asked the Minister of Agriculture to state the recent measures taken to prevent the introduction of fowl pest into the United Kingdom; if a satisfactory explanation has been found to account for the large number of outbreaks which occurred in the islands and coastal districts of Scotland during October; and if he is satisfied, as a result of the recommendations of the British mission which recently visited Hungary, that effective measures are now being taken to prevent infected poultry carcases being sent to this country.

The sources from which it has been suspected that infected poultry carcases may have been received are Hungary and Poland. As regards Hungary, arrangements have been made with the Hungarian authorities whereby poultry carcases sent to Great Britain will be drawn only from areas where all poultry have been vaccinated against fowl pest; and birds affected with fowl pest or which have been in direct contact with affected birds will not be used for supplying the British market. These arrangements (which also include other conditions) should be effective in preventing infected carcases being sent to this country, but as a check, samples for testing at my Department's Veterinary Laboratory are to be taken from consignments as they are received in Great Britain. Very few consignments of poultry have, however, been received since the arrangements were made, and sufficient sampling results are not yet available for the effectiveness of the arrangements to be assessed. As regards Poland, arrangements have been made with the Polish Government for a veterinary mission to visit that country within the next few weeks to endeavour to arrange with the Polish authorities for effective measures to be adopted to prevent the despatch of infected carcases to Great Britain.There is no satisfactory explanation of the cause of the original outbreaks of fowl pest that occurred in the Orkney Islands (in which imported carcases are not distributed) but the spread of infection to other islands and coastal districts of Scotland is probably due to sea-birds.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why he requested the Select Committee on Estimates, 1948–49, to treat the trading accounts of county committees as confidential.

I considered that figures for individual committees should not be published since comparisons without detailed descriptions of the circumstances of different committees would tend to be misleading.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, in view of the fact that the accounts of county committees are published in unco-ordinated and confused form, he will instruct them to publish their accounts on a uniform basis

Apart from the cash figures included in the annual Appropriation Accounts no accounts of county agricultural executive committees have yet been published. For 1948–49 and succeeding years total trading accounts for each of the trading services of all committees will be submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and publication in the annual volume of trading accounts. These accounts will be prepared from the accounts supplied by the individual committees in a form prescribed by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will indicate in detail the dollar-earning capacity of the Colonial Empire.

Approximately 70 per cent. of the gross dollar earnings of the Colonial territories is accounted for by three commodities—rubber, tin and cocoa. Sugar to Canada is an item of growing relative importance and sisal and a few other commodities could be mentioned as contributors of a small part of the total. The balance is made up of a large number of very small items.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) to state the films shot by the Colonial Film Unit and the running time in each case; and whether such films are silent or sound;(2) the titles of films made by the Colonial Film Unit and the running time in each case; and whether such films are silent or sound.

As the reply to these questions involves a considerable amount of detail, I am having a statement prepared which will be sent to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Education the amount of the grants made by his department to the British Legion Home, Elsworthy Road, Hampstead, for maladjusted children; the number of children so aided; whether they are receiving full-time education; and why they are not being educated by their respective local education authorities.

Expenditure incurred by local education authorities in maintaining children at this home is eligible for grant from my Department, but I do not make any direct grants to it. The seven children in the home, for six of whom local education authorities are financially responsible, attend a county school maintained by the London County Council. The children have been placed in a boarding home because they need special educational treatment which they could not get if they remained in their own homes.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware of the grave shortage of accommodation for educational needs, particularly in respect of grammar school and technical education in the Borough of Erith and that the Erith Borough Council have offered suitable accommodation to the Kent County Council which has been refused on the grounds of economy; and if he will take steps to enable Kent County Council to provide more school accommodation in Erith.

I am aware that there is pressure on the accommodation of the grammar and technical schools at Erith. The local education authority intend to relieve this by building some additional classrooms and practical rooms in 1950, and by rebuilding the grammar school as soon afterwards as circumstances permit. I have received no proposal to acquire an existing building for use by the grammar or technical schools.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the amount of the still outstanding war-time loan from the United States Reconstruction Finance Corporation; when it is expected that the loan will be paid off; what is the present market value of the dollar securities held by the Corporation as cover; and whether these securities, when released, will be available to their original British owners.

