asked the Ministry of Health the amount of land that has been purchased by local authorities in the county of Durham for post-war housing schemes up to the most recent date and the average price paid per acre.

The local authorities in the County of Durham are proposing to use for their immediate post-war housing schemes sites covering 1,403 acres which have been in their possession since before the war and sites covering 33o acres which they propose to acquire. Negotiations for purchase for the latter are now taking place, but no purchases have yet been completed, and it is therefore not possible at present to give any information as to price.

asked the Minister of Health if, in districts where housing accommodaton for agricultural workers is insufficient, he will give power to war agri- cultural executive committees to requisition cottages held by persons who have other residence or use the cottages for week-end or holiday purposes.

I am prepared in suitable cases to consider proposals by the local housing authorities for the use of requisitioning powers under the Defence Regulations to deal with the problem my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind.

asked the Minister of Health if work on the housing programmes for the Stalybridge, Dukinfield and Hyde areas can be restarted at an early date.

As I have already stated in the House, it is the intention of the Government that house building should be resumed as soon as possible and the scheme for the advance preparation of sites by local authorities, which my Noble Friend the Minister of Works and I have recently initiated, is designed to this end. My hon. and gallant Friend will, however, appreciate that the exact date at which the building of houses can begin must depend on factors over which I have no control.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he can give the number of applications for war service grants received by his Department in each of the four years 1940–43; and the number of applications granted in the same period.

The figures are as follow:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of vacancies in the Civil Service will be reserved for ex-service men at the conclusion of the present war.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the statement I made on 17th February in reply to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Sir S. Reed). I said then that any arrangements made for recruitment to the Civil Service immediately after the war should ensure that generous treatment is given to suitable candidates from the Forces; and I added that the various questions arising on post-war recruitment had been referred to the National Whitley Council, with the request that specific proposals should be submitted to the Government. Pending the submission of such proposals, I am not able to make any further statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set up a committee of experts with an independent chairman to recomend what proportion of the national income the country can afford to spend on social services and how the burden of cost shall be distributed between the ratepayers and the taxpayers.

I am fully conscious of the importance of the matters raised in my hon. Friend's Question, but I think that his suggestion of a committee of experts over-estimates the extent to which arithmetical rules can be useful in telling us what we can afford and how we should share the cost. As my hon. Friend will realise from the papers presented with the Budget in recent years, the Government already maintains a considerable body of statistics on the national income.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there is any special arrangement under which British steel companies make contributions to a special fund for the industry instead of paying Excess Profits Tax.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the fund known as the Iron and Steel Special Fund. As he may know, there is a question of disposal to the Exchequer of the balance in this Fund which is still unsettled, but meantime, in arriving at their tax liabilities, members of the particular trade association concerned are allowed to deduct contributions to this fund, but only under conditions which apply to all other traders, namely, that the association undertakes to pay tax on the contributions received by it, less any expenditure which would be allowable in computing the tax liability of the individual members if the expenditure had been incurred directly by them. The arrangements, therefore, involves no loss of revenue.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the number of women and girls employed at the pit heads at any convenient date in 1939 and on the last date for which statistics are available; in which coalfields they are employed; whether girls are allowed to enter this form of employment direct from school; and whether he can state in what other coal producing countries this practice prevails and in which it is prohibited respectively.

The number of women of 20 years of age and over employed on other than clerical occupations at mines governed by the Coal Mines Act was 1,329 in December, 1939, and 1,728 in December, 1943, and the numbers under 20 were 1,003 and 941 respectively. At the present time a few women and girls are recorded as being so employed in nearly every coalfield, but the majority are in Scotland, Lancashire and Cheshire, Durham and Cumberland. They are all employed on surface work. As regards the last part of the Question, I understand that women are employed in mines to a considerable extent in the U.S.S.R., in India and in Japan. I have no information as to the existence of prohibitions on such employment in particular countries.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is aware that the present restrictions on coke are wasteful of petrol and labour, as most gas companies use ton lorries for delivery and are short of bags; and if he will alter the restrictions.

