asked the President of the Board of Trade why the people of this country are allowed to go short of certain commodities which they produce whilst those commodities are exported for sale abroad.

Goods are exported from this country in order either to enable us to continue to buy from overseas materials and supplies essential to the direct war effort or to our home requirements, or to maintain the minimum essential needs of Empire and Allied countries which are dependent upon us.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in the event of the termination of hostilities before 30th June, 1945, he regards himself as free to recommend a withdrawal of the exemption from safeguarding duties in respect of some or all articles referred to in the Safeguarding of Industries Order (S.R. & O. No. 698, of 1944).

Yes, Sir.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that horticulturists are advertising tulip bulbs at prices 1,300 per cent. greater than prewar, grape hyacinth bulbs at 600 per cent. and narcissi 1,300 per cent. respectively; and if he will take active steps to stop this exploitation of the public.

I am having inquiries made and shall be much obliged if my hon. Friend will send me any particulars in his possession.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement to allay the fears of many people in the Development Areas that Government plans to rehabilitate these areas by guiding in new industries will be cancelled out by the lessening of the scope of basic industries, particularly steel, in which curtailment is being effected now and the labour being dispersed to other areas.

As stated in paragraph 24 of the White Paper on Employment Policy, "the first line of attack on the problem of unemployment in these unbalanced areas must be to promote the prosperity of the basic industries on which they primarily depend—coal, steel, engineering and shipbuilding." The introduction of new industries into these areas is necessary, in order to supplement, but not to replace, these basic industries.

asked the Minister of Labour if home or out work from factories is on the increase in this country; whether his Department views with approval any development on these lines; whether there are any regulations governing the conditions; and are they subject to inspection and report.

The giving out of work from factories to be done in places which are not factories has, it is understood, increased in some of the munitions industries, and in my right hon. Friend's view it is often in the public interest, under war conditions, that arrangements of this kind should be made. The health conditions in such places are subject to inspection and control by local authorities as provided for by the Public Health Acts; and in a pamphlet on outwork issued by the Ministry of Production in conjunction with my Ministry and the Supply Departments there is a special warning as to not giving out types of work which require special health precautions.

asked the Minister of Labour if the persons engaged upon home or out work from factories are compulsorily insurable for health and unemployment purposes and are the employers liable for workers' compensation in cases of accident.

Out-workers are not liable to unemployment insurance, unless they are employed under conditions which constitute a contract of service and this is not usually the case. With regard to their position under the National Health Insurance Acts, I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health that generally such persons come within the scope of the Act, while my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department informs me that such persons are excluded from the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether consideration is being given to the increasing anxiety of Colonial civil servants in respect of the cost of living and of their dependants away from them; what representations have been received by the local Colonial Governments and himself on these and cognate matters; whether reliefs have been made available; and whether consideration is also being given to retired Colonial servants' pensions.

The effect of the increase in the cost of living on the position of public servants has been kept under continuous review by Colonial Governments, and the majority have granted temporary allowances to lower paid staff. There is considerable variation in the rates and scope of such allowances in accordance with the variations in the cost of living in individual territories. In the formulation of arrangements for the payment of allowances, Governments have taken fully into account any representations which may have been made by representative staff associations. In a number of Colonies, similar allowances are being paid to retired officers. As regards the position of retired Colonial Service officers resident in this country, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Rugby (Mr. W. J. Brown) on 17th May.

asked the Minister of Health how many pensioners in receipt of supplementary pension are there in South Wales and Monmouthshire who have resident with them either a relative or friend who pay a small sum of about 5s. per week for the accommodation thus afforded; and what reason is there for treating these pensioners as if they were conducting a boarding house.

I regret that the information asked for is not available and could not be obtained without a special inquiry. As regards the latter part of the Question, pensioners in receipt of sums paid for accommodation only are not regarded as carrying on a boarding house but as subletting. As required by the Regulations, the proceeds of subletting are taken into account in calculating the pensioner's rent allowance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can make a statement regarding the position of properties in the Cameroons formerly in the possession of Germans; whether social and economic development schemes are being prepared for the advancement of that area and its closer relation to Nigeria; and whether any plans are under consideration regarding the future of the plantations.

I cannot anticipate the provisions of the peace settlement with regard to these enemy properties, but I have requested the Governor to examine what method of disposing of the plantations would be in best accordance with the interests of the inhabitants of the Cameroons, and plans for the social and economic development of the area are being drawn up.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether men and women in the Army receive pay while in hospital suffering from illness or accident; and whether the allowance to dependent relatives is continued during their illness.

So long as the man or woman remains in the Army the answer to both parts of the Question is, generally speaking, "Yes, Sir." The cash issues to Army personnel in hospital are less than the ordinary fixed rates of pay, but the balance remains to their credit and can be drawn when they leave hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will give permission to the Northern Ireland soldiers wounded in Normandy, on their discharge from hospitals in Britain, to spend a time for recuperation at their homes in Northern Ireland.

