asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will publish as a White Paper the directions issued by the Military Government in Germany with respect to de-Nazification.

The relevant Control Council Directives and British Ordinances are available to the public from His Majesty's Stationery Office, and it is therefore not proposed to publish them as a White Paper. I have, however, arranged for copies of the latest British Ordinance to be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on whose authority, and for what reason, attempts have been made to blow up the concrete building in the Tiergarten, Berlin, originally intended as an anti-aircraft base and air-raid shelter, and more recently used to provide hospital accommodation.

This building must be demolished in order to comply with quadripartite decisions on the demilitarisation of Germany.

Does my hon. Friend not think it is time to have a quadripartite decision affecting a thing like this; and when there are already so many ruins is it not absolutely absurd to spend labour and material in blowing up this building in the Tiergarten, Berlin?

We will certainly bear that in mind. This particular building, however, is quite useless for the purposes of a hospital, or housing, or anything of that kind, in view of its very specialised construction.

My hon. Friend says the building is useless, but is he not aware that when I went round it it was serving its purpose very well as a hospital?

For a very short time it was used as a temporary hospital, but as the accommodation part of it has no windows whatever it obviously is not suitable for permanent use as a hospital.

Would not the hon. Gentleman agree that there is no such thing as a useless building in Berlin?

Or in England?

Is it not a fact that an attempt to blow up this shelter has not been very successful?

The lack of success in blowing it up was due largely to our concern not to damage surrounding buildings; we tried to use the minimum explosive charge possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the continued dismantling of works carrying out locomotive repairs in the British zone is being allowed, in view of the insufficient repairing capacity which is now available.

No works carrying out locomotive repairs in the British zone are being dismantled, except for two category I war plants which have done a few such repairs. There is more than sufficient capacity available to take over their work.

Is my hon. Friend aware I was informed by the people responsible for transport that as a consequence of these two works being dismantled they were looking for capacity in Czechoslovakia and Belgium for which they will have to pay dollars? How does he reconcile that with what he has just said?

I should be glad to have any special information in possession of the hon. Member. The hold-up is definitely due to a lack of materials, and not to workshop capacity.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that an amount of 15 million dollars, almost equal to the saving achieved by the abolition of the basic petrol ration, is this year being spent on the purchase of mechanical excavators from America, and this being so, why three factories in Germany capable of producing the same type of machinery are now to be dismantled for reparations.

As far as I am aware, only one plant which has in the past produced mechanical excavators is on the reparations list, and that is a category I war plant. It may be that certain other plants which are to be removed would, after conversion, be capable of manufacturing mechanical excavators. But, owing to the shortage of fuel and raw materials, there is already more productive capacity of this sort left in Germany under the present reparations plan than can be put into production for some considerable time.

Is the Under-Secretary of State aware that I was engaged in negotiating for one of these firms for the production of excavators in order to relieve the pressure here? Judge my surprise when I found that it was scheduled for dismantling.

This plant, the Weserhütte at Bad Oeynhausen, is in fact a category 1 plant.

That is not the plant with which I was negotiating. Mine was Menck and Harnbrok in Hamburg.

If the hon. Member will get in touch with me, I will look into that particular point.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made in the Munster Strasse Bunker School, Dusseldorf, towards its completion for school use.

The normal school, for which the Bunker School was a substitute, has now been repaired and was re-opened on 25th October. The Bunker School has now been closed.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs wether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the British Government Ordinance for the breaking up of estates in the British zone of Germany.

Copies of this Ordinance can be obtained from His Majesty's Stationery Office, and it is accordingly not proposed to publish it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why, in spite of the decision to end multilateral reparations on 27th September, Messrs. Th. Speckbotel, of Hamburg, were informed on 8th October that two lathes would be removed from their factory.

The delivery of multilateral reparations ended on 16th October, the date on which this decision was announced.

Was it not widely announced in Germany that multilateral reparations would cease on 27th September? In view of that how does my hon. Friend reconcile the two dates?

I think that 27th September was the date for ceasing searching for multilateral deliveries, but I think that 16th October was the date on which the last delivery was allowed.

Can the hon. Gentleman say what are multilateral reparations?

An emergency scheme of stop-gap reparations to the Inter-Allied Reparations Agency.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, what is the basic petrol ration allowed to Germans in the British zone in Germany.

There is no basic petrol ration in the British zone of Germany. Petrol is issued only to persons engaged on essential services.

Could the hon. Gentleman tell us the dollar expenditure on the total issue of petrol for those purposes?

Not without notice.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that delays of post from Germany amount to 21 days, owing to censorship; and will he rectify this matter.

No, Sir. Mail from Germany is not normally delayed by the censorship authorities for more than 48 hours. I am informed that the average time taken for letters to reach this country is 13 days.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that letters I have had differ in fact considerably from what he has said, and will he go into this matter if I give him details?

