asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to open his Budget.

I must ask my hon. and gallant Friend to await the usual statement on the Business of the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the position under the Pay-as-you-Earn system of taxation in respect of a bonus or commission received after 6th April, 1944, in respect of a period prior to that date.

Tax must be deducted under Pay-as-you-earn from all remuneration paid on or after 6th April next, irrespective of the year in which the remuneration was earned. The basis of assessment for 1944–45 and subsequent years is, however, the earnings for the year of assessment, and in the type of case to which my hon. Friend refers any necessary adjustment would be dealt with in the final assessment after the end of the year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will arrange for Service men to obtain an increase in the present number of cigarettes of 40 a week which they are permitted to purchase at reduced prices.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Rugby (Mr. W. J. Brown) on 15th February.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the discontent evinced among Norfolk farm labourers owing to the fact that Irish farm labourers do not have Income Tax deducted under the Pay-as-you-earn Scheme until they have worked in a position for a period of six months, thus enabling them to avoid payment of tax; and what steps he is taking to remove the grievance.

Tax is deductible under Pay-as-you-earn from all wages and salaries; this applies to Irish farm labourers in this country as well as to other wage-earners. For a full explanation of the position of Irish farm labourers I would refer my Noble Friend to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. Liddall) on 23rd March (OFFICIAL REPORT, cols. 1049–1050).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he proposes to announce the increase of family allowances to the dependants of those serving in the Armed Forces.

Discussions are still proceeding, but I can assure my hon. Friend that there will be no avoidable delay in announcing the decision eventually arrived at.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury under what statutory authority Article 15 of the Order in Council of 10th January, 1910, which provides for compulsory retirement of civil servants on attaining the age of 65 and which limits any exclusions from this Order to a further period not exceeding five years, is not applicable to the post of Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department.

The authority is Section 127 of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act, 1925.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what statutory authority exists for the exclusion of the post of Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department from the provisions of Section 1 (2) of the Superannuation Act of 1909, which provides for a deduction from the amount of the additional allowance granted to civil servants who remain beyond the age of 65 years.

The hon. Member would appear to be under a misapprehension. The Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor is pensionable either under Section 128 of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act, 1925, or, in certain circumstances, under the ordinary provisions of the Superannuation Acts. In the former case, no lump sum additional allowance is payable. In the latter case, under current conditions an additional allowance is payable and is subject to the normal rule regarding deductions from that allowance for every completed year of service after the age of 65.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if, in connection with the formation of the Civil Service Post-war Staffing Committee, on which only Government officials and representatives of existing staffs are serving, he can state how the point of view of younger serving men in the Army and possible candidates will be ventilated and examined.

My hon. Friend may rest assured that the interests of those in the Forces will be kept fully in mind both by the Government and the National Whitley Council when they are considering any specific proposals. Indeed, my right hon. Friend has already made it clear, in the course of his statement on 17th February, that in the view of the Government 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.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the issue of a Treasury direction under Section 20 of the War Damage Act, 1943, extending to damaged or destroyed business premises the same cost of works conditions of compensation as is accorded to residential houses under that direction; and whether he will consider the extension of a cost of works system of compensation to business premises which, owing to new conditions of town planning, cannot be erected on the same sites as those on which the damage actually occurred.

As regards the first part of the Question, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer which I gave on 4th November last to the hon. and gallant Member for Hornsey (Captain Gammans). As regards the second part, the War Damage Act, 1943, empowers the Commission to make a cost of works payment only where the hereditament which sustained war damage is reinstated.

asked the Minister of Health whether chiropody treatment will be included in the proposed comprehensive medical service; and whether he will, in the meetings he is about to hold with interested parties and organisations, include the two national organisations comprising chiropodists.

Where the help of a chiropodist is needed in providing the full medical treatment for which the new service will be designed, that help must clearly be enlisted. In so far as any special arrangements are required to secure this I shall not hesitate to consult the appropriate organisations.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether his Ministry is still proceeding with the construction of a pair of demonstration houses in pre-cast foam slag.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport why the 19 coasting vessels on the Eire register, referred to in questions 2608 to 2628 in the Minutes of Evidence taken before the Committee of Public Accounts, 1943, and Appendix No. 3 to the Report, were covered by the Ministry's war risks insurance scheme for the carriage of goods consigned from one Eire port to another Eire port; and how the premiums compared with such market rates as were available.

