asked the Minister of Labour on what principles he will act in choosing under Class B of his demobilisation scheme the 60,000 building trade workers whose release has been officially promised almost immediately after the end of the fighting in Europe.

The building trade workers referred to will be selected on the basis of the Service records of pre-enlistment occupations, and in age and service order, until the agreed number is reached. The release of these men in Class B will proceed simultaneously with releases in Class A, but their numbers will be restricted in any period to a small proportion of the latter.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that that really does not answer the uncertainty in which serving men are placed? The serving man wants to know whether, as a building trade worker, he is to be released under Class B or not, and, if so, what priority there will be for each class of tradesman. Can my right hon. Friend clarify that position?

I cannot add any more to the answer, except that as Class A comes out there will be about 10 per cent. of releases available for Class B. They will be selected in the manner I have indicated.

How will the selection be made? Will the War Office, the Navy and the Air Force make their own selection, or will employers be entitled to apply for the release of men whom they specially require?

Obviously, if a body of men is coming out to be under direction, in those special circumstances, individual employers cannot apply.

Cannot?

Cannot apply. The men will not come back to individual employers but will be used for this special purpose of building houses. Secondly, the men will be asked if they are willing to enter into this contract and they will not be forced to do so.

Does this apply to those serving in Burma?

Yes. The whole question of release, and the object of the release scheme, is an endeavour to treat all theatres of war on terms of equality.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give us any indication how soon the releases will commence?

I must have notice of that question.

If the men are not coming back to individual employers, as the right hon. Gentleman has just said, what happens about their entitlement to reinstatement in civil employment?

That is kept alive.

asked the Minister of Labour why in the booklet "Release and Resettlement" adequate publicity has not been given to the proposal that Service men and women during the period of paid leave, following release, will be free to find their own jobs and not be directed by his Department.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to page 8 of the booklet, wherein it specifically states that men and women on release in Class A from the Forces will be able to obtain employment where they wish, and that during their period of resettlement leave they will not be required to take employment under any powers of the Ministry of Labour and National Service which may then be gen- erally in force. It further states that if they have obtained a job during their period of paid leave, they will not be withdrawn from it.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the booklet has something like 50 pages of detail where direction is concerned, but only four and a half lines where the freedom of the worker is concerned?

Freedom can be expressed in one word.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that Mr. Richard Hardy, of Golborne, Lancs., an ex-Serviceman with three young children and a 30 per cent. disability pension, by medical evidence fit only for light work, applied for employment at a place of which he has been informed and was told by the labour officer that light work was for girls and therefore he could not be employed at that factory; and will he take steps to ensure that disabled ex-Servicemen will have precedence before physically fit persons.

My first report does not bear out the circumstances as indicated in the Question, but when I have completed my investigations I will write to my hon. Friend.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether there is a schedule of jobs for men who are in this position?

I would like to go into this case a little more deeply, because I do not know exactly in what category this man comes, until I read the report.

asked the Minister of Labour if it is proposed to utilise the services of the labour supply inspectors during the transition period from war to peace production; and, in view of the experience gained by this section in regard to the sub-division and reallocation of labour, etc., will he consider its continuance, with any necessary modifications, as a permanent peace-time service to industry.

Yes, Sir. The labour supply inspectors have made a valuable contribution to the war-time mobilisation of labour and I shall certainly utilise their services during the change-over. The number of inspectors required in the future and the period for which they will be needed will, of course, depend on the nature and extent of the work available for them.

In view of the right hon. Gentleman's known interest in welfare work, will he consider whether these inspectors can be used in connection with welfare in works of all kinds?

I will take it into account.

asked the Minister of Labour how many of the 63 employers prosecuted for refusing to reinstate workers when directed by the Board of Appeal were convicted; what was the maximum sentence imposed; and in how many cases has the employee been reinstated.

Of the 63 employers who were prosecuted either for terminating the employment of workers without permission or for failing to comply with the directions of a national service officer to reinstate, there were 47 convictions, nine cases were dismissed under the Probation of Offenders Act subject to the payment of costs by the employers, six cases were dismissed and one was withdrawn. The maximum penalty inflicted was a fine of £50 with £8 8s. costs. I regret that information as to the number of cases in which the employee was reinstated is not readily available and the time necessary to extract it from the records would not be justified.

