asked the Minister of National Insurance what is the average time which elapses between the death of a man and the actual commencement of payment of widow's pension to his widow; and what number of cases have occurred during the first six months of this year in which payment did not begin to be made until three months after the husband's death.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether he will indicate the average time that transpires between the date of receipt in his Department of an application for a widow's pension and the date upon which the pension award is made.

The length of the period between the date of the husband's death and the issue of pension to the widow is in large measure dependent on the date on which the widow makes her application. The average time between receipt of a claim for a widow's pension and the issue of the pension has now been reduced to about five weeks as compared with seven weeks in the early part of this year. The information asked for in the second part of the Question by the hon. Members for Hendon (Sir H. Lucas-Tooth) could not be obtained without a special scrutiny of claims which, for the reason indicated in the first part of my reply, I should not feel justified in undertaking.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are some cases where a very considerable period elapses, which causes great hardship, and will he take account of such cases and reduce the period as far as possible?

I am aware that this situation has not been satisfactory. We have been working on it with our staff at Blackpool but we are now in the process of moving that staff to Newcastle-011-Tyne. I am doing all I can to expedite the handling of these claims and when we are installed in our permanent home 1 am certain that we shall be able to reduce the period much further.

Is this not a result of trying to concentrate all activities under one Ministry, and do not the friendly societies give a much quicker and more efficient service?

In point of fact, the time taken has been considerably reduced since the concentration under one Ministry.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if, in view of the hardship on unemployed persons, ex-Service-men included, who have exhausted un- employment standard benefit, he will put into operation, immediately the National Insurance Act becomes law, the new rates of unemployment benefits.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my recent reply to a similar question by the hon. Member for Blackburn of which I am sending her a copy.

Can my right hon. Friend give me any indication of the date upon which these people can expect to be relieved of the indignity of having to submit to a means test after being unemployed for six months?

I am sorry, but I cannot give a date now. The question is under consideration and is involved in the bringing into operation of the new Bill.

My right hon. Friend will surely agree that he cannot give a date at all because the Bill provides in Clause 12 that for some unemployed persons there must be a means test?

As my hon. Friend knows perfectly well, the Bill contains provisions under Clause 62, and it is those provisions I have in mind.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that these people who have been unemployed for so long have expected something much better of the Government in office at the moment than they are getting?

As my hon. Friend knows quite well, we have been working on this Bill for months past, but as I have stated I cannot give the date for which she has asked.

Will my right hon. Friend circulate the report in HANSARD SO that we shall all know the answer?

Does this mean that the Government are contemplating introducing legislation to abolish the means test?

I have just piloted through this House the National Insurance Bill, and we are now waiting for the time when that Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

Is it not a fact that it is the Tories who are in favour of the means test?

Can I have an answer to my supplementary question as to whether the report is to be circulated in HANSARD?

I am not sure to which report my hon. Friend refers.

I understood the Minister to say that he was sending a copy to the hon. Lady and I am asking whether he will kindly publish it in HANSARD.

The report is contained in a reply to a previous Parliamentary Question and has therefore already appeared in HANSARD.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether he will now make a statement about the arrangements for payment of increased old age pensions next October.

Arrangements have been made for payment of old age pensions at the increased rates to begin on the first pension pay day in October, on the assumption that the National Insurance Bill becomes law this week. Increased rates of pensions contributions will become payable by insured persons and their employers at the same time. A statement giving details of the main changes proposed in the present pensions scheme has been prepared as a White Paper which will, I hope, be available in the Vote Office after six o'clock this evening. An explanatory leaflet for existing and prospective pensioners will be available in post offices at the end of this month. This will explain to existing pensioners the qualifications for the increased pension and the arrangements for issue, and will give guidance to those who will qualify in the near future. Further leaflets giving detailed information about the increased contributions will be available at post offices and employment exchanges. Special notices of the changes in contributions will be sent to voluntary contributors.

May we take it that the leaflet will be written in simple language so that the old people will be able to understand it?

We are preparing a special leaflet which will be of the greatest possible benefit to the old people.

Will my right hon. Friend indicate whether the supplemental allowance will be paid to the old people?

I am sorry, Sir, but I could not hear my hon. Friend.

Will my right hon. Friend state whether the supplemental pension in excess of the proposed pension will be maintained in the interim period?

Yes, Sir.

Will the White Paper include the revised Regulations?

It will contain full information of the full scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the total number of male and female delinquents now in remand homes and approved schools, respectively; whether the Regulations respecting corporal punishment in these institutions have been revised; what are the records of the infliction of this punishment for the last available period; in how many cases were six strokes or over administered; and what is the largest number of strokes administered and for what offences.

