asked the Secretary of State for War what special equipment is to be provided for our troops in Korea in view of a probable winter campaign.

The British troops in Korea are being provided with cold weather clothing including, as necessary, special boots, leather jerkins and kapok coats and sleeping bags. They will have an ample stock of oil heating stoves. Snow camouflage equipment is also being provided. I inspected this equipment before 29 Brigade Group left.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will replace the present system of piece-meal call-up by call-up of classes.

I would refer the hon. Member to my recent letter to him on the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for War to what extent it is the usual practice for the name and home address of a soldier who is to be court-martialled to be published prior to sentence.

At least 24 hours before any court-martial is to be held the headquarters at which the court-martial is convened post, in a place which is accessible to the public, a list showing the name, rank and number of the accused, the date, time and place of trial, and the section or sections of the Army Act under which the accused is to be charged. The home address of the soldier is not published.

asked the Secretary of State for War how much money has been spent on Mackinnon Road store installation in East Africa; and in what financial years.

Expenditure on constructing the Mackinnon Road store installation, East Africa, during the financial years 1947–48, 1948–49 and 1949–50 was £268,815, £1,120,498 and £332,126 respectively. Expenditure during1950–51 is expected to total about £50,000.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many days elapsed between a battle casualty in Korea and the receipt by the next of kin of official information.

Five or six days.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether arrangements can be made for those stood off in Dagenham during holidays, without pay, to sign on and receive unemployment pay if no work is available.

The rule that unemployment benefit is not payable for days of customary or recognised holiday occurring in the course of employment is of long standing and of general application. I am, as my hon. Friend has been informed by letter, keeping a close watch on the operation of the rule in the conditions of the new scheme, but so far it does not appear to have given rise to any serious difficulties in the country generally.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether she is aware that old age pensioners who retire on reaching 65 years of age are held to have retired, in perpetuo, even though they subsequently return to regular work, and thus they forfeit both their pension under the earnings rule and their right to any increment of pension as a result of their continuance at work; and whether she will consider amending the National Insurance Act in order to remove this injustice.

A change such as that suggested would involve re-examination of the whole basis of the provision made for old age by the National Insurance Act, 1946. I have, however, noted the point for consideration on any future general review of the working of the scheme.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether she is aware that, owing to the rise in the cost of living since old age pensions were fixed at their present rate, most old age pensioners are suffering severe financial hardship; and what steps she is taking to mitigate that hardship.

I cannot agree with the implication of the Question. A few months ago the National Assistance Board rates were increased and any pensioner whose pension is insufficient for his needs can apply for supplementation. Rates of pension under the Insurance Scheme could not be altered without reviewing the scheme as a whole.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether she is aware that some 900,000 workpeople are on an average absent from work each day in Britain on the ground of sickness; and to what extent this figure has increased since the inauguration of the National Insurance Scheme.

I assume that the hon. Member's reference is to the monthly statistics now published by my Department. I regret that there are no comparable figures for the period before the start of the National Insurance Scheme.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if she has considered particulars that have been sent to her in a letter from Mr. Thomas, 8, The Ridge, Orpington, concerning the difficulties of the infirm and helpless old age pensioners; and if she will make a statement.

I have written very fully to the hon. Member about the points raised by Mr. Thomas.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent copper wire is being exported from this country and Hong Kong to north China; and, since copper wire might be used for military purposes, whether he will take steps to prevent further such exports.

Copper products, including copper wire, were made subject to export licensing in the United Kingdom on 11th September.There are no figures available showing exports from the United Kingdom to north China separately, but exports of copper wire from the United Kingdom to China as a whole amounted in the first eight months of this year to about 3,300 tons valued at just under £700,000. Exports of copper wire from Hong Kong to North China during the first seven months of this year amounted to 1,300 tons valued at about £250,000.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what trade inspectors His Majesty's Government maintain in Russian territory, on the principle that a State purchasing goods from another has a right to see how they are produced.

