asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare, whether, in view of the fact that there is a ban on all wives of service officers joining their husbands overseas, what was the nature of Mrs. Peter Lindsay's appointment in India which made it necessary for her to be sent to that country; and why was she granted a priority passage by air, thereby occupying the seat of a service officer operationally required in the East?

It was decided in May this year to reinforce the Economic Warfare Mission in New Delhi. Suitable staff, however, were not immediately available in India, and it was therefore necessary, if the work of the mission was not to be held up, to send out as soon as possible two members of the London staff of my Department, one of whom was Mrs. Lindsay.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will increase the number of personnel dealing with Service welfare in India?

I am confident that any request from the Commander-in-Chief, India, for an increase in such personnel will receive sympathetic consideration. I understand that in the view of the Director of Army Welfare, who has recently visited India, there is room for a substantial increase of welfare personnel and I am taking up with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War and the authorities in India the question of the extent of the requirement and the means of meeting it.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the peculiar difficulties of Service conditions in India, he will give an assurance that 15s. per head per year per man is available to general headquarters for amenities?

The sanctioned grant is at present 9s. I have not received any request from the Government of India for an increase. The corresponding rate sanctioned by the Treasury is 1s. 6d. for the United Kingdom and 3s. for overseas stations.

asked the Secretary of State for India how many mobile bath and drying units have been allocated to India and South Asia commands; and how many have been delivered?

It would not be in the public interest to give the exact figures from which deductions could be drawn as to the strength of Forces but out of India's total demand, which is understood to include the South Eastern Asia Command, over 70 per cent. have already been shipped or delivered for shipment.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the difficult conditions of service in the Far East, he is satisfied that commanders-in-chief Indian and Far Eastern commands have adequate powers to take every possible step to secure the comfort and welfare of their troops?

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware of the acute shortage of Army nurses in India; and what is being done to ensure a fair distribution of the available trained service personnel?

Yes, Sir: this shortage is unfortunately felt in India as well as in other theatres of war, but I have no reason to question the fair distribution between them by the War Office of the resources available in the Q.A.I.M.N.S.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that soap and boot polish rations are not compulsory issues in military hospitals in India; and whether he will alter this?

I am making inquiries from the Government of India and will inform the hon. Member of the result.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether in view of the urgent need to give British troops serving in India better conditions than operate today, he will see that goods supplied to Service canteens obtain the same privilege accorded to American canteens, namely, free from Customs duty?

I have already taken up this question with the Government of India.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will give an undertaking to establish a proper N.A.A.F.I. organisation in the operational areas in India and Southern Asia commands?

As regards India, I would invite reference to my reply to the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Leslie) on 7th December. The question of the extent to which N.A.A.F.I. will function under the South-Eastern Asia Command is under active consideration.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is satisfied that there is sufficient accommodation for men of the Merchant Navy in Bristol; and whether he will consider taking over extra hostel accommodation there?

On the advice of the Bristol port welfare committee it has been decided to provide additional hostel accommodation in Bristol for officers and men of the Merchant Navy and efforts are being made to obtain suitable premises.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport what arrangements are made to pay men of the Merchant Navy when suffering from an illness not directly due to the war, such as malaria contracted on the West Coast of Africa; how far they are obliged to rely on poor relief; and whether he will review the situation and make a statement?

Where illness, though not directly due to the war, is attributed to the existence on board ship of conditions that would be abnormal in time of peace and that substantially increase the risk of the disease, the officer or man concerned would be dealt with under the War Pensions (Mercantile Marine) Scheme. In other cases of illness provision is made for the payment of wages for a period up to 12 weeks, if the officer or man is left behind abroad. In this country, officers are entitled to receive up to eight weeks, Merchant Navy reserve pool pay during sickness, while Merchant Navy ratings, like other industrial workers, are eligible for National Health Insurance Sickness Benefit under the usual conditions.

asked the Minister of Health when, in view of the increasing gravity of the housing situation, he will review the Government's housing policy to facilitate the more rapid provision of accommodation?