As the answer to my hon. Friend's Question includes a number of figures, I will, with his permission, have it printed in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

May we take it that consideration will be given to this matter in view of the promises made some months ago?

The matter is under consideration. I think my hon. Friend will gain enlightenment from my answer to his Question.

Will the Minister answer at any rate the second part of the Question, either in the affirmative or in the negative?

No revision of the Regulations has yet taken place.

When is there likely to be a revision?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Curtis Report on Child Adoption has now been received; and what action he proposes to take as a result of its recommendations.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Mr. Keeling) on 25th July.

In view of the fact that the committee has been sitting for about 18 months, is it not about time that we knew the intentions of the Government?

I gave an answer to that question only last week. The committee has spared no pains to expedite the report. I have been in correspondence with the chairman, and I expect to have the report in my hands about the time when the House resumes, if not earlier.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. and Mrs. Mueller, Home Office reference No. M.35487, who have been waiting now for 15 months to join their children in England and who come under the Distressed Relatives Scheme, have been held up in Paris for five weeks; and when the passport control officer will give them their visa to proceed on their journey.

I understand that application was not made in Paris till a fortnight ago and that the applicants had no proper identity papers, but appeared to be Germans who had recently left Germany. It is the duty of the passport control officer to satisfy himself as to their identity and bona fides before granting them visas, and inquiries, I am informed, are being made for that purpose.

Can my right hon. Friend say when the inquiries are likely to be completed?

We are proceeding with them as rapidly as we can. A fortnight is not very long, in the present disturbed state of the Continent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if it is proposed to release 705830 Corporal J. L. Franczak, Polish Forces, now stationed at the R.A.F. station, Coltishall, Norfolk, in order to take up farmwork in this country.

I am having inquiries made and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children under the age of 14 years have been drowned each year from 1920 to 1946 at each of the following stairs leading to the River Thames in Stepney: Alderman Stairs, Hermitage Stairs, Union Stairs, Wapping Old Stairs, King Henry Stairs, Wapping Dock, New Canal, King James Stairs and Pelican Stairs, respectively.

For the years 1920 to 1942 the police have no records from which the information asked for could be extracted without an undue expenditure of time and labour. For the period 1943 to 1946, there are records of one child under 14 having been drowned at Union Stairs in 1944, one at Pelican Stairs in 1945 and one at Alderman Stairs in 1946.

While thanking the Minister for that information and regretting the absence of information for 20 years, may I ask whether he will say who is responsible for ensuring that these accidents do not occur and that children do not find such easy access to the river?

I do not think I could answer either question without notice, and very long notice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if in order to allay public anxiety during the coming football season, he will summon a conference with the Football Association and the Football League to arrange a consultation with the clubs with a view to agreeing safe maximum attendances.

The number of people that could safely be admitted depends so largely on the individual circumstances of the ground that I doubt whether it would be useful to attempt to deal with the question centrally. Pending further consideration of the machinery necessary for determining and enforcing maximum safety attendances, I am sure that the clubs will take every precaution open to them and, in this connection, will study the report on the Bolton disaster.

Am I to understand that no steps will be taken by the Government before the next football season arrives in order to allay the anxiety of the football going public?

No, Sir, my hon. Friend must not understand that.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons formerly detained under Regulation I8B are still under restrictions to travel; under what authority such restrictions are imposed; how long such restrictions will remain in force; and for what reasons they have been imposed on the persons concerned.

There are five such persons from whom I have decided that, in the national interest, facilities to travel abroad ought to be withheld and to whom leave to embark would be refused under powers preserved by the Emergency Laws (Transitional Provisions) Act, 1946. The powers remain in force until the end of 1947 unless previously revoked.

Have the persons concerned been told under what authority they are being restricted in travel, and have the full contents of any Order which affects this activity been given to them?

No, Sir, I could not say that in each of these cases, but if any of them asked under what authority I was acting they would be told.

In the term "abroad" does the right hon. Gentleman include Eire? If that is so, is it not rather ridiculous that there should be this kind of restriction?

It certainly does include travel to Eire. It is very desirable that these five persons should be prevented from getting to that particular country.

In view of the fact that the emergency is long since over, may I ask the Home Secretary whether he contemplates taking steps to have the powers annulled?

No, Sir, I do not. Out of a population of 46 million, only five persons are under this disability. I can assure the House, and my hon. Frend the Member for Ipswich (Mr. Stokes), that it is with the greatest reluctance that I have decided that in these five cases it is necessary in the national interest to exercise this power.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what terms he has circularised justices on the exclusion of the Press from attending or reporting the proceedings before them where they are asked to commit for trial at assizes or quarter sessions persons charged with criminal offences.

No circular to justices has been issued by my Department on this subject. I am advised that justices, when conducting a preliminary examination with a view to deciding whether the accused shall be committed for trial on indictment, are not required to sit in open court, but it is the general practice to do so. My predecessors in office have expressed the view, with which I agree, that justices should not sit in private save in exceptional cases such as those in which they are satisfied that the publicity given to these preliminary proceedings will prejudice the ends of justice. The importance of maintaining the policy of publicity for proceedings before them is, I am sure, well understood by justices.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, in a recent case, the justices excluded the Press from the proceedings on the ground that the jury might be prejudiced at the subsequent trial? If that is the correct ground, is it not, in effect, preventing the Press from reporting the proceedings?

Under Section 19 of the Indictable Offences Act, 1848, examining justices taking depositions are not required to sit in open court. In my view that power should be used only in the most exceptional circumstances. If the hon. and learned Member will send me particulars of the case he has in mind I will have it examined, to see whether it is desirable that any communication should be made to the justices concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why two members of the police force called on Mr. Charles Walter, 53, Fleet Street, E.C.4, to investigate the identity of Mr. Fred Karno; and if he will prevent such wasteful employment of public servants in future.

The visit to which I presume the hon. Member refers took place in June, 1945, and was not for the purpose suggested in the Question.

While thanking the Home Secretary for his most reassuring reply, may I ask him if he does not agree that the comparison by Mr. Walter of the Lord President to Mr. Fred Karno was somewhat unfair to the latter and that a well developed sense of humour gives a lot of pleasure to a lot of people?

Not nearly as much satisfaction as my right hon. Friend gives to everybody. This action was taken in June, 1945, when Sir Donald Somervell was Home Secretary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children who had been committed to the care of any authority, apart from the Kent County Council, for boarding out with foster parents, have been placed in remand homes during the last two years without application having been made previously to his Department for special arrangements to be made in accordance with the Children and Young Persons' Boarding-out Rules, 1933; what are the names of the authorities concerned; when were the respective children sent to remand homes; and for what periods were they respectively detained there.

When children are committed to the care of a local authority it is frequently necessary that they should remain temporarily in a remand home or other place of safety until a foster home is found or other special arrangement made. My consent is required if the temporary stay exceeds two months. I regret I cannot give the figures for the last two years, but since 1st January, 1946, six cases have come to notice of children outside Kent remaining in a remand home for more than two months without my consent. In all these cases, however, consent would have been given, since the children either were awaiting admission to a special school, or were mentally defective or under observation for mental defect, but this is no excuse for failing to ask for my consent.

In view of the serious nature of this matter, may I ask my right hon. Friend what the forms are that have to be filled in when a child is committed to a remand home? Do those forms contain any particulars as to the authority for sending the child to the home?

If my hon. Friend wants information of that nature, he should put a Question on the Paper, but I will arrange for him to see copies of the forms in use.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers who held the rank of chief constable before the Police Act was passed last April are now being offered re-employment with the rank of assistant chief constable, owing to the amalgamation of police forces which has taken place under this Act.

The provisions of Section 1 of the Police Act, 1946, abolishing non-county borough police forces, do not take effect until 1st April next, and until proposals have been submitted to me for an alteration of the authorised establishment, I am not in a position to say how many displaced chief constables will be offered appointment as assistant chief constables.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what is the proposed compensation to those former chief constables who will not be offered that rank? Surely they cannot all be offered that rank?

Any person who now holds office as a chief constable will continue to receive the same emoluments as he does at the moment. If he decides not to continue in the force, the Act which was passed earlier this year provides the basis for the compensation to be paid to him and reserves certain rights for his widow in the event of his dying before he reaches the age at which he would have been eligible for pension had he remained a chief constable.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he intends to purchase the single-seater Larmar motor-car which is now in production, instead of motor-propelled tricycles and bathchairs, for the use of disabled ex-servicemen.

I am satisfied that the new model motor-propelled tricycles which have resulted from much research adequately meet the needs of the disabled pensioners for whom they are intended. I have, however, received representations to the effect that disabled pensioners who are motorcar owners and who are entitled to motor-propelled tricycles at State expense should be allowed to have their driving controls adapted to suit their disablement instead of being supplied with motor-propelled tricycles. I am glad to say that in future the reasonable cost of such adaptations will be paid by my Ministry, and that in these cases pensioners will be allowed also to have hand-propelled tricycles.

Will the Minister also watch developments in regard to this new car, which seems to have great possibilities, with a view to its adoption at a future date when there are more on the market? Will he also use his influence with the Chancellor to excuse these cars from Purchase Tax?

I will certainly watch the developments of the car.

Is the Minister satisfied about the price being paid for these cars? Is not there an increase compared with the prewar price?

The trouble is—a good car, a good price.

Will the Minister see that the price is reduced?

