asked the Secretary of State for Air whether authority has been given to Scottish aviation to utilise the R.A.F. aerodrome at Errol for their projected civil air service.

No authority has yet been given for the use of Errol airfield by any projected civil air service. My Noble Friend the Minister of Civil Aviation envisages that Dundee will be served by civil air transport, but the question of using Errol airfield for that purpose has yet to be settled. The possibility of joint user of this and other airfields is included in the comprehensive review which, as my Noble Friend stated in another place on 15th March, the Prime Minister has directed to be held under the authority of the Cabinet.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will consider, with the Secretary of State for War, the possibility of using a large part of Bomber Command to bring back to this country troops from the Middle East who have completed their overseas tour.

Yes, Sir. Arrangements are already in hand for the maximum possible use of combat aircraft to supplement the existing air trooping capacity.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what is the total weight of bombs and mines dropped by different commands of the R.A.F. in the war against Germany year by year.

Following is the statement:

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many hotels in the London area are still requisitioned by his Department; and how many of them are still in use.

Two hotels in the London area are held on requisition by my Department. They are both in use by the Royal Air Force.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many hotels in the London area are still requisitioned by his Department; and how many of them are still in use.

:Twenty-three hotels and boarding houses are at present under requisition in the London area. Two of these are now being released. Twenty are occupied and troops will soon move into the other one.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that CD. workers in the London Region, who were employed as mortuary attendants, are not eligible for the post-war credits and gratuities which are to be paid to other full-time CD. workers; and if, in view of the fact that the nature of the employment of these workers was particularly trying, he will arrange for them to be treated on the same basis as other members of the CD. services in respect of the time matters mentioned.

The principles governing the award of Civil Defence gratuities were explained in the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 8th March. These principles are in general the same as those applied to the Armed Forces and are not applicable to mortuary workers, who were not employed under Civil Defence conditions of service. For similar reasons they do not qualify for post-war credits and the Government have felt unable to extend these payments to other classes.

asked the Minister of Health how many deaths of immunised persons from diphtheria occurred in 1944.

Returns from local authorities in England and Wales show 35 deaths from diphtheria during 1944 among immunised children under 15 years of age, as compared with 700 deaths from diphtheria among non-immunised children. No information is available on deaths among persons over 15 years of age.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he is aware of the difficulties of reinstating ex-Servicemen in the Liverpool cotton trade owing to the restrictions of Government control; and whether he can now give some indication as to what plans exist to relax these controls at the earliest possible opportunity.

The distribution of cotton is already conducted through the merchants, but conditions in the countries of supply and the wide variations in price render public purchase of cotton abroad unavoidable at the present time. It is intended to revert to private purchase as soon as conditions permit.

asked the Minister of Supply how many firms have been given orders by his Department during the war; and how many have been taken over on account of inefficiency.

The Ministry of Supply has placed contracts with 23,500 firms during the war, and has taken over nine on account of inefficiency.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many units of U.N.R.R.A. are now working in Germany and liberated territory, respectively; whether the rates of pay are in any way comparable with those paid for similar work to service and Red Cross workers doing identical work; what has been the amount and cost of the services provided by the Army for these units for transport, rations and communications; and whether he will arrange for these duties to be carried out, so far as displaced persons are concerned, by service units or the Red Cross.

240 U.N.R.R.A. Teams are now working in Germany. None are working in liberated territory in North-West Europe. I am informed that in general rates of pay for U.N.R.R.A. personnel compare not unfavourably with those for Service and/or Red Cross personnel engaged on similar work. The services provided by the Army are on the normal scales for Army units. I regret that information as to their cost is not available.I regret that I cannot adopt the suggestion in the last part of my hon. Friend's Question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the shortage of labour for the coming harvest he will make every effort to make German prisoners available to farmers in small numbers; and whether, in order to provide the necessary guards, he will examine the possibility of employing repatriated British prisoners of war who have completed their term of leave and would in all probability be well suited to such assignments.

