asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that inconvenience, expense and distress are caused to families and relatives of deceased military personnel owing to the uncertainty of the times of arrival of the bodies at the arranged railway station; and if he will in future detail an escort to accompany the coffin to its destination.

I regret the inconvenience and distress which are caused by these delays, although I have in fact received very few complaints. In view of the shortage of men it would be difficult to provide escorts as a general rule, nor is it clear that their provision would in practice eliminate such delays as do occur from time to time.

asked the Secretary of State for War what arrangements are being made by his Department for the amusement and recreation of British troops on short leave in Belgium, particu- larly in Brussels and Antwerp; and whether he is aware that the existing dance-hall charges both for recreation and drinks of all kinds are excessive and that this exploitation is causing considerable complaint.

A number of canteens, clubs and hostels are already open in Brussels. A dance-hall and amusement centre under military control is being organised. At all these centres drinks and refreshments are served at prices comparable with those ruling in the United Kingdom. Admittance to entertainment and dance-halls under Belgian ownership has already been arranged in a number of cases at reduced prices. Troops going to Brussels on leave are moreover specifically warned of the high prices prevailing in many places of amusement. Similar arrangements are being made in Antwerp.

asked the Secretary of State whether he can now state the result of his consideration of the need of reducing the number of offences committed by Colonial troops for which corporal punishment can be administered; and whether he is now prepared to abolish this form of punishment as is the case with white troops.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies and I have now obtained the views of the Resident Minister in West Africa and of the East African Governors' Conference on the question of corporal punishment for African troops. In each case the views expressed have been arrived at after full consultation with all the civil Governors and the Military Commanders concerned. The main question at issue is whether corporal punishment is, in fact, a deterrent to the commission of the crime for which it is inflicted, of such value that its abolition would seriously impair military discipline. It is the deterrent effect which matters, because the actual infliction of corporal punishment has already been reduced to a very small proportion. In East Africa the figure is .08 per cent. or 1 in 1,250 per annum, and in West Africa the corresponding figure is .05 per cent, or 1 in 2,000 per annum. Corporal punishment, moreover, can only be awarded by courts-martial. It is clear then, that it is not awarded capriciously or, as I think the hon. Member called it, sadistically, and it is also clear that it is only rarely awarded.

It must be borne in mind that African troops are drawn from a civil population which is subject to corporal punishment for a wider range of crimes than applies in this country. Moreover, as a result of the rapid expansion of these Forces, the maintenance of discipline in the new Armies recruited in East and West Africa presents a special problem. It is important to take no step which would impair the efficiency of our African troops at this stage of the war, and for this reason we have come to the conclusion that it would be unwise to abolish corporal punishment at this juncture.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware two official reporters of this House are in the Army; what representations he has received for their release; and what has been the result.

I have only been able to trace that one of these reporters is in the Army. He is doing special work overseas and I regret, therefore, that he cannot be released at present.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether men who were compulsorily relegated to the W. (T) Reserve in order to serve in the A.F.S. at the height of the air-raids and have been subsequently recalled to the colours, will be allowed to include their service in the A.F.S. in the three-year qualifying period for war service increments.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Nuneaton (Mr. Bowles) last Tuesday. I should perhaps add that my hon. Friend is under a misapprehension in thinking that these men were compulsorily transferred. As far as I am aware they were all volunteers.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of complaints regarding delay in the delivery of letters, etc., to and from members of His Majesty's Forces serving overseas, he will have inquiry made into the cause of this delay.

I am not aware that there are complaints which would justify a general inquiry. If my hon. Friend will send me specific details which will enable the cases to be identified in which letters have taken an exceptionally long time they will be investigated.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether service in the Home Guard will count towards the Long Service decoration.

The Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is restricted by Royal Warrant to warrant officers, noncommissioned officers and men of the Regular Army who have qualified by 18 years' exemplary service as Regular soldiers. Service in the Home Guard will, therefore, not count towards this award.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether a member of the Home Guard who joined the L.D.Vs. at the beginning and who was issued with a leather jerkin is entitled to retain that together with the other clothing and equipment.

Leather jerkins are not in general issue to members of the Home Guard and, moreover, in view of the shortage of leather they are needed for the use of our troops overseas. They cannot, therefore, be retained.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether any compensation has been offered to Private Butler for the assault committed by Major Carson in forcibly vaccinating him on the Anzio beachhead; and whether there has been any expression of regret to Private Butler for this breach of King's Regulations by a medical officer.

