asked the Minister of Defence what items of kit or equipment are purchasable free of Purchase Tax by other ranks in the Navy. Army and Air Force, respectively; and how far any such articles are so purchasable by officers in each of the Services, respectively.

Other ranks and ratings receive upkeep allowances calculated to meet the full cost of maintaining their kit. A few articles are, however, replaced free in the Army and Air Force. Purchase Tax is not charged on articles purchased from Service stores by other ranks and ratings. Officers are required to maintain their uniform out of their pay; their rates of pay take account of this; and they are allowed Income Tax rebates at varying rates for uniform maintenance. Purchase Tax is charged on articles purchased by officers from Service stores.

asked the Minister of Defence how much of the £40 million to be spent on the building of married quarters for His Majesty's Forces is to be spent in Scotland.

The extent to which the Services' housing requirements in Scotland can be financed from the proposed housing loans will depend on decisions still to be taken about eligibility for such loans.

asked the Minister of Food whether, in connection with the additional six ozs. of sweets which are to be made available for the Christmas period, he will consider increasing the amount to eight ozs. since the points value of 22 ozs. renders the allocation by the retailers difficult.

No.

asked the Minister of Food what steps are being taken by his Department, in view of the large catches of herring that have been coming in, to popularise this fish among the public.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling and Falkirk (Mr. M. MacPherson) on 28th November. The most recent publicity for herrings was made in October, before the peak of the present East Anglian season.

asked the Minister of Food what quantity of frozen cooked meat meals he proposes to import in the six months ending 30th June, 1950.

These are imported by private traders and not by my Department. It is difficult to forecast the probable quantity of imports, but it is not expected to be large.

asked the Minister of Food what food rations are available to Poles, Czechs and other European nationals now resident in this country.

The food rations for foreign nationals resident in this country are exactly the same as those for British subjects living in similar circumstances.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is now prepared to approve the provision of cold storage facilities at Newton Abbot, in view of the wide area served from this centre and in view of the large wastage of meat under present conditions.

So long as the Newton Abbot abattoir is only supplying a limited area and meat is distributed to butchers the day after it is slaughtered, I do not consider that the provision of cold storage facilities is essential. Should conditions in these respects change, the subject will be reconsidered. There is no material wastage of meat. During July, August and September, which were very difficult months for meat, the condemnations in this area represented only .075 per cent. of the ration meat issued.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that the South Atlantic General Order No. 401 inflicts hardship on cases like the Aberdeen case of P/JX162897, of which he has particulars, who was put on the South African station, married there, was then withdrawn from it and through no fault of his own was disallowed further service on that station; and if he will alter or administer this Order in such a way as to obviate hardship and the break up of families.

I cannot agree that an alteration to the present rules is called for. These provide that a second continuous commission on the South Atlantic Station may be allowed in exceptional circumstances. More men than can be permitted are anxious to remain on of return to the Station, and cases must be judged on their merits. A man who marries in South Africa, or undertakes other responsibilities while on service on the South Atlantic Station, is fully aware that he is liable for service anywhere, and that the time will come when he will have to be drafted away.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the Admiralty will allow ratings who are working for matriculation to have three months' leave of absence prior to their examinations; and whether he will ensure that such ratings are not prevented from taking the examinations by being sent overseas.

Subject to prescribed conditions officers and men of the Royal Navy wishing to matriculate may take the examination while serving in ships and establishments at home or abroad. There is no question, therefore, of their being prevented from taking the examination by being sent overseas. Special leave cannot be granted for the purpose of studying for the examination. Facilities are available for study and education officers will give every assistance if candidates' intentions are made known to them.

asked the Postmaster-General what is the latest hour for the dispatch of telegrams to London, within a radius of 50, 100, and 200 miles, respectively, so that their receipt on the same day is assured.

Generally speaking, within the radial distances mentioned delivery in London the same day is aimed at for telegrams handed in up to 6 p.m. but varying factors, in particular a shortage of delivery staff, may affect the position at individual offices. After 6 p.m. senders are advised to use a telephonic address, if possible. Every effort is made to deliver telegrams of vital urgency up to all hours.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that television signals from the new Sutton Coldfield transmitter have been successfully received in the Altrincham and Sale district; and whether continuous and perfect reception can be expected in this area when regular television programmes are broadcast from this new transmitter.

My right hon. Friend is aware of reports that television signals from the new Sutton Coldfield transmitter have been received in several distant places but it would be unwise to draw any conclusions about the maximum effective range of this transmitter until some time after its entry into permanent service on the 17th December. The B.B.C. state that it is unlikely that continuous and perfect reception will be obtained from it in the Altrincham and Sale district.

asked the Postmaster-General what annual rentals he expects to receive for the use of the General Post Office cable and the radio link linking Alexandra Palace with the new Sutton Coldfield transmitter.

The annual rental of the link, whether the cable or the radio system is used, will be of the order of £50,000.

asked the Postmaster-General if he expects that television broadcasts from the new Sutton Coldfield transmitter will be regularly and clearly received throughout the Manchester area.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him today and add that the same considerations apply to the Manchester area as to the Altrincham and Sale district.

asked the Postmaster-General how many applications for the installation of a telephone were outstanding in the Boroughs of Kingston-upon-Thames, Surbiton and Maiden and Coombe at the latest convenient date, with separate figures in respect of each borough.

