asked the Minister of Labour to what extent disabled ex-Servicemen are being trained by private firms.

Many private firms are training disabled ex-Servicemen, but I regret that statistics regarding the number are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour if he proposes to continue to call up the younger women of the country who are just reaching 18 years of age after the teermination of the war with Germany.

As stated in the White Paper on the re-allocation of man-power between civilian employments (Cmd. 6568), it is the intention of the Government to continue to register young women, and to require those who are available, in accordance with current rules, to take or continue in work, or to take training in accordance with the current labour priorities, so long as this is necessary in the national interest.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in order to meet the need, he will provide that any woman in the Forces or the W.L.A. who qualifies herself in domestic science or undertakes to take up domestic work on demobilisation, will be given priority of release from the Services.

Women will be released from the Women's Auxiliary Service according to age and length of service, except for a small number required for urgent reconstruction work. I am not prepared to introduce or impose conditions of release which would interfere with the liberty of these women to choose the profession they wish to follow on release. As regards the W.L.A., it will be essential to maintain these numbers at the highest possible level for some considerable time.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that this would be a more effectual way of solving this problem than some of the more cumbrous methods which he has adopted?

Yes, Sir, but I have to be extremely careful not to introduce into the release scheme an undue pressure which interferes with the liberty of the subject after his release.

Does the right hon. Gentleman propose to make early arrangements to facilitate the return of these Land Army girls to domestic work, and more adequate compensation?

Some of the women may not regard domestic work as an adequate compensation.

I believe many of the women would prefer it to what they are getting now.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is satisfied that the number of architects and surveyors that will be released from war-time duties will, in addition to those who are now available, be sufficient to enable the Government's announced housing programme and other essential construction work required during the first two post-war years to be completed.

I am satisfied that existing arrangements providing for the release of architects and surveyors for the housing programme go as far as possible, and that we must have regard both to the needs of the Services and to the needs of the housing departments. Subject to the requirements of the Services, we are doing and shall continue to do all we can to provide the housing staff which is essentially required.

Has my right hon. Friend not gone into this definitely, and calculated the number of architects required in relation to the number of operatives, so that we can be getting on with the housing programme?

Yes, I have calculated, but I am not going to allow architects or anybody else to jump the claims of the ordinary Class A man.

While I quite agree with my right hon. Friend, is he not aware that this is not a question of anybody jumping a claim but of providing houses for our people?

I am quite certain that there is a definite effort to put pressure upon me for certain professions to get their men out in advance of the ordinary unknown man, and I stand for the unknown man.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is making arrangements to give financial assistance to enable workers to return to their home districts when released from work to which they were transferred by his Ministry.

Yes, Sir. Workers who, on transfer away from home, qualified for financial assistance from the Ministry will, in general, be eligible, on release to return to the home area, for free travelling warrants for themselves and their dependants, together with assistance towards the cost of removal of their household effects. Those of them who find it necessary to take lodgings while seeking accommodation for their families may also receive, among other facilities, a temporary grant of lodging allowances at the current rate of 24s. 6d. a week for a period not exceeding three months if they are placed by the Ministry in work of national importance in the home area.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any idea of the number of people involved in this transfer?

I could not give an estimate. It must run into thousands, I should think.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider in any further modifications of the National Service Acts, providing that no youth whose parents have, or have had, four sons in His Majesty's Services, two of whom have been killed or severely wounded, shall be called up for service abroad; and if this is not possible, provide that the fourth and fifth member of the family be retained in home service until one of the others has been discharged from service.

While sympathising with my hon. Friend's suggestion, I am afraid the proposal in the first part of the Question is not practicable. As regards the second part, the use of persons enlisted under the National Service (Armed Forces) Acts is a matter for the Service authorities concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour if youths, who have been directed to the mines under the ballot will, when released from the mines, be still liable to military service.

Although the men concerned will be legally liable for military service, I do not propose to enforce their liability if they have served in the mines for a period equivalent to that which they would have served in the Forces.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the application on behalf of the Plymouth Council for technical staff to enable the engineer and surveyor to prepare for housing and reconstruction, and the fact that his Department caused a delay of ten weeks in the publication of an advertisement and a further delay in sanctioning the appointment of men selected, and that a period of six months is now occupied in complying with the procedure laid down in the Restrictions on Engagements Order; and if he will take immediate steps to remedy these matters.

My inquiries are not completed, and I will write to the hon. and Noble Lady as soon as possible.

Will the right hon. Gentleman remember that we cannot even get our housing plans prepared, let alone get the houses built, until the men are released and the architects are also there?

