asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will consider sending a Parliamentary delegation to China to report on the political and economic situation.

No, Sir.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the increasing difficulties of British traders in China, and also of the pressure which the Americans are putting on the Chinese to keep the British out?

So far as the economic conditions there are concerned, we have already the United Kingdom Trade Mission making inquiries.

Will the hon. Gentleman reconsider this matter, in view of the difficulties existing in China today?

On the economic position and the opportunities both for us and the Chinese, I think that that point is covered by the Trade Mission already there. which is installed and hard at work.

In view of the great disquiet felt in many quarters at what appears to be the complete eclipse of British influence in China, will my hon. Friend revise his decision, and treat the matter with a proper sense of urgency?

On the political side, there may be a case for a Parliamentary delegation—I am not in the least narrow-minded about that—provided that it is welcome to the Chinese, but, I do not feel satisfied that there is a case for sending such a delegation at the moment.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that over 40 properties owned by British firms and individuals in Shanghai are still occupied by Chinese Government forces; and if he has made, or will make, any representations to the Chinese Government asking that these properties should be released at an early date.

What answers have been given to the representations which His Majesty's Government have made regard-ink these properties? Have answers been received, or have the representations been ignored?

No, Sir. Answers have been given, but it is the actions which are a bit slow, and we hope very much that the position will be remedied by prompter action.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement in connection with the reinstatement of the elected trade union leadership in Greece to their former posts.

Yes, Sir. As the House will be aware, His Majesty's Government, at the invitation of the Greek Government, recently made certain suggestions as to how best to solve the difficulties raised by a judicial decision of the Greek Council of State, concerning the legal position of the former Executives of the Greek Confederation of Labour and of the Workers' Centres. These suggestions have been accepted by the Greek Government, but have been rejected by the representatives of the Greek Workers' organisations. The basis of these suggestions was that a provisional executive should be established, consisting of the seven members of the executive which was invalidly elected, together with five others. Their task would have been the holding of fresh elections. subject to safeguards to be agreed upon, the conservation of assets, and the conduct of current business. The Government was also to arrange as speedily as possible for the unconditional release of trades union leaders at present under restraint, excepting those charged with murder. I regret that these suggestion? which were adopted by the Greek Government and which in my view would have formed a basis for a reasonable settlement of the outstanding difficulties, have not proved acceptable to all parties, but I am glad to note that the Greek Government, for their part, have announced their intention of proceeding with the release of trades union leaders.

Do I understand from the answer—rather long but appreciated—that the Greek trades union leaders who were arrested are all to be released, and, therefore, that the proposals made by Mr Braine, who was sent there specially for this purpose, were according to instructions given to him by the Foreign Office here, or were they compromise proposals?

The answer to the first part of the question is that the Government will proceed with the release of the trade union leaders, except those charged with murder. The answer to the second part is that we take full responsibility for Mr. Braine's work

Can my hon. Friend say why Mr. Braine departed from the original proposal made, which was that the executive should be increased by another 10 members, five of a Left wing tendency and five of a reformist tendency?

I think that that gives an inaccurate impression. The fact was that at the last moment the Greek workers' representatives asked for an executive consisting of 17 members instead of the 12 suggested by Mr. Braine.

Is my hon. Friend aware that suspicion and bitterness, as far as the workers are concerned, have gone from bad to worse in recent weeks, and is there not every likelihood that there will be far worse trouble in Northern Greece as a result of the reported action of the Greek Government?

I admit that the outcome of these discussions is most disappointing, but I think we have done our best, and I think that Mr. Braine's proposals were sensible and reasonable ones.

Can my hon. Friend say which section of the trade unions in Greece objected to the proposals, and what is the present position regarding those proposals?

The present position is that the Greek workers' representatives asked, first of all, for the executive committee to consist of 17 instead of 12 members, and they also asked for legal recognition of the status of the invalidated Greek executive, which raises, of course, the point of reconciling that with the legal decision of the Council of State.

Will the Minister answer that part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question which sought to find out whether the rejection of these proposals was the unanimous rejection by all the workers' representatives or only by some of them?

I believe it was unanimous, but if I may, I will reserve my final answer until notice has been given.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the circumstances of the murder, last December, of the second secretary of Mr. Mikolajczyk's Party, Mr. Boleslaw Scibiorek, and whether a representative of the British Embassy was present at the trial of the alleged assassins, in view of the guarantees given by the Yalta and Potsdam Agreements.

