asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to overcome the shortage of nursing facilities for tuberculosis cases.

Nurses engaged in tuberculosis nursing receive higher salaries and additional service allowances. The forthcoming Bill to provide for the better training of nurses should assist in meeting the shortage in this as in other fields. Other suggestions to improve conditions of work in hospitals and sanatoria are being actively considered by the hospital management committees.

asked the Minister of Health whether he proposes to provide spectacles with plastic or other unsplinterable lenses under the National Health Service either for all who prefer them or for any special categories of users.

I am considering whether it is possible to supply unsplinterable lenses under the National Health Service and, if so, what conditions should apply.

asked the Minister of Health how many new dentures have been authorised by the Dental Estimates Board and how many repairs to old dentures since the inception of the scheme.

I am afraid it is too early to say.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give an approximate estimate of the cost of the National Health Service during the first three months of its operation.

The total sums issued from the Exchequer in respect of England and Wales during the three months ended 30th September, 1948, to meet the cost of the National Health Service amounted to £54½ million after taking into account receipts. These sums include working balances held by the statutory bodies operating the Service and include provision for certain non-recurring items of expenditure arising from the taking over of hospitals.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the uncertainty among general practitioners as in the case details of which have been sent to him, as to the amount of compensation to which each practitioner will be entitled under the National Health Service Act, 1946, and, as the list of applications has been closed, whether he will now give the total number of practitioners between whom the global sum available will be divided; and the total of their claims.

Under the National Health Service (Medical Practice Compensation) Regulations 1948, claims were to be submitted by the 31st October, but late claims, if there were satisfactory reasons for the delay, can be admitted by me to the 30th April, 1949. A final determination of the total amount of compensation will not therefore be possible until after that date. Up to date 13,661 claims have been received from medical practitioners in England and Wales.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has yet considered the report of the Legal Committee on Medical Partnerships; what action he proposes to take on that report; and, if legislation is needed, when it is likely to be introduced.

I received this report on 8th November and am considering it

asked the Minister of Health when he expects to introduce legislation to implement the recommendations of the Ridley Report.

There is no early prospects of such legislation.

asked the Minister of Health if he will now consider the position of property owners who are unable to maintain a reasonable standard of repair to their property, due to the effect of the Rent Restriction Act; and whether he will consider modifying this Act to enable property owners to increase rents sufficiently adequate to maintain their property in a good state of repair.

This is an aspect of rent control which will be considered when comprehensive legislation on the subject is possible.

asked the Minister of Health (1) how many municipal houses have been erected in the Blackburn rural district since June, 1945, and are now in occupation; how many additional houses are in course of erection; in respect of how many additional houses plans have been submited; and for how many more houses can plans be submitted;(2) how many corporation houses have been erected in the Borough of Darwen since June, 1945, and are now in occupation; how many additional houses are in course of erection; in respect of how many additional houses plans have been submitted; and for how many more houses can plans be submitted.

I would refer the hon. Member to the September Housing Return, Appendix B. As to the final part of the Question, cols. (1) and (2) of Appendix B giving details of sites acquired is the nearest estimate that can be given.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the housing shortage and the number of empty properties, he will re-introduce the powers of compulsory requisition for local authorities.

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. I have not abolished the power to requisition empty dwellings. Clerks to local authorities can obtain such powers in appropriate cases on application to my principal housing officer.

asked the Minister of Health how many houses, through reconditioning and new building, respectively, have been made available to farm workers in the various counties of Wales and Monmouthshire since August, 1945.

Full general information is given in the Housing Return and I cannot see my way to add to these statistics.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will now make a firm allocation of the sum of £4,500 towards the sewage disposal scheme for the parishes of Hensington Without and Wootton, which sum was provisionally allocated on 3rd April, 1947, in view of the difficulty of local authorities in making firm decisions if such support is not made definite.

The reason why the provisional grant was reduced is explained in my answer to the hon. Member on 4th November.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware that some local education authorities refuse assistance grants to students holding open scholarships who entered college before 1946; and what action he is taking in this matter.

No, but if my hon. Friend will let me have particulars I will look into the matter.

asked the Minister of Education what progress is being made with the staggering of school holidays, in view of the importance of relieving pressure at holiday resorts at the peak period of the summer.

School holidays are fixed at the discretion of the local education authorities and individual school authorities, who are well aware of the need for the staggering of holidays generally.

asked the Minister of Education at what date it was decided to expend £23,500,000 on the Ministry of Works standard hutting for schools; and whether due consideration had been given to the report by a specialist sub-committee of the Royal Institute of British Architects on Construction of School Buildings, which condemned in great detail the type of pre-fabricated hutting proposed, and recommended its discontinuance for school accommodation.

Ministry of Works standard hutting is used for teaching rooms required for the raising of the school age and for school meals provision. Arrangements for the former were announced in Circular 64 of 27th September, 1945, and for the latter in Circular 1629 of 15th May, 1943. Any other use is primarily a matter within the discretion of local education authorities. The answer to the second part of the question is: yes.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement with regard to the possibility of removing household linen from the clothes rationing scheme.

