asked the Secretary of State for War whether units in which A.F. B2626 has been given to troops during a pay parade have been, more or less, successful in obtaining registration than those who have not.

All Commanding Officers have been instructed to ensure that all ranks are given the opportunity of completing A.F.B. 2626 either on pay parades or by holding special parades for the pur- pose. I regret that no information is available to show whether more soldiers filled up A.F.B. 2626 in units where the procedure was explained during a pay parade than in units where other arrangements were made.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether an effective seasickness remedy is now available for those members of His Majesty's Forces who are subject to this malady.

Yes, Sir. A remedy is available which has been found to be effective in a very large proportion of cases.

asked the Secretary of State for War the conditions governing the granting of permission for wives of Service men serving in the A.T.S. in the Mediterranean theatre of war to return home when their husbands are repatriated; if he is aware that there is some discontent inasmuch as this permission is invariably granted to the wives if they are serving in the W.A.A.F. or W.R.E.N. or are in civilian employment in the area but not to those serving in the A.T.S.; and if he will review the position.

The fact that an officer or other rank has been posted to this country does not entitle his wife in the A.T.S. to receive a similar posting. I understand that the practice in the other Services is similar. An A.T.S. auxiliary who is serving abroad may be posted to the Home Establishment before the expiry of her term of duty on other grounds, including strong compassionate grounds. Such posting are not, however, connected with the move of her husband.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will ensure that German wounded falling into our hands are treated on the spot instead of being brought to this country where our own hospital accommodation will be needed.

Under the Geneva Convention sick and wounded prisoners of war must be "cared for medically, without distinction of nationality, by the belli- gerent in whose power they may be." When it is not possible to give hospital treatment to wounded prisoners on the Continent they must be brought to this country.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will leave the crossing known as Frazer's Bridge, at Walberswick, Suffolk, in position for the use of the local population as their sole means of communication by road, instead of employing military personnel for its demolition.

This Bridge was erected for the troops who were stationed in this area. It was constructed of standard bridging material used by the Army in active operations. When the troops left it was decided to remove the Bridge and use the bridging material to meet the Army's renirements. I understand that the removal was completed on 19th June.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deaths were registered in 1938 and in 1943 from the following diseases: scarlet fever, measles, whopping cough, bronchitis in children under 15 years, typhoid fever and non-pulmonary tuberculosis.

The numbers of deaths registered in Scotland in 1938 and 1943 from the diseases referred to are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for War whether any arrangements are now being made for the disposal of surplus military equipment after the war; what method will be used for the disposal; and will it be sold to the highest bidder.

I have been asked to reply. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Lowestoft (Mr. Loftus) on 13th June.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many posts in the Civil Service at present carry a salary in excess of£2,000 per annum; and how many of these posts are normally filled by officers holding professional, scientific or technical qualifications.

The number of posts in the Civil Service at present carrying salaries in excess of£2,000 per annum is III. Of these, 20 are normally filled by officers holding professional, scientific or technical qualifications.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the salaries of heads of professional, scientific and technical departments, or sub-departments.

I think that my hon. Friend wants to know the salaries of heads of all professional, scientific and technical establishments, divisions and major sections within Departments. There are many of these, and they cannot easily be identified without inquiry of Departments. Even so, there is some difficulty in determining what should be defined as a professional, scientific or technical establishment, and what as an administrative or executive establishment. If, however, he would let me know in which establishments he is particularly interested, I will endeavour to supply the information.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what percentages of the persons holding established posts in the administrative class in the Civil Service entered through the administrative class examination, or through the post-war 1914 to 1918 reconstruction examination, or by promotion.

Administrative posts in the Civil Service in war-time may he filled either by established or temporary officers, and it is not possible to identify any posts as established posts. I assume, however, that my hon. Friend has in mind established officers holding administrative posts. Of the established civil servants who now hold administrative posts, 33 per cent. entered through the administrative class examination, 8 per cent. through the reconstruction examination after the last war, 58 per cent. by promotion and r per cent. by other means. Of the numbers entering by promotion two-thirds—68 per cent. to be exact—hold at present only acting appointments; that is to say have been promoted to their present rank during or shortly before the war.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the names of any committees, advisory councils, or other like bodies under the of his Department on which any Members of either House of Parliament sit, together with the names of those Members.

I am sending the desired information to my hon. Friend.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will authorise the publication of an up-to-date White Paper, on the lines of Command Paper 6255, setting out the Members of both Houses of Parliament serving in His Majesty's Forces other than the H.G. or assisting His Majesty's Government in a civil capacity.

