asked the Minister of Information if he can arrange, in future, that when announcements with regard to extra food allowances are necessary and have to be made on the B.B.C. news service, they shall not follow immediately accounts of famine and food shortage in countries on the Continent of Europe.

The B.B.C. will no doubt study the hon. Member's Question and my answer, which is to the effect that the editing of their news bulletins is for them and not for me.

asked the Minister of Information if he will give publicity to any information he has about the torture chamber known as the "Chambre Chaude" at Issy and of any similar places which have been found in France.

Yes, Sir. Reports about this place and about other German atrocities in France have been widely published in the newspapers, and it would be the height of self-deception to discount them. The full facts are being revealed in the course of the investigations which the French authorities are making, and the Ministry of Information intends to see that space is given to them in the various overseas services which supplement the ordinary channels of news.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether R.A.F. officers employed in the Civil Affairs Administration receive staff pay when holding appointments which would carry staff pay if they were held by Army officers in the same administration.

No, Sir. The officers referred to are paid under R.A.F. regulations which do not provide for staff pay.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that the recruitment of boys for the A.T.C. and their attendance at training is suffering from the absence of any assurance that they will be admitted to the R.A.F. and that this compares unfavourably with the confidence of the sea cadets who rely upon a sea enlistment at the end of training; and whether a better guarantee can be offered in these matters.

I am aware that recruitment for the A.T.C. and the attendance of A.T.C. cadets at training are both being affected by inability to guarantee the ultimate entry of the cadets into the R.A.F., but I am sorry to say that in existing circumstances it is not practicable to give such a guarantee. I understand that although the position in this respect of the sea cadets is somewhat more favourable, the Admiralty are not able to guarantee that all Sea Cadets will be accepted for service in the Royal Navy.

asked the Minister of Supply what profit or loss the Government has made on the bulk purchase of cotton from abroad.

In order to stabilise the price of cotton yarn and cloth, which are used mainly for Government and utility requirements, raw cotton has been sold at a loss. The loss incurred during the three years to March, 1944, on sales of cotton purchased in bulk amounted to some £2,500,000.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport what was the original estimate of the cost of making good war damage to roads in an area of which he has been informed; and what sum has been paid to Messrs. Wimpey for carrying out this work.

The cost of repairing the roads in the area to which my hon. Friend refers was originally estimated at £81,896. After this estimate was made, further damage increased the figure to £99,719. Of this sum, £96,200 has so far been paid, or become due, to Messrs. Wimpey. Still more damage has recently been done, and the final payment will, therefore, be still further increased.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent geneva or gin or other liquors are being imported from the Dominion of South Africa to the Gold Coast, giving the amounts or values for the last available period.

The latest information as to liquors imported into the Gold Coast from the Union of South Africa is for 1943 and is as follows:Brandy, 5,300 liquid gallons valued at £7,196.Gin, 18 gallons valued at £18.Unenumerated potable spirits, 198 gallons valued at £221.Wines, 45,469 gallons valued at £23,182.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is satisfied that the vitamin content of the new loaf is as high as in the old.

Research and experimental work have been taking place for some time and before I altered the extraction rate of flour I was assured that I could do so without there being any appreciable loss of vitamin content in the National loaf. Now that the new flour is being produced on a large commercial scale I am having samples continuously taken so that I may be assured that this is so.

asked the Minister of Food if some use can be found for the large acreage of cabbage in the country, which is in excess of ordinary market wants and which will constitute a heavy loss to the growers who were urged and directed to grow by the respective Government Department.

I understand that growers were only urged to increase production for marketing after Christmas. There is no outlet for the present excess tonnage for human food, but it can of course be usefully employed for stock-feeding.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether Sir Cosmo Parkinson saw representatives of the trade unions and other popular bodies during his visit to Cyprus; whether he has presented a Report on his visit; and, if so, what action does His Majesty's Government intend to take on it.

Sir Cosmo Parkinson met representatives of many public bodies in Cyprus, as well as individuals; among them was the district council of the new trade unions of Limassol, but other trade unions which had asked to see him withdrew their applications. As on his return from other Colonial visits, Sir Cosmo has reported to me personally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the draining of the Caroni Swamp in Trinidad has yet been completed; and whether any decision has been reached as to the use of the land.

The Caroni Swamp consists of three parts, one of which, not yet reclaimed, will eventually be included in the Laventille air port. A second part has been banked and drained for rice cultivation; the area reclaimed is 550 acres. The land in the third part, of approximately 8,000 acres, is at present too low to be reclaimed by gravity drainage. Reclamation by silting, a slow but inexpensive process, is now being undertaken. This work has proved partially successful, but has been delayed by lack of necessary machinery, procurement of which is now being negotiated. No decision has yet been reached regarding the use to which this third area when reclaimed will be put, but partial irrigation is possible.

asked the Secretary of State for War why there has been so much delay in re-establishing communications with Belgium in respect of civilian mail; and when such facilities will be available.