Sheets, towels and tea towels are the only items of household linen now rationed. The considerations mentioned in my reply on 1st November to the hon. Member for Darwen (Mr. Prescott) with regard to the rationing of clothing apply, with even greater force, to the rationing of these articles.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now prepared to free all household linen from rationing.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I have given today to the hon. and gallant Member for Barkston Ash (Colonel Ropner).

asked the President of the Board of Trade what proposals exist to grant most-favoured-nation facilities to Japan; to what extent discussions have taken place with U.S. and Dominion representatives concerning this matter; with what Dominions; when and where such discussions took place; and what is the attitude of His Majesty's Government to such proposals.

A discussion of the points which would be involved in according most-favoured-nation treatment to Japanese goods took place between officials of the United States and the Commonwealth Governments in London last week. The United States Government wished to ascertain what the attitude of Commonwealth Governments to such a proposal might be and it was agreed, as a matter of convenience, to hold preliminary discussions on the question while some of the officials attending the recent Commonwealth meeting were still in London. In addition to the United Kingdom, representatives of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia were present. The discussions were exploratory and non-committal. His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom have not yet considered the report of these conversations and have not formulated any attitude towards the granting of most-favoured-nation treatment to Japan.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is prepared to take steps to prevent misleading labels being affixed to liquor purporting to be Scotch whisky.

I have been asked to reply. Any person who applies a false trade description to goods may be prosecuted under the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887. Prosecutions may be, and frequently are, taken by trade associations or individuals, but the Board of Trade have powers to prosecute if the public interest is involved. In addition Regulation 1 of the Defence (Sale of Food) Regulation, 1943, makes it an offence to label food or liquor in a manner which falsely describes or is otherwise calculated to mislead as to its nature, substance, or quality. Further, the Labelling of Food Order, 1946, provides, inter alia, that "geographical names which are not names for distinctive types of intoxicating liquor shall not be applied to any liquor produced in any locality other than the particular locality indicated by the name." Where liquors are described on sale in a false or misleading way there are, therefore, several enactments under which proceedings might be taken. But action can in any case only be taken through the courts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether, in view of the fact that mothers are of necessity buying socks for their young children, he will abolish the couponage on these goods;(2) Whether he can promise an early improvement in the supplies of children's socks in the Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley areas; and what steps he proposes to take to make children's woollen socks again available.

Although all practicable steps are being taken to increase the production of children's socks, supplies are still short, not now because of difficulties with yarn supplies, but because capacity is not adequate in the appropriate section of the hosiery industry. There is no evidence that the areas of Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley are not getting their fair share of the available supplies.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the unsuitability of certain furnishing fabrics as upholstery cloths in the heavy industrial areas; and if he will arrange for greater supplies of moquettes to the North-West in preference to tapestries and damasks.

I am aware of the preference for moquettes in some areas. My hon. Friend will be glad to know that production has been increasing and is likely to continue to increase. It should, therefore, be possible for traders in the North-West and elsewhere gradually to secure greater supplies.

asked the Prime Minister whether his Honours and Awards Committee has given consideration to the question of the award of Long Service Medals to officers of the pre-Service training force; and whether he will make a statement on this matter.

Yes. Inquiry into the desirability of recommending that a new peace-time award of this nature should be instituted has been postponed until more progress has been made towards the completion of the issue of the great numbers of various awards granted for services during the war. The matter is now again under review.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that under present regulations it is possible for a German married woman to apply for and obtain permission to come to work in this country; but it is not possible for her husband to obtain the same permission; and for what reasons these regulations exist.

Provided they hold permits granted to individual employers who satisfy the normal requirements, German married women are allowed to come to this country for employment only as domestic workers, for whom there remains a considerable unsatisfied demand. I am considering with the other Ministers concerned the possibility of extending early in the New Year the permit system to the employment of Germans generally. Meantime, I am prepared to consider applications that satisfy normal requirements to employ German married couples for domestic work.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will give his reasons for the banning of public performances in this country by Mr. N. Schnabel; and whether this pianist was informed before he accepted bookings that he would, in contradistinction to many other foreign artists, be restricted in the number of engagements he could undertake.

There are limitations on the number of engagements that any individual concert artist not domiciled in this country may be allowed to take. Mr. K. U. Schnabel, not to be confused with his famous father, was permitted to come to this country on three separate occasions during the first eight months of the year to fulfil 23 engagements. A further application was made for him to come to take 40 additional engagements during the period 1st October to 19th January. On 17th September his agent was informed that this number must be limited and it was arranged that 23 more should be allowed, making a total of 46 engagements within 12 months. This artist has thus been more liberally treated than any other foreign concert artist In reply to the last part of the Question, agents and

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of men and women in insured employment in the City of Portsmouth at the present time, distinguishing between the various industries, trades, services and other principal occupations; and if he will give similar particulars of those unemployed, stating in addition the unfilled vacancies in each category.

The following table gives the information:

asked the Minister of Labour how many European volunteer workers have, to date, entered this country; what has been the total cost involved; of such number, how many are engaged in the textile industry; and how many European volunteer workers have returned to Europe.

