asked the Minister of Labour if he proposes to release workers for the cotton industry on a percentage basis similar to the release of workers for firms manufacturing clothing.

The percentage basis for firms in the clothing industry relates to the number of employees in those firms and not to the arrangements for release of workers from elsewhere. Such a system would be inappropriate in the case of the cotton industry. The arrangements for the return of former operatives to that industry are as explained in my reply to the hon. Member for East Willesden (Mr. Hammersley) on 12th October.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will, in consultation with the Secretary of State for War, take steps to direct E.N.S.A. artistes to any theatre of war in which the entertainment for the troops is inadequate and sufficient volunteers are not forthcoming.

No, Sir. Defence Regulation 58A does not give me power to direct persons in Great Britain to perform services outside the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that many young men in the Merchant Navy were originally called up for the R.N. and after a brief training were transferred as R.N. Special Reservists to the Merchant Navy reserve pool for service on merchant ships; and whether such men will be treated as men called to the colours and reinstated in their former employment at the end of hostilities.

Yes, Sir. These men are persons to whom the Reinstatement in Civil Employment Act applies and, subject to the provisions of Section 12 (3), their service in the Merchant Navy will be continued war service. They will be able to claim their rights under the Act as soon as their war service ends.

asked the Minister of Labour how soon he hopes to be in a position to make a statement on the position of women in the older age classes with household responsibilities in relation to their position under the Registration for Employment Order.

I am unable to add anything at present to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Harrow (Mr. Bower) on 12th October, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.

asked the Minister of Health if satisfactory progress is being made with the proposal for a piped water supply to all districts; if the local authorities are doing it by themselves or in conjunction with supply companies; and where the large extra amount of water comes from.

Substantial progress in the extension and improvement of public water supplies will not be possible until after the end of the war in Europe. Local authorities have been advised in the meantime to get ahead as far as possible with the preparation of well-conceived schemes, and I am prepared to indicate, after local inquiry if necessary, whether their proposals are satisfactory from the technical standpoint. I have no doubt that, where appropriate, supplies will be provided by agreement with statutory water undertakers. Existing sources will be used where they can meet the need and new sources will have to be developed where necessary.

asked the Minister of Health whether particulars of the cure for rheumatoid arthritis announced in Russia have now been secured; and whether an early use and trial is likely.

I understand that the Empire Rheumatism Council has carried out tests with a small supply of serum sent to them from Russia and that the results obtained do not justify a favourable verdict. The Council, I understand, propose to make further investigations when war conditions permit, but meanwhile they are not prepared to recommend the use of this serum.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he proposes to take to implement the recommendations of the Goodenough Report, including the wider admission of women to, the medical schools.

The Committee's recommendations are under consideration and I hope to be able to make a statement soon.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will have an inquiry made into all proprietary medicines claiming to cure certain diseases, with a view to warning the public against those found not to act in accordance with their claims.

I do not think that action on these lines would be practicable. But I would remind my hon. Friend that it is already unlawful to advertise any article for the treatment of certain diseases, including cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis and venereal diseases.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the fact that some 800,000 children pass from the 15 year old class every year, he will point out to those who compile the diphtheria immunisation statistics that the number of immunised is greatly overloaded if children, who pass the age of 15 years, are not deducted from the statistics each year and take the necessary steps to do this.

The factor to which my hon. Friend refers is already taken into consideration in the statistical assessment of diphtheria immunisation, as contained in the annual reports of the Ministry.

asked the Minister of Health when all local authorities will be offered prefabricated houses; and if he can ensure that every area will have at least enough to accommodate returning Service men needing a home.

The number of houses which can be provided in this way in the near future is governed by productive capacity. I hope shortly to be able to make a first allocation to a number of authorities, and the possibility of making a wider distribution is being examined.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works if he can give an assurance that the production of Portal houses will not be held up by a shortage of steel.

Yes, Sir. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply assures me that the necessary steel will be made available.

asked the Minister of Health, whether he is aware that in view of the shortage of houses some time must elapse before dwellings included in clearance orders and compulsory purchase orders can be demolished; and whether he will fix an appropriate date if owners of such properties are willing to recondition and repair them.