Yes, Sir. This is being done.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the minimum period of training required before youths under 19 years of age are sent overseas to take part in the invasion of Europe.

The minimum period of training, to be undertaken before soldiers are considered as available for drafting to the Army in France, varies with the arm of the Service to which the soldier belongs. The length of training is naturally shorter for those whose military duties are akin to their civil employment and who have not to learn to use complicated weapons. The minimum period of training thus varies from slightly less than three months to about six months. Men are not drafted until they are passed as fully trained in their arm, i.e., the period given above may be extended. Even though fully trained, men are not available for drafting unless they are 18½ years of age.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will reconsider the case, details of which have been submitted to him, of the Private No. 2694416 who has been certified by the physician for psychological medicine at St. Bartholomew's Hospital to be suffering from an epileptoid condition, who has had several mental breakdowns, but has been sentenced to prison for desertion from the Army notwithstanding the evidence submitted at the court-martial that his mental instability explained his desertion.

The soldier was tried on a charge of desertion to which he pleaded guilty. The court on the evidence adduced found him guilty of the charge. On disciplinary grounds there are no reasons for reconsidering the case. The medical evidence produced in this case has been very carefully considered and an electroencephalography has been carried out. The man has been examined by the Command neurologist, by the Command psychiatrist and by the consulting neurologist to the Army. In the opinion of these medical officers this man shows no evidence of epilepsy and is fit to serve his sentence.

asked the Secretary of State for War what action he proposes to take on the representations by individuals and by the local branch of the Civil Service Clerical Association in regard to the inadequacy of the present cost of living bonus for War Department civilian staffs serving in Palestine.

The cost of living bonus in Palestine is agreed between the local Government and representatives of the civil community and is applied to all Government staffs serving in Palestine, including War Department civilians. As I told the hon. Member on 13th June, representations have been received from individuals and from the local C.S.C.A. that the bonus is inadequate, but in view of the procedure adopted by the local Government I cannot recommend that any increase in the bonus should be made. Representations, however, have been received from the C.S.C.A. on questions affecting basic pay and conditions of service and I am awaiting a report on these points from Palestine.

asked the Secretary of State for India how much of the total expenditure of the Government of India since the outbreak of war is accounted for by the erection of war factories, training of troops, police and war propaganda, giving each item separately.

It would not be in the public interest to furnish figures regarding expenditure incurred in India on the erection of war factories or the training of troops. As regards expenditure on police and war propaganda, I am having such information as is available collated from the various Budgets, and will send it as soon as possible to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health whether the Rock Ferry case of smallpox had been vaccinated; and when the vaccinations of the contacts with the case were performed.

As I stated in reply to the Question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough East (Mr. A. Edwards) on 22nd June, the person concerned was vaccinated in 1906. I have no specific information on the second part of the Question.

asked the Minister of Health if he will expedite publication of the Report of the Goodenough Committee on medical education which is overdue and which must in considerable measure determine the attitude which the medical profession will take to the proposals of the White Paper.

The Report is in the hands of the printers and I hope that it will be published on Thursday, 20th July.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he proposes to take to reduce the number of non-pulmonary cases of tuberculosis attributable to the bovine type of infection.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the White Paper published last year in which the Government's proposals for improving the quality of the milk supply are set out as a whole. My Department take every opportunity to press the importance of drinking only pasteurised or boiled milk as a precaution against any infection with tuberculosis from this source, and the provision of adequately heat-treated milk should be greatly increased by means of the Orders which my right hon. and gallant Friend the Minister of Food now has power to make scheduling areas in which only certain classes of milk may be sold by retail.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that in a number of bombed areas there are damaged air-raid shelters which are in a predisposing condition for breeding vermin, flies, etc.; and whether he is prepared to give instructions for them to be demolished and to make arrangements for the necessary labour to be available.

In view of the very limited labour resources available and the urgent need to use them for first aid repairs to damaged houses, it has been necessary to confine the demolition of damaged air raid shelters to cases where their structural condition constitutes a public danger. As regards the condition of shelters which it is not possible to demolish, it is the duty of the local authority to inspect their district for the detection of nuisances and to take steps to abate or remove them. I have no doubt they can be relied upon to discharge this responsibility so far as the man-power situation permits.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider the award to young men selected by ballot to work in the mines, in many cases against their expressed preference for one of the fighting services, of a distinguishing badge to protect them from the suggestion that they have chosen a less dangerous occupation.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member for Hornsey (Captain Gammans) on 8th June last, a copy of which I am sending him.

asked the Minister of Information what British newspapers have been named and quoted in broadcasts to Yugoslavia during the month of June; and how often each one has been quoted.

The following British papers or periodicals have been quoted in the B.B.C. Yugoslav Service during the month of June, 1944.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is now able to restore airmail to prisoners of war.

I hope shortly to be in a position to announce the restoration of this service.