asked the Minister of Health what is the estimated number of houses required in the rural areas of the United Kingdom to accommodate those employed in the agricultural and allied industries on the present level of agricultural output which is 70 per cent. above 1938.

As already stated, the Government have in contemplation a programme of house construction which would include about 300,000 cottages to meet the need mentioned by my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health if the authorities responsible for administering the Public Health Act, 1875, and subsequent Acts relating to the sanitary standards of housing in rural areas of the United Kingdom, have made an inspection of houses in their respective areas during the last 12 years; and what is the number of houses reported as not fit for habitation.

Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Housing Acts to cause an inspection of their districts to be made from time to time with a view to ascertaining whether any houses are unfit for habitation. Since 1930, 33,000 unfit houses have been demolished and 159,000 have been made fit for habitation as a result of inspections made in rural districts in England and Wales. Full particulars of the action taken under the Public Health Acts are not available, but during the three years before the war houses in rural districts were being dealt with under those Acts at the rate of 35–40,000 annually. Any question as to the action taken in Scotland would be for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

asked the Minister of Health the names of those local authorities whose houses are not controlled by the Rent Restriction Acts in the same way as houses owned by private enterprise who have increased their rents since the commencement of the war and on what grounds.

I regret that the information desired is not available.

asked the Minister of Health the number of houses which have been requisitioned by local authorities in the Greater London area for reservation for possible bombed out refugees; and whether, in view of the urgent demands of invalided ex-Service men for housing accommodation, he will authorise the releasing from the requisition of some proportion of the houses.

The number of vacant single-family dwellings reserved for the homeless in the London Civil Defence Region is 3,126. I should not feel justified in suggesting to local authorities that they should reduce this reserve at the present time. Local authorities are, however, continually endeavouring to substitute for the reserved single-family dwellings accommodation in larger houses which is not so suitable for permanent occupation, and where this can be done the single-family dwellings are then used for families who are inadequately housed, including, of course, the families of invalided ex-Service men and other cases of special hardship.

asked the Minister of Health on what basis the assessment of rent is being decided by local authorities who requisition empty houses.

In assessing the charge to be made for accommodation in requisitioned property local authorities are asked to take into account the costs incurred in requisitioning and in rendering the accommodation suitable. The charge should not be less than the amount that the occupant might reasonably expect to pay as rent if housed in the normal way in the district. So far as possible the aim should be to obtain an economic rent. I am sending my hon. and gallant Friend a copy of the circular to local authorities on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances he has withdrawn from the Liverpool Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society the certificate authorising the society to visit prisons.

The certificate of efficiency of this society was withdrawn on the 26th November, 1943, on the recommendation of the Prison Commissioners, following a report from the National Association of Discharged Prisoners' Aid Societies to which this society was affiliated. The National Association is a central organisation formed by its affiliated societies to co-ordinate the work of local societies and to advise the Prison Commissioners as to their work and the allocation of the Government grant. A similar recommendation had previously been made following a full inquiry by an independent chartered accountant, and in 1942 this society was given an opportunity of putting its affairs in order. I was satisfied that, in spite of this chance, the management was still unsatisfactory. Accordingly, I accepted the renewed recommendation for the withdrawal of its certificate.

asked the Minister of Health if he can give any information about the new cure claimed for haemophilia.

I have no information on this question other than that given by Budapest radio and reported in the Press. I am advised that internal evidence suggests that this information is either false or inaccurate.

asked the Minister of Health what is the present number of unmarried women between the ages of 55 and 60 years who contribute to National Insurance.

I regret that, owing to the reduction in the statistics kept under war-time conditions, figures are not available of the number of single women in a particular age group who are contributor, under the National Health Insurance and Contributory Pensions Acts at the present time.

asked the Minister of Health how many unmarried women there are in the age group 60 to 70 years ineligible for pension, or the nearest estimate of that number which he can give.

Precise information is not available, but it is estimated that at the present time there are about 375,000 single women in Great Britain aged between 60 and 70 years, of whom roughly 35 per cent. are in receipt of pensions under the Contributory Pensions Acts.

asked the Minister of Pensions what difference there is in respect of pensions and allowances between the treatment of soldiers in military hospitals and in mental institutions for disabilities which service has either caused or to which it has contributed.

The pension and allowances granted to a soldier on discharge are not paid during a course of treatment for his pensionable disability either in a mental or a non-mental institution. In lieu thereof the treatment allowances laid down in Article 17 of the Royal Warrant of December, 1943, become payable in both types of cases.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many Jews are serving in His Majesty's ships.

Admiralty records do not differentiate between personnel of Jewish descent and their compatriots of other ancestry.

asked the Minister of Supply why six tons of nuts and bolts, particulars of which have been sent to him, travelled 510 miles when the distance from the factory to the assembly point was 10 miles; and if he will take disciplinary action against the persons responsible for this waste of public money.

