asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of motoring offences for which summonses were issued in May, 1945, in the Metropolitan area; and the number issued for May, 1946.

Particulars of the number of summonses issued in respect of motoring offences in the Metropolitan Police District could not be obtained without considerable time and labour. The number of summonses for these offences which were dealt with by the courts was 3,166 in May, 1945, and 7,356 in May, 1946.

Can the Home Secretary give any reason for the large increase in the number of summonses before the courts?

There are several reasons. One is that the number of cars actually in use has practically doubled. Another is that the police, now that the war is over, have more time to deal with the kind of offences with which it is necessary to deal if security and safety are to be secured on the roads.

Is my right hon. Friend prepared to abolish the system, introduced during the war, whereby one police constable on a motorcycle was able to lay information for a summons?

I am having the whole question of necessary reforms that should be instituted examined, and I would not like to give an expression of opinion about any particular reform at the moment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now considered the case of M. Roger Boutinot, who has been ordered to leave this country, despite the fact that he is married to an English-woman and that he came to this country in an open boat at the fall of France, served in the Second Paratroop Regiment of the Special Air Service and was awarded the Medaille Militaire Français, English Military Medal and the Croix de Guerre with five citations.

This man is a serving French soldier who was allowed to come here on a visit during his leave. If and when he has been demobilised I shall be prepared to consider whether he may settle in this country.

Will the Home Secretary say when he can announce a general policy on this question? This is only one of many instances of a similar kind.

No, Sir, I have to examine the claims of each of these cases on their individual merits. It would be very unwise to give a general indication which might appear to be either too generous, or too harsh.

May I ask for the mistake in the French to be corrected? It should be "Médaille Militaire Française." I hope I am not being pedantic.

That observation should be addressed to the person who put down the Question, and not to the person who answers it.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say what principles he applies in determining each individual case on its merits?

No, I think it would be exceedingly difficult in answer to a question to make a statement which could cover all the considerations I have to have in mind. I regard allowing these people to come here as a privilege which they have to justify, and I do not think the onus is upon me to prove why I should reject them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is yet in a position to reply to the letter which was sent to him by the Member for Acocks Green, on 30th April, in regard to Tony Trubacik and his British-born wife who are anxious to come from Czechoslovakia to live with Mrs. Trubacik's parents in Birmingham.

My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State wrote to my hon. Friend on 17th June.

May I ask my right hon. Friend whether he realises that in the reply I received just after I put down the Question, the Minister indicated that this gentleman had no claim to settle in the British Isles? Is it not a fact that he has no legal right, but that as one who has fought in the Allied Forces, he surely has some claim? Will the right hon. Gentleman consider that claim?

The statement made on behalf of this gentleman was that he could be afforded employment. The firm say they will only give employment if he is naturalised, and he does not yet satisfy the requirement for that.

Having regard to the large number of cases brought to the notice of hon. Members, is it not felt that a much more humanitarian approach is required?

I am having this constantly under review. As the situation in certain respects becomes easier, I hope it will be possible to adopt a more liberal attitude.

Is it not a fact that if this man can get employment in this country he can come here? Would that be all right?

No, I would not like to give as emphatic an answer as that in reply to a supplementary question. The statement made when the application was submitted was not borne out when investigation was made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Dr. H. S. Zedner, a refugee from Nazi Germany and a lawyer and notary of 25 years' standing, has been refused permission to practise as an international lawyer in this country.

I understand that Dr. Zedner is not qualified to practise as a barrister or solicitor in this country, but in so far as he can use for professional purposes his knowledge of international law, there is no objection so far as the Home Office is concerned, and I am causing Dr. Zedner to be so informed.

While expressing my thanks to my right hon. Friend for this revised and more reasonable view, might I ask him if he can explain to the House how it came about that the permission he is now prepared to give, could not be given without the necessity of putting down a Question?

No, Sir. As I understand it, the original application was that this man should be allowed to practise as a lawyer in this country. For that he has no qualifications. I am prepared to allow him to exercise his qualifications on the lines I have indicated.

