asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a notice, under Defence Regulation 52, Emergency Powers (Defence) Acts, has been issued, under date 19th February, but only received last week by the officer in charge of administration, Western Command, to certain property owners in an area known as Moel-y-Parc, forming part of the Clwydian Range in the counties of Denbigh and Flint, authorising the use by the military of such land from 1st March to 31st August; whether any public inquiry has been held; and whether this notice will be countermanded.

The order made by the officer in charge of administration, Western Command, under date 19th February, was a renewal of an existing order under Defence Regulation 52, and was necessary to permit the continued use of the area, which has been in use since 1941 for training purposes. I am informed that publication of an order is not necessary under this Defence Regulation, but every effort is made to inform owners although, in this case I regret that there was some delay. In view of the answer to the first part of the Question, the latter parts do not arise.

asked the Minister of Defence how many months' training is required in the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force, respectively, before a man is so adequately trained that after 60 days' part-time service he may be counted on as a trained member of the Reserve; and whether this period has to be increased, and by how much, when the trainee is engaged in occupational guard duties.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 26th March, 1947; Vol. 435, c. 1237], supplied the following Statement:While it would be impracticable to provide a complete list of the many hundreds of trades and duties in the three Services and the training period applicable to each, the following statement, in more general terms, can be made.In the Royal Navy, the length of training required varies very considerably between the various rating categories. The average period of initial shore training, excluding artificer categories, may be taken as six months. This training provides sufficient grounding for the rating to be drafted to a seagoing ship or an air establishment to gain some practical experience and the further training necessary to enable him to qualify as a trained but not fully experienced rating. Although some 10 per cent. of the total entry may be regarded as sufficiently trained after one year's total service to enable them to be employed in full-time duties as part of a complement of a ship or air establishment, the great majority require 18 months to acquire the working experience without which basic training is of no practical value.In the Army, the amount of training which a man must receive varies with the trade and the arm in which he serves. The period of basic training varies from 14 weeks to 33 weeks. After this period of basic training a man joins a unit of the arm to which he belongs, where his training continues along more specialised lines and where he gains the experience which is necessary as a background to that training. In general, it may be said that the man reaches the required standard after some 18 months' service.So far as the Royal Air Force is concerned, the length of training in ground trades depends entirely on the trade to which the man is allocated. At present all N.S.A. entrants receive eight weeks' recruit (general service) training—this will later be increased to 13 weeks—followed by the training course for their particular trade, the length of which varies consider- ably according to the trade. At the end of his period of full-time service the airman will be regarded as a fully trained member of the Reserve. The position of aircrew is, of course, different. For them the period of full-time service contemplated under the National Service Bill will be insufficient to enable them to attain full operational efficiency.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the total number of Poles in this country who are in receipt of a disability pension.

Six hundred and sixty-three invalids and 304 widows at the end of February.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many separate owners are represented in the 3,500,000 properties for which a cost-of-works claim has been made under the War damage Act.

Cost of Works payments are made to the person who incurs the cost and no evidence of ownership is called for. The information, therefore, is not available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is yet in a position to make any statement about the projected international exhibition in 1951.

The possibility of holding an International Exhibition in London in 1951 has been the subject of long and careful inquiry. I have, as a result, most reluctantly concluded that it would be impossible to stage such an exhibition in that year, involving large-scale demands on labour and material, without impeding the progress of urgent tasks of reconstruction. I am, however, convinced that this country would derive many advantages from such an exhibition and the proposal will be reviewed in a few years time, when the competing claims on our national resources can be more clearly seen.The centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851 should, however, be marked by some national display. Methods can, undoubtedly, be found involving relatively little new construction work outside the programme already in course of planning. These might include a cultural festival, as well as a design display on the lines of the recent "Britain Can Make It" exhibition. Statements on these matters will be-made in due course.I have not overlooked the Ramsder Committee's recommendation that a permanent centre for the British Industries Fair should be erected as soon as practicable, but difficulties in regard to diversion of labour from an already crowded programme of urgent works are also involved. I am, however, having examined the possibility of making some advance towards the attainment of this objective as part of the recognition of the centenary of the 1851 Exhibition.

asked the Minister of Education whether, as a general policy, the placing of two secondary schools under a single governing body has been approved, as in an instance submitted to him; and in how many instances has this policy been adopted.

