§ Mr. Parkerasked the Lord Privy Seal under what Act local authorities are held responsible for part-payment of expenses on air-raid precautions incurred by their permanent officials acting on direct instruction from Government Departments without reference to the local authority concerned; and is he considering assuming the whole responsibility for such expenses?
§ Sir J. AndersonI do not appreciate what the hon. Member has in mind in referring to expenses incurred by local officials of a local authority on direct instruction from Government Departments without reference to the local authority. Instructions, for example, with reference to distribution of respirators, digging of trenches and the preparation of first-aid posts were issued to local authorities in the ordinary way. The one exception in which directions were given to local officials was in connection with evacuation, and in this case the Government are assuming responsibility for the whole of the expenditure incurred as a result of those directions.
§ Mr. Morganasked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is aware that despite the shortage of gas-masks in certain Black Country towns, masks have been distributed to small villages in purely rural districts where the population is only two or three hundred and where there is no likelihood of a gas attack; and whether there will in future be better co-ordination in the work of gas-mask distribution with proper regard for the relative requirements of urban and country districts?
§ Sir J. AndersonThe distribution of respirators was carried out through the local authorities. When distribution commenced stocks were not sufficient to518W supply every local authority, and priority was given to the authorities responsible for the areas most vulnerable to attack. Where these vulnerable areas were included within the jurisdiction of a county council, that council would have received its full complement of respirators and some of these would have been distributed to persons resident in the rural parts of the county. In the short time available for the despatch of the respirators from the regional stores, it would not have been possible to discriminate, among persons resident in counties given this priority, between those resident in the urban and those resident in the rural areas.
§ Mr. Morganasked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is aware that despite all local municipal representations, no gas-masks have been issued for use in Stourbridge up to the present moment; whether it was ever the intention of the authorities to provide Stourbridge with gas-masks during the recent crisis, and, if so, what was the cause of their non-arrival; whether the local authorities were informed that these gas-masks could not arrive before the lapse of approximately two months; and what is the present position of Stourbridge in relation to gas-mask distribution?
§ Sir J. AndersonYes, Sir. It was always the intention that every person in the country should be provided with a respirator. When, however, distribution commenced stocks were not sufficient to supply every area, and priority was given to those which were most vulnerable to attack. Stourbridge was not among the areas to which this priority was given. It is not the case that the local authority were informed that they could no be supplied with respirators until after a lapse of approximately two months. The present position is that the local authority have been asked to ascertain, by inquiry of the residents, how many respirators of each of the various sizes will be required; and, as soon as these particulars are forwarded to the Home Office, the required numbers of respirators will be issued.