I am not clear on what basis the hon. Member assumes such a principle to be established. I know of no such right under international law. In any case we do not buy from Russia goods of a kind where there would be advantage in obtaining permission to inspect the methods of production.

asked the President of the Board of Trade which of the strategic materials excluded by the Hong Kong Government from export to China are similarly excluded by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

All goods the export of which to China or anywhere else is subject to control by the Government of Hong Kong on strategic grounds are also subject to control on export from the United Kingdom. In Malaya, the other Colonial territory likely to be concerned, there are controls in operation similar to those exercised in Hong Kong.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what British shipments of molybdenum there have recently been to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; and what was the purpose of them.

I am not aware of any such shipments.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many persons are employed in dealing with forms which must be used for the purchase of a timber step-ladder.

No forms are needed for the purchase of a domestic step-ladder. About 24 man-hours a year are occupied in dealing with licences to acquire and consume the softwood used by the manufacturers of step-ladders.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what talks he has yet had on newsprint supplies with Dominion representatives; and with what results.

This matter was discussed at the recent Commonwealth talks on trade and economic matters and it was decided to make a further study on a Commonwealth basis of the long term newsprint supply position.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the continuing and serious drain upon newsprint stocks involved in maintaining the present heavily restricted sizes of British newspapers, he is prepared to review the export quota fixed for home-milled production.

Although newsprint stocks are low, I see no reason to vary the decision reached about the level of exports.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that publishers cannot obtain art paper in less than 32 weeks from the date of order; and what steps he is taking to remedy this situation.

Yes, but production of this type of paper is probably already at its maximum. It is a coated paper and I have had no complaint of any shortage of the kind of paper used for coating. The bottleneck seems to be in the finishing capacity. Part of the demand, however, may be of a temporary nature and we would not wish to impose control over the distribution of the paper, a step which was not taken even during the war when production was very much lower.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what have been the financial results of showing the film "The Chance of a Life Time."

I do not possess the information the hon. Member asks for, nor do I think it would be proper, even if I were to obtain it, to disclose information about the financial transactions of individual private concerns.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what cargoes of furs and of crabmeat and of what else from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have been recently shipped to the United States of America by direction or permission of His Majesty's Government; and with what results.

During the three months ending August last just over £319,000 worth of furs, nearly £173,000 of crabmeat and £3,000 of pig bristles from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were shipped to the United States of America by direction or permission of His Majesty's Government. Transshipments of other products amounted to just over £37,000 of which bladder casings accounted for £32,000. I am not aware of any unusual results of these normal trading activities except for five shipments of crabmeat in August which had to be returned because of handling difficulties at the United States port of entry.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the cost involved in the recent transporting of Russian furs to the United States of America and back to England; and who will pay the loss.

The shipments in question were effected in the course of normal commercial transactions and I have no information of the cost of transport or of any losses that may have been incurred.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has studied particulars which have been sent him concerning a visit paid by his officials to the premises of Wilsons Cooperage Company Limited at St. Mary Cray; how many people, cars and chauffeurs are employed in this kind of work; and what is the annual cost.

Yes. The visit was made in the course of compiling the classified mailing list for the Census of Distribution and other services. The method adopted was described in the reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Ilkeston (Mr. Oliver) on 16th May last. Two hundred and forty officers were employed and nearly a million names and addresses have been registered as a result of their work. Forty cars and chauffeurs were available for reaching and covering rural areas and outlying parts of towns where their use effected a saving of time and money. Most of the work, however, was covered on foot or by public transport. The expenditure on this work, which is non-recurring, was £98,000 and is part of the cost of the census which will be taken in 1951.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the cost to date of collecting information for the Census of Distribution; and how many people are employed on this work.

It is impracticable to segregate the expenditure on the preparation for this Census so as to give an estimated figure of the cost to date. Staff numbering 432 are employed in the Census office.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many claims have been made under the Far-Eastern War Damage Scheme; how many have been paid; and what is the average delay between the making of a claim and settlement.