I am prepared to go into any case which the hon. Member sends me, provided he can give me the envelopes concerned.

Why is it necessary to have a censorship at all in Germany?

The general question of censorship is under consideration, and it may be possible to make an announcement later.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will issue a White Paper on the Petkov affair.

The Press and wireless have given generous publicity to the position adopted by His Majesty's Government in regard to the trial and execution of M. Petkov, and I do not consider that the issue of a White Paper would be justified. I am, however, arranging for the circulation in the OFFICIAL REPORT of the text of the communication which His Majesty's representative in Sofia delivered, on instructions, to the Bulgarian Government on 25th September.

Does not the Under-Secretary of State consider it is a little inconsistent with the protest of the Government that the British political representative, to Bulgaria should have been promoted to Minister immediately after the Petkov affair?

We made our position perfectly plain. On balance, it seemed wise to us to be properly represented.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on what grounds the British Political Representative in Bulgaria was instructed not to attend the Fatherland Front Parade on 9th September.

The attendance of the British representative would not have been consistent with the disapproval with which His Majesty's Government viewed the contempt for human rights involved in the trial of Nikola Petkov and the dissolution of the Agrarian Party, which had just taken place. My right hon. Friend therefore instructed the British representative not to participate in those ceremonies.

asked the Minister of Food what is the progress of negotiations with the Danish Government with regard to food supplies.

asked the Minister of Food if negotiations are being resumed for the purchase of butter and other essential foods from Denmark.

I cannot add anything to the statement which was issued when the recent negotiations in London came to an end. That statement is rather long, and, with permission, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that since that statement was made the Danes have disposed of their next six months' production of butter, amounting to 24,000 tons, including 12,000 tons to Russia, and 5,000 tons to other countries? Why are we so behind in getting what is available in order to feed our people?

I am not aware of those alleged facts. The Danes sold less butter this year to Russia and other destinations than last, and I would warn the hon. and gallant Member about accepting at face value statements naturally put out by the Danish Government in the course of the negotiations.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make it quite clear that he is not imputing to the Danish Government a lack of veracity—the most unusual imputation to make against a friendly Government?

Certainly. I am merely imputing that, the statements made by the Danish Government in the course of the negotiations gave their side of the case. There is a British side to the case in these negotiations, which Members opposite show an extraordinary tendency to overlook.

This is a matter of some importance. Nobody on either side of the House wants to overlook the, British case, but if the right hon. Gentleman claims that the Danish Government, in stating their case, have misstated the facts, would he tell us in what respect those facts have been misstated?

The Danish Government put out a statement that they had sold a certain quantity of butter to Russia, which is true, but at once it was assumed here that that meant that no butter was left to sell to this country. As a matter of fact, the quantity sold to Russia was less than last year.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say whether the Danes were asking for payment in dollars, or were willing to accept unconvertible sterling?

In which transactions?

In the further negotiations, which broke down.

These are complicated negotiations, and I think it would be unwise for me to enter into details. We have real hopes that, by one means or another, we shall be able to resume our trading relations and purchases with the Danes, but we are not willing to pay them, at present, prices which, for one thing, would be grossly unfair to our own Dominion suppliers.

asked the Minister of Food what extra rations are provided for imported Irish and European volunteer workers and how these compare with the scales allowed to British labour engaged in similar work.

asked the Minister of Food what is the scale of food rations allowed to displaced persons; and how it compares with the scale allowed to our own people.

Workers from Eire, and displaced persons who come to the United Kingdom as European volunteer workers, receive exactly the same ration as British workers engaged in similar work.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a very wide impression about that European volunteer workers are receiving 3s. 6d. worth of meat ration every week, as opposed to 1s. worth for our own people, and can he give an assurance that that is not the case?

Yes, Sir. I very much value the hon. Gentleman's collaboration in dispelling this rumour. The workers concerned, I repeat, receive exactly the same scales of ration as British workers doing the same work.

Is it not the case that Irish and other volunteer workers using industrial canteens do in fact get 3s. 6d. worth of meat?

They get the allowance of the industrial canteens, whether they are British workers or displaced persons.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will make arrangements for village blacksmiths to qualify for the same food rations as are granted to agricultural workers.

Travelling blacksmiths in rural areas are granted the same special cheese ration as agricultural workers on the certificate of their county agricultural committee. Village blacksmiths habitually working at or close to their homes can take their mid-day meal at home and do not, therefore, qualify for the special cheese ration.

asked the Minister of Food if he will make a full statement on the potato situation for the next six months.

I hope to be able to make a statement on the potato situation shortly.