It is unfortunately true that owing to the impossibility of building the necessary new houses during the war many houses which had been condemned before the war must continue to be occupied for some time to come. The suggestion made by my hon. and gallant Friend would require legislation on a basis quite inconsistent with that laid down by Parliament for the demolition of unfit houses, and I should not feel justified in seeking such powers.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether he will house the Italians who are needed for house repair work in London in emergency huts in the parks during the coming winter when these resorts are little used by the public.

Substantial encroachments have already been made for war purposes on parks and open spaces in London. These areas are required for public enjoyment and recreation, and if Italian building labour is employed in London I hope that it will be possible to provide the accommodation required without further alienation of park land.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the widow of Wallace Cuthbert Saunders, of 2, Lucy Crescent, Western Avenue, W.3, Record No. 5222692, who died on 1st July, 1944, is in poor health and in need of money, and is still without any payment of widow's pension although she supplied death certificate and all other necessary material many weeks ago; and whether he will investigate this delay and cause the pension to be paid immediately.

I am glad to be able to inform my hon. and learned Friend that the documents necessary to enable Mrs. Saunders to obtain payment of her pension, including arrears, were issued on the day before he put down his Question.

asked the Minister of Health how many old age pensioners are in receipt of supplementary pensions; and what is the average supplementary pension in such cases.

At the end of September there were approximately 1,325,000 supplementary pension cases current, which covered the needs of 1,550,000 old age pensioners. The average payment per case was 15s. 10d.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if his attention has been drawn to the cutting up and sale of small pieces of land in Dorset; and if he is satisfied that this is consistent with the Government's long-term policy for agriculture.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware of the activities of speculators in buying up agricultural estates and re-selling them in small lots to purchasers without adequate knowledge; and whether lie will arrange that at all such auctions the opinion of the county war agricultural committee on the potentialities of the land to be sold shall be displayed in the auction room at the time of the sale.

Cases have been reported to my right hon. Friend in which poor quality land without buildings and farms of medium size equipped with the necessary buildings have been offered for sale in numerous small lots. If he is satisfied that the production of food from agricultural land so treated is suffering, he will make full use of the powers conferred on him by the Defence Regulations to take possession of the land and ensure its proper cultivation. My right hon. Friend regards the sale and purchase of small plots of land unsuitable for intensive cultivation, especially when unprovided with dwellings and farm buildings, as being against the national interest, but he has no power to prevent the sale and purchase of land in small plots unlikely to form efficient agricultural holdings. Nor has he power to display in auction rooms an official opinion on the potentialities of land offered for sale, and indeed, it is not thought that such a procedure would be desirable or practicable.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will arrange for a meeting between a representative of his Ministry and the honorary secretary of the North-east Kent Domestic Rabbit and Poultry Keepers' Club, with a view to encouraging similar clubs throughout the country to adopt the successful methods of this club.

The Area Organiser of the Domestic Poultry Keepers Council concerned with this area is already in touch with this club. It is one of the duties of the Council's area organisation to encourage clubs to work on right lines, and ample opportunities exist for passing on examples of successful methods.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the pests officers of some war agricultural executive committees have been employing Italians to catch rabbits, and that they have set steel traps in open fields, under gates and along footpaths, thus causing injury to domestic animals; and whether he will issue instructions to the committees not to use this kind of trap in the open but only under cover and when snares and other more humane methods are ineffective.

I have seen Press reports to the effect indicated in the first part of my hon. Friend's question, and am making inquiries into the matter. On the general question of open trapping country war agricultural executive committees have been instructed to give authority for the setting of spring traps in the open, subject to certain precautions, only where they are satisfied that other methods of destruction would be ineffective.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if the Italian prisoners of war employed in farm work are satisfactory, and if there is a demand for more.

Taken as a whole the work of Italian prisoners employed in agriculture is satisfactory and there is a demand for more.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that officers serving in Italy are unable to obtain efficient waterproofs in that country and that in order to provide them from England their families have to use 22 of their own clothing coupons; and whether he will take steps to ensure that a supply of good waterproofs is made available in all theatres of war.

