asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how much financial assistance has been given to those whose livelihoods and homes have been disturbed by the militarily-enforced evacuation of a South-western area?

So far, few final claims have been received from those who have had to evacuate from the South-West area, but 129 requests for monetary advances in respect of compensation due have been received and in each case payment has been made. The Admiralty has a cashier on the spot and anyone properly entitled can obtain on request advances on account or final settlements up to £20 in cash or larger amounts by cheque within 34 days.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will arrange for tradesmen dispossessed from the South-western area which has been evacuated to make room for troops to be enabled, without licence, to establish themselves elsewhere should they so desire it with the preferential option of returning at the earliest moment to the places from which they have had to leave?

I will ask the licensing committees concerned to give sympathetic consideration to any applications for licences under the Location of Retail Businesses Order received from non-food retailers moved from the area to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers. Licences will also be granted to any of these retailers who wish to re-establish themselves in their former businesses when the ban is removed. My area distribution officers have, in the past few weeks, personally visited all these traders, and, so far as can be at present ascertained, only one has definitely decided to re-open his business elsewhere. These traders have also been advised of the facilities for registering on the Board of Trade register of withdrawing traders.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will guarantee that those agricultural workers who have been forced to leave their homes and livelihoods in a South-western area cleared for Army training purposes will have a prior claim after the war to the occupation of any new houses which may then be built in the evacuated area concerned?

I am not in a position to give a guarantee of the nature indicated, but if my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind houses built by local authorities he should approach the Minister of Health.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can make any statement on the numbers of old people who have been evacuated from the militarily occupied area in the South-western district; what procedure has been adopted to care for them; and whether they will have the right to be brought back at a later date to the places they are now leaving?

My Department with the assistance of the rural district council have been concerned with the question of alternative accommodation for the dispossessed persons. By the beginning of this week alternative accommodation had been arranged in all but seven cases. I am obtaining details of the aged persons concerned and will communicate with my hon. and gallant Friend. As regards the last part of the Question I would refer him to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty do 8th December to a Question by the hon. Member for Mile End (Mr. Frankel).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that farmers in the South western area, which has been evacuated to make room for troops, are dispossessed at the time when they are hoping to make money to meet their annual liabilities, he will grant assistance in all such cases?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer given on 8th December by the First Lord of the Admiralty to the hon. Member for Mile End (Mr. Frankel). [OFFICIAL REPORT; Vol. 395, col. 947–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that advices from German camps where prisoners of war are confined show that in many cases there are signs of mental strain; and whether in the selection of prisoners of war for repatriation sympathetic consideration is given to those men who suffer from obvious mental derangement due to confinement and to the difficult conditions under which they exist?

The selection of prisoners of war for repatriation is carried out according to the Geneva Convention by a Mixed Medical Commission of two neutral doctors and one German doctor. Mental and nervous affections are specified in the Convention as diseases which jusify repatriation. Thirty-two British prisoners of war were recently included on these grounds among those repatriated from Germany. The number of prisoners of war in Germany classified as suffering from mental ailments is small. Mental hospitals in Germany are frequently visited by the Protecting Power and the prisoner of war inmates also occasionally receive visits from British chaplains. They are supplied with books and Red Cross parcels.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will expedite the issue of instructions to Army commanders that repatriated prisoners of war will be enabled to spend Christmas at their homes, in view of the fact that many of these men have already been, refused the concession?

The necessary instructions covering prisoners of war repatriated from Germany were issued on 30th November and 2nd December. Similar instructions covering prisoners of war repatriated from Italy were issued on 10th December. Scotsmen if they so desire may take this leave at New Year instead of at Christmas.

asked the Attorney-General when it is intended to set up a pensions appeal tribunal in Nottingham?

Arrangements have been made for a pensions appeal tribunal to sit at Nottingham on 17th January, 1944, and during the remainder of that week.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will, prior to the Second Reading of the Education Bill, obtain and publish the full details of the agreement entered into by Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in the State of Victoria, as to the basis of religious instruction in the schools in that State?

I have instituted inquiries about this agreement and I hope to have some detailed information before the House resumes.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, whether he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the examples issued in January, 1942, for the guidance of local authorities in deciding what railings, etc., should not be scheduled for removal for scrap; and what action his Department has taken in those cases where railings have been removed and are subsequently shown to have been within any of these categories?

