asked the Minister of Labour what arrangements he has under examination for finding places in civil life for those young men and women who, having completed their education, have had no opportunity, on account of war service, of previously settling into civilian employment.

Discussions are now taking place between representatives of industry and officers of my Department with a view to determining the best means of settling young men and women into civilian employment on their release from war service.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consult with the Minister of Education as to arrangements for continuing the higher education of suitable young men and women on demobilisation at the universities or higher technical institutions; and when he will be able to announce his intentions thereon.

Under the Further Education and Training Scheme which was drawn up in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education, arrangements have already been made by which financial assistance may be given to suitable men and women who on their release from war service wish to continue their education at universities or higher technical institutions. I will send the hon. and gallant Member a copy of the relevant explanatory leaflet.

asked the Minister of Labour if he can make a statement as to the present position regarding arrangements to permit members of His Majesty's Forces to resume their university studies interrupted by the war.

I am not at present in a position to make a statement on this matter.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in order to facilitate the vocational training and demobilisation plans of the women's Services, he will publish without further delay, a list of the trades and occupations with numbers of vacancies visualised.

My Department is in consultation with a wide range of professional bodies, trade unions and employers' organisations as to the provision of training, but it would not be practicable at this stage to publish a list of trades and occupations with any reliable estimates of the number of openings likely to be available in them for women on demobilisation from the Services.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will consult with the Service Departments with a view to the release of men from the Forces who in civil life were teachers and who have served for three years or over in the overseas theatres of war, with a view to preparing them for their duties under the new Education Act.

The consideration which I have given to this suggestion indicates that it would be inappropriate at the present time.

asked the Minister of Labour what action should be taken by a tradesman who has acquired his trade in one of the Services and who could be suitably employed on priority bomb damage repair work, but who cannot be released because he had no civilian employer and therefore no one can apply for him.

The arrangements for the release of men from the Forces for this purpose could not conveniently be extended so as to include an invitation to men to volunteer. I understand that the existing arrangements are producing in total about as many men as the Services are willing to release.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that many householders who have had official evacuees billeted on them for long periods have found that the billeting allowance does not cover the wear and tear on household furniture, linen and utensils; and will he consider the payment of a supplementary allowance based upon the number of evacuees and the total period of billeting during the past five years to enable such householders to re-equip their houses.

Wear and tear on household equipment has always been taken into account in fixing the rate of billeting allowances under the Government Evacuation Scheme, which, in the case of unaccompanied children who are billeted for both board and lodging, have been raised several times since the beginning of the war. In the circumstances I am unable to adopt the suggestion of my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Minister of Health if he will consider reimbursing the London boroughs for their loss of rateable value owing to the flying bomb and other enemy attacks; and if he will consider the loss so occasioned be a change upon the whole community.

My hon. Friend is aware that a scheme is in operation under which financial assistance is given to local authorities whose loss of income owing to the war is so great that there is a serious risk of a breakdown of essential local services. I do not consider that a case has been made for changing the present arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that the 1942 German map for invasion showed the North Staffordshire Infirmary bombed in 1940; and, as the photographs must have been taken after the summer of 1940, has an investigation been made and what is the explanation of how the Germans obtained the photographs.

I understand that a preliminary examination of the captured documents does not bear out my hon. Friend's suggestion, and I should be glad if he would supply me with the evidence on which it is based in order that further investigation may be made by the authorities concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that certain professed Fascists are organising a league of ex-Service men and women and are conducting propaganda for this league in Hyde Park on a basis of anti-Semitic agitation; that one of the principal propagandists has recently been released from detention under Regulation 18B; whether this person was released conditionally or unconditionally; and what steps he proposes to take to check the anti-Semitic and other Fascist activities of this body.

I am aware that a small group of people, some of whom have previously come to my notice on account of their Fascist views, have organised this League and that two of its supporters spoke in Hyde Park last Sunday. The hon. and learned Member is mistaken in thinking that any of the prominent members of the League have recently been released from detention: the person to whom I assume he refers was released conditionally on 1st October, 1941. Another supporter of the League and one of the speakers at Hyde Park on Sunday was, however, a former British Union propagandist who was detained under Defence Regulation 18B in May, 1940, and released, unconditionally, in the following August. The hon. and learned Member in fact made representations in a letter dated 25th June, 1940, asking that the release of this man should be considered. This League has only recently been formed and it is as yet too early to say whether it will acquire any significance. Its activities will, of course, be very carefully watched and if I find reason to believe that they are likely to endanger public order or to prejudice the efficient prosecution of the war. I shall not hesitate to take appropriate action.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why, in Circular 125/44 addressed to local authorities and relating to the disposal of surplus civil defence vehicles, he has prescribed for local authorities a procedure completely at variance with the declared policy of the Government as set out in the White Paper on the Disposal of Surplus Stores [Cmd. 6539].

