asked the President of the Board of Education whether he can state the number of borough or urban district councils which will qualify for exception under Schedule I, Part III (4) of the Education Bill on the basis of total population or elementary school population.

The number of such councils is 39. For particulars I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bristol (South) (Mr. A. G. Walkden) on 18th January, a copy of which I am sending her.

asked the President of the Board of Education, with regard to the figure given in Table I of the Financial Memorandum to the Education Bill as the additional ultimate expenditure from public funds attributable to the reform of the dual system, what percentage of auxiliary schools of each denomination is assumed to consist of aided schools, special agreement schools and controlled schools, respectively.

The figures given in Table I of the Financial Memorandum to the Education Bill for the additional cost to public funds attributable to the reform of the dual system are a broad general estimate of the probable position over the whole field of auxiliary schools. I could not give an accurate estimate of definite percentages for particular categories of schools at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for War if it has been found possible to grant home leave to troops who have served for a substantial period of time in Malta; and if not, whether he will consider arranging for such leave.

The shipping available for these purposes is more economically employed in bringing men back to the Home Establishment who have been abroad for long periods than in bringing men home on leave, which implies taking them back again when their period of leave is over. I sympathise with my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion for troops in Malta, but I do not think it would be fair to single out this station for exceptional treatment.

asked the Secretary of State for War, if he is able to make any statement as to the existence and working of a plan whereby troops who have served overseas for a substantial period of time are relieved by troops from the United Kingdom.

Such very limited shipping as is available after providing for operational needs is being used to bring back to the Home Establishment those officers and men who have been abroad for the longest periods. At present men who have been abroad over five years are being brought back under these arrangements, and I hope later to be able to reduce the qualifying period. But my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion will certainly be borne in mind when our shipping resources for such purposes become more ample.

asked the Secretary of State for War, whether he is aware of the hardship often suffered by officers who hold a certain temporary rank and after being casualties for a specified brief period, have to revert to their war substantive rank; and whether he will now provide that, after an officer has satisfactorily performed the duties of his temporary rank for a period of say two or three years, his temporary rank will be converted into war substantive rank.

This question was carefully considered before I made the statement in reply to a number of hon. Members on 10th November, 1942, of which I will send my hon. and gallant Friend a copy. I would point out that the proposal in the second part of the Question would not remove though it would mitigate the effect of the regulations referred to in the first part.

asked the Secretary of State for War, how many complaints his Department has received in regard to slow promotion among officers in the R.A.P.C.; and, in particular, how many hon. Members have made representations to him either by Parliamentary question or otherwise on this subject.

Apart from the Questions my hon. and gallant Friend has recently asked I cannot trace any Parliamentary Questions on this matter. I regret that I cannot say exactly how many representations on this point have been made by letter, but I am satisfied that the number is not large.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether wage-earners in Sicily and Southern Italy and other territories liberated by the forces of the United Nations are allowed to form trade unions; and whether such organisations are now functioning in any of those parts.

The answer to the first part of the Question is Yes, Sir. I am now making inquiries about the second part.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is satisfied that all necessary steps are being taken to ensure that adequate organisation is now set up to bring to the liberated countries of Europe the maximum relief in the minimum of time.

As my hon. and gallant Friend will be aware, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration has now been set up and is taking all possible steps within the resources available to meet this very difficult problem.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the hunger prevailing in Naples and other parts of liberated Italy, while at the same time Allied troops can buy up food supplies; and whether he will approach our Allies to alter the rates of exchange of the lira and take any other necessary steps to put right this state of affairs.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to several hon. Members yesterday.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning if consideration has been, or is to be given, to the need for planning the North Staffordshire area, providing more industries and developing the area on modem lines; and will he have a survey made of the area and the minerals in order to prepare plans for the large scale development of the district including an industrial estate.

The matters to which the hon. Member refers are being carefully considered. Officers of my Ministry are now engaged in an investigation of all the relevant factors and are in communication with the local authorities concerned.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many alarm clocks have been allotted to Rochester and Chatham.

The available supplies of alarm clocks are not sufficient to permit of retailers holding stocks, so I have arranged for the stocks to be held by importers and wholesalers for supply to retailers against buying permits. There is thus no geographical distribution of alarm clocks, but retailers in Rochester and Chatham, to whom buying permits are tendered, should have no difficulty in obtaining clocks promptly from their regular suppliers in London or elsewhere.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that the Hull Corporation is in urgent need of wash boilers for reconditioned houses; that the manufacturers state their inability to supply them owing to his Department delaying the issue of M forms to the city architect; and if he will expedite the issue of the authority to purchase.