The delay is mainly due to the military operations which have swept right across Belgium and are continuing with great intensity on her northern and eastern frontiers. But I hope it will be possible to introduce a postcard service soon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what plans are being made to facilitate emigration from Malta to the Dominions and Colonies after the war.

The question of Maltese emigration is being considered in conjunction with the general proposals for oversea settlement within the Empire which are under discussion with the Government of the Dominions. But I am not yet in a position to make any definite statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what arrangements are being made as regards the grant of leave to members of the Colonial Service, bearing in mind the amount of work likely to be involved in post-war development in the Colonies and the disorganisation which would result from the absence of a considerable part of the staffs for long periods.

Local conditions and individual circumstances vary too greatly to enable any rigid rule to be laid down, but I have asked Governors to deal with this question as far as may be practicable on two general principles: First, that officers who have put in long and strenuous service during the war should have reasonable leave as soon as possible; second, that, for the reasons suggested in the Question, the length of leave granted on the first post-war occasion should be limited.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will issue a revised version of the Return, entitled British Colonies, Protectorates, etc. (Local Legislatures), dated 2nd November, 1938; and, in anticipation, state which of the Colonies, Protectorates, Dependencies, etc., can be classified in each of the following categories, or in such other or additional categories as may be more appropriate: wholly elected legislature with responsible government, namely, Ministers selected, entirely or as to a majority, from the elected legislature; wholly elected legislature or assembly but nominated executive; legislature with a majority of elected members; legislature with a majority of unofficial, elected or nominated, members; legislature with an official majority but some elected members; legislature with no elected, but some unofficial members; no legislature.

A revised return will be prepared when the constitutional changes which, as the House is aware, are taking place in a number of Colonies, are completed, Meanwhile, I will send my hon. Friend a note of the information which he desires as soon as it can conveniently be assembled.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the secretariat of the proposed Standing Central African Council will be established in headquarters at Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, and how will the expense be apportioned between the territories concerned.

A preliminary meeting between the three Governments concerned is to be held to consider the arrangements for the setting up of the Council, but I am not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate the case, details of which have been submitted to him, of an Emeritus Professor of London University, a widower now aged 82, who is obliged to employ a female housekeeper, but is now met with the refusal by the local officer of inspector of taxes to make the allowance of £50 as deduction from his expenses, only £3 being allowed under this heading, which constitutes a serious deduction from the small pension enjoyed by the professor.

I am afraid that I cannot deal with the application of the Income Tax law in particular cases by way of question and answer, but I am causing inquiries to be made into the case to which my hon. Friend refers and will communicate with him in due course.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the total cost per annum of naval officers' marriage allowances; and what is the amount of contributions provided by naval officers towards this cost.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply to this Question given to him by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Admiralty on 7th March.

asked the Minister of Education what facilities are now provided in the technical schools in Wales for instruction in a system of Welsh shorthand writing.

So far as I am aware no facilities are provided in technical schools in Wales for instruction in shorthand writing in Welsh. My Department would encourage the provision of such facilities by local education authorities in appropriate circumstances.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he will review the case, details of which have been submitted to him, of a gunner driver in the R.A., who died in September, 1943, aged 24, in a military hospital after 16 days illness of a rare and obscure disease; seeing that this man joined the Army in September, 1939, when 20 years of age and graded A1, this grade being renewed in March, 1943; that his wife's application for a pension has been refused and the refusal confirmed by the Pensions Appeals Tribunal on the ground that the death was not due to war service.

The claim was rejected by an independent appeal tribunal set up under the Pensions Appeal Tribunals Act. Parliament decreed that such decisions should be final.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will arrange for adequate supplies of sodium chlorate to be available next spring for the destruction of nettles in permanent pastures.

I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply that the supply position does not permit of this at present, but the matter will be reconsidered as soon as increased supplies become available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether dissemination to Special Areas is to be enforced in the case of new industries and only recommended in the case of existing industries.

It is not the Government's intention to enforce upon industrialists any particular areas for the location of their enterprises, whether old or new. But, in accordance with Chapter III of the White Paper on Employment Policy, the Board of Trade are inviting the attention of industrialists, who are looking for premises, to those areas which need a greater diversity of industry.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is yet in a position to release a quantity of coupon-free towels to housewives, other than those who have been bombed out.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for West Edinburgh (Lieut.-Colonel Hutchison) on 26th September, to which at present I have nothing to add.