asked the Minister of Labour why three days' maintenance allowance was deducted during the Christmas period from the maintenance grant payable under his Department's arrangements to men working away from their homes; and whether he will take steps to restore the deduction, in view of the fact that, in nearly all cases, a full week's rent still had to be paid.

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. Lodging allowance is, in the ordinary course, not payable if the transferred worker is absent for more than four nights from the area of employment. As a special concession, however, for the Christmas holiday, allowances were made payable for three days, even though the worker was away for five or six nights.