asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will cause inquiries to be made at the collieries, through his Regional Controllers, as to the effect on absenteeism of underground workers having to undertake Home Guard and other Civil Defence duties; will he consult both sides of the industry and make a statement after his inquiries have been completed?

No, Sir. From the information available to me absenteeism among underground coal miners directly attributable to the performance of Home Guard and Civil Defence duties is on a scale too small to justify such an inquiry.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the number of mines inspectors who in the past five years have left his staff and gone into industry; and whether he has any information as to the reasons which have led to these departures?

In the past five years seven mines inspectors (including one electrical inspector) have left the staff of the Department to take up other posts. I have no information as to the reasons which led to their departure.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he is aware that during the time when the clock at Hyde Park Corner was not working a large thorn tree grew up which obscures the face of the clock; and whether immediate steps will be taken to prune the thorn tree so that the restored clock may be visible to the public?

Yes, Sir. I had already given such instructions and the tree has now been pruned.

asked the Minister of Information whether he is aware that the fortnightly paper "Reveille," describing itself as the Services newspaper, contains in its current issue attacks upon refugees in this country; and whether, as this publication may create misunderstanding and alarm among Service readers, he will withdraw the licence for its publication?

I have seen this article. The Ministry of Information regard it as a clumsy attempt to imitate Goebbels' vicious racial prejudices. The hon. Member is mistaken in thinking that this paper operates under Government licence or that this Ministry or any other Government Department has any responsibility for, or control over, it.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether members of the sea fisheries committees for Cornwall and Devon will be able under existing regulations to obtain permits to go to sea in order to carry out the investigations they may consider necessary in pursuit of their duties?

I am informed that the members of a sea fishery committee would not normally require to proceed to sea. The executive functions of the committee are carried out through its fishery

asked the President of the Board of Education what was the net expenditure of each local education authority in Wales and Monmouthshire on elementary and higher education, respectively, in 1938–39, showing separately the amounts met from taxes and from rates?

Following is the answer:

asked the President of the Board of Education what are the amounts for Wales and Monmouthshire corresponding to the amounts given in Table 2 in the Appendix to Cmd. 6458?

I regret that as the figures to which the hon. Member refers were calculated for England and Wales as a whole it is impossible to give the information requested.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will appoint a committee to examine the effect of Section 3 of the Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1939, under which His Majesty's subjects are deprived of their common law and other rights and having regard to the fact that it was one of six Acts passed through all stages on 3rd September, 1939, and of which hon. Members had had no prior notice?

The Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1939, provided compensation on a uniform basis for civilian personnel suffering war injuries. In many cases no compensation would otherwise have been payable and in some cases it is in substitution for some other form of compensation. The Government considered it reasonable that there should be a standard scheme for all cases covered by the Act and this position would not have resulted if the alternative had been allowed of claiming under other provisions which the Act replaced. I therefore adhere to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend on the 24th November, 1942.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works the position of the owner or occupier of property from which railings have been removed by the Ministry in respect of any temporary fencing, walls or gates he may erect from discarded timber, chains, ropes or bricks, in order to protect his property?

Railings are not taken where they are considered by the scheduling authority essential for their present purpose, and the cost of any temporary fencing must fall on the person erecting it, in the absence of agreement to the contrary between owner and occupier. Compensation does not cover the cost of providing a substitute for railings or gates removed. The use of discarded timber is governed by Statutory Rules and Orders No. 931 of 1942 and 611 of 1943. Prefabricated timber, e.g. a ready-made gate, can be used without a permit. For chestnut paling a permit is required, obtainable in approved cases from the war agricultural executive committee, the local authority or the Ministry of Works. Chains are liable to be collected in the same way as railings. Rope and bricks are not controlled, but rope is in short supply. Whatever materials are used a building licence is necessary where the total cost of all the building work done at any premises in a year exceeds £100.

asked the right hon. and gallant Member for Rye, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, what complaints the Commissioners have received concerning damage by foxes done to sheep stocks on hill sheep farms in the neighbourhood of their forests in North Wales; and what measures have been taken by the Commissioners to keep fox populations in bounds?