The answer to both parts of the hon. Member's Question is "No, Sir."

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that some local authorities have instituted a system which enables employees, whether weekly or monthly, to know what deductions are made from their wages or salaries, including Income Tax; and whether, in view of the fact that Income Tax deductions are statutory, he will take steps to see that all local authorities adopt the same system.

The regulations governing the deduction of tax from pay do not oblige the employer to give the employee a weekly or monthly statement of the tax deducted, but the employer is required to give a certificate at the end of the year showing the total pay and the total tax deducted in the year. The Tax Tables showing the deductions appropriate to given amounts of pay are, of course, available to enable employees to check any particular deduction. I do not feel that I could press upon local authorities a procedure which is not obligatory on employers in general.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the anomalies arising in respect of exemption from, or liability to, Entertainments Duty, he will review the whole subject.

This subject is kept constantly under review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there is any difference recognised in the cost of living in Scotland as compared with England, London excluded, in the calculation of salaries or allowances in the payment of officials.

No, Sir.

asked the President of the Board of Trade approximately how many Government factories will be available to private enterprise after the war.

Approximately 1,000.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give an assurance that owners of factories requisitioned by the Government during the war will be regarded as having a first claim to their restoration.

Yes, Sir. Requisitioned factories will normally be returned to their owners. But there are some cases where substantial improvements have been made by the Government during the war, and these must be specially considered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the increasing difficulty of replacing worn-out clothing and footwear experienced by persons without reserves; and will he consider reducing the number of coupons required for the purchase of articles urgently needed for health protection during the coming winter.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement which I made on Friday last on this subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why the issue of priority dockets for the purchase of bedding is limited to persons whose homes have suffered bomb damage and to certain persons setting up house for the first time; and whether he will extend the issue of priority dockets to expectant mothers.

Those who have been bombed out and those who are setting up house for the first time have exceptional needs and, therefore, receive priority dockets. But I have also arranged to issue through the Ministry of Health and the Scottish Office 275,000 priority dockets for expectant mothers who need sheets.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether permission can now be given for concentrated firms in the cotton industry to run looms for experimental purposes; to whom application should be made; and the basis upon which they will be granted.

Yes, Sir. Applications should be made to the Cotton Controller and will be granted provided that operatives and yarns are available, and that the looms can be worked without interference with the war-time use of the premises and without waste of power.

asked the Minister of Labour how many juveniles under 16 years of age are employed in the spinning and weaving sections of the cotton industry.

I am writing to my hon. and gallant Friend giving him such figures as are available.

asked the Minister of Supply if he is aware of the shortage of kitchen ovens; and if he will release supplies of iron and steel so as to make available an increased supply of ovens.

I understand from my Noble Friend the Minister of Works that there is some difficulty in meeting civilian requirements for kitchen ranges. The shortage is not due to lack of materials, but to diversion of foundry labour to war production. Steps are being taken to re-transfer labour as rapidly as war production permits.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether arrangements have yet been made, or are contemplated, for the provision of furniture and household linen to Service men on their release from the Army.

Most ex-Servicemen needing furniture and household linen will come within the present priority classes for utility furniture and furnishings. I have always given, and will continue to give, special consideration to applications from ex-Servicemen outside these classes.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what administrative machinery there is in his Department to aid British manufacturers in the export markets; what steps he is taking to bring British manufacturers in contact with ready overseas markets; and what aid is given to British manufacturers to expedite their own endeavours in this connection.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the full statement setting out the wide range of subjects dealt with by my Department's overseas officers which I gave on 19th instant in reply to a Question by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Oxford (Mr. Hogg). In addition I may say that the Department's headquarters' staff is daily assisting United Kingdom exporters both in regard to travel overseas to renew contact with export markets and in the pro- vision of information on the large variety of subjects in which they are naturally interested.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of workers, whole-time and part-time, employed in the laundering industry in the London region on 1st January, 1943, and successive dates therefrom, including the latest returns available.

I have been asked to reply. The publication of statistics of the numbers employed in particular industries has been suspended during the war and I am therefore unable to give the information asked for.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give an assurance that a substantial number of the smaller factories, works and shops closed down during the war in North-east Cheshire, will be given licences to open-up again after the war, if the owners and workers so desire, and that preferential treatment in this respect will be given to ex-Service men and women.

