asked the Minister of Health whether in view of the large number of dentists who have decided not to take part in the General Dental Service under the National Health Act, he will invite the Dental Consultative Committee to meet him again in order to try and find agreement on outstanding differences.

No, Sir. The terms of service offered to dentists are in my view generous and reasonable, and I believe that most individual dentists will feel the same.

May I ask my right hon. Friend whether, in view of the happy result which followed his gesture to the doctors, he will make a similar gesture now to the dentists, so as to ensure that the benefits of the dental part of the Health Service reach the people at the earliest possible time?

I am convinced from the figures of the dentists joining up, that very soon, almost all the dentists will be taking service under the Act. In any case, we cannot submit to what may, unless we are careful, become blackmail.

asked the Minister of Health the proportion of the population that have selected a doctor under the National Health Act up to 5th July.

By 5th July well over 30 million of the total civilian population of 42 million in England and Wales had been accepted by doctors under the National Health Service Act. There is still a flood of forms in the hands of doctors and Executive Councils, which have not been counted.

Does the right hon. Gentleman include in that the old panel figures?

Yes; but it is very difficult at this stage to analyse the figures, because it may be that many on the panel have applied unnecessarily.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that certain hon. Members opposite are inserting in newspapers letters purporting to tell the people that they cannot have this service without a contributory stamp, and that—

This Question does not ask what hon. Members opposite are doing, but asks:

"What is the proportion of the population that have selected a doctor."

It means that because of that false information only a quarter of the population in Glasgow have chosen a doctor.

asked the Minister of Health how the amount of the capitation fee to medical practitioners under the National Health Act will be arrived at; what deductions come out of the 15s. 6d. per head; and how the amount for each area will be computed, having regard to the proportion of the population who have not selected a doctor.

Detailed arrangements are still under discussion with the British Medical Association.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a large number of general medical practitioners are very perturbed about this; that there is grave fear that their total emoluments and income will be considerably reduced from pre-National Insurance income; and that they want to know whether the total pool will be available to them?

I think they ought to await the results of the discussions with the representatives of the medical profession.

asked the Minister of Health if Regional and Group Hospital Boards have power to co-opt a limited number of extra members.

No, Sir; but Regional Hospital Boards, hospital management committees and boards of governors of teaching hospitals have power to appoint committees and sub-committees consisting partly of outside members, and to delegate functions to them.

Is it not inevitable when these committees are first set up that certain local interests, such as hospital boards and ex-Service men, and others, will be left out; and would it not give great public satisfaction if there were, say, a 10 per cent. margin for co-option?

As I have said, the local management committees and Regional Boards have power to co-opt people on to the sub-committees, and also on to the house committees of individual hospitals. I believe that will be done on a very considerable scale.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say whether verminous members will be included or excluded?

Well, of course, if there are verminous members on the Boards they will have to be fumigated.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in some localities the representatives of the local Labour Party seem to be the only people who have been left on these Boards?

I think that is a false impression, but I am here between two fires.

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider encouraging Boards, when selecting outside members to sit on the committees, to make sure that those areas which are not represented on the Boards, and which have hospitals, are allowed to produce members for the committees?

I think that probably hon. Members are now confusing membership of the Regional Board with membership of the management committee. Under the Statute I have no power over the selection of the management committee.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has any statement to make regarding all those people who have administered the various past health services up to 5th July, and who have now handed over to the National Health Service.

asked the Minister of Health if he intends to supplement the official circular dismissing the members of hospital committees with a personal letter expressing the thanks of the community for the devoted service they have rendered.

It would, unfortunately, not be practicable for me to send out personal letters to all those associated with the health services taken over on 5th July. But I should like to take this opportunity of expressing—I hope on behalf of the House, as well as myself—my keen appreciation of all that has been done in the hospitals, local authorities, insurance committees and elsewhere, by men and women who have had the public interest unselfishly at heart. Without their pioneer work, our new adventure would have been impossible. I am only too glad that many of them are going to join us in it still.

