asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what plans exist for the expanded growth of Empire cotton suitable for use in Lancashire.

There is hope of increased production of American-type cotton in Nigeria and the Gold Coast, and two scientists on the staff of the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation are at present visiting those countries. In East Africa there is room for expansion on new areas and for increased yields from existing areas by better methods of farming, increased use of fertilisers and the control of pests. Experiments in the use of fertilisers and insecticides are about to take place, and steps to open up new areas are now being considered.

In view of the importance of substituting Empire for American cotton, is the Minister able to give any idea of the programme of production for the next four or five years?

In present circumstances, I am not.

Will the Minister see that cotton users in Lancashire try to use more Ugandan cotton, as there seems to be a considerable and not quite justified prejudice against it at present?

It is true that Ugandan cotton is said to be too long for Lancashire's needs—at least, that is the prejudice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what assistance is available for West African and other colonial peoples, who have the requisite training, and who desire to start small secondary industries in their colonial areas.

Assistance by way of loans in suitable cases is available in Sierra Leone through the Development of Industries Board which was set up last December. In the Gold Coast, legislation has been introduced to set up an Industrial Development Corporation to assist in the development of secondary industries. Nigeria has a Local Development Board and legislation to enable it to make advances to individuals are under consideration. Guidance in the setting up of secondary industries by local people is also available from the Departments of Commerce and Industry which have now been set up in a number of Colonies.

Do I understand from my right hon. Friend that, in fact, whilst one Colony has already made advances, in Nigeria, the largest of the four, no advances, have been made; if so, could he say when those advances are likely to be available to suitable applicants?

In the case of Nigeria a Department of Industry and Commerce has been set up, and is looking at the problem of the development of these industries.

But I take it that up to now no advances have been made?

That, I cannot say without notice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what disturbances among the Arab population of Palestine followed the landing of 200 Jewish immigrants who penetrated the naval blockade north of the Port of Haifa on 16th November; and how many casualties resulted.

There were no Arab disturbances consequent upon this landing of illegal immigrants.

Does not this fact prove that the policy of His Majesty's Government in sending out 100,000 British troops to Palestine, risking British lives and pouring out millions of pounds of British money, has been falsified by events, and that the majority of law-abiding Arab citizens in Palestine might even welcome a larger influx of Jewish immigration?

That is a matter of opinion. I am afraid I could not accept the conclusion of my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is proposed by the British Government in respect of funds at the disposal of the Palestine Government in connection with the withdrawal of British Forces from Palestine.

These assets will be used to meet the liabilities of the Palestine Government.

Is it true that the British Government are appropriating some funds of the Palestine Government?

Oh, no. That certainly is not the position. I think it will be appreciated that in the arrangements for winding up the administration in Palestine all these matters are highly complicated. They are now receiving our very close attention.

Does not my right hon. Friend then agree that this Question is only part of the very complicated questions that will follow upon the withdrawal from Palestine and the handing back of the mandate? Will he say that before these very complicated questions are settled—they obviously involve matters of policy—the House will be given an opportunity to hear a statement from the Minister, and to discuss it?

I hope it will be possible to make a statement, but at the moment the whole problem is under consideration and this particular point is part of a much broader and more general policy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the Palestine Government has decided to advertise in Palestine newspapers inviting tenders for the purchase of 69 Government plots of state-owned land on the sea shore near Haifa by private buyers; and whether he will give instructions to discontinue these proposed sales in view of the negotiations now proceeding in the U.N. on the disposal of Palestine Government assets, including state lands.

I am aware that the Palestine Government has decided to sell certain state-owned land at Haifa, and I see no reason to intervene in the matter. So long as the present Palestine Government remains responsible for the administration of the country it must be free to act as it thinks best in the interests of the "inhabitants of the country.

But is my. right hon. Friend aware that a joint deputation of Arabs and Jews approached the municipality of Haifa to stop this outrageous thing—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]—Oh, yes—and that a protest is coming from the municipality to the Palestinian Government; and will he take that into consideration in advising the Palestine Administration? May I also ask my right hon. Friend at the same time why we are in such indecent haste, when the United Nations are themselves proposing to deal with these matters in a Commission shortly?

This is not a hasty decision. This matter has been under consideration for some time, and it is imperative that the Palestine Government should realise certain of its assets.

Will the Minister leave the till?

If it is true, as alleged, that both Arabs and Jews have protested against this procedure, why does my right hon. Friend say that it is done in the interests of the people of the country?

