asked the Minister of Labour what is the approximate number of labourers from Eire who have had permits to enter the United Kingdom for work on airfields, camps and other war buildings; what are the conditions of their employment; what restrictions were imposed upon their returning on holiday to Ireland taking what knowledge they have with them; and how many are now employed and at what rates of pay.

It would not be in the public interest to give the number of workers from Eire who have entered the United Kingdom and the number now engaged on the types of work indicated. The entrance of Eire workers into this country is, however, carefully controlled. The terms and conditions of employment, including rates of pay, are the same as those for other workers in similar employment. As regards return to Ireland the restrictions recently announced now apply to them. Previously, the maximum number of holiday visits permitted to Eire workers was two during a period of twelve months.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any reason to believe that many of these workers carry back to Ireland information which is used against this country?

That does not come within my purview at all.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will issue the necessary instructions to permit members of the British Red Cross Society to be considered as doing essential war work for the purpose of employment, in view of the repeated appeals made by the Government for nurses and helpers in hospitals to undertake semi-medical work.

I understand that my hon. Friend has in mind certain administrative officers of the British Red Cross Society. I could not agree that such officers should be automatically reserved; they must be called for interview so that their position may be determined in the usual way in the light of individual circumstances.

Will the Minister give as much latitude as he can, because these public-spirited people cannot answer the appeals which the Government have made to them, unless their work is considered as essential?

All that is taken into account at the interviews.

asked the Minister of Labour whether in view of the recent court cases in which young men who sought service in the Armed Forces preferred prison to work in the coalmines, he will reconsider his declared policy on this question.

I can only provide the labour required for the coalmines by sending to them a proportion of the young men reaching military age. Practically all those selected by ballot would prefer service in the Armed Forces, but have loyally accepted their direction to the mines; a mere handful have refused to comply and, in fairness to the others, I could not give them freedom to follow their own choice.

Would my right hon. Friend not give special consideration, or make a special concession, to those young men or boys, who have devoted all their adolescent life to equipping themselves to fight for the country rather than to work for it?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are thousands in the mines now, who would prefer the Services?

Is my right hon. Friend not aware that this plan of sending youths into the mines at 18 years of age will never succeed, because you can never make them into miners by that process?

I have three supplementary questions. In reply to the first, I can only repeat that I cannot make exceptions here, any more than I can make exceptions when I have to take people who have trained for the Navy and divert them to the Army or to some other function in the Services. In regard to the other questions, unless I take steps to put younger men in the mines, as I am doing, the age distribution, due as a result of the ageing of the people in the mines, will get entirely out of gear. I must feed the mining labour force with these younger men for the duration of the war.

While my right hon. Friend appears to have adopted the correct procedure generally, as to making no exceptions, does he not realise that recent events have shown that there are some pathological cases where exceptional treatment may be required? Will he not exercise discretion in such cases?

That is done, even to the extent of allowing a psychiatrist to come in sometimes.

Is the Minister aware that the majority of what are termed in the mining areas the "Bevin boys" swear that they will not stop in the pits a day longer than they are bound to do?

I dare say my hon. Friend swore a lot of things when he was 18, but did not carry them out.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, when directing to work in coalmines young men who have volunteered for the Armed Forces, he will try to give effect to any preference they may express for work in a colliery where discipline has been good.

I have consulted my right hon. and gallant Friend the Minister of Fuel and Power who is responsible for the allocation of the young men to particular collieries. His officers are always prepared to take account of an expressed preference for a particular colliery provided that labour is required underground at the colliery in question, and other circumstances make it practicable.

asked the Minister of Labour under what conditions trained cadets in the Cadet Corps, Sea Cadets and A.T.C., respectively, are exempted from the mine ballot.

As I stated in the House on 2nd December last, the only exceptions from the coalmining ballot are: (1) men accepted for flying duties in the R.A.F. or Fleet Air Arm; (2) men accepted as artificers in submarines; (3) men in a short list of highly skilled occupations who are called up only for certain service trades and are not even accepted as volunteers for coalmining. Cadets as such are not excluded from the ballot.

