protection was accorded during its voyage to a ship, the name of which has been sent to him, which was sunk by enemy action in the Atlantic some weeks ago?

This ship was sailing independently in an area where it is not possible to run convoys. The commitments of the Royal Navy are so great that it is not practicable to provide escort for every individual ship.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the dislike of the contents of his letter dated 9th July, 1942, to the chairman of the Nuffield Trustees, indicating proposals to organise surveys of local authority hospitals and that a secret report is to be made to him by the voluntary organisation on co-ordination and development of the service in the area the local authority administers; and what indications he has had from Welsh local authorities of their unwillingness for such surveys and secret reports to be made by a voluntary body on their statutory responsibilities?

No, Sir. My right hon. Friend has received no such representations from Welsh local authorities, and the second paragraph of the letter referred to indicates that the Nuffield. Trustees will undertake surveys only after the representatives of the voluntary hospitals and of the local authorities in the areas concerned have signified their willingness for a survey to be organised.

asked the Paymaster-General whether he is aware that men in the Forces now serving overseas are uncertain whether men serving at home will be given priority over them in demobilisation and return to civilian jobs when the war is over, to the detriment of their own chances of employment after being demobilised; and whether he can make any statement on the progress of the committee which is charged with laying plans for orderly demobilisation so as to minimise the risks of unemployment at that stage?

I have just received the committee's report and I can assure my hon. Friend that in our consideration of it great importance will be attached to the matters to which he refers.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the circumstances of the accident to the Sunderland aircraft on passage to Iceland in which His Royal Highness the late Duke of Kent was a passenger?

The circumstances in which the tragic accident occurred have now been investigated by a Royal Air Force court of inquiry, and the sequence of events was as follows:The aircraft, which was proceeding from a Royal Air Force Station in Scotland to Iceland, was airborne just after 1 o'clock in the afternoon of 15th August. Before departure, the correct procedure for briefing the captain as to the exact route to be followed and for providing full information about the weather conditions likely to be encountered, was complied with. Local weather conditions were not good at the time of the take-off but the general indications showed a likelihood of improvement to the westward. The captain of the aircraft was a flying-boat pilot of long experience on the particular type of aircraft which he was flying that day, and of exceptional ability. About half an hour after take-off the aircraft was heard approaching land from the sea at what appeared to be a low height, and shortly afterwards it was heard to crash into the hills.The court found: First, that the accident occurred because the aircraft was flown on a track other than that indicated in the flight plan given to the pilot, and at too low an altitude to clear the rising ground on the track; secondly, that the responsibility for this serious mistake in airmanship lies with the captain of the aircraft; thirdly, that the weather encountered should have presented no difficulties to an experienced pilot; fourthly, that the examination of the propellers showed that the engines were under power when the aircraft struck the ground, and fifthly, in accordance with K.R. & A.C.I., paragraph 1325, that all the occupants of the aircraft were on duty at the time of the accident. The Chief Inspector of Accidents is in agreement with the findings of the court.

asked the Paymaster-General whether he has yet received the report of the committee on Social Insurance; and when it will be available as a White Paper?

Sir William Beveridge's report is expected in a few weeks' time. It is proposed to publish it as soon as it is available.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power by what method and upon what dates, prior to the engagement of the contractor who was employed until the beginning of September, were the following merchants, trading at Solihull, respectively, approached by his representative with a view to unloading and stacking coal at the Solihull reserve dump: Messrs. George Harwood, T. Foster and Sons, Proctor and Lavender, Limited, Evesons (Coals), Limited, J. A. Burrows and Sons, A. H. Proctor, J. F. Fryer, W. H. Gray, T. H. Truelove and Sons; what other local merchants were approached, and when?

I am having further inquiries made into the points raised in this Question and into the other matters in connection with the coal dump at Solihull which my hon. Friend has raised. I will communicate with him as soon as these further inquiries are complete.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the rules to be observed, and the Department to which application should be made, when colliery managers apply for the discharge or release of former employees to work in the pits; is the application sent by his Department to the War Office with a formal recommendation for release in each case or does his Department discriminate in these applications, or are these applications sent to the commanding officers of the various regiments to which the men belong; and will he give the general practice adopted in dealing with these cases?

In accordance with instructions sent to all collieries in February, March and June, applications for the release of men serving in the Army at home for whom underground work is immediately available, should be made to the Ministry of Fuel and Power. All cases in which the necessary conditions are fulfilled are sent to the War Office for consideration and men in categories not expressly excluded under the arrangements authorised by the Government are released.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he has yet received an application from the Ocean Colliery Company for the release of Sapper E. A. Davies, 214534, Royal Engineers, The Lindens, Bradford Place, Penarth, Glamorganshire, to work at either the Risca or Nine Mile Point collieries; and, if so, with what result?

An application for the release of Sapper E. A. Davies to return to Nine Mile Point Colliery was received in April but the War Office were unable to release him under the arrangements for the release of ex-miners authorised by the Government.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether, where domestic consumers are compelled to accept low grades of fuel, these will be charged at appropriately lower figures; and whether the public will now be protected against exploitation from this cause?

