asked the right hon. and gallant Member for Rye, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, if he can give a list of the fishings in Scotland under the control of the Scottish Forestry Commission and, where the fishings are let, who the tenants are.

The Forestry Commission own fishings on many of their properties in Scotland, some of which are let on lease, together with other sporting subjects, to the previous proprietors of the land as a condition of sale. It is not readily possible to separate fishings from other sporting subjects and so to prepare a complete list of the fishings and the

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of young persons under 16 years of age who were charged with theft or burglary in Glasgow and the number over 16 years of age for each year from 1st January, 1936, to 1st January, 1945, or latest date, respectively.

The following table shows the number of persons (a) under 14, (b) between 14 and 17, and (c) over 17 years of age, convicted or found guilty of theft or housebreaking in Glasgow for each of the years in question. Statistics showing the number of persons charged but not convicted or found guilty are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the expenditure of the Moray and Nairn education authority in providing a taxicab at £2 125. a week to take a five-year-old boy to school will attract a Government grant.

No, Sir. The distribution of grant from the Education (Scotland) Fund to education authorities in Scotland is broadly determined by a formula which takes account of the numbers of pupils and teachers in the schools and the rateable value of each area, but does not provide for State grant for specific expenditure of the kind indicated in the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in connection with the Loch Sloy project, he will give details of the new basis arrived at for the settlement of the differences between the Hydro-Electric Board and the Dumbartonshire County Council between himself, the Lord Advocate, the representatives of the Board, the hon. Member for Dumbarton (Mr. McKinlay), and the county council of Dumbartonshire; and how much of the Loch Sloy water which was being allocated to the Hydro-Electric Board scheme is to be diverted either now or in the future to Dumbartonshire County Council uses.

The Board and the representatives of the County Council have arrived at an understanding under which the future water supply requirements of domestic and industrial consumers in Dunbartonshire will be safeguarded. I have no information as to details, which are now being worked out.

asked the Minister of Food if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the authorities to which payments have been made to meet deficits on their British Restaurants and the amount paid in each case.

Following is a list of local authorities to which payments have been made by the Ministry of Food on account of losses incurred in operating British Restaurants and Cooking Depots, and the amounts paid.

asked the Minister of Food whether he can now make a statement about the maximum prices of fish during the summer season, and, in particular, about the representations on this matter made by the Scottish inshore fishermen.

Yes, Sir. My right hon. and gallant Friend has decided, after considering representations from all sections of the fishing industry, to reduce the first hand prices of only the rougher varieties of white fish below the levels of the summer of 1944. Since inshore fishermen in general catch only a small quantity of these varieties, their earnings on the whole will scarcely be affected. Cuts will also be made in the margins of wholesalers and retailers on the rougher varieties and the benefit of the whole reduction passed to the consumer. Maximum prices at all stages of other varieties of white fish will, with some minor exceptions, be the same as during last summer. The new prices will come into force on 7th April at the port and on 8th April elsewhere.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will state, in prounds per quarter, the meat ration for civilians in the case of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the U.S.A., France and the Argentine.

In view of the different system of rationing in operation in the countries mentioned by my hon. Friend, it is not possible to provide comparative figures as he suggests. As regards total consumption as distinct from rations, I would refer my hon. Friend to the Reports of the Consumption Level Inquiries in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom which have already been published. I am not in a position to supply similar information in respect of Australia, France or the Argentine.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will state in pounds per quarter the meat ration for members of the Forces in the case of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the U.S.A., France and the Argentine.

I have been asked to reply. While they are in this country the United Kingdom and Canadian troops draw ration scales which provide 25½ lb. of boneless meat a quarter. I regret that I have no official information about the amount of meat eaten by Australian, American, Franch and Argentine troops.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he proposes to issue with the Report of the Technical Committee on Coal Mining a statement as to what action the Government proposes to take in connection with its recommendations.

My hon. Friend will appreciate that the Report to which he refers and other Reports of investigation conducted at my request must be carefully studied before such a statement can be made.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how many collieries in the North Midland Region, employing more than 1,000 men, are provided with full-meal canteens and are without pithead baths; and how many such collieries have neither of these amenities.