Will my right hon. Friend look at the matter again in order to assure himself of what I am assured is the fact, that all for which this man ever applied is what my right hon. Friend says he will give him, and that no application was ever made to allow a man who is not a barrister or a solicitor to practise as such?

I am bound to say that I was so anxious that I should give a correct answer to my hon. Friend that I looked at the papers again at about 12.30 p.m. today, and I think that an examination of the papers will bear out what I have said.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why, in view of the fact that he has granted to Mr. L. Weingarten, a Jewish refugee from Germany settled with his family in business in India for the past eight years, a visa to visit this country on business grounds, he has refused Mrs. Weingarten permission to bring their 10-year-old daughter to be educated in this country, that being the ordinary and medically necessary course in the case of European children of this age.

My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State has already informed my hon. Friend that in view of additional information subsequently received from him visas have been authorised for Mrs. Weingarten and her daughter.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that the additional information received from me, on which these visas have now been granted, was received by the Home Office in a letter from me prior to the refusal which prompted the putting down of this Question on the Order Paper? No further information has been or could be given since my original letter, because there was none.

The additional information was given in conversation by my hon. Friend after a Motion for the Adjournment had been debated the other evening. I have checked up on the papers and I have found that that information was not contained in the original correspondence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why permission has been refused Miss Lola Schenker, who is an American citizen and was living with her parents in this country before the war, and was evacuated to America in 1940 when a child of 13 years, to rejoin her family or even to visit them; and if he will reconsider this decision in view of the hardship involved.

No application for a visa for this girl has within recent date been referred by the passport control officer in New York or made direct to my Department. My hon. Friend was informed in a letter of 29th January that, when it was possible to relax the restrictions which were then necessary, I would be prepared to give sympathetic consideration to an application by Miss Schenker for a visa for a visit to her relations here. I am inquiring of our representative in New York whether her application has been renewed there.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that this little girl, aged 13, was living with her parents here in 1940, that she was evacuated to America, and that, the war being over, her family desired that she should rejoin them, and is there any possible justification for allowing the family in this case to be without that little girl?

The answer is that no application has been received since facilities have been available, and I really cannot grant applications until I have received them.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that previous applications have been made by myself for the admission of this girl?

I have had no communication from my hon. Friend since 29th January.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why appropriate papers and facilities have been refused to Miss Dorothea Cornelia Spetzbact, 15 Kaiseernhixon, Essen, who was born in British South-West Africa, on 21st March, 1918, to enable her to marry Mr. Walter Moore, Nelson, Lancashire, lately demobilised from His Majesty's forces.

I have been asked to reply. In consultation with the Home Office this case is being investigated and my hon. Friend will be informed of the outcome as quickly as possible.

Would my hon. Friend do his best to expedite the investigation, which I am informed has been going on for many months?

Expedition will be assured, but I am afraid my hon. Friend is wrongly informed when he says that the investigation has been going on for some months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what conditions, and subject to what supervision, are children admitted to this country in parties from Poland.

The conditions on which children are admitted to this country vary according to whether they are coming for a recuperative visit or to join relatives, or for ultimate emigration. Parties of children from the Continent are admitted when I am satisfied that a responsible organisation has made adequate arrangements for their accommodation, maintenance, health and welfare, and also for their return home if they are admitted for a recuperative visit.

Would it be practicable for my right hon. Friend to circulate a list of what he considers to be responsible organisations in the sense of his reply?

I should be sorry to do that because I might not know of a particular organisation which I might be able to accept as being responsible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 979 people admitted to the United Kingdom under the scheme announced in November, 1945, came here from concentration camps or camps for displaced persons in Germany and/or Austria; how many of such persons were in each of the priority categories set out in that scheme and how many were Jews.

As the answers to the various points raised are rather long and contain a number of figures, I will with permission, circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether any have come from displaced persons' camps in Germany? If not, what is the reason, other than the question of transport?

Yes, I think that some of these people have come from those camps.

Will my right hon. Friend look at the official proceedings of two days ago, when he will see that his hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told me, in reply to a supplementary question, that not one person had so far benefited or had arrived in this country?