I append the examples for which the hon. Member asks.In the few cases in which it has been or can be shown that railings which have been removed were, in fact, essential to the use of land, a substitute is provided, to the satisfaction of the owner, either by means of a cash payment or in kind.

asked the Prime Minister whether the announcement by the Secretary of State for India of the necessity to import ready-made houses with all their fittings by the 100,000 to provide accommodation that may be needed after the war represents the policy of His Majesty's Government?

It is clear from the full text of my right hon. Friend's speech in which he referred, to the possibility of importing ready-made houses that he was in no sense making an announcement of Government policy.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he has considered the view of the Cotton and Rayon Merchants' Association that converting activities, now exercised by his Department, should be restored immediately to the merchant converters, in view of the value of this section of the industry to post-war export trade; whether he is aware that such converting work as is now permitted is carried on by firms unacquainted with the work and unable to transact it on expert lines; and whether as the return of this work to merchant converters would not prejudice the war effort, he will now do so?

The representations on this subject made to the Ministry of Supply by the Cotton and Rayon Merchants' Association have been considered. The association has been informed that in existing circumstances no change cars be made in the procedure at present being followed. I am not aware that any converting work is carried on by firms unacquainted with the work and unable to transact it on expert lines.

asked the Minister of Pensions the number of applications for pensions under the improved conditions set out in the White Paper; the number in which decisions have been notified; and the number of favourable decisions?

All applications are of course now made and considered under the improved conditions of the White Paper, but I assume my hon. Friend has particularly in mind those claims to entitlement which have been reconsidered under its provisions. The total number of such claims is about 27,000 and pension has been awarded in just over 6,500 cases. There remain 4,000 cases in which a decision has not yet been notified, but the bulk of these will be disposed of within the next month.

asked the Minister of Pensions the number of applications received froth unemployable seriously disabled war pensioners for supplementary allowances; the number of cases in which decisions have been notified; and the number of supplementary allowances awarded?

Excluding general inquiries as to the intention or nature of the new provisions about 6,000 applications have been received. Awards have been made in just over 2,600 cases; 150 applications have lapsed and in some 700 cases the requirement has been found not to be satisfied. 2,500 applications are still under consideration.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in view of the fact that a civil servant earning £850 per annum receives under the new arrangements a war bonus of approximately £50 per annum and that one earning boo per annum basic receives no bonus at all, what is the procedure for Departments who wish to continue their practice of giving an officer earning £850 basic an effective increment of £50 a year after one year's service in return for increased efficiency, experience or responsibility?

It is an unavoidable feature of any bonus scheme which provides for a salary limit beyond which no bonus is payable that officers reaching the limit will get no increase in their total emoluments until the increments on their basic pay have overtaken the bonus. This is well understood by the National Staff Side of the Whitley Council, with whom the recent Civil Service bonus settlement was agreed.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the salary increases to the Civil Service, he proposes to increase the allowances to those householders who have to billet them?

The increase in Civil Service war bonus does not necessarily create a presumption that billeting allowances should also be increased but the scale of these allowances is kept under constant review by the Minister of Health.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the names of his Medical Advisory Committee and his Scientific Advisory Committee?

As regards my Medical Advisory Committee, I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of my reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Pollok (Commander Galbraith) on 16th February, 1943. Since that date Colonel Inch has resigned from membership on account of military duties. The following are the names of the present members of my Scientific Advisory Committee:

• Sir John Orr, D.S.O., M.C., M.A., M.D., D.Sc. (Chairman).
• Professor Carl H. Browning, M.D., D.P.H., F.R.S.
• Professor F. A. E. Crew, M.D., D. Sc., Ph.D.
• Professor I. de Burgh Daly, M.A., M. D.
• Sir John Fraser, Bart., K.C.V.O., M.C., M. D., F.R.C. S.
• Professor D. Murray Lyon, M.D., D.Sc., F.P.C.P.E., D.P.H., F.R.S.E.
• Sir Alex. Macgregor, O.B.E., M.D., D.P.H.
• Professor T. J. Mackie, M.D., D.P.H.
• Sir Edward Mellanby, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S. (Secretary of Medical Research Council).
• Professor W. J. Tulloch, O.B.E., M. D.

It is a practice of the Scientific Advisory Committee to delegate special investigations to expert Sub-Committees to which non-members are co-opted.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware of the cases of attempted evasion of military service or other forms of compulsory National Service by persons alleging Dominion nationality and claiming that the laws of this country do not apply to them; and whether in cases of this nature the applicants will be shipped back to the countries to which they claim to belong?

I am not aware that cases of this nature have occurred to an extent which calls for special action.

asked the Minister of Labour whether any progress has yet been made with his proposals for alleviating the shortage of domestic help in private households where there are special circumstances, such as confinement and sickness; and whether he is yet in a position to make the general statement to which he referred in the House on 14th October last?