According to the latest figures available, there are 4o collieries employing over 1,000 men in the North Midlands Region. Of these, 24 have both full-meal canteens and pithead baths, eight have full-meal canteens but no baths, seven have pithead baths but are without canteens supplying full meals, and one colliery has neither a full-meal canteen nor baths. The eight collieries which are without full-meal canteens have snap and snack canteens.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether any arrangements have been made for the commencement of building pithead baths at the end of the war with Germany; and if priority will be given to the resumption of work on installations abandoned at the outbreak of war.

Arrangements have been made for the resumption of building of pithead baths on a small scale this year, and the Miners' Welfare Commission have decided that the limited supplies of labour and materials to be made available for the purpose should be used to complete installations which were left unfinished in 1940 (when the ban on building was imposed) wherever it is possible to do so and the need for the installation remains.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what percentage of the root drills and manure distributors manufactured in this country is taken over by the Government; and what percentage is available for sale to British farmers.

In the past five years the Government has bought about 2 per cent. of the root drills and about 10 per cent. of the manure distributors manufactured in this country: the remainder have been available for sale to British farmers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the estimated cost of granting gratuities to members of the W.L.A. on the same scale as those to be given to women in the other Services.

On the assumption that the Women's Land Army will continue at its present strength for a further two years, the estimated cost of cash gratuities on the same scale as those to be given to members of the Women's Auxiliary Services would be approximately £1,500,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Burma when it is proposed that the Governor and the Government of Burma will leave Simla and where the new seat of Government is to be fixed in Burma pending the occupation of Rangoon.

So long as Burma is the scene of active military operations there must be a period of military control. It is impossible at this stage to say when conditions will be such as to permit of the return of the civil Government to Burma or where it will be first established.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware of the case of J. Townsend, of 12, Winstanley Road, Stechford, Birmingham, who, although he is totally incapacitated from work by reason of eye injuries, has only been awarded partial incapacity allowance under the Personal Injuries Scheme; and whether he will take some remedial action in this matter.

I regret that there has not been time to complete inquiries in this case, which was already under review, but I will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Pensions when the appeal tribunals referred to in Section 5 of the Pensions Appeal Tribunals Act, 1943, will be established in order to remove hardship caused to injured persons who have no right of appeal at present against an assessment of the degree of disablement.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend's reply to a question by the hon. Member for Attercliffe (Mr. Hynd) on 25th January, to which I would add that, as the House has frequently been assured, my right hon. Friend is always prepared to reconsider a case in which the pensioner has grounds for thinking that his disablement has been under-assessed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many inspectors of retail premises he has in London and Greater London, respectively; and whether he will give an undertaking that the number will be increased sufficiently for applications for licences to open shops to be dealt with promptly.

Applications for licences to open retail shops in the London area, which includes Greater London, are dealt with by the London Retail Licensing Committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Swaythling. The Committee have a staff of 15, including two inspectors. I am taking steps to strengthen it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantity of scrap iron exported from this country during the years 1936, 1937, 1938 and 1939, respectively; and how much of this was sent to Germany.

Following is the information:

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps are contemplated for the post-war re-establishment and restoration of industrial property rights; and whether he is proposing to proceed by way of agreement to be concluded among the United Nations, the neutral countries and the enemy countries, or whether it is proposed that the necessary provisions should form part of the treaties of peace.

I am not sure exactly what classes of rights my hon. Friend has in mind. Post-war arrangements must be concerted with our Allies, and it is not possible at present to give a definite answer to the second part of the Question.

asked the Minister of Works how many millions of bricks there are in stock; and how many millions are now being made for the purpose of building houses in the United Kingdom.

Present stocks of bricks in Great Britain are rather over 1,000,000,000 and are increasing at the rate of about 25,000,000 per month. Present annual output of bricks for all purposes is about 1,000,000,000.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what quality of fuel oil is supplied for tractors; and if he can give an assurance that it is the best that can be supplied, in view of the fact that the use of poor quality oil results in deterioration of the tractor and the more constant need of reconditioning.

The oil supplied for tractors is Pool vaporising oil. The fuel is of good quality. A slight change in the specification was made two years ago to meet the supply arrangements necessitated by war conditions, but this did not materially affect the quality of the fuel. The consumption of this fuel has greatly increased during the war and the complaints about quality have been negligible.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he has considered the cases of overworked doctors submitted to him; and if he will consider allowing extra petrol for holidays in these and similar cases.