The circular refers to vehicles which are the property of local authorities and could not therefore have been disposed of as surplus Government stores without being first purchased by the Government. The disposal procedure in the circular was agreed with other Departments concerned. It provides for disposal of scrap vehicles on lines similar to those adopted by the Government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now publish the estimates on which he has come to the conclusion that the nation can afford the proposals contained in the social security White Paper.

I dealt as fully as I could with this matter at the end of my speech in the Social Insurance Debate on 3rd November.

asked the Minister of Education what proportion of children from orphanages and homes administered by local authorities proceed to secondary schools and universities; and how does this compare with the number from elementary schools but living with their parents.

No statistics are collected by my Department as to the numbers of children attending secondary schools or universities who come from orphanages and homes administered by local authorities.

asked the Minister of Agriculture which counties have lists of appli- cants for smallholdings; what is the total number of such applicants; and what steps are being taken to meet their requirements.

The collection from county councils of statistical information regarding their small holdings estates has been suspended since the outbreak of war. With regard to the third part of the Question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 2nd November last.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can yet give any indication as to the steps he proposes to take to implement the recommendations of the Luxmore and Loveday Reports on agricultural and veterinary education.

As regards agricultural education, I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement which my right hon. Friend made in this House on 20th January last. The Joint Advisory Committee to which he referred has been set up and is now at work. For the present I cannot make any further statement. As regards the Loveday Report on veterinary education, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend have already set up a Committee to inquire into the extent and effect of veterinary practice in Great Britain by persons who are not registered veterinary surgeons. Consultations with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the various institutions concerned with veterinary education are taking place, and I hope that as a result of the consideration being given to this matter, the recommendations of the Loveday Committee will be found to be generally acceptable, but pending the result of these deliberations I am not able to announce what further steps will be taken to implement the recommendations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can give a list of the existing demonstration and experimental farms in England and Wales; and whether he has any plans for increasing their number.

Demonstrational and experimental work in England and Wales is spread over such a wide range of farms, including farms connected with agricultural educational institutions, that it would hardly be practicable to furnish a list of those farms on which some work of this nature is carried out. In connection with the setting up of a National Agricultural Advisory Service, the question of providing further facilities for demonstrational and experimental work is under consideration, particularly the establishment of a number of experimental husbandry farms for testing the results of research on a field scale.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether it is intended that the reconstituted Agricultural Improvement Council should meet more frequently than the former council; how often the new body has already met; and whether he can give any indication of its activities.

The reconstituted Agricultural Improvement Council for England and Wales, which has already met twice, will in future meet more frequently than its predecessor. I would, however, like to make it clear that the Council's work is largely carried out by Standing and ad hoc Committees. The Council's activities have the widest possible range, and I am sending my hon. Friend a sample list of the subjects which are engaging their attention.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Department of Health receives from medical officers of health information as to the number of children immunised in previous years who have passed the age of 15 years at the time of making the return; and, if not, what was the number deducted by the officers of his Department from the totals sent in in the returns of children immunised in 1941, 1942 and 1943, when the percentage of children immunised up to the age of 15 years was calculated.

The information referred to in the first part of the hon. Member's Question is not specifically asked of Medical Officers of Health, and I understand that the work involved in supplying the information would be considerable. In regard to the second part of the Question, no precise figure can be placed on the number of children passing the age of 15, but it has been the practice to make a percentage adjustment when calculating the percentage of children up to the age of 15 years who have been immunised.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many immunised children developed diphtheria during the first six months of 1944; and how many of them died.

According to returns received from Medical Officers of Health in Scotland, the number of immunised children under age 15 who developed diphtheria during the first six months of 1944 was 827. The information at present available shows that two immunised children died during the period.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that German prisoners of war are being employed on tasks of a similar character by all the United Nations within whose territory these prisoners are now held; and whether, in view of the tasks to which Allied prisoners have been put by the Nazi authorities in enemy territories, he will review the position.

The treatment applied to German prisoners of war who are held by an Allied Government and the treatment applied by the German authorities to nationals of an Allied Power are matters which primarily concern that Government. So far as His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom are concerned, the provisions of the Geneva Convention are applied to German prisoners in their hands, and they will continue to press for similar treatment of British prisoners in German hands.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if arrangements can be made to enable old age pensioners who have definitely retired from employment to draw any post-war credits from the Treasury that have been set aside for them.

