asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware of the increase of late in the numbers of grey squirrels and of the damage done by them; and whether he will urge county war agricultural committees to make special efforts with a view to exterminating these pests.

I am aware that the grey squirrel is seriously increasing in numbers, due no doubt to shortage of labour, scarcity of cartridges, and the fact that the animal has little or no "salvage value." I am asking County War Agricultural Executive Committees to organise grey squirrel shooting clubs in an attempt to keep down the numbers, and have offered to provide suitable cartridges free to members of the clubs. This scheme will supplement the efforts already being made by the committees to deal with the pest.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he is taking, in view of the food situation, to enforce the proper cultivation of allotments.

My Department has no statutory powers in this matter, which primarily concerns the local allotments authority and its tenants. Agreements generally include a condition requiring proper cultivation. Propaganda and advisory services organised by my Department and by local authorities and allotment societies under the Dig for Victory Campaign has had and is having an important effect in raising the general standard of cultivation.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the anxiety of relatives of British military prisoners of war, known to be in German hands, because of the exposure of the conditions found to exist at Buchenwald and elsewhere; and if he will make a statement as to the relative conditions at such camps as Buchenwald and at those where our military prisoners have been found and freed.

I sympathise with the anxiety of relatives of our prisoners still in German hands. The policy pursued by the Germans in the last month of moving our prisoners from Eastern Germany to Northern and Southern Germany caused considerable suffering to the prisoners and led to gross overcrowding in the camps to which they were moved. Some of these have now been overrun. It is clear that the sanitary and washing facilities were in most cases inadequate and the food provided by the German authorities was totally insufficient. My hon. Friend will be aware of the efforts which have been made to maintain the supply of much needed food and medical supplies through the Red Cross. But, however unsatisfactory are the conditions in general in prisoner of war camps we have no information whatever to suggest that they are in any way to be compared with the appalling conditions prevailing in the concentration camps for German political prisoners such as Buchenwald.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the latest information concerning the prisoners of war from Stalag 344, Silesia.

Stalag 344 was a large camp at Lamsdorf, Silesia, with many work detachments. It contained upwards of 20,000 British prisoners of war. When the Red Army approached Lamsdorf in January the camp was evacuated by the Germans and the prisoners were forced to march westward. About 850 of the prisoners managed to escape to the Russian lines and have now been repatriated from Odessa, but the great majority were transferred to various camps in central Germany. It is known that men from this camp were moved to Stalags IXA Zeigenhain; IXB Bad Orb; XIC Mulhausen; XIIIC Hammelburg and XIID Nuremburg, from which camps a number of them were recently recovered. We do not yet know where the rest are, and I should add that we obtained evidence in the course of last week that the Germans were again moving prisoners away from the line of the Allied advance. It is to be hoped that as a result of the agreement referred to in the statement made on Tuesday by my right hon. Friend these movements will now have ceased.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the raising of the black-out will affect the windows of trains running partly inland and partly into the five-mile blacked-out belt round the coast.

Restrictions on train lighting are being removed generally, but no increase in existing standards of lighting can yet be allowed within the coastal belt. The railway companies are examining the problem that arises in the case of trains which run partly within and partly outside the coastal belt.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether he is aware of the anxiety which is felt by coal trimmers, anhydrous miners and workers engaged in industries which expose them to the inhalation of silica, asbestos and other dust and who have contracted pneumoconiosis or dust reticulation that no provision has yet been made to include them in the Workmen's Compensation Acts; and whether he will take steps to expedite this long delayed requirement.

My right hon. Friend will be prepared to consider some suitable extension of the compensation schemes for pneumoconiosis when an adequate number of doctors qualified to carry out the necessary medical examinations is available. The operation of the existing schemes is being severely hampered by the shortage of doctors and my right hon. Friend therefore canot contemplate extending them at the present time.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether he is aware that a large number of workers suffering from pneumoconiosis are awaiting examination; and what action is being taken to expedite this in view of the fact that these men are without compensation pending a decision and are also deprived of certain advantages attached to their work at the colliery.

My right hon. Friend, in company with the Minister of Fuel and Power, has discussed this matter with the miners' representatives. With the assistance of the Minister of Health, it has been possible to obtain the services of a few more doctors on the Medical Boards, and other special arrangements have been made with a view to expediting the examination of the applicants. The primary need is to get additional doctors with the necessary experience for this work, and my hon. Friend will appreciate that this is a matter of great difficulty at the present time.

asked the Minister of Labour why copies of the booklet on release and reinstatement have not been made available to employers in order that they may play their part in facilitating the efficiency of this scheme.

The booklet is intended primarily for members of H.M. Forces, and distribution in the Services will be completed in the course of the next few weeks. As soon as these requirements have been met, copies of the booklet will be placed on sale by H.M. Stationery Office.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visas have been issued during the last two months, respectively, for persons from this country to go to Switzerland for business purposes; and how many for other than business reasons.

I presume that my hon. Friend refers to exit permits. I cannot give precise figures for travel to Switzerland, but the numbers have been small, probably averaging not more than 15 a month, of which the great majority were for business purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the rejection of the Finance Bill by the Legislative Assembly, the Governor-General proposes to reconstruct the Executive Council so as to enable it to command the confidence of the legislature.

