asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the will institute a more modern and up-to-date record Department in the Admiralty; why postings are made sometimes by the Naval Secretary to the First Lord and sometimes by the Naval Assistant to the Second Sea Lord; and how many civil servants work in this Department.

I think the hon. and gallant Gentleman is under some misapprehension. Appointments of executive officers of the rank of captain and above are made by my noble Friend, the First Lord; appointments of all other executive officers, including acting captains, are made by the Second Sea Lord. The records are kept by the Naval Secretary to the First Lord or the Naval Assistant to the Second Sea Lord as appropriate. The organisation of both these offices is on modern lines and in accordance with expert advice. The total civilian staff is 45 of whom approximately half are engaged on keeping records of officers' appointments and releases, but this number is now under review

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the total acreage of the land now held by his Department in Wales, Scotland and England, respectively; and what proportion in each case such acreage represents of the area of each country.

The following table shows the area of land held by the Admiralty in each country and the proportion which it bears to the total area of the country expressed as a percentage:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what opportunities for promotion will be open to ratings who complete the full civilian sanitary inspectors course; and for what jobs are these officers and men being trained.

Sick berth ratings who complete the full civilian sanitary inspectors course have the usual opportunities for advancement to the higher rates of the branch and for selection for warrant rank which may lead to commissioned status. Ratings with these qualifications are to be employed as assistants to naval medical officers of health. No officers are being trained as sanitary inspectors.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what restric- tions are placed on receipt and dispatch of mail by prisoners in naval detention quarters.

A man under sentence is permitted to write a letter on admission and thereafter once weekly, and to receive all letters addressed to him.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the approximate capital expenditure which has been incurred in constructing and developing Rosyth Dockyard and the various naval establishments connected with it since the site was originally acquired by his Department

The capital expenditure which has been incurred on works, buildings, and machinery for Rosyth Dockyard and naval establishments in the immediate vicinity since the site was originally acquired by the Admiralty 40 years ago, is approximately £18½ million.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether permission can now be given to the Merchant Navy to fly the Union Jack forward in addition to the Red Ensign aft.

My noble Friend has given this matter the fullest consideration in the light of representations received from the Honourable Company of Master Mariners and the Officers (Merchant Navy) Federation, and in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport, but regrets that he is unable to depart from the conclusion conveyed in my reply to the hon. Member's Question on 23rd October last. The enactment which has the effect of limiting the right to fly the Union Jack afloat to His Majesty's ships reflects a traditional honour enjoyed by the Royal Navy for some 300 years. The Merchant Navy flies a flag which incorporates the Union and of which they are justly proud. Were it otherwise, I am sure that the Royal Navy would wish to share their valued privilege with the Merchant Navy, with which it has so many bonds arising out of common service to the country. In existing circumstances, however, my noble Friend does not consider that there is reason to change our present practice.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether a decision has been reached regarding the acquisition of Trafalgar House for the nation.

No, Sir. Various suggestions for utilising the premises have been under examination, but it has not been possible yet to reach a decision. The hon. Member will recognise that the character of the premises, their comparative isolation and their distance from the sea render them unsuitable for many purposes for which the Admiralty require accommodation. I will let the hon. Member know so soon as a decision is arrived at.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why his Department allows men under five feet four inches in height to be employed indefinitely as temporary postmen, without right of pension, but refuses to modify the requirement so that the men concerned can join the permanent strength and qualify for pension.

It is necessary to maintain the height limit in recruiting outside candidates as permanent postmen, as they will usually have to do the full range of duties, including letter sorting, but it may be waived in favour of temporary postmen if they can perform efficiently the particular duties required of them. A temporary postman who had proved in practice that he could do letter sorting efficiently, would not be debarred from consideration for permanent employment by reason of his being under height.

asked the Minister of Defence how many persons are at present employed in the Service Departments for the purpose of checking passes and issuing temporary passes to visitors at the entrances and exits to the buildings which such Departments occupy.

Ninety-seven members of the War Department and Air Ministry constabularies, and 152 messengers or re- ceptionists are employed in the headquarters buildings of the Service Departments to receive and conduct visitors. Of these three are engaged exclusively in issuing and checking passes. For the remainder this is a small part only of their duties.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will continue the distribution of tomatoes for the 1947 season through the tomato distribution associations pending the introduction of a tomato marketing scheme.