The amount of the loan by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation now outstanding is about 107 million dollars. It is expected that the loan will be paid off by 1952. The present value of the marketable securities held as cover for the loan is some 335 million dollars. The last part of the Question does not at present arise.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reports have been made to the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation under paragraphs I (e) and IV of the resolution adopted by the Council on 2nd November, 1949; and if it is proposed to make these reports public.

As regards paragraph I of the Council resolution of 2nd November, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Horabin) on 15th December by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. No report has been made to the Council under paragraph IV of the resolution.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the cost of living has risen since 18th September, 1949, expressed in pence in the pound; what are the figures calculated over the whole field of public expenditure; and what are the main items in which a change has taken place.

There has been no change in the interim index of retail prices since 18th September. There have, however, been counterbalancing changes in several groups of commodities within the index as a whole. The main items for which retail prices have changed since 18th September are bread, the maximum permitted price for which was increased by the equivalent of 1d. per 1¾ lb. loaf on 25th September; flour, the maximum permitted price for which was increased by ½ d. per lb. on 25th September; and petrol and lamp oil for which higher prices became chargeable from 25th October. These increases have been offset by reductions of varying amounts, mainly in the retail prices of some kinds of clothing which have operated since 26th September.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that people who have inadvertently bought savings certificates in excess of the 500 allowed are now being told they must dispose of the excess number; and, in view of the need for saving, if he will allow the excess, provided it is not in excess of 1,000, to be retained.

I am aware that the Post Office Savings Department has always enforced the regulation which limits holdings of National Savings Certificates. This regulation is of many years' standing, and I am not satisfied that there would be any increase in net savings if the limits were raised.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in view of the fact that the cost of the anti-nationalisation campaign being conducted by the Prudential Assurance Company must reduce the surplus in which, by the company's articles of association, the policy holders have a right to share, what action the Industrial Assurance Commissioner proposes to take to restrain this company from so using its funds.

The Industrial Assurance Commissioner has no reason to suppose that the expenditure referred to will have the effect of reducing the surplus in which the policy holders have a right to share. No action is therefore proposed.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to what extent his regulations entitle small fishermen working light trawlers, who have paid Income Tax in previous years, to a rebate on unprofitable years or to set off such losses against future profits.

In general, a trader who incurs a loss in any year relief in respect of which cannot be wholly given by set-off against the profits for that year of any other trade which he carries on, or by repayment of part of the Income Tax paid upon other income for that year, is entitled to carry forward any unrelieved part of the loss and set it off against profits of the trade in which it was incurred for the six following years. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind I will look into it if he will furnish me with the necessary details.

asked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the fact that many hotels and restaurants do not need all the sugar permitted them, he will reduce the amount supplied to them and thereby allow an increase in the ration to the ordinary consumer.

The total amount of sugar going to hotels and restaurants is very small—only 4.6 per cent. of the total distributed on the ration—so that even if it were all withdrawn it would make no significant difference to the domestic ration. However, if a catering establishment does not need all the sugar to which it is entitled according to the number of meals actually served, its permit is, in fact, reduced.

asked the Minister of Food how many refrigerated ships are now being used as storehouses; and at what increase in cost to the normal charter rates.

Eleven refrigerated ships are now being used to store meat. Meat is not normally carried in chartered vessels but at liner conference rates. The rates charged for the charter of these store ships are not comparable with the very much higher rates which would be charged for the charter of similar vessels for trading overseas.

asked the Minister of Food if he will take steps to ascertain how much fruit and vegetables have been removed from Covent Garden market as unsaleable, or unfit for human consumption, since 1st January, 1949.

I understand that the quantity of fruit and vegetable produce formally condemned at Covent Garden market this year as being unfit for human consumption amounts to approximately 114 tons. With regard to unsaleable produce not formally condemned, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend on 28th November.

asked the Minister of Food if he has considered representations from the National Farmers' Union and agricultural workers' unions in favour of increasing the existing rural food rations; and what action he proposes to take.

