asked the Minister of Health whether the recommendations of the Rushcliffe Report of a 96-hour fortnight for the general body of nurses have been adopted by voluntary and municipal hospitals in this country as a statutory obligation; and whether these hours are inclusive of time off for meals?

The Nurses Salaries Committee recommended that a 96-hour fortnight should be brought into national operation as soon as circumstances permit, at a date to be determined by me, having regard to the availability of staff and subject to the requirements of the service. I could not say that the supply of nurses at the present time is sufficient to enable a 96-hour fortnight to be worked at all hospitals. The Committee make no reference to time spent at meals, but the interdepartmental committee under the chairmanship of Lord Athlone, to whose recommendations the Rushcliffe Committee draw attention, said that the 96-hour fortnight was meant to be exclusive of time spent at meals.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of a waiting list of some 500 tuberculosis cases in Wales, additional hospital accommodation can be provided for the reception of these patients?

asked the Minister of Health whether the maternity and child welfare committee of a town council have executive power over nursery centres; and to what extent the town council has power to override a decision regarding the conditions of admission to such a nursery arranged by the maternity and child welfare committee?

The maternity and child welfare committee of a welfare authority is appointed under Section 201 of the Public Health Act, 1936. The authority may delegate to the committee all or any of their powers under Part VII of that Act (other than the power of levying a rate or of borrowing money) and the answer to my hon. Friend's Question in any particular case will depend upon the extent of any such delegation.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Ness Edwards) on 15th July on this subject.

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of diphtheria and scarlet fever were notified in England and Wales in 1938, 1939, 194o, 1941 and 1942; and how many deaths from each of those diseases were registered in those years, under and over 15 years of age.

The figures for which my hon. Friend asks are as follow:

asked the Minister of Health whether he can give some indication to local authorities of the form and amount of financial assistance that will be available to them in the post-war housing schemes?

No, Sir, but I shall be happy to discuss the matter with the associations of local authorities when they so desire. As however the main factors to be taken into account are the cost of house-building and rent-paying capacity during the post-war period, I doubt whether a discussion at the present time would serve any useful purpose.

asked the Minister of Health the number of agricultural cottages for which tenders have now been accepted; the number of these based on the plans prepared respectively by his Department and by the Ministry of Works; the highest and lowest accepted tenders, exclusive of land, roads and sewers, for the different types; the number of houses on which work has been begun, or will be begun, before the end of the month; and what action he proposes to take in regard to the houses for which acceptable tenders have not yet been received?

Tenders have been accepted for 2,668 cottages, of which 2,580 are to be built to the plans prepared by my Department and 88 to the plans prepared by the Ministry of Works. For the cottages based on Ministry of Health plans the highest accepted tenders, exclusive of land, roads, sewers, architects' fees, etc., are £971 for parlour houses and £868 for non-parlour houses. The lowest accepted tenders are £644 for parlour houses and £646 for non-parlour houses. The comparable figures for houses on the Ministry of Works plans, which are all non-parlour, are £807 highest and £635 lowest. Work has begun on 917 houses and is expected to begin on another 595 by the end of the month. As regards the last part of the Question it has been decided that the best course is for the councils concerned to make further efforts to obtain satisfactory tenders and that the best way in which the services of the large builders can be utilised will be to invite them to tender for the individual schemes.

asked the Home Secretary how many churches and chapels have been destroyed or damaged in Great Britain by enemy bombing since the war began; and how many of these churches were Roman Catholic?

There are no separate statistics relating solely to churches and chapels, but I understand that the War Damage Commission have received notification of damage in respect of 13,895 churches, monasteries, convents and other ecclesiastical buildings, exclusive of schools, vicarages or residential buildings. The statistics do not distinguish between Romar Catholic and other buildings.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in cases of illegal trading in food, he can arrange for the nationality of persons convicted to be published in court?

In cases in which a convicted person is an alien it is, according to my information, the usual practice to state his nationality when information about his antecedents is given to the court before sentence is passed. Arrangements are also in existence for informing my Department of any case when an individual convicted of black market offences is an alien, so that a careful watch may be kept and any appropriate action taken.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it will be possible to accord somewhat greater facilities to the herring fishing fleet during periods when the season is at its height?