Will the right hon. Gentleman do something to stop what happened after his right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made his statement about potatoes, because that caused a complete run on the market and, in view of the uncertainty as to whether there is to be potato rationing, can the right hon. Gentleman give some statement to clarify the position?

I cannot make a statement this afternoon.

Can the right hon. Gentleman indicate any date prior to his assuming office when there were potato queues in October?.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say from which Minister of the Crown we can expect a statement on the potato position?

I should imagine that I shall be called upon to make the statement.

asked the Minister of Food the percentage of the tea crop of India and Ceylon, respectively, purchased by His Majesty's Government in 1946 and January to June, 1947, and the average price, respectively, in 1946 and in the first six months of 1947.

The information required by the hon. Member is not immediately available, but I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as possible.

Is the Minister satisfied both with the quantity he has obtained and the price he now has to pay?

No, Sir, I am never satisfied as to quantity or price.

asked the Minister of Food why he has found it necessary to cut the babies' milk ration.

The milk allowance for babies up to 12 months old has not been reduced. The reduction in the allowance to children between one and five years of age was made in preference to reducing other priority or non-priority allowances on the recommendations of our medical and nutritional advisers.

Without going into, an argument on whether a child of 12 months is a baby or not, will the right hon. Gentleman explain why, if the official explanation given is the true one, he did not have the wit to have manufactured baby foods made up at the time when the cows were yielding larger quantities of milk?

The shortage of milk this year is due to the drought, and that, I confess, I was not able to foresee.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that for some time previous to this year it would have been possible to manufacture milk, without cutting the allowance to young children?

It would have been possible to do so by cutting the non-priority allowance further, but our medical advisers preferred this course.

asked the Minister of Food why his Department allows to jam manufacturers more than 3 lb. of sugar to 1 lb. of fruit.

asked the Minister of Food why, in view of the fact that the jam-making housewife normally uses 1 lb. of sugar for 1 lb. of fruit, factory jams made to the specifications of his Department use 3 lb. of sugar for every 1 lb. of fruit.

The average amount of sugar allowed to jam manufacturers is 2 lb, to each lb. of fruit. They used about 1½ lb. before the war, and still do where the particular fruit is plentiful, but with scarce fruits such as strawberries and raspberries they are allowed to use more. Otherwise, there would not be nearly enough of these kinds of jam to satisfy the public.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that even in the spacious days of Mrs. Beeton a housewife made jam on the maximum basis of 1 lb. of sugar to 1 lb. of fruit, and why should there be this extraordinary discrepancy?

I have endeavoured to indicate that it is to eke out the quantities of fruit, such as strawberries and raspberries, which are scarce.

Would it not have been wiser both from the Government and the national point of view to give those householders prepared to make jam this extra allowance of sugar?

There have been no fewer than three bonus issues of 1 lb. of sugar each.

Can my right hon. Friend say in what way it is eked out—with marrow or with turnips?

It is eked out in this case with sugar.

It cannot be.

asked the Minister of Food why a licence to manufacture and sell ice-cream has been refused to Mr. R. E. Jeffrey, of Roydon, Essex.

Mr. Jeffries is to be given an allocation of ingredients to enable him to manufacture and sell icecream. No licence is required.

asked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the success which has attended the recent marketing of horticultural products directly from producer to consumer, he will undertake a thorough investigation into the distribution of perishable foodstuffs in this country, with a view to the elimination of waste and the undue profits of middle men.

A start has already been made by the Fruit and Vegetable (Marketing and Distribution) Organisation which has been set up by the Minister of Agriculture, the Secretary of State for Scotland and myself. I am glad to say my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food has become Chairman of the Organisation.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will extend the queue priority now accorded to expectant mothers, to cover a period of two months after the birth of a child.

I have given this suggestion very careful consideration but I have reluctantly concluded that it is impracticable to extend the formal queue priority document beyond the simple definite case of expectant mothers.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that a woman who has just had a child is very often in a desperate situation if she has to stand in a queue?

I have very great sympathy with my hon. Friend's suggestion. As a matter of fact a good many shopkeepers give this privilege to women who have just had a child, but it is very difficult to extend the actual queue priority document. [HON. MEMBERS: "Why?"] Because the expectant mother is in a simple category. She has a different ration book, which she can produce. If the category is extended beyond the expectant mother, we come to the category which includes invalids, and many other people, and we should have to establish how long the mother needs priority after having had her child. This question of queue priority is a very difficult one.

Would it not be perfectly simple to stamp the original document to show an extension of two months, and so get over all the difficulties?

asked the Minister of Food if he will reconsider the 2½d. per meal meat allowance to industrial canteens as compared with the civilian ration allowance of 1s. per week; and what action he proposes to take.

The meat allowances to all canteens were recently cut in common with the domestic ration. I do not propose to make any alteration in the ratio between allowances to industrial canteens and those to other establishments.

