Written Answers of 16 May 1946

PUBLIC HEALTH

  Hospitals (Maternity Accommodation)
  Mr. Palmer
  asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the shortage of hospital accommodation for expectant mothers in the county of Surrey; and whether he is taking steps to improve the situation in the near future.

  Mr. Bevan:
  Unfortunately, there is a shortage of staffed maternity beds all over the country. In Surrey, 53 more beds will be available shortly, and proposals for the provision of a further 86 at various voluntary hospitals in the county are under consideration.

  Experimental Health Centres
  Mr. Somerville Hastings
  asked the Minister of Health whether he is proposing to set up experimental health centres so that further experience may be gained before the National Health Scheme comes into operation.

  Mr. Bevan:
  I do not think this would be practicable in the light of present statutory powers. I think it is better to press on with the National Health Service Bill and then to gain experience under it, as quickly as possible.

  Aged and Infirm Persons (Welfare)
  Mr. Bower
  asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the shortage of hospital and institutional accommodation for aged and infirm persons who cannot look after themselves and have no one to look after them; and if he will consider taking over camp reception stations and anti-aircraft gun sites, which are suitably equipped, and using them for this purpose.

  Mr. Bevan:
  I am aware that there is a shortage of accommodation available for aged and infirm persons, but the problem is primarily one of nursing and domestic staffing rather than of actual bed accommodation. The taking over of Service installations would not, therefore, help.

  Maternity Homes, Birmingham
  Mr. M. Lindsay
  asked the Minister of Health what proposals he has to enable maternity homes in Birmingham and district to obtain additional nursing and domestic staff.

  Mr. Bevan:
  With my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour I am doing all I an to ease the staffing difficulties here and elsewhere, by publicity and recruitment appeals, the dilution of trained staff with other help, the improvement of terms of service, and other measures

  Ice Cream (Hygienic Manufacture)
  Mr. Swingler
  asked the Minister of Health if he has considered a letter from the town clerk of the borough of Stafford, stating that six-sevenths of the samples of ice cream recently analysed by the Medical Officer of Health in the borough were found to be contaminated; what similar investigations are being carried out in other parts of the country, and what reports he has received; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure a high standard of hygiene in the manufacture of ice cream.

  Mr. Bevan:
  Yes, Sir. Representations have been made to me by a number of authorities and associations upon the same subject, and I have under consideration the question of making regulations requiring the heat treatment of ice cream mixes before they are frozen.

HOUSING

  Requisitioned Houses (Release)
  Mr. C. Manning
  asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that in the case of at least one Metropolitan borough council, advice has been given by his regional office that the various factors which had to be taken into consideration in accordance with his regional circular, sated 3rd February, 1943, concerning the release of houses under requisition for rehousing purposes, were applicable only during the war period and that these instructions should not now be too rigidly followed; and, as the housing problem in the greater part of the London area is still as acute as ever and local authorities in this matter are acting as his

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  agents, if he will consider issuing a modified circular giving guidance as to the broad lines of principle which should be followed.

  Mr. Bevan:
  I do not think it necessary to issue a general circular on this question at the present time. My officers are always ready to help local authorities by giving guidance when they seek it. I am aware of a letter addressed to an individual authority for their guidance in dealing with individual cases. Circumstances vary widely in different districts.

  Modern Domestic Equipment
  Mr. Grey
  asked the Minister of Health whether he is insisting that all plans for the erection of permanent houses shall make provision for all the modern domestic equipment, so evident in the better type prefabricated temporary house, before giving his sanction to such plans.

  Mr. Bevan:
  Modern domestic equipment will be provided in permanent houses on the lines recommended in Housing Manual, 1944, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.

  Lettings (Premiums)
  Mr. A. Lewis
  asked the Minister of Health whether he will consider the introduction of new, or enforce existing legislation to prevent the insertion of advertisements offering monetary rewards for information leading to tenancies.

  Mr. Bevan:
  I regret that I am not at present in a position to add to the answer which I gave on the 14th March to my hon. Friend the Member for Caernarvon-shire (Mr. Goronwy Roberts), of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.

  GEORGE MEDAL AWARDS
  Mr. Haworth
  asked the Prime Minister whether the same grants can be given to civilians who are awarded the George Medal as are awarded to Service recipients of the D.S.M., D.C.M., M.M. and D.F.M.; and whether the additional 6d. a day to pensions can be awarded to Government civilian employees as awarded to Service pensioners.
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  The Prime Minister:
  No, Sir. Although some military awards are accompanied by pecuniary grants, it is not proposed to extend the system to the George Medal. Generally speaking it is the awards themselves which are the real medium of State recognition for bravery, and they should be regarded in that light.