I will take this up, and, if there has been any mistake, I will correct it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the danger in Glasgow streets and pavements caused by baffle walls; and if, in view of the changed conditions now prevailing, he will give permission to the local authorities to have them removed.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave last Thursday to the hon. Member for West Fife (Mr. Gallacher).

Would the right hon. Gentleman reconsider this matter, in view of the fact that, in tenement dwellings in Scotland, these baffle walls, besides being a nuisance in the street, cause great difficulties to people removing their furniture?

I have considered that, and I think my hon. Friend will find that, subject to labour problems and other problems of that sort, the matter is dealt with in a communication which I am sending to the local authorities.

Will the right hon. Gentleman see that the authorities are given the powers to remove them where they have the labour available for that purpose?

I think that is consistent with the communication which has been, or is being, sent to the local authorities.

Will the right hon. Gentleman also bear in mind the peculiar situation in this case and the insanitary conditions which all this stuff is causing in our tenement dwellings?

Yes, Sir, I have seen them myself, and I appreciate my hon. Friend's point. The only thing that I must be careful about is that it might be a choice between building labour for houses and labour for this purpose. I am sure my hon. Friend has made a fair point and I will be sympathetic about it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many old age pensioners were killed and how many were injured while engaged on Civil Defence duties.

I regret that no figures are available, nor could any reliable statistics now be compiled without a disproportionate expenditure of time and labour. I have no reason to suppose that the number is any considerable proportion of the total numbers discharged or still employed.

asked the Minister of Health how many old age pensioners who were engaged on Civil Defence have died since being stood down from this Service.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he contemplates an early demolition of surface shelters; and whether directions will be given to remove first those that have been contributory factors in street accidents.

The removal of unwanted surface or other shelters will necessarily be a gradual process dependent entirely on the amount of labour which can be spared for the purpose, having regard to the prior claims of the housing programme and other works of comparable urgency. Subject, however, to the availability of labour, I propose in due course to ask local authorities to give an appropriate preference to the removal of certain specified classes of shelter, including surface shelters which constitute a serious source of danger to traffic.

Does the reply from the Minister indicate that it is within his power to give directions with regard to the sequence of the removal of such shelters, especially with regard to Glasgow, in view of the manner in which the streets there are occupied by children, in the summer months, because no other playgrounds are available for them?

Yes, Sir. We are issuing guidance to the local authorities, which should be followed consistently with the labour supply being available.

Will it be permissible for householders to remove small obstructions which merely adjoin or are in front of their dwellings?

I do not know; I might find myself advising breaches of the law.

Why not?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the recent appointments to the bench of the Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrates have not complied with the stipulation that such a magistrate must have practised at the Bar for seven years immediately previous to such appointment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when and where Miss Sybil Campbell practised as a barrister during the seven years immediately preceding her appointment as a Metropolitan police magistrate, as required by statute; when she last acted as an advocate in a court of justice on behalf of private clients, occupied professional chambers and otherwise practised at the Bar in the sense in which that term is generally understood.

With permission, I will answer Question 13 and Question 15 together.

On a point of Order. I never know what the right formula is regarding the phrase "with permission," but the second Question to which the right hon. Gentleman is referring is in my name, and, if it is my permission that is sought, I would rather have these Questions dealt with separately.

The only object of this procedure is to avoid the answer being read twice.

Miss Campbell was called in November, 1922, and practised at 4, Brick Court, Temple, in the chambers of Mr. Henry H. Maddocks. When in September, 1939, she accepted temporary employment as a civil servant in the Enforcement Branch of the Ministry of Food, she not only kept her name up in chambers but continued to pay contributions to the clerk's salary. There was nothing in the terms of her temporary employment to prevent her from carrying on her profession, and she had, in fact, no intention of cutting herself adrift from her private practice. I am advised that, in these circumstances, Miss Campbell can properly be regarded as satisfying the statutory conditions of qualification for the appointment.

Would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that the Question also refers to the appointment of Mr. Wightwick? Was he not a civil servant, and did his appointment comply with the Act of 1838 as regards practice at the Bar? I also do not agree with what the right hon. Gentleman said in his reply.

I understand that his appointment did so comply. If we are going to run the doctrine that if people temporarily give up their normal legal practice as a result of public service, military or otherwise, in case of war, they are to be disqualified, I think we shall do grave injustice.

Is it not a fact that this question would never have been raised at all, had it not been for the appointment of a woman and for the miasma of prejudice which perpetually envelops the mind of the hon. Member for Southampton (Dr. Russell Thomas)?