I can assure my hon. and gallant Friend that factories and works in all parts of the country, including North-East Cheshire, will be allowed to re-open as labour, materials and premises become available and are not required for more urgent purposes. The claims of ex-Servicemen and women will be sympathetically considered. So far as retail trade is concerned, licences will, after the end of the war in Europe, be granted automatically to ex-traders (including ex-Servicemen and women) on the Board of Trade Register of Withdrawn Traders, to enable them to re-open their former businesses.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will, when increasing the quality of children's shoes, at the same time increase the quantity available, and more particularly in the smaller sizes.

Yes, Sir. I have deliberately increased the output of children's leather shoes, at the expense of adults' footwear, and their production is now greater than before the war. Supplies of leather are still very short, but I am glad to say that traders' stocks of children's shoes, of all sizes, have increased during the last twelve months.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department when he proposes to bring back to his Department the substantive Comptroller General, Sir Quentin Hill.

The position remains as stated in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Grantham (Mr. Kendall) on 18th January last, to which I would refer my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the shortage of milk supplies which exists in some areas to members of the public who have to maintain their aged and infirm relatives, he will endeavour to make some provision whereby those who require additional milk are enabled to obtain it on production of a medical certificate.

Arrangements are already in operation to enable invalids and other persons needing extra milk on medical or nutritional grounds to receive extra supplies in priority on the production of a medical certificate. Local variations in supplies of milk should not affect the position of priority consumers, since retailers are required to supply such consumers with their appropriate quantities before making supplies available to persons in the non-priority class.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the suspending of the prohibition on placing steel traps in the open is still essential, particularly in view of the decrease in rabbits; and whether he will consider the cancellation of the Orders concerned.

The wild rabbit, though considerably reduced in numbers, is still a pest whose destruction is essential in the interests of food production. I am, however, considering whether the emergency relaxation of the prohibition of the use of steel traps in the open need be continued.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether experiments are being carried out with headlights so that when these are brought into full use again a cure may have been found for the glare which in the past has been the cause of many accidents.

I will continue to investigate all aspects of this important problem, in the hope that advances in headlamp construction may make it possible after the war to provide a standard for headlamps which will permit a good driving light which is relatively free from dazzle.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare whether he will give the latest available information as to the shortage of food in Holland; and what measures are being taken for the relief of the civilian population.

I have received information from the Dutch authorities that the shortage of food in Holland is acute. His Majesty's Government and the United States Government, in consultation with the Netherlands Government, are endeavouring to make arrangements for bringing relief to the civilian population.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases and in what areas the office of regional commissioner has been discontinued.

I assume that my hon, and gallant Friend refers to the posts and not to the actual offices of Regional Commissioners. None of these posts has yet been discontinued, but ten posts of Deputy Regional Commissioner have been discontinued. In addition, the District Commissioners in Scotland have ceased to hold office.

asked the Minister of Health whether, under the Rural Water Supply Act, he will consider the establishment of a regional water committee for the whole district of North Berkshire that falls within the Thames Catchment Area, in view of the fact that many local authorities are busy now preparing schemes which only affect the immediate area of their council and that these plans do not take into account the circumstances that led to the passing of the Rural Water Supply Bill.

My right hon. Friend is informed by the Berkshire County Council that they intend shortly to convene a conference of local authorities for the purpose of considering co-ordination of action under the Rural Water Supplies and Sewerage Act, 1944.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he can make any statement as to the supply of mail, cigarettes, cheap arid adequate canteen food, beer and books and magazines to the Fourteenth Army.

I should prefer to postpone a statement on these matters until my Noble Friend the Under Secretary of State for India has completed his inquiries. To make a statement on particular aspects of the matters he is at present investigating would be inappropriate and might possibly be misleading.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what was, in 1910, 1920 and 1930, the price of coal which is at the present moment sold at 79s. 3d. per ton.

Coal of the quality at present retailed at 79s. 3d. in the London area was sold at 26s. to 28s. a ton in 1910, 63s. in 1920 and 54s. in 1930.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether, when he publishes the Report of the Advisory Committee appointed to advise him on technical matters relating to coal production, he will also publish the action he proposes to take.