Does not the Minister find some difficulty in arriving at the identity of the employers when, as in the case of a noted capitalist supporter of the Common Wealth Party, one individual holds 36 directorships?

asked the Minister of Labour if, when selecting workers for release from munitions industries on redundancy, he will give every facility for the release of skilled workers needed to re-establish and maintain plant and machinery required for important civilian production.

Yes, Sir. That is my policy. I had to transfer such skilled workers from these industries in order to build up war production. As reductions are made in the labour force of munitions industries, it is essential that skilled workers who are needed to re-establish and maintain plant and machinery in important civilian industries should be released for this purpose, and resettled as soon as possible. Both sides of industry have agreed to co-operate with me in the selection of workers required for priority vacancies which would include work of this kind.

Will the Minister bear in mind that he will be transferring skilled workers; and will he see to it that it is done in keeping with the wages at present paid to those skilled workers, and also have regard to the localities to which they are transferred?

I am afraid I could not guarantee, when men are transferred to civilian industry, to maintain all the wages they have earned on war work. They must have the rate for the job, as agreed between the trade unions and the employers. With regard to returning them to a particular locality, we are giving them an opportunity to return home, and as I announced last week, paying lodging money until they find accommodation in their home town.

asked the Minister of Production whether, having regard to the present change of circumstances in Europe, it is possible now to make an all round percentage cut in war production and thereby release men and women on munitions to return to the clothing and furnishing factories in view of the shortage of supplies urgently needed in the homes of the people.

My hon. Friend's Question raises the general issue of continued production of munitions. I had intended to make a general statement to the House on this subject early next week, but if my hon. Friend would care to put down a Question for answer on Wednesday next I will then take the opportunity of dealing with the position generally. Meanwhile I can assure my hon. Friend that the importance of manning the clothing and furniture industries is fully recognised by the Government.

Could I ask the right hon. Gentleman if the needs of the export trade have also been given the same serious consideration?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Labour if he has any statement to make as to the future call up of men over the age of 30 for the Forces.

As I indicated in my reply to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent (Mr. Ellis Smith) on 12th April, men born in 1914 or earlier are not now being called up, except in so far as they may be required to meet the demands of the Forces for tradesmen or specialists, or for other special reasons.

Could my right hon. Friend ask the Service Departments to make known, as widely as possible among the Forces overseas, the explanation he gave last Thursday?

Certainly. I will see that it goes over.

asked the Minister of Labour why his Ministry concurs in the employment of young persons under 18 years of age as barmaids and barmen on licensed premises.

I have no power to prevent young persons from entering employment which is within the law.

While this type of employment may be suitable for older people, does the Minister consider it quite desirable for young people?

It is not for me to express an opinion on this matter. The parents are really responsible. We tender the best advice we can from the juvenile employment service. Parliament has not given us power, and I do not suppose it ever will, to prohibit persons from going into employment.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that owing to the withdrawal of trained nurses a hospital was left recently with five trained nurses out of an establishment of 18 to attend over 200 patients some of whom were fresh from the operating theatres; and whether, in view of the danger to patients being left in the hands of partially trained personnel, he will endeavour to leave in each hospital a reasonable minimum of nurses trained for the care of the acutely sick and major surgical cases.

If the hon. and gallant Member will furnish the name of the hospital I will certainly have inquiries made.

In view of the changed war situation, will the Minister be able to do anything to alleviate the nursing position?

It will be acute for some time, with all the casualties, and the claims made for India and Burma. With all the demands made for nurses, I am afraid that the situation will be acute for some considerable time, but I will do my best about it.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he will consider increasing the rates of pay offered to clerical workers who are temporary civil servants at the new Department set up in Cheltenham, as the existing rates are causing dissatisfaction.

The rates of pay in question are the same as those paid to temporary clerical staff throughout the Civil Service who are employed in provincial centres, and were fixed in agreement with the recognised staff associations. I am satisfied that these rates of pay are appropriate to the duties performed.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he will state the number of disabled men in receipt of 100 per cent. pension for total blindness arising out of the present war, including the Navy, Army, R.A.F. and Merchant Navy; and the number in the same category in the war of 1914–1918.

