asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the lack of lavatory accommodation for women at the Employment Exchange, Church Road, West, Walton, Liverpool; that some of the women registering there are unwell and some of them pregnant; and will he take early steps to remedy this state of affairs.

These are temporarily hired premises at a Methodist church hall and there is difficulty in providing lavatory accommodation there for the public. Efforts are being made to overcome this difficulty, and I will write to my hon. Friend in due course.

Will my right hon. Friend look upon this matter as one of some urgency?

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement about the position of Mr. A. Thomas, of Rotherham, in regard to his dismissal from a steel works in Sheffield, details of which have been supplied to him; whether he will have an inquiry into the circumstances of his dismissal; and why he has been unemployed for two years, although a proficient man in the industry, whilst other workers in the district have been sent to prison for absenteeism of days only.

I understand that in September, 1942, the employment of Mr. Thomas as a departmental manager with Messrs. Arthur Lee & Sons of Sheffield, was terminated without the permission of the National Service officer, Mr. Thomas having, on request, tendered his resignation. There was thus apparently an infringement of the Essential Work Order but the circumstances were clearly such that proceedings could not be successfully instituted against the firm. With regard to the last part of the Question, there have been difficulties in connection with finding employment for Mr. Thomas, which I would like to discuss with my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that billeting officers are prevented from securing first-class accommodation for boys being trained for the mines and other industries in many cases because of the effect on supplementary pensions; that people cooperating in the war effort have accepted such boys after which their supplementary pensions have been reduced, in one case to 1s. a week; and will he take steps to restore the pre-billeting payment and cancel the operation of the regulation in cases of this kind for the period of the war.

I understand that some householders have been unwilling to provide lodgings for mining trainees for the reason mentioned by my hon. Friend, but no serious difficulty has been experienced. I am informed by the Assistance Board that payments made by the trainees for their lodgings are treated in the same way as payments made by any other boarders, the normal rule being to regard as a resource of the pensioner one half of the amount by which the payment made by the boarder exceeds 18s.

asked the Minister of Health what reports he has received from the four sub-Committees of the Advisory Committee on Housing; which of those Reports have been published; what further Reports are likely soon to be in his hands; and if he can give a summary of the recommendations made by each of the four sub-Committees.

Final reports from the sub-Committees on rural housing, the design of dwellings and private enterprise, have been accepted by the main Committee and passed to me. The report on rural housing has already been published and I hope to publish the other two very shortly. Interim reports have been made by the sub-Committee on temporary construction and I understand that they expect to complete their study of the problem shortly. If the final report is accepted by the main Committee, and passed to me, I shall consider the question of publication.

In connection with the last part of the Minister's answer, in view of the action which the Government have taken in committing themselves, as it were, to a special type of temporary house, will my right hon. and learned Friend assure us that the Committee's Report will be published?

I think it would be wrong in advance of a report being made to give an assurance that it will be published, but I have undertaken to publish, or have published already, the other three and I shall consider the question of publishing any final Report of this sub-Committee.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that, notwithstanding the adoption of all the suggestions made in Circular 14/44, the ideal authorities are experiencing difficulties in obtaining the necessary technical staff to enable them to carry out the work which is required before employing contractors upon the advance preparation of housing sites; and whether he will, in conjunction with the other Ministers affected, make the necessary arrangements for the requisite technical staff to be made available.

Yes, Sir. I am consulting with my colleagues as to possible arrangements.

Is the Minister aware that it is quite useless for local authorities to make an application to the Appointments Board of the Ministry of Labour, because the majority of qualified men are now in the Royal Engineers? Should not these men be released for service with the local authorities on this important work?

I am aware of the difficulty in regard to technical officers, but it would be quite wrong for me to say that it would be useless to apply to my right hon. Friend's Department.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the housing authorities are experiencing difficulty in connection with their first and second year housing programme in the absence of any indication on the part of the Government as to the method which it is proposed to follow in allocating amongst the various housing authorities the Government's programme of 300,000 permanent houses in the two years after the end of the war in Europe; the part which private enterprise is expected to play in connection therewith; and the method of allocation amongst housing authorities of the Government's programme of temporary houses and the obligations of the housing authorities in connection therewith; and if he can yet make any statement on these matters.