Could not the right hon. Gentleman have been more comprehensive in his statement—which is a very important statement—and included organisations such as the District Nursing Association?

It is, unfortunately, the fact that in answers of this sort it is assumed that what is not put in has been deliberately left out. Therefore, it would, I think, be improper to put them all in.

asked the Minister of Health how many new houses are estimated to be required in England and Wales at the present time to meet essential needs; and whether he is satisfied that the present level of housing construction is utilising to the full the manpower and materials available to the building industry.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement in the May Housing Return.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of paragraph 14 of Command Paper No. 7442, he is now prepared to authorise the issue of a building licence to Mr. A. Pagett, of 2, Pope Iron Road, Worcester, for the erection of a bungalow at Blue Hills, St. Agnes, Cornwall.

The matter is within the discretion of the local authority, to whom, as I understand, Mr. Pagett has applied for a licence and not to my Department.

asked the Minister of Health how many local authorities are using subsidies granted to them in respect of houses built for agricultural workers for the purpose of reducing rents generally and not for the purpose of reducing rents to agricultural workers.

I regret that this information is not available.

Does the right hon. Gentleman think it reasonable that agricultural labourers should be deprived of any benefit with regard to rents when subsidies are given to local authorities for the building of agricultural cottages?

The subsidies are to enable local authorities in agricultural areas to discharge their housing functions, and they have no direct relationship to the rent of a particular house.

Is not the purpose of giving subsidies for agricultural cottages to lower the rents to the agricultural workers?

The rents are in the power of the local authorities themselves, and I have no authority over them.

Am I to understand that the right hon. Gentleman is in favour of local authorities using subsidies for this purpose generally?

I do not understand what the hon. and learned Gentleman means. The subsidies are used in order to enable the local authorities to build houses at rents which are within reach of the tenants; and that I think is generally the case.

I asked the right hon. Gentleman whether he was in favour of local authorities using the subsidies for reducing rents generally.

That is a matter of opinion.

asked the Minister of Health to what causes he ascribes the lower rate of progress in housing in Wales as compared with other regions of the United Kingdom; and if he proposes to take steps to correct the disparity.

Having regard to the labour available, the progress does not compare unfavourably. Every effort has been made to increase the labour force.

In view of the fact that in the Southern and Eastern regions of England, both of which have populations slightly less than Wales, the housing operations since the war are about double those in Wales, does he not think that there is a case for a searching inquiry into the position?

There is no need for an inquiry, as we know the reason. We know that between the war years, Wales, as a whole, lost a great deal of its population and a great deal of its building force. After the war, there was, therefore, a far greater building force in South and South-Eastern England than there was in Wales. In other words, this proves that we have to pay now for the pre-war neglect of Wales.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the fact that the builders of Nottingham have offered to build 1,000 houses for sale at £1,300 each, when he proposes to issue the licences.

The decision on applications for licences is a matter for the local authority under the terms of Circular 108/48, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

But is not the local authority subject to the decision of the Minister of Health; and is not the Minister of Health deliberately trying to create conditions in which Communism can flourish?

That is an insinuation and not a Question.

asked the Minister of Health what changed circumstances have led him to withdraw from clerks to local authorities the requisitioning powers hitherto delegated to them.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 1st July following the Question from my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Brixton (Lieut.-Colonel Lipton).

I have seen that reply, but it does not give the answer I wanted. Is there any evidence that the clerks to local authorities have in the past wrongfully or mischievously used the power which he delegated to them?

There are cases on this matter before the courts at the moment, and I, therefore, would not wish to be asked to comment upon it.

Would it not be better to to leave this power in the hands of clerks to the local authorities, who are aware of the local circumstances; and in any case, has not this power had good effect in seeing that unused accommodation was immediately taken up?