Owing to the serious shortage of labour and materials I have had to restrict the supply of wash boilers to households which have no other means of heating water in bulk. I regret that I could not accept the application by Hull Corporation because it related to houses which already have back-to-grate boilers.

asked the Minister of Supply, in view of his responsibility for the supply of crude, synthetic, reclaimed rubber and substitutes, whether he was consulted by the Ministry of Production prior to licences for steel, iron and timber being granted to Messrs. British Celanese for the manufacture of a synthetic rubber plant in this country; and if this matter was considered by the Advisory Committee whose function it is to advice him on these matters.

No, Sir. The responsibilities in these matters rest with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Production and I have nothing to add to the answer given by him to the hon. Member for West Fife (Mr. Gallacher) on 3rd December last.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport by what authority ticket inspectors employed by the L.N.E.R. are asking to see passengers' identity cards.

My Noble Friend has made it a condition for the reservation of a sleeping berth under the Government Priority Scheme that the passenger for whom the reservation is made shall produce his identity card if he is requested by a railway official to do so. My hon. Friend will appreciate that the purpose of this measure is to ensure, in the interests of all concerned, that berths are occupied by the priority passengers to whom they have been allotted.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether his Department will now sanction the wearing of a distinctive badge by officers of the A.S.R.S. in order that their R.A.F. and naval colleagues may easily recognise them.

No, Sir, but I can assure the hon. and gallant Member that this question has been fully considered. With the exception of officers who are qualified as aircrew or those whose service is confined to the Medical, Dental or Educational Branches or to the Royal Air Force Regiment, it is not the custom in the Royal Air Force for officers to wear distinguishing marks on their uniform to indicate the particular duties on which they are employed.

asked the Attorney-General whether he can now make his promised statemenf in regard to the steps to be taken to relieve congestion in the business of the courts, particularly in divorce causes.

asked the Attorney-General whether the Government have now considered the serious delays in the administration of justice which exist by reason of the insufficiency of High Court judges available for the trial of divorce and other cases; and will he inform the House what are the Government's proposals with regard to the appointment of additional judges at an early date.

asked the Attorney-General if he is now in a position to state the intentions of the Government with regard to expediting the hearing of cases in the divorce courts.

The report of the Matrimonial Causes Committee, over which Sir Ralph Wedgwood presided, has now been made to the Lord Chancellor and communicated by him to Parliament. The report is unanimous and my noble Friend is proposing to introduce a Bill under which it will be possible to appoint additional High Court Judges who will devote themselves to dealing with the divorce lists. Some of the divorce judges will be available to go circuit, as proposed by the Committee, and my noble Friend proposes, in connection with the passing of the Bill, to alter existing regulations so as to enable contested divorce suits in appropriate cases to be tried and disposed of in the provinces. The serious delays to which my hon. Friend refers arise in present circumstances on the divorce side of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, and without further anticipating the contents of the proposed Bill, I may express the hope that what His Majesty's Government is about to propose will adequately meet that situation. It is hoped to introduce the Bill in this House very shortly.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will issue instructions that wine and spirit merchants are to draw the same amount of spirit from bond as they did in the year 1939, thereby bringing funds into the Exchequer and easing the present short supply of whisky and other spirits.

No, Sir. In view of the fact that since the end of 1941 no cereals have been allocated for the production of potable spirit, I am not prepared to give any directions at the present time for the release of an increased quantity of whisky for current consumption.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions have taken place with the American and Free French Governments to fix the exchange rate of the franc when France is freed and what agreements have been made.

Informal discussions have taken place, but I am not in a position to make any further statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is proposed to re-establish civilian French rule in France as soon as any area has been satisfactorily freed from enemy occupation.

Yes, Sir; for a fuller statement of the position I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 22nd September last.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will state the present position as regards the supply of coal to the cotton-spinning industry; whether any mills have had to stop work owing to lack of supplies; and what arrangements are being made for the future.

The programme of supplies for the cotton spinning industry, as for other sections of the cotton industry, is arranged in consultation with the Cotton Control, the underlying principles being those applicable generally to industry. Only one case of a mill having closed temporarily has been reported to me, and I am informed that this consumer was not willing to accept alternative qualities of coal which were offered to him. I cannot emphasise too strongly that at the present time industrial consumers who do not do everything in their power both to economise in the consumption of coal and to make use of the qualities of coal or coke most readily available will inevitably experience serious difficulty in maintaining production. With regard to the last part of the Question, supplies will continue to be arranged in consultation with the Cotton Control.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will publish the International Convention, in accordance with the terms of which British subjects are debarred from taking actions for negligence against the troops of Allied countries who are in this country.