Following is the statement:

The statistics kept in the Home Office of foreigners admitted under the distressed relatives scheme are based on arrivals at ports in the United Kingdom and do not show the place from which an individual started his journey. It is occasionally known from other sources that an individual has come from a camp in Germany or Austria, but the complete total of such cases could be obtained only by examination of the records in the passport control offices in Germany and Austria, and I am reluctant to divert the staffs there from the more important work of examining the very numerous applications and expediting the issue of visas to qualified persons as soon as they have obtained permits to leave Germany.

The classification into categories of the 979 foreigners who had been identified up to 31st May as arriving under this scheme has not yet been completed. An analysis of 878 of the cases shows:

As I informed my hon. Friend the Member for North Salford (Mr. McAdam) on 6th June, the statistics kept by my Department do not classify foreigners according to race or to religion, and I am therefore unable to say how many of these persons are Jews.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. Sztajnhart, now in Brussels, has been refused permission to visit his relatives in London, upon the ground that he does not qualify as a distressed person for a visa for the United Kingdom, although he was five years in Auschwitz concentration camp and is the sole survivor of a family comprising his parents, three sisters and three brothers; what is the accepted definition of a distressed person; and whether he will take steps to see that the policy of his Department, in this respect, is pursued in a more humane spirit.

In my statement of 13th November, I pointed out that the Government could not undertake to admit to this country all distressed persons who have relatives here and that the Scheme must for the present be limited to the categories of persons specified in my statement. It is because this case fell outside any of these categories that it is not possible to accede to the application.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that an application was made to his Department in regard to this man visiting this country, and even in the terrible circumstances set out in my Question, no such permission was given on the ground that he was not a distressed person?

Unfortunately, the state of Europe is such that I can only admit people within certain limited categories. No one regrets that more than I do, I am very sorry that there is a substantial number of persons who cannot be admitted, whom I am quite sure every person of good will in this country would desire to admit, but if we made these exceptions we should be overwhelmed.

Whilst I appreciate what my right hon. Friend says about the admission of persons who desire to stay permanently in this country, surely in the case of a man of this kind, who has relatives here, who could receive him and give him some comfort, permission to make a short visit might be given to him?

The statement I have just made applies equally to visits as to people who desire to stay. Sometimes I have considerable difficulty when I am persuaded to allow a person to visit here, and then every excuse is put forward to turn what was originally a short visit into a permanent stay.

In view of the right hon. Gentleman's expression of good will, on which we are all very anxious to believe him, will he inquire how it comes about that, even in these limited categories to which he has referred, although admission was authorised in a statement six months ago, nobody has yet benefited?

No, Sir. I cannot accept that statement as to the action I have taken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the prison population in England and Wales on the latest convenient date; and what was the figure for the comparable date in 1938.

the population of prisons and Borstal institutions on 18th June was 16,000. On the 21st June, 1938, it was 11,000.

While some increase is to be expected for the war years, does not the right hon. Gentleman attribute part of this alarming increase to the maintenance of offences under regulation and Socialist control?

No, Sir, certainly not to the second of the alternatives suggested by the hon. and learned Gentleman. In answer to a question it is difficult to give all the reasons. One of the reasons for the increase in the prison population is that recently the judges have been passing longer sentences for certain classes of offences not connected with those mentioned by the hon. and learned Gentleman.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the calorie value of No. 1 diet in His Majesty's prisons.

This is a punishment diet consisting of 1 lb. of bread with water. The caloric value of 1 lb. of bread is approximately 1,180.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long the present restrictions on travel from this country to Eire are likely to continue.

As regards British subjects in general there is no restriction on travel to Ireland provided they obtain travel identity cards. These are necessary to facilitate re-entry into Great Britain having regard to the existing controls on passenger traffic from Eire to this country. The only exceptions are a few individuals who were interned during the war and whose movements it is still necessary to restrict.

If these people have a current passport, does the right hon. Gentleman require a travel permit as well?

I would like to see that question on the Order Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he is aware that a Home Office inspector called on Professor Edward Liddell, of Oxford, prior to a visit by R.S.P.C.A. officers in connection with an allegation of cruelty to animals; and if he will state the purpose of the inspector's visit and the nature of any report which he made.