Up to 30th September 3,981 applications had been received and of these 1,990 had been approved and 68 refused. As regards the second part of the Question, it is impracticable to say what is the average delay in each case, but I can assure the hon. Member that everything possible is being done to speed up this work. He will appreciate that considerable delays may occur in individual cases owing to the necessity of making inquiries in the territory where the loss occurred.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state in appropriate categories the quantities of machine tools and engineering goods that have been exported to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for each of the past five years.

I am sending the hon. Member a statement showing details of exports of various types of machine tools and of enginering goods to the Soviet Union in each of the years 1945 to 1949. Further details for 1945 to 1947 will be found in Volumes 3 and 4 of the Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom, 1947 and, for 1948 and 1949, in the monthly Accounts relating to Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom for December, 1949.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give a list of articles of food and commodities of which the Government are the sole importers.

Yes. The list set out below relates only to goods of which the Government is the sole importer; it does not include goods imported by statutory bodies or goods of which the Government is the major, but not the sole importer:

asked the President of the Board of Trade is he will give a list of outstanding long-term contracts of raw materials which have been made with other Governments or Colonial administrations; and indicate in each case what provision there is for the reduction or review of the rates during the term and the dates when each contract expires.

Only one such contract is still outstanding. This was made early in 1949 with the New Zealand Dairy Marketing Commission for the supply of 2,600 tons of lactic casein in each of the years 1949–50 and 1950–51. The contract contains no provision for review of the price agreed upon, which was, and has remained, an advantageous one. The contract expires on 31st July, 1951.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why, when issuing permission for sales of goods at home or abroad, he makes it a condition that a percentage of the goods so sold shall include goods from stocks held by the Government at a price fixed by the Government even though it is higher than the market price.

I am not clear as to the kind of transaction to which the hon. Member refers, but I shall be pleased to look into any particular case he may have in mind.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will stop all trade with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and other Communist-controlled countries until world peace ceases to be threatened.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the 1949 Account of the Post Office Savings Banks were presented in dummy on 28th June, 1950; and when full accounts will be made available.

This Account has, under the Savings Banks Act of 1904 to be laid before Parliament not later than 30th June. The complex calculations involved in its preparation meant that this year, as in many previous years, a dummy presentation was necessary. The full Account was available to hon. Members on 16th August.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Account for the period ending 31st March, 1950, under the Housing Act, 1914, was presented in dummy on 24th July, 1950; and when full accounts will be available.

Under the Housing Act, 1914, this Account has to be presented to the House by 30th September each year. As the rules of the House do not permit the presentation of the Accounts while the House is not sitting, it was presented in dummy before the House rose for the Summer Recess, and full copies were available to hon. Members on 25th September.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the value of the pound sterling to the nearest date, as compared with July, 1945.

The purchasing power of the pound in August, 1950, was about 16s. 2d. as compared with 20s. in 1945.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what official reports he has recived of Russian sales of gold for sterling used to purchase strategic raw materials.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the present emergency, he proposes any change in taxation during the current financial year; when, and to what extent.

For the reasons given by my right hon. and learned Friend on 13th September, an Autumn Budget is not contemplated.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the present amount of undistributed post-war savings; and how many persons bold these savings.

Post-war credits now outstanding amount to £620 million held by about 12 million people. The amount invested in National Savings since the war, and not withdrawn again, cannot be isolated, since withdrawals from a Savings Bank account, for example, cannot be related to deposits made at any particular time. But the provisional figure for National Savings outstanding on 31st August, 1950, is £6,107 million compared with £5,100 million in August, 1945—a net increase of £1,000 million. The most recent estimate, on the basis of a social survey was that about 27 million people hold National Savings.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the fact that Government hostels showed a loss of £8,400,000 in 1948–49, he will ensure that they be either closed down or become self-supporting; and how many hostels are in use at the latest available date.

