asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will adopt stronger measures to put down smuggling across the border between Northern Ireland and Eire; and if he will make it impossible for children to be utilised by smugglers as their agents.

The strongest measures practicable are already taken to deal with smuggling across the Northern Ireland land boundary. The most effective means of preventing the use of children in smuggling is to trace the adults who use them and to take appropriate action against the adults. This is done whenever possible, with, I believe, satisfactory results, but the number of such cases is not large.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1) if, in presenting any future White Paper on the sources of the national income, he will include estimates of the total number of persons receiving income and the incidence of indirect as well as direct taxation on incomes of different income groups;(2) if, in presenting any future White Paper on the sources of the national income, he will include estimates of the way in which personal incomes under £250 per annum are distributed among that two-thirds of the population that fall in this income group.

I regret that accurate statistical information on these points cannot be obtained.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order to ensure an economical and orderly disposal of Government-held properties and in pursuance of the recommendation of the Select Committee on National Expenditure in their Sixteenth Report, the Government will put at the disposal of Members, confidentially or otherwise, a list of such properties giving particulars of holdings computed by each Department, so that when considering the Requisitioned Land and War Works Bill, the House may know what may be disposed of under this new legislation.

Such a list would be almost impossibly voluminous and would be of no real help to the House when considering the Requisitioned Land and War Works Bill. The Bill does not apply to properties held on requisition as such, which will in the vast majority of cases revert to their owners in the ordinary course, but to land whether requisitioned or not on which there are Government war works and in some cases to land which has been diminished in value by war work or war use.

asked the Minister of Health what difficulties or delays the Walton and Weybridge Council has met with in the acquisition of housing sites on Long-more Farm, Hersham, and on the fields in Esher Road, Hersham; whether compulsory purchase orders have been sought or obtained and with what result; and if he will state the area and present rateable value of the sites in question.

The Walton and Weybridge Urban District Council have provisionally agreed with the owner to purchase 4½ acres of land at Hersham. I understand that the price is £1,100. The Council failed to purchase an adjoining 33¼ acres by agreement, and have made a Compulsory Purchase Order, which I am about to confirm. All the land is derated.

asked the Minister of Health what progress the Strood, Kent, Rural District Council has made in negotiations to acquire housing sites at Allhallows for 12 houses and the construction of a new road in Cliffe for about two acres for 12 houses, in Grain for 18 houses and in Hallin approximately eight acres; and if, where any of these sites have been acquired, he will state the area, purchase price and previous rateable value thereof.

I have agreed to the acquisition by the Strood Rural District Council of 1⅓ acres of land at Allhallows, and the Council are now in negotiation with the owner. The land is derated. No definite proposals for Cliffe and Grain have yet been received, but I understand that the Council are considering the purchase of land there for housing purposes, including the construction of an access road. The Council have acquired by agreement a site of approximately 9 acres in Hailing, at a cost of £950 plus legal charges. The land is derated.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the Peterborough Town Council have been concerned over the delay in the acquisition and development of their proposed new housing estate at Dogsthorpe and Garton End; what progress is now being made in regard thereto; what is the area and rateable value of the land in question; if he is aware that the council were offered 10,832 square yards of land at Garton End for allotments at a price of £365 per acre, subject to conditions as to fencing, but they decided against purchase; and what is the present rateable value of that land.

The town council were informed last July that consent could be given to the purchase of a part only of the estate at Dogsthorpe and Garton End, which comprises 326 acres and has a rateable value of £24. They are now in negotiation for the purchase of 119 acres of the estate. I am aware of the decision of the Council as regards land for allotments at Garton End. The rateable value of this land is £16.

asked the Minister of Health the policy of His Majesty's Government as to priority of building after the war as between Government offices and homes for the people.

Generally the highest priority will be given to the provision of homes for the people. If in any special circumstances there are competing claims of high priority, the question of precedence will have to be determined on the facts of the particular case.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that it is not the practice of his Department to give a general authority to councils to engage ordinary clerical staff for re-housing work but that they are expected to obtain prior approval before making any temporary appointments no matter how junior the position or however urgent the work; and if he will alter this practice.