There have been previous appointments on which this question was raised. It has not been raised with me, before I did appoint a woman.

rose —

May I assure the right hon. Gentleman that my inquiry into this appointment has no relation to the lady's sex at all, and ask him whether he does not think that amending legislation is required in order that those who have rendered service in Government Departments and in other capacities during the war, shall come within the statutory qualification; and is he aware of the concern which exists over the apparent tendency to man the judiciary with servants of the Executive?

No, Sir, any suggestion by my hon. and gallant Friend of an attempt to man the judiciary with servants of the Executive is untrue, and capable of resentment, if I were sensitive. There is no such attempt whatever and I see no need for amending legislation. This has been done, and proper legal advice has been given; and not only was legal advice to this effect given to me, but it was given by a previous Attorney-General in another kind of Administration altogether.

Is the Home Secretary aware that this lady has a reputation at the Bar as good as any of the more recent appointments to similar positions?

I am much obliged to my hon. Friend.

As I am still enveloped in a miasma, and as the right hon. Gentleman appears to have misled His Majesty, I intend to raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements will be made to ensure that persons who return home between 31st January, 1945, and the General Election, such as the 500,000 evacuees from London, will be able to vote.

The two registers to be published on 7th May and 15th October will include in respect of any constituency the names of persons whose addresses on the qualifying dates, namely, 31st January and 30th June respectively—as shown on their identity cards—were in that constituency. Provision is made whereby a person who by reason of the nature of his occupation, service or employment cannot vote in person in his constituency can apply to vote by post as an absent voter within a period of nine days from the date of the publication of the appropriate list. The last date for any such application in the case of the May register was 9th April.

As regards a person who returns home after the qualifying date he may of course vote in person in the constituency for which he is registered, but the existing law does not enable him to vote in the constituency comprising his home since that is not the constituency for which he is registered. At any election it is inevitable that under any system of a fixed date register there will be many persons who, by reason of removal, are unable to exercise their vote, but I realise that the war and the consequential movements of the population have aggravated the difficulties. It is by no means easy to find a solution. Parliament decided that the scheme of continuous registration for which provision was made in the Act of 1943 could not be effectively operated at present and by the Act of 1945 substituted a register compiled by reference to a fixed qualifying date. The matter is receiving further consideration, but as at present advised I cannot see any practicable solution which is not likely to give rise to even greater anomalies.

While I am aware that my right hon. Friend is fully seized of the tremendous importance of this question and that hundreds of thousands of people are probably involved, may I ask whether he would consider, between now and the time when, I understand, he is going to introduce another Election Bill dealing with Parliamentary expenses, that he might have a Clause inserted there extending the period for people who are to be on the absent voters' list?

I am considering whether, if the legislation to which my hon. Friend refers eventuates—about which I cannot be certain—I can find a solution of this problem, and, if so, I would be very happy to make provision in that Bill. But it is a difficult question, and I confess that owing to war-time difficulties there will be a number of imperfections in the May register.

While recognising the great difficulties of my right hon. Friend, may I ask if he is aware that the whole House will co-operate with him in order to see that as few people as possible shall be disfranchised and that everybody who so desires shall have the opportunity to vote?

I am obliged to my right hon. Friend, and I can assure him that it is the wish of the House, as it is of myself and the Government, and as it is our duty to see, that every conceivable person be given the utmost facility to vote if it is at all possible. I am sure that the House will co-operate with me to that end.

Will the Home Secretary consider altering the date from 30th June to 30th August?

I am afraid I cannot at present, but later on, as printing facilities get better, we may be able to advance the qualifying date. We are up against the most shocking difficulty in printing. I hope—touching wood—that the register will appear on 7th May, but it has been an awful difficulty to get enough printing labour and plant to do it.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say to what extent this problem will diminish if the October register is in force before the Election, as there will probably be a substantial increase by that time?

I hope that with every week that passes after the end of the Europeon war, things will get easier. Therefore, I hope there will be a material improvement by the October register, but it would be rather reckless on my part if, even now, I promised that the October register would, be as perfect as I and the House would wish it to be.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are hundreds of people left off the register, and hundreds more put on in the wrong parishes, and would he give more time to getting adjustments made?

I am not going to dispute whether my hon. and gallant Friend is right or wrong. He may be right but I am in this dilemma, that there was a wish that the register should be available as early as possible in case a General Election became unavoidable and necessary. That being so, I have to contract the dates or hold them within a slight restriction, otherwise the result is that the publication date of the register must be correspondingly later. That is the dilemma in which I am placed.

Would it not be better to delay publication rather than that so many should be left off the register?

