asked the Secretary of State for War to what extent he accepts responsibility for compensation in respect of animals killed on the roads by Service vehicles; and in how many cases have such awards been made.

Generally speaking the owner of the animal must be able to prove negligence on the part of the Service driver concerned. This follows the practice in civil life. I regret that the information asked for in the last part of the Question is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for War what reports or corn-plaints he has received as to the quality, poor mixture and unpopular flavour of the new free issue cigarettes which are supplied to the trops in Italy and Northern Africa; what action he has taken; and if he will give an opportunity to Members of Parliament to sample these cigarettes.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "None, Sir." The cigarettes in issue are manufactured in this country. They are of well-known brands and of the same standard and specification as the cigarettes on sale to the public here.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether he is aware that under the Royal Warrant a higher rate of engineer pay is granted on commission to a R.E. officer who has qualified in the examinations for associate membership of the Institution of Civil, Mechanical or Electrical Engineers, or passed with honours in mechanical sciences tripos examinations at Cambridge or the special examinations of the Cambridge School of Military Engineering, but that failing such qualifications is unable to obtain this pay until the completion of 15 months' commissioned service; and whether he will extend this privilege to officers who have qualified in the examinations for Associate Membership of the Institution of Structural Engineers;(2) whether he is aware that in 1930 the Army Council agreed that Associate Membership of the Institution of Structural Engineers should be regarded as qualifying Royal Engineer officers of the Supplementary Reserve and Territorial Army for engineer pay; and why, seeing that the Special and Supplementary Reserves and the Territorial Army are now fully embodied in the Armed Forces of the Crown, this privilege is still withheld from members of the Institution who are granted commissions in the Corps of Royal Engineers.

Under the war-time regulations officers of the Royal Engineers (other than the Movement Control Section) are given engineer pay at the peace-time rate if they are associate members of the three Institutes mentioned in Article 371 or if they have had 15 months' commissioned service in the Corps. Other officers in the Corps receive pay at a new and lower rate. I am not at present satisfied that any change should be made such as is suggested by my hon. and gallant Friend. In peace-time special provisions were made in this matter, as in a number of others, for the Territorial Army and Supplementary Reserve. Officers who had vested rights under these provisions were allowed to retain them on embodiment, but new entrants naturally conform to the provisions applicable to the Army as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for War what bodies, in addition to the Institution of Structural Engineers, have submitted applications for the recognition of their examinations as qualification for the higher rate of engineer pay granted on commission to officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers; and what steps are being taken to assess the relative merits of these applications with a view to appropriate action.

Without communicating with the various bodies concerned, I do not feel at liberty to disclose the information asked for in the first part of the Question. As regards the second part, I do not feel that the time is opportune for the action proposed.

asked the Minister of Health how many consultants are at present available in Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and how many he estimates will be required for domiciliary and hospital work in the proposed National Health Service.

I can answer only for England and Wales. Detailed information is not available, but it is hoped that considerable light will be thrown on the present supply and future demand by the surveys mentioned in the reply given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Sir D. Hacking) on 3rd February.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the arduous nature of the fighting, those soldiers who have served throughout the Italian campaign from September to December, 1943, may qualify for the 1939–43 Star notwithstanding the fact that this period is less than six months.

This question has not yet been settled.

asked the Secretary of State for War what instructions have been issued to Officers in Charge Records to supply the ribbons of the 1939–43 and Africa Stars to ex-Service men.

Officers in charge of Records have been instructed to forward the necessary forms to ex-Service men who apply for either of these Stars. If on return of the form the claim is substantiated 2½ inches of the appropriate ribbon is issued to the man concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for War the position as to the award of the ribbon of the 1939–43 Star to prisoners of war entitled to receive it who are still in enemy hands; and will the ribbon be awarded in the same way to those who were captured at Dunkirk, St. Valery, etc., as it has been to those who got away.

Individuals who took part in the operations in France at any time between 10th May and 19th June, 1940, are eligible for the 1939–43 Star. The question of sending the ribbon to prisoners in enemy hands is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether, when considering the imposition of restrictions on heating, he will bear in mind the difference in climate and temperature between the North and South of England and differentiate accordingly.

The earliest date on which the heating restrictions can, under existing statutory provision, be introduced in England and Wales is 17th April. In deciding whether or not they should, in fact, be introduced on that date and whether they should subsequently be relaxed, either for the whole or part of the country, I am guided by expert meteorological advice, which takes into account any actual climatic differ- ences that exist at the time, between different parts of the country. At the beginning of this month, for example, the heating restrictions were relaxed for four days in the North of England, but not in the South.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare, if he is aware that Swedish liners are still loading in the Argentine for their home ports; and if he has any information whether Germany is granting navicerts for Argentine merchandise notwithstanding the breach of diplomatic relations between the Argentine and the Axis Powers.

Yes, Sir. Swedish ships continue to sail between Argentina and Gothenburg. As regards the second part of the Question, navicerts are a purely British device, and are not issued by the German authorities. Germany has, however, permitted the voyages in question to continue, notwithstanding the breach of diplomatic relations between Argentina and the Axis Powers.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has any information as to the incidence of diphtheria in Germany during the past winter.

