asked the Minister of Labour whether he will arrange for a census to be taken among German prisoners of war, which will discover the number of those willing to remain in this country as free workmen.

No, Sir, but we are prepared to consider an arrangement under which a farmer who can provide accommodation may retain prisoners of war on a civilian basis, provided this is without detriment to British workers.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in one particular case in Surrey where a census of a number of prisoners willing to remain here as free workmen was taken the figure which was the outcome of the investigation was something in the region of 10 or 11 per cent.; and that if this was done everywhere we should have a body of some 30,000 German prisoners of war willing to remain with us and help us?

This problem is not without difficulty. We have a lot of men coming in; the door has been opened to Italians on a small scale. This does represent an advance along this road. Certain negotiations have begun, and I ask my hon. Friend to leave the question where it is.

Do we not want them all?

Can the hon. Gentleman not find stronger terms in which to condemn a proposal which, if it is not purely academic and therefore a waste of time, means that Germans alone among foreigners are to be allowed to settle in this country?

No, Sir. That is not so. We should certainly not allow Germans to have that privilege over other people.

Suppose German prisoners are kept under the conditions the hon. Member just mentioned, what charges will be paid for their services, and to whom?

They will be paid on a civilian basis at the proper trade union rate.

To whom?

Will the hon. Gentleman go a little further than he has gone in reply to the supplementary questions and assure the House that no preferential treatment will be given to these Germans over displaced persons?

I thought the original answer to the Question made it quite clear that this is surrounded by safeguards to prevent such an occurrence.