I have pointed out that this policy is being pursued in the best interests of the inhabitants generally, and it is the function of the Administration of Palestine to meet the somewhat difficult position in which it is at the moment.

But may I again appeal to my right hon. Friend—[HON. MEMBERS: "No."] I am entitled to appeal, surely? [HON. MEMBERS: "No."] All right. Will my right hon. Friend reconsider the decision, in view of the fact that Arabs and Jew's have sent this joint deputation and that they all want this stopped?

Some Arabs and some Jews have made representations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will ensure that rolling stock returning empty from Kongwa to Dar es Salaam is allowed to stop at intermediate stations long enough to pick up sisal, cotton and other commodities for which there is an immediate market inside and outside the sterling area.

I have been informed by the Acting Governor of Tanganyika that only open wagons are returning empty from Kongwa towards Dar-es-Salaam. It is not considered advisable to load these wagons at private sidings on account of the risk of fire and consequent loss of scarce tarpaulins but they are being used to load sisal and grain from stations east of Kongwa.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how much of Uganda's allocation of the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund is it proposed to spend on hospital buildings; and whether he is satisfied that the sum could not be better spent in establishing dispensaries in outlying districts.

In the Uganda Development Plan £1½ million is earmarked for medical and health services. It is essential to the training of African medical officers and to the efficiency of the dispensary system that a fully equipped central hospital should be established. Accordingly a grant of £477,500 has been approved from Uganda's territorial Colonial Development and Welfare allocation for the building of a new central teaching hospital at Mulago, Kampala. £100,000 is also provided for new hospital buildings, dispensaries and health centres.

The emphasis in the Question is on buildings. Would my right hon. Friend say if he realises that there is a feeling that these are show pieces and are absorbing money which might go more usefully to, say, dispensaries?

I am fully alive to the dangers of a policy which places money on curative medicine, but obviously we must have a teaching hospital in East Africa if we are to train African doctors. At the same time, in the 10-year programme great emphasis is placed on preventive medicines and dispensaries and that kind of medical work.

Do the facts which the right hon. Gentleman has stated come to this, that nearly one third of the total expenditure on medical services is to take the form of one building, a central hospital at Kampala?

Yes, Sir. It is the extension of the university proposals in East Africa. There must be a basic teaching hospital, and £477,000 has been allocated for that purpose.

Will other East African Governments contribute, as this is part of the university proposals?

Yes, Sir.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise how useful temporary buildings are for hospital wards and how long they last—up to 50 years?

I have complete sympathy with the view that too much money should not be spent on buildings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is being taken by the Government of Uganda to encourage the development of the Cooperative movement among Africans.

The Government of Uganda enacted a Co-operative Societies Ordinance in 1946 and a Registrar of Cooperative societies has been appointed with a small staff. The Uganda Development Plan includes provision for an average annual expenditure of £10,000 on the development of Co-operation and £70,500 for non-recurrent expenditure.

That is quite helpful, but will my right hon. Friend keep in mind, as I am sure he will, that there are two distinct sections here—the Indian traders who are not very interested in the Cooperative movement and also the growing vice of landlordism among the Africans themselves—and that the only people who can be helpful are the Government?

Yes, Sir, but that hardly arises out of the Question on the Paper.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that before the arrival of any white men in Uganda there was a developed economic system there, and is it not sometimes unwise to try to teach one's African grandmother to suck European eggs?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that a boy of 15 years of age was sentenced to 12 strokes for participating in the Uplands bacon factory riot in Kenya; that in August an African was sentenced to three years hard labour with 15 strokes for robbery with violence and that these cases are not isolated; and what steps are being taken by the Government of Kenya to reduce or abolish flogging.

I am inquiring into the whole circumstances of these incidents and the use of corporal punishment in the case of young persons. I will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as I am in possession of all the facts.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there seems to be no method of treating these young offenders, and will he see that some method similar to the Borstal system is introduced?

There is in the Colonial Office a special advisory Committee concerned with juvenile delinquents and their prison organisation, and this matter is before them.

When the right hon. Gentleman is inquiring into this matter, will he also inquire whether those accused persons had a right of appeal, whether they were defended, whether they exercised the right of appeal, and by what authority they were flogged?

I will keep it in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, approximately, how many trained African nurses and doctors, respectively, and how many nursing trainees are working in West African Colonies at the present time.

I have asked the West African Governments for this information and will communicate with my hon. Friend when I receive it.

Will that include some comparison between now and previous years, and also prospective possibilities?

I will see if that can be done.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he will look into the position of pensioner clerks to staff officers employed in the Intelligence Division of his Department abroad, whose case for improved conditions of service and assimilation to the clerical class was submitted by the Director of Naval Intelligence in January, 1945, and to his Department by the Association of Ex-service Civil Servants in November, 1946; whether the principal grievances which relate to inadequate salary, absence of reasonable promotion advancement, compulsory service abroad for whole of civil service career and insufficient leave for visits home have now been examined and when a decision will be reached, which is so important to these men, mostly long-service ex-members of the service.

The future of the grade of pensioner clerks to staff officers (Intelligence) depends upon the future of all pensioner clerks in Admiralty Service. This matter has been under consideration for a considerable time, but it requires consultation with other Government Departments and is one of many questions of pay and conditions of service requiring careful consideration in the postwar period. I am unable at present to state when a decision will be reached, but it will be expedited as much as possible. The present consideration covers all the pionts which have been raised by the staffs concerned.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the American method of preserving ships in reserve by means of airtight covers of special material has been considered by the Admiralty; and with what result.

Yes, Sir; similar measures are being adopted for appropriate ships in the Royal Navy as the necessary equipment and material become available.

Is this considered to be an advance on previous methods?

Certainly, I have seen it myself and think it is very successful.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what arrangements have been made by the Soviet Government for the return of H.M.S. "Royal Sovereign" and U.S.S. "Milwaukee" under the terms on which they were lent.

The Naval Protocol to the Italian Peace Treaty signed on 10th February, 1947, lays down that the return of the U.S.S. "Milwaukee" and H.M.S. "Royal Sovereign" and other British warships shall, as far as possible, be effected simultaneously with the transfer to the Soviet Union of the excess units of the Italian Fleet allocated to her. The arrangements for the transfer both of Italian ships to the Allies and of British and American warships from, the Soviet Union are being considered by a Four Power Naval Commission set up by the Protocol and now meeting in Rome.

Has the Soviet Union taken analogous steps by freeing surplus Italian warships from being handed over to them, as have been taken by the United States and this country?

That is another question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many ships and men of the Royal Navy were engaged on an anti-slavery patrol in the Red Sea during the years of the war; how many dhows engaged in this traffic were intercepted and with what results; and how far these naval operations have been curtailed since the war ended.

Anti-slavery patrols were suspended during the war. They have not yet been reinstituted, but the standing instructions for the Commanders-in-Chief of the Mediterranean and East Indies Stations impose upon them a general responsibility for the prevention of slaving in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Would not a better place for anti-slavery patrols be the employment exchanges of this country?

Is the Minister aware that this barbarous traffic, involving the lives of many thousands of His Majesty's African subjects, still persists to this day, and can he give an assurance that the Royal Navy will be allowed to fulfil its traditional rôle in an effort to suppress it?

I must point out that the Royal Navy has a large number of rôles to fulfil, of which this is one, and it will certainly fulfil it as it does its other rôles.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why refusal to allow men to buy themselves out of the Royal Marines is persisted in, when these men desire to go overseas to take up lucrative appointments and business careers; and under what conditions men may buy themselves out of the Service.

With the reductions already made in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, and those now in progress, the burden of maintaining efficiency devolves more and more on men serving on regular engagements. At present therefore it is practicable to release Royal Marines from their regular engagements only in cases where there are exceptional compassionate circumstances.

Will my hon. Friend please explain why it is that men are not allowed to buy themselves out now, when there are so many additional numbers in the Forces, whereas they could always do so between the wars when there were so few?

rose—

Answer.

I was simply waiting for the next question; I am perfectly prepared to answer. At present we are engaged in building up the regular strength of the Royal Navy and, until that is completed, it is difficult to give discharges as often as we would like. I hope, naturally, that as that strength is built up we shall be able to give discharges more frequently than we can now.

In view of the fact that some of the men concerned are finding difficulty in making the necessary payment, would my hon. Friend allow them to make the payment out of the bounty money which is due to them?

Does my hon. Friend really think it helps regular recruiting to the Navy and other Services if men know that once they have taken a regular engagement there is no way they can get out of it, no matter what their circumstances may be?

That is not true. They can, in fact, in exceptional compassionate circumstances, but I do not consider that the circumstance mentioned by my hon. Friend here—that the men concerned wish to take up "lucrative appointments and business careers"—is an exceptional compassionate circumstance.

Will my hon. Friend please inform us whether these facilities will be granted this month, next month, this year, next year or never?