The numbers are 300 for the present war and 1,800 for the last war.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that blind people need more attention and more help than other injured persons; and will he be good enough to consider whether he ought not to make it a little easier for them by giving them a little help and a little higher pension than £2 a week, as they are in very straitened circumstances?

If such a disabled person is not able to work he gets supplementation. I am glad to say that there is happy co-operation between my Department and St. Dunstan's, who are paying special attention to these cases, and we are doing everything we can to train the men in a useful occupation.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether his attention has been called to the observations of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal in the case of the claim of Mrs. Victoria Ivy Kemp for a pension, as the result of her husband's death in Alexandria due to injuries caused by an Army lorry; and what action he proposes to take as the result of this case.

I am very glad to be able to state that Mrs. Kemp, who is the widow of a merchant seaman, has been paid by the ship-owners the full amount which would have been appropriate under the Workmen's Compensation Acts if her case had fallen within these Acts. Arrangements on these lines were made during the adjournment of the Tribunal hearing, but effect could not be given to them until the claim to a war pension had been finally disposed of.

As this is in the nature of an ex gratia payment, and does not attempt to deal with the principle raised in this case, which was commented upon very seriously by the Pensions Appeal Tribunal, will my right hon. Friend do something to alter the law, so that these appellants for pensions can get pensions as of right?

I do not agree that the statement made by the tribunal was anything like what my hon. Friend says. I have it here in full. The tribunal pointed out that there was a difference between death in an armed Service and this accident, which took place on shore when the man was away from his ship and off duty. I think we have settled this very satisfactorily for the widow, and I wish to pay my tribute to the Ministry of War Transport for the help they have given.

Does my right hon. Friend recollect that the tribunal said they thought it right to call the attention of those whose business it was—that is Parliament's—to these matters; and how can he say that their remarks were not something in the nature of censure?

The tribunal pointed out that this particular widow unfortunately fell between three stools, not two. I have done everything I could to see that she got on to one stool.

asked the Secretary of State for Burma what is the Government's policy concerning the future disposal of the newly-liberated oilfields in Burma; and whether he is aware that indications that these may be handed back to foreign companies in this country for exploitation is causing concern amongst the Burmese.

Before the Japanese invasion the oilfields in Burma were operated by a number of companies none of which was a foreign company, which had rights under leases granted by the Government of Burma. On the complete liberation of Burma such companies will again be in a position to exercise their rights which have not expired and His Majesty's Government have no intention of preventing them from doing so.

Do I understand the expression "foreign companies" to include British companies?

There are no foreign companies operating in Burma.

Including British?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British subjects ordinarily resident in France but now living in this country have applied for exit permits to return to France and how many permits have been granted; and what arrange- ments His Majesty's Government is making for such persons as have not yet been granted permits to return to France so that the accommodation they now occupy may be used for overcrowded Servicemen's families.

Two hundred and seventy-five British subjects have applied for exit permits to enable them to return to their pre-war homes in France, and 185 permits have so far been granted. My hon. and gallant Friend will appreciate that internal conditions in France are very difficult, and it must be for the French Government to decide how soon they can re-admit British subjects who were evacuated from France.

If I send my right hon. Friend particulars of the case in which an exit permit has been refused where the man still has a flat and a business in Paris will he expedite the exit permit?

I will look into the case on its merits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the restrictions placed upon the Boy Scouts may be among the first to be removed.

I am not at all clear as to what is meant by my hon. and gallant Friend's Question. If, however, he is referring to the camping restrictions imposed under Defence Regulations, these have been removed by the Order in Council of which I informed the House yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the large increase in the number of local government electors and in the cost of printing, etc., he will introduce legislation to provide for free postage in local government elections on similar lines to Parliamentary elections.

If candidates at local elections were to be granted free postage, the cost would have to be reimbursed to the Postmaster-General by the local authorities on whom falls the cost of local elections. The proposal of my hon. and gallant Friend could not, therefore, be considered without consultation with the local authorities, and I am not aware that there has been any widespread demand for this facility. Should the local authority associations make such representations I should be prepared to give them consideration.

Is there any reason why the cost of this should not be borne by the Treasury?