As stated by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Production during the, Debate on the Address, the Government are fully aware that at the present moment the civil population, especially in this matter, is living under the greatest strain. The relief of this strain is a first objective in Government policy to be undertaken when war necessities make labour and materials available and I can assure my hon. Friend that the earliest possible chance will be taken.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the unreasonable level to which the price of houses has risen, he will consider the imposition of a ceiling price based on the 1939 value of house property and take steps to prevent the owners of property from exploiting the homeless at a stage of the war when stringent controls have been imposed in other spheres to prevent inflationary tendencies?

The inquiries which my right hon. and learned Friend's predecessor instituted into this Question in conjunction with other Government Departments concerned are proceeding, and he has asked for them to be expedited so that he may consider the whole question. In the meantime I shall be glad to have information about any cases which have come to my hon. Friend's notice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any plans for the reconstruction or modernisation of the Government hospital in Annotto Bay, Jamaica, are now being considered by the Government of Jamaica or by the officers of the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund; and whether he will consider building in preference a new modern hospital of suitable size on an appropriate site in this district?

I have no information on this subject but I am consulting the Governor and will write to the hon. Member when I have his reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the need for a new school on modern lines in Annotto Bay, Jamaica, as the present school consists of one room badly lighted, insufficiently ventilated and with scanty accommodation for the number of children in the town or even on the regular attendance roll; and whether steps to remedy these conditions can be expedited?

No report about the school of Annotto Bay has reached me but I am aware of the great need for the replacement, reconstruction and enlargement of many of the primary schools in the Colony. The Governor, with the support of the Comptroller, has recently submitted an application for a grant of £500,000 under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act for this purpose and he has proposed that in addition the Colonial Government should provide the sum of £100,000 to be expended on similar improvements over an eight year period from the 1st April, 1943, The application is now under active consideration and I have no doubt that the Governor, to whom I am sending a copy of the hon. Member's Question, will consider the particular claims of the school at Annotto Bay in connection with this scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) whether he is aware that, in the St. Catherine Poor House, Spanish Town, Jamaica, now used as a hospital, there are only eight untrained nurses for 249 patients of all types, including cases of tuberculosis, yaws and expectant mothers; that the nurses' pay is 14s. per week; that the acting matron is the only trained nurse; that the institution consists of five widely-separated wards; and, as the two untrained night nurses cannot cope with the work or call for help in case of need, whether this state of affairs can be remedied at once;(2) whether he has any information on the question of hospital accommodation in Jamaica; whether he is aware that because of overcrowding in the Government hospital at Spanish Town the overflow of sick patients for indoor treatment have to be transferred to the unsuitable St. Catherine Poor House, where deplorable conditions exist, insufficient poorly-paid nursing staff, lack of disinfectants, indifferent sanitation, poor accommodation and feeding arrangements for the nurses; and whether any alternative accommodation and increased staff will be secured without delay;(3) whether he is aware that the nursing accommodation in St. Catherine Poor House, Spanish Town, Jamaica, is so bad that the rest room is next to the mortuary; that the only sanitation for the nursing staff is a pit latrine without lights; that the nurses have to take their meals in the kitchen with windows devoid of screens against flies; that there is no carbolic soap or lysol in the institution; and will he have the accommodation remedied;(4) whether he is aware that in the St. Catherine Poor House, Spanish Town, Jamaica, there is only one cook for 249 patients requiring three meals per day, two laundresses for bedclothes and nightgowns, and only one person for the garden and mortuary work; and whether additional staff can be employed to ameliorate such conditions?

I have no information about conditions in St. Catherine Poor House which, as the hon. Member is no doubt aware, would normally be under the control of the local parochial board and not of the Government. I am, however, asking the Governor for a report on the matters mentioned in the hon. Member's Questions and I will communicate with him on receipt of the Governor's reply.

asked the Secretary of State for War why his Department are unable to co-operate with the Cheltenham Rural District Council over the Birdlip District Water Supply?