Arising out of that answer and in view of the Government's policy of fair shares for all, how am I to explain the matter to a woman who gets 1s. worth of meat a week and whose husband gets 4s.1½d. worth through his industrial canteen?

The worker in question must be in an employment which carries the category A industrial canteen ration, which means that he is in very heavy industry and is therefore entitled to it.

But his wife says that she is working a seven-day week and he is only working a five-day week. She gets 1s. worth of meat for working a seven-day week while he gets 4s. 1½d. worth for working a five-day week.

If hon. Members think that heavy workers in vital basic industries should not receive something extra in their industrial canteen, we simply cannot agree with them.

Is the Minister aware that the men providing this food do not get the opportunity to use a canteen and have to be content with 1s. worth of meat a week?

They get the extra cheese and extra bread ration.

But not meat.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that people in Somerset and Devon have not been able to get their ration of soap for many weeks; and if he will make inquiries designed to improve distribution.

We have had no complaints of this sort from Somerset or Devon. If the hon. Member will send me any which have reached him, I will gladly look into them.

asked the Minister of Food whether he can now see his way to granting fishermen an extra soap allowance.

No, Sir, not in the present severe shortage of oils and fats.

Is the Minister aware that fishermen, more than any other members of the community, have to wear very thick clothes, and if they send woollen jerseys to the laundry they probably do not come back for a long time and then may have shrunk, and it is necessary that they should be washed at home?

I realise the difficulties, but I am afraid that if we started on an extra soap ration for these categories, it would be very difficult.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will make a statement concerning the ploughing back of part of a crop of buckwheat in Suffolk, valued at £2,640; and who bears the loss.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for the University of London (Sir E. Graham-Little) on 24th October. I am not aware of the grounds for the statement that the crop was valued at £2,640, but any loss sustained will be borne by the grower.

Is there any appeal against ridiculous decisions by the agricultural executive committees which result in losses to the farmer over which he has no control—the decision may be against his advice—and has the farmer any means of recovering those losses?

This happens to be sub judice. The case will ultimately go to the court and the farmer will have ample opportunity of stating his own case.

May I ask what kind of court?

A police court.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware of the serious shortage of plough points; and what steps he is taking to remedy the situation

asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he is taking to increase the number of plough shares which are in very short supply.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that about 500 tractors have been standing idle in the Lincoln area for lack of ploughshares; and if he will take immediate steps to increase the supply.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the shortage of ploughshares is retarding food production; and whether he will take action to increase the rate of manufacture of these implements.

My Department has for some weeks been assisting the manufacturers to increase their output. As a result of these combined efforts, there have been very substantial increases in output of the shares and points that are scarcest, although it will still take time for supplies to catch up fully with demand. Supplies coming forward from the main suppliers of Ransome type shares, together with a new source of supply that has been arranged, are now nearly twice as large as a few weeks ago, and further production capacity is expected to become available later. New capacity has also been found for the production of shares for an imported plough, which were particularly scarce owing to slow deliveries from overseas.

Surely, these steps were taken far too late and if they had to be taken, they ought to have been taken long before autumn began? Why were early steps not taken to deal with this matter?

We were not aware that the drought was going to last so long and the land was going to be so hard.

Is the Minister aware that the impression is abroad that too much of the steel allocated for machinery manufacture is going towards making new machines rather than spare parts, for which there is a great demand?

I do not think that is the case.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, if he will make a statement on the present situation regarding farming implements; and what steps he is taking to ensure that farmers are able to obtain adequate supplies to meet the call for increased production.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that serious delays have arisen and are likely to arise in food production owing to the difficulty of obtaining agricultural machinery; and what steps he proposes to take to improve this situation.

I am fully aware of the importance of increased supplies of agricultural machinery. Manufacturers have made plans for substantial increases in output, and I shall continue to do my best to help them in implementing these plans. Steel allocations have recently been much increased, but it is bound to take a little time before the effect of these larger allocations is seen in greater output of tractors and implements. Our own resources for agricultural machinery are already larger than ever before; but some special types of machines must still be imported to supplement them, and we are obtaining as many of these as oversea suppliers can let us have.

In view of the enormous tonnage of agricultural implements which were exported last year, can the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance now that no home produced implements will be exported until such time as British agriculture has sufficient implements to carry out the 20 per cent. increase in production?

No, Sir. I believe that the allocation of steel given for agricultural implements during this fourth quarter of the year is nearly double what it was in the third quarter of the year, and we shall be able to meet both our home demands as well as continue our export drive.

Is it not a fact that Government action in this matter generally, and in the allocation of steel in particular, is another case of too little, and too late? Is it not rather discouraging that the Government are always acting too late?