A Home Office inspector visited the Physiology Department at Oxford University on 17th April—a month before the visit of the R.S.P.C.A. officers. The visit was paid in the ordinary course of the inspector's duties, and he found no ground for adverse comment.

asked the Minister of Pensions when it is intended to make provision for the hearing of appeals against inadequate assessment of disability.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Parkin) on 6th June.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary say whether the Order in Council foreshadowed in that answer has been issued, and, if so, when the tribunals are going to commence sitting?

My right hon. Friend is hoping that this will be in operation in the early future.

Would the hon. Gentleman answer the first part of my supplementary question and say whether the Order in Council has been issued?

If the hon. Member cares to put that question down, I shall be glad to give him the correct answer.

asked the Minister of Pensions when the letter promised to the hon. and gallant Member for Antrim, on 18th April, about Mr. A. D. W. Greene will be written.

My right hon. Friend hopes to be in a position to write to the hon. and gallant Member in the course of the next few days.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I have been waiting for that reply for 10 weeks?

That is nothing.

I am sorry there has been this delay, but I think it is only fair to point out that the regular payments in this case were made some time ago, and it is only in respect of exceptional payments that delay is now occurring.

asked the Minister of Health, what is the cost, in eluding land, ready for occupation, of the recently imported house from Sweden.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the pair of special concrete houses being built by the Staff Homes Housing Association at New Street Hill, Sundridge Park. These houses are being built under an ordinary building licence and the cost, including land and services, will be £1,270 each.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that he has not answered my Question, and that I was not referring to those houses at all?

I did my utmost to construe the Question in order to be courteous to the hon. Member. What I should have said was that I could not understand it.

asked the Minister of Health why he insists on wooden floors for new houses when wood is in short supply and as in many modern and L.C.C. flats, concrete or composition is found to be satisfactory.

I have never insisted on wooden floors for new houses, and I am quite prepared to approve suitable alternatives where the local authorities so desire, or where it is necessary to save timber. I have in fact done so in a large number of cases.

Is the Minister aware that I have a concrete case of where wooden floors have been ordered where wood is not available and composite or concrete was available?

If there are instances of that sort, I hope the hon. Member will bring them to my attention, but I have encouraged, and I am still encouraging, alternative materials to be used.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the shortage of plumbing units is preventing the completion and occupation of houses in the Maidstone area; and can he give any information as to when this situation will be remedied.

I am aware of this shortage, which is delaying the completion of temporary houses in several areas, and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Works is making every effort to overcome it. Deliveries of plumbing units for temporary houses in the Maidstone area began on 24th June.

Will the Minister answer the last part of the Question, and say when will this situation be remedied?

The situation will be progressively remedied, but I am bound to tell the House that the temporary housing programme was planned in such an awkward way that it is extremely difficult to carry out.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a firm, particulars of which have been sent to him, is advertising houses to be built, without having either licences or land on which to build, and is asking for an advance payment of 10 guineas, non-returnable, for plans, photographs and general specifications; and whether he will take powers to forbid such advertisements in consequence of which many homeless people may make disbursements for which they will receive no comparable benefits.

I have seen the letter sent by the firm in question to one of my hon. Friend's constituents. The letter indicates that no guarantee as to the erection of a house can be given by the firm, and I think that the lack of this essential condition will be sufficient to deter those in need of houses from proceeding with negotiations.

While in general not forbidding advertisements of that kind, will my right hon. Friend warn the public against them?

I hope in this instance that the Press will take note of the Question and the answer, because I think it is most cruel to encourage people to make deposits for houses which will never be delivered, and this looks like becoming a very big ramp.

Does this also apply to bogus writers?

asked the Minister of Health for how many months sites have been sought for houses at Charlton-on-Otmoor, Oxfordshire; when it is anticipated that agreement will be reached; how many houses will be erected; and when they will be completed.

The local authority first submitted postwar housing proposals for this parish in September, 1943. The site originally selected has since been abandoned by the council in the interests of agriculture, and three other possible sites are now under consideration. It is hoped that a final selection will be made soon. Not more than four houses are proposed; it is not yet possible to say when they will be completed.