  GERMANY (PEACE TREATY DISCUSSIONS)
  Mr. Foot
  asked the Prime Minister what attitude His Majesty's Government have adopted towards the proposal of the U.S. Government for a 25-year treaty to ensure the enforcement of German disarmament and demilitarisation.

  The Prime Minister:
  His Majesty's Government warmly welcome this initiative by the United States Government which they regard as a most valuable and important contribution to the many problems involved in a settlement of the German question. This has already been made clear during the discussions at the Paris Conference by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs who has expressed his wish to discuss the draft Treaty further with the representatives of the United States, Soviet and French Governments.

BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

  Consultations
  Mr. Granville
  asked the Prime Minister if he will discuss with the Dominion Governments the proposal to improve the existing machinery for consultation along the lines suggested by Dominion Prime Ministers, and in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of Westminster and Balfour Declaration.

  The Prime Minister:
  His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom are always ready to discuss with His Majesty's Governments in the Dominions any proposals for the development of consultation on matters of common concern which are practicable and likely to commend themselves to the Dominion Governments.

  Scientific and Industrial Development (Cooperation)
  Mr. Granville
  asked the Prime Minister if he will consult with the Dominion

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  Governments as to the setting up of a Commonwealth Council for the development of science, aviation, films and wireless upon an Empire basis.

  The Prime Minister:
  The question of cooperation between the members of the Commonwealth in scientific research is to be discussed at a Conference convened by the Royal Society this summer and at an official Scientific Conference which will follow it. As regards civil aviation, a Commonwealth Air Transport Council has already been established and is functioning. As regards films, there are already informal arrangements for exchange of information and ideas, and I doubt whether any more formal machinery is needed. As regards wireless, I would invite reference to the White Paper (Cmd. 6805) which describes the present machinery for collaboration and the action proposed for its development.

EMPLOYMENT

  Hotel and Catering Industry (Foreign Employees)
  Air-Commodore Harvey
  asked the Minister of Labour how many foreigners, naturalised and otherwise, are employed in the hotel and catering industry, both administrative and others.

  Mr. Isaacs:
  I regret that this information is not available.

  Eire Domestic Workers (Entry)
  Mr. Thornton-Kemsley
  asked the Minister of Labour the regulations governing the entry into the United Kingdom of domestic workers from Eire for whom a specific application has been made by a prospective employer in this country.

  Mr. Isaacs:
  After the employer has obtained the approval of my local officer and satisfied him that the wages are appropriate and that the household is in need of help, the worker must obtain a Travel Permit Card from the Eire Government and a British visa from the United Kingdom Permit Office in Dublin.

  Ministry of Labour (Third Class Officers)
  Mr. Corlett
  asked the Minister of Labour how many third class officers entered his Department on the result of
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  the competitions for third class officer in each of the years 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938 and 1939; how many of these officers are still attached to his Department; and what is the present annual salary, including any bonus, payable to each of the officers coming under paragraph (5).

  Mr. Isaacs:
  During the years 1935–39 the number of third class officers entering my Department by open competitive examination was: 1935, 6; 1936, 10; 1937, 3; 1938, 8; 1939, 21. Forty-five are still attached to my Department, but are not necessarily serving in their original grade. I do not understand my hon. Friend's reference to "paragraph 5," but the salary scales for the third class officer grade are: Men, £220–£552 per annum, plus consolidated addition varying from £78 to £90 per annum; Women, £220–£445 per annum, plus consolidated addition varying from £63 to £72 per annum.

MILITARY SERVICE

  Engineering Apprentices
  Mr. Swingler
  asked the Minister of Labour how many apprentices in the engineering industry in the county of Stafford have been called up for military service since 1st September, 1945; how many deferments have been applied for; and how many have been granted.

  Mr. Isaacs:
  I regret that the information asked for is not available.

  Personal Case
  Captain Noel-Baker
  asked the Minister of Labour why, in view of the fact that the Ministry of Works recommended, on 30th March, the release under Class B of T/14696092 Driver A. R. Smith, this release has been rejected by his Department.

  Mr. Isaacs:
  The application for the release of Driver A. R. Smith in Class B under the individual specialist procedure was rejected because this young man, who was 19 years of age when he joined the Forces in 1944 and had previously been employed as a labourer and lorry driver, could not be regarded as a key specialist whose services were personally indispensable to enable urgent work of national importance to be carried out.

  Directed Mine Workers
  Mr. King
  asked the Minister of Labour in what special circumstances a boy directed to the mines can be accepted as a volunteer for service in the Armed Forces.

  Mr. Isaacs:
  Young men directed to work in coal mines as an alternative to call up under the National Service Acts are not accepted as volunteers in the Armed Forces so long as they can be employed usefully underground in the coal mines.