I have not received any general representations on the point raised in the first part of the Question, and I do not think that any difficulty ought to arise at present. Local authorities have already been advised to base their short-term programmes on their annual output of houses before the war. On the second and third parts, I hope to make statements at an early date.

asked the Minister of Health when he will announce his plans for the allocation of prefabricated houses.

I hope to be able to make an announcement shortly on this and other matters regarding the factory made emergency house.

Will the statement be made before the House rises for the Recess?

I hope so.

Will it cover only the Ministry of Health or will it be a joint statement to cover Scotland as well?

I will discuss that with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. It may be that there will be two.

Will the statement be of such a kind that it can be debated, in view of the great interest in the matter?

That is a question for the Leader of the House.

May I ask the Leader of the House to consider whether the statement cannot be made in such a way that we may debate it?

I think we had better see the statement first.

asked the Minister of Health whether he intends to allow authorities, who have grouped for the purpose of preparing sites for houses, to split up their group and obtain tenders in the normal manner.

As indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth (Sir L. Lyle) on 15th June, this scheme is a voluntary one and no local authority can be compelled to join a group against its will. The Government believe, however, that in present circumstances, grouping is the most efficient and economical method of doing this work, and that the tenders when received will demonstrate that it is to the financial advantage of local authorities to participate in the grouping scheme.

My right hon. and learned Friend has not answered my Question. I asked whether they would be allowed to split up their groups again if they want to.

I thought I answered that part of the Question by implication when I said the scheme was a voluntary one. It is voluntary both in regard to going in and to coming out.

If they exercise their option to split up, will they still be able to obtain priorities for machinery and labour?

That depends on whether the particular proposal is one which is both efficient and economical.

asked the Minister of Health how many local authorities have protested against the group system proposed for the preparation of post-war housing sites; and how many have asked to withdraw from this scheme.

The scheme, as I indicated in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth on 15th June, is a voluntary one. 73 groups have now been formed in England and Wales comprising over 500 authorities.

Is my right hon. and learned friend aware that this group scheme carried out on smaller housing sites will be quite extravagant and very undesirable if pushed far in that way?

I was not aware that I had referred to pushing it in any way. This is, of course, a scheme for larger sites. The whole question is the use of labour in this very difficult year in the most economical and efficient way possible.

asked the Minister of Health if he can now report the conclusions reached at the conference on premises occupied for military purposes but likely to be made available for civilian accommodation.

No, Sir, but in view of my hon. Friend's special interest in this matter I will communicate with him as soon as a decision is reached.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a large number of operatives in the building industry gained their experience by working for small builders; and will he for this reason support the principle that smaller builders be given maximum consideration for post-war building work, to help to develop our building trades army at the earliest possible moment.

Yes, Sir, and I anticipate that as soon as it is possible to resume house-building there will be ample scope for the small builder.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend make a great effort in this direction, because small builders train the new workers more than the larger films and it would be very valuable if we could get the smaller builders working as soon as possible?

I have said repeatedly that I place very great importance on the work of the small builders.

Is not the right hon. and learned Gentleman perfectly powerless in these matters, inasmuch as the Ministry of Works and Buildings has absolute control of the material required?

No, Sir.

This is a matter of great urgency and we want to get the best machinery in order that houses shall be built quickly. Is it not the fact that in some cases that can only be done by a large movement of organisation?

At the moment we are busy with other matters than house-building.

asked the Minister of Health when he proposes to give definite approval or rejection to the new forms of construction illustrated in his interdepartmental Report on post-war building studies for house construction and to other new forms of house construction, so that local authorities may consider them for their post-war building programmes.

I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the circular I have already sent to local authorities in which I have pointed out that the report will be a valuable guide to them in regard to experiments or demonstrations or to the adoption of particular methods in postwar housing schemes.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend augment this statement by framing model by-laws so as to enable this to be done?

You, Sir, and the House has heard my hon. Friend refer to bylaws again and again. On the last occasion I invited him, as an experienced architect, to give examples of what he had in mind.