The policy of His Majesty's Government in relation to the recommendations of this Committee and the time and manner of announcing that policy are clearly matters which will require to be considered when the Committee's report has been received.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will investigate the case, details of which have been submitted to him, of a lady doctor coming from a distance in her own motor car, who has been accustomed to assist on occasions her father, a medical practitioner who is overworked, and who has now been informed by the local petroleum officer that petrol for this purpose will no longer be allowed.

I am making inquiries in regard to this case and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will submit a statement of the number of societies in Yorkshire that come within the provisions of the Societies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act; and the number of societies that applied for the suspension of the Election of Officers Rule for 1944, the number of requests granted, together with the list of societies who have so far applied for a similar suspension for 1945.

The number of societies in Yorkshire to which Section 1 of the Societies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1940, applies, is 1,639. Of such societies in Yorkshire 13 applied in 1944 for directions, and were granted directions, for the continuance in office of existing officers. One Society in Yorkshire, the Leeds Industrial Co-operative Society Limited, has applied for a direction for the continuance in office of officers whose appointments would otherwise have determined in 1945.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of blind persons who have responded to the request to enrol for training and who have had their names submitted by the appropriate authority in the county of Derby, as suitable for certain work of a national character and the number trained and engaged through the efforts of his Ministry; and what procedure he adopts to give those that register any indication that their services will be required.

The number of blind persons in the county of Derby who have applied, or whose names have been submitted, for employment is 27. Of these 23 have been placed in employment; two found work by their own efforts and two who were not willing to accept employment offered are still under consideration. In all cases the blind persons in question are informed of any suitable opportunities known to the local office of using their services.

asked the Prime Minister if he is prepared to consider the early release from the Armed Forces of members of local authorities in order that they may take a full part in operating Government plans for rehabilitating the bombed and blighted areas.

I have been asked to reply. I do not consider that I should be justified in asking the Service Departments to release, out of their normal turn, the persons referred to in the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the British Council will open an office in Wales, as their present offices are too far removed from the Principality to render the best service.

The British Council already have an office in Cardiff, and they operate an Allied Centre there. Two part-time officers, one of whom is Welsh-speaking, are employed in North Wales, and there is a part-time officer in West Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what is the ration per day of tea and bread for officers, senior N.C.O.'s and other ranks, respectively

The normal daily scales, which are the same for all ranks, are 12⅓ ounces of bread and 2/7th ounces of tea. These scales are increased for small detachments.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether there is equality of distribution of food, both in quality and quantity between all ranks in echelons and wings operating on the Continent.

Yes, Sir. The field service ration is the same in quantity and quality for all ranks and formations.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is satisfied that our R.A.F. personnel are not going short of food owing to the distribution of food to the liberated peoples.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what air service there is between Western Australia and Ceylon; how long it has been in operation; and whether he is satisfied with the service.

Since July, 1943, an air service providing essential war communications between Western Australia and Ceylon has been successfully operated by Qantas Empire Airways on behalf of British Overseas Airways Corporation. The service was originally established by the Royal Air Force in May, 1943. There are at present five return flights over the route per fortnight, but it is hoped shortly to increase this frequency. I should like to take this opportunity of paying high tribute to the devotion to duty and skill of the captains and members of the crews who have undertaken the operation of this service under war-time conditions. Their achievement has been of high value to the combined war effort.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that, because of their loss of office through the amalgamation of local authorities, certain officials so dispossessed receive pensions of right under the amalgamation arrangements until they secure similar positions under other local authorities; that some of these pensioners are now earning a better livelihood in private business and employment and do not intend to seek similar positions under local authorities; and if he will circularise local authorities with a view to discouraging such arrangements for the future.

The arrangements to which my hon. Friend refers are contained in Section 150 of, and the Fourth Schedule to, the Local Government Act, 1933, and I do not think that I could properly issue a circular to local authorities on the lines suggested in the Question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works if he will consider the possibility of building one example of each of the new prefabricated houses, in the Stalybridge and Hyde area, so that prospective tenants may see the kind of house they are to be offered after the war.

I have been asked to reply. As I indicated in my reply to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Caernarvon (Sir G. Owen) on 18th October, my right hon. and Noble Friend cannot undertake in advance of general production to increase the number of models already allocated, but it is proposed to exhibit a model in Manchester which members of the public in the area referred to will be able to visit without undue inconvenience.