asked the Minister of Works what is the approximate capital cost of the work being undertaken in Kensington to convert houses into flats, either by his Ministry or the local authority; and how many flats will be provided under this arrangement.

I have been asked to reply. Forty-nine houses are involved, and these will provide 192 dwellings. In 8 houses the cost of each dwelling is estimated to be from £80 to £90. In the remaining 41 houses it is £150.

asked the Minister of Works whether the heavy machinery used for making runways, etc., on airfields, such as bulldozers, trench diggers, and so forth, which have not been sent to the Continent, and are no longer needed in Great Britain, have yet been loaned to local authorities to enable them to prepare their roads, etc., for new housing developments; and what proportion of this machinery is lying idle due to absence of spare parts or minor breakages.

Local authorities are carrying out this work through contractors using their own plant. I regret that the figure asked for in the second part of the Question is not available.

asked the Minister of Works how many man-hours are required for the erection of a temporary hutment as now being supplied by the Ministry to local authorities, a temporary bungalow as now being erected by the Ministry, and a steel-framed house of the type now being exhibited at Northolt, respectively.

Firm figures based on actual experience are not available. However, assuming level sites and large scale erection, the following very approximate estimates of site man-hours can be given:

asked the Minister of Works if his attention has been called to the fact that in the Colchester district urgent repair work is being held up through inability to obtain any supplies of ceiling board; and what steps he is taking to remedy this shortage.

I presume my hon. Friend refers to plaster-board and wall-board. Both these materials are in very short supply. The use of the limited quantities of wall-board has hitherto been confined to bomb damage repairs and other urgent work in London and the South-Eastern areas. However, the supply position is now slightly easier and arrangements are being made to release limited quantities over a wider area, including Colchester. Plaster-board is allocated regularly to Region 4, which includes Colchester. The quantity available for the Region being sub-divided between the various local authorities in proportion to their estimated needs.

asked the Minister of Works if he will give instructions that, in those areas to which the £10 limit on repairs applies, the issue of licences shall not be so restricted as to throw out of work competent building operatives, who, for reasons of age or otherwise, are classified as non-mobile.

Local authorities have been instructed that, provided priority is given to the repair of bomb damaged houses, licences may be granted for various other classes of urgent work which should be more than sufficient to provide full employment for all non-mobile building trade operatives.

asked the Minister of Works the names of the firms with whom contracts have been placed for the erection of Phoenix bungalows; the number of bungalows in each contract; the location of the bungalow sites; and whether these contracts have been placed on a cost-plus basis.

asked the Minister of Health whether any steps have been taken, as requested by the Manchester City Council, to ensure, by legislation or otherwise, adequate cleanliness in all fillings used in the manufacture of bedding, upholstery and such-like domestic articles, in order to prevent the spread of disease.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Clayton (Mr. Thorneycroft) on 18th January.

asked the Minister of Health whether it is proposed to introduce during the life of the present Parliament, a Bill to implement the measures

It has been decided to let contracts for 2,000 Phoenix houses to contractors in the Phoenix Group who sponsored the design of this type. These first contracts are of an experimental nature and the price will be fixed on the basis of costing. Instructions to proceed have been or are being issued for 559 houses in England and Wales and 500 in Scotland, as follows:outlined in the White Paper on National Health Services.

I am afraid I cannot at present add anything to what I said in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Fulham, West (Dr. Summerskill) on 1st February.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will reconsider the question of non-flying officers commanding flying training units.

Officers are chosen to command flying training units on the basis of their general qualifications to undertake the wide range of responsibilities involved. The great majority are medically fit for flying and in flying practice. I see no reason for reviewing the present arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Air, to what extent the officer commanding a R.A.F. station, of which he has been informed, is not permitted to fly owing to physical disabilities; and, if so, what are those disabilities.

This officer is fit for limited flying duties. It would be contrary to normal practice to publish the nature of the physical disabilities which debar him from full piloting duties.

asked the Secretary of State for Air, why an application for the urgent release of No. 2209984 A.C.2 Yates, supported by the Regional Transport Commissioner, North-western Region, was subjected to delay resulting in the inconvenience of the public and damage to public service vehicles for whose servicing the airman's presence was required.

I regret that the release procedure took longer than usual in this instance, owing partly to the sharp increase in applications for release received in December and January and partly to shortages in clerical staff accentuated by sickness.

asked the Secretary of State for Air (1) if the telegram protesting against the action of the Government in Greece that was sent to him on 11th December by an officer, of whom he has been informed, is a breach of King's Regulations and if any disciplinary action is intended;(2) why an officer, of whom he has been informed, has been suspended from all duties since 26th September, 1944, although no charge has been brought against the officer; and if he will expedite a reply to the applications for an interview that this officer has made to his superiors.