A number of complaints have been received relating to the killing of lambs on sheep farms in North Wales by foxes harboured in the Forestry Commission's plantations; worrying of sheep has also been alleged. Foxes are plentiful in many parts of North Wales, both in the Commission's young plantations and elsewhere, and there is genuine belief among a large number of sheep farmers that foxes are guilty of all these misdeeds, but from evidence adduced it is difficult to determine the extent to which foxes are the culprits, apart from carrying off lambs already dead. Some farmers in the vicinity of the new forests claim to have suffered loss. Others state categorically that foxes have killed no sheep or lambs on their ground although foxes are constantly seen. On present testimony it is not possible to acquit the fox of a share in the depredations, but evidence is accumulating, both directly and in letters to the local newspapers, that uncontrolled dogs are responsible at least in part owing to neglect to shut up farm dogs securely at night. Six cases of sheep worrying and lamb killing by dogs are known to have occurred on farms adjacent to the Commission's forests in Merionethshire in the first three months of 1943, while during the last few seasons in Beddgelert Forest, Carnarvonshire, no fewer than seven stray dogs have been caught in traps set for foxes within the forest. The Commissioners maintain a staff of trappers to keep down forest vermin, including foxes, and they incur expenses clearing rides to facilitate fox trapping and shooting. They also subscribe to local fox-killing associations and established hunts in the infested districts. The foxes known to have been killed during the twelve months ended September, 1942, in the counties of Carnarvon, Merioneth and Montgomery (the counties chiefly concerned) numbered 894, of which 355 were destroyed by the Commission's personnel and 539 in co-operation with officers of the war agricultural executive committees and other agencies. A further total of 553 foxes are recorded as having been killed in the six months to March. 1943. The cost to the Commission of fox killing and preventive measures, subscriptions and bonuses for foxes killed in the three counties amounted in 1942 to £1,144.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the practice of raising money for war savings through auctions of luxury commodities, including whisky and certain fruits, at grossly extravagant prices, which is an unfair and unnecessary inducement to war savings investment; and, as these transactions are numerous, what steps he contemplates to discourage the practice?

I am informed that there have been cases in which auctions of the kind to which my hon. Friend refers have been held. The practice is definitely against the official policy of the National Savings Committee and is contrary to advice which they have given more than once to the local organisers of war savings campaigns. I understand that the Committee will issue a further statement emphasising the objections to this practice.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether some concession can be made in respect of liability to Income Tax for servants of the Crown normally employed abroad detained in this country owing to war conditions for over six months?

I have no power to vary the provision of the law that a person who is in the United Kingdom during a year of assessment for a period or periods amount to six months shall be chargeable to United Kingdom Income Tax for that year as a person residing in the United Kingdom. I have, however, had under consideration with my right hon. and gallant Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies the position of Colonial civil servants who in wartime come to this country for recuperative leave and owing to transport difficulties are detained beyond the six months' limit. It has now been agreed that if the Colonial Office certify (a) that an officer's presence in this country was in furtherance of the public interest, i.e., for the purpose of necessary recuperative leave, and (b) that his detention over the period of six months in the financial year was due solely to it being impracticable to provide him with a passage within that period after allowing the necessary time for recuperation, then the Colonial Office may refund to the officer the amount of any United Kingdom Income Tax to which he has become liable solely and specifically as a result of his detention. If by reason of the detention the officer's liability to Colonial Income Tax has been reduced, the officer, of course, will only be refunded his net total extra Income Tax liability. These arrangements will be applied from July, 1940.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can make a statement as to the purpose of the Goods and Services (Price Control) Utility Household Textiles Order (S.R. & O. 880, of 1943), which amends seven earlier orders, and appears to abolish the Purchase Tax in certain cases?

The reasons for making this Order were: to consolidate all previous Orders fixing the maximum prices which wholesalers and retailers may charge for utility household textiles, such as towels, sheets, pillow cases, the cloths from which these are made, and black-out cloth; to adjust the maximum prices to recent changes in the cost of labour and raw materials; to take account of the removal of Purchase Tax from these cloths as from 3rd May last; and to allow retailers who had paid Purchase Tax on stocks of utility black-out cloth bought before 3rd May to recover the tax on this cloth from the public until 31st October.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the difficulties in exporting goods to the United States of America owing to the fact that ad valorem duty is chargeable under their Customs law on the actual selling price of the article in Great Britain, which includes Purchase Tax, involving a severe penalty on exporter and manufacturer in this country and consequent serious possibilities to our post-war export trade; and what steps he proposes to take by negotiation with the authorities of the United States of America or by adapting the incidence of our Purchase Tax to obviate these penalties in the United States of America?

This matter is one which is kept under review in discussions with the United States authorities and on which I am also keeping in touch with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that many of the utility petrol lighters are of poor quality and fail to fulfil the purpose for which they were bought; and will he call the attention of manufacturers to this fact and inform them that a reasonable standard of efficiency must be observed?