I am at present discussing the question with interested parties and will make an announcement shortly.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will take steps to ensure a more equitable distribution of the supply of biscuits in the Cardiff area.

If my hon. Friend cares to let me have particulars of any complaints that have reached him I will gladly look into them.

asked the Minister of. Food if he is aware that Mr R. Walker, 170 New Street, Blackrod, Chorley, Lancashire, an ex-Serviceman, recently bought as a going concern a fish and chip business and that his Department has refused him a licence to continue that business; and if he will reconsider the matter.

This business was closed in 1941 and was not bought as a going concern. The licence was refused because, in the present acute shortage of fats, we can only give allocations to ex-traders and to a few suitable disabled people, or where refusal would cause a high degree of hardship to the public.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that children who have to take packed meals to schools where school meals are not yet provided have insufficient bread-rationing coupons and whether he will make an additional quantity of bread rationing coupons available for this purpose.

In the present shortage I should not feel justified in increasing these scales.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that at least two persons have recently died after being refused additional quantities of rationed foodstuffs recommended by their medical advisers; and if he will now alter the present system in such a way as either to allow additional rations on the certificate of a registered medical practitioner or, alternatively, to ensure that the patient is seen personally by at least one member of the Special Diets Advisory Committee before additional rations are refused.

I cannot accept the implication that deaths have resulted from the refusal of applications for additional rationed foods. As I have explained in reply to the hon. Member for London University (Sir E. Graham-Little), I have every confidence in the present system of dealing with these applications and I propose to continue it.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will review a case, details of which have been submitted to him, of a patient discharged from hospital after a severe operation before convalescence, owing to shortage of beds, and placed under the care of a general practitioner who applied for special dietetic allowances and was refused by his Department; and if he will now grant these allowances.

In the case to which the hon. Member refers, a doctor asked that a patient who was discharged from hospital after operations for general peritonitis, and already receiving extra milk and eggs, should also receive extra meat, cheese, sugar, butter, bacon and bread. The application was refused as the Special Diets Advisory Committee recommended that the ordinary rations of foods other than milk and eggs are sufficient for convalescence from any illness. A review now would be inappropriate as the doctor recommended the additional rations for six weeks from 25th July, 1946.

asked the Minister of Food if he will review the decision in a case, details of which have been submitted to him, of a radiologist who, to carry out a test for bile function on one of his patients, required to give a diet of eggs beaten up with milk, and was refused the grant of the eggs by the medical advisers of his Department who had no knowledge of the case; and if he will now authorise the required allocation.

An application was made in June, 1945, by a doctor for supplies of eggs for six unnamed patients to determine the function of the gall bladder. The application was rejected because the Ministry's medical advisers considered that the same purpose would be served by other fats.

asked the Minister of Food if he will give figures to compare the amount of priority milk ordered by doctors in residential areas such as Bath, Bournemouth, Hove or Hampstead, with that in industrial areas like Tyneside or South Wales.

In December, 1946, the number of domestic consumers obtaining priority milk on medical grounds per thousand of population was: Bath and Bathaven, 31, Bournemouth and Christchurch, 38, Hove and Brighton, 33, Hampstead, 47, Tyneside, 15, South Wales, 15.

asked the Minister of Food the present composition of the national loaf, with special reference to the measure of extraction in the flour supplied, the proportion of that flour derived from home grown wheat and imported wheat, respectively, and the extraneous items incorporated not derived from wheat; and what proportion of the flour used has been treated with agene, which has been shown recently by animal experiments to be noxious to life.

The national loaf is at present composed of wheat flour of 85 per cent. extraction. The proportion of the flour derived from home grown wheat is approximately 25 per cent. The remainder is derived from imported wheat. Imported white flour is mixed to the 85 per cent. extraction flour in mills in England and Wales at the rate of 5 per cent. of the output and in Scotland and Northern Ireland at the rate of 10 per cent. 14 ozs. of creta preparata are added to each 280 lb. sack of flour. The proportion of the flour used which has been treated with agene is approximately 90 per cent. This substance has been used by millers as an improver for more than 20 years, and there is no evidence to show that it is harmful to human beings. My Department is studying the implications of the work recently published showing its effect on dogs.

asked the Minister of Food if he will give details of the number and weight of allocations of various types of imported fruits made to the West Riding of Yorkshire during the last six months.