The practice referred to by my hon. Friend applies to those war-time re-housing services in which the expenditure incurred by local authorities is fully reimbursed by the Government. I am not aware that the practice has embarrassed local authorities or retarded the work of re-housing, and I see no reason to alter it. If, however, my hon. Friend has any particular case in mind and will let me have details, I shall be glad to look into it.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that his officers were informed by the Camberwell Council on 29th November last of their failure to secure two necessary additional housing managers; that on the date mentioned his officers offered to endeavour to obtain two officers, but on 16th January, 1945, they merely authorised the engagement of two housing managers; and in view of the fact that this council is in arrears with its collection of rents, what further action he proposes to take.

The statement of the facts in my hon. Friend's Question requires some amplification. The letter of 16th January formally authorised the appointment of two additional officers, but the Camberwell Council were already aware that their needs had been made known to both the Society of Housing Managers and the Ministry of Labour. I regret that it is beyond my power to produce staff for local authorities on demand, but I fully appreciate Camberwell's need and will continue to give them all the help I can.

asked the Minister of Works whether, arising out of the policy of importing houses from the United States, he is aware that with Government approval a number of aircraft firms cooperated in providing a superior timber house from the materials imported from America; and whether, in view of the fact that there is factory space and plant available for the immediate construction of such houses and that many of those employed in the aircraft factories are becoming redundant, he will consider the desirability of importing the materials only and thus providing employment at home.

The only proposal of which I am aware is for a plywood house put forward by a firm engaged in the aircraft industry with a view to making use of certain material now becoming surplus to aircraft requirements. Investigations are in progress of capacity for production and availability of materials, but my hon. Friend will understand that considerable difficulties are involved under both heads while war contracts are still in process of fulfilment.

asked the Minister of Works whether he can state the number of prefabricated bathroom and kitchen equipment units he has already placed on order which will be suitable for the emergency prefabricated bungalows and the permanent two-storied houses.

Instructions have been issued to manufacture 114,500 kitchen bathroom units. Where the components to be incorporated in the units are not manufactured with the unit, the necessary orders have been placed to keep step with the anticipated production of the complete units. These units are suitable for any type of temporary house. Their suitability for permanent two-storied houses will depend on the planning of these houses.

asked the Minister of Works whether he can state the number of emergency bungalows he has already contracted for; and can he give the number of each different type.

Contracts were placed with the manufacturers of the Pressed Steel, Arcon and Uni-Seco houses for the production of approximately 180,000 houses in all, in the two-year period starting some time during 1945. These contracts contain the usual break-clause and the programme is, of course, subject to review in the light of the labour and materials situation and the progress which can be made with permanent house construction. In addition, small preliminary orders have been placed for Tarran and Phoenix houses.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can now make a statement with regard to the implementation of the recommendations contained in the White Paper on the Health Services.

I am at present engaged in discussion of these proposals with representatives of the medical profession and others concerned, and I am not yet in a position to make any statement.

asked the Minister of Health if, in view of the cold weather, he will give permission for the loan of rubber hot water bottles to aged and sick persons from local A.R.P. stores.

I am afraid that the suggestion of my hon. and gallant Friend is not practicable. Where the provision of a hot water bottle is necessary and for medical reasons the only type of bottle suitable is one made of rubber, there are special arrangements whereby such a bottle may be obtained on the advice of my medical officers.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that medical prescriptions, even if marked very urgent, cannot be attended to without delay owing to shortage of staffs in retail chemists' shops; and whether he will look into the gravity of the problem.

I am aware that under war-time conditions there are difficulties in the staffing of pharmacies, but I have no reason to believe that there is any general difficulty in getting medical prescriptions dispensed with reasonable promptness. If my hon. Friend has any particular case in mind, I shall be glad to look into it. The Central Pharmaceutical War Committee, which advises me in these matters, is making every effort to secure that the available manpower is so distributed as to maintain an adequate pharmaceutical service for the public.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the action of a firm of chemists who are under agreement with many insurance committees in refusing to supply preparations ordered by insurance practitioners, on the pretext that such preparations are manufactured by firms of alleged enemy origin, and in substituting their own products; and what action he proposes to take with regard to cases of this nature which have been brought to his notice.

