§ Sir R. Glynasked the Secretary of State for War the rates of pay for the use of German prisoners of war engaged in agricultural work; and what arrangements, if any, exist for sending money thus earned to their families in Germany; 283W how much of the £36,000,000, shown in Vote 1 of the Army Estimates as an appropriation in aid, is derived from the sums paid by farmers through the W.A.E.Cs. at standard rates of wages for this German labour; and how much is deducted for overhead expenses, etc.
§ Mr. LawsonAs to the first part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the first sentence of the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture to the hon. Member for Galloway (Mr. McKie) on 20th May. As to the second part, I am hoping to resume in the near future the arrangement made during the war on a reciprocal basis with the then German Government under which amounts debited against a German prisoner's credit in this country might be paid to his family or dependants in Germany. As to the third part of the Question, the Note to sub-head Z4 of Vote 1 of the Army Estimates, 1946, indicates that the part of the £36 million relating to receipts in respect of prisoners of war employed on agriculture is netted, after deduction of certain of the expenses related to such employment. But no deductions are included in that netted figure for the general maintenance and administrative expenditure on prisoners of war. For the reasons in the last part of the answer my hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Mon-mouth (Mr. P. Thorneycroft) on 25th June, I am unable to furnish the figure requested in the last part of the Question.
§ Sir R. Glynasked the Secretary of State for War how many German prisoners of war are at this date engaged in agricultural work; of this number, how many are accommodated in billets and how many in camps; and how many have been returned to their homes in Germany during the last three months.
§ Mr. LawsonThe total number of German prisoners of war at present engaged in agricultural work is 212,000. Of these, 20,000 are accommodated in billets and 192,000 in camps. The answer to the last part of the question is 10,000.