There is no reason at all why it should be borne by the Treasury. These are local elections, and the cost of local elections falls on the local people. Certainly it ought not to fall on the Post Office, which is a business concern. It is not its business to throw away free postages to all and sundry. That would shock my ideas about the management of a State undertaking.

As my right hon. Friend understands the principles of democracy, does he not think it right that poor candidates should not be prevented from standing for local government elections, because of the expense?

I am not unsympathetic to the proposal, and if the local authorities were to think favourably of it, and to make representations, I would certainly give it consideration.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Post Office, far from being a business concern, renders services to other Government Departments without payment?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British subjects, who were interned without trial, are still in custody and how soon he intends to release them or put them on trial.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is now proposed to withdraw Regulation 18B.

Replies to both these Questions are contained in the statement I made yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men and women serving overseas he estimates will be unable personally to vote if there is an Election in June.

A person on the Service Register who is in a postal voting area and desires to vote by post at the General Election has to make application to the electoral registration officer, giving the address to which a postal ballot paper is to be sent, and in accordance with Section 25 (7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1945, the application must be received by the registration officer four clear days before the day fixed for nomination. The application forms for this purpose have been distributed, and while it is reasonable to suppose that a substantial number of completed applications will be received by electoral registration officers during May, some further time may elapse before they are received from members of the Armed Forces in distant theatres of operation like India and Burma.

It is impossible to estimate how many persons will wish to avail themselves of postal voting facilities, or how many completed applications will be received within the statutory time allowed before nomination day. I understand from Service Departments, whose responsibility it is, that every effort possible is being made to ensure that there is no delay in transmission by air mail of completed applications to electoral registration officers.

The right hon. Gentleman has not actually answered the Question which I asked—how many members of the Forces are abroad at the moment who will be unable to vote in June because of their absence?

The answer, I have indicated, is that I do not know.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think it unfair that those who have fought to win the war should be absent from this country when its great future is being decided?

The movement of troops is not within the jurisdiction of the Home Secretary. I have done all I can to see that maximum facilities for voting are given, but I say on this subject, as I have said on other occasions, that it is only fair I should make it clear that the May register will, in many respects, be imperfect.

In view of the growing interest in the Forces in all theatres of war in the forthcoming Election, is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that the arrangement he indicated during the proceedings on the Representation of the People Bill for the posting of the various election addresses of the candidates, is proceeding smoothly?

I think so, but the actual responsibility for transmission will be with the Service Departments. We are doing everything we possibly can at the end for which I am responsible for the electoral registration officers to be ready. Their problem is shortage of staff, which makes it very difficult for them.

Does this not indicate that the House is not in favour of a rushed Election?

Is my right hon. Friend aware that delay and further imperfections in the Register may arise from changes of Service address, which are fairly frequent, since the onus of notifying the registration officer of any change of address is on the soldier, and many soldiers do not realise it?

That may be so. The movements of troops, which are inevitable, are bound to create difficulties. There is the alternative method, of voting by proxy, although the Government take the view that where we can have direct voting it is preferable.

Is it the case that the onus is on the soldier?

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will give an assurance that the time between the initiation of a General Election and polling day will be sufficient to allow candidates to place their views adequately before the electors, bearing in mind the present difficulty in securing rapid printing and the incidence of other continuing war-time controls and restrictions.

My right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council informed the House on 17th January that His Majesty had, on my submission, intimated that, should he be pleased at any time to dissolve the present Parliament, it would be desirable for an announcement to be made of the actual date of the Dissolution in advance of the Royal Proclamation. The constitutional period between Dissolution of Parliament and polling day is 17 days. However, His Majesty had authorised me to say that, in the exceptional circumstances which might be expected, he was willing that an announcement of the date of the Dissolution should be made three weeks in advance of the formal Proclamation. An announcement of the date of the General Election will therefore be made at least three weeks, plus the normal contitutional 17 days, before polling day. I have nothing to add to that statement at the present time.

May I ask the Prime Minister whether the Government have already made up their minds as to when we are to have the Dissolution?

