asked the Minister of Health whether he can make a statement on the information he has received as to the success or failure of the scheme for registration for the evacuation of children under five years of age; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure the safe evacuation of the younger child population from districts outside the London area?

I have received returns from a number of evacuation areas, which show that the initial response from mothers of children under five has so far, in many cases, been encouraging. The registers are in general still open. In London the returns have been lower than in some other towns, and I would appeal to mothers with young children to register. The Government evacuation scheme already applies to 11 areas immediately adjacent to the administrative county, and to 22 provincial areas. As indicated in the reply which I gave on 18th May to the hon. Member for Everton (Mr. Kirby), I am reviewing the possibility of extending the scheme to certain further areas.

Is it not possible for the Minister to give us any detailed figures of the number of mothers who have registered their children?

No, Sir, because, as I have said, the registers are not available.