asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, to prevent the accumulation of unduly large stocks of garments, he will adopt the procedure followed in respect of gluts of rationed foods and release such cloths and garments at reduced coupon values?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey and Otley (Sir G. Gibson) on Tuesday last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the shortage of fully fashioned stockings in Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and whether, as working women are unable to spare time to join queues for these purchases, he will establish some better method of distribution?

As I have frequently stated, the manufacture of fully fashioned stockings requires highly skilled workers, who are urgently needed for direct war work, and the supply of these stockings is, therefore, very limited. But I have made inquiries and find that Newcastle-upon-Tyne is receiving its fair share. I am glad to say that increasing quantities of new and improved types of seamless utility stockings are now reaching the shops.

asked the President the Board of Trade whether, in order to improve the quality of utility clothing, he will cause less material to be used for non-utility and the more expensive classes of goods and more for utility clothing?

Utility clothing has the first claim on the materials available for civilian production and some 80 per cent. of such materials are now used in utility goods. The quality of most utility clothing reflects great credit on the producers, but I have my eye on some articles which are much below the average and am considering whether their continued production can be justified.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the demonstration exhibition of "Mend and make do," held in Newcastle recently, took place at approximately 10.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m., at which hours many working women could not attend; and will he arrange otherwise in future demonstrations?

This exhibition was held in a retail store and was, therefore, open only during shopping hours. Voluntary helpers attended from To a.m. to 5 p.m. each day to give practical advice, but, owing to the shortage of staff, demonstrations could be held only twice a day—at 11.30 a.m. and 3 p.m. I am in touch with the Newcastle education authority regarding further demonstrations in the city, and will bear my hon. Friend's suggestion in mind.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether, in view of the fact that the regular coastguards are able to procure their clothing requirements from stores, thereby economising in coupons, he will arrange for full-time auxiliary coastguards, doing precisely the same work, to enjoy the same facilities; and whether there is any reason why this distinction is now made?

When regular members of His Majesty's Coastguard buy an article of clothing from naval stocks, they must surrender the normal number of coupons required for the purchase of that article. They have thus no advantage in respect of coupons over auxiliary members of the Force.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the articles or products in which mutual trade with North Africa can now be carried on in view of the freeing of the markets?

By two Orders made on 15th July under the Trading with the Enemy Act, commercial and financial dealings with persons and concerns in French North and West Africa are no longer an offence under that Act. But trade with these territories must still be confined to essential requirements and conducted through Government channels. There is no prospect of a resumption of private trade in the immediate future.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make it the export trade policy of his Department after the war to give full protection and assistance to all forms of branded goods upon which our international reputation has largely been established?

Yes, Sir.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to ensure that, after the war, when many firms have been concentrated and the operation of their trade marks suspended, there will be a speedy resumption of the use of such trade marks, as otherwise they may, if not on the market, be prejudicially affected by imitations evolved in competing countries?

I can assure my hon. and gallant Friend that the trade marks of concentrated firms are fully protected under the Defence Regulations, for as long as the concentration continues and for one year afterwards.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of utility radio sets already manufactured; and whether he can give any indication as to when they will be released for sale to the general public?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to a similar Question on this subject by my hon. Friend, the Member for Evesham (Mr. De la Bère) on 8th June, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will investigate the laundry custom of replacing a lost article at 20 times the washing fate, as this practice tends to the disappearance of articles of clothing in view of the present high cost?

Some months ago, my director of laundry services discussed this custom of the trade with the Institution of British Launderers, which, at his request, advised their members to waive this limitation, when they were satisfied that a larger claim would be justified.

asked the Home Secretary (I) under what conditions are permits granted to civilians to visit Northern Ireland who are not travelling on business or on duty and who have not got parents, husbands or children resident in Northern Ireland;(2) how many prosecutions have been instituted against persons who having received a permit to visit only Northern Ireland proceed to Eire in breach of faith or in contravention of the conditions of the permit?

Apart from the classes of case mentioned, permits are granted only where there are some special reasons of a compassionate nature such as, e.g. the critical illness or funeral of a near relative. It is, however, the general policy, to grant permits to Members of Parliament to visit Northern Ireland, on an assurance being given by the Member that his visit is in connection with his duties as a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament. Such permission does not include permission to visit Eire, and this is always made clear to the Member. It has not, however, been the practice to make the permit subject to a formal condition which could be enforced by criminal proceedings, since it has been assumed that a Member of Parliament would recognise that facilities to visit Northern Ireland should not be used for the purpose of leaving the United Kingdom without permission.

asked the Home Secretary what reports he has received on the hours and conditions of child employment on the land in the Holland Division of Lincolnshire since the beginning of the war; and can all such reports be placed in the Library of the House?