As the hon. Member is no doubt aware, the Governor-General's Executive Council is not responsible to the Legislature. Adverse votes by the Legislature from time to time are an inevitable feature of this system and do not affect the position of the Executive.

asked the Secretary of State for Burma what progress is being made with consideration of the problem of rehabilitation and reconstruction of Burma; what steps are being taken to restore economic and commercial activities as the country is liberated; and who is advising on these matters.

The Government of Burma's plans for the time when they will take over control are far advanced and are based on expert advice from both officials and non-officials. As regards the second part of the Question, they are in consultation with the military authorities as to the measures to be taken for restoring such activities at the earliest moment consistent with overriding operational requirements.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, when the expenses which a Member of Parliament is entitled to deduct from his Parliamentary salary exceed the amount of such salary, his regulations provide for the deduction of such deficiency from the Member's other sources of income.

No, Sir. The deduction under the Income Tax Acts in respect of expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties of an office is allowable only from the assessment upon the emoluments of that office and is not allowable against income from any other source.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the net sum of the Land Purchase Annuities received by the British Exchequer from Northern Ireland in the last financial year; and if he will introduce legislation to enable the Imperial Exchequer to contribute towards the prevention of flooding from Lough Erne, thereby assisting the farmers to cultivate successfully the land for which they are contributing to these Land Purchase Annuities.

In the year ended 31st March, 1945, the amount of expenditure out of Imperial funds in respect of land purchase in Northern Ireland was £1,214,902, of which the amount recovered from the Government of Northern Ireland by deduction from the Northern Ireland share of reserved taxes is £545,711. The answer to the second part of the Question is in the negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that all buildings, including small houses and shops, have only a limited life and are wasting assets, he will consider granting a depreciation allowance of 1¼ per cent. per annum on cost or capital value to the owners of shops and houses as well as of factories and other building.

No, Sir I would refer my hon. Friend to my speech on the Second Reading of the Income Tax Bill, when I explained the reasons for the distinction it is proposed to make between buildings used for productive industry and other buildings such as houses and shops.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether arrangements have been made under which ex-Service men and women who desire to compete for the clerical grades in the postwar Civil Service examinations, but who are not in possession of the school certificates stated to be a condition of entry in the recent White Paper, but who possess certain Service certificates of education, will be permitted to compete in the reconstruction competitions for the clerical grades.

Candidates for the reconstruction competitions for the clerical class of the Civil Service are not required to possess a school or any other certificate if they have received full-time education up to age 16. Those who left school before age 16 will be eligible if they possess a school certificate or equivalent educational qualification; and the Civil Service Commissioners propose to accept certain Service certificates as equivalent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the most recently compiled total of whole-time civil servants; the present number of civil servant pensioners; the present total of part time civil servants; and the total cost to the country of the salaries and pensions.

On 1st January, 1945 (the latest date for which figures are available), the number of whole-time non-industrial civil servants (including reserved and agency services, Northern Ireland) was 667,389, and the number part-time non-industrials 97,307. The total number of Civil Service pensioners (including dependants to whom pensions have been allocated under Section 2 of the Superannuation Act, 1935) was 71,344 at 31st March, 1945. The total annual cost of Civil Service pensions is approximately £10,250,000, together with a further £4,500,000 for the lump sums awarded on death or retirement. Figures for the total cost of Civil Service salaries at the present time are not available and could not be ascertained without a considerable expenditure of time and labour.

asked the Minister of Food whether facilities are provided for the supply of tuberculin-tested milk, when desired, for expectant mothers.

I have been asked to reply. An expectant mother may obtain tuberculin-tested milk from her retailer provided that the retailer is able to provide milk of this quality. Supplies of tuberculin-tested milk are limited, and it is not always possible to supply a particular retailer with this type of milk for those of his registered customers who desire it.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why civilian members of the Control Commission are being paid at a higher rate than those who have served in His Majesty's forces.

The personnel of the British Element of the Control Commission for Germany consists of members of the Armed Forces who are now still serving, together with a certain proportion of civilians. These two classes of personnel are remunerated on the basis explained in answer to my hon. Friend's Question on 12th April. It would be quite incorrect to make a general comparison in the sense implied in my hon. Friend's Question. If he has any individual case in mind, I should be glad to look into the matter.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the L.C.C. has been making arrangements for the development of a 153-acre housing site at Headstone Lane, near Pinner; what price has been paid for this land; what was its previous rateable value; and what area was occupied by buildings and what has been their rateable value.

Yes, Sir. The site was acquired before the war, the cost being settled by agreement. Further details are not readily available, but I am making inquiries and will let my hon. Friend know the result.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a statement of his proposals regarding a national dental service, promised by 14th April, has not yet been circulated to the profession; and, as he has demanded to be furnished with the profession's views regarding these proposals not later than the second week in May, will he postpone that date so as to allow a reasonable time for adequate consideration of his proposals.

The position is not quite as my hon. Friend states it. I understand that the profession's representatives began a few days ago the circulation of a report, to those whom they represent, of various matters which they have been discussing with me. I am anxious, if possible, to know the profession's views on these matters before the Government consider what proposals they will make to the House on dentistry in the new service. I shall keep in touch with the profession as to the best means of achieving this.