As the details asked for by my hon. Friend are rather lengthy, I am sending him a copy of the statement giving the information for which he asks.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that a considerable section of the public are not satisfied that conditions in slaughterhouses in England and Wales are as humane as they could and should be; and whether he will have this matter examined with a view to making improvements in the near future.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given today to the hon. Member for West Harrow (Mr. Bower).

asked the Secretary of State for Air why, in view of Air-Marshal Lord Tedder's announcement that parades would be reduced there are now, for Accounts Section, three parades a day at the R.A.F. station at Podington, Northants, instead of two a week.

During the war, airmen at Podington, as at many other stations, were allowed to go independently to their work. In peacetime, however, it is found that it saves time and improves discipline to parade airmen at the beginning and end of duty. I am glad to assure the hon. Member, however, that many other parades which we now regard as unnecessary are being abolished.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that blankets, mattresses, accumulators, stirrup pumps, scientific instruments, bedsteads, bicycles, baths and other goods are lying in the open and deteriorating at Marston Moor aerodrome; and whether he will take steps to stop this waste of property, much of which is in short supply for the public.

At the R.A.F. Equipment Disposals Depot at Marston Moor, over 5,000 different pieces of equipment, amounting to 100 tons, are handled every day. I think it is true that some bundles of disused blackout material were by inadvertence left out in the rain, but I can assure the hon. and gallant Gentleman that no other serviceable stores, liable to deteriorate, are kept in the open.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why, in view of the urgent need for voluntary recruitment to the Forces to provide replacements for the speedier release of men now serving, his Department has delegated certain aspects of recruiting to the Civil Service Commissioners.

The Civil Service Commissioners conduct the written examination for volunteers who desire to enter the Royal Air Force as cadets. For this purpose, they are recognised to be the most suitable and experienced agents. They take no other part in recruiting, and this arrangement in no way affects the release rate of men now serving.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the ratio of officers to the number of men in R.A.F., C.M.F.; and what is the ratio of the number of officers' families to the number of men's families sent out in the same force.

In the Royal Air Force Mediterranean and Middle East Command the proportion of officers to airmen, including National Service entrants, is 1 to 12. It is easier to arrange for officers to have their families with them than it is to arrange for airmen to do so, partly because officers can more often make use of private accommodation. The number of officers' families now in the command is about the same as the number of airmen's families. I fully realise the hardships caused by the shortage of married quarters, particularly for airmen, but I should mislead my hon. Friend if I allowed him to hope for an immediate remedy. I am glad, however, to assure him that both my Department and the command are treating the question as one of the greatest urgency and will do everything in their power to secure an early improvement. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of a letter which the command has recently sent out in order to explain the present position to all ranks, and to show them what they can hope for in the early future.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what reductions have been made in the strength of R.A.F. Headquarters, Rangoon, in the last six months; and if he is satisfied that all the personnel now there are fully employed.

The establishment at air headquarters, Rangoon, has been reduced in the last six months by 8o per cent. I have instructed the command to report the actual strength today and to tell me whether all the staff are fully employed. I will write to my hon. Friend when I have received their reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what arrangements have been made for the heating of the offices and living quarters at the British Commonwealth Air Station, Japan.

I understand that my hon. Friend is referring to the station at Miho in Japan. Steam heating has been installed in the recreation rooms and messes and the main buildings containing the offices are heated by oil stoves and electric fires. I regret to say, however, that according to the latest progress report, only 10 per cent, of the sleeping quarters are at present heated. I have called for a further report, and I will write to my hon. Friend when it has been received

asked the Secretary of State for Air the reason for the protracted delay in releasing to the Ashbourne Rural District Council the communal site at the R.A.F. station, Darley Moor, for temporary housing purposes.