I am not clear what particular cases my hon. Friend had in mind, but the existing petrol rationing arrangements provide that a special petrol allowance may be granted for the purposes of medical treatment or recuperation of health when the necessity for this is established. I regret that present conditions do not justify any relaxation in these existing arrangements.

asked the Minister of Health whether doctors employed in the Services are forbidden to communicate with medical journals unless approved by higher authority.

The medical staff employed by my Department are subject to the rule, applicable to civil servants generally, which requires the sanction of the Head of the Department to the publication of any book or work the subject matter of which is connected with their official duties. This does not preclude them from communicating with medical journals on general professional matters and there is, for example, no obstacle to a medical officer of my Department making any communication to the medical Press on a technical subject which might be of interest or advantage to medical science. With regard to medical officers serving with the Armed Forces of the Crown, my hon. Friend should address his Question to the Minister concerned.

asked the Minister of Health if he is satisfied with the progress being made in the use of mass radiography; and what steps is he taking to push on the direction of this development in medical science.

Satisfactory progress is being made by the mass radiography units which have so far been brought into operation. I regret that existing conditions do not yet permit any extensive application of the system, not only because of limitations on production of the highly specialised apparatus required, but also because the present demands on medical man-power hinder the provision of the expert staff essential for the proper use of the units.

asked the Minister of Health, how many of the 12,500,000 houses available to the population before the war were owned by the occupier; how many were in course of purchase by the occupier; and how many were held on weekly tenancy.

The only statistics of which I am aware are contained in the report of the Departmental Committee on Valuation for Rates which indicates that of 8,250,000 houses of which particulars were obtained by the Committee in 1938–39, 2,880,000, or 35 per cent., were owner-occupied and 5,370,000, or 65 per cent. were rented. Most of the rented houses would be held on weekly tenancy.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total number of life policies of the value of£1,000 or under estimated to be in force issued by industrial assurance societies.

The total number of industrial life assurance policies estimated to be in force to-day is 111,000,000, of which 29,000,000 are issued by collecting societies. In addition, it is estimated that there are about 7,000,000 ordinary life insurance policies with registered friendly societies (including collecting societies). All these policies are under£1,000 in value.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport when he will be in a position to publish a comprehensive and long-term plan for the modernising of the road system in England and Wales.

The Government has already announced its intention to extend the present mileage of trunk roads and to construct suitable lengths of motorways, subject to approval by Parliament. The publication of a plan on the lines suggested by my hon. Friend must await the outcome of the consideration by Parliament of my Noble Friend's proposals for new legislation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if he is satisfied that local authorities have each made their longterm plans for their local road requirements and that there is adequate machinery for the co-ordination of the plans of contiguous local authorities.

Highway authorities are reviewing their road schemes within the limits of the staff now available for the work. Co-ordination between adjoining authorities is readily effected by the Divisional Road Engineers of my Department acting in collaboration with the Regional Planning Officers of the Ministry of Town and Country Planning.

asked the Minister of Education when he proposes to de-requisition Warren Farm, Formby, as a cooking centre; and why the Brighton Road centre cannot be used for this purpose.

It is intended to de-requisition the premises used as a cooking depot at Warren Farm on the completion of alternative provision which has been agreed upon and for which detailed proposals are now being prepared by the local education authority. The Brighton Road Cooking Depot was provided originally for emergency purposes, and after use for a short time was found impracticable for a regular daily service for the requisite number of school meals on account of the unsuitable character of the premises.

asked the Minister of Labour why area offices of the Assistance Board and local offices of the Ministry of Labour have been instructed to remain open on Good Friday, in view of the fact that the majority of industrial works will be closed on that day.

In accordance with the view of the Government only Saturday, 31st March, and Easter Monday should be treated as public holidays this Easter. Good Friday will therefore be a normal working day in Government offices, including local offices of the Ministry of Labour and the Assistance Board.

asked the Minister of Labour whether instructions as to the release of personnel for service in voluntary organisations assisting in the rehabilitation of Europe have been issued to Employment Exchanges and Appointments Boards,

No general instructions have been issued to the Department's local offices as decisions regarding the release of applicants for this work are made at headquarters. Release has been agreed to in approximately 90 per cent. of applications for men and women combined and in 93 per cent. of applications for women only.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is aware that in September last, in Madras, 110 other ranks, together with 10 corporals and some of higher rank, were ordered to board a train with accommodation for 56 men for a three-days' journey; that only 30 boarded the train as ordered, the others being sent to a detention barracks, and the 10 corporals court-martialled and deprived of their rank; and will he make inquiries into this incident.