Some sacrifice in economy of petrol and labour is inevitable in the operation of the present restrictions on deliveries of coke, but on balance I am satisfied that these restrictions are essential for the reasons explained in the answer which I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend, the Member for East Birkenhead (Mr. G. White) on 16th March.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any Government committee or inter-allied committee has been set up to consider the practicability of a post-war system of economic collaboration in Europe, to draw up detailed plans for such collaboration and to study the various problems arising therefrom.

As my hon. Friend is aware, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, which is a notable example of international economic collaboration, has already been established. The more general problems of economic collaboration are, of course, being considered by His Majesty's Government and others of the United Nations within the wider field of economic collaboration throughout the world.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that privates in the R.C.S., R.E. and R.A.M.C. serving with airborne forces are now suffering a deduction of is. per day in respect of Income Tax on their pay received during 1943–44; that as a result of such deduction they now only receive is. per day parachute pay instead of 1s. per day promised when they volunteered; and will he take immediate action to stop this deduction.

A man is liable to pay Income Tax on his total taxable emoluments and, as my right hon. Friend said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for East Middlesbrough (Mr. A. Edwards) on 12th October, the 2s. a day additional pay received by airborne troops is such a taxable emolument. Private soldiers in the units mentioned, if entitled to tradesmen's rates of pay, and to the 2s. a day additional pay where they are attached to the Army Air Corps, could in certain cases be in receipt of 8s. 3d. a day. On this total of taxable emoluments a provisional tax deduction of about is. a day would be correct for a single man without dependants. In other circumstances the tax deduction would, of course, be different. My hon. and gallant Friend will appreciate that I am not in a position to alter this.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many men are serving in the Pioneer Corps who are graded Ai; and how many men are serving in combatant arms of the Army of grades lower than A1.

I regret that it would not be in the public interest to give these particulars which would be of value to the enemy.

asked the Secretary of State for War why serving officers, when granted compassionate leave for three or six months, are reduced in rank; and if he is aware that such loss of rank causes hardship in view of the circumstances of the leave and ill-feeling and unnecessary suffering to the relatives concerned.

Compassionate leave is normally limited to periods not exceeding 28 days, during which the officer remains on the strength of his unit and may retain his acting or temporary rank. He continues to draw pay and allowances. An officer released from military service on compassionate grounds for a period of three or six months is not granted "leave" in the ordinary sense. He is relegated to unemployment at his own request, is struck off the strength of his unit, vacates his appointment and reverts to his substantive or war substantive rank under the normal rules from the date on which his release becomes effective. In these circumstances I regret that we should not be justified in allowing such an officer to retain his acting or temporary rank.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the standard of civilian clothing to be made available for Service men on demobilisation after the war, he will consider an increased cash allowance now on discharge in order to give comparable value to all service men.

The arrangements for the provision of clothing for men discharged from the Army before the termination of hostilities are now under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of a shortage of handkerchiefs available to troops in the Central Mediterranean Force; and if it is possible to increase supplies to quartermasters' stores.

Yes, Sir. I am aware that there has been a shortage. Considerable quantities have, however, been shipped to North Africa and Italy in the last months for distribution by N.A.A.F.I. and I hope. the shortage will thereby be relieved.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will exercise special care in recalling men on Class W Reserve engaged on educational or youth leader work so as to ensure that the types of employment for which they are assigned in the Army are at least as important as that with which they are now identified.

No man is recalled from Class W Reserve without full consideration being given to the work he is doing in civil life and to the duties he is likely to perform in the Army. In the case of men engaged in civil life on the work described in the Question the Board of Education is always consulted.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will investigate the hours worked by non-commissioned officers and men of 50 years of age and over who originally enlisted as clerks to supplement the regular personnel of the R.A.P.C.; whether he is aware that such men are required to do night picket duty immediately following on their clerical work, with no breaks save for meals; and whether consideration can be shown to men of this age by limiting them to the normal clerical duties for which they were engaged.