I am unable to identify any case in which such action has been taken at the instance of the Ministry of Supply, but if my hon. Friend will let me have fuller particulars, I shall be glad to make inquiries.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will publish a statement concerning the grants paid to and the achievements and prospects of the Domestic Poultry Keepers and small Pig-Keepers, the Village Produce and Allotments Associations, and if he will, after some inquiry, consider uniting them in one organisation so as to avoid overlapping and the confusion due to the present system of separate and independent councils.

I will arrange for the publication of a statement giving particulars of the cost to the Exchequer and of the achievements of the organisations to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers. With regard to the second part of the Question, there were good reasons for setting up separate organisations, and, so far as I am aware, the present system has not led to overlapping and confusion; nor have I any information which would lead me to suppose that the continuance of separate organisations is not still desirable.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many cases of flooding of agricultural land have been reported to him this winter; and whether in all such cases proper drainage is being put in hand.

I regret that records are not kept in a form which would enable me to supply the information asked for in the first part of the Question without a great deal of clerical labour; but only a small proportion of the reports made to me on the drainage of agricultural land are concerned with flooding. Remedial works are a matter for local drainage authorities or owners and occupiers of land, but every effort is made by my Department and by County War Agricultural Executive Committees, through the provision of grant-aid and otherwise to see that such works are carried out where the expenditure is justified by the likely benefits to food production.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the present position as regards the supply of ploughs for use in the United Kingdom; whether all agricultural engineering firms who normally produce ploughs are now doing so and have been taken off other work in view of the urgency of the position; and what are the prospects of obtaining Canadian ploughs.

The number of ploughs now on the land has been greatly increased by the maintenance of full production at home supplemented by imports. Orders from farmers, especially for tractor-ploughs, are, however, greater than the flow of new supplies, and therefore distribution is controlled through County War Agricultural Executive Committees to ensure that new ploughs are put into the hands of those farmers whose need is greatest. The Government have arranged for an increase in the home output of tractor-ploughs both from existing and new production capacity. A substantial number of tractor-ploughs is being imported this year of which 60 per cent. will come from Canada.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will consider increasing the price of wool by 6d. per lb. to meet the increased price of labour.

Discussions with producers' representatives on the prices for the 1944 wool clip are proceeding.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what are the present rations allowed to mares of heavy breeds, such as the Shire and Percheron; whether any additional rations are allowed when such mares are in foal; and whether he has recently obtained any extra veterinary advice as to the adequacy of such rations to keep up the high standard which Great Britain has always maintained in this field.

Farmers are expected to grow corn for their horses, but rations are allowed on application, if there are insufficient oats on the farm, up to a maximum of 4 cwt. per month in the case of heavy horses in continuous heavy work. No special rations are provided for in-foal mares of heavy breeds, as these are normally kept in work. I am not aware of any recent complaint regarding the adequacy of the rations which have now been in force for three years, and I have had no occasion to seek further expert advice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a copy of the Memorandum by the Association of Municipal Corporations, upon air-raid shelters available to Members of Parliament for their information.

I presume that the Memorandum to which reference is made is one recently published and distributed to the Press by the Association on the subject of the use of lime mortar in the construction of air-raid shelters. I have no supplies of this non-official document available for distribution, but I understand that the Association will be happy to furnish with a copy any hon. Member who may make application to them.

asked the Minister of Town and County Planning whether he is considering the question of the land betterment movement and recoupment under the Land Charges Registration and Searches Act of 1888; and if he is aware that the principle is in operation in the 48 States of America.

The Land Charges Act, 1925, which repealed and re-enacted with amendments the Land Charges Registration and Searches Act, 1888, and the Land Charges Act, 1900, does not confer any power to charge betterment, but provides (inter alia) for the registration as a land charge of any outstanding liability for payment of betterment. I am aware of the provisions for the recovery of betterment in operation in the United States of America.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether his reconstruction and planning embrace the provision of amenities for mining villages where at present none exist.

Yes, Sir. I recognise the need for such provision, and will endeavour to secure it in future planning schemes.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if he is aware of the difficulty experienced at the present time by Fife farmers in getting their seed potatoes loaded and transferred by rail; and what steps he is taking to ease the situation.

In all parts of the country, the railways are finding it difficult to move the heavy traffic they are now asked to carry. Until my hon. Friend put down his Question, however, I had not heard of any special difficulty about the transport by rail of seed potatoes from Fifeshire. Priority is given to wagons and sheets for this traffic; whenever possible additional trains are run. I may add that 15,000 more tons of seed potatoes have been brought by rail from Scotland to England this year than were brought during the same period a year ago.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether, before the forthcoming Debate on the subject, he will consider issuing a White Paper setting out the present organisation for all branches of scientific research in Great Britain and showing the respective responsibilities of his own and other Departments in this respect.

I will certainly consider doing so.