I am afraid that I cannot make exceptional arrangements such as my hon. Friend suggests. As my predecessor explained in reply to a similar question by my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Viscount Hinchingbrooke) on 19th January, 1943, it is of the essence of the scheme for Income Tax post-war credits that the tax put to the post-war credit should no be made available to the taxpayer until after the war.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the delays in obtaining the necessary code numbers to enable tax deduction cards to be issued to Post Office employees returning to the Post Office service from the Armed Forces; and whether arrangements can be made to mitigate the hardships resulting from the employees being assessed for long periods on emergency cards.

I have been asked to reply. It is regretted that there has been delay in issuing the code number in certain cases of the kind referred to by my hon. Friend, but I can assure him that every effort is being made is expedite the issue.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether, in view of the cables regarding the passage of Mrs. Webb, from Jamaica, who is urgently required home for scientific work, he will give some explanation of the failure of the appropriate Jamaican authorities to ensure this lady a speedy passage; and if he will investigate the matter further.

It has, unfortunately, not been possible to provide berths for a considerable number of people who desire to come from Jamaica to the United Kingdom. I am writing to my hon. Friend both about the general situation and about the particular case of Mrs. Webb.

asked the Minister of Health why, in view of the fact that the Registrar-General has recorded in his weekly returns of disease for many years down to the beginning of the present year corrections of diagnosis of diphtheria, he cannot incorporate these in quarterly records for those years and thus make them available for comparison with the new quarterly returns, which provide for the correction of erroneous notifications received during the quarter.

Such corrections of notifications of infectious diseases as the Registrar-General received prior to the present year were regularly incorporated in his published Quarterly Returns for the relevant period. Under the new system of quarterly statements supplied by Medical Officers of Health throughout the country as from the beginning of 1944, the information received is more complete and detailed than was formerly the case, and it would not be practicable in present circumstances to obtain a revision of the quarterly records for previous years which would render them comparable with the new returns.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will arrange for part of the stocks of vitaminised chocolate now available in this country to be distributed to children in Holland and Belgium.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for King's Norton (Major Peto) on 25th October. Since then further quantities have been sent for use in North-West Europe.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that members of the A.T.S., discharged on compassionate grounds, who drew an allowance of £1 or £3 10s. for civilian clothing and are subsequently recalled for service, will be prevented from obtaining the new £12 allowance on discharge or demobilisation; and will he take steps to amend this position.

My hon. Friend's suggestion involves a number of difficult problems and, moreover, affects all Service departments. She will appreciate, therefore, that I am not in a position to say whether it will be possible to change the existing rules.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that the relatives and friends in this country of men serving in Italy are receiving complaints of the conditions prevailing in convalescent camps in Italy; and what steps are being taken to effect improvement.

My attention has been called to these complaints. They are being investigated.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many buildings in London are used or occupied by the Polish forces; and whether any supervision is exercised over the requisitioning by Allied Governments or troops of premises used and occupied by British organisations for the direct or indirect purposes of the war.

The number of buildings requisitioned by the War Department and now occupied or used by the Polish Forces in London is 26, including seven garages. No Allied Governments or troops are empowered to carry out any requisitioning of buildings, and any such requisitioning required is effected by the British Department or Ministry concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will ask his welfare officers in London to report as to whether cheap, adequate and popular means of entertainment exist for all Allied ex-Service men during the coming long winter evenings and especially the maintenance of dance halls to which all ranks can resort.

Several thousand free tickets for theatres are issued each week through Army Welfare in London District to Service men and women of all nations. A number of well organised Service clubs with dancing also are fully used by members of the Allied Services.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the approach of winter, he will instruct his welfare officers, both in London and in the provinces, to ascertain whether the means of entertainment for all Service men and women and especially those on leave, are adequate so that any deficiencies in this respect can at once be remedied.

The entertainment of Service men and women in London otherwise than on leave is the responsibility of the General Officer Commanding, London District, and I am satisfied that such entertainment is properly organised. The provision of entertainment for Service personnel on leave is a more difficult matter: the need is chiefly for cheap admission to organised entertainment, which must necessarily be that already provided commercially to the civil population, and also for clubs which afford opportunities of dancing and refreshment. It is not practicable for His Majesty's Government to undertake the responsibility for running entertainment on a commercial scale. A number of theatrical managements have for a considerable time generously provided free seats to Service personnel in London through Army Welfare Services.