The responsibility for enforcing the law relating to the employment of children rests with local authorities, but in view of the help which older school children have been giving with the harvest during the war local representatives of the Board of Education and Ministry of Agriculture have been watching the manner in which the conditions governing such employment are observed, so as to assist local authorities with suggestions for improving the position where necessary. As the relevant reports are confidential, I could not place them in the Library, but I may say that they show that the conditions are less well observed in the Parts of Holland than in other counties and the position is being kept under observation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is studying the settlement of smallholders on the land as part of his post-war reconstruction policy?

Future policy in regard to smallholdings is being considered as part of the wider question of post-war agricultural policy generally.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Cheshire county agricultural committee unanimously support the resolution of the war emergency committees of the County Councils' Association deprecating the making of Regulation 28B under the Defence (Agriculture and Fisheries Regulations, 1939; and whether, therefore, he will consider the annulment of Regulation 28B?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the statement, of which I am sending him a copy, made by my right hon. Friend in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir J. Lamb) on 27th July.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that there is widespread complaint of the indolence of Italian prisoners of war detailed to assist with harvesting; that prisoners cause wanton damage by trampling and sleeping among crops; that guards are insufficient either to secure public safety or reasonable work from the prisoners; and will he arrange for proper disciplinary steps to be taken?

The answer to all parts of my hon. Friend's Question except the last is "No. Sir." Guards are not always provided if the number of prisoners concerned is small. In these cases the employers have been informed that they should make any complaints about the prisoners' behaviour, in particular if they have been slack, to the camp authorities who are then able to take appropriate disciplinary action.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of considerable resentment that Income Tax has to be paid on danger money or extra pay for voluntary air crews; and whether he will take steps to remedy this?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Maldon (Mr. Driberg) on 13th April, 1943.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the cost to the Exchequer in issuing transfer deeds free to the public for the period 1st September, 1939, to 3Ist March, 1943; the cost of the concession granted to stock exchange firms under Section 42 of the Finance Act, 1920, and the amendment of 1931 for the same period; the extent to which each stock exchange has taken advantage of that privilege; the aggregate totals since that Section operated; and the total which, in the absence of those provisions, would have been paid at the rate of £1 per centum?

The cost of the transfer forms issued free to, the public in the period 1st September, 1939, to 3Ist March, 1943, was approximately £1,020. The following table shows (a) for each stock exchange the effect over the same period of the operation of Section 42 of the Finance Act, 1920, as amended by the Finance Act, 1931, and (b) the aggregate total from the 1st September, 1920, when that Section came into operation, to 3Ist March, 1943:

asked the Secretary of State for War the number of Voluntary Aid Detachments now employed abroad with the Army and the number so employed during the last war?

The number of members now abroad is 103. The corresponding figure for the last war is thought to be over 10,000.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the pensions tribunals that are being set up, he will make arrangements so that the record of the medical examination on enlistment, Form No. B 178, or its equivalent, will be made available to ex-soldiers?

I understand that this matter is included in those which my right hon. Friends the Lord Chancellor and the Minister of Pensions have under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether veterans of the Boer War have the same right of appeal as those who fought in the last war?

All serving soldiers have the same statutory rights of complaint under the Army Act. It is not clear to me whether this is what the hon. Member has in mind. If it is not he will perhaps send me further particulars.

asked the Secretary of State for War (I) what is the highest rank to which officers of R.E.M.E. can rise; and whether, as a combatant corps in a fighting area, officers of lower rank in other corps take precedence of, and be in authority over, their superiors in rank who are R.E.M.E. officers; (2) what the difference between 189 and 190 of King's Regulations means regarding officers of the R.E.M.E.; whether the officers and men of this combatant corps are denied the status of that given to officers and men in the Royal Engineers, and why?

The highest rank to which a R.E.M.E. officer can rise is that of Major-General. Paragraph 189 of King's Regulations confers certain powers of command on R.E.M.E. officers but paragraph 190 does not apply to them. Officers of corps with more extensive powers of command than R.E.M.E. officers may exercise command over R.E.M.E. officers of higher rank. I outlined the reasons for this difference in an answer I gave my hon. Friend on 20th July.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has now decided that battle dress shall be issued to officers as a free supply?