Monsieur Scibiorek was murdered on 5th December, 1945, shortly after he had left the Peasant Party formerly associated with the Lublin régime and joined Monsieur Mikolajczyk's party. At the recent trial two of the accused were sentenced to death and three to terms of ten years imprisonment. They were alleged to have been connected with an underground movement. His Majesty's Embassy followed the trial closely but were not represented in court.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the reporter at the trial, Mr. Bartoszewski, gave an accurate and fair report in the "Gazetta Ludova," and that he has also been put into prison, being the fifth member of the staff of the journal of Mr. Mikolajczyk to be arrested?

I think that is another question.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has now considered the deportation plan, forwarded to him by the hon. Member for the Queen's University of Belfast, in accordance with which 800,000 Poles are to be deported to the interior of Russia, involving practically the whole of the Polish intelligentzia; and whether, in view of the Yalta and Potsdam Agreements, he will protest to the Polish Provisional Government against this violation of the guarantee of free and unfettered elections.

I have no confirmation of this report. It appears to me an obviously fabricated propaganda story.

Is not the hon. Gentleman aware that large numbers of Poles are already being deported, and have been deported, from the notorious prisons of Fordon in Pomerania and Wronki in Poznania to Russia? This is the beginning of the detailed scheme of which I sent a copy to the hon. Gentleman.

The hon. Member seems to be giving information and not asking for it.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the correspondent of the "Sunday Times," Mr. Derek Selby, was ordered to leave Poland on 31st October by the head of the Foreign Press Section of the Polish Foreign Office and accused of consistently misrepresenting facts; and whether, in view of the guarantees given at Potsdam with regard to foreign correspondents visiting Poland, he has taken up the matter with the Polish Provisional Government through His Majesty's Ambassador in Warsaw.

Yes, Sir. His Majesty's Government have expressed to the Polish authorities their surprise and regret at this action. My right hon. Friend has also requested an assurance that, when Mr. Selby is replaced by another correspondent, no pressure will be put upon the latter as regards his reports, and that, both as regards him and other British Press correspondents in Poland, the assurances given at Potsdam, that they would have freedom of movement and reporting, will be fully carried out.

May I express my heartiest congratulations to the hon. Gentleman for his excellent reply?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the representations of His Majesty's Government, any change in the Polish electoral law of last September has been made in order to satisfy His Majesty's Government that the Polish elections to be held on 19th January will be free and unfettered, as guaranteed by the Yalta and Potsdam Agreements.

No, Sir. His Majesty's Government have recently informed the Polish Provisional Government that they would not be able to regard the elections as free and unfettered unless all democratic parties enjoy equal facilities to conduct electoral campaigns freely, without arrest or threat of arrest, and without discriminatory restrictions; and unless all these parties are represented on all Electoral Commissions and other bodies concerned with the elections at all levels. The manner in which these and other necessary conditions of free and unfettered elections are fulfilled will necessarily also affect the views of His Majesty's Government as to the representative character of the election results and of any Government formed as a result of the elections.

Have His Majesty's Government already protested to the Polish Government with regard to the electoral law? Has that electoral law been changed?

It is true there are loopholes in the electoral law, but our view is that even more important is the spirit and method in which the law is carried out

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that there will be any Opposition supporters left to vote when the elections are actually held?

Have His Majesty's Government taken further steps in order to ensure that this country will fulfil its obligations in the matter of these elections in Poland?

I think His Majesty's Government's policy is sufficiently well known, and we are carrying it out consistently.

But it is not having any effect.

asked the Minister of Food how much of the butter, cheese, eggs and meat imported from Denmark has been re-exported; what was the cost of these goods delivered to a British port; and what were the re-export prices obtained.

None, Sir. The average c.i.f. prices of butter, cheese and eggs from Denmark during the period 1st January to 30th September, 1946 based upon the Trade and Navigation Returns are respectively as follows: 205s. 8d. per cwt.; 182s. 11d. per cwt.; 17s. 11d. per long hundred. I am unable at present to give the c.i.f. price of meat from Denmark. The last part of the Question does not arise.

Would the right hon. Gentleman look at his information again, because I think he has been misinformed? Is it not also a fact that he paid very high prices for this food, and are these transactions subject to examination by the Public Accounts Committee?