War risks insurance in Approved Mutual War Risks Associations with Government reinsurance of a part of the liability is available on a common basis for all ships registered in countries of the British Commonwealth. I am not aware that any market rate was quoted for ships trading between Eire ports, or that any ship was insured against war risks in the open market for that trade.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware of the delays in distributing tuberculin-tested milk owing to readjustment of deliveries in various towns; and what action he is taking in cases where such complaints are proved to be well founded.

I am not aware of any unreasonable delays in the deliveries of tuberculin-tested milk in towns where the retail deliveries of milk have been rationalised. If my hon. Friend knows of any such cases and will send me particulars, I will have enquiries made.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is aware that the Regional Transport Commissioner has issued a disallowance notice to Messrs. G. Clifton and Charles R. Drury, butchers, trading in Moreton-in-Marsh, prohibiting them from making retail deliveries in the villages of Little Compton, Barton-on-Heath and Great Wolford and whether he will make inquiries regarding the circumstances under which these disallowance notices were issued.

Yes, Sir. I am fully aware of the circumstances in which these disallowance notices were issued, and I am satisfied that the action taken was necessary to maintain the meat delivery rationalisation schemes in the area and to secure an equitable arrangement between the butchers concerned.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport what arrangements are now made to provide oil-tankers with steel lifeboats; and what priority is accorded to the manufacturers of these boats.

In answer to the first part of the Question, I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to the answers Which I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for North Kensington (Captain Duncan) on 3rd November and 7th December last. The detailed work involved in applying pre-fabricated methods to the manufacture of steel boats of the new design has taken longer than was anticipated. This is due, not to any refusal of priority, but to the inherent difficulties of the work, and in particular to the need for special presses and dies. The preliminary work is now well advanced, and production should begin in the early summer. The conversion of wooden lifeboats is proceeding and I hope that it may be accelerated in the very early future.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the average earnings per shift, all wage-earners, in the coalmining industry for each quarter in the years 1941, 1942 and 1943, and the percentage of shifts lost, all wage-earners, in the last two quarters of the year 1943.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will state for each half-year from 1943 to the latest convenient date the number of men employed in the mining industry, the output for each half-year, the output per person, the pithead prices, and the rate of absenteeism.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will give for the September and December quarters of 1943 and for the months of January and February, 1944, respectively, the average coal output per manshift worked at the coalface.

The provisional figures of the average saleable output per manshift worked at the coal face during the quarters ended September and December, 1943, and the months of. January and February, 1944, were 2.82 tons, 2.83 tons, 2.82 tons and 2.82 tons respectively.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will give for the year 1943 the percentage of shifts lost by wage earners at the coalface and by all wage earners in the coal industry, respectively, separating in each case the percentage lost 'through voluntary and involuntary absenteeism.

There has been no change in the figures given in my answer to a similar Question by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for South-East Essex (Flight-Lieutenant Raikes) on 22nd February last. The figures then quoted as provisional are now confirmed as final.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what was the total number of necessitous collieries which had to be subsidised from the Coal Charges Fund for 1943; and what was the total cash subsidy.

Assistance was given to 92 undertakings to a total of £13,320,000.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether the subsidy payable to necessitous colliery undertakings is made on a pit basis or on a company basis.

Assistance which is afforded through the War Emergency Assistance Scheme for necessitous undertakings is given on the basis of colliery undertakings. Exceptionally there are three pits in respect of which working loss is being borne on the Coal Charges Account in special circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for War if a company director who works for over 60 hours a week in a business to which the Essential Work Order applies is thereby exempt from service in the Home Guard.

