§ 45. Mr. Errollasked the Prime Minister what orders or directions have been issued under paragraph (2, a) and paragraph (4) of Defence Regulation 55, since August, 1945; and under what circumstances these powers have been exercised.
§ Mr. H. MorrisonI have been asked to reply. Since August, 1945, no orders or directions have been made under paragraph (4) of Defence Regulation 55, and no orders under paragraph (2a). A relatively small number of directions have been made under the latter paragraph by my right hon. Friends the President of the Board of Trade and the Ministers of Supply and Food. These directions have related to particular activities of individual undertakings; for example, one direction required a firm to deliver a boiler and driving gear by a particular date. It has not hitherto been the practice to publish details of these directions or to give the names of the undertakings concerned, and I do not think it would be advisable to do so now.