I am aware of the circumstances in question, but I have no jurisdiction in the matter except in respect of specific cases, in which breaches of the chemists' terms of service under the National Health Insurance Acts are alleged or established. One appeal now stands referred to me, but I am not yet in a position to give my decision.

asked the Minister of Education if will state the significance of the words in brackets, "determined by a direction of the Minister of Education," in the School Attendance Order Regulations, 1944 (S.R. & O., No. 1470).

Under Section 37 of the Education Act, 1944, a parent has the right of selecting the school to be named in the school attendance order. The school so selected must be named in the order unless the Minister otherwise directs, after receiving representations by the local education authority, that the school is unsuitable for the child or that his attendance at it would involve unreasonable expense to the authority.

asked the Minister of Pensions what allowance is paid to the wife of a soldier with a 40 per cent. disability pension when the soldier enters hospital for further treatment, the marriage having taken place after the soldier had sustained his wounds.

In the normal case an allowance of 10s. a week is payable in respect of the wife of a married pensioner undergoing hospital treatment approved by the Ministry, irrespective of the date of marriage or the assessment of his disablement for pension.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he has yet received any recommendations from the Departmental Committee on Artificial Limbs.

Yes, Sir. I have received an interim report, which is appended. It recommends (i) the appointment forthwith of an officer to undertake research and development work, and (ii) the setting up of a standing Advisory Committee. I have accepted both recommendations, and Dr. A. W. J. Craft, whom I have selected for the research post, will shortly take up his new duties. The report states:

"The Committee submit for your consideration the following unanimous recommendations:

(I) The formation at an early date of an experimental department, which in the Committee's view would be most suitably located at Roehampton; this department to be under the direction of a whole-time officer of suitable status possessing both medical and technical qualifications.

(II) The appointment of a small standing committee to supervise and develop research and advise on improvements in artificial limbs; this advisory committee, membership of which should not be limited to Ministry of Pensions personnel, to work closely with the proposed experimental depaitfuent.

The Committee further wish to submit that if those two recommendations are accepted, a public announcement should be made; they attach importance to giving encouragement to members of the public to send in ideas and suggestions, and consider that it should be one of the functions of the research committee to receive and study such suggestions.

asked the Minister of Information why the newspapers were prohibited last week from publishing news of the escape of Nazi prisoners of war from a camp in Northern Ireland when no prohibition of similar news exists in Great Britain; and whether it is realised that possession of such information by the general public is calculated to lead to the early recapture of the escapers.

I am sorry that I cannot give any detailed reply to the hon. Member's Question. The request that was made to the newspapers was based on security grounds which naturally cannot be discussed in public.

asked the Minister of Information whether his attention has been called to broadcasts from Lublin of, the names and addresses of Jewish survivors in Poland who desire to contact relatives in other parts of the world; whether any record is made of these broadcasts; and whether such records can be made available to persons and organisations who may be interested.

These broadcasts are not recorded by the B.B.C. Monitoring Service. Their resources are already heavily taxed, but consideration will certainly be given to my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, before permitting private employment agencies to function after the war, he will see that extortionate fees are not charged and that applicants are not sent to blind-alley jobs for short periods, so having to pay constantly recurring fees.

In places where there are by-laws for the control of employment agencies, the requirement in these by-laws that there shall be posted in the agency a statement giving full particulars of the fees or charges provides some check on extortionate fees; and there is also a provision in such by-laws making it an offence to "deceive or attempt to deceive any person in regard to any servant or any situation." Moreover, in London and in a number of other places there are provisions in local Acts requiring employment agencies to be licensed, and enabling the local authority to refuse or cancel a licence if the person conducting the agency is unsuitable or if the agency is being improperly conducted. The suggestion underlying my hon. Friend's Question that the existing law requires strengthening has been noted.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many Australian Shearer Prince ploughs were bought some two years ago at approximately £75 each; how many are still left; why he is trying to compel farmers to use these heavy unadjustable ploughs, with steep bigger bottoms, on unsuitable land; and whether, with a view to remedying this, he will consider having Cockshutt bottoms fitted in place of the bigger bottoms and sell them at a price of £40 each in order to get rid of them.

