asked the Minister of Food whether his attention has been drawn to the difficulties arising from the refusal of his Ministry to offer the same rations to the British Legion village hospital, to which soldiers are sent on their return from the Middle East, as are offered to military institutions.

Yes, Sir. I have read my hon. Friend's letter and the enclosure he sent. A Service patient in a civilian hospital receives the scale of diet prescribed by the medical officer in charge of his case, and the supplies of food at the disposal of civilian hospitals are sufficient to provide such scales of diet.

asked the Minister of Food, if he will consider permitting farmers to slaughter a sheep or pig for consumption at harvest suppers on the completion of corn harvest.

I regret that neither the probable supply position for meat nor that for bacon allows me to adopt my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the number of new shops opened by co-operative societies in Scotland since September, 1939; and how many of these additional shops represent purchases from small traders.

Between 1st January, 1942, when the Location of Retail Businesses Order came into force, and 31st December, 1943, 38 licences to open shops were granted to co-operative societies in Scotland. Of these, five were granted to open new shops, and eight to transfer existing co-operative businesses to other premises. The remaining 25 licences were granted to co-operative societies which had acquired the goodwill of existing businesses from other traders. Figures for the period before the 1st January, 1942, are not available. The opening of food shops is not controlled under the Location of Retail Businesses Order.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to initiate a film industry in Scotland after the war; and whether any attempt is being made to exploit, through the medium of the film, the beauties of Scottish scenery to encourage tourist traffic after the war.

I am most anxious to encourage by all possible means the production of films in Scotland, and meantime I am in close touch with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Information on the subject of war time production. As regards the second part of the Question, three of the seven films produced in Scotland during the past six months—"Highland Doctor," "Power for the Highlands" and "Crofting"—have given special attention to Scots scenic effects. Arrangements are being made through the Ministry of Information for the wide distribution overseas of these and other Scottish films.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he proposes, during the current year, to keep the schools open in holidays, requiring the attendance of teachers and the sacrifice of some of their holidays; and whether he will ascertain the actual demand in each district for such opening before giving instructions to teachers to attend.

The position remains as stated in the answer which I gave my hon. Friend on 3rd March, 1943.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will consider approaching the 12 Church of England bishops of Japanese nationality, whose dioceses are in Japanese territory, with a view to their bringing to the notice of the Japanese Government the treatment of prisoners of war now in its hands.

While I regret that I am unable for practical reasons to pursue the suggestion made by my hon. Friend, I can assure him that His Majesty's Government will neglect no opportunity which may be open to them of bringing the facts to the notice both of the Government and of the people of Japan, with a view to awkening them to a sense of Japan's responsibilities towards humanity.

asked the Minister of Information the cost to public funds of the recent meetings held in Plymouth under the auspices of his Department addressed, respectively, by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Air; and what categories of, persons were invited to sit on the platform.

These meetings involved local expenditure of £60 and £45 respectively. Amongst those on the platform in each case were the Lord Mayor, a representative of the Services and representatives of the political parties.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he has yet considered the representations made to him by the Edge Women's Institute with regard to the need for an hourly omnibus service between Gloucester and Stroud; and with what result.

As my hon. and gallant Friend will remember, the service between Gloucester and Stroud via Edge was improved last July. I regret that it is still impracticable to provide an hourly service on this route, for the reasons then explained to him.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the percentage of shifts lost in the coalmining industry, all wage earners, in the year ended 30th June 1943, with corresponding figures for the year ended 30th June, 1942.

The average percentage of shifts lost by all wage-earners in the coalmining industry was 11.4 in the year ended 30th June, 1943, compared with 9.8 in the previous year.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the output per man-shift worked in the coalmines, all wage earners, for the year ended 30th June, 1943, with corresponding figures for the year ended 30th June, 1942.

The average output of saleable coal per man-shift worked by all wage-earners in the coalmining industry in the year ended 30th June, 1943, was 1.04 tons as compared with 1.05 tons in the previous year. It should be pointed out, however, that any statistics relating to the year 1943 must be regarded as liable to amendment in the light of figures which may be obtained from the industry showing the finally ascertained proportion of saleable coal to total tonnage raised.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what was the basis of the comparison in which, on 12th October 1943, he placed the coalmining industry 81st in the list of average wage rates for industries at the beginning of the war; and whether overtime payments were included in the workers' earnings in other industries when this comparison was made.