Section 20 of the Education Act gives the local education authority discretion to constitute a single governing body for two or more schools subject, in the case of voluntary schools, to the consent of the managers or governors. While it is of the first importance that every governing body should be conversant with the particular conditions and problems of individual schools, it would not be possible, particularly in view of the very large number of schools classed as secondary under the Act, to adopt a policy of separate governing bodies for every school, irrespective of circumstances. I would invite the hon. Member's attention to paragraph 13 of the White Paper on Principles of Government in Maintained Secondary Schools, of which I am sending him a copy. The information asked for in the last part of the Question, is not available.

asked the Minister of Education the names of the local education authorities to whom dining huts for the purpose of scholars' meals have been supplied since April, 1946.

The areas in which dining huts have been supplied are as follow:

asked the Minister of Education what action he is taking to ensure that the building programmes of local education authorities are based on the supply of labour and building materials likely to be available for that purpose.

The current educational building programmes are those described in Circular 134 dated 19th December, 1946, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy. As the plans for each project come forward my Department advises the authority concerned on the precise phasing of the project in relation to the supply of labour and materials.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has anything to report on the inquiries being made in regard to finding suitable places for those Maltese who wish to emigrate; and whether any steps have been taken in this connection in Libya, Eritrea and Tripoli.

Negotiations are in progress, regarding the resumption of emigration to Australia, and the possibility of facilitating emigration to the United States, South America and other destinations is being explored. The chief current difficulty is that of providing adequate passenger accommodation. As regards the former Italian colonies, I cannot add to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the hon. Member for Brighton (Mr. Teeling) on 1st July, 1946, which pointed out that opportunities for immigration can only be determined as part of the final settlement of the future of these territories; but that the claims of the Maltese to share in any immigration facilities will certainly not be overlooked.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, when fruit imports increase this year, he will relax the regulations which operate to prevent the opening of new fruiterer's retail shops and so permit individual and, particularly, ex-Servicemen to start in such business on their own account.

I have been asked to reply. I am at the moment re-examining the whole system of licensing for fresh fruit and vegetables and I hope to make an announcement shortly.

asked the Minister Food what am mint of lard was allocated to the manufacturers of cosmetics and flour confectionery, respectively, for the last three months; and how this compares with the domestic ration.

No lard ha, been allocated for the manufacture either of cosmetics or of flour confectioner) in the past three months. All the lard available is reserved for sale on the domestic ration

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, in view of the recent announcement that purchase of German machinery by British traders will now be permitted, by what means it is permissible for British traders to communicate with Germans for the arrangement of such transactions; and at what dates the export of British goods to Germany will be permitted.

British traders may now correspond with Germans and exchange information regarding proposed transactions. The approval of the British and U.S. Control authorities must however still be obtained before contracts are concluded. Goods imported into the Combined British—U.S. Zones of Germany are limited to those deemed to be essential to the German economy. Requirements are formulated by the British and U.S. Control authorities in consultation with the Germans, and for the time being are procured only through official channels. Raw materials may be imported into Germany to be processed and returned but, as in the case of exports, any proposed contract must be approved by the British and U.S. Control authorities.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the excessive overtime being worked by railwaymen of the depot at Derby which, in some instances, results in men being on, duty for over 20 hours without relief; and what action he is taking to reduce this long overtime which is resulting in excessive sickness through long hours without propel food or rest.

I am informed that out of 32,220 turns of duty by enginemen at Derby L.M.S. during the eight weeks ended 2nd February, excessive overtime was worked by six men only, who were on duty for more than 20 hours on account of difficulties of railway operation caused by the weather.

asked the Minister of Transport why numbers of coal trucks have been standing idle for weeks on both sides of the railway line at Foxes Wood, Brislington, Bristol; and if he will take steps to have them shifted and used.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 10th March, 1947; Vol. 434, C. 133], supplied the following statement:I am informed that there were 86 wagons standing at Foxes Wood. Of these, 50 are awaiting repairs, and 21 are railway locomotive coal wagons. The remaining 15 were loaded with rubbish and sweepings awaiting tipping, but their removal was prevented by the freezing-up of other wagons in front of them; they have now been transferred to the tipping sites.

asked the Minister of Transport to what extent the railway companies exempt themselves from the liability for compensation for accidents to passengers purchasing monthly return or cheap daily return tickets.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 24th February, 1947; Vol. 433, c. 1678], supplied the following statement:The four main line railway companies and the London Passenger Transport Board do not exempt themselves from liability for compensation for accidents to passengers holding monthly return tickets. In the case of cheap day return tickets the companies and the Board exempt themselves from such liability only if the accident happens whilst the passenger is not travelling in a train or is not in the act of entering or alighting from it.