The number of European volunteer workers brought to this country up to the end of October was 74,700, comprising 55,200 men and 19,500 women. Twelve thousand nine hundred workers, mostly women, were placed in the textile industry. Of the total recruited, 1,000 have returned to the Continent of Europe, mainly on compassionate grounds. The approximate cost to the Ministry of Labour and National Service of administering the schemes for recruitment of European volunteer workers up to the end of October is £2,750,000. This represents the cost of recruitment, transportation and maintenance and welfare of these workers until they are placed in employment, together with an estimate of the placing and transference costs which arise when workers are moved to employment. It also includes similar costs for about 3,000 dependants who have been brought to this country.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the terms of reference of the committee appointed by him to advise on the awards of studentships in foreign languages and cultures; who are its members; and how many times it has met in the past year.

The terms of reference of the Committee are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the scope of the recently announced inquiry into the Government's Information Services; and whether witnesses may give evidence on application or only upon invitation.

The Committee has been set up to examine the cost of the Government's Home Information Services and to make recommendations as to any direction in which economies may be desirable or the organisation may be improved. The selection of witnesses is a matter for the Committee, but I am sure that the Committee would consider carefully any applications to give evidence.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is aware of the poor quality of coal delivered in Macclesfield recently; and what steps are being taken to ensure an improvement in the quality of future supplies.

The need to export as much high-class coal as possible inevitably influences the quality available for the home market, but I am not aware of any special complaints recently in Macclesfield. With regard to steps being taken to improve quality of future supplies, I would refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 272–277 of the Annual Report of the National Coal Board for 1947.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he has considered the alternative plan for allocating petrol to commercial travellers, of which a copy has been sent to him, from the Commercial Travellers' Association; and what steps are being taken to bring about a more satisfactory basis of allocation.

The plan to which the hon. Member refers was received yesterday and is now being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of governors of His Majesty's prisons who have been newly appointed during the past year; the number who had no previous experience of civil prison work; and what qualifications are necessary for these appointments.

Of the three governors appointed during the past year to take charge of prisons, all had previous prison experience, being promoted from the rank of chief officer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the administrative staff of the defunct National Fire Service are still without employment; and when he proposes to apply the compensation provisions to all such persons.

The number is at present about 115. If the hon. Member would be good enough to repeat his Question in a fortnight's time, my right hon. Friend hopes to be able to make a comprehensive statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that a Cardiff boy of 15 years of age was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment at the Monmouthshire Assizes, held at Newport on 5th November, 1948; and whether he will give immediate consideration to this case in view of the age of the offender.

It is still open to the person convicted to exercise his right of making application to the Court of Criminal Appeal. The case will receive my right hon. Friend's consideration in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if lie is aware that the Oaksey Committee, appointed in May to consider policemen's conditions and remuneration, has not yet given a report; that there is discontent at the delay; that many young policemen are leaving the force because they are dissatisfied with the payments made: and if he will draw the attention of the Committee to the urgent need for a decision, particularly on the matter of wages.

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that the Oaksey Committee are fully aware of the urgency of the matter and are conducting their inquiries with the utmost expedition. He has reason to believe that the Police Federation realise the desirability of exercising reasonable patience and the importance which attaches to the Oaksey Committee finding sonic enduring solution and not some temporary palliative.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken by the Government of Aden to provide common schools suitable for children of all communities; and whether the use of Arabic is compulsory in all schools.

Schools directly maintained by the Government of Aden provide primary and lower secondary education through the medium of Arabic, and higher secondary education through the medium of English. These schools are open to all races hut, in practice, the pupils in the primary and lower secondary Government schools are predominantly Arabs, as other communities have provided their own schools, most of which receive grants-in-aid from the Government. Arabic is not used in these schools.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Attorney-General's Committee in Aden has yet completed its consideration of the problem of uncontrolled immigration into Aden; and what recommendations have been made.

The Attorney-General's Committee has completed its consideration of this problem and, in the

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been obtained during each of the last three years for offences connected with shop lifting; what proportion were men and what women; and how many were found guilty, respectively.

The figures requested are given in the following table:light of its report, the Executive Council advised that immigration should be controlled by legislation, that a system of registration of the population of the Colony should be introduced, and that to assist the control of entry a barrier fence should be erected across the Isthmus connecting the town of Aden with the mainland. These proposals have been endorsed by the Governor, and I have approved them in principle. The legislation necessary to give effect to them is now under consideration.

asked the Minister of Food why the proportion of chilled meat imports has declined so much as compared with pre-war, thus making the bulk of our imported meat less palatable than it need be.

Because of seasonal fluctuations in supply and the continuing shortage of meat, stocks of imported meat have to be carried in cold store for fairly long periods in order that supplies may be spread to maintain a reasonably constant ration level. Chilled beef cannot be stored in this way, but must be distributed immediately on arrival in this country, and for this reason we have to import our supplies as frozen meat.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will inquire into the case, details of which have been submitted to him, of a civilian practitioner, who attended an airman as a patient under the National Health Service Act, 1946, submitted a bill to the proper quarter and filled in a number of forms required, but has not yet received payment of his account.

I have written to the hon. Member informing him that the bill has now been paid.