No, Sir. A very large number of utility lighters have been sold and the number of complaints about their quality which have reached me has been negligible. If my hon. Friend will send me particulars, or a specimen, of the lighters he has in mind I shall be glad to look into the matter.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport what priority rights Peers have in the allotment of sleeping berths in trains; whether they can obtain these to travel to their homes; and whether Members of the House of Commons can also be granted this priority?

When a peer makes a journey between London and his usual place of residence in order to attend the sittings in another place, or to return home from those sittings, he is given the same priority that is accorded to hon. Members when they are travelling between London and their constituencies. I have recently reviewed the priority accorded to hon. Members of the House of Commons, but I regret that' I have nothing to add to the full statement which my Noble Friend caused to be circulated to hon. Members a week ago.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a member of His Majesty's Army, graded C, is not permitted to take commissioned rank, while another member who has been down-graded from A to C is allowed to retain his commissioned rank; and is he prepared to remove this anomaly?

An officer down-graded from medical category A to C has been trained as an officer and I hope my hon. Friend will agree that use should be made of his experience as far as possible in appointments appropriate to his medical grading. Soldiers in category C cannot, however, be trained as officers at an O.C.T.U. because the training there is too strenuous and therefore normally are not selected for commissioned rank. But if suitable employment appropriate to the grading is available, they may be commissioned.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in selecting men to serve in the Home Guard, any consideration is given to their other duties, namely, whether married or single, whether actually growing vegetables on a consider- able scale and whether their ordinary work is really exacting, such as mining at the coal face?

Yes, Sir. National Service Officers would give due consideration to the circumstances mentioned by my hon. Friend in deciding whether the enrolment of any man would involve exceptional hardship. As regards mineworkers I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Ministry of Fuel and Power to the hon. Member for Bilston (Mr. Hannah) on 6th July.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what arrangements are made for putting up naval officers passing through Glasgow?

Whilst the accommodation question in Glasgow is as acute as anywhere, every effort is made to arrange accommodation for naval officers passing through and temporarily stationed in Glasgow and district. Any officer who is routed to Glasgow reports to the office of the flag officer-in-charge, who keeps a register of all available accommodation. Careful consideration has been given to opening an officers' club or similar establishment, but lack of suitable premises and shortage of labour have unfortunately rendered this impracticable. Nevertheless, no officer need leave the premises of the flag officer-in-charge without some satisfactory arrangement having been made for him.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that inshore fishermen are suffering great hardship and many of them will be quite unable to support their families; and whether he is prepared to have this matter examined and some scheme prepared to put these men on to a fair economic basis?

The answer to the first part of the Question is in the negative. I am satisfied that inshore fishermen as a class are receiving a fair remuneration, although in certain districts and at certain seasons some hardship has occurred in a small minority of cases. I am keeping in touch with the position in such areas to see whether it would be possible in any way to alleviate the difficulties of these men.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether arrangements can be made for Italian prisoners of war to be billeted on farms in North Yorkshire in order that the work of turnip-hoeing and harvesting may be expedited?

Two camps for Italian prisoners are now under construction in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The agricultural prisoners so far allocated to them are recent arrivals; and there are not yet many of them. In these circumstances, it has been decided locally that applications for prisoners to be billeted on farms should not be approved till later in the year.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether arrangements are being made for the use by agricultural contractors and agricultural engineers of Italian prisoners of war with the necessary skill and experience?

The Italian prisoners of war allocated to my Department may be made available to agricultural contractors, through county war agricultural executive committees, for agricultural and drainage work. These prisoners are all needed for urgent work on the land. Arrangements have not so far been made for Italian prisoners to be employed in agricultural engineering.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why the Emergency Powers (Defence) Food (Ox and Calf Tongues) Order (S.R. & O., No. 951 of 1943) frees from price control any ox or calf tongues preserved in airtight glass containers?

In order to release for consumption a very small residual stock of these commodities, the costs of production of which were higher than those of the normal variety in cans.

asked the Minister of Labour how many copies of the publication entitled "Production and Engineering Bulletin" are issued every month; how much it costs to produce; and how many people are engaged in its production?

Over the past three months the average distribution of the "Production and Engineering Bulletin" has been 57,241 copies. The average cost of printing of each issue, including paper and photographs, has been 783. There is an editorial staff of five.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what is the annual budget for the Air Training Corps; and how many personnel are directly employed in its direction, both at the centre and in the commands?

The annual cost of the Air Training Corps to public funds is about £600,000. The corps is under the direction of a civilian director assisted by 14 Royal Air Force officers, all of whom are employed at the Air Ministry. In addition, a number of persons, paid and unpaid, are engaged on instructional and other administrative services connected with the corps both at the Air Ministry and in commands.