A member of the Home Guard who is engaged for 60 or more hours a week on work of national importance is not automatically excused duty, but he may apply for discharge or easing of duty. The decision rests with the unit commander.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of the great irregularity of mail to and from men serving in the Central Mediterranean Forces; and whether he will take action to ensure a speeding up.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Ripon (Major York) on 7th December. The postal arrangements are under constant review and improvements have been made in the last months which have resulted in a speeding up of the service.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that the Huntingdon elms which fringe the Military Canal from Hythe to Rye are beginning to die of old age; and whether, in view of the beauty of this 15-mile-long stretch of trees across the marshes, he can give an assurance that, when the times permit, the dead trees will be cut down and others planted in their stead.

The Military Canal from Hythe to Rye was a part of the defences of this country against the forces of Napoleon, but only about a quarter of the canal is stilt the property of the War Department. The elms were probably planted in order to maintain the banks of the canal, but there is now sufficient undergrowth to secure this. No military purpose would be served by replanting the elms and labour is, moreover, not available to undertake this work.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether troops now serving in the Azores are classed as overseas, thereby rendering them eligible for the Overseas Medal and for the increase of pay enjoyed by His Majesty's Forces serving abroad.

In general, the rates of pay are the same for troops at home and abroad. In certain overseas stations where the cost of necessary items of expenditure is higher than at home a colonial allowance is in issue. The allowance is not in issue in the Azores. The Azores are not an operational command, and troops serving there are not entitled to the 1939–43 Star to which, I assume, my hon. Friend is referring.

asked the Secretary of State for War what steps have been taken to inform members of the Armed Forces of the intention of the Government, as outlined in the Prime Minister's broadcast of 22nd March, 1943, to make available at the end of the war Income Tax credits similar in amount to those arising in industry.

The scheme for post-war credits for other ranks which was originally announced by the Prime Minister to this House on 10th February, 1942, has been given wade publicity in Army Order 72 of that year. In addition, Income Tax post-war credit is credited to Army personnel who pay Income Tax in the same way as to other taxpayers. This has been notified in Army Council Instructions and to individual taxpayers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade by whom are the directors of the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation appointed; to whom are they responsible; and by whom are their salaries paid.

I have been asked to reply. The Directors are elected with the concurrence of the Treasury. They are responsible to the Treasury which holds all the shares in the Corporation. The Corporation pays the emoluments of its Directors.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he has considered a communication from the Aeronautical Engineers' Association asking for recognition; and if he can state the nature of his reply.

The communication to which the hon. Member refers is still under consideration.

asked the Minister of Labour in how many cases of appeals by individuals to the Military (Hardships) Tribunals in Scotland have the appeals been granted and in how many cases have they been rejected.

During 1943 the number of applications for postponement certificates and renewal of certificates granted by Military Service (Hardship) Committees in Scotland was 9,372, and the number rejected 3,355. Apart from these applications 8,154 were granted or renewed in Scotland without reference to a Committee.

asked the Minister of Information why it was that the B.B.C. was allowed on Sunday, 19th March, 1944, to broadcast details of the exploits of the Royal Naval 2nd Assault Group, whereas the Press, which had the information some weeks ago, was re- quested to refrain from publication at that time; and why this priority was given to the B.B.C.

The whole of this story was in fact released for everyone, Press and radio, at the same time, namely, 6.15 p.m., on Sunday, 19th March. The hon. Member will appreciate that, as radio bulletins were coming out continuously, whereas the British papers could not come out until next morning, the inevitable result was that the B.B.C. broadcast the story before it appeared in the Press. The newspapers obtained their advance knowledge of the story (in common with the B.B.C.) through a visit of their representatives arranged by the Admiralty for the purpose. For security reasons it was a condition of this facility that the story covered by it should not be published until a later release time fixed by the Admiralty. That time was chosen by them at 6.15 p.m. on the 19th March as the first day when the news could safely be released. The circumstances of the release of this story were special. They involved some conflict between two principles to both of which the Government has always attached much importance: the holding of an even balance between the Press and radio on the one hand, and the speediest possible release of all communiqués dealing with operational news on the other. I am discussing the matter with the Admiralty to see whether it would be possible to work out a procedure to reconcile these two principles on special occasions of the kind referred to in the question.