I have been asked to reply. Subject to local security restrictions all German prisoners allocated to agriculture may work in small parties as needed by the farmer employer. Repatriated British prisoners of war are already employed to guard German prisoners of war provided they are suitable and willing.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will give the latest available figures showing how many German prisoners of war in this country are engaged in agricultural and other useful work and how many are unemployed; and whether arrangements are now being made to encourage those prisoners at present unemployed to undertake handicraft and similar work in their camps.

Approximately 70,000 German prisoners of war are employed on agriculture and other useful work, and 125,000 are at present unemployed. Arrangements are now being made to bring as many of these as possible into employment. Useful work is also being carried out inside the camps.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that soldiers lent to the Colonial Office before the war for service with the King's African Rifles forfeited the leave to which they were entitled when his Department assumed control of that force on 1st October, 1940; and whether, in view of the end of the war in the West, he will grant these men the leave to which they had become entitled up to 1st October, 1940, or make a cash grant in place thereof.

The contracts entered into by officers and soldiers for normal peacetime service in Colonial Forces provided for a special scale of leave, often on generous terms, subject to the exigencies of the Service and for the accumulation of that leave. At the outbreak of war all normal and special entitlement to leave was cancelled, and leave has since then only been granted under special war rules. It is a well-established rule that leave must be taken as opportunity offers, and that if it is not taken it must be foregone. All ranks of the Army have been short of leave since the outbreak of war, and though it is regrettable that the exigencies of the Service did not permit the grant of the full periods of leave at the time, I do not consider there is a case for giving exceptional treatment to this group of officers.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give a list of all the various Army units, auxiliaries and stations, now described by initials only, with the corresponding full description.

I am not sure what my hon. Friend has in mind. The use of initials instead of the full name is not as a rule laid down, but in the course of time grows up as a habit among those individuals who have often to refer to the name.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will institute an inquiry into circumstances affecting the Tile House estate, Guildford, where a private enterprise, which would have provided 1,000 houses in the borough of Guildford with exceptional amenities, has been frustrated by his Department.

This site was requisitioned in September, 1939, when the problem of housing the expanding Army was very serious. Moreover, only a few bungalows were then on the site. It has been used for an Army camp and for an A.T.S. centre and it is now a Dispersal Centre. As such it will continue to be used while men are being released under the Release Scheme. No inquiry seems to me to be necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will consider releasing the buildings of a school, details of which have been submitted to him, requisitioned by his Department in 1939, as this school is unable to continue its tenancy of its present quarters to which it was evacuated and is threatened with extinction unless it can return to its own buildings at Broadstairs, where alternative accommodation is available in unoccupied premises.

These buildings are at present being used for repatriated prisoners of war, and I regret that until they leave the buildings cannot be released. But they will be released as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of a further encroachment, details of which have been submitted to him, by his Department on the premises of a school whose existence is threatened by its continued inability to occupy its premises; and whether he will inquire into this case and remedy the injustice.

Owing to a misunderstanding, additional rooms in the school premises were occupied by the unit then in possession. In order to regularise the position the rooms in question were requisitioned to cover the period of occupation and are now being derequisitioned.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will cause inquiry to be made into the explosion of a Mills bomb on Kirkby Moor, near Ulverston, on Wednesday, 9th May, which caused the death of one boy and the serious wounding of two others; and if he will assure the House that open spaces which have been used as training grounds with live ammunition will now be swept.

An inquiry into this distressing accident is being held. It has been delayed because the unit which was in occupation of the area in question is now overseas. Very full instructions exist with regard to the search for and collection of dangerous material which may be left on training grounds.

asked the Secretary of State for War what modifications he has been able to make in the terms on which officers and other ranks invalided out of the Army as a result of wounds are notified of their discharge; and on the question of their wearing uniform after discharge while attending E.M.S. hospitals under Ministry of Pensions arrangements.