This suggestion has been carefully examined but it is not considered that a change in the present arrangements is desirable.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Stanley Hilton, of Rochdale, was recently sentenced by court-martial to two years' detention for refusing military service; that he has already served two years and eight months in prison for the same offence; and whether, in view of the fact that he has proved his sincerity as a conscientious objector to military service by suffering so much punishment and that he is never likely to become an efficient soldier, he will consider discharging him from His Majesty's Forces?

The answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes, Sir." The sentences he has served, and the sentence he is now serving are for separate offences. The question of Gunner Hilton's sincerity as a conscientious objector is one for the appropriate tribunals, set up under the National Service Acts, to decide. He has twice unsuccessfully appealed to the appellate tribunal.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has yet received the special report on the work of the organisation for searching for the missing?

Before the request for a special progress report referred to in a previous answer to my hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Mr. Keeling) had had time to be answered, a number of reports on individual cases of missing personnel was received by the War Organisation of the British Red Cross Society and Order of St. John. The reports continue to come in and I think the present situation in this respect is satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for War the considerations which have influenced him in deciding that a Home Guard officer must be regarded as a private soldier in respect of medical treatment and travelling facilities while continuing to impose on him all the responsibilities of an officer?

The reasons for maintaining the present policy have been repeatedly stated. From the inception of the Home Guard it has been an essential principle that all ranks should be treated alike in matters such as these, and men of all classes have joined the Home Guard in great numbers on this understanding. When it was decided that Home Guard officers should receive His Majesty's Commission, it was made very clear that this would in no way affect the principle of equality of treatment in these matters. To introduce special privileges for certain members of the Home Guard in respect of class of travel and medical treatment would amount to the abrogation of this principle and would change the whole character of the force.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has concluded his inquiries respecting a case at Wood-borough, Nottinghamshire, where it is alleged that in the course of military exercise a private of the Home Guard was hit with a revolver by an officer of the opposing forces; whether any disciplinary action has been taken; and whether the private will be given compensation seeing that he was invalided for nearly four weeks?

Investigation has not been able to show conclusively what happened in this case but it is likely that the blame was more evenly divided between the officer and the man than was at first suggested. The officer has, however, been censured. Authority has been given for compensation to be paid to the man.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether arrangements have now been, or will be, made for the settlement of compensation claims of injured workmen in Government service in Sierra Leone by the local branch of the Overseas Department instead of by the respective Government Departments in this country, whereby delays and hardship to injured applicants or their dependants ensue?

During temporary incapacity, War Department workmen overseas who are injured in the course of their employment are entitled to receive weekly injury pay on the authority of the local military commander. Subsequent awards for permanent incapacity or death are made under the injury warrants and in this connection, instructions are being issued to the military authorities in Sierra Leone which will enable them to make advances of compensation in all cases where entitlement is clear. Delay and hardship will thus be avoided. In the large majority of cases, the amount of such advances will be the equivalent of the final award.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, in chief provincial towns which have suffered from enemy action, the War Damage Commission has finally decided on the settlement of all claims whether by cost of works payments or by value payments?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which my right hon. Friend gave on I4th July to a similar Question by the hon. Member for Manchester, Moss Side (Mr. Rostron Duckworth).

asked the Minister of Supply whether he will consider taking steps to schedule machine tools and other industrial equipment which may be surplus to our post-war requirements, in case they may be usefully shipped to the countries of our Allies under Lend-Lease as they are freed from the enemy, with a view to accelerating the revival of the industrial life of their people and avoiding a state of depression in our home industries?

Yes, Sir. This position is under continuous review and the considerations mentioned by the hon. Member are not being overlooked.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of dissatisfaction among married women clerical officers in the Civil Service who, after compulsory retirement on marriage, are re-employed on a temporary basis; that married women retained in the service enjoy the same status, salary, etc., as the unmarried, while those who have rejoined are paid at a lower rate and have no prospect of increments, even where the break in the service has lasted only a few months and where their present duties are similar to, or more skilled than, those they performed before the break; and whether, in view of the importance of encouraging the war-time employment of skilled married women, he will reconsider the matter?