I understand that an inquiry is being conducted into this matter this week in accordance with the usual Ministry of Health procedure.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the supply of books, periodicals and newspapers to the troops in the B.N.A.F. and C.M.F. is inadequate, of poor quality and often out of date; and will he take steps to improve the distribution of up to date books, periodicals and newspapers?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Mr. J. Dugdale) on 30th November.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can arrange for first-class modern films to be provided and shown free of charge to British troops in the B.N.A.F.?

A considerable number of the latest films, including some which have not yet been generally released to the public in this country have for some months past been shown to British troops in this Command. Except at certain static cinemas no admission charges are made.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the rates of pay of Palestinian Allied soldiers are approximately two-thirds of those of British troops; how their pension rights compare with those of the British; and whether he will take steps to put an end to the discrepancies between the pay and pension rights of the two forces?

It is the established policy for the rates of pay and pensions of soldiers of many colonial forces (including the Palestine Regiment) to be fixed at rates lower than those of British units in respect of service in their own country. I am not aware of any sufficient reason to alter this policy. The pay of the Palestine Regiment is rather over three-quarters of British rates and is raised to full British rates during any service outside Palestine; the pension rates are two-thirds of British rates.

asked the Secretary of State for War the number and type of tank and approximate quantity of other booty captured in Tunisia?

No final count of the material captured in Tunisia has been sent here from North Africa but I have asked for one to be forwarded in so far as this will not interfere with the primary military tasks of those concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will arrange for a display in the Members' Tea Room of the civilian austerity suits as at present being issued to demobilised men of the fighting services?

Yes, Sir. Arrangements are in hand for a suit such as is issued to men discharged from the Army to be placed in the Members' Tea Room.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he can provide up-to-date figures showing how many men who have been demobilised during 1943 have accepted the civilian austerity suits which have been offered to them on discharge; and what percentage have asked for cash in lieu?

I regret that the figures are not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is, now in a position to report progress on in absentia promotion of established and establish-able civilian personnel of War Office outstations now serving in His Majesty's Forces, Civil Defence services, etc.; and whether any further in absentia promotions of War Office headquarter civilian personnel have been made since his previous answer?

The common seniority rolls of outstation clerical staff have now been completed and arrangements will I hope be made shortly for a Promotion Board to consider their claims to promotion in absentia. But the hon. Member will appreciate that there is at present very heavy pressure on the Promotion Board machinery in connection with the special steps which are now being taken to consider the claims of outstation staff to promotion following the Cozens-Hardy Committee Report. As regards establishable staff, no action can be taken until they are established. At War Office headquarters four more in absentia promotions have been made since my previous reply on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the complaint that the N.A.A.F.I. canteens serving the B.N.A.F. and C.M.F. are unable to supply the troops with good quality cigarettes or tobacco; that such items as toothpaste, shaving cream and writing paper are of inferior quality and in very short supply; that most of the other items on the N.A.A.F.I. list are unobtainable; and will he take immediate steps to investigate and remedy this position?

I am unaware of any such general complaint. As regards cigarettes, N.A.A.F.I. supply only cigarettes of good quality. I understand that supplies of other articles are only available in limited quantities owing to the difficulties of supply both in this country and North America but their quality is as good as the quality of similar articles in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the present position with regard to Merchant Navy seamen and W.L.A. girls attending N.A.A.F.I. canteens will be altered in the near future; and whether any provision is made for their welfare in any like scheme?

I am not aware that any changes in the present arrangements are contemplated.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with private contractors on the post-war building of houses in Scotland; will he state their names and whether any arrangements have been arrived at?

I had a meeting recently with the Scottish National Building Trades Federation (Employers) who put forward proposals for a basic price system of tendering for house building after the war. I asked the Federation to send me a memorandum setting out their views in greater detail, but I have not yet received it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many houses he estimates can be built in the counties of Perth and Kinross within one year of the end of the war with Germany; and how these houses are to be distributed in the various areas;

The number of houses which it will be possible to build in any specified area in the first year after the war will depend upon the extent to which labour and materials are available, but my aim is to see that all local authorities have sites and plans ready so that they may begin building as soon as conditions permit. The town council of Perth already own sufficient land for about boo houses and the town councils of the small burghs in Perth and Kinross have land for about 120 houses. The Department of Health are in touch with the town councils about the acquisition of additional land. The location of the houses to be given priority of building in the landward areas of the counties is a matter presently under discussion between the Department of Health and the county councils.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why an old age pensioner who enters a mental hospital for treatment is deprived of his old age pension whereas an old age pensioner who enters a Poor Law institution for medical or surgical treatment continues to receive it?