The answer to both parts of the Question is "Yes, Sir."

asked the Minister of Aircraft Production what steps are being taken, in view of the need to conserve power and fuel, to harness the waste power produced for long periods by aircraft engines on test in factories; and whether any aero-engine works in this country have installed variable speed dynamos coupled to the propeller shafts of engines on test, as has been extensively done in the United States of America?

As I stated in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for East Middlesbrough (Mr. A. Edwards) on 29th July, experimental engine test plants designed to harness waste power were laid down some months ago. We intend that in future all new engine test plants shall be of a design which will enable waste power to be turned to useful purposes.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware that the Board of Education proposes to keep the schools open during the forthcoming autumn holidays, necessitating consumption of fuel for heating and lighting the school premises to accommodate only a small fraction of the pupils on the school rolls; and whether his Department has agreed to this use of fuel?

Yes, Sir. The question of the heating of schools during the month of October is governed by an administrative memorandum issued by the Board of Education after consultation with my Department. My hon. Friend will see from that memorandum, of which I am sending him a copy, that school central heating plants must not be used unless the school medical officer considers it essential, having regard to all the circumstances of the school, which would naturally include the number of children in attendance.

asked the Paymaster-General, how many meetings the Advisory Committee for Wales have held since their appointment: and what action has been taken to deal with new industries for postwar purposes?

I am informed that the Advisory Council on Welsh Reconstruction Problems, the appointment of which was announced on 30th June last, has held one meeting at which a number of committees were appointed. These committees have held six meetings in all. One committee, which deals with industry, has met three times and is paying attention to the problem of new industries. No reports have yet been received from the Council.

asked the Minister of Information (1) whether he is aware that information cabled from the United States of America, which is open to the rest of the world, is systematically withheld from the British public; why and on what authority this is done;(2) why the despatches of Walter Waithman, a "News Chronicle" correspondent in the United State" of America, were censored between 10th September and 21st September, in such a manner as to prevent the British public from reading quotations from American newspapers?

The British censors are not withholding the despatches of Mr. Walter Waithman or of any other American newspaper correspondent from the public.

asked the Minister of Information whether his attention has been called to the fact that the chief censor censors letters from serving constituents in the Royal Air Force to their Parliamentary representatives when such constituents are informing their Members of Parliament of their physical disabilities, such as defective sight, their low grading, and their physical handicap in performing duties allotted to them on service; and whether such censorship is approved by his Department and its continuance intended?

Letters from persons serving in the Royal Air Force are in certain areas examined by Royal Air Force Unit and Base Censorship, and in other areas by the Postal and Telegraph Censorship at the request of the Air Ministry. In each instance the object of the examination is that of operational security only, and censors are not permitted to interfere in any way with the communication to Members of Parliament of such matters as those mentioned in the Question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies the present approximate amount of unemployment in the West Indian Colonies of Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbabos, British Honduras and British Guiana, respectively; and what steps are being taken to meet the prospect of considerable unemployment consequent on the completion of the construction of the American naval bases in the West Indies?

I am unable to give the precise numbers of unemployed persons in the West Indian Colonies mentioned, particularly since so much is of an intermittent nature. My Noble Friend has been in continual touch with the Governors and many measures have already been taken or are in preparation to deal with this problem. He is now asking for an up-to-date and comprehensive review, which I hope shortly will be available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can make any statement regarding the present food situation in the West Indian Colonies; and is anything being done to extend the cultivation of quick-growing dry grain crops such as maize and millets of various kinds?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement which I gave in the House on 29th July in reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Consett (Mr. D. Adams). Since that date I am informed that the food supply situation has materially eased and immediate needs are being satisfactorily met. In addition, considerable advances are being made in the local production of foodstuffs, including the cultivation of maize and various millets including notably guinea corn, and also pulses and beans of many kinds.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies the approximate sum which has actually been allocated, under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act, 1940, to suitable schemes in the West Indies and the approximate amount spent on these schemes to date?

The amount allocated to schemes made under the Act in the West Indies up to date is £1,207,241: issues made under these schemes amount to £173,753.

asked the Prime Minister whether His Majesty's Government will invite the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to send to this country a battalion of the soldiers and citizens now defending Stalingrad in order that our towns and cities can demonstrate in a practical way the admiration felt for their heroic stand?

I doubt whether the Soviet Government would wish to withdraw at the present time from the defence of Stalingrad, for the purpose indicated, any of its active citizens or soldiers.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will cause inquiries to be made into the time taken by Government Departments in dealing with correspondence; and whether he will ask Ministers to instruct their Departments to answer letters much more promptly?

The inquiries suggested by my hon. Friend would require much time, labour and correspondence which I cannot feel would be justified by the result. Ministers are very conscious of the need for dealing with public business as expeditiously as possible, but if my hon. Friend has in mind any particular correspondence where he thinks that replies have been unreasonably delayed, he should raise the matter with the responsible Minister.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will be able to make available to the House the report of the President of the Bank for International Settlements?