As to the first part of the supplementary question, I take it that the hon. Gentleman has in mind an article in the Danish Press, which stated that some of these supplies we're re-exported. There is not a word of truth in it. On the second part of his supplementary question, as to price, the Danes consider the price very low indeed. In answer to the third part of the supplementary question, the accounts do go for examination to the Public Accounts Committee.

asked the Minister of Food, in view of the fact that the new crop of Egyptian cotton seed is now being harvested, what amount has been exported to the United Kingdom during the month of October; and what amount it is expected to import during the month of November and during the present season from November, 1946, to April, 1947, inclusive.

Egypt is growing very much less cotton than she did before the war. She has increased, with our encouragement, her acreage of foodstuffs at the expense of cotton, and I am afraid it is unlikely that she will export any to us this season. We have had none so far.

Is the Minister aware that prior to the war for generations past this country imported from Egypt an average of 300,000 and 400,000 tons of cotton seed per annum, and in view of our urgent need of this cotton seed to augment our supplies of edible oils and cattle feeding cake, will he make immediate representations to the Egyptian Government with a view to recommencing these shipments to the United Kingdom at the earliest possible moment?

Yes, Sir. We long ago approached the Egyptian Government, and we are in touch with them on the subject all the time. We will get any supplies as soon as they are available.

asked the Minister of Food if he will grant supplies to enable those who volunteered for work of national importance to reopen their businesses, as is done in the case of those who were directed to such work.

No such distinction is made by my Department.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that I have been in communication with him and his Department about supplies to an ice-cream merchant and that I have been told in correspondence that this distinction does exist?

Perhaps we can take the matter up again, but I am informed that we make no such distinction. If in this particular case there may have been some reasons for a distinction, I should like to examine it again with the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Food if, in order to allow the efficient shopkeeper to expand his business, he will arrange in future to distribute points goods to retailers on the basis of their current turnover, assessed annually, instead of on the basis of their turnover in 1943, when the points system was introduced.

As I said in reply to the same Question on 6th November, we are considering my hon. Friend's suggestion and related questions of distribution. A preliminary discussion has now been held with traders' representatives but, at the moment, I cannot add anything to my earlier reply.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will permit Christmas food parcels to be sent to starving people in Europe, in view of the increased Christmas rations; and whether he will make a statement on the general question of sending voluntarily - saved rations abroad.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will now make a statement to meet the wishes of those who desire to send food parcels to the Continent.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is yet in a position to make a statement in regard to the dispatch of food parcels to Germany and Austria.

The Government have decided to allow individuals in this country to send food parcels to individuals in any country overseas to which there is an ordinary parcel post; in the case of Germany, to which the parcel post may not be opened for a little time, alternative arrangements are being made. In addition, people who have not got a relation or friend abroad to whom they can send a personal parcel, may wish to help. I am arranging with "Save Europe Now" to provide the necessary facilities to meet these cases. I am prepared to make similar arrangements with other suitable relief organisations. The date on which the scheme will come into effect—it will be well before Christmas—together with details of the exact procedure to be followed will be announced very shortly. Parcels cannot be accepted by "Save Europe Now" or by the Post Office before that date.

Meanwhile I can announce some particulars of the scheme. Parcels will be restricted to one a month with a gross weight of 71b. and will not be allowed to contain more than 2 lb. of any one commodity. Only rationed foods, including goods on points, and soap will be allowed in the parcels. It will, of course, be possible to send parcels to members of His Majesty's Forces overseas.

I am happy that it has now proved possible to make these arrangements, just because it is no longer possible for this country to send bulk supplies of food abroad as we did last year. The very considerable supplies that were sent last year represented a most serious sacrifice. Today our stocks of food—particularly grain—are much lower than they were at this time last year and it is out of the question for us to make any diversions from them. But I trust and believe that the peoples of the most necessitous areas will note that despite this there are people in this country who wish to give food out of their own rations, so that the sense of human solidarity in the midst of the world's present sufferings may not be lost.

Does my right hon. Friend appreciate the great relief that this decision will be to many thousands of people in this country and elsewhere? May I ask him further whether, in making the announcement as to the details of distribution, he will see that they are given as much publicity as possible so as to avoid disappointment?

Certainly.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this decision will be very welcome throughout the whole British Isles, and will he say why it has taken his Ministry more than a year to reach this decision?

There have been considerable difficulties and obstacles in the way of a decision, and it is only now that we have been able to overcome them.

While also congratulating the Minister without the reservation of the hon. and gallant Gentleman the Member for Lewes (Major Beamish), may I also ask, when the details of the scheme are announced, that a guide be given to the people as to the particular foods which are required, and which should be sent? Will he also say a word with regard to Austria? He mentioned the subject of a scheme for Germany. Does it also apply to Austria?

No, Sir. I am informed that the parcel post to Austria is opened, so that covers that. I do not think it will be possible to guide people as to food they wish to send.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that it is only through the spread of the kindliness and generosity which lie behind the inquiries which led to this decision that a real contribution can be made towards the development of a peaceful Europe in the future?

asked the Minister of Food if he will arrange that those who desire to do so may surrender part or all of their sweets coupons and that the equivalent amount of rations be sent as a Christmas gift from the British people to the children of Germany.

In view of the announcement regarding food parcels which I have just made, and of the fact that I understand a coupon-free allocation of 250 grams of sweets (which is nearly nine ozs.) will be issued for Christmas to children up to 18 years of age in the British and American zones of Germany, I am not prepared to make special arrangements on the lines suggested.

Do I take it that sweets can be included in the parcels which may be sent as a result of the announcement in the previous reply which the Minister has given? Is that quite clear?

Oh, yes, sweets are rationed foodstuffs.

Why did my right hon. Friend exclude coffee when the trade union movement had suggested that coffee should be included? In his previous announcement he said "only rationed foods," but coffee is not rationed.

We have confined it to rationed foods so that there shall be no question of eating into the supplies in this country, and so that this shall be a real sacrifice by the individual.

Is there not considerably more coffee in the country than there was before the war?

asked the Minister of Food how many tons of potatoes offered by farmers in the past month have been rejected for human consumption in this country; and to what extent potatoes are sent to Germany.

During the four weeks ended 14th November, 1946, 126 tons of potatoes were rejected by my Department for human consumption and sold for stock-feeding. During the same period permits have been issued for the sale of 4,083 tons of potatoes which were unsuitable for human consumption for feeding to stock. No potatoes from the 1946 crop have been sent to Germany.

asked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the fact that supplies of tinned fruit for Christmas will be limited, he will make arrangements for ration books to be marked in the same way as for oranges when a tin of fruit is purchased, so as to prevent some families getting more than their fair share.

On the whole I think that the points scheme is a much more suitable method of distributing canned fruit and other similar foodstuffs in short supply.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that when there are goods, which are attractive and scarce, such as tinned fruit, the principle of twice come twice served may be applied very inequitably, and, therefore, it is very much desired by housewives that there should be some better method whereby there would be a more even distribution?

I understand my hon. Friend's point, but I am afraid there is really nothing between a complete rationing scheme, which I do not think we could entertain in this case, and a points scheme, which does give a certain flexibility.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that there is considerable anxiety among grocers regarding the fulfilment of the announcement that from 24th November tinned fruit will be reaching the shops in sufficient quantities to provide nearly two pounds per head of the population; and whether he will make a statement on the subject.

The supply of tinned fruit which is being distributed works out as I said at a little less than 2 lbs. per head of the population and will be distributed through the normal channels which include other retail outlets as well as grocers.

Is the Minister aware that grocers say that they are not receiving adequate supplies to implement that statement?

They are right if they say they axe not getting as much as they desire or as much as we should like to give them, but not all the tinned fruit passes through the grocers' hands, and the fact remains that the country as a whole is getting the quantity stated.

asked the Minister of Food if he will consider granting housewives an extra number of points for the Christmas period.

I should very much like to. But, as I am sure my hon. Friend would agree, nothing would be worse than to issue additional points if additional supplies of the more attractive type of points goods were not there to meet them. So what we are going to do is to leave the supply of points at 32, but to issue for Christmas an increased supply of some of the points goods most in demand.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that in some areas there is a shortage of chocolate and sugar confectionery which has been brought about by the two recent increases to the public; and what steps he is taking to see that the trade is properly stocked up to meet the amounts promised to the public.

I am informed that stocks are sufficient to meet the present sweet ration. Arrangements are available whereby extra supplies can be directed at short notice to meet any local shortage which may be reported. The additional supplies promised for Christmas are now being delivered to the shops.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the Merseyside area there are not sufficient sweets in the shops to meet the two-ounce allocation made by him, and that there is no prospect of the position being improved before Christmas, since manufacturers deliver only once every eight weeks?