Is the Minister sure that Army cadets have equal opportunities of going into the Services, with those who have been in the A.T.C. or Sea Cadet Corps?

Yes, Sir. They are all treated alike, but it depends upon whether they come into the special categories.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of youths admitted to the training centres; the number who have already commenced work at the coal mines; and if he can give these particulars for the various areas.

I am having this information collected and will, if I may, arrange for it to be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will issue a new statement on the need for the maximum consultations and explanations to be made in industry to all representative interests.

It is very desirable that changes in war requirements which affect production and re-allocation of labour should be clearly understood by those directly concerned and it has been the policy of the Government to encourage to the maximum joint consultation between managements and workpeople's representatives on these and other matters.

In view of the large switch over from the manufacture of one class of equipment to another, and in view of our changed strategical needs, will my right hon. Friend consider calling together all the Ministers involved in order that explanations can be made with a view to avoiding industrial unrest?

I transferred 690,000 people last year, owing to the switch over of production, without a single dispute. I cannot imagine that the machinery is not working.

That is so, but there is a certain amount of unnecessary unrest, which could be avoided if full explanations were given. In view of the need to minimise that, will my right hon. Friend consider the suggestion that has been made?

I certainly will consider the suggestion, but it would be more helpful to me if I could be told of works where it is not being done. Then I could deal with the matter.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give any relief in the call up of, or direction to, vital war work of small shopkeepers, where the effect of calling up or direction will involve the closing down of a shop or business?

At the present time when every available man and woman is required either for the Forces or for vital war work I cannot put any general stop on the calling up or direction to such work of the persons to whom my hon. and learned Friend refers. I have no evidence that the principles and procedure followed, which are well-known to hon. Members, are not adequate to deal with cases of exceptional hardship amongst small shopkeepers, but if my hon. and learned Friend has any particular case in mind where he feels that exceptional hardship has occurred I shall be glad to look into it.

Is my night hon. Friend aware that there is a growing feeling in the country that the small man is being more and more handicapped, compared with some of the multiple concerns and the co-operative societies?

Is not the statement the right hon. Gentleman has just made inconsistent with that made by the Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry a few months ago that one-man businesses were not to be closed?

With regard to the first question, I really cannot act on what is alleged to be general feeling. It crops up week by week, and if I were influenced by it, I should generally be wrong. If my hon. and learned Friend can snow to me that any action I am taking is treating this class of people unjustly, compared either with the co-operative societies or the other multiple concerns, no one will be more anxious than myself to look into it, because I am particularly careful to try to be fair between these classes. With regard to the second question, which suggested that I have differed from the Joint Parliamentary Secretary, I do not think the quotation of my hon. Friend is quite correct. In any case, there is never any inconsistency between the Joint Parliamentary Secretary and myself.

I beg to give notice that owing to the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I shall take an early opportunity to raise the matter again.

asked the Minister of Labour, if he is aware that a coal lorry has been standing idle at Miss Humphrey's Brandon Colliery, County Durham, since 26th February owing to the driver being called up for the Services; and if he will take steps to replace this driver as a considerable amount of coal has already been lost to the country.

Urgent action has been taken by my officers to fill this vacancy. Two submissions have already been made to the employer without success, and a third man is at present under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the exceptional treatment for rheumatism available at Droitwich in the Midland region, adjacent to the large industrial population of the Midlands, he can now make some statement in connection with the proposals which have been forwarded to him for the setting up of a hospital centre for the treatment of rheumatism and allied complaints; and, in view of the site proposed, whether he will confer with the appropriate Department concerned.

At the present stage it would be premature to take the action suggested by my hon. Friend; but I can assure him that the treatment facilities of Droitwich will not be overlooked in considering future developments.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that, from the national standpoint, there is very great need of a permanent cure for rheumatism and that at Droitwich there are, at the present time, great facilities which could be adapted to this purpose?