I have now placed a copy in the Library. I regret that the Statement I made to the House that no copy had been received here was incorrect. Neither the Treasury nor the Bank of England had in fact received a copy, but I find that a copy had been received by the Ministry of Economic Warfare, which had not been brought to my notice.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is now able to make a statement in regard to the Fire Watching Order and the National Fire Service, including members of His Majesty's Forces serving in the national fire organisation?

As regards the first part of the Question my right hon. Friend has considered the representations which have been made to him by the Liverpool Emergency Committee, but cannot see his way to revoking the Orders relating to compulsory fire prevention duties for women. He will carefully watch the operation of the Orders and will not hesitate to modify them in any way experience may show to be necessary or expedient. As regards the second part of the Question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the replies given to my hon. Friends the Members for Bilston (Mr. Hannah) and Kings Norton (Major Peto) on 10th September and 1st October respectively.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will now consider restoring the special travel vouchers withdrawn some time ago from the workers on the Clyde who have had to evacuate their houses owing to enemy action, in view of the fact that they still have no homes to go to?

The special travel voucher scheme was only discontinued last January by the Regional Commissioner after the fullest consideration of all relevant factors, including the availability of billets in the Glasgow area. I have consulted the Regional Commissioner on the suggestion that the scheme should now be restored, but in all the circumstances I do not feel justified in asking him to reintroduce at this date a scheme which is primarily designed to meet conditions arising immediately after a heavy raid.

asked the Home Secretary when the Government intend to bring in a Bill dealing with workmen's compensation, in view of the reduction in the purchasing power of money since the last Act was passed?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent (Mr. E. Smith) on 16th July last.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that in numerous instances, examples of which have been furnished to him, the attendance of teachers at the recent opening of schools in the summer holiday considerably exceeded the attendance of pupils; and whether, in order to secure approximate uniformity of effort, he will give some ruling to local authorities as to what proportion of pupils willing to attend school in the forthcoming autumn holidays will, in the opinion of the Board, warrant the opening?

I am aware that in the case of some schools the number of children who attended was insufficient to warrant the opening of the schools during the holidays. As regards the second part of the Question I prefer to adhere to the course suggested in my answer of 9th September.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he can make any statement on the prevalence of thefts at the Liverpool docks and the steps taken to prevent them?

No complete or comparable statistics of thefts in the Liverpool Docks are available. I am afraid, however, that, at Liverpool as elsewhere, the number of thefts has undoubtedly increased since the war began. The increase is due in part to the blackout, to the shortage of packing materials, and to the consequent difficulties of ensuring adequate supervision; the large profit to be made on the black market has also been an important factor. Vigorous measures to check the abuse have been taken, with the help of all the authorities at Liverpool, and firms concerned; the police have given special attention to the matter, and have secured a number of convictions. Many persons besides dock workers have been involved, but 414 dock workers who have been guilty of theft have been dismissed.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is now in a position to give figures as to the administrative charges per ton mile in connection with the load-carrying vehicles chartered under the Government's Road Haulage Scheme; and how this compares with similar expenses of the trade pools?

The administrative charges for traffic carried in chartered vehicles under the Road Haulage Scheme are estimated at137 of a penny per ton mile. This estimate excludes the transport of meat and live stock. For traffic carried in vehicles hired through the Hauliers' National Traffic Pool, an addition must be made to cover the expenses of the pool. This is estimated at 061 of a penny per ton mile. The total administrative charge for pool traffic is thus 198 of a penny.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many Britons have returned to this country from the United States of America since the announcement of special facilities was made?

Out of about 200 volunteers who have, I understand, been accepted under the new scheme, 12 have so far reached this country. As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State explained in his reply yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth (Sir L. Lyle), the operation of the United States Conscription Act, which is designed to make full use of all man-power in the United States of America for the prosecution of the war, inevitably reduces the number of those who are free to volunteer for service in this country.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that cases of dermatitis amongst both coalminers and factory workers show an incidence for 1941 twice as great as for 1937; whether, in the case of factories, his department has received reports from its inspectors as regards conditions of ventilation, temperature, fatigue, facilities for cleansing the skin after work and other factors influencing the occurrence of dermatitis; whether provision of medical attention at factories has been reduced during the war; and whether he will consult with the Minister of Labour as to the best means of meeting this position?

I understand that there are now more cases of dermatitis in industry than before the war. In regard to the second part of the Question, inspectors of factories report not to me but to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service with whom I will consult as to whether I can be of any assistance in the matter.

asked the Minister of Health how many deaths from diphtheria were registered in the administrative county of London in the years 1939, 1940, 1941 and to the latest date available this year?

The number of deaths from diphtheria registered in the administrative county of London in the years 1939, 1940 and 1941 were as follow:—

	Males	Females
1939	51	47
1940	29	38
1941	39	43

According to provisional returns, 29 such deaths were registered in the first nine months of 1942 but for this period separate figures for the sexes are not yet available.