My hon. Friend is mistaken. There is no such International Convention. There is nothing to prevent British subjects bringing civil actions for negligence against members of the forces of Allied Governments in this country, and judgments will be given in any such cases in the ordinary way. In practice it is, for obvious reasons, most difficult to enforce such judgments against the members of such forces personally; but arrangements have been made with all the Allied Governments for the satisfac- tion of successful claims except as regards certain classes of claims, particularly those arising out of traffic accidents in which members of the United States forces are involved. As, however, my right hon. Friend the Under-Secretary has already informed the House, I am at present engaged in discussing this matter with the United States authorities and am making every effort to reach a satisfactory settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made with the further exchange of 1,600 civilian internees from the Far East and the British Commonwealth, respectively, which has now been under consideration since May, 1943.

The difficulties to which my right hon. Friend the Minister of State referred in his reply to my hon. Friend On 20th October last have not, I regret to say, been overcome, but negotiations are still continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that the B.B.C. news bulletins when referring to the eastern frontier of Poland describe it as the 1939 Polish border; what communication he has received from the Polish Government on the subject; and what steps he has taken to stop this practice.

The phrase "1939 Polish frontier" has, I understand, been used in the B.B.C. news bulletins as a convenient term to distinguish the pre-war Polish eastern frontier from other subsequent territorial arrangements. The Polish Government informed me of their desire that the term used in all B.B.C. programme in the Polish language should be "Polish frontier" and arrangements were made accordingly. I understand that either of these terms is now used in other B.B.C. transmissions, according to convenience, and I do not think any further action is called for.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the percentage of infantile mortality for each month of 1942 and 1943 by counties.

The complete monthly figures desired by the hon. and gallant Member could not be furnished at this

asked the Attorney-General whether, as remission of fees under certain circumstances is permitted both in the High Courts and in the lower criminal courts, he will consider extending, on similar lines, the concession to county courts.

The circumstances in which fees are remitted in the High Court and in certain criminal courts are not in general applicable to proceedings in the county court: county court fees are small and are fixed with a view to prevent the court being clogged with a number of trifling and ill considered claims. They can be remitted in certain exceptional circumstances, but I do not think that the suggestion in the Question is practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will impress upon all rural courts the need for the utmost caution when dealing with applications for eviction orders against non-tied agricultural workers

I have no reason to believe that magistrates' courts do not have regard to all the relevant facts and circumstances in dealing with such applications and it would not be right for me to attempt to influence the courts as to the weight to be given to any particular class of evidence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the compensation terms payable to part-time Civil Defence workers for injuries received whilst engaged in Civil Defence duty are less favourable than those payable to full-time Civil Defence workers suffering injuries under similar conditions; and whether, as the injury received whilst on duty of the part-time Civil Defence worker is deserving of equal compensation to a similar injury received by a full-time Civil Defence worker, he will take the necessary steps.

The rates of payment of injury allowances are the same for whole-time and part-time Civil Defence workers. Where necessary the Ministry of Home Security makes the allowance up to full Civil Defence basic pay for 26 weeks for whole-time personnel and up to the amount of loss of earnings or Civil Defence basic pay, whichever is lower, for 13 weeks in the case of part-time personnel. As far as is practicable the treatment of whole-time members is equated to that of members of the Armed Forces. In the case of part-time members who are normally in full-time civil employment, the grant of 13 weeks' supplementation is a special concession which is not enjoyed by the ordinary worker who is injured at work by enemy action and I do not see my way to extend the concession further.

asked the Attorney-General if he is in a position to make a statement on the progress of the work of the Pensions Appeal Tribunals.

asked the Attorney-General the progress that has been made with the hearing of cases under the Pensions Appeal Tribunals; how many cases have been heard; and how many appeals have succeeded.

Pensions Appeal Tribunals have been sitting continuously since 18th October, 1943. There are four Tribunals now sitting in England and Wales, in London and at various large centres in the Provinces. In view of the large number of cases being made ready for hearing, an increase in the number of tribunals, both in London and in the Provinces, will shortly be necessary, and arrangements to this end have already been made. During the period from 18th October, 1943, to 14th January, 1944, the tribunals for England and Wales heard 746 appeals, of which 195 succeeded. The present average number of cases being disposed of daily by these tribunals is 26.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if he has considered complaints made by the public and endorsed by Leyton Borough councillors regarding the inadequacy of train services from Leyton, particularly between 6 and 8 a.m.; and whether any action will be taken to improve the position.

