asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been drawn to the report of a sociological organisation, a copy of which has been sent to him, indicating that the bulk of the general public cannot readily understand Cmd. 7046, or its popular version, "Battle for Output, 1947," and what steps he proposes to take to see that future Government publications intended for the bulk of the people shall be phrased in terms intelligible to them.

asked the Prime Minister if he has considered the Mass-Observation leaflet entitled, "The Language of Leadership," a copy of which has been forwarded to him; and if he will instruct all those engaged in public relations and the distribution of information on behalf of the Government to bear constantly in mind the considerations advanced therein.

My attention has been drawn to this publication. Without more systematic evidence, I am not satisfied that it does justice either to the lucidity of the Report, or to the general level of intelligence in the nation. The fact that the combined sales of its two versions have now nearly reached 300,000, and the extensive quotations made from them by all sections of the Press, appear to confirm this opinion. As I informed my hon. Friend, the Member for Aston (Mr. Wyatt) on 10th March, the publication of the white paper is only the first step in securing wider understanding of the economic position of the country.

Is not the Prime Minister aware that this organisation has been employed on a number of occasions by Government Departments to carry out work for them, and does this not show the need for a Minister to be in charge of information, so that these documents, when prepared, can be put in such a form that they are understandable? I do not think there is any doubt about the validity of the Report.

Is my right hon. Friend also aware that, although a sale of 300,000 is perhaps satisfactory, as the white paper goes, it still does not represent "the bulk of the people"—of a population of 45 million?

Would not the Prime Minister agree that if the policies were intelligible, the documents would be more easily intelligible?

The policy is quite intelligible. I am sure that the broadcasts which I and the right hon. Gentleman made were both very interesting as coming under the heading of a policy and a hope for a policy.

Is the Prime Minister aware that this Report is almost as difficult to understand as the white paper and, although addressed to Members of Parliament, contains many unusual and unknown words?

I had noticed that.