My hon. Friend is, I think, referring to the Supplementary Reservists of the Royal Army Pay Corps who were re-engaged if they were not more than 5o years old. On mobilisation they became in all respects soldiers of the Regular Forces. As such their duties are not limited to clerical work and they normally take part in the military training, picquet duties for internal security and fire watching which are performed by the members of the Corps. The men referred to by my hon. Friend are in the main fit men of a higher medical category than many soldiers now serving in Pay Offices. But if an individual is medically unfit to perform the above duties the head of the office concerned may excuse him on the advice of the medical officer.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether arrangements are being made with the Badoglio Government to pay to his Department bank balances standing to the credit of prisoners of war who were removed from Italian to German camps; and whether arrangements have been made for the despatch of their effects.

I presume my hon. Friend is referring to credit balances accumulated by prisoners whilst in captivity in Italy. As soon as the amounts of such balances and the sources from which they were derived can be clearly established, immediate steps will be taken by His Majesty's Government to settle them. Any effects that have been recovered from camps are being sent to this country for ultimate return to their owners.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport, whether he is aware that manufacturers complain that they are accumulating large stocks of empty cases used in the carriage of raw materials; that these cases cannot be returned to the sender because his Department has instructed the railway companies not to accept empty cases; that other manufacturers are being prevented by the Timber Control Department from obtaining further supplies of cases; and whether he will now permit these empty cases to be returned to the sender.

No such instructions have been issued by my Department. I fully appreciate the importance in present circumstances of ensuring that empty cases are returned to the senders as soon as possible, and instructions are in force that the same priority should be given to empty containers as to the commodities for which they are used. Owing to the exceptionally heavy tonnage of traffic at present being offered to the railways for conveyance, it is not, however, always practicable for effect to be given to this arrangement.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport, if he will now consider relaxing the regulations so as to permit signboards of normal size indicating railway sign names to be erected.

As my hon. and gal-land Friend will understand, the size of railway signs is a matter about which I must be guided by the views of the Defence Departments. With their consent, considerable relaxations have, in fact, been made; they are now considering whether something further can be done.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is aware that the G.W.R. railwaymen on the Western Valley branch, Monmouthshire, have, up to the present, been receiving, for inspection, pay slips to enable them to check their wages, after which they return them to the office where they are kept as a record; whether he will see that in future these workpeople are served with pay sheets which they may keep for a record of wages and Income Tax paid under Pay-as-you-earn; and is he aware that the company only oppose this owing to shortage of paper.

I am making inquiries and will communicate with my right hon. Friend.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if, in view of the fact that he has already authorised local authorities to restore signposts in country districts, he will now instruct them also to replace the old milestones to their former positions.

Milestones are of value to all who use the roads, and they are often of archaeological interest as well. I hope, therefore, that highway authorities will replace them wherever possible, as soon as they can spare the labour which is required.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he has considered abolishing tolls on all bridges and tunnels, particularly the Mersey tunnel, because of their detrimental effects, such as delays leading to loss of man-power, additional book-keeping, etc.; and whether he has any statement to make.

The responsibility for freeing roads, bridges and tunnels from tolls rests with the competent highway authorities. My Noble Friend is prepared to consider with those authorities any proposals which they may wish to submit. The Mersey Tunnel tolls were authorised for a limited period in order that the authorities concerned might recover in part their expenditure on construction and maintenance.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if he is aware of the large number of road accidents which occur when persons leave omnibuses and go behind to cross the road; if he can state the number of such accidents caused by vehicles coming from the opposite direction; and will he issue orders compelling drivers to slow down when approaching stationary omnibuses from which people are alighting.

Yes, Sir, although I have no precise figures, I am aware that many accidents occur when passengers alight from an omnibus and cross the road from behind it while it is still stationary. The Highway Code impresses on both drivers and pedestrians the dangers of this practice, and directs the drivers of vehicles coming from the opposite direction to slow down or stop when that is necessary. It is of the highest importance that these injunctions should be observed, but the Road Traffic Acts have not conferred on my Noble Friend any powers to give them the force of law.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his Department is proceeding with the survey of occupations suited to particular physical disablements; whether the co-operation of employers' and workers' organisations has been obtained; and whether the survey includes occupations in Government and local government employment.