No, Sir, they have not yet made up their minds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any statement to make about censorship and travel restrictions between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

This matter is receiving urgent consideration, but, as my hon. Friend knows, the question of communications with Northern Ireland cannot be considered in isolation from that of communications with the rest of Ireland. I hope to make an announcement of the Government's decision at an early date, and I trust that the people of Northern Ireland, who have borne with exemplary patience and public spirit the restrictions on travel which it has been necessary to impose, will put up with them for just a little longer.

asked the Minister of Education his policy with regard to appli- cations from maintained secondary schools to be placed on the direct grant list.

I would invite my hon. Friend's attention to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Sir J. Mellor) on this subject on 12th April. The question whether a special case is established for recognising a school which has previously received its grant from the local education authority as a direct grant grammar school can only be settled on the merits of the particular case. In general, however, the principal considerations to which my right hon. Friend will have regard in determining such cases will be similar to those recommended in paragraph 177 of the Report of the Fleming Committee.

asked the Minister of Education how many schools in the County of Gloucester have no water supply and how many no sewerage system; and the total number of children attending these schools.

The latest information at my disposal shows 97 schools, with approximately 4,400 children on roll, which are without a piped water supply or well of their own, and 192 schools, with approximately 12,100 children on roll, which are not linked to a sewer. The local education authority are reviewing the position at all schools in the light of the Ministry's building regulations.

In view of those figures, will my right hon. Friend make further representations to the local education authority, particularly in view of the fact that under the Bill this local education authority has been given extended powers?

The local education authority is under an obligation, imposed on it by the Bill, to present to the Minister a development plan, showing, among other things, the steps that it proposes to take to deal with these matters, and it has to submit that plan by 31st March next. My hon. Friend, who is a member of the county council concerned, will, I hope, assist the local education authority to take the most enlightened view of its responsibilities.

Is not the real difficulty one that is not mentioned in the Question or in the answer, the fact that water supplies are not under the local education authorities but under other local authorities, and that some of the villages are without a water supply of any sort?

As my Noble Friend knows, there is now going through the House a Bill dealing with water supplies, and we hope to get some assistance in dealing with this state of affairs from its application in various parts of the country.

In view of the fact that there is water, although not a water supply, what steps are taken to analyse the water, to see that it is wholesome and fit for children to drink?

The education authority take steps from time to time to see that that is so, and so, I hope, do the sanitation authority, although they are not under my Ministry.

Will the right hon. Gentleman co-operate with the Ministry of Health to put an end to this state of affairs in Gloucestershire?

We are acting with the Ministry of Health, and we hope that legislation that they are now putting through the House will very considerably help us. They have been doing as much as they can in this direction.

asked the Minister of Education how many education authorities are insisting on the payment of a premium of £5 being paid on behalf of a young person entering the teaching profession prior to entering a training college.

My hon. Friend may have in mind a fairly common practice of training colleges to require a deposit from students who accept a place in the college. This is credited against the fees for the first year, and may in some cases be forfeited if the student, without satisfactory explanation, fails to enter the college.

The answer is quite wrong. The Buckinghamshire County Council require parents to pay £5, if they can afford it, for any child entering the teaching profession, long before going to a training college. Will the right hon. Gentleman take steps to stop that imposition?

Now that the hon. Member has indicated the local authority that he has in mind, I will see that the practice is investigated, and any necessary steps taken.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that under the conditions governing appointments in the E.M.S., a married woman doctor cannot claim leave with pay on account of childbirth, whereas she is entitled to leave with pay on account of illness or accident; and whether he will take steps to remedy this injustice.

Yes, Sir. Married women enrolled as medical officers in the Emergency Medical Service are subject to the leave conditions applicable to all married women employed in the Civil Service in a temporary capacity. There would be no grounds for making a special exception in favour of E.M.S. officers.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman satisfied that it is in the national interest that expectant mothers should be penalised in this way?

I think my answer will have shown the hon. Lady that this is a general matter, on which I could not, departmentally, make one particular exception.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend now consult with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education and see what the Surrey County Council have done on the same issue? I believe that they have made a vast improvement.

Is not this an example of the perennial tendency among women always to have their cake, and to eat it at the same time?

asked the Minister of Health how many villages in the Norfolk, South-Western. Parliamentary divi- sion, have not at present got a piped water supply; and for how many of these have post-war schemes been prepared and approved.