No final decisions about the future of the Royal Air Force station at Darley Moor have yet been made, but I am glad to tell my hon. Friend that the communal site is now being offered for a limited period to the Ashbourne Rural District Council for temporary housing.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (1) whether he is now prepared to publish the Report of the Pakenham Committee, received by his Department on 17th July, 1945;(2) whether he will make a statement as to the establishment of a flying-boat base in South-East England; and whether he will state the departments from whom objections to the establishment of a flying-boat base at Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth, have been received and the nature of these objections.

I regret that I am not yet in a position to add to the reply I gave to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for West Middlesbrough (Mr. Cooper) on 18th December last.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation if he is aware of the lack of facilities existing at Croydon Airport for incoming passengers to exchange foreign currency to British currency; and what steps he is taking to remedy this.

No complaints have hitherto been made to my Department or to the Airport manager, about any lack of currency exchange facilities at Croydon. Most of the companies operating at the airport are prepared to exchange small amounts of foreign currency for their passengers. The inquiries I have made as a result of the hon. Member's Question, do, however, show that some difficulties are occurring and I am seeing what can be done to provide better facilities.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation how many Europeans, Asiatics and Africans are employed on the staff of B.O.A.C.

I regard detailed information about staff matters as falling within the field of management, on which in accordance with the Statute the three airways corporations are not subject to Ministerial directions. I regret that I do not think it right in these circumstances to invoke Section 22 (6) of the Statute to acquire the information necessary to answer this Question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation whether permission has yet been, or will be, given to the L.P.T.B. to run an omnibus route through the West End Road, alongside Northolt airport, in accordance with the letter which the hon. Member for Uxbridge wrote to him on 23rd September, 1946.

Traffic is allowed to pass freely along West End Road except at such times as aircraft are taking off or landing across the road, when barriers are closed. No permission is needed from my noble Friend for an omnibus service to use West End Road, but in the interest of public safety, he has power to interrupt the flow of road traffic in this way at the times referred to. I see no prospect, however, of being able, in the near future, to make West End Road available for traffic without interruption.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many British officers, with the number in their families, occupy 150 Detmolder Strasse, Bielefeld; how many German residents have been dispossessed; and how many German servants are employed.

One British officer, his wife and two adult daughters now reside in this house previously occupied by nine Germans. They employ two German servants.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of. Lancaster how many British officers, and the number in their families, occupy 35 Roonstrasse, Bielefeld; how many German residents have been dispossessed; and how many German servants are employed.

This house has been divided into two flats. One is occupied by a British officer and his wife with one German servant. They are shortly to be joined by their two children when a German nursemaid will also be employed. The other flat is due to be similarly occupied as soon as repairs are completed. Eight Germans have been displaced.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if the Wollkammerei combing plant at Bremen has vet gone into production; what percentage of its combs are working; how much tops it is expected to produce during the next three months; whence it gets its raw material; and what happens to its production.

Yes, Sir. Twenty-eight per cent. of the combs are now in working order and, subject to fuel and power being available, the plant can be expected to yield about 700 tons of tops in the next three months. The raw materials for this purpose are partly imported by the Control authorities and partly obtained from German sources; the finished product is used to meet essential German requirements in the British and U.S. zones.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster the average value in calories per head of food consumed by inhabitants of the British zone in Germany.

For the period 6th January to 2nd February of this year, the weighted average of rations—including those of normal consumers, heavy workers, nursing mothers and other special classes is about 1,750 calories per day. This figure excludes the extra rations of children attending school in certain areas who receive a supplementary meal, assessed at 300 calories daily up to 12 years and 490 calories daily over 12 years of age.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why Dr. R. Seiter's furniture has been seized by the British military authorities in Seigen, Germany; and whether it is proposed to make any restitution to him.

I have written to my hon. and gallant Friend about this case. It is not proposed to make any restitution at present but Dr. Seiter will be entitled to compensation or restitution in due course in accordance with the arrangements applicable to such cases.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to what class of industry the 60 plants scheduled to be dismantled in the British zone of Germany belong; how they differ from the 647 factories recently stated by the Regional Commissioner at Düsseldorf to be surplus to Germany's peacetime economy as laid down by the Potsdam Agreement; and what steps have actually been taken regarding both categories of enterprise.

In the British zone of Germany as a whole 440 plants were declared available as reparations. The 60 plants are those already allocated to the Allied nations and therefore scheduled for dismantling For their classification I would refer my hon. Friend to the replies which I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for Sunderland (Mr. F. Willey), the hon. Member for North Dorset (Mr. Byers) on 18th December The 647 factories referred to by the Regional Commissioner at Düsseldorf are those in the North Rhine Westphalia Region provisionally listed for consideration as surplus to Germany's peacetime requirements, under the present level of industry plan. No further steps have yet been taken except in the case of those plants which form part of the 60 already scheduled for dismantling or of the further 380 declared available as reparations.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster the quantity of foodstuffs, expressed in weight and sterling, that has been pilfered from German ports in the British zone during 1946.

It is impracticable without considerable expenditure of time and effort to provide the information asked for by the hon. Member. For 1946 the pilferage of foodstuffs destined for the Forces of occupation and the Control Commission amounted to only one quarter of 1 per cent. by weight, but this cannot be taken as an indication of the overall position. Since December, 1946, however, imports destined for German consumption have been handed over to the Germans at the ship's rail.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Trading with the Enemy Act still applies to the British zone of Germany; and whether he will make a statement on the matter.

Yes, Sir, the Act still applies, although a number of relaxations have already been made to allow of the despatch of newspapers, periodicals, gift parcels and certain kinds of commercial correspondence. Licences to trade have also been granted to certain special organisations such as N.A.A.F.I. and U.N.R.R.A., and business visits to Germany are permitted in selected cases. Exploratory discussions are now proceeding with a view to the reopening of trade relations with the British and American zones, but in this matter we must act in conjunction with the United States Government

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether, in the nationalisation of the industry in the British zone of Germany, any part of the obligation to compensate the dispossessed non-German interests will fall on the British taxpayer.

No, Sir.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will now remove the embargo on the transmission of braille letters and literature in the British zone of Germany.

The embargo was raised for German internal postal services, by quadripartite agreement on 15th January. We are now pressing for its removal in the case of international postal services to Germany.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether permission was given to Dr. Kenneth Mellanby to travel to Germany in the uniform of a British Press correspondent to talk to German doctors now on trial at Nuremberg about their experiments on human beings; and what use will be made of his report.

Dr. Mellanby travelled as an accredited representative of the "British Medical Journal," and was given the usual facilities afforded to a Press correspondent. The use which is made of his report is a matter for the editor of the publication concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many men are now looking after the seven Nazi leaders sentenced to imprisonment at Nuremberg; how many of these are British; and what is the estimated monthly cost of the supervision required.

The seven Nazi leaders are still in custody in the American zone of Occupation but will be transferred to the Spandau prison in Berlin where they will serve their sentence under quadripartite supervision as soon as arrangements are complete. At Spandau there will be a permanent staff of 55, and in addition, one part-time medical officer, and 54 military guards. Nine of the permanent staff will be British, and the part time medical officer and the military guards will be provided from British resources every fourth month. The monthly cost of supervision cannot at present be estimated.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now state when the Government will publish an authentic presentation of the secret treaty between Soviet Russia and the Third Reich in 1939.

The documents of the German Foreign Office captured during the last phase of the war are in joint Anglo-American custody at the Enemy Documents Unit in Berlin. A joint team of specialists has been engaged for over a year in selecting the more important material. This has then been microfilmed and copies of the films have been sent both to the State Department and the Foreign Office. As a result of conversations between the two Governments, agreement was reached in June, 1946, to publish a series of volumes of selected documents from the great mass of captured material. Both Governments agreed that the selection of the documents for publication should be entrusted to independent historians of high reputation who will be guided in their task of preparing the material for publication solely by considerations of scholarship. The United States Government have appointed as their Editor-in-Chief Professor Raymond Sontag, of the University of California, and His Majesty's Government have secured the services of Mr. John W. Wheeler-Bennett, whose knowledge of the period concerned is unrivalled. The editors have already met in London and will shortly resume contact in Berlin, where Assistant Editors of both countries are already at work.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a full statement upon the circumstances in which a refugee train from Western Poland arrived on or about 28th December at the frontier of the British zone containing 16 Germans who had been frozen to death and 57 others suffering from frostbite; and whether any representations have been made to the Polish Government.

I think the hon. Member is referring to a train which arrived on 21st December at the boundary of the British zone containing Germans expelled from the Polish Administered Territories. This was the second of the two refugee trains which arrived shortly before Christmas containing a large number of casualties from exposure caused by the very cold weather which arrived unexpectedly early this year. These trains carried a high proportion of elderly and infirm persons.The first train, which arrived on 15th December, contained four dead and 109 cases of frostbite. The refugees in the train said that they had been ordered by the Polish authorities to report at the collecting centre in Poland on 7th and 8th December, that no accommodation was available for them and that they had to wait in the rain and sleet until entraining on 11th December. The journey itself was unduly prolonged because the locomotive broke down inside the Russian zone and there was some delay before it could be replaced. The cars on this train were totally unheated.On the second train 16 people died and there were 53 cases of frostbite. A number of further deaths which have since occurred must be attributed to the conditions of the journey.In both cases the food supplied for the journey was totally insufficient. It was supplemented as far as resources allowed at the Polish-Russian frontier, and by hot coffee supplied during transit through the Russian zone.Everything possible was done for the casualties and other passengers by the British liaison team at Kohlfurt, the frontier station between Polish administered territory and the Russian zone. In the case of the second train, the British officer at Kohlfurt was able to remove 12 of the refugees to the small local hospital, because they were unfit to travel. He also obtained additional coal for the eight stoves on the train and put on a warmer wagon. The three German doctors on the train were instructed to keep a constant look-out for cases of frostbite and the German railway officials through the Russian zone were requested to give a quick passage. The only alternative to allowing the train to proceed would have been to disembark the refugees in the open which would have meant that they would have suffered still greater hardship and more casualties.Protests were made to the Polish authorities, and while the second train was still on the way, we decided to suspend further movement. The Polish Government was so notified on 23rd December. In spite of this decision, the Poles have despatched one more train load of refugees, but in this case the train was heated and no casualties due to cold have been reported The Polish authorities were informed once again that no more trains could be accepted until we were satisfied that conditions were suitable.I should like to make absolutely clear that in regard to these trains we consider that the Polish authorities have not carried out the movement of these Germans in a humane and orderly manner, as was required by the Potsdam Agreement. The question of what further representations should be made and steps to be taken to prevent similar disasters occurring in the future are now under active consideration

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government still adhere to the decisions of the Foreign Ministers' Conference in December, 1945, in respect of China; and if they have made representations to the U.S. Government about the continued presence of U.S. forces in China, one year after the U.S. Secretary of State had promised their speedy withdrawal.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes, Sir," and to the second part, "No, Sir."

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many British soldiers are at present detained in Yugoslavia; and how long have they been there.

None, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the mass deportation of Hungarian-speaking people from the frontier districts in Slovakia by the Czechoslovak Government; whether this action is in accord with the spirit of the recent discussions on the question of minorities; and whether any representations have been made to the Czechoslovak Government.

I presume my hon. Friend is referring to the compulsory transfer of labour in Czechoslovakia which is taking place under the terms of the Mobilisation of Labour Decree, No. 88, of 1945. The number of persons of Magyar origin who have been moved from Slovakia to the western districts of Czechoslovakia represents less than 10 per cent. of the total number of Slovaks involved. According to official figures over a million Czechs have, in addition to those transferred from Slovakia, been subject to direction under the mobilisation of labour scheme. I understand that the whole question of the Magyar population in Slovakia is likely to form the subject of direct negotiations between the two countries. No representations have been made to the Czechoslovak Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what official proposals the U.S. Government has addressed to His Majesty's Government asking for the lease of bases on, or the transference of sovereignty over, or the extension of a joint administration over, any British islands in the Pacific; and which islands are concerned in such requests.

No proposals have been addressed to His Majesty's Government on these subjects during recent months

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many Greek trade union officials have been released by the Greek Government since 25th November, when that Government gave His Majesty's Government an undertaking that they would proceed with the release of the trade union leaders except those charged with murder.