Some preliminary work has been done with a view to carrying out the recommendation of the Tomlinson Committee that my Department should undertake a survey of occupations suited to particular disablements. At the appropriate stage I shall seek the assistance of employers' and workers' organisations in completing the survey. In reply to the last part of the Question, the survey will extend to occupations of all kinds.

asked the Minister of Health if extra provision for maternity hospitals in the North-east Cheshire district can be made.

The possibility of further building in war-time is, as my hon. and gallant Friend will appreciate, limited by the concentration of labour and materials on the war effort. I have no information which suggests that the situation in the area to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers is exceptionally difficult, but I am making inquiries and will communicate further with him.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the concern of the wool growers of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in regard to the definition of wool and woven wool cloth used in Board of Trade Orders; and whether he will reconsider the definition of wool as including fibre from the coat or fleece of alpaca, camel, goat, hare, llama, rabbit, sheep, vicuna, yak or horsehair and of woven wool cloth as meaning cloth of which the textile content comprises more than 15 per cent. by weight of wool.

The definitions of "wool" and "woven wool cloth" used in the Consumer Rationing Orders and in the Apparel and Textiles Orders are primarily designed to provide a line of demarcation between the products of what is generally known as the wool textile industry and the products of the other textile industries. They cannot, in present circumstances, be altered without causing serious disturbance to traders. I can, however, assure my hon. Friend that they are not intended to have permanent significance, nor, in my view, do they affect the meanings of the terms "wool" and "woollen" when used as trade descriptions for the purposes of the Merchandise Marks Acts. I am arranging for a note to this effect to be added, where necessary, in the Explanatory Notes to future Orders and in other Board of Trade publications in which the definitions occur.

asked the Minister of Food why the importation to this country of Paraguayan tea, known as Yerba Maté, is no longer permitted; and will he reconsider his decision in this matter in view of the fact that there is a substantial demand for this herb tea by residents of South American countries and the many Service volunteers from the Argentine, Brazil and other South. American Republics; that the supplies normally come from our ally, Brazil, and the total requirements are about three tons a month.

The importation of Matte tea was prohibited in 1939. The demand in this country for this herbal beverage is extremely small, and its value as a food does not justify the use of currency at a time when other more important foodstuffs are excluded for lack of it. While I appreciate my hon. Friend's desire to meet the wishes of Service volunteers and residents in this country of Allied South American States, I regret that it is not possible in the present circumstances to allow the importation of Matte tea.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why currency notes to the value of 200 shillings up to 10,000 shillings are being issued by the East African Currency Board; and whether he will have this practice discontinued at the present juncture.

Notes of the 200 shilling denomination are no longer issued, though a few are still in circulation. The two higher denominations issued are 1,000 shilling and 10,000 shilling notes. As the banks in East Africa have no clearing system equivalent to that in this country these notes are used predominantly for necessary clearing operations, and J see no reason to suggest to the Currency Board that their issue should be discontinued.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking or has taken to prevent the slaughter for food of well-bred young stock, particularly calves and heifers, in view of the needs of this country and Europe after the war of breeding stock.

The Ministry of Food certifying authorities are under instructions not to accept for slaughter good calves for which an alternative market can be secured for rearing. Special allocations of feeding stuffs are made available to farmers for the rearing of calves. I have not found it necessary to take any further steps as the number of calves being slaughtered in Scotland is not impairing our ability to maintain the cattle population. The total number of cattle last December in Scotland was higher than in any previous December since the outbreak of war.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will give the number of dwelling-houses at present in the course of erection; how many have been begun and finished since the outbreak of war in Scotland; and the number of these houses erected in cities, provincial towns and rural areas, respectively.

Following is the information: