asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether he can give details regarding the large quantities of fish lying each evening undischarged in vessels in Aberdeen harbour; and whether he will make arrangements to avoid this congestion and the consequent deterioration of perishable food;

(2) what approximate weight of fish remained undischarged from vessels in the port of Aberdeen at the end of work on each of the last ten days; what average quantity was discharged daily; and whether he is satisfied that adequate labour is available to discharge this perishable foodstuff promptly.

The detailed particulars with regard to landings for the days referred to in the Question are given in the appended table of figures. As regards the adequency of the labour supply, I have been for some time in communication with my right hon. Friends the Minister of Food and the Minister of Labour and National Service and by arrangement with the National Dock Labour Corporation the local labour force engaged in discharging fish has now been strengthened. As a result of these arrangements the temporary congestion due to very heavy landings at the port has been removed.

Following is the table:

asked the Secretary of State for War if he can state the position of the 1,100 R.A.F. prisoners of war transferred from Stalag Luft 3 to Luckenwalde Camp, near Berlin.

Stalag IIIA at Luckenwalde was liberated by the Soviet Forces and at the time of its release contained some 1,200 R.A.F. officers formerly in Stalag Luft III, 1,300 R.A.F. non-commissioned officers and 1,100 Army personnel, making a total of 3,600 from the British Commonwealth. Negotiations are proceeding with the Soviet authorities for the evacuation of these ex-prisoners westwards into the S.H.A.E.F. zone.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether any British were confined in Aeuschwitz Camp in Germany; and what is the estimated number of inmates of this camp who were killed by the Germans.

As far as I am aware the camp to which my hon. Friend refers is a concentration camp. I regret that no information about it is available here, but inquiries are being made of the Soviet authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will consider taking high ranking German officers, now prisoners, on personally conducted tours round the concentration camps and thus forcing them to realise from personal inspection the bestialities committed by their rulers.

I understand that these camps are being rapidly cleared up, and it therefore seems probable that my hon. Friend's purpose will be better served by the documentary film which, as I have already announced, will be shown in all German prisoner of war camps.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements have been made to compensate British subjects resident in the Channel Islands for the German currency which they were compelled to accept during enemy occupation; and whether he has any general statement to make concerning the financial affairs in those Islands.

The commander of the liberating troops had authority to fix an exchange rate at which the islanders would receive full value in sterling for German notes in their possession. I await information as to the exact rate promulgated. No general financial statement about conditions in the Islands could be made without fuller information than is at present available and prior consultations with the authorities there.

asked the Minister of Food when the importation of oranges will be sufficient to enable them to be sold in the ordinary way, thus avoiding the public and trade dissatisfaction over the fixing of hours of sale.

It is not possible to say at present how soon importations of oranges will be sufficient to enable the control of their distribution to be relaxed.

asked the Minister of Food if he will print in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement showing in terms both of expenditure and nutrient values what proportion of civilian food consumption consists of foods for which no coupons or points are required, making clear whether these calculations include foods consumed in restaurants and other public eating places.

Yes, Sir, as soon as I can.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will now arrange for the publication of the first Report of the White Fish Commission.

Having regard to what has transpired during the war years, I am satisfied that the publication of the Report would serve no useful purpose. I may add that the whole question of the White Fish Commission, whose operations were suspended at the outbreak of war, is at present receiving active consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what consideration is being given to the future manning of R.A.F. maintenance units by civilian personnel, service personnel or a mixture of the two, and to the future organisation of these units; whether civilian administrators with experience of maintenance units work are involved in either a deliberative or consultative capacity; and what arrangements are being made to provide for consultation with the staff associations and trades unions representing the staff and workpeople employed in the maintenance units.

The future manning of the Royal Air Force, including that of the maintenance units, is at present under consideration. Both civilian administrators and officers of the Royal Air Force with experience of the work of maintenance units are involved in the discussions. The question whether and to what extent it may be possible to employ civilians in Service establishments is one of policy which must be decided by the Air Council. The Air Ministry is, however, very ready to hear what the staff organisations have to say. Once civilians are employed in Service establishments or it has been decided to employ them, the staff organisations have, of course, the right to be consulted about their conditions of service.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in view of the fact that there is a certain amount of nervous reaction now in London from the strain of recent years, and that houses are less insulated from noise than they were, he will, now that hostilities are over, take steps to see that there is at present no further night flying over London.

It is not practicable to prohibit night flying over London, but whenever night flying is necessary it is carefully controlled and restricted.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the shortage, examples of which have been submitted to him, of available consulting rooms in the Harley Street area which is used by medical consultants, due to the requisitioning of houses there by the fighting Services for whom there is abundant accommodation outside the recognised medical quarter; and whether, in view of the early return of consultants now engaged on war service, he will release as many of these premises as possible.

The War Office has three houses requisitioned in Harley Street. Two of these are occupied; the third has been unoccupied for some weeks, but will be occupied when certain necessary alterations have been completed. I regret that I am at present unable to release any of these houses.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will inform the House as to the names of persons responsible for the preparation of A.B.C.A. literature; and whether he will have copies of all pamphlets or other literature supplied to the troops or for lectures to the troops placed in the Library of the House of Commons as soon as possible, together with the names of lecturers.

The regular A.B.C.A. publications are the pamphlets "Current Affairs" and "War" and the wall-sheet "Map Review," all produced fortnightly. "War" and "Current Affairs" are already supplied to the House of Commons Library, and I am arranging for "Map Review" to be sent in addition. These three publications are produced by the Director-General of Army Education. He has a staff of serving officers who either write the contributions or arrange for them to be written by authorities outside. It is customary for the author's name to be printed in all articles. Much general literature is also supplied to units as background information, but it would be impracticable to list or to supply copies to the House of Commons Library. A.B.C.A. lecturers as such do not exist; the pamphlets are used as briefs by regimental officers in conducting discussions among their men. Lectures given under the Army Education Scheme number thousands each month and are given by a very large number of military and civilian lecturers, the latter being provided by the Regional Committees for Adult Education in His Majesty's Forces.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Report on Living Conditions and Stabilisation in the Copper Belt in Northern Rhodesia, will be made available in this country; why it has not been published; and what steps are being taken to implement its recommendations.

The document in question is a purely departmental report made in 1943 to the Labour Commissioner by an officer of his Department, and it is not proposed that it should be published. I will communicate to my hon. Friend full details of the action being taken by the Northern Rhodesia Government with regard to the matters referred to.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the new British Empire Leprosy Relief Campaign, the war has been productive of any increase in cases of leprosy in the Empire; and whether any new ones have been detected in this country.

I have no information on the first part of the Question. In this country 22 cases of leprosy have been brought to notice during the war, of which nine have been persons known to be British subjects.

asked the Minister of Health what reports he has received concerning the nuisance during recent weeks from flies which breed in the sewage filter beds of the Birmingham Tame and Rea District Drainage Board; whether he is aware that the flies are more numerous than in recent years; and what new steps he is taken to abate the nuisance.

The most recent report from the Drainage Board, received a little over a week ago, is to the effect that the flies are not more numerous than in recent years, though their emergence appears to have been accelerated by an early spell of abnormally warm weather. A group of experts in this field of research was formed under the auspices of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1943 and they have since conducted or directed extensive experiments and observations both at the Drainage Board's Works at Minworth and at a number of other sewage disposal works. A mass of detailed information has been collected on the distribution and life history of flies in percolating filters and on their re-action to variations in a number of factors, such as the composition and temperature of the settled sewage and the alternation of the periods of operation and rest of the filters. On the basis of the information collected, more detailed investigation is now in progress. This includes attempts to control the emergence of flies by the use of a number of chemical substances, including newly developed compounds: alterations in the construction and method of operation of filters, e.g., the replacement of large stones on the surface of the filters by a layer of small stones, and the continuous application of sewage instead of the more common method of intermittent application. The effect of treating the sewage at a greatly increased rate in percolating filters is also under investigation. In addition to this research work the best known measures are applied by the Drainage Board from time to time on a practical scale to alleviate the conditions complained of. These include treatment of the sewage by gas liquor, by salt and by a number of chemicals, and at the present time a large scale application of bleaching powder and creosote and an attempt to trap the flies by mechanical means. The problem is a very difficult one, largely because the larvae of the flies constitute an important element in the efficient operation of the filters. Control must, therefore, be restricted to the emergence of the adult flies without destroying the biological life within the filters.

Whilst I regret that I am unable at present to hold out any prospect of an early solution, I can assure my hon. Friend that the best available resources of personnel and material are being directed to its discovery.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport how many British Merchant Navy personnel have served sentences of imprisonment in Russia since 21st June, 1941, and are still serving sentences of imprisonment in Russia, respectively.

Since 1941 three merchant seamen have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment by Russian Courts. One of these men is at present in prison.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if it is proposed to make any use of any of the barges which have been anchored in the Thames for many months past near Westminster Bridge.

Yes, Sir. These barges have been held as an operational reserve, but I hope that useful employment will be found for them when they are returned by the military authorities.

asked the Prime Minister if nationals of France and Belgium who assisted in the evacuation of Dunkirk are to be included in the award of the 1939–43 Star which is given to civilians.

The agreements with the French and Belgian authorities on this matter would preclude the award of the 1939–43 Star to their civilian nationals for service at Dunkirk, unless it was in a British ship.

asked the Minister of Labour if members of the A.T.S., with previous service in the police force and with opportunity of further employment in the police force, will be placed in Class B for demobilisation.

The position of regular policewomen in regard to release from the Women's Services is now under consideration by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Home Affairs.

asked the Minister of Food if he proposes to recommend the demobilisation in Class B of any men in the Services who were connected with the food trade; and, if so, whether individual business owners will be included.

Yes, Sir; a limited number will be put forward on an individual basis if their release is necessary to fill key positions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date payment of approved claims will be commenced, under the War Damage (Chattels) Act, to claimants who were insured thereunder and have not received any payment for the damage suffered through enemy action.

I am not yet in a position to state at what time payments of claims under the Chattels Scheme will be made.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will now take steps to amend the Teachers' Superannuation Act, 1925, as regards the cessation of pension upon resumption of part-time contributory service, in view of the shortage of experienced teachers under 65 years of age, who, having retired, have found more lucrative work, especially in independent schools, thereby increasing existing disparity between staffing conditions as between State and independent schools.

No, Sir. Part-time service is not contributory service and payment of pension does not cease on such employment, except in the very unlikely event of the remuneration of the part-time service being equal to or greater than the teacher's salary for full-time contributory service at retirement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is now in a position to make any statement as to the future of the Orders made under the Defence (Amalgamation of Police Forces) Regulations, 1942.

I am at present engaged in discussing with the County Councils Association and the Association of Municipal Corporations the various questions involved, but I shall not be in a position to put forward any definite proposals with regard to future policy relating to amalgamation of police forces until these discussions have made further progress.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what priority is accorded to foreign business men and technicians who desire to visit this country on behalf of their firms in order to restart their purchases from this country.

No priority is accorded in such cases, but the importance of visits of this kind is fully recognised and help will be readily given both here and through His Majesty's Representatives abroad with a view to facilitating such visits.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, now that the European conflict is ended, when it is anticipated that foreign Allied Governments, especially Greece, will relinquish their respective special courts in this country provided during the emergency.

Apart from the courts martial set up under the Allied Forces Act, 1940, and related legislation, the only special courts now sitting in the United Kingdom are the Belgian, Greek, Netherlands, Norwegian and Polish Maritime Courts, and, as my right hon. Friend the Minister of State told my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Mr. Parker) last week, it is not intended that any of these courts shall continue any longer than is necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give an assurance that effective steps have been taken to preserve order in Trieste.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of State told the House in reply to a Question on 9th May, that the question of the administration and control of Trieste was then under discussion between the Chiefs of Staff of Field Marshal Alexander and Marshal Tito. These military discussions failed to reach a satisfactory result, and the question is now being pursued by the British and American Governments with the Yugoslav Government. I do not wish to prejudice these discussions, which are still in progress, by making a more detailed statement at this stage.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that local authorities which have selected suitable sites for temporary houses are unable to get possession of them because of delays occasioned by other Government Departments which have to be consulted and are, holding matters up; and will he take steps to enable local authorities to obtain early possession of the sites they need.

I am not aware that local authorities generally are unable to get possession of sites required for temporary houses for the reason indicated. If, however, my hon. Friend wil send me particulars of any cases of difficulty, I will look into them at once.