I did look into the Merseyside position and I have been informed that during the past six months there have been rather more sweets in Liverpool and Birkenhead than the public have consumed.

asked the Minister of Food if his regulations permit members of co-operative societies to transfer their milk registrations; and if such facility is permitted to those who desire to transfer from a co-operative society to another private trader.

At present, the transfer of milk registrations is not normally allowed, whether the consumer be a member of a co-operative society or not.

:Can the right hon. Gentleman hold out any hope in these days of enlarging freedom of the date when members of the public will be allowed to change their milk retailer?

As the hon. Member probably knows, a Committee is sitting at the moment to discuss the whole question of milk distribution.

Is the Minister aware of the frequency with which distributors of milk employed by the co-operative societies go on strike, and the desirability of people being able to change their milkmen more frequently?

Is the Minister aware that the co-operative method of distributing milk is the cheapest and most efficient in the country?

asked the Minister of Food what amount of rolled and packeted oats have been imported into the United Kingdom in 1946; if such importations are a temporary expedient; and what plans he has, in association with the Ministry of Agriculture, to stimulate oat production in the United Kingdom to obviate the necessity in future of importing and make the United Kingdom selfsupporting in this essential cereal.

During the first 10 months of this year we have imported 570 tons of rolled oats, including 135 tons of packeted rolled oats. My right hon. Friends the Minister of Agriculture and the Secretary of State for Scotland have encouraged producers to grow the maximum quantity of oats consistent with an adequate production of bread cereals, potatoes and sugar beet. For details of production in Scotland I would refer the hon. Member to a reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on 8th October, 1946.

Arising out of the first part of that answer does not the Minister think that if we are to import rolled oats into this country, it would be better to import them in bulk rather than packeted, thereby giving an opportunity for packeting and processing in this country?

Yes, Sir, and, as the hon. Gentleman will see, far the greater part of this import was in bulk.

asked the Minister of Food to what extent the present shortage of cocoa in this country is due to bad crops or deflection of shipments to other countries.

The shortage of cocoa in the United Kingdom is a reflection of the world shortage and is not the result of the diversion of supplies intended for this country.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will make a statement on the immediate world cereals situation.

The total exportable surplus of wheat and coarse grains for 1946–47 is estimated by the International Emergency Food Council at about 25 million tons. Total import requirements of wheat and coarse grains as presented to the Council are about 35 million tons. This serious gap between supply and demand will no doubt be somewhat reduced by a careful scrutiny of the requirements submitted by various countries. In fact, however, this general world position is not our main immediate concern. Recent events in North America have gravely affected the ability of both the Canadian and the United States authorities to move wheat for export. This is partly the result of the decontrol of transport and partly the result of the series of maritime strikes in the United States. In the last few days the stoppage of the soft coal industry in the United States has added a further and most serious complication. It is this transport position which will govern the flow of cereals supplies to this country over this winter rather than any question of the amount of cereals potentially available in North America. These transport difficulties have already become sufficiently serious to deplete our stocks to a level very much below that of this time last year. It is for these reasons that I must warn the House that there is at present no possibility either of de-rationing bread or of diverting supplies to Germany or anywhere else. On the contrary we shall have to take—and are taking—the most vigorous measures to keep our own stocks up to the minimum level at which we can be sure of meeting the present ration.

Will my right hon Friend take all possible steps, both through the B.B.C. and by a special leaflet if necessary, to inform the British housewife that the immediate cause of world food shortages is industrial chaos under the unplanned economic policy of America?

Will the right hon. Gentleman give the House an assurance that he is taking every possible step in the interests of British agriculture to obtain a supply of coarse grain from South America?

Yes, Sir, and we are at last obtaining a certain flow from the Argentine. The difficulty has been export licences.

In view of the headlines in the "Sunday Express" last Sunday week, will my right hon. Friend take this opportunity to administer a severe rebuke?

Can the Minister state whether or not the exportable surplus is in the hands of the Emergency Council for allocation?

No, Sir. The figure I have given is the world figure of the exportable surplus which is in the hands of the United States, the Argentine, Australia, Canada, and the other principal exporters. It is not in the hands of the International Emergency Food Council.

Could the Minister say how the 25 million tons he has mentioned compares with the figure for the previous year?

The gap is a little less, but only a little.

Can the Minister say whether this figure of 25 million tons includes any amount from the Russian occupied zone of Germany, and other countries in Eastern Europe?

One hundred thousand tons is coming from the Russian zone into Western Germany at the moment, but that is the only case.

rose—

I have no doubt that we could continue to discuss this matter until the end of Question time.

asked the Minister of Food if he will explain the functions of the Food Leader Scheme; how many people are being employed in a full- or part-time capacity in this scheme; and what is the estimated annual cost of it.

The chief purpose of the Food Leader Scheme is to provide a voluntary link between the ordinary housewife and the cookery and nutrition experts of my Department. The food leaders number some 23,000, but they are not employed by my Department either in a full-time or part-time capacity: they give their services. The only expenditure incurred is for such items as the occasional hire of halls and the provision of display material and Food Leader badges, and by the Stationery Office for printing. No separate records of these small items are maintained and to extract particulars would involve a disproportionate expenditure of labour.

What are these people supposed to do?

They are supposed to give nutritional leadership in their areas. [Laughter.] What there is amusing in that I do not know. How easily hon. Members opposite are amused.

The right hon. Gentleman has no sense of humour.

These people explain, for instance, the relief food and the welfare food schemes. I have just addressed a conference of them. I believe they are rendering a most valuable service. They are a group of very earnest people—[Laughter.]How extraordinary—and very public spirited women, some of whom belong to the party opposite.

In all seriousness, can the Minister explain what is meant by "nutritional leadership"?

They explain to people the relative nutritional values of foodstuffs, so that the level of nutrition in the country shall be raised. That ought to be simple enough to understand.

Will the Minister bring to the special attention of the food leaders the nutritional value of herring?

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that the village of Hogsthorpe, Lincolnshire, has no butcher with a manufacturing licence nearer than Skegness, which is nine miles away; and whether he will consider modifying the requirement to produce separate accounts for the pork and general butchers business previously carried out, which, if not satisfied, prevents the issue of a Group IV licence, in order that small county businesses may be enabled to cater for the needs of rural populations who habitually take pack meals to their work.

General butchers (including the local butcher at Hogsthorpe) receive an allowance of meat for manufacturing purposes at the flat rate of seven per cent. of their ration quantities. They are only entitled to an additional allocation as Group IV manufacturers if they carried on a separate pork butchery business before the war. I regret that I cannot relax the qualifying conditions. The establishment of Rural Pie Schemes has been encouraged to provide packed meals for workers in rural areas. I understand, however, that the scheme which used to operate in the neighbourhood of Hogsthorpe was closed down in February of this year owing to the declining demand for the facilities it provided. Perhaps it could be revived by local initiative.

If I give the Minister details of the reasons for revising this system, will he consider them? Will he give nutritional leadership in this matter?

Certainly. We should like to see schemes which serve a useful purpose. I think the initiative should arise locally, but we shall certainly help.

asked the Minister of Food what is the estimated present consumption of milk in Government offices.

No milk without tea is consumed in Government offices. The allowance of milk for making tea, etc., is on exactly the same basis (six pints per 100 hot beverages) as for all other offices, but separate figures for Government offices axe not available.

Does not the Minister agree that however useful a stimulant a cup of tea may be, we must remember that many people are limited to two pints of milk per week and may have difficulty in getting that quantity, and that, therefore, the demand for milk in offices should be awarded a lower priority?

We should have to cut off all offices if we did that.

asked the Minister of Food how many men are at present employed in his Department's corn storage depot at Matlaske airfield, Norfolk.

There are three night watchmen and one sub-foreman permanently employed at this depot. When the work warrants it, the sub-foreman is assisted by members of the permanent staff stationed at the parent depot in Norwich. Local casual labour is engaged as and when required.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many inshore fishing vessels have been built under the terms of the Inshore Fishing Industry Act, 1945.

Five inshore fishing boats have been built in Great Britain under the terms of the Inshore Fishing Industry Act, 1945, and contracts have been placed for a further 103 boats.

Is not the Minister aware of the vital importance of the inshore fishing industry to our security arrangements? Is not he also aware that men coming out of His Majesty's Forces do not know of the facilities under the Act referred to, and will he therefore instruct his Department to give publicity to the matter?