The decision that an officer must be invalided out of the Army is reached on a finding that he is permanently unfit for service, whatever the cause of his disability may be. The instrument under which he is invalided is the Royal Warrant for Pay and Promotion, and in order to meet the point raised in the first part of the Question the expression used in the notification letter to each officer, and in the notice in "The London Gazette," has been altered from "ill-health," which was used in peacetime, to "disability" which is the expression used in the Pay Warrant. In the case of other ranks, the expression used on the discharge certificate is "ceasing to fulfil Army physical requirements," which calls for no alteration. It was carefully chosen so as to avoid prejudicing the man's chance of obtaining employment in civil life after discharge. He is entitled to a wound stripe for wounds received in action which he may wear on plain clothes.As regards uniform it has been decided that officers who have relinquished their commissions or who have been relegated to unemployment should be allowed to wear uniform if they wish to while they are undergoing treatment in hospital as in-patients and until they are discharged. Instructions about this have recently been issued.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many death sentences on persons under 18 years of age have been imposed on German citizens since the conclusion of hostilities by British military authorities; and for what offences.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "None."

asked the Secretary of State for War when he expects to release for public use that part of the Winchester by-pass now occupied as a vehicle repair depot.

This part of the by-pass will, I hope, be given up by 1st September.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that a repatriated prisoner of war may have commitments much above the £8 which is allowed to him on repatriation, he will consider raising this sum to, say, £20, to be debited against his war gratuity when it is eventually paid.

I gave details of the present arrangements in the reply I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Antrim (Sir H. O'Neill) on 5th June. Returned prisoners may ask for payments to be made within the amount of any credit balance on their accounts and I do not consider that further arrangements are needed.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will cause an investigation to be held concerning the case of 2982319 Private E. Butcher, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, now in His Majesty's prison, Peterhead, who was overseas for six years without leave, although his father had died meanwhile, and was brought back to be put in prison on account of a dispute over the question of leave.

The hon. Member does not appear to be aware that this man was court-martialled in the Middle East in 1944 and sentenced to three years' penal servitude for a civil offence. He has been brought home in order to serve the rest of his sentence. In the time available I have not been able to find out whether before he committed his offence there was any special reason for not repatriating him to this country.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in the case of soldiers who, without applying themselves, were placed on Class W Reserve and directed to essential building work and were subsequently recalled, such service will be counted for release purposes.

Command 6548 lays down. that only whole-time service in the Armed Forces of the Crown since 3rd September, 1939, which counts for Service pay, counts for release purposes. No exceptions have been made in favour of any of those men who were released to take up employment in industry. The employer normally applied in the first place, but no man was released who was not willing. I am afraid that I cannot adopt the hon. Member's suggestion.

asked the Minister of Labour if he can now make a statement regarding the estimated timetable for demobilisation of soldiers in the lower groups.

I have been asked to reply. It is intended to release groups up to and including 11 by 12th August. I am not at present in a position to make any further official statement.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he has traced the whereabouts of 4453563 Private George Freeman, of Hull, attached to the D.L.I., taken prisoner in 1940, No. 12478 and detained in Camp 344, Stalag E 592, Germany.

No. 4458563 Private George Freeman, Durham Light Infantry, is recorded as having been a prisoner of war in Camp 344, Germany. In January of this year, when the Soviet forces were approaching, the Germans evacuated Camp 344 and the inmates were transported, mainly on foot, to various camps in Western Germany. Most of the men originally in Camp 344 have been recovered and are now in this country, but so far no information has reached me about Private Freeman. Stragglers from various camps in Germany are still in the territories administered by the Soviet Forces and urgent inquiries have been made with a view to their transfer to the British or American Forces for return to the United Kingdom. The next-of-kin will be informed as soon as authentic information can be given of these missing prisoners of war.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has negotiated more than one exchange of parcels or cables for our prisoners in the hands of the Japanese and what progress he has made in this direction.

