asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether it is intended to extend the controlled undertakings scheme so as to include shorter hauls, or whether any such extension is no longer necessary.

My Noble Friend does not consider it necessary at present to extend the Road Haulage Organisation to include shorter hauls.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will introduce regulations governing the immunisation of infants, similar to those in force in regard to vaccination against smallpox, which forbid the vaccination of children who are in poor health or liable to be in contact with any infectious disease.

No, Sir. The immunisation of over 5,000,000 children during the past five years has shown nothing to suggest that medical practitioners do not take due professional care to satisfy themselves whether there is any medical reason why inoculation should not be carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether Major Orde Brown has returned from his visit to East Africa; and when a report is to be published on labour conditions in East Africa.

Major Orde Browne is not expected back until April. It is contemplated that his Report will be published in due course, but no date for publication can yet be given.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will set out in tabular form the prices in Britain and the U.S.A. for the years 1914, 1932, 1938, 1943 and 1944 of basic pig-iron, soft open-hearth billets, cost of commodity conversion and the labour costs; the costs of wire rods and finished wire; the costs of tube from the basic pig-iron to the finished tube, and the labour costs; the price of galvanized, tinned and black steel sheets and plates, in tons, under one-eighth inch thick, and the labour costs; and the amount in tons exported from Britain in 1913, 1934 and 1938.

Prices of the products in question in the United Kingdom and the United States are set out in the table appended. It will be observed from the notes below that the U.K. prices mostly include delivery and the U.S. do not. U.S.A. prices for 1913 or 1914 are not readily available and U.K. prices in 1914 fluctuated considerably. It must be borne in mind that the U.S.A. figures throughout and those for the U.K. in 1913 and 1932 are taken from figures published in trade journals or manufacturers' lists and are not necessarily the prices at which actual sales took place. Comparative detailed costs are not available.A statement of U.K. exports of iron and steel in 1913, 1934 and 1938 is also appended.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs what machinery exists at present for economic inter-Commonwealth consultation and co-operation; which of these agencies are of pre-war and which of war-time origin; and what are the plans for widening that machinery in future.

Before the war, in addition to the constant inter-Commonwealth consultation on economic matters which took place between the Governments through the normal channels, certain standing machinery had been established with specific functions. Chief among these may be mentioned the Imperial Economic Committee, which was established in 1925, its membership comprising representatives of all parts of the Commonwealth and Empire. Its functions, which have been temporarily suspended through the war, were expanded by the Imperial Conferences of 1926 and 1930 and again as a result of the Report of the Imperial Committee on Economic Consultation and Co-operation, 1933 (Cmd. 4335). For information on other standing bodies for the carrying out of special studies and the exchange of information, such as the Imperial Shipping Committee and the Executive Council of the Imperial Agricultural Bureaux, I cannot do better than refer the hon. Member to that Report.The special conditions created by the war have led to the setting up of new machinery to facilitate the discussion of supply and other problems arising, out of the dislocation of normal trade. The most important of the bodies established for this purpose are the Commonwealth Supply Council and the London Food Council. The Commonwealth Supply Council was established to co-ordinate, within the framework of the combined war planning of the United Nations, problems arising within the British Commonwealth in regard to the production and requirements of raw materials (other than fuel and foodstuffs) and of finished goods, including plans, components and other things necessary for their manufacture. The London Food Council was set up, as a parallel body, to formulate in conjunction with the appropriate authorities plans of common concern to its members regarding the production, supply, movement, allocation and utilisation of foodstuffs and related products and of agricultural materials used for the production of such foodstuffs. Canada, because of her special position in relation to North American production and supply problems does not take a direct part in the proceedings of these Councils, which are otherwise fully representative of the Commonwealth and Empire. The Commonwealth Supply Council and London Food Council carry out their detailed work mainly through Committees, dealing in the case of the former with broad categories such as raw materials, machine tools, railway equipment and non-munition supplies and in the case of the London Food Council with each of the principal foodstuffs in short supply, e.g. meat, oils and fats and cereals. Joint Committees of the two Councils have been established to consider questions relating to such matters as fertilisers and food and farm machinery.A Committee known as the Principal Commonwealth Supply Committee has been set up in Washington to deal with supply problems of concern both to the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth and Empire Supply Missions. The Committee, under the chairmanship of the United Kingdom Resident Minister for Supply, includes the heads of other Commonwealth and Empire Missions. It works in close conjunction with the Commonwealth Supply Committee in London. In addition consultation on various wartime supply questions has been facilitated by bodies such as the Eastern Group Supply Council at Delhi (which does not however deal with supplies for civilians). Moreover certain supply departments here have had permanent Missions in some of the Dominions, such as the British Food Missions in Ottawa and Canberra, while Dominion Supply Departments have also arranged for special representatives in London.In war-time, too, as in peace-time, the normal methods of consultation on economic matters have been continuously employed. These include communications between Governments by telegram and mail and through, for example, United Kingdom High Commissioners and Trade Commissioners in the Dominions and Dominion High Commissioners and Trade Commissioners in London. Particular problems as they arise may also be dealt with in

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can give any figures comparing the present annual value of the production of the average full-time agricultural worker with that of the average full-time coalminer.

No, Sir. I regret that this information is not available.