I can assure my hon. Friend that the question of rheumatism will be receiving the closest attention from my Department.

Is it not true that many people go to Droitwich year after year and still do not get rid of their rheumatism?

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the inadequacy of the existing facilities for evacuating expectant mothers from London; and what steps he intends to take to improve them.

No, Sir. The demand fluctuates considerably and temporary difficulty has occurred occasionally in times of special pressure. But I could not accept the suggestion that the existing facilities are generally inadequate. If my hon. Friend has any particular case in mind I will gladly look into the matter.

Is not my right hon. and learned Friend aware that since the resumption of raids on London, a great number of expectant mothers are trying to evacuate to the country and there is no accommodation at present available for them? Medical officers in London are very worried about this subject. Cannot he do something about it?

Obviously, a resumption of raids would cause an increase in the amount of this type of evacuation, but on 14th March a general notification was sent to the London boroughs stating that registration for evacuation would now be reopened. There was, however, a temporary difficulty in February.

Is it not true that in many towns, such as Plymouth, there are still mothers who would like to get into the country?

There is, of course, difficulty, the main one being shortage of midwives.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether all the approved societies are in full agreement with Circular I.C.324 which prohibits the payment of benefit to expectant mothers in industry on grounds of advanced pregnancy;

(2) whether he will withdraw Circular I.C.324 and, by adjusting the National Health Insurance Reserve relating to women, give instructions that a pregnant woman in industry is eligible for benefit at least eight weeks before her confinement.

I have no reason to think that there is any general feeling amongst approved societies that the statement of the law as set out in Circular I.C.324 is incorrect. I have no power either by adjusting the National Health Insurance Reserve, as suggested by the hon. Member, or by any other administrtive action to alter the law in this matter; but should like to emphasise that where a doctor is satisfied that continuance at work would be prejudicial to the health of an expectant mother it is his duty to give a certificate of incapacity.

Is it not a fact that the Chairman of the Association of Approved Societies has made representations to the right hon. and learned Gentleman's Department for years asking him to amend the existing Regulations?

I cannot answer that question.

Will not the right hon. and learned Gentleman consider dealing with this problem of benefits for pregnant women apart from National Health Insurance, whose funds cannot stand this sort of benefit? Cannot he devise something in his new Bill based on the National Health Service?

Nothing is closer to my heart than the improvement of our maternity services, and such questions as have been put are under close consideration in connection with the whole field of social insurance and the health services.

asked the Minister of Health if he will consider the desirability of treating Wales as a single region for the purposes of the National Health Service; and if he will bear in mind the fact that there is already one health service in Wales organised on that basis and that there is a Welsh Board of Health.

The whole question of the arrangements for the new service in Wales will need to be considered, when the appropriate time comes, with the local authorities and others concerned. I shall not overlook the factors to which my hon. Friend refers.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend bear in mind that North Wales looks to Liverpool for its hospital and consultant services and not pander for the parochial point of view expressed in the Question?

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman bear in mind that North and South Wales have had only one unified service for tuberculosis for many years, and that it has given general satisfaction?

asked the Minister of Health the number of houses or other premises requisitioned by each borough council in Middlesex under the powers given in his Circular 2845 of August, 1943, to provide accommodation for families inadequately housed.

The total is 342. I will, with permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the details for which my hon. Friend asks.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in plannning for new houses, he will consider the desirability of providing for telephone installation in every dwelling; and whether he will consult with the Postmaster-General in regard to the advantages and practicability of providing this amenity.

I am at present considering in consultation with my colleagues the advice to be given to local authorities regarding the planning and equipment of post-war dwellings and my hon. Friend's suggestion will be borne in mind. In considering all such suggestions we are, however, bound to take into account the effect of the extra expenditure on rents.

In communicating with the local authorities, will the Minister deal with the difficulty that arises through enormous sums of money being paid in architectural and quantity surveyors' fees for work on quite a small number of houses? Cannot that expenditure and delay be avoided?