At 30th September last 390 applications were outstanding in the Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames; 1,063 in Surbiton, and 1,006 in Maiden and Coombe.

asked the Postmaster-General with what colour telephone kiosks are being repainted; and why the colour has been changed.

Red has been the standard colour for many years and this has not been changed. After consulting the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, the Royal Fine Art Commission and the Councils for the Preservation of Rural England and of Wales, my right hon. Friend arranged, in 1948, that in places of very exceptional beauty, battleship grey with red window bars may be adopted.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many officers and other ranks have now taken advantage of the arrangements by which his Department pay the rent of accommodation when married quarters are not available; and what changes have been made in the scheme since its inception.

Furnished accommodation has been hired by the War Department as married quarters for 381 officers and 64 other ranks. The only change made in the scheme since its inception is that officers and other ranks serving at the War Office have now been made eligible.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to state, to the most recent convenient date, the total cost to His Majesty's Government of the occupation of Japan; and what proportion has involved dollar expenditure.

Apart from the cost of the United Kingdom Liaison Mission which has provided diplomatic representation in Japan since the surrender, and of a small Royal Navy element which equally had no specific task in connection with the occupation, the cost to His Majesty's Government of the occupation of Japan up to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom contingent in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force has been as follows:

asked the Minister of Works how many building workers were engaged on 31st October on married quarters for His Majesty's forces in Scotland, England and Wales, respectively.

The numbers of building and civil engineering workers employed at the end of October on the erection of married quarters for the Service Departments in Scotland, England and Wales were 500, 4,500 and 300 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many displaced persons in Western Europe are classified as irrepatriable and as institutional cases; and what proposals His Majesty's Government have recently made or will make to help solve this problem in conjunction with the other members of the United Nations.

It is estimated that there are some 20,000 displaced persons in Europe who require institutional care and who have so far been unwilling to return to their countries of origin. The International Refugee Organisation, with the full support of all its members, including His Majesty's Government, is actively engaged in measures for their permanent resettlement either in their countries of present residence or elsewhere. The Allied High Commission has undertaken responsibility for the welfare of displaced persons remaining in Germany and discussions have already been held with the German authorities in the British zone with a view to the permanent care of institutional cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what are the present rates of unemployment in Asmara of the male and female population, respectively, between 12 and 18 years and above 18 years of age; the wage of labourers employed by the British Military Administration; and the average wage of Eritreans, both male and female, in the Colony between 12 and 18 years of age and over 18 years of age.

I regret that it is not possible to maintain reliable statistics of the rate of unemployment in Asmara as few of the indigenous population register at the Labour Office. At the latest available date, 31st October, 1949, 3,294 persons were registered in the Asmara and Hamasien administrative division. No information is available on the age distribution of these persons. The wages of Eritrean labourers employed by the British Administration range from 2.50 to 4.10 East African shillings per day. 1 am arranging for the Chief Administrator to forward information about the average level of wages and will communicate this to my hon. Friend when it is received.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to the condition of the Glastonbury Mill stream during the past summer; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure for the future that the water is fit to drink for animals and adequate to perform its functions as a fence.

Owing to the lack of rain last summer, the flow of water in the Glastonbury Mill stream was reduced and as a consequence the pollution of the stream, arising from the effluent of certain factories, was much more noticeable. On the remedial measures proposed to deal with this nuisance, I would refer to the second part of the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Collins) on 10th November. I have recently approved for grant-aid a scheme of drainage works on the mill stream which by deepening the channel will make the stream more effective as a fence.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he has considered the results of investigations in Germany into the chocolate spot disease, which also seriously affects bean crops in this country; and if farmers are being advised how to prevent the disease.

I have no information about recent investigations carried out in Germany on chocolate spot of beans and would be glad of any the hon. Member may have. Investigations into the disease are being carried out in this, country at Cambridge University and by the National Agricultural Advisory Service at Bristol. No direct means of preventing the disease are yet known, but advice is given to farmers on methods of cultivation which serve indirectly to minimise epidemics.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the policy of His Majesty's Government with regard to the Congo Basin Treaties and particularly as to the continued participation of Japan in their benefits.

The policy of His Majesty's Government in regard to the Congo Basin Treaties is set forth in the replies given to the hon. Member on 25th October, 1949, and on 26th May, 1948. I have nothing to add to those statements.So far as the position of Japan in regard to these Treaties is concerned, I would also refer the hon. Member to the two previous statements. I should perhaps explain that, although the Japanese Government was a signatory to the 1919 Convention of St. Germain-en-Laye, which reaffirmed the principle of freedom of trade in the territories of the Conventional Basin of the Congo, as set out in the Berlin Act of 1885, it is the view of His Majesty's Government that, since no Peace Treaty has been concluded with Japan, that country is not entitled to claim any such benefits as a matter of right from any Power which is a party to the 1919 Convention and with which Japan is still technically at war.