Arrangements to purchase 2,000 Australian ploughs from Messrs. J. Shearer were made in 1942, but the ploughs did not begin to arrive in this country until September, 1943. To date about 1,000 of these ploughs have been sold to farmers or allocated to County War Agricultural Executive Committees for use in their machinery operations, leaving about 1,000 still in hand. The price of £72, which has since been reduced to £70, was necessary to cover actual costs of purchase, freight and similar charges; any further reduction in price would involve a financial loss and would require very careful consideration. The ploughs were made to a specification approved by the Ministry, and I am advised that on land which is not too heavy very good results have been obtained; it would not, therefore, appear to be justifiable to incur still further expenditure in fitting another bottom to the ploughs still in stock. No farmer is being compelled to buy a Shearer plough, but in view of the excess of demand over supply for other makes of plough, applicants unable to obtain ploughs of their choice have been told that Shearer ploughs are immediately available and that they might be well advised to purchase one of these rather than wait some considerable time for another plough.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, in view of the arrangements made in the Finance Act, 1944, to free from taxation all expenditure both of a capital and revenue nature upon research; what steps are to be taken to encourage farmers to take advantage of this concession and to take more active interest in the development of co-operative research schemes.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 27th October, 1944, to my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Linstead). Contributions from the farming industry for agricultural research have not been lacking. Apart from individual contributions to agricultural research stations there have been collective contributions from a number of producers' organisations towards the cost of agricultural research schemes. This matter is kept under constant review.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the difficulties in raising, keeping and distributing this year's potato crop, it is intended to permit any increase in selling prices.

No, Sir.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of persons now employed in the public relations and/or Press department in every Government Department, together with the total cost of this provision.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 18th January, 1945,

Department.				Staff engaged on Public Relations and Press Work	Annual Cost.
					£
Admiralty	…	…	…	109	67,684
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries	…	…	…	65(a)	23,200
Air Ministry	…	…	…	192(b)	112,863
Ministry of Aircraft Production	…	…	…	29	10,361
Colonial Office	…	…	…	19	8,000
Dominions Office	…	…	…	8(c)	3,370
Ministry of Economic Warfare	…	…	…	4	896
Ministry of Education	…	…	…	12	6,520
Ministry of Food	…	…	…	56	22,350
Foreign Office	…	…	…	10	9,510
Ministry of Fuel and Power	…	…	…	20	8,231
Ministry of Health	…	…	…	17	7,683
Ministry of Home Security and Home Office	…	…	…	15	8,712
India Office	…	…	…	20	8,889
Inland Revenue	…	…	…	2	1,945
Ministry of Labour and National Service	…	…	…	24	12,254
National Savings Committee	…	…	…	81	38,901
Ministry of Pensions	…	…	…	3	1,498
Post Office	…	…	…	12	8,839
Ministry of Production	…	…	…	14	7,420
Office of the Minister of Reconstruction	…	…	…	2	1,458
Ministry of Supply	…	…	…	121(d)	48,600
Ministry of Town and Country Planning	…	…	…	12	7,785
Board of Trade	…	…	…	28	9,200
Treasury	…	…	…	1	1,090
War Damage Commission	…	…	…	2	1,218
War Office	…	…	…	280	120,000
Ministry of War Transport	…	…	…	15	6,902
Ministry of Works	…	…	…	5	1,912
Scottish Home Department	…	…	…	9	4,860
				1,187	572,151
(a) This figure includes a staff of 52, costing £17,300 per annum, engaged upon informing and advising the farmers and domestic food producers through all available media as to the best and most efficient methods of food production.
(b) The staff of the Photographic Dark Room (numbering 16) and of the R.A.F. Film Production Units (247 at home and 79 overseas) are partly engaged upon work of a public relations nature; but this varies with operational requirements and no estimate of the cost, etc. can be made and particulars are therefore excluded from the above statement.
(c) Includes 3 engaged also on Colonial Office duties.
(d) Includes 58 staff (cost: £21,400) employed in the Publicity and Campaign Branch of the Directorate of Salvage and Recovery.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if he has considered the representations of the Staff Side of the Departmental Whitley Council at Cardiff requesting that the headquarters of his

I have been unable to trace any representations on this subject from the Staff Side of the Departmental Whitley Council of the Welsh Board of Health, but the question of provincial location was discussed with the Staff Side of the National Whitley Council as representing the various staffs concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the cost to public funds per annum of the Police Regulation Orders of 22nd December, 1944, S.R. & O. 1476 and 1477.