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that the quality of the rubber available for the fitting of artificial limbs at Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, is still inferior to the best obtainable commercially; and if he will re-examine this matter in the light of the representations forwarded to him by the hon. Member for Maldon.

I can reassure the hon. Member that elastic webbing for use with artificial limbs issued by this Ministry is the best quality obtainable and that since March last pure rubber has been supplied.

But has my right hon. Friend looked at the receipt from the Dunlop Rubber Co., sent to him by me, which shows that a legless ex-sergeant pilot has actually bought old parts from gas masks which are admittedly better than anything that could be provided at Roehampton?

That was probably before we were able to use the pure rubber.

I am told it is still the same.

I am told it is not.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he will state the progress made in plastic surgery at the Roehampton Hospital, where many of our ex-Servicemen who were unrecognisable have had their faces and heads built up again from photographs by surgical and nursing skill; and if he will make a statement offering some appreciation of the services rendered by these doctors and nurses, also the research work in the laboratories at this hospital.

The Plastic Surgery and Jaw Unit at Roehampton Hospital was enlarged in 1939, to deal with Service cases and air raid casualties arising out of the 1939 World War. Considerable advances have been made, the most important of which are the insertion of special material, known as Tantalum, for the restoration of facial contours, the fixation of skin grafts by specialised methods, the making of skin flaps for amputation stumps, the treatment of chronic disease of bone and the development of a highly specialised physiotherapy service. Cooperation with the Orthopædic Unit and Dental Department has been developed on a large scale, and an excellent photographic Department capable of producing technical cine-films has been built up.

As regards research in the laboratories, I might make special mention of the investigations into the conditions influencing the healing of war wounds and the development of scar tissue, and also of the considerable amount of work in relation to the origin of tropical diseases, with particular reference to sprue. I am grateful to the hon. Member for the opportunity afforded to me to express appreciation of the invaluable work done by the medical and dental officers, nurses and other staff in the care of the patients in this hospital.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this will give a good deal of pleasure to families in this country? May I draw the Minister's attention to the fact that hon. Members of this House and the general public ought to know that the days of miracles are not over? These people are doing a great work. We have still a great number of Florence Nightingales, and yet not a word of appreciation is given to these people behind the scenes.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he will state approximately the number of serious spinal cases that have been won back to almost normality at our military hospitals; the percentage of men who, by reason of this treatment have actually been able to take up employment; the number of men and women supplied with artificial limbs who have actually been able to take up employment; and if he is satisfied with the work on rehabilitation.

Unfortunately, it cannot be claimed that cases of serious spinal injury can be restored to a condition approaching normality in the sense of full mobility, but modern methods of treatment have very substantially reduced the mortality rate in these cases and have enabled the majority of the men to get about in self-propelled or motor-propelled chairs instead of being permanently confined to bed. Precise figures of the number who have been able to take up employment are not available but I estimate that, on the completion of treatment and, where necessary training, about 60 per cent. will be able to undertake remunerative employment.

Artificial limbs have been supplied in about 15,000 cases since 1939, of which 12,000 arc war-injured cases. Practically all of the persons concerned have been fit to take up remunerative employment or undergo training for employment. I am satisfied that all possible steps are taken by my Department and the other Departments concerned to restore the disabled man's mental and physical capacity in the shortest possible time and to the fullest possible extent so that he may become once more a self-supporting member of the community.

Is the Minister aware that we are going to watch this side of his work very closely? Appreciation of this could be shown by hon. Members of this House. A lot is said about putting a shilling a week on pension or allowances, but we should think about the poor people who want winning back to health and strength.

Is it not a fact that a great deal of the necessary preliminary work in connection with these cases of injury to the spine and subsequent rehabilitation has not already been done in many of the Service and voluntary hospitals before they reach the Department?

Yes, I quite agree that we are not the only people concerned in this work.

Will the Minister provide additional facilities for these cases at places like the Lyme Green Settlement, near Macclesfield, where good work is being done but more facilities are required?

We are always trying to be as up to date and modern as we possibly can.

asked the Minister of Pensions why the widow of a naval rating killed in the war, of whose name he has been informed, has had the weekly allowance of us. for her son, who is still at school, stopped; and, as it has not been restored, in spite of letters to his Department, if he will take immediate steps to remove this hardship.

The widow was notified on 26th July that the allowance had been restored with effect from 15th June and would continue in payment to the end of the summer holidays by which time a decision will have been reached as regards the future arrangements for her son's education. I regret that owing to an error of judgment a temporary extension of the allowance was not made straight away for the period for which it was known that the boy would still be at school.

To prevent cases of hardship like this recurring, would it be possible to send a notice three months before the normal school leaving age, so that the matter can be adjusted in time and a widow will not have to go without her allowance for her son in the intervening weeks, as has been done in this case?