My right hon. Friend gives very careful consideration to all representations made to him on the subject of the feeding of rural workers. He regrets that supplies do not permit of any further increase in rations at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware of the ultra-nationalistic and anti-Jewish statements of Herr Wolfgang Hedler, a member of the West German Federal Parliament; and whether, as these are an incitement to civil disturbance in Germany, he will refer the case to the High Commissioner for appropriate action.

My right hon. Friend is aware of Press statements which Herr Hedler is reported to have made in Schleswig-Holstein on 25th November. The German authorities, with whom primary responsibility now rests, are taking action. Accordingly my right hon. Friend does not intend at present to instruct the High Commissioner to intervene.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that there is a recrudescence of violent Nazism and anti-Semitism in Germany; and what steps have been taken by the British High Commissioner in relation thereto.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mr. Skeffington-Lodge). If he has any further instances of the complaints he has in mind, I will inquire into them.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what information he has as to the membership of the European Unity Movement, of which the leader is Sir Oswald Mosley, in the British zone of Western Germany.

I assume that my hon. Friend refers to the Union Movement of which Sir Oswald Mosley is the leader, I have no information which suggests that a branch of this organisation exists in the British zone of Germany, or that individual persons living in the British zone are members.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the valuable services performed by Mr. Moffat, formerly editor of the "British Zone Review," he will make a statement on the circumstances which led to his resignation of this post.

My information is that Mr. Moffat tendered his resignation in June last without furnishing a reason. As discontinuance of the "British Zone Review" was already under consideration, his resignation was accepted.

asked the Minister of Health if he will inquire into the case of a medical practitioner, whose name has been submitted to him, who finds that he is deprived by the local executive council of the basic salary for which he opted on joining the service on the appointed day.

I have already examined this case and have given my decision.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give the figures for unemployed shipyard workers in the various regions of his Department at the latest convenient date; and to indicate how many such workers of the various categories, respectively, have been absorbed into other industries during the past six months.

The following table shows the numbers of males in the shipbuilding and ship-repairing industry registered as unemployed in each Region at 14th November, 1949:

Region	Number
London and South Eastern	458
Eastern	98
Southern	458
South Western	174
Midland	2
North Midland	72
East and West Ridings	445
North Western	2,803
Northern	3,738
Scotland	3.217
Wales	680
Total. Great Britain	12,145

Statistics to show precisely how many shipyard workers have been absorbed into other industries are not available, but I will extract and send to my hon. Friend such relevant information as is available.

asked the Minister of Labour whether it is with his authority that the National Dock Labour Board is advising dockers to purchase footwear at the Hull Co-operative Society.

No, Sir. The National Dock Labour Board are an independent body and are not subject to my authority in any way.

asked the Minister of Labour if machinery for the Remploy factory at Burnley has yet been ordered; and approximately when work in the factory will commence.

Orders for some of the machinery have been given and orders for the remainder are about to be placed. The factory is not scheduled for completion until April, 1950, but work should commence soon after this occurs.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of unemployed in Birmingham on 1st November, 1937,1st November, 1938, and 1st November, 1949, respectively.

The following are the figures for the nearest dates: 15th November, 1937, 20,770; 14th November, 1938, 31,835; 14th November, 1949, 2.911.

asked the Postmaster-General what principles guide him in deciding whether a person applying for a telephone line must have a shared line.

In view of the restricted supplies of cable and exchange equipment for home use, it has been necessary to make it obligatory for all new residential applicants or removing residential subscribers to accept shared service, either immediately or when required to give service to other applicants. New business applicants may also be required to share in cases where this arrangement affords the only means of giving service.

asked the Postmaster-General what are the priority allocation arrangements affecting applicants for new telephones; and whether he will give an assurance that in future the great majority of allocations will depend solely upon priority of application.