I understand that there are ample stocks of trench coats for sale in officers' shops in Italy and arrangements are in hand to supply mackintoshes as well. In addition, a scheme has been in operation for two years whereby officers in the Central Mediterranean Force can obtain items of their regulation outfit, including waterproofs, direct from retailers in this country without the surrender of coupons. I do not consider that any further measures are needed.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give and compare with ordinary British rates the family allowances of a soldier from Malta and Jamaica, respectively, whose families are there resident and who is serving outside these islands; and whether he will review the position so as to remove any inequality of treatment.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury (Mr. Riley) on 28th September. These rates have recently been reviewed and I do not agree that the question should be re-opened.

asked the Secretary of State for War what steps have been or are being taken by his Ministry in conjunction with the United Nations to increase the quantity of food supplies to our Greek ally, now that facilities to do so have been created.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the replies given to my hon. Friend the Member for East Fulham (Mr. Astor) on 17th October and to my hon. Friend the Member for Moss Side (Mr. R. Duckworth) on 11th October.

asked the Minister of Information whether, as the ban on travel has been eased and telephone communications restored, he will remove the ban on the sending of London and provincial evening papers to Northern Ireland.

My right hon. Friend will look into this and see whether there cannot now be some relaxation of the existing rules.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can grant some relief to the volunteer wardens, in view of the long and onerous duties which they have already performed.

Yes, Sir; local authorities in all Regions other than London and the South and East of England, were informed a month ago that, subject to the directions of the Regional Commissioner the hours of stand-by duty of part-time members of the Civil Defence Services should be reduced from a maximum of 48 hours in every four weeks to 12 hours. Similar instructions will be issued shortly to local authorities in London and the South and East of England. For operational reasons it will be necessary to require longer periods of duty in many areas; but I hope that the period of standby duty will usually be reduced to a maximum of 24 hours.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power why a notice was inserted in some of the Sunday newspapers stating that men in the R.N., R.M. and the R.A.F. who were ex-miners could apply to their commanding officer for release to work in the mines; when such order was issued and when it will take effect.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave on 10th October to my hon. Friend the Member for East Rhondda (Mr. Mainwaring). The Admiralty's instructions, which were issued on 22nd September, were effective from that date, and the Air Ministry's instructions will be issued at an early date.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can now make the Civil Service Lists available to the public, deleting any items which may still have security value.

No, Sir. I do not think that a partial issue would be worth the expenditure of time and paper involved in preparing and printing it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the reason for the disparity of about £23,500,000 for 1942–43 and £8,500,000 for 1943–44 between the amount of encashment of Treasury deposit receipts, as given on 7th July, 1944, and the information for those years published in the monthly debt statements and given on 24th June, 1943; and which figures are correct.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the disparity in the published figures of repayments of Treasury Deposit Receipts before maturity. The disparity of £23,500,000 in the year ended 30th June, 1942, is due to the fact that an incorrect figure of encashments of £33,500,000 was published in the monthly Debt statement for June, 1942; the correct figure is £10,000,000. The disparity in the figures for the year ended 30th June, 1944, is due to the following errors in the figures for that year which I gave to my hon. Friend in my reply of 7th July, 1944.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will deal with the complaint of the Kilkeel and Portavagie fishermen, which has been placed before him, regarding the disposal of white fish and make arrangements whereby this fish is purchased and sold at the controlled price.

The complaint to which my hon. Friend refers has only just reached my right hon. and gallant Friend. Inquiries are being made and I will communicate with him as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Food what prospect there is of an early increase in food rations.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply which my right hon. and gallant Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Denbigh (Sir H. Morris-Jones) on 28th September; also to the reply which he gave yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Cathcart (Mr. Beattie).

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the works on the pier at Castlebay will have been completed and the pier made available for full use again; if he will state the full cost of the works undertaken; and how much money was collected as a result of the present ferry system from passengers to and from Castlebay to date.

I am informed that the pier will probably be re-opened for traffic early next month and that the whole work is expected to be finished by the autumn of next year. The estimated cost of the work is £42,000. I have asked the local authority for particulars of the amount collected from the temporary ferry service and I will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as their reply is received.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action it is proposed to take to ensure that Statutory Rules and Orders are duly laid before Parliament.

