asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning what steps are being taken at the present time with a view to the preservation and development of national parks; and what progress has been made.

I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the answer given to the hon. Member for Devizes (Sir P. Hurd) on 27th January, 1944, to which my right hon. Friend has at present nothing to add.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether it is anticipated that schemes involving in one place the erection of large numbers of prefabricated houses will be vetted by his Department from the point of view of landscape amenities.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will consider the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the provision of legal aid for persons of modest means.

This subject has for some time been receiving the special attention of my Noble Friend the Lord Chancellor, and it is hoped that an announcement on the subject may be made very shortly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider the hardship caused to testamentary beneficiaries, such as a widow and children, by charging Estate Duty in respect of the house owned and occupied by the deceased on an inflated war-time value which cannot in fact be realised because the beneficiaries must continue to reside in the house, and take steps to alleviate this burden.

Yes, Sir. As my hon. and gallant Friend is aware, the general rule of valuation for purposes of Estate Duty is to take the market value at the date of death. I have, however, reached the conclusion that, in the exceptional cases to which he refers, it would be right in assessing the value of the house to disregard any increase in the market value above the pre-war value in so far as it could only be realised by a sale with vacant possession. The assessment so made would be subject to review if the house were sold or let within a reasonable period of, say, two years after the death. This treatment,. which will apply to new cases and to cases which are still open, will be allowed where a near relative of the deceased was ordinarily resident with him at the date of death and satisfies the Inland Revenue Department that he or she intends to remain in the house and has no other place of residence available.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will give the following information so far as available for the quarter ended 31st March, 1944: the output of saleable coal, the number of wage-earners overall and at the coal face; the output per manshift overall and at the coal face, the percentage of absenteeism overall and at the coal face and the proportion of coal face shifts worked to the total worked.

I would ask my hon. Friend to await the publication of the White Paper giving full statistics of production, employment, absenteeism, etc., to which I referred in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (Sir W. Edge) on 9th May.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether, in view of the heavy casualties on the roads, he can state the main causes which produce them and the districts which show the most serious return.

The Road Safety Committee, of which I am Chairman, is endeavouring to analyse in detail what are the main causes of accidents, and will report in due course to my Noble Friend on the measures which in their view can best be taken in the post-war period to deal with the very serious and difficult road accident problem. As regards the second part of the Question, while we know the number of accidents in each district, it is hardly practicable, in view of the widely differing conditions, to indicate particular districts as showing the most serious returns.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make a special issue of permits to view the Government prefabricated house to women's institutes within 50 miles of London

Within the limits of the number of persons who can reasonably view the house within the time available, the fullest consideration has been given to applications from the National Federation of Women's Institutes. I am in communication with the federation to see what further facilities for their members are practicable.

asked the Minister of Health what subsidies he is paying in respect of new house construction during the war, on what lines and to what extent.

The amounts and conditions of the subsidies which I have authority to pay on new houses are set out in Sections 1 to 3 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1938. Owing to the restricted amounts of labour and materials available proposals for the erection of subsidised houses have been entertained only where the houses are urgently required in the interest of war-time food production for agricultural workers. Approximately 1,200 such houses have been built in the last 12 months. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture is paying an additional capital sum of 150 per dwelling on such of these houses as are included in the Government programme of 3,000 cottages announced last year.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that persons who have purchased houses for their own occupation, within areas to which entry is now banned by the military authorities, but who have been prevented by the ban from residing in them, are now being threatened with requisition by local authorities; and whether he will inform the local authorities in the areas concerned that they should refrain from requisitioning properties which it is the intention of the owners to occupy as soon as the military authoritiess will permit them to do so.

I am not clear which cases my hon. and learned Friend has in mind, but I will gladly look into any which he might care to bring to my notice. I should explain that while I should not feel justified in instructing local authorities to refrain from requisitioning empty premises in any area where such premises are urgently needed for immediate use in the public interest, it is the desire of the Government that every consideration should be given to the claims of owners wishing to occupy their own houses when circumstances permit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the right of all British soldiers to refuse vaccination was observed by the Governor of Gibraltar in the orders he issued on 9th March; and, if not, whether he will point out to the Governor that members of the Services from Great Britain have a right to go overseas to any part of the battle area without being compelled to undergo vaccination and that this right cannot be taken away by a Governor.

I have been asked to reply. The Regulations in this matter are clear and in general well known throughout the Army. I have no knowledge of the incident to which my hon. Friend refers but inquiries are being made.

asked the Minister of Health what is the shortage in Devon of accommodation for tuberculous patients; and whether the necessary provision can be expedited.

At 3rst March last the number of tuberculosis cases on the waiting list for institutional treatment in the County of Devon, including Exeter and Plymouth, was 62. Works are at present proceeding as quickly as prevailing conditions allow and, it is estimated, will add about 90 beds to the existing accommodation.

asked the Minister of Health why the Therapeutic Substances Regulations, 1931 (b), have been amended and the tests for determining conformity with the standards of strength, quality and purity of therapeutic substances will no longer apply to vaccine lymph; and why Regulation 15, which relates to the tests of sterility, is no longer to apply to vaccine lymph.

Experience has shown that the tests for the purity of vaccine lymph which were prescribed in the Regulations of 1931 resulted in the rejection of considerable quantities of safe material. The new Regulations accordingly prescribe a revised schedule of conditions for vaccine lymph, including a less stringent test for the presence of bacteria. A secondary effect of the revision is to remove the requirement that the prescribed tests shall be applied at the final stage of manufacture. Regulation 15, which required the application of tests for the presence of living bacteria, is in effect replaced by a provision in the Schedule specifying the maximum number of living bacteria which may be present.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will draw the attention of the Indian Government to the decision of the House of Commons to increase the pensions of retired State servants who have served under the British Government; and take steps to secure that the Government of India follows suit in respect of retired Government of India pensioners.

I am already in communication with the Government of India on this matter.

asked the Minister of Food what is the controlled price of old hay; and what price has been fixed for this year's crop.

As the maximum prices at which old hay may be sold vary according to the description of the hay and other factors, I am sending to my hon. and gallant Friend a copy of the Order prescribing the prices. The maximum prices during June and subsequent months for old and new hay have not yet been fixed, but an announcement on the subject will be made shortly.

asked the Minister of Food whether there is to be a controlled price of straw for the 1944 crops; and approximately how much is left of the 1943 crops.

It is not at present intended to vary the current maximum prices for home-grown straw. I regret that I have no information about the quantity of straw remaining from the 1943 crop.