Architects' fees are often if not always well-earned but that is an entirely different question from the main Question, which deals with telephone installations.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will authorise local authorities to release empty houses, now being reserved in case of an emergency, when families who have already been bombed out are in urgent need of housing accommodation.

If my hon. Friend is referring to empty houses now reserved for the homeless, local authorities are already authorised to accommodate homeless families in them when the need arises.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that in South-Eastern London, which I know best, there is a great difficulty in finding houses, and the people for whom houses are supposed to be reserved—bombed-out families—cannot get accommodation anywhere?

Those who are rendered homeless by bombing are always at liberty to apply for the use of a house reserved for that purpose.

They may apply, but they are not granted houses.

Has the Minister any power, where there are houses for sale and not to let, to compel people to let?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Health whether his consultations with other Government Departments regarding the excessively high prices now being obtained for houses which change hands have yielded any result; and what action he proposes to take.

The consultations on this difficult matter will be completed shortly and I shall make an announcement as soon as possible.

Is the Minister seized of the extreme importance and urgency of this matter?

I must await the report.

asked the Minister of Health the number of dwelling-houses at present being erected and how many have been commenced and completed since the outbreak of war in England and Wales, respectively; and the number of these houses erected in cities, provincial towns and rural areas, respectively.

As the answer involves a number of statistics I will, with permission, circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Health what is the policy of his Department when a local authority, not wishing to build on unsuitable land which it owns, is anxious to acquire new and more suitable land; and whether all such applications for permission to buy are specially investigated before they are refused.

If I am satisfied that land owned by a local authority is unsuitable for housing purposes I am prepared to entertain proposals for the purchase of suitable land which the authority may require in order to carry out a two-year building programme. The answer to the second part of the Question is "Yes, Sir."

Will my right hon. and learned Friend allow local authorities in such cases greater freedom to select land which they know to be most suitable for them? Great delay is being caused in some cases owing to the attitude of the Ministry.

If my hon. Friend will bring to my notice any case of unnecessary delay, I shall be most happy to look into it.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether, pending further Government decisions on the Barlow, Scott and Uthwatt recommendations, he intends to give any guidance to local authorities about the selection of sites for houses.

Yes, Sir. I have given, and shall continue to give, the necessary guidance to Planning Authorities through my Regional Planning Officers and otherwise, and my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Health, has instructed Housing Authorities to consult the Planning Authority and my Regional Planning Officer in every case.

When does the right hon. Gentleman hope to convey what is the Government's decision on these Reports to the House?

This matter has been discussed in another place and I have nothing to add to what was said there yesterday.

Are we to understand that we are to await a discussion and a statement in another place before we hear from the representative of the Government in this Assembly what the Government's decision is?

I did not intend to convey that at all. The real answer is that I have nothing to add to what I said on the matter last Thursday.

Is it not a great pity that the Government have nothing to add on a very important matter of this sort? How long are they going to take before they reach a decision?

Does the right hon. Gentleman confirm the statement made in another place that the Government's declaration will be made after Easter, and does that mean Easter, 1944?

I understand that the year referred to is 1944.

Will the right hon. Gentleman resign unless his recommendations are carried out by the Government?

I hope I shall be allowed to decide these personal questions myself. I ask the House to have the generosity to believe that I am not actuated by personal motives.

Does the right hon. Gentleman remember that, when he took on this job, I said he would have a sticky time?

I realised that myself, without the gipsy's warning.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he will state the arrangements for the loan or issue of wheel chairs or tricycles to men who have suffered amputations or severe disablement to both lower limbs, whilst they are on indefinite leave pending discharge and after discharge from the forces; the time taken to effect delivery of tricycles after discharge; and the arrangements for the provision of motor attachments in approved cases.