This subject is at present under active consideration, but I am not in a position at the moment to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what charges against revenue have been incurred by the Nyasaland Government during each of the past three financial years for interest and/or guarantees in respect of railways and the Zambesi Bridge; and whether arrangements have yet been made to release this Colony in future from all such hampering liabilities with a view to an acceleration of its social and economic development.

The charges falling to be met from Government funds to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers are met by a free grant from His Majesty's Government, which in the three years ended the 31st December, 1943, amounted on an average to £159,000 per annum. The second part of the Question does not therefore arise.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what is the nature of the standing instructions given to commercial diplomatic officers as to the assistance to be made available to United Kingdom exporters; and what changes of policy affecting their work have taken place during 1944.

In broad outline the general instrluctions to commercial diplomatic officers, which are too long to quote in detail, require them to afford the fullest possible assistance to United Kingdom exporters and export trade. Commercial diplomatic officers serve as members of H.M. Missions in foreign countries and act as advisers to the Head of the Mission on the broader issues of trade and industry; they also supervise and co-ordinate the commercial work of H.M. Consular Officers stationed within their territory. Commercial Diplomatic Officers are required as part of their day-to-day activities to supply information upon all commercial questions that may affect United Kingdom export trade and about specific opportunities for export, including important calls for tender; to provide suitable names of agents and importers; to report tariff changes, commercial legislation and such matters as the effects of foreign competition and the development and organisation of local industries; to compile economic reports for publication and to furnish information specifically sought by export organisations or individual exporters; to give advice and, where needed, introductions to United Kingdom traders visiting their countries and to assist to the best of their ability any Government-sponsored mission visiting their territory; to undertake local publicity and other work in connection with the British Industries Fair and other Fairs and Exhibitions in which His Majesty's Government may take part. On the occasion of his return to the United Kingdom a senior Commercial Diplomatic Officer has to be prepared to visit provincial centres to advise export organisations and firms on problems affecting trade with the country in which he is stationed. No change of policy affecting the work of these officers has taken place during 1944, but the reduction of their special war-time activities (chiefly on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Warfare) now enable them to devote fuller attention to matters concerning United Kingdom export trade than has been possible during most of the war years.Instructions issued from Headquarters have directed the attention of commercial diplomatic officers to the particular market research and commercial intelligence work which may be expected to be most useful to United Kingdom export traders in the conditions likely to obtain after the cessation of hostilities. Though the Question refers to commercial diplomatic officers only, I should explain that H.M. Trade Commissioners, who are stationed in certain Empire countries, perform within the Empire duties very similar to those of commercial diplomatic officers in foreign countries.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is in a position to indicate the countries with which he is at the present discussing future trade.

Discussions are constantly taking place with a number of countries on one aspect or another of future trade.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can give recent figures for persons committed to Borstal and subsequently released, who have committed fresh offences, showing separately those who have committed offences before their sentences would normally have expired.

I regret that it would not be possible without examining each individual record to give the figures in the exact form asked for by my hon. and gallant Friend. The information available was given by me in reply to a Question by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Warrington (Mr. Goldie) on 28th September, of which I am sending a copy to my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can give any recent percentages of persons sentenced to Borstal being released before their sentence expires; and if he will consider notifying the chairman of sessions or judge concerned of such releases together with the reasons.

The Prison Commissioners are by law required to consider the release on licence of a person sentenced to Borstal detention as soon as they are satisfied that the training has served its purpose and that a person, if discharged, is likely "to abstain from crime and lead a useful and industrious life." In view of this statutory requirement it is quite exceptional for the full period of a sentence to be served and—as I have explained—the reasons for release before the expiry of the maximum term of detention fixed by the Court's sentence are prescribed by statute. In these circumstances no useful purpose would appear to be served by notifying the courts concerned when a person is released from Borstal detention.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can give any recent figures of furnished and unfurnished houses in the London area having been broken into.

Over the whole of the Metropolitan Police District there were 3,919 cases of burglary and housebreaking during the last nine, months. The figure for the corresponding period in 1943 was 3,425. I regret that separate figures for furnished and unfurnished houses are not available.