It has been decided not to take proceedings against this officer in connection with the telegram referred to. This officer has not been suspended from all duties, but reports by his superior officers and representations made by him are receiving consideration and a decision will be sent to him at an early date.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that in answer to a request by a number of men for the inclusion of the "Daily Worker" with other papers available to men at a large R.A.F. station, of which he has been told, the officer commanding, in publicly refusing the request, asserted among other things that it was not possible on a station of such size and complexity to cater for the minority; and whether he will ensure that this paper is now supplied.

The station in question has a strength of 3,500 personnel, of whom 26 have asked that the newspaper referred to should be purchased from the funds of the Service Institute. The Commanding Officer decided that the small demand did not warrant this course, and I see no cause for interfering. A newsagent is given facilities on this station to sell any newspaper, including the "Daily Worker."

asked the Minister of Food if he will give, to the last convenient date, a list of the local authorities which have sustained a loss on their British Restaurants; and the amount of such loss in each case, together with an indication as to which of them are still open.

I have not yet received final accounts from all local authorities for the financial year 1943–44; when I do I will send my hon. Friend the information for which he asks.

asked the Minister of Food what was the cost per cwt. of producing beet sugar in this country in each of the years 1938 and 1944; and how much of this cost was paid by public moneys in the form of subsidies, deficiency payments, etc.

I regret that in the short time available since my hon. and gallant Friend's Question appeared on the Order Paper I have not had time to ascertain whether I can supply the answer.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that woollen dress material is being sold as mattress covers, free of coupons, in drapery establishments; and if he will take steps to put an end to this evasion of the clothing rationing scheme.

Yes, Sir. I have withdrawn facilities of obtaining cloth, coupon-free, from certain manufacturers who have abused these facilities, and I have issued a warning to manufacturers that similar action will be taken in any further cases that come to my notice.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, as the need is pressing, he will consider favourably the granting of more wrapping paper to Northern Ireland.

There is a general shortage of paper, but, if my hon. Friend will let me know what kind of wrapping paper he has in mind, I shall be glad to look further into the matter.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty who is the Admiralty representative on the Inter-Departmental Committee recently set up under the chairmanship of Sir Roger Lumley for inquiring into the facilities for the study of Oriental languages.

The Admiralty is not directly represented on the Committee, but is interested in its work and keeps in close touch with it. My hon. and gallant Friend will be glad to know that we have trained a substantial number of naval officers in Oriental languages during the war.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what provisions for obtaining civilian clothing are applicable to men discharged or released from the R.N.; and whether he will explain why, in a case of which he has been notified, the man was provided with vouchers which have been refused by local traders because the clothes provided for in these vouchers are of too low quality for them to stock, whilst they decline to accept payment of any balance in respect of better quality clothes.

Ratings on discharge or indefinite release from the Royal Navy are given a book of vouchers which they can present to any retailer and which entitle them to be supplied, free of cost to themselves, with an outfit of civilian clothing corresponding to that supplied to men of the other Services. The vouchers stipulate that the clothing supplied shall conform to certain Board of Trade specifications which are well known in the trade and which ensure that the materials are similar to those used for the civilian outfits supplied to the other Services. The materials are of good quality and, even if it were permissible, there is no reason for a man to pay anything out of his own pocket to obtain a satisfactory suit. I have no information as to why, in the case which my hon. Friend sent to me, local traders refused to accept the man's vouchers and to provide him with the clothing. In the circumstances, I have made other arrangements to supply him with the articles.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is now able to state the amount of compensation allocated to the relatives of the naval ratings who lost their lives at Portland Harbour; and when the award will be paid by the Treasury.

Offers were made to the representatives of two of the ratings some weeks ago and their replies are still awaited. The solicitors acting for another man's relatives have not yet replied to a letter of inquiry sent to them in Decem- ber last. Inquiries in the case of the fourth rating are nearly complete, and it is hoped to make an offer in the near future. Payment will be made in all cases as soon as agreement is reached.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what amount of money has been paid over by N.A.A.F.I. during each of the last four years in respect of the difference between the duty paid and the duty free price of sweets and chocolates sold to men in the Navy; and how this money has been distributed.

Information is not available as to the amount paid over by N.A.A.F.I. solely in respect of the difference between duty paid and duty free prices of sweets and chocolates sold in sea-going ships during each of the last four years. Such amounts as accrue in this respect are merged in the total amounts paid by N.A.A.F.I. in rebate and in surplus revenue for distribution to the Fleet and to Naval charities.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if free transport to this country is provided for the wives of R.N. personnel who marry in South Africa when stationed there.