At each of the hospitals administered by my Department a supply of invalid chairs is maintained for issue on loan to patients who are in need of them when they are granted leave of absence from hospital or who are, following their discharge from the forces, awaiting the provision of a wheel chair or tricycle. Motor attachments in suitable cases are provided, on the recommendation of my medical officers by the British Red Cross Society. As regards the second part of the question I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. and gallant Member for the City of Chester on the 9th March.

asked the Minister of Pensions, since the recent amendment of the Royal Warrant, how many applications for review have been made to his Department; in how many of such cases a pension has been granted by him without recourse to the appeals tribunals; how many such cases have been submitted to the appeals tribunals; and how many of such appeals have been allowed.

Up to 18th March the number of applications to my Department for review under the entitlement provisions announced in the White Paper in July last and embodied in the Royal Warrant of the 4th December, 1943, was rather more than 30,000, of which about 7,800 were admitted to pension without recourse to the Pensions Appeal Tribunal. The total number of appeals to the Tribunal is about 22,000 but my records do not distinguished the appellants who are also included in the 30,000 I have mentioned.

asked the Minister of Pensions if, as over 50 per cent. of the parents of sons and daughters who have lost their lives in this war are not in receipt of any pensions and are experiencing considerable hardships, will he refer the question of a flat rate pension, irrespective of means, to the Central Advisory Committee for their consideration at an early date.

I do not accept the statement in the first part of the Question and I would remind my hon. Friend that it is open to any applicant in whose case pension was not awarded because the requirement of pecuniary need was not satisfied to renew the application in the event of an adverse change in financial circumstances. As regards the second part of the Question the Government made its position quite clear in the comprehensive discussion of war pensions on the issue of the White Paper in July last, and I see no grounds for referring the matter to my Central Advisory Committee.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, when people have fallen on evil times, they refuse to submit their claims to the people concerned because of the inquisition applied to them?

No, I am not aware of that. The records of my Department show that these people apply at once and we deal with them sympathetically. There is no inquisition about it at all.

What is it that the right hon. Gentleman does not accept? Is it the percentage?

I do not accept the inference in the Question at all.

What inference is the right hon. Gentleman talking about? He said he did not accept the first part of the Question. The first part of the Question says that over 50 per cent. of the parents do not get anything. Does he tell the House that is not true?

I gave figures last week which show that 50 per cent. were awarded pensions and 50 per cent. were given notice that they would have their entitlement to a pension as and when their pecuniary needs justified it. What I do not agree with is the statement that this system is causing some considerable hardship. It is doing nothing of the kind.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that, if 50 per cent. of the parents who have lost their sons are not receiving anything, it is a matter that calls for further consideration?

No, because these people have been given an insurance policy to put in their pocket which, to my mind, is far better than giving it to someone who is in a position to include it for purposes of Income Tax.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can give, on the basis of figures so far collected, the total excess in the number of deaths from all causes in the Presidency of Bengal for the year 1943, a period which would embrace the acute stage of the famine and the epidemics which accompanied it, over the average in normal years.

Yes, Sir. The Directorate of Public Health in Bengal have now compiled figures of deaths recorded in the Province in 1943. The recorded deaths from all causes total 1,873,749. This exceeds the average recorded mortality during the previous five years by 688,846. This figure roughly represents the number of deaths due to starvation, malnutrition impairing resistance to disease, as well as to abnormal epidemic diseases not associated with malnutrition. It is the approximate measure of the great economic disaster which afflicted Bengal last year. I am glad as all must be that the very much larger figures quoted in some quarters have turned out to be erroneous. But I must not be understood as in any way minimising the extent of an appalling calamity.

asked the Secretary of State for India (1) if he will consider a points system for wives who are anxious to join their husbands in India, calculated upon the length of separation;

(2) if he will give an assurance that wives of tea-planters and other civilians in India will receive the same treatment when passages to India are given as wives of people in Government service.

There are so many individual considerations besides length of separation which the committee, set up by the Government of India, will have to examine, that an automatic system of points calculated as my hon. and gallant Friend suggests, would hardly meet the requirements of the situation. Applications on behalf of wives of non-officials as well as of officials are being dealt with by the Committee and both classes will receive equal consideration. I would again emphasise that the number of passages to India available for women and children is very small indeed and so far as can be foreseen is likely to remain so for some time yet.

