asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he can make any statement regarding complaints about food conditions at the R.A.F. station about which he has been notified?

The messing arrangements at this station have been investigated. No complaints have been made at the station about the quality or quantity of the food, which I understand to be well up to standard. The strength of the station is, however, at present much above establishment, and as a result it is necessary for airmen to form queues outside the dining room. Ways and means of relieving this temporary congestion are under examination.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that, owing to the congestion at that station, airmen have been compelled to spend as much as £2 each to get food outside, as they could not get it at the station?

I am aware of the congestion, and I am aware of the letter which my hon. Friend sent to the Secretary of State saying that an airman had to spend 40s. a week on food. As the work stops at 5.30 in the afternoon, 40s. would mean two full meals a day after 5.30, which is rather much even for a youthful airman's appetite.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will in future confine the accounts of our bombing operations on Germany to the objective and the weight of bombs dropped thereon?

I see no reason for departing from the present practice, which is designed to ensure that news shall reach the public as fully and as quickly as is consistent with the interests of national security.

While there is general agreement as to the policy, and admiration for the courage and efficiency of the R.A.F., does my right hon. and gallant Friend not agree that, on psychological grounds, it might be unwise for the B.B.C. in their broadcasts to gloat over the destruction occasioned in Germany, comparing it with the lesser destruction caused here, which is still remembered?

I think that question should be addressed to the Minister of Information.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether his attention has been called to the pilferage and theft of deceased Air Force officers' effects before they were returned to the officers' next of kin; and whether he is taking steps to frustrate this practice?

Every complaint of pilfering or theft of the effects of deceased Air Force personnel is carefully investigated and I am glad to say only rarely have proved to be well-founded. The effects of personnel who become casualties are immediately collected by an officer detailed for this work; listed and kept in safe custody pending despatch, under seal, to the R.A.F. Depository which receives and checks them and arranges for their proper disposal. This difficult and exacting work is entrusted to personnel of proved integrity. Items of personal property are, of course, often carried into the air and the circumstances of the casualty may be such as to prevent their recovery. If my hon. and gallant Friend has a particular case of loss in mind and will let me have details, I will gladly look into it.

I will send my right hon. and gallant Friend plenty of facts. May I ask him whether he is aware that since I put this Question on the Paper I have had letters from all over the country showing that this particularly awful crime is very prevalent?

I must really refute the over-statement of my hon. and gallant Friend. I have looked into these matters very carefully, and I think the House will be glad to hear that the total number of complaints received is less than one quarter of one per cent. of the kits we deal with. Where things do go wrong sometimes I am very willing to look into the system, and into individual cases, when they are sent to me by my hon. Friends.

Is the Minister aware that these cases are not so uncommon as he imagines, that newspaper offices in this country continually receive complaints, and that not always do the bereaved parents think fit to write to the Air Ministry and give facts that can be investigated?

If hon. Members or anyone else will write to me, I shall be only too glad to investigate the complaints. I do not think any hon. Member can say that I do not investigate cases which are brought to my notice. When I have investigated the complaints which are sent to newspaper offices I have not always found that they were justified.

Has the right hon. and gallant Gentleman forgotten the case I sent to him about eight months ago, because I have heard nothing about it since? It was a typical case similar to that put by the hon. and gallant Member who asked the Question. I am waiting very patiently, and so is the mother of the lad who was killed.

I do not recollect the hon. Member's case, but if he sent it to me personally, I can only apologise that it has not been dealt with. Perhaps he has not written to me. I try to deal with every case carefully.

Might not a quarter of one per cent. be a very considerable number of complaints? Although the right hon. and gallant Gentleman has not investigated cases of mine, I wish he would make it clear that there will be very severe penalties.

Very severe penalties indeed. If ever we can detect anybody committing this despicable crime, they will be dealt with very severely indeed.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that ancient Pompei was severely damaged by intensive air bombardment in the mistaken belief that a German armoured division was located there although the excavations made this impossible; and whether he will arrange for places of antiquarian interest to be clearly marked on maps supplied to the R.A.F. so as to prevent a similar occurrence in the future?

I have made inquiries but am unable to trace the attack referred to. As for the second part of the Question, I regret that it would not be practicable to adopt my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction which exists in the R.O.C. by reason of the fact that their Corps is not included in Fighter Command, notwithstanding that they are an integral part of the defences of Great Britain and elsewhere; and whether he will reconsider this matter?