I should be pleased to do this but I will also call my right hon. and learned Friend's attention to an answer he gave me which is in direct contradiction to one by his Parliamentary Secretary on the same subject.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to conditions obtaining at Horton Hospital, Epsom; ant what steps have been taken to improve the catering and feeding arrangements, particularly as regards the military patients under treatment in the hospital.

Yes, Sir, and I am grateful to my hon. and gallant Friend for the interest he has taken and the help he has given in this matter. As the answer to the second part of the Question is rather long, I will, with permission, give it after Questions.

May I ask whether it is not the case that, apart from defective organisation in this or any other case, the difficulty in an emergency hospital is that military personnel are given civilian rations, and would it not be possible to arrange for them to have military rations, as they would have in a military hospital?

That is, of course, a question for the Minister of Food, but where the main Service population of a hospital are recently wounded, it is really not necessary that there should be Service rations for the whole number—indeed, it was found earlier in the war that it was very difficult to justify military rations for every Service man in hospital in comparison, for example, with injured Civil Defence personnel or other civilians. I think the arrangement which has been made by which the meat, which Servicemen miss particularly, will be increased whenever there is a sufficient number of Servicemen in the hospital, will meet the case.

Is the Minister aware that the difference between Service rations and civilian rations in these hospitals is so very slight, that it would not make all the difference that has been complained of by the Service personnel, who have been patients in the hospital for a long time; and is not antiquity in regard to the administration of this particular hospital causing more trouble than the shortage of rations?

I do not think there is antiquity now. It is the extreme difficulty of the arrangements in the hospital, which is now being used for a very much larger number of patients than it was designed to accommodate.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the severe local shortage of water in various parts of the country, he can state the general position of the reservoirs in Wales.

The amount of water now in storage in the majority of the impounding reservoirs in Wales is satisfactory.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the wife of a serving soldier giving up work of national importance, suffering from the incipient stages of tuberculosis, is not entitled to any of the benefits of the special scheme of his department because she has no dependants; and if he will consider extending the scheme to cover this and similar cases.

Payment of special allowances would not be justified when, as in the case to which my hon. Friend refers, an individual is already in receipt of an allowance from Exchequer funds which enables him or her to undertake treatment without hardship.

Will not the right hon. and learned Gentleman consider revising the scheme, especially in view of the adverse effects on the soldier when he knows his wife is suffering from tuberculosis and is not entitled to the benefits of his scheme?

I am sympathetic with those who see difficulties in the scheme but it is one designed to do the very best we can and to give the greatest help we can in present circumstances.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the polluted state of the River Tyne; and what steps he is taking to deal with it.

Yes, Sir. I am aware that pollution of the Tyne by sewage is substantial and of long standing. It is evident from information in my possession that to remedy these conditions must involve a very large expenditure of labour, materials and money and I regret that I cannot hold out any hope of speedy remedial action.

Why was not the matter tackled when Sir Malcolm Stewart, as Commissioner for the Special Area, made his report?

That is not a question for me.

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman kindly look into it, because it is very dilatory action for it not to be put into operation?

I understand that this will cost labour, materials and money. What is the money for apart from labour and materials?

As this is a matter not merely of local but of national interest affecting many other parts of the country, have the Government any plans for after the war, when material, labour and presumably money will be available? Is not this desirable in connection with reconstruction after the war?

I have information in my Department as to what should be done. The advice I have received, however, is that this is a matter which will not be of first priority in the immediate after-war period, important though it is.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether officers and other ranks of the Indian Army are eligible for repatriation to England after extensive tours of duty in India.

I assume that the hon. Member refers to British personnel of the Indian Army. The War Office scheme of cross-posting to the Home Establishment is by its nature not applicable to the Indian Army but as soon as shipping conditions made it possible I arranged for the opening of a leave scheme for Indian Army personnel. British Service personnel attached to, or serving with, the Indian Army are, however, eligible for consideration under the War Office scheme.

Do we understand that the personnel of the Indian Army will be on the same terms as regards leave as British personnel attached to the Indian Army?

