asked the Minister of Health if it is the Government's policy that every effort should be made to modernise all existing rural houses which are capable of improvement; and will he instruct local authorities to this effect.

It is the Government's intention that all rural cottages which can be made fit for habitation should be made fit. The Housing Acts empower local authorities to require owners to carry out any works necessary for this purpose. In addition, the Housing (Rural Workers) Acts provide financial assistance for owners willing to undertake a higher standard of modernisation and improvement. The amount of work which can be done at the present time is governed by the limited amount of labour and materials available. Local authorities have already been informed that all available labour should be concentrated on repairs.

asked the Minister of Health if, in allocating prefabricated houses for temporary dwellings to local authorities, it is intended that until the needs of those areas which have been severely damaged in air-raids are satisfied, no deliveries will be made to authorities who have applied for them for other areas.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wallsend (Miss Ward) on 29th June, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Prime Minister when he anticipates being able to announce the personnel, terms of reference, etc., of the Royal Commission on Equal Pay.

An announcement will be made as soon as possible, but I regret that I am unable to name a date.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to return after the reconstruction period to the system under which trade trends are influenced by changes in the Bank Rate;(2) if it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to revert to the system under which higher short-term interest rates are applied indiscriminately against all branches of trade, whether booming or depressed, in order to check an unwanted boom affecting certain industries.

The White Paper merely states that the possibility of influencing capital expenditure by the variation of interest rates will be kept in view, and the Government is not committed to the view that such a policy should in fact be followed or that it should be carried out in any particular manner. It would in any case clearly be premature to attempt now to indicate long-term policies on such subjects as that raised in the second Question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will institute an inquiry into the possibilities of the post-war activities of the B.B.C. being used to promote British trade abroad by dealing in turn with centres of manufacturing output, their performances and their capabilities.

The B.B.C. has given numerous feature programmes dealing with particular industries or industrial areas and will doubtless continue to do so. If my hon. Friend has in mind the use of the B.B,C. for commercial advertising, the answer is "No, Sir."

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that the recent increase in dependants' allowances renders certain mothers liable to pay for cod liver oil, orange juice, etc., which were previously, by reason of their income, supplied free of charge; that this means that some part of such increase is taken away from these mothers; and whether he will take steps to secure that mothers who previously received these provisions free of charge continue to do so.

Yes, Sir, I am aware of the circumstances to which my hon. Friend refers; but my right hon. and gallant Friend sees no reason to raise the income limit for free supplies, which is, of course, of general application.

asked the Minister of Food how much tonnage of salami and other foreign sausage came into this country; on what dates was it received; how much has been sold to the consuming public; how much remains in stock held by the Government; and is this in good condition for the food of the people.

The products to which my hon. Friend refers were received from the United States under Lend-Lease between February and May this year. Retail butchers were given the first opportunity of purchasing and bought considerably over half the total, but I have no means of ascertaining the amount sold by them to the public. The reply to the last part of the Question is "Yes, Sir."

asked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the additional cut in the milk ration, he proposes to release some percentage of dried milk.

Arrangements have been made to issue national household milk for domestic consumption in the autumn and winter on the same lines as last year. I am not in a position to release supplies at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he has any estimate of the number of German casualities in North Africa, Italy, Normandy and White Russia; and the total casualties previously inflicted on the Germans in Russia.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Eye (Mr. Granville) on 2nd May.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that, since troops fighting in Normandy have still got the postal address A.P.O., England, they cannot be sent cigarettes duty free to which they are entitled as serving overseas; and, whether some method will be devised, which will not infringe on security regulations, to enable relatives and friends to send them duty free cigarettes.

Troops in Normandy are shortly to be given an overseas address which will enable friends and relatives to send them duty-free cigarettes and tobacco. These new arrangements will overcome the difficulty referred to by my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for War if embarkation leave is always given to youths of 19 years of age or under before they are sent overseas to take part in the invasion of Europe.

All soldiers, whatever their age, are, if possible, given embarkation leave. Sometimes it is not possible owing to a special need for secrecy or for some other overriding operational reason.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) if he will permit parents, particularly elderly persons living alone in Southern England, to visit their children resident in protected areas, even when the children are over i6 years of age;(2) if further consideration has now been given to problems arising from the provisions of the Protected Areas Order; and if he will grant permission to enter such areas to persons in other categories than those prescribed in the Order, or grant chief constables power of discretion in cases of exceptional hardship.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 29th June, to which I have nothing at present to add.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will advise Civil Defence controllers and A.R.P. officers in Southern England of the effective protection that can be afforded against flying bombs by the wider use of jim crow roof spotters combined with shrill blasts on whistles and other signals to ensure the provision of a more adequate imminent danger warning.