I do not think that is possible, but I will look into it. Generally, these people do let us know well ahead.

asked the Minister of Health the average number of forms it is necessary to fill in before the building of a house may be commenced.

In the case of private builders the forms to be completed before obtaining permission to build number either three or five according to whether approval is necessary under the Restriction of Ribbon Development Act. Local authorities must obtain the approval of my Department and the Ministry of Town and Country Planning to the site and of my Department to the layout, house plans and tenders. No forms are in use for these purposes. In addition, both private builders and local authorities require certificates to assist them to obtain labour and certain materials. The number of these naturally varies according to the materials required.

Will the Minister tell the House the number of forms that were required in 1937 when many more houses were built?

The hon. Member's description is an absurd caricature of the facts.

Is the Minister aware that the inability of three or four Ministries to agree is holding up the building of houses in the Orpington area?

If the hon. Gentleman will reduce his abstract observations to concrete particulars, I will have them examined.

rose—

Colonel Wheatley.

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. I desire to ask your help and assistance. I asked a supplementary to Question 36 and I failed to catch your eye for a further supplementary. That has put me in an awkward position because an impression may go out which I cannot correct owing to the end of the Session. The Minister of Health gave a glib answer about abstract suggestions. I wish to put this right at once. The basis of my Question was the results of a deputation of 20 people waiting upon his Parliamentary Secretary——

I cannot see how that comes in as a point of Order. The hon. Member is trying to explain why he put a supplementary. That is not a point of Order.

With great respect, Sir, I cannot put this right until 8th October.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Regular Forces who have been serving their country for many years, namely 21 years, in different parts of the world, are finding that local authorities will not take them on their waiting lists for houses, as they have not lived in the district during the past 10 years; and whether he will take steps to inform local authorities as to their duty towards these men.

Housing authorities have already been asked in Circular 109/45, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy, to give ex-Servicemen every consideration in accordance with their relative needs, and in appropriate cases to waive any residential qualification they may have laid down. I have no reason to suppose that local authorities generally are failing to give effect to this circular. If the hon. Member has any particular cases in mind I should be glad to look into them.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say what he would consider an appropriate case for a local authority to give a house to an ex-Serviceman who has had no connection with their district during the past 10 years?

Yes, there are a number of examples. For instance, where an ex-Serviceman has found employment in the area, and is unable to carry on the employment unless he has residence there.

asked the Minister of Health under what powers a local authority can eject a tenant from a local authority house without giving any reason.

A local authority's powers in this matter depend upon the terms of the tenancy. I have no reason to think that a local authority would end a tenancy without good reason, and if the hon. and gallant Member has such a case in mind perhaps he will send particulars to me or to the Secretary of State for Scotland, as may be appropriate.

If a local authority have the power to eject a tenant from a council house without going to the county court, have they, therefore, powers which a private landlord does not possess?

I have just answered that.

asked the Minister of Health if he will arrange to secure a measure of priority for the construction of housing accommodation for district nurses, especially in rural areas.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a circular which was sent to local authorities on this subject on 8th May.

Will the Minister do all he can to help in this matter, because many rural districts are in danger of losing good nurses owing to the difficulty of finding housing accommodation?

As I stated in my reply of 8th May, I am doing my utmost to try and persuade local authorities to make these facilities available.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that Mr. Morris, of Princes Hotel, Hove, is storing furniture in a six-storey house, 41, Ventnor Villas, Hove; that six young families, who are being demobilised, have paid rent in advance to live in this house; and what steps he proposes to take to make sure that no priority for furniture storage over living accommodation can be claimed.

I understand that 41, Ventnor Villas has been used for the storage of furniture removed from the Princes Hotel which has been held under requisition by the military. The hotel has now been released and the furniture will be transferred to the hotel annexe as soon as it can be made available. There is no priority for furniture storage over living accommodation.

asked the Minister of Health if, in view of the shortage of nurses, he will take steps to popularise the profession of male nurses and encourage, by generous financial assistance, those who are already undergoing training and those who are desirous of entering the profession, many of whom have had some training in the Services and are anxious to qualify as S.R.N.

Yes, Sir, the wider employment of male nurses is most desirable, and I have already urged hospital authorities to make the fullest possible use of their services. Higher salaries have recently been announced for all grades of male nurse, including male student nurses and special allowances are paid to men who have been on war service.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether there has been an increase in recent years in the number of male nurses?

Yes, Sir, there has been a substantial increase.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will see that in all future advertisements recommending the practice of immunisation, a statement is added stating that 19,040 children contracted diphtheria after submitting to this operation and of these 142 died, in the last five years, in order that the public may have the full facts concerning immunisation.