No, Sir. I am not aware of dissatisfaction. The Royal Observer Corps, which consists mainly of part-time members, is a civilian organisation under the operational control of Fighter Command, with which it works in the closest association. There is no evidence that the change which my hon. Friend suggests would enhance the efficiency or usefulness of the Corps. In these circumstances, I do not feel that any useful purpose would be served by militarising this essentially civilian organisation which, I would remind my hon. Friend, has stood the test of time and battle.

Does not my right hon. and gallant Friend agree that without the Royal Observer Corps it would be impossible for Fighter Command to give protection to our large cities and elsewhere? In those circumstances, does he not think that it would be a graceful action if the Royal Observer Corps were to be made a part of Fighter Command?

We have to look at whether it would increase the efficiency of Fighter Command organisation if this Corps were militarised. I agree with my hon. Friend that it has done grand work, but this would not increase its efficiency.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he can give an assurance that the occupation of blocks of flats by Government Departments will be terminated at the earliest possible moment?

I can assure the hon. Member that my Department fully appreciates the desirability of releasing blocks of flats which it has requisitioned as soon as practicable after the cessation of hostilities in Europe. How soon it will be possible to do so cannot be stated at present. The attention of other Departments concerned will be drawn to the matter.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he is taking any further steps to facilitate the conversion of large houses into flats and maisonettes to meet post-war requirements?

At the request of the Minister of Health, my Noble Friend has arranged to investigate the possibilities of such conversion with regard to costs and economic use of available labour and materials. The decisions on policy of such work will remain with the Ministry of Health and the local authorities.

Would the Minister consider making an order overriding the covenants of ground leases in which there is a restriction preventing the holders from dividing the property?

I indicated in my answer that policy is a matter for the Ministry of Health and the local authority.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works the estimated cost of each of the 20 experimental houses to be constructed in 1944, the accommodation to be provided and the materials to be used?

The experimental houses being erected by the Ministry of Works are in order to ascertain comparative costs and labour requirements and to try out the various alternative materials and methods that have been considered by the Committee established for this purpose by my Ministry with the Ministry of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland, and presided over by Sir George Burt. The results will be made available when the work is completed.

Can the hon. Gentleman say what responsibility, if any, the Ministry of Health have for the design of these houses?

That is another question altogether.

Can I have an answer to that?

If the hon. Member will put a Question down, I will answer it.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether immediate instructions can be given for the issue of blankets to all men confined in naval detention quarters from the date of their entry in accordance with the recommendation of the Committee of Inquiry into detention barracks?

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I will make a statement at the end of Question time on the Report of the Oliver Committee of Inquiry, in the course of which I will deal with the point raised by my hon. Friend.

The Report of the Oliver Committee has been carefully studied, and though certain points require further investigation, all but one of the Committee's recommendations which affect the Navy have been accepted in principle, and I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT particulars of the action which has been or will be taken on the various items. The difficulty of implementing some of the recommendations at once lies in the shortage of man-power and the necessity for using such manpower as is available more directly in furtherance of the war effort. For example, in order to provide essential instructors in the detention quarters it has been necessary to withdraw some from training establishments with an inevitable loss of efficiency in those establishments. Moreover, we cannot at present afford to employ in detention quarters ratings who are fit for active sea service.

The recommendation which cannot be put into effect as it stands is that men at Canterbury, Portsmouth and Preston should be sent to civil prisons after serving not more than six months in the detention quarters. Imprisonment is higher in the scale of naval punishments than detention and the Naval Discipline Act provides that a man sentenced to detention must serve his sentence in naval detention quarters or military detention barracks. I should be reluctant to promote legislation which would enable a man who had been sentenced to detention to be confined in a civil prison, and I propose therefore, to issue orders recommending courts-martial to award imprisonment in preference to detention when the offender merits a long sentence. Men who are at present serving long sentences at Canterbury, Portsmouth and Preston cannot, as I have explained, be transferred to civil prisons, and for practical reasons to which the Committee have referred in paragraph 16 of their Report, it is not possible to transfer men of this type to establishments where they would be free to mix with the better type of detainee. It is recognized, however, that the routine at Canterbury, Portsmouth and Preston is more rigorous than at other quarters, and while it would be out of the question to reduce all sentences to six months, arrangements will be made which will ensure that no man will normally spend more than twelve months in one of these three establishments.

While the Committee comment on the comparative rigour of the routine in naval detention quarters, they expressly state that not only has there been no public outcry at all against these establishments, but also they received no allegation of any kind against them and not one of the witnesses who gave evidence before the Committee in London was a naval man. The Committee do not recommend that the existing routine should be relaxed, but the Admiralty have nevertheless decided that offenders should be allowed bedding from the time of first admission, and be permitted to write and receive letters according to the rules in force hi military detention barracks.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that compared with the statement which was given to the House yesterday what he has now told us is rather disappointing. Are we to have a Debate on the whole question at some convenient time?