I understand that they come under the same general scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can inform the House for what purpose 13,000 rupees per month is paid to the Indian Federation of Labour.

In March, 1942, the Government of India invited the Indian Federation of Labour and the All India Trades Union Congress to co-operate in measures to support the morale of labour in order to defeat potential enemy action and maintain production. The two bodies were invited to submit schemes, the cost of which Government would be prepared to meet. The Federation submitted a scheme which the Government of India approved and agreed to pay for and the monthly grant referred to is in fulfilment of this arrangement.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that this has been condemned very severely in many quarters in India?

It was open to the Trades Union Congress in India to accept the scheme and to work it.

Does not that indicate that the Trades Union Congress of India has shown a greater sense of political integrity by refusing that financial subsidy?

asked the Secretary of State for India what machinery is used by the Indian Canteen Board in making purchases outside India.

For food items demands on the United States of America are placed by the Indian Canteen Stores Department on their own buying agency in Washington which is linked to the Indian Supply Mission. Demands elsewhere are placed on my office in which a buying agency is located. For non-food items the arrangements are similar except that demands on my Office are made only for goods manufactured in the United Kingdom. Other demands are obtained direct, normally through the trade commissioners in India of the supplying countries concerned.

Is it not a fact that this organisation duplicates and competes against the N.A.A.F.I. purchasing organisation, and would it not be more efficient and economical to amalgamate the two?

No, Sir, I do not think so.

asked the Secretary of State for India what are the comparable prices of specimen items of beer, tobacco and spirits, sold in Indian canteens and in American canteens in India, respectively.

I understand that American canteens are dry in regard to spirits, but American and British messes are supplied with whisky and gin by the Indian Canteen Stores Department at the same price. I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the prices of beer and tobacco in British canteens in India. I am asking the Government of India to supply the corresponding prices in American canteens and will communicate with my hon. Friend when I have received them.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the need for missionaries in India at the moment, he will respond to the appeals of the missionary societies and arrange for passages, not only for the return of missionaries now at home, but also for sending out new missionaries to India.

I am aware of the difficulties experienced by the missionary societies in regard to passages to India, and I am consulting the Viceroy to see whether the situation can be alleviated in any way once the present special restrictions on overseas travel are relaxed. The difficulty is the scarcity of passages for all needs and I fear there can be no marked improvement until the shipping position becomes easier.

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the number of missionaries who are waiting to return and of others who are waiting to go out, and would not their presence be very helpful to us in India at the moment if the necessary arrangements could be made?

I entirely agree with the hon. Member.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that there are other people, including officers' wives, who are also waiting to go out?

asked the Secretary of State for India the reason for the delay in the winding-up of the Bombay and Baroda Railways; what the present position is; and if the procedure is being carried out under the Companies Acts.

The delay is, I am informed, mainly due to difficulties in ascertaining the company's share of profits for the final period during which they managed the railway and in determining the company's final tax liabilities both in India and the United Kingdom. It is hoped to complete the winding-up in the course of the present year. The dissolution of the company is being carried out under the provisions of the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway Act, 1942, not under the Companies Acts.

If my right hon. Friend's anticipation of an early settlement of this affair is not reached, would it be possible to issue an interim statement?

I will look into that, but it may be difficult.

asked the Secretary of State for India when the Commission of inquiry into the causes of food shortage and consequent epidemics in India is expected to begin its duties; and if he is satisfied that steps have been taken to offset the prospective shortage due to the damage to the wheat crop in April.

Until the names of the members have been announced I cannot give the actual date. I do not think it will be long. The damage to the wheat crop is not so great as was at one time feared; but the resulting loss is being taken into account in the measures adopted by His Majesty's Government, the Government of India and the Provincial Governments for the supply and distribution of foodgrains.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the disquiet expressed by the Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and by other public bodies and public men respecting the liquidation of Indian sterling balances, he will give an assurance that India will be free to decide its own policy in this respect in the interest of Indian welfare and not have to submit to external decisions detrimental to Indian interests.