Can the Home Secretary say whether, when a claim has been made and the due date has been delayed, there is any further appeal, or anything he can do in the matter?

There are facilities for claims and objections, if I remember rightly, before the registration officer. My recollection is that that is final, and if I am right, I do not see what else one can do. Again the time factor comes in.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to enable workers engaged on war damage or other work in Great Britain to vote in a General Election for the British House of Commons.

As I indicated in my reply to the hon. Member for West Fife (Mr. Gallacher) on 12th April, this matter is receiving consideration, but I am not yet in a position to make any statement.

When my right hon. Friend is in a position to make a statement, will he make it as soon as possible?

I have dealt with this in principle earlier this afternoon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, now that the war in Europe is drawing to a close and that there is more shipping available, if he will consider authorising more food and medical supplies being sent to our people in the Channel Islands; and if a second vessel will now be spared to help these people who are in great need.

The Home Office is in close touch with the International Red Cross, and everything possible is being done to meet the requests for supplies that are conveyed to us. The shipping situation is not so favourable as my hon. Friend suggests, but the House will realise that so long as enemy forces can threaten shipping, and the German garrison remains in the Channel Islands, the problem is not simply one of finding another ship, but involves the arrangement of safe conducts.

Can my right hon. Friend tell us if it is possible for the "Vega" to make more journeys?

I cannot answer for shipping. That is primarily for the Minister of War Transport but I should think that it is very doubtful if it could be done. I should think that we get all out of that ship we can, and it is certainly my wish that we should do so.

Do we get anything like good distribution? Have we real information that these people are getting 95 per cent. of the stuff that is going in? Is some of it going to the Germans? Has my right hon. Friend any idea about that?

It is no good my pretending to have detailed knowledge about this as we are not in possession of these islands and can only pick up such information as comes our way. We are doing the best we can in the circumstances.

Is not the real concern that is felt in this country that fellow subjects of ours are still under the Germans and will not the right hon. Gentleman make the strongest possible representations to the War Cabinet? Why are they not taking the islands?

If the Noble Lord will reflect, he will see that there are two ways of taking the islands. One is to wait until you can take them without material damage; the other is to go in right away without notice, when we should probably inflict great damage on the Channel Islands and many casualties on the islanders.

Will the Home Secretary assure the House that he is doing his utmost to secure the use of a second ship, as the present ship is being used to the extreme limit?

I am doing all I can. I am not the Shipping Minister, and shipping is very tight indeed in the prosecution of the war, but I can assure the House that my only anxiety is to do everything I can for the Channel Islands all the time, and I will do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who made representations that Alfred Ignatz Maria Kraus, who came to this country in September, 1944, should be treated as a refugee; and whether he has full information as to the activities of this man during the month he was at liberty.

No such representations have been made and Kraus has in fact not at any time been regarded or treated as a refugee. He has been interned as a civilian alien of enemy nationality. There are no grounds for suspecting that this alien engaged in any harmful activities in this country, but as stated in answer to a previous Question, I was not prepared, on the information obtained subsequent to his arrival, to allow him to be at liberty in this country.

Whilst thanking my right hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask if he has any information as to whether this man was a Nazi and a member of the Reichswehr; and, if so, can he say how it came that he was running loose in this country for a whole month before he was apprehended?

It was admitted, when the War Secretary was questioned about it, that there were irregularities in his arrival. We got track of him as quickly as we could and I put him "inside." Therefore my hon. Friend may take it that he is being safely taken care of and need not have any undue loss of sleep at night owing to his apprehensions about the security of the State.

But is my right hon. Friend quite sure that he has the fullest information about this man, and did this man make a full statement to the Home Office when he was arrested?

I think we know all about him; in fact, the hon. Member would be surprised how much we know about all sorts of things.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the expected early ending of the European war, he will instruct licensing authorities to grant licences, or to grant transfer of licences, only to ex-Service men and women and civilians compulsorily displaced by war circumstances, for a period to the end of the Japanese war and 12 months afterwards, so that such persons may be able to establish themselves and build up a goodwill.

I assume that this question refers to licences for the sale of intoxicating liquor. The grant and transfer of such licences are placed by law within the discretion of the licensing justices, subject to an appeal to Quarter Sessions in the case of transfers; and it is not open to me to instruct justices as to the exercise of their judicial discretion. I am, however, in full sympathy with the object of my hon. and gallant Friend in drawing attention to the matter, and I do not doubt that the licensing justices will, in accord with national feeling, look sympathetically upon applications from any persons in the categories mentioned who have suitable qualifications. Where such applicants, as is often the case, must first secure from the owners of the licensed premises an offer of a lease, or of an appointment as manager, I believe they also will prove sympathetic.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that in recent years most of the licences referred to, particularly off licences, have belonged to the brewers and not to the individuals, and that is the great danger?