Only one agreement for the exchange of telegrams between prisoners of war and internees in Japanese hands and their relatives has been negotiated and it is still in operation. Telegrams continue to be despatched and received under its provisions. Relief supplies are provided on a pool basis for British Commonwealth, American and Dutch prisoners of war and civilian internees in Japanese hands. British prisoners of war have accordingly participated in the supplies sent in on the ships employed for the British/Japanese diplomatic exchange and the first American/Japanese diplomatic exchange, both of which took place in the autumn of 1942, and also on the second American/Japanese diplomatic exchange which took place at Goa in October, 1943. They have also participated in the relief supplies lifted last November by a Japanese ship from Nakhodka (near Vladivostock). These supplies were subsequently distributed by the Japanese ships Hosi Maru and Awa Maru.His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, in conjunction with the Governments of the Dominions and India and the United States Government, are continuing their efforts to open a regular route of supplies to Allied prisoners in Japanese hands, but, as I have said previously, experience of the last 3½ years does not hold out much hope for the success of these efforts.

asked the Secretary of State for War, what is the average length of overseas service of British officers serving with the Indian Army; and to what extent this period has been reduced in the past six months.

I understand my hon. and gallant Friend is referring to officers of the British service attached to units of the Indian Army. In December, 1944, a considerable number of these officers had served continuously overseas for longer than the period of 3 years 8 months applicable to officers and men serving in India and S.E.A.C. By the end of this month only very few will have been overseas longer than 3 years 8 months, and the period will gradually be reduced in accordance with the statement I made in the Debate on 8th June.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he will explain the regulations concerning home leave for British officers and men serving in the Indian Army; and whether any reduction in the period of service qualifying for home leave is contemplated.

:I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of my replies to my hon. Friend the Member for the Canterbury Division (Sir W. Wayland)on 14th November, my hon. Friend the Member for the Cathcart Division of Glasgow (Mr. Beattie) on 14th December, and my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford (Mr. Hogg) on 1st February, which explain the position. The efforts of the Commander-in-Chief and the Government of India are at present being devoted to the acceleration of home leave including air trooping, in order that the accumulation of Indian Army officers eligible for 61 days' leave may be worked through as speedily as operational exigencies permit. Until this accumulation is worked through, there can be no question of reducing the five years period qualifying for 61 days' leave. Meanwhile, the 28 days' leave scheme is operating for those with less length of service overseas.

asked the Secretary of State for War for what offence the five Ethiopian notables Grazmatch Zerre Bakit, Blatta Fasil Ogbazgi, Grazmatch Tesfa Michael Worke, Blatta Asfaha Abraha, Araya Sebhatu, two of whom are members of the Eritrean Native Council, were arrested in February, 1944, and each compelled to find two guarantors and bail to the value of £1,080 sterling.

I am afraid that the information necessary to answer my hon. Friend's Question has not yet reached me.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the position, details of which have been submitted to him, of British shareholders in a commercial enterprise in Estonia whose property has been confiscated since the incorporation of that State in the U.S.S.R.; what compensation will be paid to British nationals thus affected; and whether Estonian assets frozen in this country will be used for this purpose.

With regard to the first part of the Question, my right hon. Friend has received details of a number of such cases. Since the hon. Member does not give the names of the British shareholders to whom he refers, it is not possible for me to comment on the particular case he has in mind. As the hon. Member is no doubt aware, the Board of Trade opened a register in the summer of 1940 for the purpose of collecting all available information regarding property and debts in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania belonging to, or due to, persons and companies of British nationality. If particulars of the property in Estonia to which the hon. Member refers have been registered with the Board of Trade, he may rest assured that the interests of the shareholders will not be overlooked when the time comes to make a general settlement.As regards the second part of the Question, the position is that in January, 1941, His Majesty's Government informed the Soviet Government that they reserved the right to claim full indemnification in respect of all property belonging to British subjects which had been expropriated in Estonia. It is hoped that a settlement covering all the property involved will eventually be negotiated with the Soviet Government; if and when such a settlement is reached, its terms will no doubt determine the amount of compensation to be paid to the British persons and firms concerned.No decision has yet been taken regarding the disposal of the Estonian assets now frozen in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Works if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing for each Metropolitan borough the number of houses totally destroyed by enemy action, the number partially destroyed but repairable and the number which has been repaired to date.