While I will bear my hon. Friend's suggestion in mind, I am afraid that, up to the present, it has not been possible to find a solution for the technical and other problems involved by the proposal to make the imminent danger warning universal.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he anticipates that payment of increased pensions under the Pensions (Increase) Act, recently passed, will begin, and when payment of arrears will be completed.

Payment of increases (except to a limited extent under Section 2 of the Act) cannot begin until the necessary declarations have been made by the pensioners and have been examined by the appropriate pension authorities. It is hoped to issue the declaration forms together with instructions to pensioners shortly. On receipt of these forms from the pensioners every effort will be made to expedite payment of arrears, but I am afraid I cannot say when this will be completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why it was considered necessary to enact in Gambia the Newspaper Registration and Sales Publications Ordinances; and whether notice was taken of local opinion on the matter.

The Ordinances in question were enacted in order to bring legislation on the subject into line with legislation elsewhere in the West African Colonies. As a result of their enactment it has been possible to release the local Press from the censorship previously imposed under the Defence Regulations and from the obligation to obtain a licence at the cost of per annum, which was required under a Licensing Ordinance. The Bills were fully discussed in the Legislative Council, where they were opposed by African Unofficial Members of that Council. The opposition was concerned with details rather than with fundamental principles and seems to have been based on misunderstanding which, I understand, has now been removed as a result of a meeting between the Governor and representatives of local opinion, including one of the unofficial members of the Legislative Council.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why Entertainment Tax is being waived on the Co-operative Centenary Pageant.

Exemption from Entertainments Duty is being allowed in respect of this entertainment under Section 1 (5) (d) of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, which provides that Entertainments Duty shall not be charged on payments for admission to any entertainment where the Commissioners of Customs and Excise are satisfied that the entertainment is provided for partly educational purposes by a society, institution or committee not conducted or established for profit. The entertainment in question is being provided by the education committees of the Co-operative Societies concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the net receipts from Stamp Duty under the following four headings for each of the six half-years during the period ended 31st March, 1944: English cheques, Scottish cheques, bills of exchange and promissory notes and Scottish bankers' bills and notes.

The net receipts from Stamp Duty in each of the six half-years during the period ended 31st March, 1944, in respect of English cheques, Scottish cheques, bills of exchange and promissory notes and Scottish bankers' bills and notes were as follows:

asked the Secretary of States for the Colonies why the trial of George Thomas in Freetown for libel was arranged before a judge with assessors; on what principle were these assessors selected; and why, in this particular case, a jury was not called.

I have not received any official information regarding this case. The Sierra Leone Jurors and Assessors Ordinance provides that the Attorney-General, whenever he is of opinion that a more fair and impartial trial can be obtained by the accused being tried by the Court with the aid of assessors instead of by a judge and jury, may make an application to the Court for an order, which shall be made as, of course, to this effect. It is provided that in the case of an order being made for trial with the aid of assessors the judge who is to try the case shall select from the persons summoned to act as special jurors not less than three to assist him in such trial, provided always that, whenever there shall be a deficiency of special jurors, it shall be lawful for the Court to issue fresh precepts if necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give a list of the dependencies whose legislation still fails to satisfy Section 1 (2a) of the Colonial Development and Welfare Act, 1940; and what further steps are being taken.

The following is the list, exclusive of those territories wholly or partly in enemy occupation:Bahamas, Bermuda, Ceylon, Gibraltar, Malta, Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Somaliland and Tonga.I understand that the question of legislating to satisfy Section 1 (2

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether the question of a suitable main air terminal for civil air services in London is under consideration; which of the existing or proposed airports is regarded as suitable for this purpose; and whether he can make any statement of the policy of the Government regarding the establishment of an adequate airport for London.

As I informed the hon. Member for Chislehurst (Sir W. Smithers) on 22nd March the choice of civil airports in the London area after the war will, in all probability be made from the many airfields which are being used or developed in war-time for war purposes and are capable of extension or adaptation for post-war civil needs. My hon. Friend will, I am sure, recognise that in the present circumstances it is not possible for reasons of security to discuss the location of military airfields.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether men and women in the Royal Navy receive pay while in hospital suffering from illness or accident; and whether the allowance to dependant relatives is continued during the illness.

The reply to both Questions is in the affirmative, so long as the man or woman remains in the Service. If invaliding takes place, pay and allowances to dependant relatives continue for 28 days after invaliding. Sickness due to misconduct or other cause within the control of the rating involves certain small stoppages after 3o days in hospital, but this does not affect the allowances to dependants.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the names of any committees, advisory councils, or other like bodies under the aegis of his Department on which any Members of either House of Parliament sit, together with the names of those Members.

The following lists give the details requested by the hon. and learned Member:AIR TRAINING CORPS.

asked the Minister of Production whether, in connection with the reduction of output of munitions in this country, he will take into consideration the increasing needs of China after land communications have been reestablished and will ensure that we shall be able to help to meet all her reasonable requirements in this respect.