As the matter is rather complicated and cannot be explained fully within the limits of a Parliamentary Answer, I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, write him on the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware than the Report of the Registrar shows that the rate of infant mortality in the town of Dumbarton was 134.9 per 1,000 births in 1941, or 48.0 more than in 1940; and what action is being taken to put an end to this menace to the child life of Scotland?

Where, as in Dumbarton, the annual number of births is comparatively small, the infant mortality figures are apt to fluctuate widely. In 1940, 1941, 1942, and the first nine months of 1943, the Dumbarton rates were 83, 120, 65 and 69 per 1,000 live births respectively. As regards the latter part of the Question, every possible endeavour is being made to encourage a wider use of the facilities afforded by the local maternity and child welfare clinic. These efforts, I understand, are meeting with some success.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland under what authority are the 3,000 people on board the ship that arrived at a West of Scotland port with a case of smallpox on board detained at an isolation centre for 14 days; whether he is aware that the custom of English ports has been to allow all passengers from ships infected with smallpox to go to their homes and to notify the medical officer of health that they have been smallpox contacts; and why this system was not adopted by the Scottish authorities?

About 2,500 Army personnel were sent to various army camps and kept under surveillance. In addition 363 persons were detained at a special centre. Nearly all of them were Service personnel or Allied nationals with no homes in this country, and the action taken, which was judged to be in the best interests of the public health, was with the concurrence of the representative of the Allied Government concerned and of the Service authorities. I am informed that in making these arrangements the Medical Officer of Health acted on legal advice as to competency under the Port Sanitary Regulations (Scotland) 1933.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that Charles O'Donnell, 167, Gorbals Street, Glasgow, has been refused payment of maternity benefit, although he is in full benefit with the National Health Insurance, on the grounds that his wife is resident in Eire; and, in view of the fact that Mr. O'Donnell was born in Scotland and has never lived outside, will he take steps to have this case reconsidered?

In terms of the National Health Insurance Act, 1936, maternity benefit is the mother's benefit, and not her husband's. I am informed that benefit has been withheld from Mrs. O'Donnell, who has never been a resident in the United Kingdom, on account of the disqualification enacted by Section 66 of the Act as regards persons resident outside the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has yet seen the plans and visited the proposed site of the International Airport, Prestwich, Glasgow; whether the design and construction proposed by Mr. George Binnie has been compared with those for airports in other cities; whether the whole scheme has yet been considered by his departmental advisers and reported on; and whether, if approved, every facility will be given for the construction of this airport near Glasgow?

I have visited Prestwick airport, which is at present under the control of the Air Ministry. Certain proposals for its development have been conveyed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air, who has them under consideration.

asked the First Lord of the. Admiralty whether he can give any information in connection with the eight seamen who were killed or missing, and about twelve injured, when an explosion followed by fires occurred at a wharf of which he has been informed?

I regret that I cannot add anything to the information possessed by my hon. Friend, but I can assure him that all necessary action is being taken.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether agreement has yet been reached by the Petroleum Board with regard to the value of the physical capital of the Board; and to what extent this figure varies with the adjusted value estimated in 1942 to be £23,000,000 and the peace-time working capital as £28,000,000?

I have informed the Petroleum Board that the opening value of their physical capital will be taken, in round figures, as £22,400,000 and that the pre-war working capital will be assessed at £28,000,000. The former figure is, however, subject to variation from time to time, to reflect, for example, depreciation, renewals and additions. Similarly the working capital employed, namely the cash actually required to finance the purchase of oil products, must also be subject to periodic ascertainment. In these circumstances, figures of actual values will not be available until I receive the final accounts which the Board have been requested to prepare.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that several retailers have recently advertised that lip-sticks, face-powder, rouge and other cosmetics will no longer be available for sale after January next and are thereby obtaining high prices for existing stocks; and what steps he is taking to stop this form of profiteering?