Representations on this point have been made to me by the responsible Staff Associations. Women who retired from their Civil Service posts on marriage, and have been re-employed temporarily during the war, are temporary staff and are, accordingly, appropriately employed at the rates of pay agreed with the staff associations for temporary staff. A special exception is made in the case of those who continue their service without break, but I do not think it would be justifiable to extend this exception further.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is prepared to take steps to ensure that all locally entered Maltese clerks in War Office establishments in Malta shall be placed on the establishment after a reasonable period of unestablished service?

The establishment of locally entered clerks of the War Department in Malta is governed by the provisions of the National Whitley Council Agreement of 11th August, 1939. All the members of the staff who fulfil the conditions laid down in the agreement have been placed on the establishment.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he will take steps to facilitate the opening of the additional exit at the Treforest Trading Estate Halt?

The whole of the arrangements at this halt were completed and brought into use on 24th July.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is aware that hop-pickers will be wanted earlier this year than last year, and whether arrangements have been made for special trains on the Southern Railway to take them from London to the Kent hop-fields?

The answer of both parts of my hon. Friend's Question is: "Yes, Sir."

asked the Minister of Health when he proposes to issue his White Paper containing his preliminary proposals for implementing the health scheme of the Beveridge Report; to what extent this will affect interests other than the medical profession; and whether he will give an assurance that these interests, such as the hospitals, dentists, pharmacists, optical practitioners and others have been accorded the same facilities for consultation with his department as representatives of the doctors?

My right hon. Friend hopes it will be possible to publish a White Paper about the time when the House re-assembles. This would then serve as a focus for full discussion by all concerned, including many interests besides the medical profession, and it has always been my right hon. Friend's clear intention to give ample opportunity for this.

asked the Minister of Information why, in the broadcast at 8.45 p.m. on 26th July by Mr. Howard Marshall on the Brigade of Guards, the story of outstanding feats of arms in this war, no mention was made of the Welsh Guards, and in view of their deeds in Tunisia, will he rectify this omission and undertake that, in future, individual broadcasting on matters of public interest will possess a thorough knowledge of their subject and the capacity to deal fairly with it?

I am informed by the B.B.C. that Mr. Howard Marshall's original script included several references to exploits of the Welsh Guards, but they were unfortunately cut out by a last minute editorial compression of the script. Mr. Marshall was not, of course, responsible for these editorial cuts. But in reply to the last part of the Question I must remind my hon. and gallant Friend that the B.B.C. make their own choice of broadcasters and that the Ministry of Information do not interfere.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that Kurt Schier, aged 44 years, married to an Englishwoman, recently committed suicide by hanging himself at P camp, after he had again heard from the Home Office declining to give him an opportunity of meeting any charge against hm; that other internees at the same camp are contemplating committing suicide rather than be left without any opportunity of redress; and how many internees have committed suicide since the commencement of the war?

I would refer to my Answer to the Question by my hon. Friend the Member for South Croydon (Sir H. Williams) on 29th July, when I explained that the deceased had recently applied unsuccessfully for release from internment. The suggestion that the Home Office had declined to give him an opportunitiy of meeting any charge against him indicates a failure to appreciate that the internment of aliens of enemy nationality in time of war is a measure of preventive security, and does not necessarily involve any charge of criminal activities or other misconduct or raise any question of redress. I think that the position is well known to all those who still remain interned. I greatly regret this tragic occurrence, but I have no information which suggests that other internees are contemplating suicide. The Home Office has been responsible for the administration of all civilian internment camps in this country and the Isle of Man for the last three years, and during that time there have been four cases of suicide.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that many months ago the interrogation of Theodore J. Zerkowitz, of P camp, was stopped by order of his Department before it was completed; that this internee complains that for some two years he has been detained without any idea of the charge against him; will he see that the interrogation is completed, and if a charge is to be preferred against this internee make it without further delay and give him an opportunity of meeting any such charge?

I am not aware of any interrogation of this alien having been stopped by order of my Department, or of any necessity for further interrogation of him. As regards the question of there being any charge against him, I would refer my hon. Friend to my Answer to his Question in the case of Kurt Schier.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will consider changing the incidence of summer time to coincide more closely with seasonal variations than it does under present conditions and to arrange for its extension until the middle or end of September, during which period sunrise is at approximately the same hour as in early April, the present starting point?

The considerations mentioned and many others have been fully borne in mind by the Government in determining the period of Double Summer-Time, but after weighing the arguments for and against an extension beyond 15th August it has been decided that, on balance, and having regard to the vital requirements of agriculture at harvest-time, a later date cannot be recommended.