No, Sir. Nor can I agree that this would be giving the public " the full facts." Obviously you cannot guarantee absolute immunity in every case; but the most striking facts are that the chance of a child's death from diphtheria is 26 times greater if it is not immunised and that deaths from diphtheria have been reduced to about a quarter of the prewar yearly average.

Does not my right hon. Friend think that the public are entitled to know these facts, whether they are acceptable to others or not? Surely they may themselves judge whether they want their children to submit to this useless and objectionable operation?

My hon. Friend should realise that the facts are available. They are published in the annual reports, and we have to make certain intelligent deductions from the known statistics.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now able to report the findings of the committee which was set up to ensure the adequate cleansing of all fillings used in the manufacture of bedding, upholstery, toys, and other domestic articles; and whether it is his intention to introduce legislation to improve the present standards.

The Committee's Report was presented to both Houses on 23rd July and has been published as Command Paper No. 6S66. The Report is at present under consideration.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that since putting down this Question, I have seen the Report, and I would like to congratulate the Committee on a very fine Report? As the Report is a condemnation of the present position, will my right hon. Friend consider the introduction of legislation at a very early date?

I have not yet had an opportunity of digesting the Report, which I agree is an admirable and detailed piece of work. When I have made up my mind what to do, I shall certainly inform the House.

asked the Minister of Health in view of the serious incidence of new cases of tuberculosis and the high death rate associated with this disease, what steps are being taken to import supplies of the drug streptomycin from the U.S.A.; and what efforts are being made for its manufacture in this country.

I am informed that American production of streptomycin is too small to permit export to this country. Arrangements are being made with the Ministry of Supply and the Medical Research Council to set on foot the manufacture in Great Britain of sufficient streptomycin for adequate clinical trials.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the person who inspired this Question is already suffering in a sanatorium, and is very anxious to get this treatment?

I am very anxious that before this drug is adopted it shall be clinically tried out, and that all that is claimed for it shall be established. That is now being done.

Will the Minister see that the testing of this excellent drug is done in a more widespread manner than is usually evailable within the offices of the Medical Research Council?

I think that the Medical Research Council are prefectly competent to carry out these trials.

Are they?

I think they are. They have established their reputation. A considerable clinical test is being carried out, and it is surely rather premature to describe a drug as excellent before it has been clinically tested.

It has been tested in America.

Can my right hon. Friend say whether the American manufacturing firm concerned has revealed the method of manufacture, or have we to work that out ourselves?

I cannot answer that at the moment. If my hon. Friend will put down a question, I will see what I can do to answer it.

asked the Minister of Health if he is now able to announce the terms of reference and the membership of the committee which he proposes to appoint to consider the question of reimbursement for loss of time and travelling expenses of public representatives on local government bodies.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Southall (Mr. Ayles) on 23rd July, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement about the policy of His Majesty's Government towards the publication by former Ministers and other persons who have held office under the Crown of books and other writings about their experiences during the war.

I have been asked to reply.

Yes, Sir. It has long been recognised that all persons who have held office under the Crown are under an obligation to consult the Government of the day or the heads of the Departments affected in regard to the publication of any unpublished information which they have obtained by virtue of their official position and to obtain formal permission in any doubtful case.

Former Ministers who wish to make use of such information should apply to the Secretary of the Cabinet, who will consult any Department concerned and submit the matter to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. Other persons who have held office under the Crown, including former members of the Foreign, Colonial and Home Civil Services and the Fighting Services, should apply to the head of their former Department or to the Board of Admiralty, Army Council, or Air Council as the case may be.

In dealing with any such applications His Majesty's Government will distinguish between the position of a former Minister, who has been responsible to Parliament and subject to public criticism, and other former Crown servants, who have not had a Minister's responsibilities. Further they will bear in mind the fact that during the war much information that would ordinarily have been published had to be kept secret for reasons of military security; they will therefore be disposed to allow the greatest practicable freedom in the use of official information about the events of the war period and defence themes in the years immediately preceding the war, subject to no matter being disclosed which would be clearly contrary to the public interest, or would impair the confidential relationships which subsist between Ministers, or between Ministers and their advisers.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say under what authority the Government take the power to censor people's books in this way?

The principle is a well established constitutional custom which has existed under many Governments. Indeed, the Official Secrets Act has a very potent relationship.

Would my right hon. Friend consider whether it would not be for the benefit of posterity if all Ministers were forced to publish all the truth for the benefit of the future?

Can we take it from the right hon. Gentleman's reply that every facility will be given to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Southport (Mr. R. S. Hudson), to tell the full and fascinating story of how, as Minister of Agriculture, he also became Britain's foremost farmer?