Could my right hon. Friend ask the hon. Member why he is so interested in the drink trade?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the increase in house-breaking and other crime in Leeds, he will now arrange for an increase in the police force in that area.

Any question of an increase in the establishment of a police force is, in the first instance, a matter for consideration by the local police authority. I may say, however, that the increase in crimes against property to which my hon. Friend refers is not peculiar to Leeds and there would, therefore, be no justification for increasing the strength of the Leeds City police Force at the expense of other Forces, as would be necessary if any adjustment were to be made before it is possible to resume recruitment for the police service generally.

Does my right hon. Friend know that policemen in the Leeds reserve have been transferred to other areas, resulting in a considerable reduction in the reserve in Leeds, and there has been an epidemic of burglaries and other crimes there during recent weeks owing to this fall in the number of policemen?

There has been crime everywhere and there have been difficulties everywhere. If the Leeds police authority make representations to me, I will see what I can do, but it is difficult to transfer policemen from one area to another when they are all rather tightly placed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has given further consideration to the representations made on behalf of trade organisations for the amendment of the Shops Act to make latest closing hours 7 p.m. with 8 p.m. on late night, instead of 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. as at present; and if he has any statement to make on the matter.

The Government have been giving attention not only to the closing hours of shops but also to other related questions, including the hours of employment of young persons and the question of the further regulation of health, welfare and safety conditions in shops and other non-industrial premises, and they have decided to appoint a Committee to examine these matters. I am not yet in a position to announce the composition or precise terms of reference of the proposed Committee.

Will the Home Secretary accelerate as much as he can the proceedings of the Committee, so that a decision may be reached at the earliest possible moment?

Yes, Sir, but my first problem will be to accelerate the appointment of the Committee and I will do all I can in that way.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the reasons for which he issued exit permits to the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland and her personal maid for the purpose of travelling to France.

British subjects who were normally resident in France before the war are eligible for exit permits to enable them to return to their homes; and these two cases were dealt with on this basis.

Is it not surprising, if applications of this nature are granted with such alacrity, that applications of hon. Members to visit liberated countries are not granted in the same way?

Not in the least. I think if people had their permanent home in France or Belgium before the war, every hon. Member with a sense of fairness would agree that they are entitled to go back.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is now in a position to rescind the Emergency Order of 1942, as it applies to Northern Ireland, whereby residence permits must be obtained for all those who were not residing in Northern Ireland before 1st January, 1940.

No, Sir.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state to the House if the emergency still exists in Northern Ireland so that permits have to be continued? Is he further aware that the ex-Service men, on return to their own homes there, are compelled to take out a residence permit before they can go back to the towns to which they belong?

It depends where their homes were before, but I think Northern Ireland is entitled to these powers. She will be facing some difficult economic problems with the rest of us, and I think this Parliament must take an interest in enabling Northern Ireland to protect itself within reason.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is the ex-Service men who enlisted in Northern Ireland of their own accord who, on returning to their own homes, are asked to take out a residence permit in exactly the same way as any foreigner going into the country?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will let me have particulars about that. I should have thought if they were already residents there, they would have been all right.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that taxicabs with defective speedometers are sometimes passed as fit for service by the police authorities in London and that owing to the non-working of this instrument a driver is placed at a disadvantage when charged with exceeding the speed limit; and will he take steps to ensure that taxicabs are not passed as fit for service when it is known at the time of examination that the instrument is out of order.

In view of the shortage of labour and spare parts a few taxi-cabs have been allowed to continue in service pending the repair of faulty speedometers. The alternative is to withdraw the vehicles from public service, thus reducing the number of taxis available to the public, and depriving the drivers of their means of livelihood. The drivers are experienced and should not have any undue difficulty in keeping within the speed limits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether surviving inmates of the Buchenwald camp, whose only relatives have homes in this country, will be allowed to come to this country to join their relatives.

I cannot give any general undertaking of the kind suggested, but I should be prepared to consider any individual case sympathetically on its merits.

Would my right hon. Friend, whose personal good will in these matters is beyond any question, remember that in these cases the hope of rejoining their families is the only thing these people have left in the world; and will he see that no general principle adopted previously is allowed to stand in the way of dealing with suitable cases of this kind?

I can assure my hon. Friend that I will certainly keep those points in mind.