My hon. Friend need not fear that the powers will not be exercised promptly where they are needed to be exercised. The number of cases in which they are used now is falling very rapidly indeed. However, I must not be asked to comment upon the way in which clerks have used these powers, in view of the cases before the courts.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that in certain areas these powers would still be very useful indeed if left with the clerks to the local authorities; and will he, therefore, reconsider the position as far as at any rate certain parts of the country are concerned?

No; but I will certainly keep my eye on what is happening, and if it is found that this new machinery is too dilatory, then, of course, we shall reconsider it.

asked the Minister of Health how many building permits he expects to be issued by local authorities to private individuals under circular 108/48 during the current year.

I cannot add anything to the statement published in the current Housing Return.

Is it not a fact that local authorities in general have already put in hand their allocations for the current year, and that very few, if any, permits for houses of private individuals are likely to be issued during this year.

Some of the local authorities who have not yet invited tenders for the whole of their last allocation can include this proportion in that allocation and all new allocations; but the House will probably have an early opportunity of discussing the matter.

asked the Minister of Health the number of houses in Hull which were accepted as total loss by war damage; the number of new houses completed; the number now under construction and approved, respectively; and the probable number to be approved for the second half of 1948.

The number of houses in Hull destroyed or damaged beyond repair by enemy action is approximately 5,500. As regards the second and third parts of the Question, I would refer my hon. Friend to Appendix B to the Housing Return. As regards the last part of the Question, the local authority have been authorised to go to tender for a further 267 houses.

asked the Minister of Education how many new Catholic schools have been opened in Lancashire since 1945, specifying the areas and the dates upon which the schools have been opened.

None, Sir. But work is being carried out, or should shortly begin, on 10 Roman Catholic schools in Lancashire, seven of which will be new schools. This is in addition to an extensive programme of war damage repairs to Catholic schools in Liverpool which has been approved and on which work is in progress.

asked the Minister of Education (1) why his Department have refused to permit the use of the church hall as a temporary school at St. Osmund's, Bolton, pending the decision regarding the permanent Catholic school to be erected, in view of the fact that 1,800 new houses are being built in the area, of which a high proportion of the occupants will be Catholics;

(2) if he will make a full statement regarding discussions which have taken place between his Department and the chief education officer and members of the education committee of the Bolton Town Council and the promoters, regarding the Catholic school which it is proposed should be built at St. Osmund's in Bolton; and why this matter has been constantly deferred, in spite of the fact that the need for such a school has been established.

The latest information before me shows that the number of houses under construction in this area does not approach the figure of 1,800 given by my hon. Friend, and that the proportion of Roman Catholics among the future occupiers is not expected to be unusually high. No immediate need for a new school has been proved, but I have promised as a result of recent discussions with the local education authority to review the matter at the beginning of September. I could not agree to the establishment of a new school in the church hall even as a temporary measure. My Department has on several occasions explained to the authority and to the promoters that this hall is quite unsuitable for the purpose.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that even if permission were granted for the building of a new school it could not possibly be completed before 1950, and that by that time there would be 280 pupils, based on an entry of 40 pupils per year, which would establish a claim for a school? A school cannot be provided at short notice to accommodate these children, and it is no use pretending that it can be.

Those figures are hypothetical. In every instance in which a new school is built these factors are taken into account.

In view of the completely inconclusive nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Minister of Education the grounds upon which he refused a permit for the erection of a girls' grammar school in South Birmingham; if he approves of the reorganisation of the two secondary schools at Hortfield Crescent, namely, a mixed modern school for boys and a grammar school for girls; what conditions will attach to this proposal submitted at the instance of the Birmingham Education Committee; and if, in view of the efficiency of Birmingham educational administration, he will afford full facilities for rapid promotion of reconstruction of those schools.

The local education authority were informed in September, 1946, that the provision of a new grammar school in South Birmingham was not as urgent as others of their projects. I have approved the reorganisation of Hart-field Crescent Schools subject to certain conditions about which I am writing to the hon. Member. I shall help as far as I can to get the approved work done quickly.