The possibility of according greater facilities to all classes of fishermen is constantly under review. A considerable additional area has very recently been made available for the period when the herring fishing is at its height.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether it was with his authority that panels under the Livestock (Control) Order, 1942, were sent by county war agricultural executive committees to farms during harvest time, thus diverting workers from the vital task of gathering in the crops; and will he issue general instructions to county agricultural committees that such visitations should stand over till the harvest is secured?

The responsibilities of county war agricultural executive committees for securing greater efficiency in livestock production involve visits to farms throughout the year. The committees are mainly composed of practical farmers and can, I think, be relied upon to bear in mind the considerations advanced by my hon. Friend without special instructions from me.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can make any statement on the appearance of potato blight in Scotland; and whether he is confident that adequate means for spraying are available?

I am informed that potato blight has appeared in the counties of Fife and Aberdeen, but that the outbreaks, which are slight and are confined to small areas, do not appear to be spreading. Arrangements have been made to enable growers in Scotland who do not possess spraying machines to have the spraying done by contract. I understand that the contractors are having no difficulty in undertaking all the spraying which growers have asked to be carried out.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, in the scheme for post-war educational facilities and training, consideration has been given to the eligibility of those women wardens, working at present with children of two to five years of age in war-time nurseries, who desire to be included in the scheme, so that, after suitable training, they may act as qualified nursery school teachers in the schools foreshadowed in the new educational proposals?

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a leaflet from Section 3 of which he will see that the scheme for post-war educational facilities and training is intended primarily for persons in certain specified categories. Other persons, however, who have been engaged on other work of national importance will not be excluded and consideration will be given to applications from suitable women who have served as wardens of war-time nurseries.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in the arrangements for the temporary transfer of workers from the West Indies to the United States of America, provision can be made for workmen's compensation in America and some provision made in the event of death or injury to and from America?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to a similar Question by the hon. Member for the Combined English Universities (Mr. Harvey) on 14th July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that out of some 5o Colonial Assemblies that of Trinidad is the only one where the Government or official members sit on the left of the Chair; whether he is aware of any special reasons for the seating arrangements in Trinidad; and whether, in view of the importance of similarity of procedure as a link of Empire, he will take steps to bring the seating arrangements in Trinidad into conformity with those of other Assemblies throughout the British Empire?

I am aware of the practice under which in the Trinidad Legislative Council, the official members sit on the left of the Chair. I assume that the reasons for this practice are local choice and convenience, and I should not be prepared to press for any change which the Council itself was reluctant to accept.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any declarations on reconstruction schemes in Palestine have been made; and whether the future plans are being prepared on the assumption of the White Paper policy?

An indication of the Palestine Government's plans for postwar rehabilitation and reconstruction was given in an official communiqué issued at Jerusalem on 23rd March and in a broadcast address by the High Commissioner of the same date. I am sending copies of these statements to my hon. Friend. As regards the second part of the Question, I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Consett (Mr. David Adams) on 7th July.

asked the Minister of Labour how far it is intended still further to enforce the calling-up of one-man and one-woman shopkeepers?

My right hon. Friend is not prepared to put any general stop on the calling up of persons in the position described. Before, however, action is taken to withdraw them from their businesses, they are given an opportunity of applying for their cases to be considered on grounds of exceptional business hardship.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that, owing to lack of appropriate accommodation in Glasgow, particularly over week-ends, some 200 to 300 merchant sailors and others sleep in the pews of St. Martins-in-the-Fields Church, Glasgow; and whether he will take steps to provide more hostel accommodation?

No, Sir. My information is that the need for accommodation for merchant seamen in Glasgow has now been fully met. Some time ago a serious shortage was reported to the Glasgow Port Welfare Committee and, in accordance with their recommendations, action was taken to provide additional accommodation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is satisfied that the markets made available for early potatoes from Lincolnshire are sufficient to ensure a reasonable clearance of the land and so enable farmrs to avoid an undue pressure of work till later in the year?