Officers and ratings who marry while serving abroad during the war, and who are due for release under the Government Scheme for Re-allocation of Man-power, will be entitled to free passages to the United Kingdom for their wives and children when actually released from the Armed Forces after the end of hostilities with Germany.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty why particulars of the convoy to Russia in 1942 were not published until erroneous and misleading statements had appeared in the American Press; and if he will take steps to make known a full account of all these convoy operations.

When this convoy operation took place, and far a long time after, valuable information would have been given to the enemy by the publication of any particulars. By the time this consideration had lost its force, the episode was already long past. For this reason, and since many general references had meanwhile been made to the sacrifices and dangers of the passage to North Russia, there appeared to be no advantage in the belated disclosure of the details. A special situation was, however, created by the sudden appearance in many American papers of erroneous and Misleading accounts, which clearly required the facts to be placed on public record. I will consider my hon. Friend's suggestion in the second part of his Question; but I would point out that from time to time a good deal of information has already been published about the North Russian convoys and that for security reasons a good deal could not he told even now about the more recent.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in the case of examinations for scholarships or common entrance to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, the examining body will give due consideration to the examination results with a view to making allowances in the case of those candidates whose studies were interrupted by enemy action.

While I sympathise with the object of the hon. Member's Question, I am afraid it is not practicable to find a formula which would cover fairly the various effects of the various conditions on individual boys.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the "Readers' Digest," which is distributed to the Navy at the public expense, contained in its issues for January and February, 1945, articles purporting to contain unique revelations of life in the Soviet Union, Which were in fact full of libel and calumny against our Allies and were calculated to injure relations between the two peoples and whether he will take steps to circulate truthful accounts of life in the Soviet Union to repair the harm thus done.

I have read the articles to which the hon. Member refers. While critical in several aspects they appear to recognise Russian achievements in others. It will be appreciated that the Admiralty could not undertake to censor opinions expressed in the journals which are distributed free to the Fleet for recreational purposes. With regard to the second part of the Question, I do not think any special action is called for. The range of the periodicals is wide, and the officers and men of the Fleet can no doubt be left to form their own balanced view of the truth from the variety of information and opinions which they are likely to find on any important subject of general interest within this range, and in the reading matter which they obtain for themselves.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if, in order to remove misunderstanding, he will cause an official notification to be inserted in the Service certificates of the chief petty officers and petty officers who were serving in the Royal Yacht on 9th September, 1939, to the effect that their reduction for about four months to able seaman and stoker shortly after the outbreak of war was not due to misconduct but in accordance with a drafting regulation; and if he will re-examine the question of restoring to these chief petty officers and petty officers the full pension which they would be receiving if they had not lost this four months' service in the higher rating.

When the reversions were originally made it was provided that on Service Certificates and other documents the Royal Yacht rating was to be inserted in brackets after the General Service rating, e.g. Leading Seaman (P.O. Rigger, R.Y.). No objection is, however, seen to a notation also being inserted on Service Certificates that the men were reverted to their General Service rating on recall to General Service on mobilisation and instructions to this effect will be issued. It is not possible for pensions to be awarded on any basis other than actual service given. The difference in rates of pension involved is small: in the extreme case of a C.P.O. reverted to A.B. the difference could not exceed 5d. a week; and in most cases would be much less. The men have been given the opportunity of extending their service beyond the normal 22 years for periods sufficient to give them the rates of pension which they would have earned if they had not been reverted during this period.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why surgical belts and corsets for certain diseases, injuries and deformities of the spine, such as arthritis deformans, carcinoma of the spine, fracture or dislocation of the spine, kyphosis, scoliosis and similar conditions, are subject to Purchase Tax, while those for less severe conditions such as sacro-iliac disease are not; and will he see if these appliances, all of which are ordered by medical practitioners who give their certificates, are added to the list of those exempted from Purchase Tax.

The general position is that belts and corsets are liable to Purchase Tax unless they are of a design which clearly identifies them as surgical appliances. The question whether the articles to which my hon. Friend refers are of such design is being examined and I will communicate further with him in due course.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider altering the law to provide that Income Tax credits shall be regarded as debts due at the death of the holders and be payable thereon to their personal representatives.

The law provides that in the event of the taxpayer's death his right to receive the post-war credit passes to his personal representatives, who may dispose of it as part of his estate. I am afraid that I cannot see my way to adopting my hon. Friend's suggestion that the credit should be payable at death.