Would my right hon. Friend bear in mind the fact that there are a great many other camps where similar conditions prevail?

I am answering only this Question at present.

asked the Minister of Education how many nursery school teachers are now being trained in existing training colleges and in emergency training colleges.

No training college or course is devoted solely to training for teaching in nursery schools, and it is impossible, without specific inquiry, to say what numbers of students are at present including training for nursery school teaching in their courses.

I realise that no colleges are specifically or entirely given up to it, but would my right hon. Friend try to get the information? It ought not to be very difficult, because they are perfectly straightforward statistics.

These straightforward statistics are all very well, but we have to have the man-power to collect them, and as matters are to-day I do not think we can find the necessary labour to do that. I may say that 10 permanent colleges are providing courses for nursery school work in their training; that two emergency colleges which are just being opened will provide similar courses and that there will be others who will do the same. We must see when a student takes on training what the adaptability and suitability of that student are, and then put him on to the course that suits him best.

asked the Minister of Health what steps have been taken to eliminate jerry-building.

A voluntary scheme for the certification and guaranteeing of houses constructed to an approved standard has been formulated by the National House Builders' Registration Council. The council have applied for the scheme to be approved by me under Section 5 of the Building Societies Act, 1939, and I am at present in communication with them on the subject.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend make it quite clear that prefabricated houses will not in any way come under the heading of "jerry-built"?

asked the Minister of Health whether he will release the pool of empty houses and flats at present held as a reserve for bombed-out persons so that this accommodation may be used by overcrowded families of Service men at the discretion of local authorities.

I assume that my hon. and gallant Friend is referring to the London area. In this area, no houses or flats in a habitable condition are held empty as a reserve for bombed-out persons, but are at once offered to homeless families, of which there is still a considerable number waiting to be rehoused. The homeless must clearly have priority over the inadequately housed.

asked the Minister of Health if he is satisfied that the housing programmes drawn up by his Department for execution by the Ministry of Works and the local authorities for the first two post-war years, can be completed by the professional and operative members of the building industry that will be avail able from existing A and B demobilisation schemes of the Ministry of Labour in addition to those from any other sources.

I have every hope that the building industry will have the capacity to handle the housing programme in the first two post-war years.

Has my right hon. and learned Friend made definite calculations as to the number of men required to undertake this enormous programme? It is a matter of fact, and not of hope.

The programme has been based on estimates. There cannot be definite calculations, but we are hoping to improve on the present estimate.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend sure that a proper balance between all the different types of professional and operative people will be available to ensure the satisfactory fulfilment of his programme? Quite a lot of people with experience do not agree with him.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the shortage of dwelling-houses, what steps he is now taking to secure the release of domestic premises at present being used either as stores or offices.

The release of dwelling-houses held for the purposes mentioned in the Question is regarded as a matter of first priority, and the Departments concerned are making every effort to return them to normal use as quickly as possible.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend in consultation with his colleagues, particularly the Secretary of State for War, with regard to military establishments which may be turned over for this purpose?

I can assure my hon. Friend that I am, and that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War is giving close attention to it.

Will the Minister kindly say what he means by "first priority," in view of the fact that the Ministry of Labour does not consider it as being anything like a first priority?

This is a question of the release of premises from requisitioning, and I said that the release of ordinary dwelling houses has first priority in derequisitioning.

asked the Minister of Health at what date houses in Lea Bridge Road and Whipps Cross ceased to be actually used for accommodating Service personnel; when these houses were notified as being vacant for civil accommodation; how long they have now been vacant; how many persons have been enabled to find shelter in any of these houses; and why more of them have not been occupied.

Four houses in Lea Bridge Road were taken over by my Department from the Military on the 11th November, 1944, and five houses at Whipps Cross in September, 1944. They have suffered heavy war damage and have not yet been used for civilian occupation. It has not so far been possible to transfer labour for work on these unoccupied houses from the more urgent work of repairing occupied war damaged houses.

Will everything be done to assist the local authorities to put these houses in order?