So far from reducing the supply of toilet preparations, I am allowing registered manufacturers to increase their supplies from the 1st January. If my hon. Friend can give me particulars of any cases where traders are making misleading statements of this kind and charging excessive prices, I shall be glad to have them investigated.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many military tailors have been prosecuted for selling to Army officers as bespoke garments Priority A uniforms made by wholesalers and not in accordance with B.O.T. Order 2556; and whether he will now amend the Order so as to ensure that no illegitimate profits are sought or obtained by Army tailors who now generally sell mass production made uniforms as bespoke garments?

No infringements of this Order have been reported to me by local price regulation committees or by my inspectors and I see no reason, therefore, to amend the Order.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what decision has been reached on the computation or exclusion for Income Tax liability of moneys to be expended in War Savings Certificates by employers as Christmas gifts to their employees?

I am advised that the value of Savings Certificates given to an employee at Christmas by way of bonus or supplementary remuneration is to be regarded as the employee's income for Income Tax purposes. Where, however, it has been customary for an employer to make Christmas presents in goods to subordinate employees and because of war conditions he decides to make presents of War 'Savings Certificates of equivalent value to the customary gifts of goods, the value of such Certificates is not treated for Income Tax purposes as income of the recipient. In either case, the expenditure on the Savings Certificates is a deduction for Income Tax purposes in computing the employer's profits for assessment under Schedule D.

asked the Chancellor of of the Exchequer whether he will extend the period of leave from overseas for which a member of the Forces can obtain a permit to use his laid-up motor-car without an ordinary licence, in order that this facility may be available for repatriated prisoners of war?

Yes, Sir. Hitherto this arrangement has been available only for those whose leave is granted for not more than 21 days. Instructions have now been given that this period shall be extended to 28 days, so that the leave granted to repatriated prisoners of war may be brought within the scope of this arrangement.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the composition of the committee responsible for National Savings and the amount of money spent by them to date; and whether the advertising agents generally have been invited to tender far the publicity?

I presume the hon. Member refers to the National Savings Committee which is responsible for the Savings Movement in England and Wales. This Committee is appointed by the Treasury and is composed of the President and Vice-Presidents, Chairman and Vice-Chairmen, members elected annually by the voluntary workers in the National Savings organisation, and members nominated to represent Government Departments and other bodies interested in the Savings Movement. The total amount expended by the Committee on all its activities, including publicity, since the beginning of the War Savings Campaign is £4,115,000. The reply to the last part of the Question is in the negative. The National Savings Committtee employs six advertising agents for War Savings Press advertising. The selection of these agents was strictly in accordance with the arrangements made between the Ministry of Information and Government Departments that require advertising service.

asked the Minister of Food whether his attention has been drawn to the evidence given in a recent High Court Case, which included the fact that the ground nut cake in dispute passed through five hands before it reached the consumer; whether it is necessary and usual to have so many distributors; and what would be the profits allowed to each one?

Yes, Sir. The sale to the farmer in the case to which my hon. Friend refers took place in September, 1938, before the Ministry of Food was established. I have no information other than what has appeared in the Press.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether the Norwegian Foreign Trade Mission are paying the money due to British other ranks for keeping sabotage watches in foreign ports?

Payments to British service personnel employed on sabotage watch on all ships under the control of the Minister of War Transport in foreign ports are made at the rates laid down in the Admiralty Instructions in force at the time. On Norwegian ships on timecharter to the Minister, the payments are made by the master and the incidence of the charge is governed by general arrangements for the use of Norwegian ships.

asked the Attorney-General whether steps will be taken to expedite the hearing of divorce cases in other courts in view of the great congestion now existing in London?

My Noble Friend the Lord Chancellor and I are fully alive to the importance of this question and I hope to be able to make a statement shortly.

asked the Minister of Information what payment is made to cinemas for the display of film flashes or trailers dealing with the work of Government Departments?

No payment is made, but the copies of the films are supplied free.