Sixty, Sir. No post-war schemes for these villages have yet been submitted to me for approval, but I understand that the rural district councils concerned are reviewing the needs of their districts with a view to the submission of proposals.

Does my right hon. and learned Friend not agree that it is very serious that in one constituency there should be 60 villages without a piped water supply? Should not priority go to rural districts rather than to local urban councils; and will the Minister do everything he can to see that these local authorities get all the assistance they need?

My hon. Friend will recollect that the first Bill that I introduced was on this subject. Both the county council and the rural district councils concerned are, I think, working hard on it.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will authorise local authorities to adopt the same procedure in requisitioning houses for the inadequately housed as they have hitherto for the bombed-out.

I am considering whether the existing powers should be amended.

Does not the Minister agree that the badly-housed family of the disabled ex-Service man should receive the same treatment as the inadequately-housed family of the civilian who has been blitzed?

There were, of course, rather different considerations during the bombing, but, as I have told the hon. Lady, I am at the moment considering this question.

Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman not think it a public mischief that so many habitable houses should remain vacant so long, while so many people are in want of a house of any kind?

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that Servicemen are disturbed about their future housing accommodation; and when will he be able to give the Government's decision on the Report of the Committee on Rent Control.

Yes, Sir, the Report is under consideration.

Is the Minister aware that I have had several letters from Servicemen abroad about this matter, and that they are very disturbed about it? Cannot he be more direct, and give the men some hope?

I could not be aware of the hon. Gentleman's correspondence, but I am fully aware of the fact. If he has read the Report, as I have no doubt he has, he will know that it is very far-reaching and covers a large number of points. The matter is already under consideration, and I hope that the decision will be announced very shortly.

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman consider introducing the necessary legislation very soon? Does he understand that the House would expedite a Bill of this kind, and that such a Bill would be a great encouragement to returning ex-Servicemen?

I am grateful to my right, hon. Friend for his observations.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that a sub-committee of the Warrington Housing Committee recommended in September, 1942, the building of 2,000 houses; that the proposals were submitted to the Government; that the committee has been continuously pressing for permission at least to purchase the land; what success has since attended their efforts; and the area, situation, purchase price and previous rateable value of any land acquired.

I am aware that a long-term programme for the building of 2,000 houses has been under consideration by the Warrington Council. The Council have submitted to me proposals for 500 houses for their first year programme, and I have confirmed a compulsory purchase order for 129 acres. The price of this land has not yet been settled. It is agricultural land and therefore de-rated. A proposal to acquire a further 71 acres is at present under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health how many applications have been received up to the end of April for the £150 Defence and Evacuated Areas loan; how many of these have been granted; and how many refused.

Up to the end of April, 40 councils applied for my authority to make loans under Defence Regulation 68D, and 28 of them have been authorised to make these loans. Complete returns for the month of April showing the number and amount of loans advanced by them are not yet available.

In view of the fact that £150 is quite inadequate and that the onus for repayment rests upon the local authorities, will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give authority to the local authorities to increase that amount in cases where they think it is desirable?

No, Sir. If my recollection is correct, that would be outside the Regulations.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning what progress he has made with the compilation of lists of buildings of special architectural or historic interest, in compliance with Section 42 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1944.

My right hon. Friend is considering the appointment of an Advisory Committee, which is, in his opinion, the necessary first step in giving effect to the provisions of the Section referred to.

Can my hon. Friend explain why only now, six months after we passed the Act, he is appointing a Committee to consider how it may be put into force?

The subject has been receiving consideration, but it must be remembered that it is not the only pressing question in the Department.

In view of the fact that only £10 worth of work can be done on a house, is there any urgency for it?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he proposes to increase the old age pension to take into account the increased cost of living which can be anticipated from the rise in coal prices.

I can hold out no prospect of the introduction of legislation on the subject of old age pensions in advance of the general National Insurance Scheme.

When the Government decided to agree, under the Coal Charges Order, to a further increase in the price of domestic coal, did they take into their calculations the further imposition on the old age pensioners, and how is it proposed to remove that imposition?