In the statement I made to the House on 4th November I made it clear that it was my intention to seek the advice of the Advisory Committee, whose appointment I then announced, on this matter. This Committee will be meeting very shortly.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of Members of the House of Commons who are now in the paid service of the Crown; the number of Members who are attached to Government Departments in a capacity which entitles them to expense accounts with the Crown; and the number of Members now performing duties which have required the issue of the Prime Minister's certificate?

I regret that I have not been able to obtain the information with regard to the first and second parts of the Question. With regard to the third part of the Question the answer is 21.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that the recent instructions sent out by his Department to the N.F.S. to centralise their bookkeeping has resulted in the purchase of foodstuffs being confined to the large suppliers and co-operative societies in a number of areas; and whether he will give an assurance that it is not the intention of his Department in these instructions to eliminate the small trader from supplying the N.F.S. stations throughout the country?

The instruction to which my hon. Friend refers provides that, wherever possible, foodstuffs are to be bought on a wholesale basis but that arrangements may be made to buy perishable articles of food locally from retail traders where this is more convenient, and other articles may be bought locally in rural areas. The objects of the instruction were to secure economies in administration and to ensure the provision of food supplies for the National Fire Service under proper control and on the best competitive terms.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the feeling of indignation among ex-Service men in the city of Birmingham, who have been discharged from further service in this war as medically unfit, but are compelled to register for fire-watching on business premises, while some men, who have not served with the Forces, are exempted from Civil Defence duties; and whether he will take steps to remove this grievance?

Any person can apply for exemption from fire guard duties on grounds of medical unfitness. The physical standard required for these duties is lower than for active service in the Armed Forces and in some cases men discharged from the Forces are fit for fire guard duties.

asked the Home Secretary (1) whether he proposes to take any special steps to deal with the large number of applications for certificates of disablement by reason of pneumoconiosis which are outstanding in South Wales;(2) the number of applications for certificates of disablement by reason of pneumoconiosis which have been made to the South Wales Medical Board; and how many are awaiting decisions?

Since 1st July last the Medical Board have received 2,213 applications from South Wales coalminers under the Various Industries (Silicosis) Scheme, 1931, or the Coalmining Industry (Pneumoconiosis) Scheme, 1943. In 1,282 of these cases the Board have not yet come to a decision. As from the 1st July last the strength of the Medical Board in South Wales was doubled and further assistance is being given so far as is practicable. I fully recognise the desirability of doing everything possible to cope with the increased work, but my hon. Friend will also recognise that the claims on the medical profession at the present time make it very difficult to secure the services of qualified men who can devote time to this work, and some delay is unavoidable.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that letters from this country to the United States take about six weeks to reach Washington and as long to cover the return journey; and the reasons for these long periods of transit?

I am aware that as long a time as six weeks is occasionally occupied in the transmission of letters sent by surface route between this country and Washington. Although the Post Office uses the ships which are likely to result in the earliest possible delivery of the letters, the time of transmission from port to port is inevitably much longer than in peace time owing to war time conditions affecting the times of departure, the routes followed, and the speed of the ships. According to the latest available information the times of transmission of mails despatched to the U.S.A. during the three months August-October varied from 8 to 24 days from port to port, the average time being 14 days. In the inward direction the transmission times of mails arriving during the past three months varied from 14 to 30 days from port to port, except for one occasion when the journey took 49 days. To these times must be added the time during which mails may have waited for the departure of the next ship, and this may be several days. Censorship might also in certain circumstances be a contributory factor. If my hon. Friend will kindly furnish me with particulars of any specific cases where the delay has apparently been excessive, I will gladly have inquiries made.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware that the divisional petroleum officer at Tunbridge Wells sanctioned a supply of 31 gallons of petrol to enable four members of the borough council of Brighton to travel by a high-powered motor-car from Brighton to Blackpool and back, journeys covering 574 miles which might have been performed by rail; and whether this use of petrol has his approval?

A request by telephone for the supply of petrol coupons for the journey in question was received by the Regional Petroleum Officer very shortly before the August Bank Holiday, when the Press was reporting extreme congestion of the railway services, especially of those to Blackpool. He understood that the journey was one of great urgency in the interests of the borough and must be made within the period of congestion on the railways; and he reluctantly authorised the supply of the coupons. I regard this action as a legitimate exercise of his discretion in the circumstances of the case.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will now terminate the working of Petrol Order, No. 3, of 1940?

No, Sir.