My statement on 12th October, 1943, was based on a comparison between the estimated average weekly earnings of an adult worker in the coalmining industry in October, 1938, and the figures of earnings in other industries for the last week in the same month, collected by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service. Payment for overtime, where earned, was included in all the figures both for 1938 and for the later years referred to in my statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the limit placed upon the amount which an individual depositor can put in a Post Office Savings Bank account; the reason for this limit; and the reason for any limit.

In reply to the first part of the Question, the limit in ordinary cases is that new deposits shall not exceed £500 in any one calendar year. In reply to the second and third parts, the terms on which deposits are taken are designed to meet the requirements of the small investor and on that account are exceptionally favourable. The object of the limit is to prevent the use of the Post Office Savings Bank by large depositors for whom it is not intended.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has considered representations as to the hardships caused by the operation of certain conditions in regard to old age pensions under the Act of 1936, particularly relating to means test; and if he is proposing to introduce legislation to meet such hardships.

I have considered certain representations on this subject. The whole future of the non-contributory old age pension system is now under consideration in connection with the Beveridge plan, and I cannot see my way to introduce legislation on this subject in advance of the wider scheme.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any facilities are to be given to the Dominion of New Zealand in respect of the conversion or repayment of New Zealand Government 4½ per cent. Inscribed Stock 1944, falling due for payment on 1st March, 1944.

Yes, Sir. The New Zealand Government are making an offer to holders of the Stock referred to by my hon. Friend, inviting them to convert their holdings into a new Stock. As on the occasions of similar operations by the Commonwealth of Australia, and in order to facilitate the new operation without interference with the Government's borrowing operations, I have agreed to advance from the Vote of Credit such sums as may be necessary to enable the New Zealand Government to repay any unconverted Stock.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what percentage of messengers are eligible to be made established and pensionable.

All unestablished non-industrial messengers in the Civil Service are eligible for establishment and can secure establishment provided that vacancies on the established cadre are available for them and that, if established, they will be able at age 60 to reckon at least 10 years' established service, previous un-established service counting as to one half for this purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for Air (1) what is the position of persons voluntarily enlisted into the balloon barrage service upon the expiration of their service agreements;(2) whether persons discharged from the R.A.F.V.R. (Balloon Barrage Service) upon the expiration of voluntary enlistment, who become liable for service under the National Service Acts, are given the same medical examinations, choice of service and options as persons who have not previously served.

Under the Military and Air Forces (Prolongation of Service) Act, 1939, the term of service of airmen of the Auxiliary Air Force serving in Balloon Command is deemed not to expire until the end of the emergency. Where, however, these airmen cannot be employed in the best interests of the Service under the terms of their engagement they may be discharged at its expiration and called up for immediate service in the R.A.F.V.R. under the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the National Service (No. 2) Act, 1941. Since these airmen do not cease to be members of the Armed Forces of the Crown upon the expiry of their original term of service, the statutory provisions and procedure designed to deal with the call-up of men from civil life do not apply. The reasons for this procedure were fully explained in the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Sir J. Mellor) on 9th June last, a copy of which I am sending to my hon. and learned Friend. Personnel who enlisted in the R.A.F.V.R. before the war accepted liability for general service. They are not discharged on completion of their original engagement which is automatically extended for the period of the emergency.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) if he will take steps to improve the mail service between the United Kingdom and Southern Rhodesia;(2) if he will consider extending the 6d. air letter service to members of the Forces serving in Southern Rhodesia.

So far as surface mails for Southern Rhodesia are concerned, the fullest possible use is made of all available sailings, and I am afraid that under present conditions I can hold out no hope of any material improvement. As regards air mails, the airgraph service is already in operation both to members of the Forces and to civilians in Southern Rhodesia at the rate of 3d. for the former and 8d. for the latter. In addition, 6d. air letters can be sent to the Forces there. Unfortunately, the aircraft capacity available for mails on the air services from the United Kingdom is at present insufficient to enable the introduction of any further air mail facilities to Southern Rhodesia, but my hon. and gallant Friend may rest assured that no time will be lost in extending the existing facilities should the means become available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it was with his authority that the Deputy Director of Laundry Services made a statement recently on restrictions of the laundry service to housewives; and if this represents the intentions of his Department.

The recent statement by my Deputy Director of Laundry Services was made with my full authority. The laundries have to cater for the Fighting Services as well as for civilians and, with a reduced labour force, have to handle a greatly increased volume of work. My Deputy Director made a number of suggestions for economy by the public. He made it clear that he was asking for the voluntary co-operation of the public, and that I was most anxious to avoid having to impose new restrictions.