In view of the high standard of efficiency in the administration of education in Birmingham, will not the Minister give every possible facility for the development of these secondary schools in that area?

Yes, Sir, but not until questions that are more urgent in relation to other areas have been dealt with.

asked the Minister of. Education if he has had under consideration any scheme for the encouragement of the expansion of the Girls' Training Corps; if he realises the valuable educational influence of this organisation upon the training and character of young women throughout the country; and if he will stimulate interest in this cadet movement through local education committees.

Yes, Sir. My Department has encouraged the Girls' Training Corps since its formation, both directly and through the local education authorities.

What steps does the Minister propose to take to give publicity to the importance of development in this way?

I cannot separate the Girls' Training Corps from the many other youth organisations which are doing excellent work. I would point out that this corps figures with the others in the publicity that is being given.

May I take it that the Ministry are in full sympathy with the development of the youth movement in its various phases throughout the country?

Yes, Sir, and that is shown by the grants which are constantly being given.

asked the Minister of Education if he will consider sending a circular to all local education authorities specifically urging them to include agricultural education in the school curriculum in urban as well as in the rural areas.

School authorities generally are already alive to the importance of including agricultural subjects in the curriculum in appropriate cases.

May we take it that the authorities will have the fullest support and encouragement of the Minister in this very important matter?

Certainly, and if Members who are particularly interested will take the opportunity to visit schools they will see that this is being done.

Will the Minister, on the contrary, resist any suggestion that the few meagre years allotted to education should be used up for the purpose of pre-fabricating agricultural workers, plumbers, dentists or any other categories on purely economic as opposed to educational grounds?

Will my right hon. Friend consider, in view of the importance of interesting children in urban schools in agricultural education, the possibility of sending older boys and girls to work in schools in the country for three months in the Summer if they would like to go?

That is a bigger question which I should like to look into.

asked the Minister of Education which local education committees in Middlesex have expressed a wish either for or against the setting up of comprehensive schools in their areas.

I understand that when the Middlesex local education authority discussed with the divisional executives the proposal to include comprehensive schools in the Development Plan two of them, Enfield and Twickenham, formally opposed the proposal. Enfield have since lodged an objection with me. Hayes and Harlington have written to me asking for a comprehensive school to be established there.

As the Minister said the other day that comprehensive schools would be set up in two Middlesex areas, may we take it that the experiment will be tried in two places only and in no others?

I could not say "In no others," because approval has since been given to a third which has been asked for.

Where is that?

Hayes.

asked the Minister of Education if he is now in a position to make a statement arising from the report by the Departmental Committee on the status and training of youth leaders.

No, Sir. I hope to receive this report at the end of July.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware that Buckingham Gate School, Westminster, is being let for a Fascist meeting on 24th July, although a similar meeting on 7th February last led to a defacement of the school; and whether he will issue a general directive that school halls shall not be used for such purposes.

The answer to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, the letting of county school premises outside school hours is within the discretion of the local education authority.

As this evil is likely to spread throughout the country, is it not time that the Minister issued some general directions, particularly in view of the experience of this school last time a Fascist meeting was held there.

No, Sir. I do not think the Minister is in a position to issue a direction regarding matters over which the local authority has discretion.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the shortage of industrial overalls is having an adverse effect upon production in many factories; and whether he will take immediate steps to give overall manufacturers the increased supplies of utility cotton drills, without which they can neither speed up their deliveries nor reduce their costs.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Collins) on 29th June.

Without knowing what that answer was, may I ask whether the Minister is aware that one company in Worcestershire which is making overalls is down to 55 per cent. of its capacity and is likely to go down to 40 per cent. in the near future; and that it has 45,000 garments on order and can deliver only in 16 weeks instead of two? Does he realise how serious is this situation?

I will send the hon. Member a copy of the answer referred to. I am well aware of the shortage of industrial overalls. It is due to the shortage of drill cloth which is mostly being exported to Canada.