Everything is being done to provide the maximum of labour for the area in question.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that these are what are known as C (b) houses, that the orders for the repair of C (b) houses have only just been issued, and that the hon. Member for West Walthamstow is the chairman of the Committee responsible for them and therefore they are in good hands?

asked the Minister of Health if it is proposed to raise the value of a house that may be purchased under the terms of the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act, to a sum above £800, so that the operation of the Act may not suffer as a consequence of increased house purchase prices.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Health what progress has been made in the matter of housing sites in the area to which his attention has been drawn, and concerning which the borough council reported in July last that preliminary estimates amounting to £346,125 had been approved for the acquisition of land; whether the council's valuers were instructed to proceed with negotiations with the landowners; and in what proportion of cases the council valuers have been unable to come to terms with the owners without the use of compulsory acquisition powers.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he is aware that the Strood, Kent, Rural District Council has arranged to purchase housing sites at Cobham from the War Department and at Cooling and Casiton from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; and what are the area, the purchase price and the previous rateable value in each instance;

(2) whether the Strood, Kent, Rural District Council has succeeded in acquiring sites at Luddersdown, Meopham, Shorne and Stoke; and what are the area, purchase price and rateable value of each site.

asked the Minister of Health if the Tonbridge Rural Council has yet succeeded in acquiring any or all of the following housing sites: Ashurst Road, Ashurst, 0.50 acres, The Green, part of Tatty's Farm, Maidstone Road, Matfield, 2.175 acres, Carpenter's Lane, Hadlow, 2.5 acres, Furnace Lane and Gibbett Lane, Horsmonden, 4.46 acres, and Furnace Lane, Lamberhurst, 3 acres; what price has been agreed in each case and what was the previous rateable value; and whether he has approved the purchase of the following sites: Ringden Meadow, Paddock Wood, 14.52 acres, Crockhurst Street, Tudeley, 1 acre, Mount Pleasant, Hildenborough, 2 acres, Riding Lane, Hildenborough, 0.92 acres, High Street, Bidborough, 1.50 acres, stating the price proposed and the previous rateable value.

asked the Minister of Health what is the total area of land required by Eastbourne Town Council for housing purposes in addition to three acres at the junction of Churchdale Road and Northbourne Road; what area of this land has been acquired; and the purchase price and the previous rateable value.

I am making inquiries and will let my hon. Friends know the results.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give an assurance that the special work carried out by the Great Western Railway Medical Fund Society will be furthered and extended in his proposals for the new health service.

The special organisation and experience of this Society will certainly not be overlooked, but I can give no specific assurances at this stage.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that there is very real anxiety in Swindon lest the unique work of this Society, which differs from others, will be restricted in future? Will he not give an assurance that its work will not be frustrated under any of his new proposals?

I thoroughly appreciate the good work which the Society has done, and in many directions I feel that that good work can be carried further.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the protest by the Chatham Borough Council against the possible calling up of Dr. J. C. Sleigh, Medical Officer of Health for Chatham, for civilian duties attached to the R.A.M.C.; and, in view of the shortage of doctors in the district and the urgency of the matter, what action he proposes to take.

Yes, Sir. This matter has been fully considered in consultation with the Central Medical War Committee, who have recommended that Dr. Sleigh be called up The need for officers experienced in public health and hygiene for the Civil Affairs Branch of the R.A.M.C. is very pressing and, though some sacrifice of services or of standards may be unavoidable, I am advised that alternative arrangements for carrying on Dr. Sleigh's work can be made. I regret that in these circumstances I cannot oppose Dr. Sleigh's recruitment.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware of the very high infantile mortality which is at present prevailing in the Medway towns, and does he not think that the health of British children should come before the health of German civilians, who have always done what they could to suppress life instead of saving it?

It is not merely a case of the health of German civilians. My hon. and gallant Friend must realise that the borough of which Dr. Sleigh is medical officer is one of three towns which are extremely close together — Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester, There, the assistant medical officers will be reduced only from six to five by this action, and I am advised that the question which my hon. and gallant Friend has raised will not really be affected.

asked the Minister of Health the average number of medical students accepted at the teaching hospitals for the three years prior to the war; and how many it is proposed to admit this autumn.

The number is 1,462. The number of admissions for the session beginning next autumn is not yet known, since the medical schools will not complete the selection of candidates until later in the year.

Can the Minister say whether the number of admissions will be substantially larger than the average fox pre-war years, in view of the need for more doctors under any national health scheme?

The average figure for the three years before the war was 1,462, including 226 women, and admissions for the present academic year were also 1,462, including 374 women. As I have indicated before, one cannot increase automatically or readily the numbers in medical schools. There is great difficulty in obtaining staff, but we are doing all we can.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to enable would-be women medical students, who have been refused admission to the teaching hospitals this autumn, to obtain medical training.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friends the Members for West Fulham (Dr. Summerskill) and South Tottenham (Mr. Messer) on 29th March, in which I dealt fully with this matter.

Will the Minister give further consideration to making use of public hospitals for this purpose, in view of the fact that girls are disappointed at not being able to follow their medical training?

That is being considered.