Priority for the provision of telephones is given to essential requirements of Government Departments, public utilities, health and life saving services, and those engaged on production and distribution for export or for saving imports. Subject to these broad classes of priority, business applicants are in general given preference over residential applicants. The date of application in each category is the governing factor in providing service, and it is only departed from if plant is not available or the amount of work involved is excessive. The present system is operating fairly and I see no reason to alter it.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning if he will state up-to-date figures in respect of each of the severely bombed cities and towns, in which cases declaratory orders under the Town and Country Planning Acts, 1944 and 1947, have already been made; the acreage in each case covered by such orders; and, in connection with these declaratory orders, the number of compulsory purchase orders made to date, excluding overspill areas, and the total acreage covered by such orders.

The following statement sets out the position to date:

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning what steps he takes to satisfy himself that no undue waste of time or money arises from the scrutiny of applications for planning permission submitted by persons having no interest in the land such as to enable them to carry out the development even if permission is granted; and that the grant or refusal of planning permission in such cases does not prejudice the subsequent applications of persons having such an interest.

I have no evidence of undue waste of time or money as a result of the scrutiny of irresponsible applications for planning permission. On the question of prejudice the grant of permission is not related to the applicant but to the type of development proposed and the decision once given is likely to be maintained if the development proposed is identical.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning if he is now in a position to state the extent to which High Wycombe is to be permitted to expand and the maximum population to be permitted within the present boundaries.

While I am not able to express a final view on this question until I have discussed the matter further with the local planning authority, it is clear that the extent to which High Wycombe can be expanded is severely limited by physical considerations and it may not for this reason be possible to make provision for the reception of population from London on any substantial scale. The question of what provision should otherwise be made for the normal expansion of the town is a question for the County Council to consider in connection with the development plan which they are preparing.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the chief products of the iron-founding industry which are at present exported; to what countries are these sent; and whether the quantities of such exports have, since the end of the war, tended to increase or decrease.

I regret that it is not possible to give a precise reply to my hon. Friend for the reason that many products of the iron-founding industry are exported as component parts of other manufactures, e.g., machinery, vehicles, stoves, grates and gas appliances, while other products of the industry are not separately distinguished in the trade returns. The main items which are separately distinguished are cast-tubes, pipes and fittings, and cast hollow-ware. The principal countries to which these goods have been exported during 1949 are as follows:

asked the President of the Board of Trade to state in percentages by what amount the cost of imports of manufactured goods, food, drink and tobacco, and raw materials, have risen since 18th September, 1949, to the latest available date.

The monthly index numbers of import prices for September and November can be used to give a very approximate measure of the increase which has taken place in import costs since the revaluation of sterling. These index numbers show increases in sterling terms of 17 per cent. for manufactured goods, 9 per cent. for food, drink and tobacco and 7 per cent. for raw materials.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when an application for an import licence for a necessary machine by Bective Shoe Manufacturers of Northampton dated 4th July last will be dealt with.

An application from the Bective Shoe Company for the import of a machine from the United States was received at the beginning of the "standstill" on dollar expenditure. It has now been considered, and the applicants are being informed that the import of the machine does not, in our view, warrant the expenditure of dollars.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what assistance will be given to manufacturers and traders who wish to display British goods at the International Trade Fair at Chicago in August, 1950.

My Department is ready to consider well-substantiated requests for a measure of assistance towards the cost of participation in the Fair where such participation forms part of a well-thought-out scheme which holds out a reasonable prospect of making a material contribution to dollar exports.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will inform the House what increase in price has recently been imposed on utility blankets; why the National price control label on these blankets is to be replaced by the utility label CC41; and to what extent margins of sellers are still controlled by the Utility Cloth and Textiles Order.

No increase in price has recently been imposed on utility blankets. Supplies are now adequate to meet demand and we have, therefore, simplified the production and price control arrangements governing these blankets. Hitherto, both the national price control label and the utility mark had to be applied to nearly all utility blankets, but under the new arrangements the application of the N.P.C. label is no longer required. The distributors' maximum margins in the Utility Cloth and Utility Household Textiles (Maximum Prices) Order continue to apply to all utility blankets not carrying the N.P.C. label.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that there is a grave shortage of babies' napkins in the Northampton shops; and what steps are being taken to remedy this.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Epping (Mrs. Manning). I have no evidence that Northampton is not getting its fair share of the supplies.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when it is intended ultimately to make interest payments in respect of claims where war damage in respect of business premises has already been paid on grounds of hardship.