There is no decline in total munitions production in this country. I can assure the hon. Member that my right hon. Friend is fully alive to the urgency of China's needs and to the importance of taking advantage, in concert with our American Allies, of land communications as they are re-established.

asked the Minister of Production what proportion the 4,565 firms having joint production committees, or equivalent bodies, bear to the total number of firms in a position to form such committees or who have entered into agreement to form them; in how many cases there has been resistance to such formation and by whom.

The Joint Production Committees are a feature of the engineering and allied industries. For reasons which my hon. Friend will appreciate I cannot give figures which would indicate the total strength of a particular group of industries. But my information is that of the firms in those industries employing over 15o workpeople about two-thirds have joint production committees or equivalent bodies. I regret that the information asked for in the second part of the Question is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of British investments in the Argentine; the amount of such investments on which the fixed interest has not been paid in the last 10 years and the measure of full support given by His Majesty's Government to holders of such stock to enable them to recover the sums legally due to them.

It has been estimated that at the end of 1936 the total nominal capital in British ownership in Argentina quoted on the Stock Exchange was 372,000,000. No official computation is available of the amount of investments in public utilities or private industry on which fixed interest has not been paid during the last ten years, but the service of the public debt has always been maintained in full. During the past year or so public debt amounting to some £11,000,000 has been repaid at par to British holders. His Majesty's Government are fully alive to the importance of these investments and have at all times given full diplomatic support in cases in which their support was sought, and they were satisfied that British creditors were receiving unjust or differential treatment.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he can state the reason for amending Defence Regulation 56AB; and whether it is proposed, in controlling the entry of new firms into the building industry, to give special consideration to ex-Service men and to persons whose businesses have been closed owing to the war.

The Order deals primarily with the eligibility for registration of persons desiring to set up a new business after 1st October, 1941, the date on which the existing Order came into force. The position under the existing Order is obscure, so that a new Order clarifying the position was in any event required. Inasmuch as the number of firms already registered is at present appreciably greater than is necessary to carry out the work which is within the capacity of the labour force available in the industry, uncontrolled entry of new firms into the in- dustry is undesirable. Approximately half the firms already registered have no employees. The revised Regulation accordingly provides that, subject to certain exceptions, a certificate of registration will only be granted if the Minister of Works considers it expedient, having regard to the needs of the community both generally and in the area to which the application relates.My Noble Friend proposes to set up an independent Committee of three persons to advise him in the exercise of this discretion. The Committee, which will include a representative from Scotland, will be instructed to take into account the views of all sections of the industry and give sympathetic consideration to applications from ex-Service men. The exceptions are that any person who carried on a building or civil engineering business at any time between 1st May, 1939, and 1st October, 1941, or who is proposing to revive or carry on a business which has at any time been registered shall be entitled, as of right, to a Certificate of Registration. These exceptions should cover all cases in which the business was shut down because the owner was called up for Military Service or other priority work. Since the need for control ever entry into the Industry arises primarily from the war-time reduction of the labour force it is not proposed to continue this control after the labour force reaches approximately 75 per cent. of the prewar figure.

asked the Minister of Health whether it is the policy of his Ministry to admit advanced cases of tuberculosis to sanatoria or to select those who are more likely to recover or to admit patients in accordance with the date of recommendation.

The admission of tuberculous persons to hospitals or sanatoria is the responsibility of the tuberculosis authority, acting on the advice of its appropriate medical officer. There are some differences in practice, but it is general to select patients for admission on clinical grounds and not in accordance with the date of recommendation. Various distinct types of accommodation are available and in general selection for admission to particular institutions is made on the merits of the individual cases.

asked the Minister of Health what proportion of the cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis attributable to the bovine type of infection has been shown to have drunk milk, either pasteurised or non-pasteurised.

I have no information on this point, but I think it may be assumed in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, that all such cases have at some time in their lives drunk milk.

asked the Minister of Health how many prescriptions were dispensed under the National Health Insurance Act in England and Wales for the latest convenient period of 12 months; approximately how many individual items this represents; and how many insured persons there were during the same period.

The number of National Health Insurance prescriptions dispensed by insurance chemists in England and Wales during 1943 was 69,726,171. I regret that I am unable to say how many individual items this represents. The estimated average number of insured persons in England and Wales entitled to medical benefit during the year was 17,390,000.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether His Majesty's Government have considered offering any advice to shipowners as to the use of coal or oil in new mercantile ships to be constructed after the war.

The choice between oil and coal as fuel for merchant ships depends on many factors. These factors vary in importance according to the class of ship and the trade in which the ship is to be run. My Noble Friend considers, therefore, that it is best to leave those who order and operate the ships to make their own decision in this matter.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning how many joint planning committees have been set up under the Town and Country Planning Acts, 1932 to 1943.

At the present time 934 out of 1,396 planning authorities are carrying out their planning duties through 167 joint executive committees.