No, Sir. I can only say it will be done as soon as possible.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware of the serious shortage of scrap iron in the country; and if he will accelerate the process of breaking up the warships now scheduled for this purpose.

Yes, Sir: and every endeavour is being made to ensure that there is no avoidable delay in handing over to the ship-breakers ships scheduled for breaking up.

In view of the serious shortage of steel for municipal houses and ploughshares, will the Minister consider adding a few more obsolete battleships to those to be scrapped?

We are considering that now actually, but I can inform my hon. Friend that more ships have been handed over to the ship-breakers than they have been able to break.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, whether any ships have been withdrawn from the Mediterranean since 27th October.

There is nothing I can add to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence on 23rd October last, that the Mediterranean Fleet is being maintained virtually at full strength.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what is the present capacity of the electricity generating station at the Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath; and when will this be connected with the grid in order to supply current at peak periods, and at other times.

The total capacity of the electric generating plant at the R.N. cordite factory at Holton Heath is 3,000 kilowatts. Sympathetic consideration will be given to its being used to assist in the supply of electric current at peak periods and other times, should the appropriate electricity supply authority consider this assistance necessary.

Will the Minister be able to arrange for this help to be given before the winter comes?

We are quite ready to consider it at any date now, if the supply authority requests it.

Have the Government approached the electricity authority to find out any further information about this matter, or must we wait for them to take the initiative?

We have close contact with the local electricity supply authority, and also contacts with our own electricity suppliers.

asked the Postmaster-General what instructions he has issued to the transport section of his Department regarding economy in petrol; and what is his estimated annual saving as a result.

Instructions have been issued that petrol consumption by Post Office vehicles must be cut to a minimum consistent with the needs of the public service, the target being an overall 10 per cent. reduction. I regret that I am not at present in a position to say whether this target will be achieved, as the bulk of post office vehicles are engaged on operational work, and the scope for economy is accordingly limited unless the services are curtailed.

In view of the efforts made, the results obtained, and the savings achieved in the various Government Departments which I have questioned on this subject, can the hon. Gentleman say when it is anticipated that the basic ration will be restored?

That is a question that might well be addressed to the appropriate Minister.

asked the Postmaster-General, why small food parcels from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, to Gillingham, Kent, which are sent express post, are taking three, and sometimes four, days to be delivered; and what steps he will take to expedite the service.

The time is excessive, and I much regret the inconvenience and annoyance caused by the delays which have occurred. The service for parcel mails between the towns named has been re-arranged, and I hope there will be no further cause for complaint.

In view of the fact that perishable foodstuffs have gone bad on the way in this short journey, will the Minister put the necessary ginger into the Department concerned?

That has already been done, and there have been only three complaints.

asked the Postmaster-General how many telephones have been installed, respectively, in the Bolton and Farnworth districts during the last three months; and how many installations it is estimated will be made during the next three months.

During the past three months, 289 new telephones have been provided in the area served by the Bolton exchange, and 26 in the Farnworth area. It is expected that the figures for the next three months will be 200 and 26, respectively.

Is it possible to ensure that organisations responsible for the public services, like hotels and some business organisations, will have priority?

That is the usual policy of the Department; they are among the people who have priority.

asked the Postmaster-General what number of new telephones have been installed throughout the country during the year ended 31st July, 1947.

The number of new telephones installed during the year ended 31st July, 1947, was 685,243.

Can my hon. Friend tell me how that figure compares with the number of telephones installed during the years 1937 and 1938?

Not without notice, but I can give my hon. Friend the number of telephones installed in the peak year of installation before the war. In 1936–37 it was 400,581.

Does not that answer provide further evidence of the great achievements of His Majesty's present Government?

It might be the case that sometimes we hide our light under a bushel.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the number of applicants for telephones on the Mount-view and Tudor exchanges on 1st November; and what were the corresponding figures for 1st January, 1947.

On 1st November the applicants waiting for service on the Mountview and Tudor exchanges numbered 1,307 and 1,028 respectively. The corresponding figures for the 1st January were 1,234 and 947.

When does the hon. Gentleman think that people who put down their names for telephones on these two exchanges will be likely to get them?

The answer is that the same applies at all other telephone exchanges; when we have the cable and materials available.

Meanwhile, will the Minister do something about the lack of staff on the Tudor exchange, because it is really quicker to send a post card than to telephone in that district?

That is another question entirely, and if the hon. and gallant Member cares to put it down, we will look into the matter.

asked the Postmaster-General why, when a tenant gives up occupation of a house, the telephone service is discontinued and the new tenant has to waft his or her turn for afresh installation.