I should have thought that full publicity had been given, otherwise the number of applicants would not have been quite so large. If the hon. Member has any suggestion to make about publicity I shall be glad to consider it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why restrictions have been placed on herring fishing when there is a recognised shortage of food in the British zone in Germany and a shortage of fish in the shops in Britain.

I would refer the hon. Member to my replies to the hon. Member for St. Marylebone (Sir W. Wakefield) and the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mr. Symonds) on 18th November and the reply given by my hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to the hon. and gallant Member for West Edinburgh (Lieut-Commander Hutchison) on 20th November.

As presumably the right hon. Gentleman has these replies on paper, would he refresh my mind and let me know what they are?

Perhaps the hon.,and gallant Member will be good enough to look at HANSARD.

As only ten days ago something like half the trawling fleet on the East coast was held in harbour, how can that action be reconciled with this shortage of fish?

The hon. and gallant Member must be aware that the Minister has no power to issue directions to the Herring Industry Board.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will extend the grant for rural water supplies to horticultural producers.

No, Sir. Whilst recognising the importance of adequate supplies of water for horticulture, I am satisfied that the provision of Exchequer assistance to their installation is not necessary or justifiable in present circumstances.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, in view of the fact that the agreed price for British labour for hoeing and singling sugar beet in a district in Norfolk, which represents some 6,000 acres of sugar beet, works out on 20-inches work at £3 18s. per acre, why the Norfolk A.E.C. charged a contract price of £4 13s. 1d. for unskilled prisoner-of-war labour; and who receives the difference.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave him on 28th October. I have recently written further to him on this matter.

Is not the Minister aware that that previous reply was very unsatisfactory, and that I hoped to get a better reply today? Why should the farmers subsidise the War Office?

The hon. Member has not yet satisfied me that they do.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many crawler tractors have been allocated to the Kesteven A.E.C. for re-allocation to the farmers in their district since 1st January, 1946.

Eighteen crawler tractors have been supplied to Kesteven since 1st January, 1946; these have been allocated by the county war agricultural executive committee on the basis of greatest need.

How do the figures which the right hon. Gentleman has given compare with the numbers allocated to other parts of the country?

I should think that Kesteven secures a fair allocation, compared with every other county. Need is always the basis of allocation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that, on account of present and impending repatriation of German prisoners of war, farmers are unable to foresee what labour force will be available to them for the harvest of 1947 and are therefore finding it difficult to compile returns of intended cropping; and what steps he is taking to replace prisoner labour and to indicate definitely to farmers to what extent they can expect deficiencies to be made good.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. J. Morrison) on 14th October. The number of prisoners of war available to agriculture will necessarily decline, but the number of regular male workers in the industry has increased still further since the last June Returns, and I have hopes that arrangements will shortly be made for the employment of a number of Poles in agriculture. While it is not possible to give precise figures of the labour of these and other categories which will be available next autumn, the Government will continue to do everything within its power to ensure that the total supply is adequate to deal with the crops required, and does not feel that the prospects are such as should deter farmers from growing these crops.

Is the Minister satisfied that there are houses there for the agricultural workers who need them?

rose—

May I have a reply?

If I answer the hon. Member, I can give him no more guarantee that the houses will be ready by next April than he, in his turn, could have given me from 1924 to 1945.

Will the Minister consider the promulgation of a scheme calling for volunteers from the British zone of Germany, for it is pretty certain that a fair number of the prisoners who have gone back to Germany would be quite willing to return here if given the chance?

That is a question which should be put to my hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Would not the Minister agree that it is unfair to serve directions on farmers to increase production more intensively when they know with absolute certainty that the labour will not be there to gather the crops next year?

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will not make statements of that nature either here or in the country. In all the war years the Government were never absolutely satisfied that adequate labour would be available, but on each occasion, year after year, the Government promised to do all in their power to make labour available. This Government will do exactly the same in 1947. I hope that no hon. Member will suggest that labour will not be available at the right time.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the fact that the price of imported meat and cereals has risen and continues to rise disproportionately as compared with the home-produced foodstuffs, he will consider giving some financial encouragement to home producers to increase their output, in view of the fact that at the present time there has been only partial compensation for higher agricultural labour costs.