I appreciate the importance of the matter, to which the hon. Member draws attention, but at this stage I can only refer him to the replies given by my hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Southampton (Mr. Craven-Ellis) on 22nd June.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the disquiet in regard to this matter is deep and extensive; and in view of the fear in some parts of India that these sterling balances will be liquidated, not by them but by us, can he give some assurance on the matter?

Those suspicions are not well-founded. In any case, it is not a matter that can be discussed by way of Question and answer.

Will there be an opportunity of discussing the matter at an early date?

That is a matter for the authorities of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has considered the many examples submitted to him by the hon. Member for North Lambeth of censorship of news from India on purely political grounds having no possible relationship to security interests; and whether he will give an assurance that the possibility of not applying censorship on political grounds is now being carried out.

I understand that the hon. Member has in mind certain examples cited in a recently published article, which are stated to have occurred between June, 1943, and February, 1944. As regards the general policy under which censorship of outward messages is exercised by the Government of India, I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wallsend (Miss Ward) on 8th June.

May we take it from that reply that there has been some change in policy since these examples of political censorship occurred?

The answer I gave was framed in consultation with the Viceroy and it represents the present position of the Government of India.

Can I press the right hon. Gentleman again? The examples I gave showed clearly that there was a political censorship in the early part of this year. Can we take it that there has been a change in policy and that there will be no such censorship in future, because the statement made by the right hon. Gentleman on 8th June did not indicate any change of policy but merely stated what the policy of the Government of India was?

I do not think it can be said that there has been a change in policy.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the publication in the Press of extracts from the correspondence between Mr. Gandhi and the Viceroy, subsequent to Mr. Gandhi's fast and, for the sake of accurate information, the full text of the correspondence will now be issued in this country.

Yes, Sir. The pamphlet containing the correspondence in question, which has been published by the Government of India, has not yet reached this country, but I hope shortly to be able to make it available to the Press and to place copies in the Library.

Will it be possible for the public to secure copies of this pamphlet?

It will be given to the Press and also laid in the Library of the House, so that it will be generally available.

Will the whole correspondence be published?

Yes, Sir, and I believe it covers a great volume of paper.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total capital assistance made to contractors, capital commitments other than assistance, the amount of expenditure allowed for extensions to private firms, the amount on agency schemes; has an inventory been made of State-owned assets and has consideration been given to the Sixteenth Report from the Select Committee on National Expenditure, Session 1942–43, that dealt with State-owned assets; and what action has or is to be taken.

My hon. Friend will find full details of capital expenditure over the range covered by his Question in the reply of the Minister of Production to him on 9th February last, and that of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry, of 18th May. I do not think that a central inventory of State-owned assets would be either practicable or useful, but consideration has been, and is being, given to the question how such assets can best be utilised at the end of the war.

Are the Government considering utilising these assets as far as possible, in order to carry out the policy of State ownerhip and in order that industry will be efficient and able to play a bigger part in the post-war world than would otherwise be the case?

I can give my hon. Friend the assurance that the Government are considering how best to use this property in the public interest. I can say no more at present.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of overseas investment up to the most convenient date; and if he intends prohibiting any more money being invested overseas.

In reply to the first part of the Question, I would refer to the reply given to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Lipson) on 22nd June. In reply to the second part, it would not serve the national interest to go so far as to impose a total prohibition on all overseas investments.

Is the Chancellor of the Exchequer not aware that the interest on these overseas investments has to be paid for, either by goods or services which come into conflict with home production? Is he not aware that the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Snowden, prohibited investment overseas?

My hon. Friend has opened a wide subject. I do not agree with his general view and as regards our overseas position, the fact is that our investments are at the moment far more than offset by credits which have accumulated here in favour of overseas territories.

Surely the right hon. Gentleman will agree that it is not the prohibition of foreign investments which matters but their proper direction?

I do, of course, entirely agree. There is machinery for regulating foreign investment. We are in danger of falling into fallacy, if we talk just of "overseas investments," because these include all sorts of investments, in- cluding investments in other parts of the Commonwealth, and so on. The matter cannot be dealt with just by a few figures.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that all the investments over the last 100 years have fallen into default, and will His Majesty's Government therefore direct investments, so far as they can, to Empire countries?

No doubt that point will be taken into account.