I can assure my hon. Friend that the Government took all relevant considerations into account. I would add that it is a fact that supplementary pensions take account of the cost of living. I would further add, in the interests of a just perspective in these matters, that on the basis of normal ration of 4 cwt. of coal a month, the cost per household corresponding to the recent increase is of the order of 2d. per week.

Is it not very cold comfort for these poor old people that, when they are fortunate enough to order coal, they so often receive a stone?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the statement made that the cost of living has gone up by 30 per cent., while the old age pension has not advanced at all since the beginning of the war; and does he not think it is time to increase the basic rate?

The hon. Member is really leaving out of account what is very relevant—the provision for supplementary pensions.

Will the right hon. Gentleman take into account those old age pensioners who are entitled to more than 4 cwt. of coal per month, if that is the only form of fuel they are able to get?

That may be so, but the extra cost does still remain very small.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the margins which these people had to live on by this increase were terribly small, and that even the slightest increase brings them even further towards the starvation level, and, in view of the terrible distress among these people, even with supplementation in its narrow sense, will he not consider at least re-examining the problem with a view to an increase?

I cannot add to the answer I have already given.

May I put this point to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, seeing that we are being generous and that the workers got two days' holiday with pay all over the country? Here are the old age pensioners, who have got nothing. Will it be too much to ask the right hon. Gentleman—and the Prime Minister will back me up—to give the old age pensioners a week's pension—10s. a head?

The hon. Member must know that a Question on that point was on the Order Paper a day or two ago.

I know that, but the right hon. Gentleman turned it down. That was why I put it again.

asked Minister of Agriculture whether he will state the weight of fish which has had to be condemned as unfit for human consumption during the past month at ports in England and Scotland; to what extent the loss is due to shortage of labour; and what action he proposes to take to prevent this waste of valuable foodstuffs in future.

According to my information, the quantity of fish condemned at British ports during the month of April was approximately 14,750 cwt. Shortage of labour may have been a contributory factor at times of abnormally heavy arrivals, but cannot be considered to have been a primary cause of the quantities condemned. The Departments concerned have for some time been jointly en- deavouring to bring about an improvement in the quality of the fish landed, particularly from distant areas.

If labour was not the main cause, what was the main cause of the wastage?

It was mainly deterioration of the fish, which was brought in carriers from distant parts.

What was the cause of the deterioration?

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to the large scale appeals to the public by various charitable bodies for funds for Servicemen's welfare; and whether he will cause an investigation to be made into the possibility of co-ordinating these organisations so as to avoid overlapping, duplication of appeals and bring a measure of public control over voluntary institutions now controlling millions of pounds of publicly subscribed money.

Yes, Sir. Charitable organisations which are registered under the War Charities Act, 1940, enjoy the rights conferred by that Act and are not subject to official interference in the manner in which they exercise them. It is the earnest desire of the three Service Departments that there should be voluntary co-ordination of the activities of all charitable organisations which have as their object the care of the ex-Serviceman and his dependants, and I understand that certain of the largest organisations are now engaged upon plans to this end.

Although I welcome the reply of the Prime Minister, in so far as it indicated that the Service Departments desire this co-ordination, does my right hon. Friend not know that there is an important duty incumbent upon Parliament, representing the public who supply most of these funds, to see that these large charities asking for large sums of money from the public are compelled to co-ordinate their activities and economise in their expenses?

No. They might retire from their labours altogether.

asked the Prime Minister why the German delegates who signed the unconditional surrender of the German Armies in Italy were permitted to sign in civilian clothes; and if, in future, all surrenders of the German army or navy will be signed by men wearing the uniform of their rank so as to ensure that the German people are shown the significance of the surrender of the German armed forces.

The German officers who signed the surrender of the 22 German Divisions and 6 Italian Fascist Divisions in Italy had to travel through Switzerland, and therefore had to be dressed as civilians. The second part of the Question is obsolete as all Germans in Europe have already surrendered.

Is it not of the highest importance that no loophole should be given for the pernicious propaganda which began in November, 1918, namely, that the German army was unbeaten and was stabbed in the back by the civil population?

I do not think it is possible to shape every action of our lives in every emergency that may arise by the fear that villainous propaganda of any kind may be launched against us.

In view of the urgent necessity of teaching the German people to respect a civil réegime, would it not be very desirable to insist on these gentlemen surrendering in bowler hats?