An incoming tenant is normally allowed to take over the existing telephone. Only where there are waiting applicants with stronger claims is the line diverted for the use of the senior applicant.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this is regularly taking place in Kent, and is it not an utter waste of labour to take out a telephone and then later to have to put it back again? It is wrong and ridiculous.

Our usual practice is to allow an incoming tenant who requires it to have a telephone which is there—[HON. MEMBERS: "No."]—but in cases where there are priority applications and people who have been waiting for many years it is manifestly unfair to make that an invariable practice.

Who is the judge of priority?

Will the hon. Gentleman say what he considers "abnormal," and whether there are any normal cases at the present time?

There are. As a matter of fact, we have transferred 106,000 telephones to incoming tenants during the past 12 months, but where there is a shortage of spare wires in the cables, it would, as I said, be unfair not to give consideration to those who have been waiting for many years.

asked the Postmaster-General why no special stamp has been issued to commemorate the Royal Wedding.

asked the Postmaster-General why no special issue of postage stamps to commemorate the Royal Wedding has been made.

Much to my regret, the time available between the announcement and the date of the wedding did not suffice for the design, printing and issue of a special postage stamp worthy of the occasion, but a special commemorative cancellation mark, which the hon. Members have no doubt seen, was designed and brought into use throughout the United Kingdom.

How was it possible for the Dominions, which are many thousands of miles away from the scene of this celebration, to find time to issue commemorative stamps. whereas all our own Post Office found time to do was to get itself tied up in knots over this matter?

The Dominions and Great Britain are not comparable in this matter. Their requirements in the number of stamps are considerably different from ours. We require 350 million stamps, and they take a long time to print.

Is not this another instance of the almost total lack of imagination shown by the Post Office?

No, it takes approximately nine months to design, print, and have in circulation a postage stamp—[HON. MEMBERS: "Why?"]—under the procedure usually adopted by the Department. The design of the stamp alone takes three months, and then it has to be submitted to His Majesty the King.

Will my hon. Friend consider that it is still not too late—[HON. MEMBERS: "It is."]—to take action as desired by the questioner? May I have an answer?

Put that question down, and we will have a look at it.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will take steps to issue a commemorative stamp for the recent Royal Wedding.

No, Sir. A commemorative cancellation mark specially designed for the occasion is already in use throughout the United Kingdom. Much to my regret, the time available between the announcement and the date of the wedding did not suffice for the design, printing and issue of a special postage stamp worthy of the occasion.

asked the Postmaster-General when he will restore the practice of issuing the Postmaster-General's Annual Report on the business of the Post Office.

The Postmaster-General's. Annual Report was last issued for the year 1915–16. Much of the information formerly given in the Report has been incorporated in the Commercial Accounts of the Post Office, the publication of which will be resumed with the accounts for 1947–48. In these circustances, I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by reviving the Annual Report.

While I thank my hon. Friend for his announcement that the publication of the commercial accounts is to be resumed, may I ask him if he will look at this question again, because an examination of the contents of the Postmaster-General's Annual Report would show that much information useful to the public was given in that Report, and it afforded information to this House, which I do not think the commercial accounts would convey?

We would be prepared to look at that, but I would remind my hon. Friend that the Postmaster-General's Report has not been published since 1915–16, and if it was not found necessary in the interwar years, I doubt whether it would be found necessary now

My hon. Friend is mistaken in believing that there has been no protest about publication of this Report. There is a widespread demand for the resumption of publication of this Report, and in the changed circumstances I feel that publication of such a Report becomes necessary.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman's Report read, "Could do better"?

The hon. Member has already had that answered in a reply I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mr. Skeffington-Lodge).

asked the Minister of Defence what is the percentage of semi-illiterates found in the three Services out of the monthly call-up.

There is in practice no accepted definition of a semi-illiterate. Of the current intake into the Army about 50 men each fortnight have to be sent as illiterate to special elementary education courses and about 50 others who are also in need of such courses. Together this is about 2 per cent. of the present intake. The problem is not arising at present in the case of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

How can the Minister explain this position in view of the great expenditure on education services? Does he think that this has anything to do with the return of the Government at the last Election?

I should have thought that the state of education of men of 18 has not much to do with the return of the Government in 1945. I have no doubt that in later years some of them suffered severely as a result of a break in educational arrangements during the war. I have no doubt that the hon. Member will get a more detailed answer if he addresses a Question to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education.

asked the Minister of Defence when he expects to be able to announce target strengths of volunteers for the three Services.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to his Question on 12th November.