Over 100,000 dwellings in the London Civil Defence region were destroyed or damaged beyond repair by enemy action during the course of the war. In addition, it is estimated that about three-quarters of London's 2,200,000 dwellings received damage of some kind. Fortunately a considerable proportion of this damage was of a minor character. Over 1,000,000 houses were damaged by rockets and flying bombs during the ten months' bombardment. The great majority of these houses have been repaired at least up to the emergency standard laid down last winter. Except in a few areas where the damage was most recent the remainder will have been dealt with by the middle of next month. Large numbers of these houses have, of course, been repaired up to a higher standard.When this important stage has been completed we shall be left with two main tasks of house repair in London:First, to repair the large number of dwellings which were so heavily damaged that they are not at present habitable; secondly, to finish off the remaining repairs on several hundred thousand houses which have so far not been repaired beyond the emergency standard. The Government intend to tackle the bulk of this work before the severity of the winter sets in. This is a very large programme which will continue to make heavy demands on our resources of building labour and materials. However, we regard the provision of some additional comfort to the bombed families of London as a very urgent task and one which must continue to have high priority until it is completed.A table showing the position in each borough is being compiled and will be published shortly.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport how many public service vehicles are licensed for the conveyance of passengers; what was the corresponding number at 1st September, 1939; and how many of these are owned by the railway companies and by undertakings directly associated with the railway companies.

:Full statistics have not been maintained during the war, but the information available indicates that 30,000 single-decked vehicles and 22,000 double-decked vehicles were in operation at 30th April, 1945, against34,000 and 16,000 respectively in 1938. Apart from some 300 vehicles which are jointly owned and operated by railway companies and certain local authorities, none are owned by the railway companies. I have no information as to the number owned by undertakings with which they are associated.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport when the electrification of the Manchester-Sheffield railway line will be carried out; and how many men will be employed on this work.

It is not possible, at this stage, to say when the electrification of the Manchester-Sheffield line will be carried out, as recommencement of the work is dependent on availability of labour and materials. The London & North Eastern Railway Company intend to resume work as soon as conditions permit. When construction is at its height, between 1,500 and 2,000 men will be employed on the line, and there will be considerable indirect employment on the manufacture of electrical and other apparatus required and on the building of rolling stock.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he has any information to give concerning the allocation of naval work, including repairs, on the Tyneside.

:The volume of naval new construction work on the Tyneside continues at a high level. Naval repair and refitting work will also continue to make substantial calls on the resources of the Tyneside until the needs of the Far Eastern Fleet have been met.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that work is still continuing on the Predannick Aerodrome in Cornwall; and whether, in view of the fact that there are other aerodromes in the immediate neighbourhood already completed and likely to go out of use, he will prohibit any further expenditure on Predannick.

I understand that the hon. Member is referring to the naval air station under construction at Culdrose; Predannack is an R.A.F. Station. The existing of other aerodromes in the neighbourhood does not of itself obviate the need for the projected naval air station at Culdrose, which is designed to meet the special requirements of naval air training, and I cannot undertake to prohibit any further expenditure at Culdrose. The hon. Member may rest assured, however, that the position will be kept under review in the light of possible changes in circumstances.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many firms have been given orders by his Department during the war; and how many have been taken over on account of inefficiency.

The answer to the first part of the question is 12,000. In reply to the second part of the Question, three firms have been taken over, but I cannot accept the unqualified implication that this was done on account of their inefficiency.

asked the Minister of Aircraft Production how many firms have been given orders by his Department during the war; and how many have been taken over on account of inefficiency.

My Department has given direct contracts to about 6,500 firms and has taken over the assets or shares of three firms for the reason stated in the Question. In seven other cases authorised controllers have been appointed under the Defence Regulations, but all these appointments have since been terminated.