The only information I have at present relates to periods of five consecutive weeks in October and November last, one week in December, and one in February. In these seven weeks there was a total of 56,658 recorded cases of diphtheria in Germany.

asked the Secretary of State for War what percentage of the troops serving under the command of General MacArthur are Australian, American and of other nationalities, respectively.

I regret that it would not be in the public interest to disclose these percentages.

asked the Minister of Pensions, of the 15,000 pensions granted to parents since the commencement of the war in respect of the loss of a son or daughter in the Services, how many are payable to widows, how many to widowers and how many in respect of both parents; and, in respect of each category, what is the average pension per week in respect of deceased other ranks and the average pension per annum in respect of deceased officers.

I could not, without undue research, give the hon. and gallant Member the precise information for which he asks. About 12,000 mothers and 900 fathers are in receipt of pension. The majority would be widows or widowers. Approximately 4,000 pensions have been awarded to two parents jointly, the mother generally being the applicant and payee. The average rate of pension in the case of parents of "Other Ranks" is 12s. 2d, a week, and in the case of parents of officers £52 a year.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many parents who have applied since the beginning of the war for a pension in respect of a son or daughter deceased on active service have received such a pension; and how many of those who have not received it would have done so if there had been a flat rate of pension and no means test.

The number of applications in Service cases is rather more than 43,000, and about 17,500 awards have been made. In some 4,000 cases the son's death was unconnected with Service, and in the remainder pension was inadmissible because the parents were not in need at the time the application was made. This residue constitutes the field within which a flat rate pension would operate, but I am unable to say how far the field would be covered, because it would depend on the conditions attached to the grant. When a flat rate pension was in force after the last war, it was payable only where the son was unmarried and was under 26 years of age at the commencement of his war service, and when no other pension was paid in respect of him: moreover it was not paid to the parents of officers.

asked the President of the Board of Education what is to be the status of the 70,000 recruits whom he proposes to employ as teachers after one year's training and without having passed any examination; whether they will rank as certificated or uncertificated teachers; whether they will be subjected to the Burnham scales of remuneration and in what class; at what date does he propose to introduce them to the schools and whether at once or at graded intervals in batches.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the proposed emergency scheme for the training of men and women on release from the Forces and from other forms of National Service. It is not possible at this stage to give any estimate of the number who will be trained under this scheme or to indicate the dates at which they will enter the schools, as these will depend on the number of suitable applicants and the dates at which they are released from war service. The status of these teachers will be equivalent to that now described by the term "Certificated Teacher". Their salaries will fall for consideration by the Burnham Committee.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that travellers now have to carry their own sheets and towels when they visit certain hotels, he will consider the grant to the hotels of extra coupons for these articles to diminish the increase of passenger luggage thus devolving upon transport companies.

No, Sir. No coupons are needed for sheets, and, in view of the present scarcity of cotton textile supplies, I regret that I cannot issue extra coupons to hotels for towels.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps are being taken to bring to the notice of all men in the Fighting Services that they will, if they wish, be granted priority to resume their business as retail traders after the war.

As I have previously stated, licences will be granted as a matter of course to ex-Servicemen on the Board of Trade Register of Retail Traders who wish to re-establish themselves in their former businesses after the war. Special steps, which have been taken at my request, to bring the Register to the notice of men serving in H.M. Forces, both at home and overseas, were outlined in the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Balham and Tooting (Mr. Doland) on 25th January last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can explain the cause of the shortage of saucepans in the shops of North Berkshire; whether he is aware of the ill-effects this deficiency has on making the best use of the food available; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy this condition in the immediate future.

Deliveries of hollow-ware, including saucepans, to North Berkshire, have been investigated, and on two occasions recently my Department has directed additional supplies to Didcot, which was the only centre that was found to be receiving less than its fair share of available supplies. The position is being carefully watched.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is now in a position to make an allotment of needed overcoats and boots to the cadets of the Yorkshire Air Training Corps.

I much regret that shortage of materials still precludes the issue of these items to the Air Training Corps.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the increased cost of living, he will consider allowing some further measure of tax relief to persons with small unearned incomes who are by reason of illness or infirmity permanently disabled from following any paid employment.

I regret that I cannot see my way to adopting my hon. Friend's suggestion. As I explained in Debate on the Budget Resolutions, it is quite impossible for the Income Tax to take account of all the varying circumstances of individual taxpayers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why selling centres are prohibited from accepting applications for 3 per cent. Savings Bonds, 1960–70, Series D, and only local banks can sell National Defence 2½ per cent, and Savings Certificates.

I assume that in referring to "National Defence 2½ per cent." my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind either 2½ per cent. National War Bonds, 1952–54, or 3 per cent. Defence Bonds which, in addition to 3 per cent. Savings Bonds, 1960–70, are the only issues of Bonds at present open to subscribers. Facilities for the sale of bonds can only be provided where adequate arrangements can be made for handling the considerable sums of money involved. Therefore the general rule is that bonds are sold at the permanent selling centres of the National Savings Committee, but not at the temporary selling centres set up during special Savings Weeks. Where the centre cannot handle bond business the prospective purchaser is referred to a bank or post office. All selling centres, both permanent and temporary, sell National Savings Certificates.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will give in HANSARD a list of the new rates of qualifying allotment for marriage allowance in accordance with the improved conditions set forth in Cmd. 6521.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North Tottenham (Mr. R. C. Morrison) on 18th May, in which my right hon. and gallant Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State undertook to circulate such a table.