Is it not about time that some target figures, if only of a temporary nature, were stated, in view of the fact that the Minister must know the rate of call-up and demobilisation during the next year? Would it not assist the recruiting campaign to give target figures up to the middle of next year?

It would be inadvisable to give really firm figures to the House in advance of the recommendations of the military authorities on the long-term programme.

As the right hon. Gentleman let the expression "target strength" pass, will he say what it means? Is it the same as establishments, or is it something different?

What I think my hon. Friend had in mind was the actual figure of men to be aimed at as a general standing strength of the Regular Forces in each case.

asked the Minister of Food if he will give an assurance that the figures for the importation of dried fruit necessary for making Christmas puddings will not fall below those of last year.

The allocations of dried fruit for Christmas made in October and November were a little less than last year because of the loss of fruit from dollar sources.

Would the Minister give an assurance that dried fruit from dollar sources will not be treated in the same way as sugar, and held in a sort of dollar purgatory, where no one can use it?

Actually the dried fruit allocation this year was over 90 per cent. of that of last year, and considering that we had to do without supplies from dollar sources altogether, I do not think that which was secured from non-dollar sources was a bad result.

Will the Minister, when he is looking after Christmas puddings for England, not forget Christmas buns for the Scottish New Year?

Is my right hon. Friend aware that a great many people did not get any dried fruit allocation during October, and is anything to be done in order to make up that loss to them?

As I say, we have distributed, this autumn, over 90 per cent. of the quantity of dried fruit which was distributed last year. That is all we have got.

Will my right hon. Friend consider increasing the purchase of dried fruit from non-dollar countries?

Yes. My hon. Friend may be sure that we have only been able to get up to 90 per cent. of last year's supply by greatly increasing our non-dollar purchases.

asked the Minister of Food what imports of sugar from the Dutch East Indies he anticipates making in the next twelve months; and whether, in view of the great services rendered to the Dutch Government in the Netherlands East Indies and to the Netherlands East Indian Government, he will give an assurance that this country will obtain its fair share of sugar and other produce from this source.

Owing to hostilities in the Dutch East Indies no sugar has so far become available for export and unless this situation is remedied it is unlikely that there will be any substantial quantities during the next twelve months.

asked the Minister of Food what proportion of Scotland's share in bulk-bought food imports is discharged at Scottish ports and what proportion transferred from English ports by rail; and whether he will take steps to see that the latter is reduced to a minimum so that Scotland's prewar activity in dealing with food cargoes is as far as possible restored.

The information will take some little time to procure. I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as possible.

While the right hon. Gentleman is procuring that information, will he be quite sure to ascertain the great indignation which presently prevails on the Clyde and in other Scottish ports about this situation? Will he make inquiries on the Clyde?

I do not think that the information will confirm the implication of the hon. and gallant Member's suggestion.

asked the Minister of Food the annual cost of administering the food subsidies.

In the great majority of cases food subsidies are provided by sales at prices below the purchase cost. Apart from the welfare foods, milk in schools and national milk schemes no appreciable extra administrative expense is involved.

Could not the Minister answer the Question? What is the cost of administering the food subsidies?

As I have just said, there is no appreciable cost in administering the food subsidies themselves. It is simply the sale of the food at a lower price than that at which it has been purchased. The difference is the subsidy, not the administrative cost of the subsidy.

Surely, the Minister must know what that figure is?

It is nil, if the hon. Member wishes to have it put like that.

Is it not a fact that. the Minister of Food believes in the profit motive, and that, in fact, the consumer pays?

asked the Minister of Food if he will state the daily calorific value in detail of rationed foods other than points foods for an adult person.

Details for all rationed foods were given in the answers to my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd) on nth November, and to the right hon. and learned Member for Hillhead (Mr. J. S. C. Reid) on 12th November.

asked the Minister of Food whether his regulations permit those who grow potatoes on allotments or their own land or gardens to send them as gifts to friends and relations.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for drawing my attention to this matter. The Order as drawn, while it does not prohibit such gifts, seeks to limit them unduly. I shall amend the Order permitting genuine gifts at any rate up to a reasonable amount.

Does that apply to the whole of the United Kingdom?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will give an assurance that potato rations can be maintained at the present scale until the end of May, 1948.

I cannot give assurances until I have received the result of the census of potato stocks and until we know what imports we can secure.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that he will move as speedily as possible in this matter?

Yes, Sir, but we may not know what imports we can secure for some considerable time.

How long?

Quite possibly not until next year.