That is another question.

asked the Prime Minister if the exchange of views between His Majesty's Government and the governments of the Dominions on the question of the nationality of married women has yet been completed; and if he has any statement to make.

Perhaps my hon. and gallant Friend would await the statement which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Honk; Department proposes to make at the end of Questions.

I am glad to inform the House that agreement has now been reached between the United Kingdom Government and the Governments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as to the principles on which legislation governing the nationality of married women should be based.

The principles accepted by the five Governments are that the law should provide in effect that a British woman on marriage to a foreigner, whether she does or does not acquire his nationality under the law of his country, shall not lose her British nationality unless she takes some active step to renounce it; and that a foreign woman on marriage to a British subject shall not automatically acquire British nationality, but shall have the right to apply for it, subject to the exercise by the Minister concerned of a discretion as to the grant or refusal of the application.

It is contemplated that a conference of experts should be convened later this year to examine various questions affecting nationality law in the several countries of the Commonwealth. This conference will afford an opportunity of considering the detailed provisions required for effecting the changes now agreed upon in the law relating to the nationality of married women,

Will the Home Secretary say whether the same rules will apply in the Colonial Empire?

We are taking into consideration what repercussions there will be in this matter in the Colonial Empire if we are in a position to promote legislation together with the Dominions.

With regard to those alien women who acquired British nationality by marriage to British subjects, will the right hon. Gentleman take into account the desirability of imposing exactly the same kind of restrictions on these women married to British subjects as are required for those single women and alien men when they seek British nationality?

Of course, these matters are very complicated, and it is exceptionally difficult to give, in answer to a supplementary question, an answer with sufficiently guarded qualifications to make it desirable to continue it on this basis. We are exceedingly anxious that the general principle which I have enunciated in the statement I have made shall become effective, but there will be a very large number of detailed complications to which we shall have to have regard in framing the legislation and in applying it.

Is it clear that this House will have an opportunity of debating this question? There are some of us who feel most strongly on the last part of the principles enunciated, that is to say, that for the first time a British subject will not be free to confer British nationality on an alien by marriage.

In this matter, I think we arc bound to proceed on the doctrine of the equality of the sexes, which, I thought, had by this time been generally accepted.

Are we going to get an opportunity to discuss it? I do not want that silly sort of observation.

I have endeavoured to give a perfectly courteous answer to the question that was put by the right hon. Gentleman. Certainly, this matter cannot be dealt with except by legislation. I made that clear in my original statement, and I think the right hon. Gentleman might have done me the honour of listening to what I said.

In view of the considerable number of British women married to members of the Allied Forces during the war, will the right hon. Gentleman examine the position to see if it is at all possible to give the new arrangements retrospective effect from the beginning of the war?

That, again, is a matter we shall have to discuss in conjunction with the Governments of four self-governing Dominions. We are, at the moment, discussing the questions involved. The present position is that the law regarding the acquisition of British nationality on marriage differs in the self-governing parts of the British Commonwealth of Nations. We desire to bring it under one system, and, quite clearly, it would be wrong for me to make a definite promise here today which might be objected to by one or other of the Dominion Governments.

In view of what the right hon. Gentleman has just said, and of the difficulty of this House taking a free decision on Bills which have been, in substance, already agreed with His Majesty's other Governments, will the Government consider, in this case, the old fashioned but not obsolete procedure of beginning by Resolution?

That is a question which should be addressed to the Leader of the House.

I will now address it to the Leader of the House. Deferring to the request of the Home Secretary, I should like to ask the Leader of the House the question which he suggested should be directed to him.

I gather that the question is whether the House will have an opportunity of having a Debate by Motion. It would, I think, be a somewhat unusual course, because there would have to be legislation and a Bill in due course. Nevertheless, I would be willing to consider representations on the point.

Anyhow, in the negotiations with the Dominions, will the Government make it perfectly clear that the full discretion of the House of Commons over their affairs is not prejudiced thereby?

Certainly, and, of course, I shall have to make a similar concession during the discussions to each of the Dominions represented.

May I ask what is the position in regard to Eire, which, I understand, is still considered to be a Dominion, and the obvious desirability of all parts of the British Commonwealth following' the same course in this very important matter?

The position of Eire is one of very great difficulty in this matter. It will have been observed, I am quite sure, by the hon. Member for Londonderry (Sir R. Ross) that the Eire Government were not among those who had been invited to the Conference that we are holding, but the position of Eire in this matter does give some considerable difficulty at the moment, and I do not think it would be helpful if, at this stage, they were invited to come in.

In view of the fact that a number of our girls have been married to men from Newfoundland in this war, will the right hon. Gentleman say whether that Dominion is included in that arrangement?

It has not been included so far.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if this proposal relates only to future marriages or to existing marriages?