I have made inquiries but I regret that I am not yet in a position to supply this information. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as all the facts are in my possession.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he is satisfied with the existing arrangements for the distribution to school laboratories of surplus scientific instruments at present accumulating at aerodromes.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the fact that the latest issue of the "United Nations Journal" available in the House of Commons Library on 6th January, 1947, was for 4th December, 1946, he is prepared to restore the facility, available to Members while U.N.O. was deliberating in London, of the "United Nations Journal" being obtainable from His Majesty's Stationery Office as an additional Parliamentary paper.

No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Works the number of temporary houses that were completed and erected in Great Britain as at 31st December, 1946.

Last May I set for my Department a target of 96,000 temporary houses of all types to be completed by the end of the year. The number actually completed for local authorities in Great Britain by the 31st December was 95,510. In addition a number of houses were completed for certain other public authorities bringing the total to over 96,000. With the exception of about 3,000, all the houses also had services laid on. This result has been achieved only by the most intensive co-operative effort on the part of all concerned, and in spite of difficulties which were not contemplated at the time when the programme was set. I should like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to the contractors and workpeople both in the factories and on the sites and to testify to the assistance given to my Department by the Departments of my right hon. Friends the Minister of Health, the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Supply.

asked the Secretary of State for War the total strength of the Army Education Corps on 1st January, 1946, 1st July, 1946, and 1st January, 1947, respectively.

The following are the figures of officers and men on the strength of the Royal Army Education Corps and also those of other arms employed with the Corps on similar duties who have not been transferred to it for various reasons:

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, during the visit of Field-Marshal Lord Montgomery to the U.S.S.R., any military discussions took place on the basis of the Anglo-Russian Alliance of 1942.

No, Sir. The Chief of the Imperial General Staff visited Moscow as a guest of Marshal Vassilievsky, in order to meet the Soviet Marshals and to see something of Soviet military life.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of the rapidly-spreading tension and hatred against British rule in Somalia, on account of what the local people consider to be near-Fascist administration; and if he will appoint a commission of inquiry into the situation.

I am quite satisfied from information I have received that there is no foundation for suggestions of growing tension or hatred towards the British administration in Somalia or that the inhabitants regard the administration as "near-Fascist."

asked the Minister of Education if she will give an assurance that His Majesty's Government have no intention of cancelling or postponing the raising of the school-leaving age in April, 1947.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether payment of pension has been resumed to Mrs. F. O'Dell, who has not received payment since 3rd October, 1946, and about whom a letter was sent to him on 9th January; and, if not, whether payment at the former rate will be made, without prejudice, until arrangements for the payment of any increased rate are complete.

I am having inquiries made and will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether payment of pension has been resumed to Mrs. Jee, about whom a letter was sent to him on 9th December; and, if the matter is in abeyance because of any question, of her right to increased pension, whether, in order to reduce hardship, payment at the former rate will be continued, without prejudice, in the meantime.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 20th January about this case.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the interdepartmental committee which has been considering proposals for the revision of the Milk and Dairies Regulations has now submitted recommendations, particularly in respect of the much-needed reduction of bovine tuberculosis and what action he is taking; of what is the reason for the delay and when he anticipates being in a position to make the necessary amendments.

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. No interdepartmental committee has been appointed for the purpose he describes, but officers of the Departments concerned are discussing what provisions might be included in the regulations which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health and I are empowered to make under the Food and Drugs Acts, 1938 and 1944. The regulations cannot be made until the appointed day under the Food and Drugs (Milk and Dairies) Act, 1944, which I am not yet in a position to announce. Measures to secure a reduction in, and the ultimate eradication of, bovine tuberculosis are outside the scope of these regulations, but proposals on that subject will shortly be discussed with farming interests.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning when he will begin publication of the lists of buildings of architectural and historic interest compiled under Clauses 42 and 43 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1944; and whether they will be sent to local weekly newspapers as well as to the daily Press.

Provisional lists of such buildings which have been prepared for a number of administrative areas are under consideration by the Advisory Committee under the Chairmanship of Sir Eric Maclagan. I propose to publish them as soon as possible after I have received and considered the observations of the Committee on them. Copies of the lists will be placed on sale and made available for inspection in the offices of the local authorities concerned