As the provision of overalls is a requirement under the Factory Acts, what is the right hon. Gentleman doing to ensure that these Acts are being complied with?

I am not aware that the shortage is sufficiently great to involve any infringement of the Factory Acts.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the main contributory factor, namely the shortage of material, arises out of a defect in the controls which permit finer cloths to be sold completely without control, thereby diminishing the supply of heavier industrial cloth? Will he look into this aspect of the matter?

No, Sir, that is not the explanation of this particular shortage. We are having a lot of discussions with the cotton industry at the present time about the working of the controls and the reaction on the production of different kinds of cloth.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the shortage of higher grade utility cloth for home consumption; and what steps are being taken to make available increased supplies.

Production of the higher grade utility cloths is limited by the need to leave adequate capacity for the production of similar cloth for export especially to hard currency markets. Subject to this, it is my intention to maintain a substantial production of higher grade utility cloths, but I cannot jeopardise supplies of the cheaper cloths required by those with less money.

Does the right hon. Gentleman mean that increased supplies of high grade utility cloth will be made available in the near future?

Yes, Sir, I hope production will increase, but we cannot have it increasing at the expense of the cheaper utility cloth.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has any proposals to attract or encourage additional industries in Salford now that the Corporation have been given powers to acquire valuable industrial land adjacent to railways and docks.

No, Sir. Salford is in the fortunate position of having a wide range of industries. Additional land can be used to full advantage for the re-siting or expansion of existing works.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many industries were lost to Salford during the blitz, and that the Corporation have recently acquired 13 acres of land for industrial purposes? What encouragement is he prepared to give them?

I am well aware that the problem of finding factory space to employ people in Salford is much smaller than the problem we have in other parts of the country, to which we must first attend.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many factories have been let to the Coatbridge Industrial Estate, when it is expected to be occupied or when building of factories will begin.

Approval has so far been given to the building of two factories with a total area of 120,000 sq. ft. These are in course of erection.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that, following the decision that building repair work could be permitted up to the sum of £100 per annum free of building licence, the Timber Control has refused to continue the small allowance of timber given to builders and contractors for day to day repairs and is now insisting on the necessity of application for licences for timber with full details against definite work only; and what are the reasons for this decision.

Yes, Sir. It has been found by experience that a better distribution of the available timber can be secured by issues against actual orders. A licence can however be obtained against a group of orders covering three to four weeks ahead.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman's decision that a licence should be required for these small repairs cut across the recent authority given by the Minister of Health that repairs can be done up to £100 without a licence?

No, Sir, that decision was taken having regard to the supply of timber available for this kind of job. Something like 44 per cent. of the soft wood allocation for civil use is used on these kinds of jobs.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Timber Control is considered inefficient and extravagant by all those who have to deal with it—builders and such like—and will he look into its entire operation?

No, Sir, I am not aware of that. The Timber Control has been responsible for great national savings during the last two or three years.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of new retail businesses opened for the sale of footwear in Monmouthshire over the last two years; in what districts these businesses are located; and what coupon floats have been issued in respect of them.

As I stated in my reply to my hon. Friend on the 26th February last, it has not been necessary since 31st December, 1945, to obtain a licence to open a shop for the sale of footwear, and I cannot therefore state the number of such new businesses which have been opened in Monmouthshire in the last two years. About 35,000 coupons have, however, been issued since June, 1946, to nine persons in Monmouthshire to start the retail selling of footwear, situated in or near Newport, Pontypool, Chepstow, Tredegar, Blaina and Risca. Approximately the same number of coupons have been issued to 14 other new retail businesses in the county to sell rationed goods, including footwear.

Would my hon. Friend say how many of these coupon floats have been issued to ex-Service men?

I should want notice of that Question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to be able to give a decision on the importation from the U.S.A. of technical magazines, details of which have been sent to him.