Will the Committee also give consideration to fiancées of men who are working in the East, some of whom have been engaged for more than five years?

I understand consideration is being given to every type of hardship.

asked the Secretary of State for India what measures are being taken or are contemplated by the Government of India to check and reduce inflation as envisaged in Lord Wavell's recent speech.

I cannot within the limits of a question and answer do justice to the very comprehensive programme of anti-inflationary measures which the Government of India have in hand. I propose to place in the Library as soon as possible copies of the Budget speech recently made by the Finance Member of the Government of India, which includes a full survey of the problem and of the Government of India's policy in relation to it. I am also sending a copy to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for India how much grain has been and is being imported into India in the present year; and whether it is hoped to reach the total of 1,000,000 tons a year as recommended by the Gregory Report.

Substantial quantities of grain have been and are being shipped to India. I am not prepared to give details.

Have the Government decided as a matter of long-term policy to adopt this target figure of 1,000,000 tons, as recommended by the Gregory Committee?

I am not prepared to give any detailed figures. Naturally, both the Government of India and His Majesty's Government must look to the future.

Are the recommendations of the Committee accepted by the Government as their policy?

These recommendations will naturally be carefully considered.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that Indian propagandists for whom travelling facilities have been provided have included tendentious attacks on Indian political organisations in their lectures; and whether, in any broadcast talks or platform addresses, he will arrange that Indians with other points of view shall have the opportunity to refute criticisms and express their contrary viewpoint.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the Indian gentlemen who have come here at the invitation of the Ministry of Information to speak about India's war effort. I am not aware that their addresses at the meetings arranged for them by the Ministry of Information have included matter of the kind suggested.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a statement was made in India that these gentlemen would not engage in any partisan attacks on Indian organisations, but that one of them has been doing this?

These gentlemen may, at private meetings, have discussed social problems such as, for instance, the position of the scheduled castes, but they have not, as far I am aware, indulged in active political controversy.

Will the right hon. Gentleman investigate the matter in view of the fact that such tendentious statements are not in the best interests of these gentlemen or the cause they represent?

I am afraid that many tendentious statements are made by many people.

Is it necessary that questions in this House on India should always be asked on behalf of the Brahmins?

asked the Secretary of State for India whether passports and travelling facilities have been granted beyond Cairo for the trade union delegation from India; and what difficulties respecting their passage to this country have arisen.

Passport and travelling facilities would normally be arranged in India, and I have not heard that any difficulty has arisen. If the hon. Member has reason to think that difficulties have occurred and will pass his information to me I will consider it.

Is it then expected that this delegation will reach this country in the relatively near future?

Certainly, Sir.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will consider the advisability of taking over full financial control of the mining industry for the period of the war, in view of the present unsatisfactory position of the industry and the failure of the present form of control to produce good relations between the employees in the industry and the coalowners and the maximum output of coal.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister sees no reason to alter the views on this subject which he expressed at con- siderable length in the course of the Debate in this House on 13th October last.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask him, in view of the fact that the present form of control in the mining industry, which has been in operation for two years, has failed to produce good relations between the workmen and the coalowners, and also to produce the maximum amount of coal; and in view of the fact that we are having trouble after trouble—[HON. MEMBERS: "Speech."] In view of that fact, and in view—[Interruption.] May I ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he is aware that the troubles in the mining industry can be traced to the present form of control, that is, the dual form of control—

rose—

As a similar experiment carried out in the last war was successful—

We have not got to the end of the first question yet.

As it is obvious that the existing form of control is not proving satisfactory, will the Government reconsider the whole matter?

It is obvious from the length of the question of the hon. Member for Wigan (Mr. Foster) that this is a matter which cannot be dealt with adequately by way of Question and answer.