I have been asked to reply. A list of Members of the House of Commons serving in H.M. Forces (other than the Home Guard) is given below. It is up-to-date so far as practicable, but the Service Departments are unable to vouch for its completeness and absolute accuracy. In addition, a list was circulated by the Deputy Prime Minister on the 17th February last [Official Report, Volume 397, No. 32, Columns 340–344], which is still up-to-date, of Members in respect of whom a certificate has been issued and is in force under the House of Commons Disqualification (Temporary Provisions) Act 1941. It would, however, take much time and labour to revise, for both Houses of Parliament, all the particulars contained in Part II of Cmd. 6255, and I am reluctant to put Departments to such extra work at this juncture.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning, on how many occasions have representatives of land and property owners been received by Ministers or officials on the subject of the main recommendations of the Uthwatt Committee.

Neither my right hen. Friend nor his officials have received any representatives of land and property owners on this subject.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning on how many occasions have members of the Uthwatt Committee been consulted on methods by which the difficulties advanced against their main recommendation could be overcome.

My right hon. Friend has not consulted members of the Uthwatt Committee on this matter.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether a Report on the planning of the London Regional Area is now being prepared by Professor Abercrombie; if so, when it will be published; and whether any other scheme for the planning of that area is under consideration by his Ministry.

Professor Abercrombie was appointed in 1942 to prepare an outline plan and Report for the area surrounding London so as to form, with the plans of the City and County of London, which were already being prepared, a comprehensive plan for the whole region. He has completed his plan and Report, which are now in my right hon. Friend's hands. They will be published as soon as practicable, but I cannot yet give the date of publication. I am not aware of any other plan covering the whole area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions since the new year have been brought in the juvenile courts against children between the ages of 12 and 14, 10 and 12 and under 10; and whether these show an increase on the corresponding figures for 1943.

The latest figures tabulated are for the first three months of this year. In aggregate they show a small reduction on the corresponding figures for 1943.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why no inquest was held into the death of Lesley Robinson, aged five months, who died in Nightingale Hospital, Bury, on 2nd April, 1944, from the results of vaccination, seeing that as this death was not due to natural causes it ought to have been inquired into by a coroner.

A coroner who is informed that the dead body of a person is lying within his jurisdiction is required to hold an inquest concerning the death if there is reasonable cause to suspect that such person died either a violent or an unnatural death. It is for the coroner to decide on the information furnished to or ascertained by him whether the circumstances are such as to require an inquest to be held and the High Court, on the application of any person, has power to order an inquest to be held if satisfied that a coroner has improperly refused or neglected to hold an inquest. I have no authority to give a ruling, nor would it be proper for me to express an opinion as to this or any other particular case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the reluctance of women to join the police, he is satisfied that the publicity of the need and the inducements are adequate.

The principal difficulty in the way of recruiting women for police duties arises from the fact that, at this stage of the war, few women are available with the special qualities and aptitudes required for this work, A number steps have already been taken, including advertisements in the Press, to ensure that the existence of the need is made widely known; but I hope that this Question and answer may serve to give additional publicity to the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any information he can give the House concerning the recent death of Mr. Charles O'Hare, detained under Regulation 18B.

Mr. O'Hare died in the Noble Hospital in the Isle of Man on 2nd June. He had on 3rd May undergone an operation for gastric ulcer and subsequently was believed to be making progress towards recovery, being removed from the danger list on 17th May. On 27th May, however, a second operation was found to be necessary, from which, I regret to say, he failed to recover.

asked the Attorney-General how often have prosecutions been instituted by the War Damage Commission for intentional over assessment of the cost of repairs; and with what results.

The Director of Public Prosecutions deals with cases of the kind referred to. Criminal proceedings have been brought in 63 cases, involving 82 defendants. Eight cases are in the course of hearing. In 42 cases there have been convictions of 51 defendants. In 13 cases, involving 20 defendants, there have been acquittals. The sentences imposed on convictions have ranged from three years' penal servitude to the imposition of fines. My right hon. Friend the Lord Advocate informs me that in Scotland there has been only one prosecution which was successful.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he has received any information in regard to the conversations now taking place between Mr. Berle and the Russian representatives on civil aviation; and whether His Majesty's Government intend to institute similar Anglo-Russian conversations in the near future.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "No, Sir." As regards the second part, I would refer my Noble Friend to the reply I gave to him on 24th May last.

asked the Minister of Information the present circulation of the British official paper in Russia.