The Police Regulations of the 22nd December, 1944, brought the war supplement to police pay into conformity with the Civil Service war bonus. Without an elaborate inquiry I cannot say how this will affect expenditure on police pensions or on making up the Service pay of policemen in the Armed Forces; but I assume that expenditure on the pay of police officers will have increased by about £430,000 a year, and half of this amount will be paid from the Exchequer.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider introducing new methods of inspecting drawing offices which will not involve the private inquiries recommended in his Memorandum L.S., No. 8.

No, Sir. If the hon. Member's reference to private inquiries relates to the discussion Inspectors are recommended to have with representatives of the workpeople, I can see no reason for any change. Such discussions are an important part of effective inspection.

asked the Minister of Labour how many inspectors are employed by him in inspecting drawing offices; what are their qualifications, experience and rate of pay; and whether such inspectors have the necessary technical qualifications to instruct firms in the conduct of their drawing offices.

The reply to the first two parts of the Question is contained in the following table:

Labour Supply Inspectors engaged on Inspection of Drawing Offices.
One full-time Headquarters Technical Officer	£950 per annum + bonus of £60 per annum.

Number of Inspectors in the Regions.
			Full-rime.	Part-time.
Grade I	…	…	22	20
Grade II	…	…	1	3

Annual Salary Ranges.
Grade I	£550–£700 + bonus of £60 per annum
Grade II	£400–£500 + bonus of £60 per annum

24 Inspectors had, before appointment to the Department, had considerable experience in Drawing Offices. The remainder have engineering experience and qualifications.

As regards the last part of the Question, the technical and other qualifications of the Inspectors and their experience in assessing minimum labour requirements in many different establishments enable them to give firms very useful advice on the organisation of their drawing offices. I am glad to say that some of my inspectors have received from managements expressions of warm appreciation of their advice, and one of them took part in the preparation of the booklet "Drawing, Office Organisation," published by the British Standards Institution for the guidance of managements.

asked the Minister of Labour why, under Supplement No. 1 to L.S. Memorandum No. 8, the returns from individual draughtsmen are not made through the management; and why inspectors are encouraged, under the memorandum, to make their inspections of the drawing offices without the presence of the chief draughtsman.

The returns in question are the personal records of individuals and it would not be right to require them to disclose to their employers all the personal information about themselves which the Department finds it necessary to ask for. As regards the last part of the Question, full consultation with the chief draughtsman is enjoined, but his attendance during the whole of the inspection is not necessary, and indeed, might result in some embarrassment to his subordinates whose work is being inspected and thus hinder the acquirement of facts.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether arrangements can be made for the Industrial Health Research Board to carry out an exhaustive survey of the nutrition and health of British coalminers in the light of recent scientific discoveries in those fields.

Clinical and scientific inquiries into the health and nutritional state of miners have been and will continue to be made. I am taking up with the various interested Departments the question whether a more general survey would be helpful, and if so by what agency it could best be conducted. If my hon. and gallant Friend has any particular discovery in mind perhaps he will let me know.

asked the Minister of Food what contracts have been made with the Canadian Government for the supply of bacon to this country over the next two or three years; and what tonnage and value are involved in each year.

The years 1944 and 1945 are covered by a contract for a minimum quantity of 400,000 tons, involving approximately £46,000,000. Negotiations are at present in progress for a contract for the year 1946.

asked the Minister of Food how much fresh milk is allocated for the manufacture of ice-cream.

None, Sir.

asked the Minister of Food whether in view of the more frequent arrivals of oranges in this country, he will consider regulating them in the same way as eggs, so that each person's book is marked with the particular allocation they have received.

Retailers of oranges were instructed in November last that when marking the ration book on a sale of oranges—marking is only required during a reservation period of five days—the number of the allocation should be recorded.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that there are three British Restaurants at Hessle, Anlaby and Willerby in East Yorkshire; and if he will take steps to ensure that the Haltemprice Urban Council continue to serve the public by keeping these food centres in full service.