The representations recently made by members of the public and by the Leyton Borough Council are now under consideration, and I will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he proposes to issue a White Paper on the recent negotiations between the industry and his Department, or in what manner does he propose to report upon the unrest in the coalmining industry so that the House can debate the policy of the Government in all its aspects.

The discussions to which my hon. Friend refers are still in progress and I am not yet in a position to give him the information he requires. I am sure my hon. Friend will appreciate, however, that it would be preferable not to debate this subject until the discussions, which so far are proceeding well, are concluded.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs if he has been in communication with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand on the policy of co-operation between those Dominions for the development of Pacific trade and defence, which is under discussion at a conference which opened on 17th January; and if His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom are represented at the conference.

His Majesty's Government in the Commonwealth of Australia have advised His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom as to this conference. It is understood that it is designed to effect an exchange of views between the Commonwealth and New Zealand Governments on Pacific questions as a preliminary to further consultation with His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and other interested Governments. There is accordingly no question of United Kingdom representation at the present conference.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the abuse arising from the ease with which birth certificates can be got; what steps he proposes to take to prevent this; and whether he will arrange that only the date of birth and nothing else will be required by the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The document usually termed a birth certificate is a certified copy of an entry in a birth register. It is necessarily made available by statute to all who require it as evidence of the contents of that entry only; and its possession affords no evidence whatever that the person producing it is the person to whose birth it relates. I am not aware that this system gives rise to abuse, but if my hon. and gallant Friend will send me particulars of any cases he has in mind I shall be glad to look into them.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the amount of public money spent to date on the erection of the naval camp, the location of which has been communicated to him; the nature of any contract entered into with Mr. Butlin in regard to the erection and disposal of the camp; and the financial terms on which the camp is to be handed over to Mr. Butlin at the end of the war.

The total expenditure incurred on this camp by the Admiralty is about £660,000. The camp was built by Butlin's Ltd. for the Admiralty on a fixed-price basis and the Admiralty is under contract to sell the camp to Butlin's Ltd. within a specified period after the end of hostilities. It would be contrary to established practice to disclose the financial terms arranged with Butlin's Ltd. for the eventual purchase of the camp.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty why, up to 13th December, 1943, no acknowledgment had been received of a letter, dated 4th October, 1943, containing a complaint from an Oxford elector, of which he was informed, and of repeated requests from the elector for such acknowledgment.

The elector concerned is a member of the Admiralty staff and her letter was dealt with through official channels according to the proper procedure. I have already informed my hon. and gallant Friend of the full circumstances of the case and I have nothing to add to my letter of 3rd January.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will report to the House on the present state of health of the 11 British constables injured by the Jewish mobs during the search for deserters from the Polish army, at Ramat Hakonesh, on or about 16th November; and what rate of compensation is to be paid to these constables.

Of the 12 British police casualties, only one was sufficiently serious to be admitted to hospital. All had recovered and resumed duty by 27th November. As regards the last part of the Question compensation is payable only in the event of discharge from the force as the result of injuries received in the course of duty. In the present case the question does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can give the House any details concerning the hauling down of the Union Jack in Tel Aviv and its replacement by the Jewish flag on 20th November by a mob, which also endeavoured to destroy the district commissioner's office; and what action has been taken in regard to the offenders.

Arising out of the search of the Jewish Settlement at Ramat Hakovesh, protest meetings were held in Tel Aviv on 20th November. When the meetings broke up, a crowd of several thousand strong proceeded to the District Offices, where they were met by a strong force of police. Stones were thrown, the crowd rushed the building, smashed windows, broke into the ground floor and set fire to it; the Union Jack was removed and the Zionist flag hoisted. Police reinforcements who arrived were heavily attacked and stoned, but succeeded in clearing the vicinity of the building and, with the aid of British military reinforcements, dispersed the crowd. Eight persons were arrested and charged with offences under the Palestine Criminal Code and the Palestine Police Ordinance. Investigations have not yet been completed and the charges are still pending.

asked the Minister of Information whether he will give an assurance that when Ministers claim the right of public broadcast on controversial matters, as in the case of agriculture, equal opportunity will always be afforded to those directly concerned to reply by the same means of publicity.