Does the Ministry intend to ignore the demands of women medical students who are asking for accommodation in hospitals? In view of the fact that there is a shortage of doctors, does he intend to treat these students as redundant labour?

I am not ignoring any demand, but I cannot accede to a demand for medical teaching when the teachers are not there.

asked the Minister of Health why certain individuals attached to the Christian Science movement have been permitted to call themselves nurses, in view of the recent Act which limits the description "nurse" to those suitably qualified.

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. I have not yet brought into operation the provisions of Subsection (1) of Section 6 of the Nurses Act, 1943, which will restrict the use of the title "nurse," or made regulations under proviso ( b ) to that Sub-section. When I do so, it is my intention to require Christian Science nurses to describe themselves as "Christian Science nurses."

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that the whole purpose of that Act was to protect State registered nurses and protect the public from impostors, and is he aware that in this specially privileged group, the Christian Science group, the women have no nursing qualifications whatsoever?

As I told the House on an earlier occasion, an assurance on this matter was given by my predecessor, and I think it was very largely based on the fact that the House, when the Public Health Act, 1936, became law, gave statutory recognition to Christian Science nursing homes. I think the object of the Act will be sufficiently and properly met by a provision that Christian Science nurses should be required so to describe themselves.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that those who, like myself, are interested in the lay administration of hospitals are very anxious to see this provision brought into operation as soon as possible so that the points which my right hon. Friend has made may be clear to the public?

There were difficulties about bringing the regulations into operation, particularly in relation to an omission in the drafting of the Act; but it is my hope to make the regulations at an early date.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that Christian Science nurses do no harm to anybody, which is more than can be said of quite a lot of doctors?

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that these people are not nurses, not scientists and not Christians?

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the fact that there is no piped water supply at Hanbury, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, and that the wells run dry after a few weeks drought, he will take active steps to assist the Hanbury Parish Council in providing a piped water supply for the residents in this district.

The provision of an adequate water supply to the parish of Hanbury is the duty of the Droitwich rural district council and not of the parish council. Whilst I shall be glad to consider any scheme for improved supplies which the rural district council may submit to me, I am bound to add that improvement of water supply conditions generally in rural areas must await the time when materials and particularly labour can be made available after the end of the war in Europe.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that there is no piped water supply or any adequate supply of any sort in this place, and will he assist me in seeing that there are no watertight compartments in Whitehall?

There should be no watertight compartments in my Department, but the rural district council has not yet put up a scheme.

I want a free flow of water.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can give an undertaking that, except in cases where the circumstances render it imperative, permanent appointments on the staffs of hospitals under his Department, or any health services of the country, will not be made so long as medical officers now serving in the Forces are not in a position to compete for such appointments on terms equal to those enjoyed by medical practitioners who are not serving in the Forces.

So far as concerns medical appointments within the sphere of my Department, the policy of approving such appointments only on a temporary basis under present conditions is being closely observed.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend look very carefully into this matter, because a certain number of appointments are believed to have been made to the exclusion of the possibility of competition from officers who are now serving?

I have told my hon. and gallant Friend what is my intention and I believe to be my practice, but if he will bring to my attention any particular case, I will of course look into it.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware of the widespread dissatisfaction existing among those serving in the Forces regarding two recent appointments of medical officers of health at Cambridge mental hospital and at Aberdeen mental hospital?

asked the Minister of Health whether he will maintain a direct grant for emergency nurseries over the next two years and include young children in such nurseries, whether their mothers are engaged on war-work or any other work.

Children of working mothers are admitted to war-time nurseries whether the mother is engaged on war work or on other work. The need for war-time nurseries on their present basis must depend on the need for the employment of women with young children, on which I must be guided by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service. I am considering with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education what interim arrangements should be made for nursery provision after the war-time nurseries cease to be required in connection with production purposes, but are still needed for other reasons; but I am not yet able to make a statement on the subject.

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman accelerate that decision before the staffs have entirely gone away?

I agree that that is an important consideration.

Is it not the policy of the Government to put the children from two to four in nursery schools? I hope they will not depart from that even in this emergency stage because most people want children under two to be home with their mothers. That is what they should aim for.

asked the Minister of Health if he is satisfied that the 5s. a week allowance paid to householders accommodating essential war workers, under notices served under Regulation 22 of the Defence Regulations, is now adequate; and whether he will arrange for a suitable increase in this allowance.

The householder provides lodging only with reasonable access to water and sanitary conveniences, and 5s. a week is in my view adequate for this minimum requirement.

Does the Minister know the views of the local authorities in Britain, and is he aware of the representations which have been made that 5s. is not enough?