The answer to the first part of the Question is, "Yes, Sir." With regard to the second, the Council has decided that there is not sufficient present or prospective demand from the general public for mid-day meals to justify the continuance of the British Restaurants and, after careful consideration, I am not prepared to disagree with that view.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that Mr. and Mrs. William Harris, of 23, Rock Road, Spennymoor, are disturbed about their son not receiving any letters from them during the last three months, and on 5th December and 16th December, 1944, parcels were sent to him, both have since been returned, stating unit unknown and at the same time other letters are reaching him; and will he institute an early inquiry and endeavour to remove the anxiety of this soldier and his parents.

Yes, Sir. I am having inquiry made and will communicate the result to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for India what are the arrangements in operation for enabling Indian soldiers serving in this country and abroad to return to India on home leave; and how many of these soldiers have been posted in Britain since the commencement of the war without any opportunity of returning home.

At present the only Indian soldiers of the Indian Army who are in this country are the staffs of camps which have been set up to receive returned Indian prisoners of war. These have only recently arrived. In all other overseas theatres leave is being granted to Indian soldiers in so far as shipping and operational requirements permit. In addition a proportion of Indian soldiers are being home posted and relieved by new drafts from India.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he will consider releasing a small quantity of natural or synthetic rubber for the manufacture of rubber bands, having regard to the exhaustion of old stocks and the wastage of time, labour and material in using string or thread as a substitute for rubber bands.

Yes, Sir. Small quantities of natural and synthetic rubber have already been released for the manufacture of rubber bands for essential industrial purposes. In view of the critical supply situation natural rubber cannot be released for the manufacture of bands for ordinary purposes, but the Rubber Control will issue a small quantity of synthetic rubber for these purposes.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what was the approximate percentage of the total value of the export trade of this country done by merchants in 1938.

I regret that no official figures are available to provide the information asked for.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what steps he is now taking to revive the export of proprietary and branded goods with a view to preserving the overseas goodwill in such goods before it is too late.

The export of proprietary and branded goods is subject to export control in the same way as other goods. As relaxations in export control are increased proprietary and branded goods will, it is hoped, share proportionately in the relaxations.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether he will place in the Library copies of his Department's economic reviews of overseas markets and of the booklets containing guidance for business men visiting them.

Yes, Sir. Copies of the first of the booklets in the "Hints to Business Men" Series have now been placed in the Library, and as further booklets are received from the printers they will similarly be made available. Copies of the Department's "Reviews of Commercial Conditions" will also be available in the Library as and when each review is received from the printers.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if he is aware of the great hardship imposed upon parents of evacuated families through the curtailment of cheap travel vouchers from one per parent per month to one for each parent every two months; and if he will restore it to one per parent per month.

I regret that, in present conditions, I should not be justified in authorising an increased number of journeys at reduced fares, even for parents visiting their evacuated children.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport which organisations representative of pedal cyclists were consulted before the framing of the Road Transport Lighting (Cycles) Bill.

This Bill is based on recommendations contained in the Report of the Select Committee on the prevention of Road Accidents of the House of Lords (Session 1938–39). The Select Committee heard evidence from numerous bodies and individuals, including the Cyclists Touring Club, the National Cyclists Union and the British Cycle and Motor-Cycle Manufacturers and Traders Union Limited, the witness for the last-named being also the Chairman of the National Committee on Cycling. The relevant recommendations of the Select Committee have been endorsed by the present Committee on Road Safety, whose membership includes the deputy secretary of one of the cyclists organisation as one of the representatives of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. This member was able to place the views of organised cyclists before the Committee, and was the sole dissentient from their Report on this point.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is in a position to announce a date for the restoration of restaurant car facilities on long-distance trains to and from London.

I am afraid I cannot say when it will be possible to restore restaurant cars on long-distance trains.

asked the Prime Minister what is the attitude of His Majesty's Government to the French request for a representation of France on the Combined Boards in Washington; and whether he will consider setting up an Anglo-French Production and Supply Committee to work for peace-time reconstruction and expansion of Anglo-French economic collaboration in a similar way as the Combined Production and Resources Board in Washington works in respect of Anglo-American war-time economic co-ordination.

I have been asked to reply. No formal request for membership of the Combined Boards has been received from the French Government, but arrangements have been made with the approval of His Majesty's Government to associate them with the work of the Boards as appropriate. The Combined Production and Resources Board was set up as a war-time organisation and the question of future economic co-operation with the French will have to be considered in the wider context of post-war economic arrangements.