Does not the Minister think that waiting since 1943 to decide on a site is a long time, and is he aware that four houses are needed?

This local authority is building in other parishes, and its progress in other areas is quite good. There has been some difficult in this parish.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent his temporary and permanent housing programmes are being hindered by lack of constructional soft wood.

The soft wood supply position has necessitated very strict economy in the use of timber for housing purposes, but if the hon. Member has in mind any specific instance in which work is being actually held up for lack of soft wood, I should be glad to look into it.

Is the Minister aware that an unusual quantity of soft wood is available in Germany? Why cannot we get some of that?

Arrangements are being made to get soft wood from Germany, and some has already arrived. We hope that we shall have much more towards the end of the year.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the fact that application was made on 3rd April for the requisite materials, he will take immediate steps to enable Messrs. W. E. Baugh and Sons to carry out urgent repairs on the public right of way at No. 8 The Parade, Green Street Green, Farnborough, Kent, particulars of which have been sent to him.

I understand that the materials required are a manhole frame and cover. Both these articles are in extremely short supply at present and I regret that it is not possible to ensure that all demands are met. There is nothing to prevent goods being supplied through the ordinary trade channels where sufficient stocks are available, and no form of priority certificate is required where the repairs are clearly a matter of urgency. I understand that the local authority have advised Messrs. Baugh and Sons to this effect.

Is the Minister aware of the delay in this and similar cases, over many weeks, when supplies are available within three or four miles and the firm mentioned could not get a priority order at all?

They are not very competent.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that certain opticians are suggesting to National Health Insurance patients that delays in supplying eyeglasses, etc., can be avoided if they become private patients and fore-go the National Health Insurance grant; and what steps are being taken to prevent this by increasing the supply of eyeglasses.

I have been in touch with my right hon. Friend the Minister of National Insurance, but we have no information as to the first part of the Question. On the question of improving the supply of lenses, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 24th June by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether, if I send him further information, he will look into it, and if he will also consider extending price control over the whole range of these things, in order to avoid this situation?

I think it is controlled, but I will look into it.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the difficulty which has arisen in consequence of the doubt which exists as to whether the hospital officers' salaries, whose salary scales have been recommended by the Joint Negotiating Committee, Hospital Staffs, should have been dealt with by the National Joint Council for Local Authorities Administrative, Professional, Technical and Clerical Servants; and if he will indicate, for the guidance of hospital authorities, whether the scales recommended by the Joint Negotiating Committee should be adopted.

I am aware of this question and I am making inquiries.

asked the Minister of Health what action he proposes to take on the proposals for a hospital administrative service for domestic staffs, placed before representatives of his Department on 30th May, 1946, by the Women's Guild of Empire.

These proposals cover much the same ground as those contained in the Government statement "Staffing the Hospitals," and in the report of the National Joint Council for the staff of hospitals and similar institutions, which have already been sent to all hospital authorities. I am sending my hon. Friend copies of these two documents.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that there are 600 cases waiting for admission to Middlesex County Council tubercular hospitals; that 200 beds are closed through shortage of staff, due in some measure to lack of suitable accommodation for them; and why he declines to approve plans for new nurses' homes and extensions to the Harefield Tubercular Hospital.

I am aware of the shortage of beds for tuberculous patients in this county, and of the difficulties raised by inadequate staff accommodation; but I must have regard also to other pressing claims on building labour and materials. I am, however, reviewing the case to see whether a part of the proposed building might proceed.

Would the Minister find it possible to regard the provision of new nurses' homes as a part of the general housing problem, because it would be a contribution towards the solution of this difficulty, and would he regard sympathetically the difficulties of local authorities in the provision of accommodation for domestic staffs?

It would hardly be possible to regard the provision of nurses' homes as an addition to housing amenities, because nurses have homes as well, but I appreciate the shortage of nurses, and among the considerations for giving certificates for these that will be borne in mind.