Do I understand from the right hon. Gentleman that he, too, is still of opinion that there is no crisis in the mining industry, in spite of the fact that there are all these stoppages and that they are continuing?

rose—

This is becoming a Debate.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that the committee appointed by the Prime Minister in 1939 to inquire into the best means of teaching English to foreigners has not yet met; and whether, in these circumstances, it is proposed either to get this committee to function or to terminate is existence.

This committee was appointed in August, 1939, but never started work. In common with many other peaceful enterprises, it had to give way to more urgent tasks on the outbreak of war. Since then, the Committee of Ministers on Basic English, of which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave the House some account on 9th March, has made some recommendations in this field. This being so, it is not proposed to resuscitate the 1939 Committee, and notification in this sense is being sent to the members.

Would it not be as well to use this Committee to come to decisions on the Scott, Uthwatt and Barlow Reports as the Government do not appear to be able to do so?

asked the Prime Minister whether he will publish a draft of the proposed Royal Warrant and Order in Council authorising increases in the retired pay and pensions of certain former members of the Forces; and whether he will give an assurance that this House will have full opportunity to discuss and amend the proposals.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Petersfield (Sir G. Jeffreys) on 2nd March last. The Government will certainly announce their detailed proposals regarding retired and pensioned members of the Forces and if hon. Members then desire an opportunity for discussion the Government will give careful consideration to any representations that may be made to that effect through the usual channels.

Does my right hon. Friend clearly mean that the Government will announce them before the Royal Warrant, because the Royal Warrant cannot be amended?

It would be improper to publish a Royal Warrant in draft, but a public announcement can be made.

Will my right hon. Friend take such steps as are possible to ensure that the Royal Warrant will be written in language which a layman can understand so as to avoid any future misunderstandings?

I will note that point.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much in the aggregate was deducted from the pensions of retired officers of the Armed Forces on account of falls in the index figure of the cost of living between 1924 and 1934;

(2) what amount in the aggregate of the cuts made from pensions of retired officers on account of the fall in the cost of living was restored to them between 1924 and the date of the stabilisation of pensions in 1935;

(3) how much in the aggregate was deducted between 31st July, 1935, and 31st December, 1943, from the pensions of retired officers of the Forces on account of the stabilisation of pensions at 9½ per cent. below the basic rates of 1919, irrespective of the rises which would have been granted had the conditions of the Royal Warrant of 1919 been adhered to.

As my hon. and gallant Friend is aware, the Royal Warrant of 1919 reads as follows:

"The new rates … are granted in consideration of the present high cost of living and the rates of pay, half pay and retired pay, will be subject after five years to revision either upwards or downwards to an extent not exceeding 20 per cent. as the cost of living rises or falls. After 1st July, 1924, a further revision may take place every three years."

I think it would be most convenient to answer the Questions by circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table giving the cost of living figures at appropriate dates during the whole period 1919–43, the adjustments actually made in retired pay at various dates during that period, and the adjustments which might have been made on a strict application of the original formula for cost of living adjustments.

I must point out that the terms of the Warrant which I have quoted do not require automatic revisions of retired pay rates, at set intervals or at all, after the 1st July, 1924, and do not in any way preclude such a measure as the stabilisation which was eventually effected in 1935.

Is it not a fact that the sums deducted are very large, and does my right hon. Friend not consider that these officers have strong claims to some restitution?

asked the Prime Minister whether, when considering scales of family allowances for members of the Forces, he will give simultaneous consideration to the allowances payable to widows of members of the Forces in respect of their children, since these allowances are on the same scale as those paid by the Service Departments.

My hon. and gallant Friend may be assured that the question of the allowances payable to widows of members of the Forces in respect of their children will be considered in the light of any decision which may be reached regarding the scale of family allowances for serving members of the Forces although it must not be understood that this reply presupposes any change in the existing allowances to the dependants of members of the Forces.

May I remind my right hon. Friend—[HON. MEMBERS: "No."] May I ask my right hon. Friend if he will allow me to remind him that in August last the Government assimilated these two kinds of pensions, and that it is, therefore, important that they should continue to march together?

I think that is a matter for debate.

My answer showed that that was in the mind of the Government.