Where a claim under the business scheme is paid in full on grounds of undue hardship or of public interest, accrued interest is paid together with the amount of the claim as assessed. If an advance only is made, the payment of interest is deferred until the date on which the claim is fully paid off. Interest is not payable on the amount of any advance made before the 21st October. 1946.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if any decision has yet been taken that a bonus value payment will be made on claims for war damage in respect of business premises analagous to the bonus paid in respect of goods and chattels when damage occurred prior to a prescribed date.

As I informed the hon. Member for Howdenshire (Mr. Odey) on 1st February, it is not the intention of the Government, as at present advised, to increase the compensation payable under the business scheme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can now make available manilla trawl twine for light trawlers and for lobster and crab-pots, in the same way as allocations of it are made to deep-sea trawlers.

I have been asked to reply. No, Sir. I regret that since manilla hemp costs dollars its use must be confined to essential purposes for which no adequate substitute is available

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the occupation of berths in the Royal Albert Dock, and other docks in the United Kingdom, by the refrigerated food ships chartered by the Ministry of Food as storehouses is holding up the loading and discharging of ships engaged in the export trade of important cargoes; and by what authority these ships are berthed for considerable periods to the detriment of normal trade.

Only two refrigerated ships being used for the storage of meat, both in the Royal Albert Dock, are occupying loading and discharging berths. Nine other ships are in use for the same purpose but are not occupying loading and discharging berths. Berthing is a matter for the Port Authority whose responsibility it is, in consultation with owners and charterers, to facilitate the rapid turnround of ships.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will make a further statement as to his present policy in regard to the repair of British ships in foreign ports.

In view of the increasing world-wide com- petition in shipping and the important contribution made by our shipping to our balance of payments, I have decided that in future shipowners shall be free to have major repairs carried out in soft currency countries without seeking my prior approval. Because of the continued shortage of certain currencies major repairs in hard currency areas, including at present countries such as Belgium and Western Germany, must continue to be subject to my prior approval and this would be given only in the most exceptional circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for War the terms of the scheme whereby German labour is being recruited to work in Cyrenaica; the number of workers who have volunteered; and their pay per month and the length of their contract.

This scheme has been organised to recruit voluntarily some 1,300 skilled German tradesmen to work for my Department in Cyrenaica. Free return travel is provided between Germany and Cyrenaica, and the men are given free rations, accommodation and medical treatment. All the workers required have now volunteered. They are paid the normal rates of pay given to locally engaged European workers in the territory which vary between £E14 and £E35 a month. Their contracts, the terms of which have been agreed by the German authorities, are for two years.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of local hopes and wishes, he will consider the revival of the Tidworth Tattoo at the time of the Festival of Britain in 1951.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. J. Morrison) on 10th May, 1949. So far as can be foreseen, the considerations which made it impracticable for large scale tattoos to be held this year or next will continue to be applicable in 1951.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many German cinemas are still requisitioned; and when he intends to return them to their owners.

One hundred and sixty-one places of entertainment, including cinemas, concert halls and theatres in the British zone of Germany are still requisitioned on behalf of the British Army, the Royal Air Force, the Control Commission and Allied Forces. The number of cinemas included in this total is not available. Seventy-eight of the above places of entertainment are requisitioned on behalf of the British Army, including 53 cinemas, most of which are available to the Germans for part of the time. The question of derequisitioning is kept under monthly review, but while British troops remain in Germany it is essential for their morale and welfare that they be offered a high standard of entertainment, and particularly British films, as an alternative to less desirable occupations.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many courts-martial of British troops in Egypt, on charges of theft, have taken place during the past year; how many convictions have ensued; and what is the average period of detention.

During 1949, 129 British soldiers have been tried by court-martial in Egypt on charges of theft. One hundred and twenty-four have been convicted. The average period of detention or imprisonment awarded is some six months.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that General Headquarters in the Middle East Land Forces has instructed that no court of inquiry should be held in respect of any theft under £2,000 value sterling in No. 33 Supply Rear Depot; and what is the reason for this.