No, Sir. One of the main purposes of the system of assured markets and prices guaranteed in advance for the principal home agricultural products is to enable home producers to plan ahead in the knowledge that the guaranteed prices will not be affected by fluctuations either up or down in the prices of corresponding imported products. In any case, I am not prepared to make changes in the prices of particular farm products in between the reviews for which provision is made in the agreed procedure.

Will the right hon. Gentleman confer with the Minister of Food with a view to ascertaining why it is that we pay so much more for these products abroad than we do to our home producers? There is always a trend upwards abroad but here our people generally have to have the same prices.

That is very likely because abroad controls have been abolished.

Is the Minister aware that his colleague the Minister of Food has increased the price to be paid for farm products in S.R. & O. 1714—a magnificent rise of one penny per cwt. from November to July next?

Perhaps the hon. Member ought to be thankful for small mercies.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what further steps he proposes to take to assist the farming industry in view of the fact that his Department estimates that prices of farming produce will fall and that the cost of labour will remain steady.

I have already written-to the hon. and gallant Member expressing regret for the letter that has given rise to his Question and asking that certain of its contents should be disregarded. The stability of the industry is adequately safeguarded by the system of assured markets and guaranteed prices which, as the hon. and gallant Member knows, the Government propose to establish as an essential and permanent feature of their agricultural policy.

Will the right hon. Gentleman, in future, make certain that members of his Department do not put out irresponsible letters of this type?

The hon. and gallant Gentleman will appreciate the contents of the letter which I sent to him, and I hope he will not expect me to go beyond that.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware of the shortage of tractor wheels and tyres, sizes 6 by 19 and 11.25 by 28 and that many farm tractors are lying idle at the moment awaiting the delivery of wheels and tyres of these sizes; and what steps he is taking to remedy this shortage.

I am aware that the supply of wheels and tyres of the sizes mentioned is at present insufficient to meet the demands for the conversion of steel wheels on tractors to rubber-tyred wheels. Manufacturers are increasing their output so far as possible, and I am not aware of any tractors lying idle for the lack of such equipment.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the carting of sugar beet is seriously held up in South Lincolnshire?

Will the Minister do what he can to expedite the delivery of tracks, for caterpillar tractors? A number of tractors are laid up in my part of the country.

I can assure both hon. Members that we are doing our best with the home manufacturers to secure the number of types of agricultural machinery which are required.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps are being taken to improve the supply of spare parts for agricultural implements and machinery.

Manufacturers in this country are constantly impressed with the need for giving priority to requirements for spare parts for home-produced machines. As regards spares for imported machines, all possible steps have been taken to expedite supplies from overseas, and exchange has been made available to meet to the full the estimated requirements of the importers. In addition, the importers are arranging for production in this country whenever practicable.

Is the Minister aware that the position of spare parts is worse than during the war? Will he make representations to his colleague at the Board of Trade to stop spares being exported until the needs of the home market have been met?

All that home manufacturers can do to meet the needs of the farmers is being done at the moment.

Is the Minister aware that Report No. 13 of the recent German Agricultural Engineering Industry indicates a German firm which has 1,000 tons of spare parts of British and American types available, only 26 per cent. of which are required at the moment in the British zone? Will he look into that matter?

If there are supplies in Germany, in the West, North, East or South, we shall be glad to have them.

Is it not true that, in the main, the industry produces what it likes? It demanded freedom from controls and got it. How is the Minister supposed to issue directions when he has no powers to do so?

asked the Minister of Agriculture how much home-grown wheat has been classed as non-millable in the past two months and what is the financial loss farmers have incurred by reason of the low selling price fixed for non-millable wheat.

The total quantity of wheat certified by local wheat committees as non-millable during September and October was nearly 32,000 tons. I do not accept the implication that the maximum price of non-millable wheat is unreasonably low. In any case it is quite impossible to give a figure for what the hon. Member refers to as "losses." Some part of the wheat crop is always certified as unmillable. Some part of the non-millable wheat is retained on the farm for feeding to livestock. Some of the non-millable wheat may be sold below the maximum price if in very poor condition.

Can the Minister tell the House how the proportion of non-millable wheat sold in the past two months compares with the ordinary autumn season?

I am afraid that I cannot do so without notice.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is satisfied that there will be sufficient threshing capacity available next spring to deal with all the wheat which farmers are holding in rick because of its poor condition; and if he will revise the scale of wheat prices to make it economical for farmers to thresh and drynon-millable wheat now.