asked the Minister of Health what arrangement has been made between the Registrar General and medical officers of health and fever hospital doctors in the London area in regard to diphtheria notifications; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the records are comparable with those of the years prior to the new arrangements coming into operation.

Arrangements have lately been made by which all Medical Officers of Health, while continuing to make weekly returns of notifications of infectious diseases to the Registrar General, will in future also furnish quarterly returns in a form providing for correction of erroneous notifications received during the quarter. The figures before and after revision will be published by the Registrar General. Until these arrangements have been tested it cannot be said whether such steps as my hon. Friend suggests in the last part of the question will be required.

asked the Minister of Health how far ratepayers have a right to information regarding disease statistics of the area for which they pay rates; and how far the local council is under an obligation to supply this information through any official in their employment who is charged with the collection of these statistics.

There is no such statutory right or obligation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any scientific exploration of potential oil-bearing strata has been, or is being, carried out in the Colonies or on the Continent of Africa.

I have been asked to reply. A great deal of exploratory work in connection with the search for oil has already been carried out in the Colonies, including those in Africa, but it has been interrupted by the war and the necessity for concentrating available resources of men and material on producing oilfields. It is, however, intended to resume the work as soon as circumstances permit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, with a view to carrying on the work of the Empire Marketing Board he will consider the whole-time appointment of one or more travelling grassland scientific investigators for work in the Colonies under the Colonial Research Council.

I have been asked to reply. The question of grassland and pasture research in the Colonial Empire has already received considerable attention and various proposals for the extension of this in different dependencies, including East and West Africa and the West Indies, are under consideration. My hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion regarding the employment of travelling investigators has already received some consideration and will be kept in view. At present, however, this and other proposals for the extension of agricultural research are handicapped by lack of scientific man-power owing to war conditions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he can make any statement on the growth of terrorism in Palestine, and what steps are being taken to deal with it.

I have been asked to reply. A recent recrudescence of terrorism in Palestine has taken the form mainly of attacks on personnel of the Palestine Police and outrages against Government property. As regards attacks on police, I would invite my hon. Friend's attention to the reply to a Question on this subject by the hon. Member for Peebles and Southern (Captain Ramsay) on 24th February. There have since been further attacks as follows:On the night of 3rd February an Arab taxi-driver surprised two Jews tampering with a wall near the entrance to Saint George's Cathedral. One of them threatened him with a pistol. He informed the police patrol, and together with another Arab, accompanied the police in pursuit of the Jews. The latter opened fire, fatally wounding the second Arab, and then made good their escape.At Haifa, on 24th February, a bomb which had been buried in the runway outside the garage of Mr. F. C. Hors-burgh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, exploded under his car as he drove out. The car was wrecked, but I am happy to say that Mr. Horsburgh escaped with superficial injuries. A second bomb planted by the side of a road, connected by wire to a press button some 60 metres distant, was exploded as a police traffic car containing British Inspectors W. Y. K. Miller and W. E. Frost and British Sergeant D. D. Fairfoul, was passing. The car was damaged, but again I am glad to say that the occupants escaped any serious injury. They are, however, suffering from shock. A third unexploded bomb was subsequently found concealed at the side of another road. These outrages are thought to be attributable to the Stern group.As regards attacks against Government property, on 29th January explosions at the Government Transport Agency Car Park at Jaffa wrecked one lorry and damaged four others. On the night of 12th-13th February, bomb outrages were perpetrated at Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv, against the Immigration Offices, causing damage to buildings and to the archives at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. There were no casualties, but a temporary policeman on guard duty at Haifa was admitted to hospital suffering from shock. A Jew, arrested at the scene of the Jaffa explosions, admitted to being a member of the Irgun Zvai Leumi (the military organisation of the Revisionists (New Zionist Organisation)), and the Irgun Zvai Leumi have opened admitted responsibility for the outrages at Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv in a letter to the Hebrew Press.On the evening of 26th February, explosions took place at the Income Tax Offices at Tel Aviv and Haifa, causing extensive damage to the structure of the building at Tel Aviv and slight damage at Haifa. An unexploded bomb was also found at the Income Tax Office at Jerusalem. There were no casualties in any of these incidents, which are evidently further developments in the Anti-Government campaign of the Irgun Zvai Leumi. My hon. Friend may rest assured that active steps are being taken by the authorities in Palestine to round up those responsible for these outrages.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what amount of money was in the funds of the Welsh Church Commissioners before any distribution was made; what is the amount distributed up to date; if he will give details of the amounts received by each beneficiary, separately, together with the date of issue; the position of the funds in possession of the Commissioners to the last available date; and when the final disbursement is likely to be made.

The funds for distribution by the Welsh Church Commissioners consist of property of various kinds, the net value of which is estimated at £3,211,345. Up to 31st December, 1943, distributions amounting to £2,315,232 had been made. The remaining £896,113 includes provision for £382,939 estimated as payable under the Tithe Act, 1936, and the Coal Act, 1938, but not yet received by the Commissioners, who are unable in these circumstances to fix the date by which distribution will have been completed. I am sending my hon. Friend a statement supplied to me by the Commissioners which gives particulars of distribution up to 31st December, 1943.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, in the further consideration of fixing prices for agricultural products, he will give every opportunity to the National Farmers' Union for consultation and agreement as to the types of farms to be selected as the basis of costings and afford the National Farmers' Union facilities for submitting proposals as to the farms they regard as fair examples upon which to obtain information for fixing prices to be applied generally.