The question as to a Debate must be put to my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House.

What adequate reason is there for having more rigorous discipline in the Navy detention quarters than in the other two Services? Why should there not be likeness between all three?

I am not aware of any very substantial differences after the inquiries we have made, but what I would say to my hon. Friends in the House is that if one considers the exacting conditions in this war in His Majesty's ships and then what conditions we should offer to those who deliberately desert in order not to go to sea, there is something to be said for not making those conditions too easy.

Is it not a fact that the proportion of naval ratings sent to detention is very much smaller than the number of soldiers sent to the "glasshouse"?

Certainly the numbers are not large. The overwhelming majority of the men in the Royal Navy loyally go to sea in the extraordinarily difficult conditions in this war.

Will the Admiralty reconsider the decision to send men to civil prisons simply because there is a shortage of staff, which I gather is all that it amounts to?

I do not think my hon. Friend has quite understood the answer I have given. Perhaps he will look at it in detail, and, if he wants more information, I will give it him.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman consider that the fact that the Report casts no reflection at all upon the organisation and running of naval detention barracks reflects great credit on the humanity and efficiency of those who have this very difficult task to look after?

That is indicated by the fact that no one has made any complaints.

While I appreciate that no one wants to encourage a man not to do his duty, does not the same thing apply to the other Services? Why should discipline be more rigorous and the conditions worse in naval detention barracks?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty when it is proposed to issue the ribbon of the Africa Star to those entitled to it under the White Paper?

As stated by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22nd September, in the Navy the 1939–43 Star takes priority of award over the Africa Star and no one eligible for the former will receive the latter. The qualifications for the 1939–43 Star have not yet, however, been completely settled and until these are known, the issue of the Africa Star by the Admiralty is not practicable.

Can my right hon. Friend say when these qualifications are going to be completely settled, because there is some feeling in the Navy over the fact that the Army are beginning to wear this Star and there is nothing in the Navy?

I am trying to arrange that there shall be no undue delay.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that there are many officers and men employed in shore establishments without whose work we should not have come through these fateful years, and who, under the Regulations in the White Paper, are not entitled to wear this ribbon?

We have taken into consideration all these things, but of course we must have some reasonable common level of award for all the Services.

Is it not a fact that those on shore duties in the African theatres will be entitled to this decoration while others who took the convoys to Malta and other important centres of operations are not so entitled?

There are a number of points with regard to period and places and so on, but if my hon. and gallant Friend would like answers in detail, I would like to see the Question on the Paper.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the improved sinkings of U-boats in the Atlantic Ocean in recent months have been due to surface action or air activity; and how many enemy submarines, during the last six months, have been sunk by surface craft?

The increased sinkings are due to increases in the surface and air forces available together with improvements in equipment and technique. As regards details, I regret that I cannot add to the monthly statements made by the President and the Prime Minister and to the joint communiqués issued from time to time. Both surface and air forces, working in the closest collaboration, have shared in the increased rate of sinkings.

Is it not the case that it is the vigorous defence of the merchant ships themselves which has largely contributed to these laudable results?

The gallantry of the merchant seamen is something that is recognised by all of us, but I do not think I wish to add to my answer.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware of the conditions under which the women are employed at a naval ordnance depot, the location of which has been notified to him; and whether he will take immediate steps to remedy this state of affairs?

Yes, Sir. The heating conditions in these premises were brought to my attention by the hon. Member in a letter dated last Friday. Temporary heating arrangements have already been provided, and a permanent system will be installed as quickly as possible.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how the production figures and prices of T.L.C.'s at Clyde shipbuilding yards compare with other important shipbuilding areas?

It would not be in the public interest to give the production figures for these craft. The rate of production is, however, at present slightly faster on the North-East Coast than on the Clyde. Negotiations on the prices of the Clyde-built craft are still in progress, and no indication of comparative costs can be given at this stage.

Will my right hon. Friend note that I did not ask him for production figures. I only asked him how production figures compared with those of other areas. Is he aware that the negotiations with regard to prices have been going on for a very long time, and will he take immediate action to see that the Clyde shipbuilders—the owners—who victimise men who can reduce the prices and have reduced the prices of T.L.C.'s will be brought to book very quickly indeed?

I am sure my hon. Friend and the Department dealing with this will not engage in any unnecessary delay, but proper costings are necessary before final prices can be fixed.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that men who actually proved to the Admiralty that they had reduced the time and cost of these T.L.C.'s by their own initiative have been barred from the Clyde shipyards ever since?