That, again, is a matter which will have to be the subject of consideration at the Conference. What I desire, and what I imagine every hon. Member of the House will desire, is that, as far as possible, there should be one system for each of the self-governing parts of the British Commonwealth.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why elderly Germans who hold pacifist and anti-militant opinions, many of whom have spent several years in concentration camps, are not given facilities for educational and journalistic work; and why Germans holding those convictions are considered by British authorities in Germany to be questionable persons who should not be encouraged.

I am not aware of any discrimination against such Germans in the British zone, but if my hon. Friend can give me particulars of any instances where facilities have been denied, I will have inquiries made.

May I take it, therefore, that the hon. Gentleman will take action to assist these people, whose integrity is unquestioned and whose sincerity has been well guaranteed by experience, to do what they can to influence their German compatriots in the same direction as the views they hold themselves?

In the matter of educational and journalistic work, the question would not be whether they held or did not hold pacifist views, but what their qualifications were for that particular class of work.

Is it not possible that the Germans might think of these people in the same way as the vast majority of the people of this country do?

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether his attention has been called to the sentence of death, passed on a 23-year-old German youth by a military court at Hanover for displaying a portrait of Hitler on 1st May; and whether he will have this sentence quashed.

All death sentences passed by Military Government courts are reviewed by the Commander-in-Chief. As this case is still under review, it would not be proper for me to make any comments at present.

Is my hon. Friend aware that, as stated in full in the "Manchester Guardian" on 17th July, this was the reason for the sentence of death? What would happen to a man who exposed a photograph like this photograph I hold in my hand, showing Stalin shaking hands with Ribbentrop? Would that man be condemned to death also?

I must point out that the reason given in the Question for the sentence is by no means the complete story, but I cannot make any further comment, obviously, as the case is being reviewed by the Commander-in-Chief.

Will the hon. Member give an assurance that this death sentence will not be carried out until he himself has considered it?

I am advised that I have no powers to overrule any decision the Commander takes, although I have no doubt that the fact that the Question has been raised here will be brought to the notice of the Commander-in-Chief.

Will the hon. Gentleman convey to the Commander-in-Chief that many hon. Members in many quarters of the House are very much concerned about this matter?

Are we to understand from my hon. Friend's last answer that people can be sentenced to death by British courts, or British authorities, without anybody in this House being responsible to the House?

It must be understood, surely, that this is an occupied country, that a legal system has been laid down, that a system of appeals has been arranged, and that the highest appeal within the law is to the Commander-in-Chief. I am rather surprised at my hon. Friend the Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. S. Silverman) suggesting that there should be a departure from the tradition that the courts, once the law has been established, should not be subject to any pressure from this House.

rose—

We are getting a long way from the original Question.

On a point of Order. In case this is allowed to go by default, I wish to give notice that, as the Commander-in-Chief is clearly responsible to the Secretary of State for War, to whom I addressed the Question, I will raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many persons under 16, 17 and 18 years of age, respectively, have been confined in internment camps in Germany; and for what periods.

As my hon. Friend will appreciate, I have not been able to obtain detailed figures in the time available. The only persons under 18 years of age now held under arrest, are the few against whom specific war crime charges are being preferred. All others have been progressively screened, and released.

Will the Minister say what steps he is taking to investigate the very specific charges brought by the hon. and gallant Member for Petersfield (Sir G. Jeffreys) and myself during the Debate?

Certainly, all matters raised in the course of the Debate will be thoroughly investigated where it is considered there is any case for investigation. But in regard to the specific charges raised by the hon. Member for Northampton (Mr. Paget) in regard to the administration of certain camps, I gather that these have already been thoroughly investigated by the Secretary of State for War, and a report has already been given to the House. The conditions referred to by my hon. Friend in the Debate were conditions which operated before the camps, which are now closed, came under my jurisdiction.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many cases of hunger oedema have occurred amongst internees in British internment camps in Germany.

No statistics exist, or can be obtained, of the number of cases of hunger œdema which have occurred in these camps. The number of internees at present in hospital or sick bay suffering from malnutrition, is 1,257. This figure is steadily decreasing.

Is it not a fact that very large numbers in these camps have suffered from hunger œdema, and that they are continuing to suffer, and there are continually new cases?

It is a fact that there have been large numbers in these camps who have shown signs of malnutrition, following the cut in rations in March. Precisely because of that fact, specially increased rations were given to the inmates of these camps and the numbers are rapidly decreasing. In fact, the cases have been halved in the last two months.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why sentences of seven months' imprisonment were passed on two members of the U.N.R.R.A. D.P. camp at Admont, Steirmark, Austria, for complaining of their accommodation while waiting at Klagenfurt to give evidence at a murder trial; and when these sentences are likely to be revised.