I am making inquiries and will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty with reference to lighter-men employed by his Department, what is the present age limit for drafting men for service with His Majesty's R.N. Combined Operations in the Far East.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Glenvil Hall) on 7th March, the terms of which apply equally to lightermen who form an integral part of the Naval Forces.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what class of prisoner is to be sent to Dartmoor.

It has been decided to use Dartmoor Prison for men sentenced to penal servitude by courts-martial for military offences. This arrangement will have the advantages of separating these men from the associations of an ordinary prison, where they are in contact with criminal prisoners, and of providing them with healthy out-of-door work. I also hope that, in collaboration with the Army authorities, it may be possible to provide such military training and education as is practicable in prison, with a view to retaining the military efficiency of men who may, on a review of their sentences, be returned to their units.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider the possibility of arranging for French motor mechanics, now unemployed in France, to be brought over and accommodated near those centres where motor lorries are now assembled that are earmarked for export to assist the French authorities in easing the existing transportation problems as soon as these vehicles have been put in running order, which work cannot now be quickly undertaken on account of the shortage of skilled mechanics in this country.

My right hon. Friend is examining this suggestion in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that wounded and sick soldiers in London hospitals are unable to obtain a change of underclothing; and will he arrange for supplies of shirts, pants and socks to be sent to hospitals far issue to soldiers when required.

I understand that there is no shortage of underclothing far wear in hospital. My hon. Friend is probably referring to the underclothes which men take with them when they go on leave from hospital. Steps are being taken to ensure that in future soldiers leave hospital with a clean change of underclothing.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can state the conditions appertaining to the arrest of Private F. Dewis, 106000491, of the Pioneer Corps; what was the state of his health; and whether he has been charged and with what result.

Private Dewis was due to report back to his unit in the B.L.A. from privilege leave on 24th February, 1945. He failed to report and was notified by his unit in the normal way as an absentee. The Corps of Military Police from Southend called at his home at 18.45 hours on 8th March and this soldier was found to be up and dressed. He agreed that his leave had expired on 24th February, but said that he had been and had seen a civilian doctor. He had forwarded a medical certificate to the Officer in charge of Records. The Corps of Military Police asked him for the name of the doctor in order to be able to corroborate his story, but he could not—or would not—give them the name. He was, therefore, placed under arrest and taken to Shoeburyness Garrison. On arrival there, in view of his statement about his illness, he was asked if he wished to report sick immediately on a special sick report. He said he did not want to do so. He was handed over to an escort on 10th March, who conducted him back to the B.L.A. On arrival it was confirmed that he was fit to travel, but the medical officer found him to be suffering from slight bronchial catarrh. The charge of absence without leave was dismissed on 19th March as the result of a report from the military medical authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the procedure followed when men are transferred to the W. (T) Reserve; if all of them have been given a civilian outfit and 56 days' foreign service leave with pay at the time of transfer; and whether those who have not received either or both outfit and pay will qualify for these when they are finally released.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley (Mr. Collindridge) on 13th March.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a school formerly in Kent, whose name has been submitted to him, requisitioned by his Department four years ago, finds that in the Northamptonshire premises allocated to it, owing to defective sanitation, there has been an outbreak of paratyphoid fever; and whether, as the immediate need which occasioned the original requisition has largely disappeared and the requisitioned school has been empty for months on end, he will consider the immediate restoration to the school of its own establishment in Kent.

My hon. Friend will appreciate that it is not possible to de-requisition property immediately it becomes vacant if, as far as can reasonably be estimated, it is likely to be needed to meet a future commitment. The school in question formed part of a block of accommodation for which there was such a probable requirement. All holdings of requisitioned property are, however, kept under constant review, and I am glad to be able to inform my hon. Friend that as a result of a recent change in requirements in this particular locality it has now been found possible to de-requisition these premises.

asked the Secretary of State for War the number of men who have deserted from the Service since 3rd September, 1939, up to the latest date.

It would not be in the public interest to give actual figures, but I can say that they compare favourably with those of the last war.