In view of the immense length of time for which this unsatisfactory situation has been continuing, will the right hon. Gentleman issue as soon as possible a report of what progress has been made, particularly with regard to getting Service patients suffering from tuberculosis into hospitals?

The House knows that one of the main difficulties is the provision of nurses, and this is a shortage which has occurred not only during the last 10 months but during the last 10 years.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has had any consultations with the Voluntary Blood Donors' Association in connection with the National Health Service.

No, Sir; it would have been premature at this stage. But I fully appreciate the importance of the work of voluntary blood donors, and I am setting up a committee including their representatives to advise me on questions arising in connection with the blood transfusion service.

asked the Minister of Health if he is now in a position to make a statement on the inquiries to be undertaken by the Advisory Water Committee; and whether they include the national use of water and management of water supplies.

The Committee's initial programme of work is to be discussed at their first meeting on the 28th June. There is no present proposal that it will include the matters to which my hon. Friend refers in the latter part of the Question.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking, having regard to the recent cut in the soap ration, to ensure that the necessary plant is installed by water companies so as to reduce the hardness of the water supplies, especially in the London area.

This matter is receiving my consideration, but the hon. and gallant Member will appreciate that the installation by a water undertaker of water softening plant cannot be effected speedily.

Would the Minister bear in mind that it has been almost impossible for housewives to manage on the meagre soap rations now available in districts such as London where the water is very hard, and that it will be impossible for them to do their own laundry during the winter unless steps are taken to increase the soap ration or to make the water more soft?

The provision of the soap ration lies outside my Department. I quite agree that it is necessary to try to get the water softened, but the provision of plant is the difficulty.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to press the Ploughley Rural District Council to prepare sewerage plans for Bletchington, Oxfordshire.

Any such works would compete with urgent works now being undertaken by the council, for the labour and materials available, and, therefore, while I am keeping the matter in view I do not propose to press the council at the moment.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the existence of various medical funds, owned and controlled by the mineworkers of this country, the functions of which are to provide men injured in the mines with the required treatment of massage, chiropody, etc.; and whether he proposes to retain, in some form or other, these beneficial facilities under the new Health Bill.

It is the design of the new service to provide all necessary forms of treatment without charge.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has applied the provisions of Section 1 and 2 of the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act, 1946, to the compulsory acquisition of land by a local authority for the purposes of a park, recreation ground or open space; or what other speedy procedure he has made available to a Jocal authority to acquire compulsorily land for such purposes.

The provisions of this Act apply to the compulsory acquisition of land for the purposes referred to.

asked the Minister of Health the number of identity cards in issue in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively, on 1st June, 1946, or the last convenient date.

A record is not kept of the total number of identity cards in issue, and the labour involved in the production of such a figure would hardly be justified.

asked the Prime Minister the numbers of deserters from the three Services; and whether a general amnesty is contemplated both for those under sentence and for those not yet apprehended.

As regards the number of deserters, the figures are approximately as follow:

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are many cases where a man has disappeared and is assumed to have deserted, with consequent great suffering to wives and families? Will he have some of those cases looked into, because it must be possible in many instances that the man is not a deserter but has been killed in an air raid or something like that?

If there are any cases like that I hope the hon. Gentleman will take them up with the Ministers of the appropriate Departments. I quite agree that there is difficulty in tracing the men in some cases, and I agree that every possible effort should be made to clear them up.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in one case I have been badgering the Department for months until I have become heartily sick of it, because I can get no satisfaction?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will send it to me.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider a case of mine?

Certainly.

asked the Prime Minister why an official announcement was made from No. 10, Downing Street, regarding the appointment of a Royal Commission on Justices of the Peace before the House of Commons was informed; and if he will, in future, inform this House first on matters of similar importance.

So far as I am aware, no announcement on this matter was made public prior to my announcement in the House of Commons. As it was of importance that Press reports of the setting up of the Commission and of its detailed terms of reference should be accurate, an advance copy was issued to newspapers through the Central Office of Information in accordance with established practice in dealing with detailed announcements of this kind. This notice carried the customary embargo prohibiting publication until after the announcement in the House of Commons, and I have no evidence that that embargo was broken.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will give instructions for the discontinuation of the dismantling of German plants in the British zone, in view of the decisions already taken to that end by the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. in their respective zones.

The German problem as a whole is likely to be reviewed by the Council of Foreign Ministers at present meeting in Paris, and I am not therefore in a position to make a statement on the point raised by my hon. Friend.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that both General Lucius Clay on behalf of the Americans, and Marshal Sokolovsky on behalf of the Russians, have already declared independently that they are stopping dismantling of German plants? As it is quite obvious that high officers in the British zone in Germany want to follow the same policy, why have they been prevented from doing so?

My hon. Friend may be assured that my right hon. Friend and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster have not overlooked the force of his argument.

Is it not the case that we have not started to dismantle plant in the British zone?

Is it not the case that this plant is required in this country for British industry for reconstruction purposes, and that we are unable to get supplies of new plant for periods ranging between 18 months to two years? In those circumstances, is it reasonable that this plant should be allowed to remain in Germany while British manufacturers are not able to get the plant they require?

I think my hon. Friend is talking about another subject.

Taking a long-term view, would my hon. Friend bear in mind that any removal or dismantling of German machinery would amount to cutting off our noses to spite our faces?

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, whether he will inform the House of the number of Germans who have emigrated from the British zone to the Russian zone of Germany.

By 8th June, 1946, 506,874 Germans had been transferred from the British to the Russian zone of Germany.

Was the transfer a voluntary one or an enforced one?

I should like notice of that.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made in the repatriation of anti- Naziz to Germany; how many applications have been received; and how many have been approved.

Several thousand refugees in this country have applied in various ways for repatriation but only 145 individual written applications have been received in the Control Office. I am unable to say how many of these were from anti-Nazis. So far approval has been given for 18 anti-Nazi refugees to return to the British zone for urgent reconstruction tasks and 1,120 anti-Nazi prisoners of war have been repatriated from this country. A wider scheme to enable anti-Nazi refugees to go back to Germany to help in their country's reconstruction is nearing completion and my hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster hopes to be able to make an announcement in the course of the next few days.

Are we to understand from that answer that it is now the declared policy that all anti-Nazi prisoners of war are at once to be repatriated?

I think that that would be a rather unwarranted assumption.

asked the Minister of Labour the latest total combined figure of persons employed in the Armed Forces and auxiliary services, C.D., N.F.S., police, national Government service, local government service, ex-members of His Majesty's Forces who have not yet taken up employment, insured persons registered as unemployed, persons employed making munitions and war stores, persons employed in the distributive trades, and persons employed in catering and entertainments.

At the end of April, 1946, the combined total of persons in the categories mentioned was approximately 9,365,000.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that these people are not directly concerned in producing goods, and that practically half our labour force at the moment is not producing goods?

I am quite aware that many of these are not engaged in producing goods, but some must be kept to distribute goods.

asked the Minister of Labour the latest total combined figure of persons employed in agriculture, horticulture, mining and quarrying, gas, water and electricity supply, transport, shipping, fishing and manufacturing industries, less persons making munitions and war stores and persons employed in commerce, finance, professional and personal services and laundries.

At the end of April, 1946, the combined total of persons employed in the categories mentioned was approximately 9,978,000.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that these people are employed in producing goods, and will he say what steps the Government are taking to take the strain off those people, who are very much overstrained in producing goods?

My right hon. Friend is well aware of the categories which are engaged in producing goods.

asked the Minister of Labour the total combined figure of persons out of the total labour force who are being paid by the State through their being in the armed Forces and auxiliary Forces, ex-members of His Majesty's Forces who have not yet taken up employment, insured persons registered as unemployed, C.D. and N.F.S.; and what is the total combined figure of persons paid indirectly through grants, by the State, employed in local government services, C.D. and police.

At the end of April, 1946, the combined total of persons in the armed Forces and auxiliary Services and the National Fire Service, and insured persons registered as unemployed was 2,906,000; the estimated number of ex-members of His Majesty's Forces who have not yet taken up employment was 840,000, but the number in this category who are being paid by the State is not known. Information is not available of the number of persons employed in local government service and the police who are paid indirectly through grants from the Exchequer.

Is it not a fact that, if civil servants and munition workers are included, out of every three people employed one is paid by the Chancellor of the Exchequer through our taxes? What steps is the Ministry of Labour taking to prevent this inflationary trend?

The conclusions in the first part of the supplementary question are wrong, and the others, consequently, do not follow.

Is it not the case that this division in the numbers of gainfully employed persons in industry and elsewhere is not a new one, but existed long before this Government was formed?

That is one of the conditions we are seeking to correct.

I wish to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that temporary civil servants employed in War Office establishments, whose work is being transferred from the provinces to London, have been given notice of dismissal in spite of their willingness to transfer to London and continue in their employment; and why, having regard to the provisions of the Civil Service Control of Employment Order, the War Office is empowered to effect these dismissals without obtaining the permission of the appropriate national service officers.

I understand that notice of dismissal has been given, on grounds of redundancy, to certain temporary civil servants employed in War Office provincial establishments. Under the Control of Employment (Civil Servants) Order, Government Departments are not required to obtain permission of a national service officer before discharging a civil servant who has been declared redundant in accordance with arrangements agreed by the appropriate authorities.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there can be no question whatever of redundancy arising while the work continues to require to be done, and that, in fact, he is delaying the demobilisation of soldiers and members of the A.T.S. by dismissing civil servants engaged on what is purely accountancy work?

That is not the information supplied by the Department concerned.

It is true.

It is not the information supplied by the Department concerned. We are told that, although workers are being transferred to London, those engaged in the provinces are not necessarily required in London to do the job.

Will the hon. Gentleman consult with the Secretary of State for War in regard to the Records Office for confirmation of this information?

I understand that these redundancies were agreed by the arrangement, by what we might call "both sides of the industry."

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are violent and indignant protests, not only at the discharges, but at the breach of the agreement made between the unions and the Government about ordinary discharges that have become necessary? Is he also aware that all he has said this afternoon is poppycock?

I want only to inform the hon. Gentleman that the information about these two cases is quite clear. The Whitley Council was consulted and these redundancies were agreed, and that is the information passed to us from the Department concerned.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will take steps to see that when ex-Servicemen who are employed on clerical duties in any Government Department have to be discharged on account of redundancy they will be given work in some other Government Department in place of married women, whose husbands are in employment, and of juveniles.

The general principle laid down by the National Whitley Council Agreement is, that discharges on redundancy shall be in order of shortness of service, subject to an exception for ex-Servicemen of the 1914–18 war, who, under a long-standing pledge, have preference of retention in temporary Government service. The Agreement provides for no similar exception in the case of ex-Servicemen of the 1939–45 war, and lays down that, particularly in view of the continued manpower shortage, no discrimination should be exercised against married women or juveniles.

Will the hon. Gentleman look into the matter again, as there is considerable resentment amongst ex-Servicemen and women about the way in which the discharge system is operating?

We are always willing to look at it and, indeed, there is continuous review; but there is a shortage of staff.

Will the hon. Gentleman look at it from the other side, as well, and provide employment by placing married men where women are employed?

Has the hon. Gentleman consulted with the Secretary of State for War, who recently gave a thoroughly unsatisfactory answer to a similar question about the Records Office?

I can scarcely deal with that now; but it is a matter, too, for the trade unions concerned and the Civil Service Commissioners.

A very unsatisfactory answer.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that while his statement of principles is absolutely impeccable, the practice in the Departments is absolutely deplorable?

asked the Minister of Labour if any improvement has yet taken place in the recruiting of domestic staffs for service in hospitals; and upon what basis any available staff are allocated.

Yes, Sir. In the period of 18 weeks ending 15th May, my Department placed 12,860 persons in this employment, and the number of vacancies outstanding decreased by 451. The net increase of hospital domestic staffs in the first quarter of this year was 2,400. My local offices do their best to fill the most urgent vacancies first, but allocation by means of compulsory directions no longer operates.

Will the hon. Gentleman say what proportion of these would be immigrant domestics?