asked the Minister of Supply if he is aware of the shortage of building materials in South-West Lancashire, such as rainwater castings, gutters, washing boilers, etc., to enable the necessary repairs to be carried out to housing property in accordance with Circular No. 2871, issued to local authorities by the Minister of Health; and if he will take steps to ease the situation.

Yes, Sir. There is a general shortage of builders' castings for civilian needs. Much of the labour formerly employed has had to be diverted to direct war work, and a large proportion of existing production has been absorbed in meeting direct war needs. Everything possible is being done to help, but until the shortage of man-power is far less acute full easement of the situation cannot take place.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he will appoint an expert mission to study and report on factory production of houses in Sweden.

My Noble Friend has arranged to obtain from Sweden full information regarding the production of prefabricated timber houses. It is not considered necessary in present circumstances to send a mission there for the purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for War what brands of cigarettes are now being supplied on the ration to soldiers serving overseas; and, in view of the fact that many serving men consider the Woodbine cigarettes to be little or no better than the disliked V cigarettes, will he arrange that the troops are given cigarettes of good quality only.

Most of the well-known brands of British cigarettes are supplied to the Army and not more than 8 per cent, of these supplies are Woodbines. I know they are smaller than most cigarettes and this does not suit everyone's taste, but an issue of Woodbines consists of more cigarettes than an issue of standard sized cigarettes. Moreover, I do not accept my hon. Friend's criticism of the quality of these cigarettes, and I am advised that they are very popular among the troops.

asked the Minister of Food if he will state precisely the restrictions there are at the present time on the man manufactrue of unfermented apple juice and on the sale thereof, respectively.

There is no restriction on the sale of unfermented juice of fresh apples which is unadulterated and of natural strength. While production is nominally limited, the quantity which may be made exceeds the former output of established producers and is equal to the maximum capacity of their plant.

asked the President of the Board of Education what steps have been taken to prevent the encroachment:, for the purpose of building hostels for colliery trainees, on the playing field of Annfield Plain Intermediary School.

My right hon. Friend has been in communication with my Noble Friend the Minister of Works in the matter, and while it has not proved practicable, having regard to all the circumstances, to avoid some encroachment on this playing field it has been found possible to make arrangements which will release nearly half the field.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, as a result of the inquiry by his Department and the Ministry of Food, there has been an increase in the number of schools which supply heat treated or tuberculin tested milk; and, if so, what the increase has been.

I have been asked to reply. The inquiry to which my hon. Friend refers is still in progress and I regret that the information asked for is not available. I will communicate it to my hon. Friend as soon as it is.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is satisfied that the pension of a widow of a man killed by our own shell fire is adequate to meet the cost of living; and what is the reason for the difference between the pension in this case and that of a widow of a member of the Fighting Forces killed by enemy action.

The pension awarded by my Department to the widow of a gainfully occupied civilian and to the widow of a private soldier killed in the circumstances stated are the same. The rate at present payable was revised last summer as part of the general review of war pensions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will cause to be published a White Paper setting out in detail the estimates upon which the Government rely in arriving at a decision upon the increase in pay and allowances of the Armed Forces, so that hon. Members may be fully informed before the promised Debate of the facts which have influenced the Government's decision.

No, Sir, but all necessary and relevant details will be given to Parliament when the Government are in a position to announce their decision.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what Governments have wanted to purchase cotton goods direct and in bulk; were arrangements made to permit of this being done and, if not, why not.

Allocations of cotton for export are determined by the need to meet essential requirements of the Empire and of those Allies dependent on us for supplies. The allocations to Dominions are placed at the disposal of Dominion Governments, who decide how much they will retain for direct Government orders and how much will be left to be dealt with through trade channels for meeting essen- tial civilian needs. Allocations for other territories are distributed through trade channels.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can make any statement with regard to the discussions between His Majesty's Government and the Government of the U.S.A. concerning the current and prospective limitations on British export trade.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply on this subject given to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Mr. Creech Jones) on nth November last, of which I am sending him a copy and to which my right hon. Friend has at present nothing to add.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the difficulty experienced by the families of Servicemen in obtaining essential articles of furniture and bedding arrangements can be made for priority to be given to Service families in the supply of utility furniture.

Production of utility furniture is only sufficient to allow permits to be granted to very limited classes of people. These include the bombed out, families with young children or expecting the birth of a child, and persons married since the 1st September, 1939. The essential needs of Servicemen's families are, I hope, covered by these arrangements.

asked the Minister of Supply whether diesel engines suitable for both the A 22 and A 27 tanks are now in full production.

I could not answer this Question without going into confidential details, but there will be an opportunity of raising the matter in Secret Session this week.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will consider modifying the rule which requires all letters to be delivered to the address upon the envelope where local knowledge enables postmen to obtain immediate information as to change of address due to war conditions.

Special arrangements are made for the delivery of correspondence addressed to persons bombed out or evacuated from their homes, and to meet other emergencies arising from the war. Apart from this, no change in Post Office procedure appears to be necessary, but if my hon. Friend knows of any particular difficulty, perhaps he will let me know.

asked the Postmaster-General if it is still the practice for postmen to knock twice upon the door when delivering letters; and, if so, whether he will arrange for this to be modified during war-time to avoid disturbing industrial night-shift workers who obtain their rest during the day.

Standing Post Office instructions have not been modified, but I have no doubt that they are interpreted with due discretion.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare whether he has any information regarding the quantities of wolfram, tin and chrome exported from Portugal to Spain last year under the Spanish-Portuguese Commercial Agreement; and whether he is satisfied that Spain does not re-export substantial quantities of these strategic raw materials to Germany.

The Spanish-Portuguese Commercial Agreement of February, 1943, provided for the export from Portugal, amongst other commodities, of 400 tons of tin and a small quantity of chrome ore. According to my information some 150 tons of tin and 800 tons of chrome ore were so exported in 1943. I am satisfied that no re-export of these commodities has taken place from Spain to Germany. As regards wolfram, no export to Spain was provided for in the Agreement, but I cannot exclude the possibility that wolfram may have been smuggled into Spain and have reached the enemy.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of temporary assistants, or equivalent departmental analogues, appointed direct to that grade in the Admiralty and Outports during 1940, 1941, 1942 and 1943, respectively.

The number of temporary assistants or equivalent departmental analogues appointed direct to those grades during the years 1940 to 1943 were as follows:

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that serving personnel are, in fact, paid at two rates, the Regular receiving more than those serving for hostilities only in that he is also qualifying for a pension; and whether it is proposed to adjust this by the grant of gratuities to hostilities only personnel as was the case in the last war.

I must not be taken as accepting the full implications of my hon. and gallant Friend's argument, but his point is one which must certainly be considered. There is no doubt something to be said about this on either side. The time has not yet come to fix the conditions on which any gratutity in respect of the present war is to be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if the Russian Government have notified His Majesty's Government of the progress of the negotiations for a Russo-Finnish armistice and of the terms proposed by the Russian Government in the same way that that Government was kept informed of the negotiations for the armistice with Italy

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Supply what is the composition of the Penicillin Committee; and what are the connections in the drug trade of each member.

I am glad to be able to record that Sir Henry Dale, President of the Royal Society, has felt able to accept the invitation of the Penicillin Committee to be their Chairman. Mr. Arthur Mortimer, until recently the Chairman, will continue to be a member of the Committee and act as Vice-Chairman.The composition of the Committee is as follows: