asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that service caps, metal buttons and woven or metal badges are manufactured for sale in shops to non-commissioned members of the forces, despite such caps being normally unauthorised and plastic buttons and printed or plastic badges being free issues; and whether he will withdraw labour wasted on such manufacture and sale and divert it to war work.

There are no safeguards for labour engaged upon the manufacture and sale of the articles mentioned by my hon. Friend for the purposes to which he refers. If, however, he will let me have particulars of the cases which he has in mind, I will have inquiries made.

Is not my right hon. Friend aware that I have sent him particulars?

I was not aware of that.

Does not a certain security danger arise when anybody can walk into a shop and buy badges, division signs and flashes of various units, and will the right hon. Gentleman consult with the Service Departments about this aspect of the matter?

I would like to have notice of that Question.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the Army is set an example, on very high authority, for wearing two cap badges?

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he proposes to take to prevent boys from escaping the risk of being sent down the pits by volunteering for service with the Armed Forces a few months before they are due to be called up.

I do not contemplate any such steps at present.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, in several public schools, boys are actually advised to take this step, and do take it? If I send cases will he investigate them?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Labour what percentage of men discharged from the Services owing to injuries or other disabilities are too unfit for training but capable of light work; and what action he is taking in such cases.

The suggestion that there is a category of persons too unfit for training but capable of light work, seems to me unsound. In general, those who are physically fit for light work are physically fit for training for a light occupation. The distinction properly to be drawn is between those disabled persons who have the capacity to learn a skilled occupation and those who have not. The former receive training if required, and in present circumstances the latter are readily placed in suitable unskilled employment.

Is there any age limitation?

No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Labour if he has considered the conditions prevailing at the hostel of the Salvation Army at Coventry where mining trainees are billeted; how many baths are there for the use of the men; if he is aware that the food is poor and the men often go to work without breakfast; that when the trainees go home for a week end tramps are allowed to sleep in their beds; and if he will take steps to improve conditions in this hostel.

I have no reason to believe that the conditions are unsatisfactory at this hostel. There are 12 baths for the use of the men, and five more are being added. The food is good, and no man need go to work without breakfast. The beds of men away for the week-end are reserved for them, but I am informed that on one occasion a night watchman, who has since been dismissed, disobeyed instructions and allowed other workmen to use some of the beds. No tramps are admitted to the hostel. The Salvation Army authorities have been most ready to meet the suggestions of my Welfare Officers in regard to facilities at the hostel and further improvements will be made as required.

Has the Minister seen the article in the "Daily Worker" of 17th March stating that these conditions exist? If he has not, I had better send it to him and we had better know what he intends doing with this kind of Press.

I did see the article. It is a tissue of lies. It is the Communist method of supporting the war.

Are not these hostels, in the main, subject to investiga- tion and regular attention by the welfare officers; and is there not adequate machinery to provide for any adjustment of any deficiencies that may be complained of?

Yes, Sir.

Is it not a fact that the Salvation Army are doing a magnificent work?

Will the Minister understand that I am not attacking the Salvation Army, but that I am after those who are attacking them?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he is aware of the large number of men, many of military age, who are allowed to be engaged on painting buildings and other work not contributive to the war effort; and whether he will take steps to eliminate all work of a semi-luxury type until the end of hostilities.

I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour that there are no grounds for the suggestion that many men of military age are engaged on non-essential building work. Moreover, expenditure of more than £100 on any building is strictly controlled by licence.

Is the Minister aware that my Question is based on observations made by myself last week, when I saw these men, many of them young, painting the railings of a hotel, and that I have had similar experiences in other parts of the country?

It is not very general.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has considered the representations from the Association of Chief Wardens, London Region, complaining of the inadequacy of war service injuries allowances for part-time, as opposed to full-time, Civil Defence workers; and whether he will now consider putting them on an equal footing.

The scale of injury allowances payable under the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme to Civil Defence workers who sustain injuries whilst engaged in Civil Defence duty is the same for whole-time and part-time members. I have received a letter from the Association of Chief Wardens (London Region) about the conditions under which local authorities are authorised to Make payments in supplementation of injury allowances. Upon this aspect of the matter I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for the Drake Division of Plymouth on 19th January last, a copy of which I am sending to my hon. Friend.

Is there not a great difference in the amount payable under the Civil Defence Workers (War Injuries) Scheme and under other schemes for men not engaged on Civil Defence?

Yes, Sir, there are differences.

Then my right hon. Friend has not answered the Question why part-time workers should, after 13 weeks, suffer a reduction in injuries payment as opposed to full-time workers?

I wish my hon. Friend had made that clear in his Question. There are, of course, differences between the full-time Civil Defence worker, and the soldier for that matter, and the ordinary civilian. Part-time Civil Defence workers, including the great body of fire guards, are in a middling position. We could not get them all on the same basis.

In view of the fact that my Question did not make the position clear, and in view of the unsatisfactory nature of the answer, I will raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Regulations regarding fire-watching have been reviewed in the light of recent air-raids; and what conclusions have been reached.

The recent raids have shown that the present fire guard arrangements are substantially sound, but in the light of experience various improvements in detail are being introduced and will be announced as soon as possible.

In view of the very heavy pressure under which workers in certain industries will be working during the next few months, will my right hon. Friend give particular attention to them, to see that they are not unnecessarily fatigued by doing fire-watching which can, in present circumstances, be eliminated?

I have done that generally all the way along, but I hope that hon. Members will not spread the feeling in the existing situation that fire-guarding is not necessary. It is necessary. Where we can relax we have done it, and we will continue to do it.

asked the President of the Board of Education what proportion of the teachers in secondary schools, including the public schools, held a certi- ficate or diploma indicating that they had received training in the theory and practice of education prior to their being appointed to teaching posts.

In 1938, the last year for which figures are available, 61 per cent. of the full-time teachers in grant-aided secondary schools had taken a course of training or passed an examination in the principles and practice of teaching. No figures are available for the independent public schools.

I did not quite catch the proportion.

It was 61 per cent. of full-time teachers in grant-aided secondary schools. We shall get the figures with regard to the independent schools only after Part III of the Education Bill comes into operation.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many local authorities permit the head teachers of secondary schools under their control to appoint the members of their staffs and how many do not.

The Model Articles for provided secondary schools suggest that assistant teachers should be appointed either by, or upon the nomination of, or after consultation with, the head teacher. The great majority of local education authorities have adopted one or other of these alternatives in framing their Articles of Government, but I have no precise figures available.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many pupils there are in direct-grant schools and how many of them receive their education fee.

On 1st October, 1938, the latest date for which complete figures are available, there were 84,055 pupils in directorant secondary schools, of whom 23,398 paid no fees.

Does not that answer indicate that a very large proportion of pupils in direct-grant schools have fees paid for them, and therefore does not that raise a very important problem in dealing with this question?

The hon. Member is as capable of drawing an inference as I am.

asked the Minister of Health if he will arrange that the guarantee required from the Government and local authorities under the Housing Act, 1933, be given immediately upon the approval of the plans and the acceptance of the housing scheme instead of, as at present, when the house is completed.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give instructions to local authorities that no newly built house, flat or other domestic dwelling shall be occupied where the material used and the workmanship have not been periodically inspected during construction, a thorough inspection made when finished and, if the dwelling complies with the approved standards, a habitation certificate has been issued.

I have at present no power to issue instructions of this kind. Whether or not such power would provide the best means of controlling the standards of private enterprise building is one of the questions which is being examined by my Central Housing Advisory Committee.

Does not the right hon. and learned Gentleman think that houses built by local authorities require the same supervision as those built by private enterprise?

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that there are in the United Kingdom 4,607,679 houses which were 80 to 254 years old in 1941 the great majority of which have passed their economic life and, therefore, are due for demolition; and will the Government's post-war policy for better housing be sufficiently comprehensive to cover organised demolition and replacement of these houses.

I am aware that there is a large number of very old houses in this country. As I have already stated, the programme for the building of 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 houses in the ten to twelve years after the war involves the replacement of slum dwellings and of dwellings in a poor condition or grossly deficient in modern amenities.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that I am referring not to slum dwellings but to those which have passed their economic life, and is he not prepared to announce a national policy which will deal with the whole of the housing and the building industry?

I think the hon. Member will find that my answer deals with buildings that have passed their economic life.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that on Merseyside advertisers are offering bottles of whiskey and substantial sums of money for house tenancies; what steps he proposes to take to stop people encouraging property owners to let houses at extortionate rentals; and will he make such advertisements illegal.

No, Sir, but if the hon. Member will send me particulars I will bring them to the attention of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Rent Control.

Will the Minister accept my assurance that the advertisement on which my Question is based actually appeared last week in one of the Merseyside newspapers?

If the hon. Member will send me those particulars, I have indicated the course I shall take.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can now state the part private enterprise will be permitted to play in post-war housing.

No, Sir. I can, however, assure my hon. and gallant Friend that in my view this is an urgent and important matter. The report of the Sub-Committee of my Central Housing Advisory Committee, which has examined all aspects of the subject, is now in draft and I hope to receive it by the end of next month. I shall announce to the House the Government's decisions on the report as soon as possible.

Would my right hon. and learned Friend indicate to me when he is ready so that another question can be put down?

Certainly, Sir.

Would my right hon. and learned Friend bear in mind that if he wants to avoid financial waste the way to build houses is by private enterprise?

asked the Lord President of the Council whether the Building Research Station has reported on the prefabricated steel structure for houses; and whether he will arrange for this report, together with the plans and model, to be placed on exhibition in the House for the benefit of Members.

I have been asked to reply. I assume that the hon. Member has in mind the temporary house to which the Prime Minister recently referred. The Building Research Station has been associated with the development from the outset, step by step. There has thus been no formal report. The prototype will be completed at the end of April. It will be conveniently situated for inspection by hon. Members who will be given the first opportunity to view it.

Could the Minister try to find a better word than "prefabrication" in order to make these houses attractive to those who will live in them?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he will name the private firms which the Government will harness to the work of making prefabricated houses; and whether he will publish a statement showing what will be the financial arrangements between these firms and the Government.

As soon as the prototype is finally approved, the Government will enter into firm contracts with suitable firms on normal lines so as to secure the fullest use of the productive capacity available.

When that happens, will the details of the firms, the financial terms and such like be published to the community, or will they remain secret?

I think the hon. Member had better ask that question later, when the contracts are entered into.

Would the Minister say how I may know when to ask the question?

I do not know that it is the general rule that, in every contract entered into by a Government Department, the details should be published. I do not know any reason why we should not give information in this case. There is nothing underhand about it, but I do not think it is the general rule.

Are not the names of the firms in question already known?

No, not yet.

asked the Minister of Health what proportion of persons insured at present under the National Health Contributory Scheme do not choose or use any panel doctor at all; and what proportion choose but do not use one.

The proportion of insured persons who have not chosen panel doctors is at present about six per cent., but probably most of these are recent entrants into insurance who will exercise their right of choice at some future time. The average proportion before the war was between two and three per cent. No information is available as to the proportion of insured persons who choose a doctor but do not make use of his services.

Is it not a fact that there is a percentage of people in this country, as in every other country, who are never ill at all and die suddenly?

That is why there is no information as to the second part of the Question.

asked the Minister of Health if he is able to give the number of staff employed, male and female, in the mental hospitals in this country; to what extent there is a shortage of staff and how is the work being done; and what does he propose to do to meet such a situation.

I regret that I am unable to give the figures asked for but I am aware that there is a shortage of staff in most mental hospitals. In general, staffs are working longer hours and in some cases leave has been curtailed. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service is aware of the position and is taking such steps as are possible to relieve it.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the exclusion of children from many parks and open, spaces taken ' over for military purposes and of the fact that more children were killed on the roads in February than in any previous February of the war, he will take powers to cause local authorities to make suitable bombed sites available as children's playgrounds.

I do not contemplate the introduction of legislation for this purpose generally, but I am prepared to consider individual proposals on their merits. I should, of course, have to take account of the shortage of labour and materials involved in the work.

Would my right hon. and learned Friend not consider making proposals or suggestions to the local authorities to deal with a very serious situation?

I am quite prepared to consider that, but the Question dealt with compelling local authorities.

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman, jointly with the Board of Education, seize this as a chance for a piece of imaginative administration?

This is not a very easy period for imaginative administration.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now in a position to report upon his investigations regard- ing a man who was alleged to have been compelled to cease work and go into a public institution.

Yes, Sir. My investigations show that the man was out of work at the time when he and his family were admitted to the institution, and that he was allowed to go out daily to look for work and accommodation. Any statements to the contrary that appeared in the Press were inaccurate.

While that answer is very satisfactory, may I ask the Minister whether he will see that similar publicity is given to his reply as was given to the allegation?

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that owing to abnormally dry conditions in East Anglia there is a serious shortage of water; and what steps he proposes taking to deal with the possibilities of drought.

I am aware that there is a shortage of water in parts of the Eastern Counties. My Department is in close touch with the water undertakers concerned giving advice and help as necessary. I am about to issue a general Circular to water undertakers throughout the country which is based on the advice given and action taken in particular cases, and I will send my hon. Friend a copy. I have already issued a general appeal to the public to save water with the object of avoiding onerous restrictions later, and have asked for the co-operation of the Service and Supply Departments in respect of camps, aerodromes and war establishments generally. My officers, both centrally and in the Civil Defence Regions, are ready at all times to confer with water undertakers who are in difficulties and to assist them in every way possible.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that the shortage of drinking water in these country districts is now a very serious question, and that unless we get rain it will be very acute? Does he not think it falls on the Ministry of Health to devise some emergency steps, and can he give us an assurance that he has taken every possible opportunity to get in touch with the Service Ministers to see that there is the fullest co-operation in the camps and aerodromes?

I shall do all I can but I cannot cause more rain to fall.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that a drought is not just a possibility but a certainty in many parts of the country, and can he assure the House that his Department are in close touch with the other Departments concerned, especially the Ministry of Agriculture?

I can assure the House that I am in touch with all the Departments concerned.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware of the acute water shortage position in the Evesham district?

asked the Minister of Health if he can state the number of destitute children maintained by local authorities and by the public assistance authorities, respectively, and what measure of official inspection exists in each case.

The total number of children in receipt of relief, including outdoor relief, on 1st January, 1939 (which is the latest date for which figures are available) was 293,510. I regret that it is not possible to state how many of these were maintained by the education committees, acting on behalf of the public assistance committees of county and county borough councils, but it would be only a small proportion. In respect of all these children there is a system of inspection, mainly by women inspectors of my Department, which should ensure at least annual visits to Children's Homes and test visits to the home of children boarded out or otherwise relieved.

Is the Minister taking steps to keep his information up to date?

While I am taking steps it is impossible to keep all statistical information up to date in present circumstances.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning if he is aware that the Leeds Church of England Council has acquired a detached house in the urban district of Horsforth for the purpose of using it as a maternity home; that the Horsforth Urban Council refuse -to allow the house to be used as a maternity home; and will he take steps to secure that this establishment is used.

I am not aware of the facts stated in the Question, but an appeal has been made to me under Sub-section (5) of Section to of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1932, by the Leeds Diocesan Rescue and Protection Society against the refusal of the Urban District Council of Horsforth to permit the use of premises for a babies' home, and a hearing in the appeal has been -fixed for 19th April.

asked the Minister Town and Country Planning whether, in considering town planning schemes, due regard is being paid to the need of providing adequate bomb-proof shelters for the locality; and whether this factor has been brought to the attention of local authorities.

The question to what extent such provision must be made after the war cannot yet -be determined; but, as the hon. Member is aware, local authorities are providing shelters for immediate purposes, under the direction of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Home Security.

Is not the Minister aware that, in view of the possibility of our being involved in another war, it is highly desirable that bomb-proof shelters shall be considered in any planning for the rebuilding of this country?

Yes, Sir; these considerations form part of the general planning for the rebuilding of the country, and we shall not lose sight of them.

Have any recommendations been made to the local authorities that will involve long-term planning on that point?

No, Sir; not yet.

asked the Minister of Pensions what is the minimum and maximum of income coming into the homes of parents who have applied for pension before the parents are designated to be in pecuniary need; what is the maximum income per unit of the household; is any consideration given to the infirm or crippled persons in the homes of the applicants; and whether any considerations are given to parents who have to pay towards members of the family who have been evacuated from the bombed areas.

The test of pecuniary need for the purposes of parents' pensions is not a fixed sum per unit of the household, but is a combined means limit, adapted to the circumstances of the particular household and taking account of the support previously given by the deceased son. For particulars of the Scheme I would refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Deritend (Sir S. Crooke) on 28th October last, of which I am sending him a copy. Special consideration would be given to any case in which the presence of an infirm or crippled person in the home, or the evacuation of a member of the household from a bombed area, necessarily involves the parents in additional expenditure.

Is the Minister aware that the economic circumstances of many of these homes are changed with dramatic suddenness in such a situation, and that the policy announced last week does not meet the value of the loss of human life?

I am aware of all these circumstances, and I am taking them into account. I think if the hon. Member will read the particulars I am sending him, he will change his opinion.

In view of the very strong feeling on this point, will the right hon. Gentleman take into account a proposition which has been made to him several times, and pay money to the parents by way of solace, as is done under workmen's compensation law?

I have indicated, over and over again, in this House, what is the Government's decision, and I cannot do more than that.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he has now a statement to make regarding accidents sustained by members of the Home Guard and by unpaid part-time Civil Defence personnel on journeys to and from duty.

I am glad to inform my hon. and learned Friend that I am now authorised to treat these persons as if they had been on duty when making journeys which would not have been undertaken except for the purpose of the public service, given by them as an addition to their normal employment. I am also able, on application, to review past rejections on this basis, and any resulting awards will begin from the first pay-day in April.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether any pension, and, if so, of what value, is granted to a widow not gainfully employed whose husband has been killed by one of our own shells.

The pension awarded in the circumstances stated is the same as that awarded to a widow whose husband was killed by enemy action. Where the husband was a Civil Defence member killed on duty, or a gainfully occupied person, the rate of pension is 26s. 8d. a week if the widow is over 40 years of age, or has dependent children who are eligible for allowances, or is incapable of self-support, and 20s. a week if none of these conditions is fulfilled. Additional allowances are payable for dependent children. The award is the same whether the widow was gainfully occupied or not.

asked the Minister of Pensions what residential fitness centres are maintained by his Department for disabled Service men for whom liability is accepted and to whose recovery short periods of rest would contribute; and whether he can make any statement on the subject.

Rest centres as such are not maintained by my Department, but when a pensioner receives treatment for his accepted disability in a Ministry hospital full attention is also given to his need for rehabilitation before he is discharged.

asked the Secretary of State for India the present political composition of the Central Assembly; how many of its members are in detention; the composition of the Government; how often and on what issues it has been defeated during the past 12 months; and what was the political composition, respectively, of the majority and the minority.

With the hon. Member's permission, I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT such information as I have with regard to his comprehensive series of questions on the composition and recent history of Indian political institutions.

Has the attention of the right hon. Gentleman been drawn not only to the recent defeat of the Government by a majority, but also to other defeats; and what significance can be attached to them?

My views on these matters cannot be dealt with in answer to a question.

Is the attitude of the Government to Members of this House on the occasion of the recent defeat of the Government similar to that adopted towards the Indian Legislative Assembly?

Is it not true that the majority which defeated the Government consisted not of Congress members but of non-Congress members?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, at a recent conference with representatives of Dominion countries, currency questions were under review; what conclusions were reached; whether these were satisfactory to the Dominions; and did His Majesty's Government retain the right to conclude agreements with the Dominions if wider agreements among the United Nations should not prove possible.

There have been a number of discussions within the last two years between the United Kingdom officials and officials of the Dominions and India, regarding post-war monetary arrangements. These have been expert and exploratory discussions. The stage of reaching conclusions on the part of the Governments concerned has not yet arrived, and it will be remembered that I have told the House that no commitments will be entered into until after this question has been discussed in Parliament. The last part of the Question does not, therefore, arise. But I may say that it will certainly be the policy of the United Kingdom Government to retain the right to maintain monetary arrangements with the Dominions and India if wider agreements among the United Nations should not prove possible, and, further, it will be their policy to maintain such arrangements within the framework of any such wider agreement.

That is very satisfactory so far as it goes, but will my right hon. Friend say whether the latter part of the reply has been communicated to the Dominion Governments?

It is well understood.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will order a local inquiry to be held into the recent rise in the price of electricity in Falmouth, owing to the fact that consumers are being obliged to pay for the increased cost of the destruction of the town's refuse, for which increase they are not liable.

No, Sir. My right hon. and gallant Friend is fully aware of the facts of the case. He recently authorised an increase of 10 per cent. in the price of electricity at Falmouth because he considered that the financial position of the Electricity Supply Corporation justified that course. That position had deteriorated for a number of reasons, principally the following. Under a long-standing contract, the Supply Corporation are bound, in connection with the working of their undertaking, to operate a destructor for the town's refuse". In consequence of the reduction, resulting from the salvage campaign,. in the amount of refuse sent for destruction, there was a decrease in the amount of electricity generated, with a consequent increase in the bulk supply taken by the Supply Corporation from a neighbouring undertaker. No corresponding reduction could be made in the cost of working the destructor. My right hon. and gallant Friend has, of course, no power to intervene in a matter of contract of this kind.

Is my hon. Friend seriously defending the situation in which consumers of electricity who are in no way responsible for the increased costs are made to pay those same costs?