I have now arranged that any person may import, either for himself or on behalf of others, single postal copies of learned, scientific, technical and religious periodicals, and periodicals printed exclusively in a foreign language. Details will be published shortly through the usual channels.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this will give great satisfaction? For once I have compelled a Member of the Government to give way. Is he also aware that these publications are the raw material for the export trade, and are well worth the small dollar expenditure involved?

Yes, Sir, I am aware of that.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that some curtain material since this material has gone off dockets has increased in price as much as 160 per cent.; and what action he will take to stop such a practice which causes hardship to housewives.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a similar Question by my hon. Friend the Member for St. Albans (Mr. Dumpleton) on 22nd June.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he intends to take to limit the over-riding powers of the Carpet Manufacturers' Executive, who are not only discriminating against carpet wholesalers who do not submit to their authority, but who are actually encouraging traders to contravene the Goods and Services (Price Control) Acts, 1939–43, by insisting that they sell carpets at a higher price than that laid down by these Acts.

The answer to the first part of the Question is that I have at present no power to interfere with the arrangements made by the manufacturers for the distribution of their carpets on the home market. I have no evidence which supports the allegation in the second part of the hon. Member's Question.

Is it not the case that in a prosecution by the Board of Trade in Edinburgh it was demonstrated that the order then in operation could not be understood, and that the new order which has been issued gives full power to manufacturers to charge what prices they like?

No, Sir, that is not so, and the decision of the court in that case was in direct contravention to the suggestion made by the hon. Gentleman in the second part of his Question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of the fact that a large number of people on holiday and who are interested in test matches and other sporting events, including the Olympic Games, have no facilities for listening to the B.B.C. news bulletins, he will consider increasing the supply of newsprint as a special allocation for the holiday period to enable newsagents at seaside and holiday resorts to supply more weekly, daily and evening newspapers to meet the present unsatisfied demand.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Howdenshire (Mr. Odey) on 1st July.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that large numbers of working people are now on holiday and are having to queue at newspaper shops where there is literally a famine in evening newspapers? Does he think that this will help his production drive during the coming winter?

It has been explained to hon. Members who have put similar Questions that the newsprint situation does not allow the allocation of extra supplies for these areas.

Has the right hon. Gentleman pursued the idea of getting an extra allocation from the United States, outside the E.R.P. arrangements, by asking for it?

We shall always be delighted to see any extra supplies coming in outside the E.R.P. arrangements. The question of newsprint in relation to E.R.P. is still under discussion with the American Government.

I said "ask for it outside."

If the right hon. Gentleman is unable to grant a special increased allocation for the holiday period, will he make representations to the Newspaper Proprietors' Association with a view to seeing that an allocation is made to the holiday resorts for this period?

I am prepared to go into that question.

asked the Lord President of the Council in view of the importance of ensuring that at least one of our nationalised undertakings is brought into line with the new conceptions of socialist administration, proposals for which were included in a report which was submitted to him in February, 1947, if he will give an undertaking that the committee of inquiry into the B.B.C. will be set up within a month to enable the necessary full inquiry and re-organisation to take place before the new charter is granted so that the terms of the new charter may incorporate the principles of organisation proposed to him.

I regret that I cannot give the undertaking for which my hon. Friend asks.

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the cases of alleged victimisation of members of the staff, and also of professional or other broadcasters? Would he have the question of adequate representation of an independent nature looked into, particularly when the eventual investigation into the B.B.C. is held?

There will be an investigation, a committee of inquiry, and I should have thought that it would have been perfectly competent for evidence on that subject to be tendered.

asked the Minister of Labour why certain building trade operatives, who have been discharged on account of lack of work, have been authorised by the officers of employment exchanges to continue to draw their wages through the employment exchanges without necessarily doing any constructive work.

I have no knowledge of any such arrangements. If the hon. Member will let me have details of the cases he has in mind I will have inquiries made.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give us an assurance that he will not countenance action of this sort?

I can give an assurance that if the facts are such as have been stated I will take action, but I have no information and I do not think this exists at all.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement about arrangements for spreading the industrial electricity load next winter.