The weekly newspaper in Russian, "British Ally," produced in Moscow on behalf of the Ministry of Information, has since 4th June, 1944, had a circulation of 50,000 copies. The previously weekly circulation was 25,000.

asked the Minister of Health if he can give an assurance that in his proposed legislation on the National Health Service he will not adversely affect existing private practices of masseurs and physiotherapists, or prejudice private practice in the future.

The aid of masseurs and physiotherapists will be required in the new comprehensive service and the total demand on their services is thus likely to be considerably increased. Whether private practice in these specialities will be diminished I cannot say, but I can assure my hon. and gallant Friend that there will be no interference with the right to give or receive private treatment.

asked the Minister of Health what proportion of cases of tuberculosis is attributable to drinking the milk of tuberculous cows.

Exact information is not available, but it has been estimated that rather less than 2 per cent. of all cases of pulmonary tuberculosis and about 30 per cent. of all cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis are attributable to the bovine type of infection.

asked the Minister of Health whether any machinery exists for the revision of the records of the Registrar-General when cases notified as smallpox by medical officers of health are subsequently found not to be cases of that disease.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 25th February to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, Central (Mr. Leach) to a similar Question in respect of diphtheria notifications, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy. The answer applies equally to notifications of smallpox.

asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to prevent the extortion of key money from persons desiring to become tenants of houses on housing estates.

The Rent Restrictions Acts prohibit the charging of a premium for the grant of a tenancy of a house subject to the provisions of those Acts under penalty of a fine not exceeding£100. If my hon. Friend would be good enough to send me particulars of any housing estates where he has reason to suppose that this practice is adopted, I will have inquiries made.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give the names of the 60 groups selected to make postwar preparations of housing sites.

The number of groups now formed for England and Wales is 73. The exact composition of the groups has not in all cases been finally settled, but I will send my hon. Friend a list of the local authorities who have agreed to act as group leaders.

asked the Minister of Health whether in connection with the water supply of Evesham and district and the amicable agreement which has been reached between the North Cotswold Rural District Council and the Evesham Rural District Council, he can give an assurance that the necessary licence to enable the authorities to obtain the material for extending the Evesham mains will not be held up on account of the necessity for filling in form K 20, which relates solely to an application for a loan, in view of the urgency for an adequate supply of water in this area.

The issue of licences for materials must necessarily await approval of the proposals under the arrangements for determining priorities. Specific authorisation under the Defence Regulations is also required. In addition to general information, technical details of the proposed works are essential before a decision can be given, and these can most suitably be submitted on Form K 20, which, although normally used in connection with loan applications, is also appropriate and convenient to the present purpose.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many conscientious objectors are employed by the county war agricultural committees; whether the work done by them is satisfactory; if he has had any complaints; and if the rate of pay is the same as to those who are not conscientious objectors.

The number of conscientious objectors employed by County War Agricultural Executive Committees is approximately 2,000. Their work, as regards both quantity and quality, is variable, and there have been some complaints, which have been dealt with by the Ministry of Labour and National Service under the Essential Work Order.The answer to the last part of the Question is in the affirmative.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any settlement has been made with the Spanish Government to grant compensation to those who were killed on H.M.S. "Hunter," on 13th May, 1937; and whether the sum of£2,000 claimed by His Majesty's Government has now been paid.

This is only one of many claims arising out of the Spanish Civil War. The outbreak of the present war interfered with the preparation and presentation of these claims, which would have imposed a disproportionate strain upon the depleted staffs of the various Departments concerned. The matter has not, however, been overlooked and it is intended to press this and other connected claims as soon as this is practicable. The delay in presenting this claim has not entailed any personal hardship, as the dependants and the injured parties had already, in 1939, received the compensation to which they were entitled under the Naval regulations.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will inquire into the existing arrangements for the collection and delivery of mails to officers and men serving in landing craft of all types based on this country; whether he is aware that some of these ships have had no letters or papers for over a month; and if he will take steps to remedy the position.

A short delay in the delivery of mails to these craft has been unavoidable on account of security measures taken on operational grounds, but I am satisfied, after consultation with the Admiralty, that the alleged prolonged delay in the receipt of mails by landing-craft taking part in current operations is not general. During operations, however, these craft present exceptional difficulties. I am informed by the Admiralty that on the whole the delivery of mails to operational craft has not been unsatisfactory, but I shall be glad to investigate any specific cases.