Yes; my right hon. and gallant Friend was fully aware of the fact when he authorised this increase. As the hon. Member knows, this as a long-standing contract; and, in authorising this increase, my right hon. and gallant Friend took into account all the facts of the case.

As there is a matter of principle involved, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Attorney-General how far the non-statutory bar imposed by the Lord Chancellor against the appointment of retail licence-holders to the Commission of the Peace is extended to the elimination of persons who are only professionally associated with the retail licensed trade and persons who are employed at licensed premises.

For many years successive Lord Chancellors have refrained from appointing to the Bench persons who are in possession of retail licences. As regards persons who are only professionally associated with the retail licensed trade and persons employed at licensed premises, each case must be considered on its merits.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman not aware that persons employed by licensees and persons employed by retailers are also the subject of the same ban?

I was not aware of that. I have no doubt that if my hon. Friend will give me particulars, my Noble Friend will consider them. There are cases where the association is clearly such that the ban ought to apply; but if my hon. Friend knows of cases which he thinks go past what is proper, my Noble Friend will consider them.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in the further clarification of the Atlantic Charter in discussions with the President of the U.S.A., he will press for the reaffirmation in the interest of a more enduring peace, that the guid- ing principle respecting the future transference or resettlement of peoples will not be military conquest or aggression, but moral right and democratic choice and for a more specific declaration as to how postwar economic reconstruction is to be implemented to the benefit of the peoples of all nations.

I have at present nothing to add to the reply I gave on 22nd March to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Lipson).

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that considerable disquiet still exists regarding what is felt to be the modification of the excellent principles embodied in the Atlantic Charter; and will he not take an early opportunity of removing that impression, so that faith may be restored in its principles?

I am always thinking about it, but there are others to be considered as well as His Majesty's Government.

Does that mean that they may be modified to suit other people?

I do not want to say much about it at the present time; I think it might lead us into more difficulties. As I have said, the Atlantic Charter and its principles remain our dominant aim and purpose.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the B.B.C. broadcast during the nine o'clock news on Monday regarding the activities of the partisan leader Tito, he will cause an objective statement to be issued clarifying the attitude of the Government and the United Nations towards General Mihailovitch and Marshal Tito, respectively.

I have nothing to add to the very full statement I made about this on 22nd February last.

Is the Prime Minister aware that many people in the country are both perplexed and confused with the conflicting accounts circulated about the activities of these two leaders; and would it not be wise to give them some account of the Government's views on this point?

We are in constant contact, both with Marshal Tito and the Royal Yugoslav Government, and our aim is extremely simple. We want to get as many as possible formed up together, in good agreement, in order to drive the cruel invaders from their native soil.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will cause to be brought to the yard of this House a German Mk. VI Tiger tank and a British A22, so that Members may see for themselves the relative merits of these two weapons.

No, Sir.

Is the Prime Minister prepared to say why?

I think the trouble and expense involved, though not very great, is still more than is justified to satisfy the spiteful curiosity of my hon. Friend.

Is the Prime Minister not aware that great interest has been aroused in this matter in this House; and, if he cannot see his way to go to the comparatively trivial expense of bringing the machines here, will he arrange for a party of hon. 'Members to visit both machines together, on some suitable site in the country?

Will the Prime Minister be prepared to take charge of a Churchill tank and allow the hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Stokes) to take charge of a Tiger tank?

I think it might be one way of settling the difference.

May I have a reply to my question?

Is there not the additional risk, if the request were granted, that the hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Stokes) might then attempt to act as technical instructor?

In view of the interest aroused among large numbers of hon. Members, if the Prime Minister cannot see his way to bring the machines here, will he arrange for a suitable demonstration at a suitable spot in the country to which Members can go?

That really is not the Question on the Paper.

On a point of Order. In view of the most unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I will raise this matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Prime Minister why, in the translation of paragraph 1 of the Atlantic Charter into Basic English (Command 6511), the word they is omitted though it is included in paragraph 8; why, in paragraph 2, the translation involves 22 words for nine words whereas it could have been expressed in nine words of Basic English; why, in paragraph 3, 33 words are used to express what could have been expressed in 21 words of Basic English; and in these circumstances will he arrange to publish a simple Basic English version of the Atlantic Charter.

I welcome my hon. Friend's interest. Let him please talk it over with the Basic English experts. Let us have the best version possible.