Individual Ministers cannot claim any right to broadcast on the B.B.C. If a Minister does give a broadcast on a matter of substantial controversy the B.B.C. generally try to arrange an opportunity for a reply.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works why the Emergency Powers (Defence) Paint Regulation, S.R. & O., No. 1673/S.57, of 1943, which was signed on 3rd December, and which came into operation on 9th December, was not delivered to the Library of the House of Commons until 10th December.

This Order was made with the agreement of the industry to enable war emergency paint to be sold in the North of Scotland. It was desired that the Order should come into force as soon as possible after it was signed and 9th December was chosen as allowing a reason- able time to make the necessary arrangements. Unfortunately, owing to a misunderstanding, the Order was not ready until late on 9th December and was not placed in the Library of the House until the following day.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any further progress to report in regard to plans for the construction of road bridges near the existing railway bridges over the Forth and Tay; and whether he will take steps to ensure that land speculators shall not take advantage of the proposed schemes?

I have been asked to reply. No, Sir. As regard the second part of the Question, it would be premature to take any special action on the lines my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind until decisions are taken on the schemes.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport in what circumstances are the railway companies prepared to accepts £5 notes in payment for tickets; under what authority a booking clerk is entitled to refuse such a note unless the passenger signs his name and address on the back and produces his National Registration Identity Card; and whether he has anything to add to his answer on this matter given to the hon. Member for Harwich on 9th June last.

Instructions have been issued to railway staffs to the effect that, unless there is reason to doubt their genuineness, or unless the change required is not available, bank notes tendered in payment for fares or carriage charges may be accepted if their value approximates to the amount of the fares or carriage charges, thus reducing change to a minimum. As my hon. Friend will be aware, the Bank of England £5 note is legal tender in payment only of an amount of £5 or over and change cannot be demanded as a matter of right, if it be tendered for payment of a smaller sum. The instructions provide that under ordinary conditions notes should not be accepted if the amount of change required is appreciably in excess of £1.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if he will state, for the last recorded period, the number of accidents caused by collisions with stationary motor vehicles in the black-out; how many persons were killed in consequence; and what action he is taking to prevent accidents of this kind.

I regret that no information is available about the number of accidents caused during the war by collisions with stationary motor vehicles in the black-out. A special inquiry was, however, made into fatal road accidents during the three months, November and December, 1942, and January, 1943. In this period 46 persons were killed in collisions with stationary vehicles in the black-out. The most effective measure for the prevention of such accidents lies in the hands of motorists themselves, namely, that they should keep their rear lights clean and in good order. I have asked my right hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs to give special consideration to the matter.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if he has considered the Report of the conference held in Manchester, on 5th July, 1938, which considered modern problems of transport, providing evidence of overlapping, duplication and inefficiency; and will he consider the need for a 50 mile radius transport board on the omnibuses of public ownership and the electrification of the railways in the area with new lines running out to North Wales, Lake District, Cheshire, Blackpool, Morecambe, North Staffordshire and Derbyshire.

I have not been able to find any record that the Report of the Conference held in Manchester in 1938, to which my hon. Friend refers was ever received in my Department. In answer to the second part of my hon. Friend's Question, I would remind him that I said in answer to a Question on 10th November, that my Noble Friend is always ready to consider any sound scheme for promoting co-ordination and increased efficiency in transport services which local authorities and transport undertakings may lay before him.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport what steps he is taking to ensure an adequate supply of railway trucks and sheets for the transport of potatoes from South Lincolnshire.

Every effort is being made to provide an adequate supply of railway wagons and sheets for the transport of potatoes from South Lincolnshire, and extensive use is being made of road transport and coastal shipping. But the pressure on the available supplies of wagons and sheets for the transport of essential traffics is very heavy, and wagons must be so used as to give the best general result. I am grateful to my hon. and gallant Friend for this opportunity of saying again that traders can render an important service to the nation by loading and unloading wagons with the least possible delay.

asked the Prime Minister if in view of the steady flow of criticism during more than two years, expressing grave anxiety as to the quality and power of our tanks and their armament, he will arrange for a Select Committee to inquire and report to this House in a Secret Session.

Sir, I am not anxious at the present time about our tank production and equipment. We are receiving excellent supplies from the United States. Our own production is now on satisfactory lines in quality and character and I have no doubt that our forces will be well equipped in the campaigns which lie immediately before us. His Majesty's Government see no need for a Select Committee.