The losses incurred by Government hostels are being examined in the light of the observations made by the Committee of Public Accounts in their Fourth Report for 1950. The views of the Treasury thereon will be laid before the House as a Treasury Minute in due course. The number of hostels in use at 1st October, 1950, was 760.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent nylon stockings being sold to British women in single pairs by air mail and despatched from Gibraltar are subject to Purchase Tax and Custom Duties; how many parcels have been intercepted; and how much in tax and duty has been collected to date.

As to the liability of nylon stockings to duty and tax, I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Hutchinson) on 6th April last. Since last March 373,533 pairs of British-manufactured nylons and 7,517 pairs of foreign manufacture arriving from Gibraltar by post have been charged with a total of £58,660 Purchase Tax, and, where appropriate, duty. Steps have been and are being taken to check this traffic; and if necessary, they will be intensified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has of the prevalent practice of private individuals making investments in farming for the purpose of spreading their liabilities to Income Tax and Surtax, and, on account of the lower rate of Death Duties involved, thus tending to increase farm values to farmers with small means; and what steps he is taking to prevent it.

Farming is now dealt with for Income Tax and Surtax purposes in the same way as any other trade and the principle of charging a lower rate of Estate Duty on agricultural property was reaffirmed by Parliament as recently as last year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what decision he has reached as to the continued usefulness of the regional boards for industry.

I am satisfied that the regional boards constitute a necessary and most valuable part of the Government's machinery for associating industry with the formulation and execution of policy

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will remit Purchase Tax on firemen's helmets and so cut all unnecessary bookkeeping entries between one Department and another.

My right hon. and learned Friend has explained on various occasions why it is not practicable to give Purchase Tax relief to articles of protective clothing generally and we cannot make an exception in the case of firemen's helmets. I am not aware that the tax involves unnecessary book-keeping entries between one Department and another.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the utility non-Purchase Tax system is applied to women's clothing and not to clothing and uniform of His Majesty's Forces.

The utility scheme, the object of which is to make available to the general public supplies of garments and footwear, etc., of sound quality at reasonable prices, is not applicable to specialised clothing such as the uniform of members of H.M. Forces. But Purchase Tax is not charged on articles purchased by other ranks and ratings from Service stores; while officers, who are required to maintain their uniform out of their pay and are charged Purchase Tax on articles purchased from Service stores, receive rates of pay which take account of this and are allowed Income Tax rebates at varying rates for uniform maintenance.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with representatives of labour and employers to work out a common policy on restraining wages, prices, profits and dividends; when and with whom they took place if he is satisfied with the results; and if he will make a statement.

I assume the hon. Member has in mind the statement by the Minister of State for Economic Affairs in the Debate on 13th September. I am not in a position to make any statement on this subject at this stage.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the decision of the Canadian Government to allow the Canadian dollar to find its own level, he will consider adopting the same policy in respect of the pound.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the latest available figures indicating the level of national production; and also the percentage increase on the level of 1937 and 1938, respectively.

The Interim Index of Industrial Production was 40 per cent. above 1946 in the first half of 1950. Comparisons with pre-war years are difficult to make because of the changed character of industrial production and the lack of pre-war statistics, but it has been estimated that the level of industrial production in 1946 was not very different from that in 1938. On this basis, industrial production in the first half of 1950 was about 40 per cent. higher than in 1938 and about 30 per cent. higher than in 1937.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases have claims for war damage been admitted since 11th July, 1950, which had previously been rejected on grounds that claims had not been made within the prescribed period.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will allow British residents abroad who hold blocked sterling accounts to draw on these funds to a limited extent for such purposes as paying the cost of educating their children in the United Kingdom.

British residents abroad who are unable to remit funds from their country of residence are already allowed to draw on their blocked funds for essential expenditure in the United Kingdom, including the payment of their children's educational expenses.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now raise the amount of dollars permitted to be taken abroad.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now restore the cuts made in 1947 in funds which emigrants can take to Canada.