  CITRUS FRUITS (PRESERVATION AND TRANSPORT, RESEARCH)
  Mr. Tanner
  asked the Lord President of the Council what is the present expenditure of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research on research into the better preservation and storage of citrus fruits; and whether he will give any details of this work.

  Mr. Arthur Greenwood:
  I have been asked to reply. The food investigation organisation of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has been working on problems of the preservation of citrus fruits and the transport of citrus to this country since 1926 by (1) examining commercial shipments, experimental cargoes and conditions of temperature on ships carrying citrus; (2) arranging visits of officers to South Africa and Palestine and consultation and cooperation with workers in South Africa, Palestine and Australia; (3) experimenting with imported citrus fruits and considering the problems of preserving citrus juices. As regard the first part of the Question, I regret that no separate figure is available.

  INTERNATIONAL MONETARY BODIES
  Mr. Boyd-Carpenter
  asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what emoluments are attached to his recent appointment as a Governor of the International Monetary Fund and of the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

  Mr. Dalton:
  None, Sir.

  PURCHASE TAX (PLEASURE CRAFT)
  Sir P. Macdonald
  asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether punts, except large, heavy ferry punts, canoes and sailing and rowing boats of a kind used for purposes of pleasure, and their equipment, have been defined as goods which are to be taken as falling within Class 14 in the Seventh Schedule to the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1940, in any list issued by the Treasury under Subsection (2) of Section 19 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1940; and if he will give the reference number or other information under which the list so defining the above goods can be identified.

  Mr. Dalton:
  No such list has been issued by the Treasury. These vessels are regarded as requisites for sports and, as such, pay Purchase Tax at 33 13 per cent.

  WAR DAMAGE COMMISSION
  Mr. King
  asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury when the War Damage Commission expect to notify Dr. T. F. Everitt of their decision in the matter in connection with which the hon. Member for Penryn and Falmouth wrote to him on 5th March last.

  Mr. Glenvil Hall:
  I have had a report from the War Damage Commission and have written to my hon. Friend.

  IRISH WORKERS, UNITED KINGDOM (RESTRICTIONS)
  Mr. Skeffington-Lodge
  asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, now peace conditions have been restored, he will rescind the regulations which require those citizens of Eire who have been employed in this country during the war to carry a passport and report their movements to the police.

  Mr. Ede:
  The restrictions to which my hon. Friend refers are a necessary part of the machinery for controlling Eire workers who have been temporarily admitted to this country for employment of national importance. I am advised by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service that it is necessary to maintain these restrictions until the process

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  of demobilisation and resettlement is further advanced, but they are being progressively withdrawn from various categories of Eire workers as and when circumstances justify it.

  Mr. McEntee
  asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if workmen from Eire or from Northern Ireland, who are engaged here on the repair of houses damaged by enemy action or on other essential work, will be permitted to bring their wives and families over to remain during the time that the men continue to be employed here.

  Mr. Ede:
  Yes, Sir; visas can be granted to their wives and minor children if accommodation is available.

  Mr. McEntee
  asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why pressure is being exercised by his Department to compel workers from Eire, or from Northern Ireland, who were brought over here for war work or to repair houses damaged by enemy action, to return home; and to whom, and in what way, is it to be applied.

  Mr. Ede:
  There has been no recent change in the policy of the Government in this matter. Eire workers are admitted to this country on a temporary basis for limited periods for employment of national importance, and are required, by the terms of conditions attached to the grant of permission to disembark, to leave at the end of the period of permitted stay unless it is extended for the purpose of continued employment approved by the Ministry of Labour and National Service.

  Captain Delargy
  asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Irish workers have been expelled from this country during the last three months, to any convenient date.

  Mr. Ede:
  During the three months ending 31st March, 1946, 124 Eire workers were required to leave Great Britain.

  ADVERTISEMENT SITE, PICCADILLY CIRCUS (SAVINGS CAMPAIGN)
  Mr. Ernest Davies
  asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will arrange for the removal of the hoardings
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  advertising the National Savings Campaign from the centre of Piccadilly Circus.

  Mr. Glenvil Hall:
  Yes, Sir. The National Savings Committee has already arranged to give up this site as soon as the statue of Eros is replaced.

AGRICULTURE

  Rivers Bill
  Mr. R. S. Hudson
  asked the Minister of Agriculture what progress has been made in negotiations regarding the Rivers Bill; and when he expects to be able to introduce it to this House.

  Mr. Collick:
  Discussions have taken place with the associations representing the interests most closely affected but my right hon. Friend regrets that he is not yet in a position to make any statement as to the introduction of the necessary legislation.