Authority has been given until 31st March, 1950, for courts of enquiry to be dispensed with in the Middle East, at the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief, where losses do not exceed £2,500. The instructions issued limit this to losses where the loss is not due to fraud or negligence, the loss was not occasioned by an officer or soldier and those responsible cannot be identified. This authority was given because the large tonnages of stores and supplies at present held, the dispersed nature of the depots, the lack of adequate guards and the determination of local thieves have resulted in so many large scale thefts taking place that officers who were already overburdened with their other duties were finding it impossible to deal with repeated formal courts of enquiry. Although courts of enquiry may be dispensed with, there will, of course, still be an investigation, normally by the Special Investigation Branch, into the circumstances of each loss.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many properties throughout the United Kingdom are still requisitioned by his Department; and what is the number and amount of outstanding claims.

On 30th September, 1949, my Department held 445 buildings in the United Kingdom on requisition. It is not possible to state the number and amount of outstanding claims relating to buildings without a disproportionate amount of work.

asked the Secretary of State for War to what use Quernmore Park, near Lancaster, is being put by his Department; and when it is to be derequisitioned.

This park is at present used as a training area for a unit stationed in Lancaster. No decision regarding its possible derequisitioning can be reached until the future of this unit, which is now under consideration, has been decided.

asked the Secretary of State for War what authority over the persons engaged in his Department upon irregular work for Glass Developments, Limited, was held by the brother of the managing director of the said company; what man-hours were expended upon the work; what weight of paper was used which was Crown property; and upon what authority and pretext was this obtained from store.

The official referred to in the first part of the Question was at the time administratively responsible in Whitehall for the photoprinting subsec- tion, situated in another part of London, under the immediate supervision of a technical officer. The number of man-hours expended on the work irregularly performed is not known, since, in breach of standing instructions, no record was kept of the time worked on the job. The paper used weighed 3½ hundredweights, the greater part of which was the weight of manilla covers. The paper appears to have been part of the daily floating stock of very much greater volume drawn for the ordinary work of the establishment. There is no evidence that any false pretext was used to obtain these relatively small quantities from store.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many officers ex-mate fail to qualify by length of previous service plus war service for increased retired pay under the reassessment scheme as outlined in A.F.O 4108/46.

Twenty.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of cruisers in full commission; the number in reserve which could be fully commissioned at short notice; and the number on a care and maintenance basis.

I would refer the hon. Member to my noble Friend's Statement Explanatory of the Navy Estimates 1949–50 to which I have nothing to add.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what proportion, and the actual number, of the men in the Royal Navy are employed in ships in full commission, as compared with 1938.

The balance of the Royal Navy is today different from what it was before the war. We now have a very large Reserve Fleet, which did not exist then, and we also have large shore commitments for naval aviation. As a result, the proportion of men now serving in ships in commission is smaller than before the war. It amounts, in fact, to 39 per per cent. of the total male strength or some 54,000 officers and men, compared with 57 per cent. or some 68,000 in 1938

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what steps are taken to provide new accommodation for the wives and families of Admiralty civil servants posted from Portsmouth to Bath, in view of the expense and inconvenience incurred in cases of enforced separation

In the same way as the rest of the population, Admiralty civil staff stationed at Bath depend for the allocation of new houses upon the local authority and the grant of licences for private building. The Admiralty keeps in the closest touch with the local authority and with the Ministry of Health, and is satisfied that its staff has been receiving a reasonable proportion of the new houses built by the local authority and of the licences for private building which it is permitted to issue.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in view of the recent instructions by the Department of Health that relaxations in private building licences made during the past years in favour of classes other than agricultural, miners and key workers, must temporarily be withdrawn, if he will state what relaxations were made during this period; and to what classes of applicants.

In the early part of this year, the prevailing restrictions were relaxed in favour of applicants engaged in essential public services, applicants suffering hardship from ill-health, and applicants prepared to build their own houses with spare time labour.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what results he is able to report from the system of direct labour used by the housing association at Hart-hill.

I am not yet in a position to report fully but the information at present before me suggests that as regards cost, progress and workman-hip, the Harthill Scheme compares favourably with those carried out by contractors.