I am afraid that this is still not possible.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will consider reducing the staff of the Central Office of Information with a view to effecting economies in the total number of civil servants employed throughout the country.

I would refer the hon. Member to my answer to his Question on 6th April. Since that date the staff has been further reduced to 1,473—a reduction of 250 in the past 18 months.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he has considered the inconvenience to motorists which arises out of the refusal of the Government to perforate the circle of the Road Fund Licence disc; the cost which would be involved; and whether he will now give the necessary instructions.

Yes. The cost would be about £575 per annum. Licences for issue in the first quarter of 1951 are now being delivered, but I am giving instructions that perforation should be resumed as early as possible in that year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Annual Report of the Deputy Master and Controller of the Mint for 1947 was only published on 4th July, 1950; and when he anticipates the publication of the reports for 1948 and 1949.

The delay in publishing the Report for 1947 resulted from the wartime suspension of the publication of these reports. Publication of the Reports was resumed in 1948, with the publication in one volume of the Reports for 1939–44. The Report for 1945 was published in April, 1949, and that for 1946 in March, 1950. It is expected that the Report for 1948 will be published shortly arid that for 1949 will follow as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received for the minting of a coin of the value of one and a half pennies; and if he is favourably considering the proposal.

The issue of a 1½d. coin has been suggested from time to time, but the proposal has always been, and still is, considered to be impracticable. The process of minting and distributing a new coin in sufficient numbers to permit its free use is a very large and lengthy operation. It is doubtful if it would be generally convenient to increase the present number of denominations of coin.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the respective percentages of the national expenditure on Navy, Army, Air Force, food, housing, pensions, health and agriculture.

The following figures were given in the Financial Statement (1950–51), H.C. 47 of 18th April, 1950:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will direct that the trading accounts of the Ministries of Food, Supply and the Board of Trade be submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General within one month after the end of the financial year even though some estimated figures have to be temporarily included.

No. It would be quite impracticable on any basis to submit trading accounts within one month after the end of the financial year. The Departments concerned are hoping, however, with the aid of a reasonable degree of estimation, to submit these accounts not later than 31st August in future years.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the value of loans in kind for repayment in cash made by His Majesty's Government to other Governments during the financial years 1948–49 and 1949–50; if he will give details; and if he will ensure that these loans in kind should be subject to the usual rule as regards notation in the public accounts as recommended in Section 14 of the Fourth Report of the Committee of Public Accounts.

Details of the only case involved are given in paragraph 21 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Report on the Civil Appropriation Accounts, 1948–49. The recommendation in Section 14 of the Fourth Report of the Committee of Public Accounts will be adopted in cases of this kind.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury for what purpose the Inland Revenue Department have sent out 1,600 assessors; what are their duties; to what extent they have the right to enter premises without a search warrant; how far this is a special duty; and what is the cost to the taxpayer.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave on 2nd May to the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South (Mr. De la Bère), and to Subhead AA (ii) of the Inland Revenue Estimate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has now reached a decision on the claim for additional leave made by industrial employees in the Ministry of Works.

My right hon. and learned Friend has not yet had the opportunity of considering the claim in the light of the discussion at the last meeting of the Joint Co-ordinating Committee.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is yet in a position to make a statement on the application of industrial civil servants for 12 days' annual leave.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Wembley, South (Mr. Russell).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that the duties of accounting officers of Government Departments are more clearly defined so that the responsibility for the expenditure of public money falls where it can be effectively exercised.

In general, I do not think that there is much room for doubt about the scope of the responsibility of accounting officers, and their duties are, indeed, specifically laid down in the Treasury Letters informing them of their appointment. I have, however, noted the comments of the Public Accounts Committee in their Fourth Report for the Session, 1950, on one aspect of this matter. These comments will, of course, be carefully considered by the Treasury, in consultation with other Departments.