Yes, Sir. This matter has been under very careful consideration, and it is clear that steps must be taken next winter to reduce the load on the power stations during the peak periods of the morning and evening. The Electricity Sub-Committee of the National Joint Advisory Council have made certain recommendations which have been accepted by the Government. Copies of the Report have been placed in the Library. I will circulate a fuller statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, during the period of Marshall Aid, he will issue a monthly or quarterly statement of our assets in gold and dollars available for use in the U.S.A.

The hon. Member will have heard the statement of my right hon. and learned Friend last Monday. Similar statements will be made at quarterly intervals.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the certificates of deduction of Income Tax from the interest paid on British Transport 3 per cent. guaranteed stock are in some cases signed by the Transport Commission and in others by the Bank of England.

For technical reasons associated with the magnitude of the operation interest on a part of the Transport Stock is at present being paid direct by the Commission and part by the Bank of England. This is a temporary measure which will be discontinued so soon as transfer of all the Stock to the Register of the Bank of England has been completed. In both cases the Income Tax certificate will be accepted by the Inland Revenue in respect of claims for exemption or relief from tax.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if, in view of the recent incidents of coloured men from the Colonies being turned down in their application for recruitment to the coalmining industry, he will exercise his powers of direction to the National Coal Board to get this policy altered, thus enabling volunteers from the Colonies to be trained as miners.

No, Sir. I am informed by the National Coal Board that they raise no objection on racial grounds to the employment of individuals suitable and willing to take underground work.

Is my hon. Friend aware that although that may be the policy, it is not, in fact, being carried out in practice, and would he look into incidents which have recently been reported to see if, in fact, practical expression cannot be given to the theory that these men are on an equal citizenship basis with ourselves?

From the point of view of the National Coal Board there is no objection at all, but in some parts there is objection by the local mining community and we must take into consideration their views on this matter.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary say how many coloured men have been accepted for employment and in what collieries?

Not without notice.

If there is any objection made at any time to these men, is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that they are welcome in the cotton industry in Lancashire, where many of them are employed and where they are doing a good job?

When the Parliamentary Secretary says we must take into account the views of the mining community on this matter, surely he is not going to allow a view contrary to every feeling and expression of this House to persist without making some effort to break it down?

It is not a question of what the right hon. Gentleman says. The fact is that in relation to the employment of people underground there is an agreement that the local lodges of the National Union of Mineworkers will be consulted concerning E.V.W's. and other people. There have been one or two objections for various reasons and we have to take into consideration all these factors, but it is not general throughout the whole coalfields. It is gradually being broken down and where we can use our influence we certainly do so.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary say on what grounds objection is taken to the employment of coloured people?

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that if he had been at Doncaster at the Yorkshire miners' demonstration a fortnight ago he would have found a coloured man walking behind his local lodge banner, as he has done for a great many years?

Will not the Parliamentary Secretary say, as he has been asked, on what grounds objection is taken?

rose—

Lieut. - Commander Clark Hutchison.

On a point of Order. The Parliamentary Secretary rose to reply to my question. Might I not have an answer?

If the hon. Member will sit down perhaps I will rise, but not until then.

Further to that point of Order. I asked you a question, Sir, and I should be very much obliged if I might have an answer.

The hon. Member remained on his feet and, therefore, I did not get up, but he asked a question, "Should the Minister not reply?", and the Minister has not replied.

But, Sir, the Parliamentary Secretary rose to reply.

And I called the next Question. If the hon. Member wants to question my Ruling he must not do so.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when he proposes to publish a further Coal Production Statistical Digest as was published for the year to December, 1945.

The Ministry's Statistical Digest covering the years 1946 and 1947 is now with the printer.

Will this take the same form as the one referred to—the one covering the period to December, 1945?

I am not able to say without notice.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how many tons of opencast coal were sold during the last 12 months; and what figure was realised for this coal.