  Flooding, Trent Valley
  Mrs. Paton
  asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that gardens in Wilford Village, Nottinghamshire, still lie under water as a result of the recent floods in the Trent Valley; and whether he will take steps to get this land drained so that the owners can cultivate their gardens.

  Mr. T. Williams:
  I am aware that certain areas in this district have a long standing liability to flooding which has been intensified of recent years by mining subsidence. Such subsidence gives rise to problems of a complicated nature which are not always capable of immediate solution by straightforward drainage methods. The Trent Catchment Board are, however, at present examining the possibility of carrying out a minor flood alleviation scheme in this area, to form part of the more comprehensive long term project to which I referred in my reply of 4th March last to my hon. Friend.

  ARAB INDEPENDENCE (DOCUMENTS)
  Mr. Wilson Harris
  asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will publish, as a White Paper or otherwise, the declaration issued on 16th June, 1918, in reply to a memorial submitted to his Department by seven Arab

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  leaders at Cairo, regarding the future independence of Arab countries, and also the memorandum on a similar subject presented to his Department by the Emir Feisal on 4th January, 1919.

  Mr. McNeil:
  The first of these documents was published in a White Paper Miscellaneous No. 4 of 1939 (Command No. 5964). No trace of a memorandum by the Emir Feisal dated 4th January, 1919, can be found. A memorandum dated 1st January, 1919, is available, however, and it is thought that this is the memorandum referred to by the hon. Member. Arrangements will be made to place it in the Library of the House in the near future.

  JEWS, EUROPE (ASSISTANCE)
  Mr. Lipson
  asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what assistance His Majesty's Government informed the Anglo-American Committee they were prepared to give in finding homes for Jews wishing or impelled to leave Europe.

  Mr. McNeil:
  The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry did not approach His Majesty's Government with a request for information on this matter. The Committee were, however, aware of the statement made by the Home Secretary on 13th November last, concerning the admission to this country of certain classes of distressed persons with relatives already living in the United Kingdom.

  SURPLUS CARS, GREAT MISSENDEN (PROTECTION)
  Sir J. Lucas
  asked the Minister of Supply if he is aware that purchasers of motor cars at Great Missenden complain that spare parts and even wheels are sometimes removed by thieves between the time of viewing and the time of purchase; and if, as the sale is a Government one, he will give reasonable protection to ensure that purchasers get an opportunity to collect their purchases intact.

  Mr. Woodburn:
  There is no evidence that any cases of theft have occurred at Great Missenden. I have personally seen the security arrangements at Great Missenden and I am satisfied that they afford reasonable protection for both Government property and that of the purchasers.

  COLONIAL NURSES (TRAINING)
  Mr. Turton
  asked the Secretary of state for the Colonies whether he is aware that West African nurses were recommended for appointment on the staff of Dewsbury Infirmary; and on what grounds as their appointment refused.

  Mr. George Hall:
  I understand that the authorities of this Infirmary feel unable to accept girls from West Africa for training for the time being, as it is thought that a hospital with only 100 beds is too restricted to provide satisfactory amenities for the training of Colonial nurses.

  R.A.F. (WOMAN PASSENGERS' LUGGAGE)
  Mr. Osborne
  asked the Under-Secretary f State for Air if he is aware that, on Thursday, 2nd May, a foreign woman travelled by R.A.F. Transport Command aeroplane from Rome to London with 360 lbs. of luggage and, in so doing, prevented a Serviceman from coming home on leave; and who gave permission for his excess of luggage to be carried.

  Mr. Strachey,
  pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8th May, 1946; Vol. 422, c. 1062], supplied the following statement;

  The Mediterranean British Air Priorities Board authorised this passenger to take extra baggage if space was available. The Board have examined their records, and they can find no trace of any intending passengers for England having been left behind in Rome on 2nd May.

  AIRCRAFT EXPORTS
  Colonel J. R. H. Hutchison
  asked the President of the Board of Trade what exports of aircraft to the Dominions and to foreign countries have taken place since the end of the war; and what types of aircraft are represented.

  Mr. Marquand:
  From August, 1945, to March, 1946, inclusive, 28 aircraft, valued at £130,000, were recorded as exported to the Dominions and 67, valued at £360,000, to foreign countries. The

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  types included the following: Sandringham, Proctor, Magister, Dominie, Avro XIX and Auster. In addition, about 100 surplus military aircraft were sold by Government Departments to the Dominions and 1,300 to foreign countries
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  during the same period but less than half of these left the country before the end of March. The main types represented in the latter figures were Tiger Moths, Mosquitoes, Ansons, Wellingtons and Spitfires.