I shall ask the Department to look into the point my hon. Friend has made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of estates and the total acreage of enemy property now in the hands of the custodians in Kenya and Tanganyika, respectively?

I am asking the Governments concerned for the information, and will pass it on to the hon. and gallant Member when received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether in the interests of the Africans employed and to remove uncertainty, he will state the intentions of His Majesty's Government regarding the future of enemy property in East Africa after the war and now in the hands of the custodians; and whether all or any part of these estates will be made available to would-be settlers under a fighting services settlement scheme?

I regret that His Majesty's Government are not in a position to state their intentions on this subject at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the appointment of a settlement officer in Kenya to ascertain what areas of land might be made available for further settlement, public funds will also be provided to ascertain how to improve the unsatisfactory land position of the Africans?

The Government of Kenya have already submitted, as part of their comprehensive development programme, proposals for soil conservation measures and for the development of water supplies, both of which are designed to make possible cultivation of new areas by Africans and so relieve the congestion in certain parts of the Reserves. In addition, a grant from the Colonial Development and Welfare Vote has recently been approved for the purpose of a general reconnaissance of an extensive irrigation project in the upper Tana River basin.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he will issue an Order making it compulsory to seat four aside in first-class railway carriages if there are first-class passengers for whom no seats are available?

Some first-class compartments are so constructed that they normally seat four a side, or five a side with the armrests raised; others are so constructed that not more than three can sit in reasonable comfort. In view of these facts, I think my hon. Friend will agree that an Order in the terms which he proposes would not be desirable. I am glad to assure him, however, that the railway staff have been told that, where the construction of the compartment permits, arm rests must be raised if the accommodation is required. In all such compartments notices have been put up, informing the passengers that there are four seats a side.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he will remove the discrimination against the Scottish Junior Football Association in respect of recommendations to the Regional Transport Commissioner for team travelling facilities, by reverting to the practice prevailing in former seasons, and taking the duty out of the hands of the Scottish Football Association?

There are great advantages in the present arrangement, under which the Secretary of the Scottish Football Association makes applications for coaches for the teams both of that Association and of the Scottish Junior Football Association. I have carefully considered the information which my hon. Friend was good enough to send me, and, with respect, this information does not seem to me to prove that there has been discrimination against the Scottish Junior Football Association. If, however, my hon. Friend has in mind any cases in which junior clubs have been refused reasonable facilities, I will, of course, gladly investigate them.

Why has the information which I gave, and which in my judgment would prove the accuracy of my contention, not been investigated? Was this arrangement put into force on the initia- tive of my hon. Friend's Department? If so, why is jurisdiction over the juniors given to the seniors?

Because of the great advantages of having the administration centralised in the Scottish Football Association. But if my hon. Friend will give me any information he has, I will look into it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport what is the quantity of fuel per running mile used on main-line trains now and before the war?

I regret that the figures for which my hon. Friend asks are not available; but the average pre-war consumption of fuel per locomotive mile of all engines was 52.5 lbs., as compared with 61.44 lbs. at present. The increased consumption is due to the quality of the fuel now used, to increase in the number of freight trains run, and to heavy loading of both passenger and freight trains.

Is not another factor the condition of the engines, owing to lack of repairs?

That does affect it, undoubtedly; but I am glad to say that the repairs position is better now than it was a little while ago.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he will consider extending the dining car or buffet facilities existing on certain Southern Railway routes to trains travelling from Scotland to London, giving particular attention to trains containing Service men and women?

The purpose of withdrawing restaurant cars was to increase the seating capacity of the trains. The question of restoring restaurant cars on some of the trains between Scotland and London was carefully and sympathetically considered at the end of October, but in every case the provision of a restaurant car would have involved a reduction in seating capacity, with the result that more passengers would have had to stand, or extra engines would have had to be provided. These services are already over- crowded, and I regret that I would not, therefore, feel justified in giving effect to my hon. Friend's suggestion.

Will my hon. Friend keep in mind that even buffet facilities take up very little space, that the journey from Scotland to London takes up practically the whole day and that they are mostly Service men, Government representatives and business men who are on Government work who are making these journeys?

I have all these points very much in mind. I have done my best to increase railway bars and other facilities on railway stations, but I am afraid that it is really impossible to put on restaurant or even buffet cars.

Cannot the hon. Gentleman do something on the Southern Railway?

asked the Minister of Food why the small shopkeepers of Nottingham and district are being refused supplies of mineral waters, whereas the Nottingham Co-operative Society are receiving supplies?