Yes, Sir. I am advised that with the increase in demand which may be expected to follow the recent reduction of price by subsidy, the present arrangements for marketing Lincolnshire potatoes provide a reasonable rate of clearance. My Department will however be prepared to consider applications to facilitate clearance where it is in the national interest that land should be cleared.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that there are thousands of tons of potatoes deteriorating in the ground in Northern Ireland; and what steps are being taken to use these potatoes for human or animal food?

No, Sir, it is not a fact that thousands of tons of potatoes are deteriorating in the ground in Northern Ireland. I am informed that maximum quantities of new potatoes are being processed at all available factories either for human or animal consumption. I would refer to the reply which I gave on the 21st inst., to the hon. Member for Down (Dr. Little).

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what steps his Department is taking to control the supply and distribution of horseflesh as this commodity is being used as a supplementary food for human consumption; and whether, as with the present increased demand for this commodity there may be a number of illicit slaughtering establishments where horses are killed without the use of the humane killer and as the controlled price for horseflesh has resulted in such an increase in the prices paid for live horses that the knacker can now outbid the farmer or small trader with the consequent loss to the community as a whole, he will consider fixing a price for a live animal?

In view of the relatively small quantity of food involved the existing control measures referred to in my reply to the hon. Member on 1st July are regarded as adequate. The use for the business of slaughtering horses of any premises which are not licensed by the local authority to be kept as a slaughterhouse or knacker's yard is an offence under the Food and Drugs Act, 1938. Suitable action would be taken upon any evidence of contravention of the Statute. The maximum prices for horseflesh for human consumption were prescribed in consultation with the agricultural departments who were naturally concerned that they should not be placed at such a level as would lead to unduly high prices being paid for horses fit for further work. The prescribing of prices for live horses sold for slaughter would present considerable difficulty owing to the wide variation in condition and killing-out percentage. In the case of livestock bought for slaughter by my Department, it has been found necessary to devise a scale of prices varying with the grade of animal coupled with administrative machinery for control of the grading. This could not be jutified in the case of horses.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food, of the 378 self-wholesaleing retailers, how many have an average daily turnover, respectively, of 750 to 999 gallons, 1,000 to 1,249 gallons, 1,250 to 1,499 and over 1,500 gallons; and how many self-whole-saleing retailers are also owners of depots or creameries?

The following is the information desired:

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he can give any approximate estimate of the cost of the proposals contained in Command 6459, either per 1000 substantiated appeals, or in any other convenient form?

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council, in opening the Debate on 20th July, that the financial effect must depend on the unknown fact of the weight of casualties. The proposals, in themselves vary so widely that their cost could not be reflected by an estimate on the basis suggested.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will give consideration to the desirability of ensuring that, after the cessation of hostilities, no British firm or association of firms shall enter into arrangements, or join a cartel or similar organisation with British or foreign firms or associations, for the purpose of restricting production, the fixation of prices or allocation of markets without the prior consent of the Government; and that the terms of any such arrangement be laid before Parliament for approval before it becomes operative?

This question is already receiving consideration along with other questions of post-war economic policy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the promised improvement in the supply of utility furniture in Swansea has not materialised; and what prospects there are for an early delivery of such goods?

There is a gradual improvement in the volume of supplies of utility furniture in South Wales. I would refer my hon. Friend to the replies I gave on this subject to my hon. Friends, the Members for Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths) and Central Hull (Mr. Windsor) on 6th July and 20th July respectively, of which I am sending him copies.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that hospital authorities are demanding one clothing coupon per week from every in-patient; and will he issue instructions to prevent this exploitation?

Under a scheme to which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health and the associations representing local authorities have agreed, patients who are provided with clothing in hospitals must surrender coupons. If they did not, they would receive more than their fair share of clothing. I am sending details of the scheme to my hon. Friend.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he is now in a position to announce the names of the persons who are being sent by his Department to America to study and report on new building methods?

My Noble Friend has asked the following to constitute the mission which is to proceed to the United States of America to study and report upon new building methods:—Mr. Alfred Bossom, F. R. I. B. A., J. P, M. P.Sir George Burt, Chairman of the Building Research Board.Sir James West, O.B.E., F. R. I. B. A.Mr. Frank Wolstencroft, who is General Secretary, Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers and Vice Chairman, British Trade Union Congress.