The matters to which my hon. Friend refers are at the present time under discussion between my Department and the National Farmers' Union, and I have every hope that agreement will be reached as to the procedure that should be adopted in the selection of samples.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether priority for service in shore establishments is given to elderly reservists who have been performing sea service since the beginning of the war.

Except in emergency, no rating over 48 years is drafted overseas unless he volunteers. As regards those at sea, endeavour is made to relieve them when they reach the age of 49, again, unless they volunteer to remain at sea. The question of priority for reservists does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Minister of Food if his attention has been drawn to advertisements offering oranges and lemons of quality and in any quantity, whereby an impression has been given that certain firms have been allowed quantities for sale whereas many small retailers are without supplies at all; and if he will take steps to suppress these advertisements.

Yes, Sir. The firm which issued the advertisements to which my hon. Friend refers did not receive a large allocation. My Department is in communication with the firm on the subject, and I will inform my hon. Friend as to the result as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Food whether his attention has been called to the shortage of fish in Chatham and Rochester; whether those areas are receiving the proper supply on a population basis; and whether this can be improved.

For the four months ending in January supplies to these two towns have averaged 112 per cent. of their joint per capita entitlement of the country's total supplies. Supplies to these towns can, therefore, only be increased by more fish being landed.

asked the Minister of Supply what was the nature of the mission on which Mr. W. W. Hamill, Chairman of Messrs. Henry Meadows, was engaged in America and Canada at the end of 1942; and were the expenses of the visit borne by the Government.

Mr. Hamill made this visit to study methods of producing certain articles which his firm was making for the Ministry of Supply. No part of the expenses of the visit was borne by public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can give any information regarding the supply of food and medical stores to internees and prisoners of war in the hands of the Japanese.

As regards food, the rations issued by the Japanese to prisoners of war and internees are generally as described in earlier replies given to similar questions, and I am unable to report any improvement in this respect. Extra food, medicines and other necessities have been, and are being, delivered to prisoners of war in Siam with funds made available to the neutral representatives, but the quantities and variety of goods obtainable locally are very limited. Similar arrangements have been made for the benefit of internees wherever practicable; I will gladly, if my hon. Friend desires, give him the full details respecting particular camps. I must, however, remind by hon. Friend that there are many areas in Japanese occupation about which His Majesty's Government have no information owing to the refusal of the Japanese Government to allow representatives of the Protecting Power or the International Red Cross Committee to visit camps there.

asked the Minister of Production how many special liaison representatives are touring the Colonies for him; and if he will give details of their activities and names.

One, Sir. Sir Julian Foley has gone to East Africa on behalf of the Ministry of Supply and my Department, to deal with questions affecting the production, acquisition and shipment of raw materials.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give any information regarding the projected oil pipe line across Saudi Arabia to the Mediterranean; whether the pipe line involves concessions in Palestine; and what is the expected Mediterranean terminus of the pipe line.

The reports which I have received from His Majesty's Ambassador at Washington indicate that consideration of this project is still in a tentative stage. In the circumstances I have nothing at present to add to the reply which I gave to my hon. and gallant Friend, the Member for Hornsey (Captain Gammans) on 9th February.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can state the proportion of candidates for commissions admitted to O.C.T.U. in 1943 who were educated at State schools and public schools.

From three representative samples, totalling nearly 5,000 candidates accepted for O.C.T.Us. in 1943, it appears that roughly one-quarter had been educated at boarding and day schools which are members of the Headmasters' Conference and three-quarters at grant-aided secondary schools and elementary schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what progress has been made with the discussions on post-war civil aviation with the Dominions and the U.S.A.

As stated by my noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal, in another place, informal and exploratory conversations on the subject of post-war Civil Air Transport have taken place with the Dominions and unanimous agreement was reached on the issues discussed. The question of further exploratory conversations is now under discussion with the Governments of the United States of America and of the Dominions.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will instruct the British Overseas Airways Corporation to include in their report for the current and future years the number of casualties sustained by passengers and crews, respectively, in addition to the description of aircraft lost or destroyed.

Yes, Sir. My right hon. Friend is inviting the Corporation to include this information in their Reports in future.

asked the Minister of Aircraft Production if it is his intention to investigate the possibilities of radiolocation in conjunction with wireless meteorological stations for the assistance of postwar civil aviation.

All the ways in which radiolocation might best be used for the assistance of post-war civil aviation have recently been discussed by technical and operational experts at a British Commonwealth and Empire Conference, and further investigations are proceeding.

asked the Minister of Labour if he can provide any statistics as to the present number of qualified scientific and technological persons in Great Britain; and to what extent such information is available to the Central Register.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 24th Febuary, 1944; col. 989, Vol. 397] supplied the following statement:Under the Specified Class of Persons (Registration) (No. 1 and No. 2) Orders of July, 1940 (S.R. & O. 1221 and 1293) persons in Great Britain with professional qualifications as chemists or physicists, as civil, electrical, mechanical or other engineers, and as quantity surveyors, were required to register with the Central Register of the Ministry of Labour and National Service. Over 135,000 persons of these classes are thus registered.With the assistance of the professional institutions the Universities and other bodies, a voluntary registration which is believed to be almost complete has been carried out by the Central Register of persons in Great Britain with other professional qualifications, including mathematicians, scientists of various categories, architects and surveyors, valuers and land agents. Nearly 40,000 such persons are registered.It would not be in the public interest to give the number of persons registered as possessing each separate type of professional qualification.