My Department has received no complaints of the kind to which my hon. Friend refers. If he will send me particulars, I will have them investigated. The Nottingham Co-operative Society is being treated exactly the same as other retailers in the area.

Is my right hon. and gallant Friend not aware that the National Union of Small Shopkeepers would not have registered their strong protest on this matter if there had not been justification?

If my hon. Friend will let me know the particular case he has in mind, I shall be glad to have it investigated.

asked the Minister of Food whether his attention has been drawn to the operation of the scheme for the rationalisation of milk deliveries in Salford; whether he is aware that many households have been deprived thereby of milk deliveries on three, four or five days a week; and what steps he proposes to take to secure daily supplies to all the population of the city?

The difficulties referred to by my hon. and gallant Friend are not due, as he suggests, to zoning, but to the shortage of milk, milk bottles and labour. For non-priority adults, for whom the weekly allowance is two pints per week, it is not possible to arrange for more than two deliveries to single-member households or more than four deliveries to two-member households in cases where pint bottles are in use. Such deliveries will, however, be evenly spaced over the week.

Could not arrangements be made for half-pint bottles to be provided, to enable deliveries to take place more than twice a week?

No, one of the difficulties is that there are not enough half-pint bottles, and the filling arrangements are made for filling pint bottles.

asked the Minister of Food the number of retail businesses transferred from private traders to the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society and to multiple trading concerns, as well as the number of new businesses for which retail licences to deal in foodstuffs have been granted to these concerns?

I regret that the figures for which my hon. Friend asks are not available and could not be obtained without an unjustifiable expediture of man-power and time.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will allocate more grain to the manufacture of whisky owing to the curative effect of this spirit in cases of influenza and taking into consideration the importance of the export trade in the post-war years?

No, Sir. I am afraid this is not yet possible.

Does not my right hon. and gallant Friend realise that if the Government pursue their present policy there will be no whisky for eight or ten years after the war either for the cure of influenza or to export?

Is it not more important to allocate more grain for the feeding of famine stricken countries, especially India, than to use it for making whisky?

Does not my right hon. and gallant Friend realise that however pleasant the effects of whisky may be, it has no curative effect in influenza except in the perverted imagination of those who drink it?

asked the Minister of Food whether he has had analysed a so-called Valina sherry made by the Orchard Wine and Spirit Company, Limited, and sold by Olivier Kerbiriou, London, Limited, and by the Cavendish Wine Company, which tastes of apples, contains only half the alcohol found in Spanish sherry and is sold at £1 2s. 6d. a bottle; and whether he will stop the sale of fraudulent wines at prices exceeding those charged for genuine wines?

I am making inquiries and will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

Will my right hon. and gallant Friend taste the sherry himself?

No, Sir, we have sent it to our experts.

asked the Minister of Information whether he will cause the B.B.C. to make arrangements for relaying suitable Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and United States broadcasts each week?

The B.B.C. regularly broadcast programmes from the U.S.A. for listeners in this country and they are examining the possibility of similar relays or recordings of Soviet programmes.

Does my hon. Friend agree that there is now more good will between the people of the United States of America, the British and the Russian people, and should not this be cultivated and encouraged more than it has been up to the present time?

I entirely agree with what my hon. Friend says and we are anxious to do all we can to facilitate these broadcasts.

asked the Minister of Information whether he will arrange for copies of State papers likely to be of wide interest to be sent to camps, barracks and His Majesty's ships as they are issued; that they be informed that they can be supplied with Hansard on request; and will he see that the Forces are supplied with the views of the organised workpeople at least once a week and explanations made of workpeople's efforts and actions?

I would point out to my hon. Friend that this is a matter which concerns the Service Departments rather than the Ministry of Information.

Is it not the duty of the Ministry of Information to provide information, and if so, will my hon. Friend consult the representatives of the various Armed Forces with a view to carrying out the suggestions contained in the Question?

It is the duty of the various Service Departments to cater for the mental as well as the physical well-being of the officers and men under their control. We would be very glad to co-operate with Service Departments in this matter.

asked the Minister of Information what steps have been or are to be taken to co-ordinate our propaganda with that of the U.S.S.R.?

The responsible officers of the respective departments in London and Moscow maintain contact over this as over other important aspects of the common war effort.

As a result of the report given yesterday by the Foreign Secretary, does not my hon. Friend agree that there now appears to be complete co-ordination on the military field, and if the Ministry of Information takes similar action with a view to bringing about complete co-ordination in regard to propaganda, it would wield a powerful influence in our war effort?