Does not the right hon. Gentleman consider the transfer of the major part of the German population from uniformed activity to civilian work in civilian clothing one of the major objectives of the war?

It might be one of the indirect results, but it certainly was not presented to the public here as the major objective.

I am wondering whether my right hon. Friend can help me in this matter. What is going to happen to all these discarded German uniforms?

I believe that a certain amount of adaptation can make a pair of trousers act in either a civil or military capacity; it is certainly true of greatcoats.

If my right hon. Friend's advice had been taken in 1918, would not Germany have been occupied, so that the Germans would have known and felt and seen that they had been beaten in the field?

I think they are quite aware of it. Germany was not occupied in 1918, but it is now entirely overrun by the troops of the Allies. As to the future régime, that is a matter on which a statement will have to be made later, but the spectacles which are witnessed in Germany of the frightful destruction of all the towns and cities and so on, should be in themselves considerable arguments to the German people in favour of the fact that they have suffered some military reverses.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware that conscription ended in Canada on 7th May, 1945; that only volunteers will be enrolled for the war in the Pacific; and whether he has any statement to make as to the suspension of conscription in this country.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the White Paper (Cmd. 6548) on the Re-Allocation of Man-Power between the Armed Forces and civilian employment during the interim period between the European "Cease Fire" and the defeat of Japan. It will be necessary to continue the compulsory recruitment of men for the Forces as an essential part of the re-allocation of manpower during the interim period, in order to bring relief to the men who have served for long periods and enable more of them to return to their homes.

Does it not remain an anomaly that conscription has not been imposed at all in Northern Ireland—a part of the British Empire—and that Canada has done away with conscription recently? May we take it that when the appropriate time arrives, the British Government will not lag behind other parts of the Empire in abolishing conscription?

We have settled this matter with due consideration of all our difficulties and dangers, which are by no means entirely at an end. Also we have to consider the very important point of young men going out to relieve their fathers and elder brothers in the duty of garrisoning Germany, and in regard to the war with Japan. It is absolutely necessary—perhaps for some years it may ibe—to be sending out men to relieve men who have borne the heat and burden of the day.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise that the Northern Ireland Government desired to have conscription and that it was the British Government who opposed it?

I find nothing about Northern Ireland in the original Question.

Is the House to gather from the Prime Minister's reply that conscription will only be necessary, and will only be enforced, for the purpose of relieving the present conscripted Forces overseas?

No.

The future is inscrutable.

Would the Prime Minister not agree that it is morally right that the defence of the country should be shared equally by everyone?

That is my personal and political conviction.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has considered the proposal for milch cows to be sent as a gift from farmers in this country to Holland; and whether his Ministry will assist the carrying out of this plan.

I have not received any intimation from the Dutch authorities that milch cows from this country are required for Holland, and apart from limited numbers of breeding animals, this country is unlikely to have stock available for liberated countries. If a request is received from the Dutch authorities I will consider whether we can assist and whether there is any place for a gift arrangement.

Has my right hon. Friend already received a letter from a Kentish dairy farmer offering to give two milch cows for this purpose?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, when formulating his long-term policy for agriculture, he will favourably consider the making of grants, either in money or in kind, to enable agricultural workers and ex-Servicemen with agricultural experience to settle on small holdings.

I can assure my hon. Friend that all relevant considerations will be borne in mind.

Is it to be understood from the Minister's reply that there is a prospect—however far-off, contingent, speculative and remote—of the Minister of Agriculture having a post-war policy for agriculture?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Holland County Council has a list of some 600 applicants for smallholdings; and what advice and assistance he proposes to give the county council to assist them to meet this demand.

I have recently discussed the subject of post-war smallholdings policy with the County Councils' Association and have invited them to collect from all county councils information including particulars as to the number of applications that they have received from suitable applicants. Until this information has been received and considered I am not in a position to give advice and special assistance to an individual county council.

Am I to understand from my right hon. Friend's reply that he is consulting the county council as such individually, or that he is consulting the local government organisation, because the views of a certain minority might not be those of the governing body?

As I have asked the County Councils' Association to collect information from all their constituent bodies, I presume that enables the constituent body to make any observation it wishes.