asked the President of the Board of Trade when the Government propose to implement their pledge to liquidate cartel operations; and why International Hydrogenation Products Company is permitted to restrict the production of synthetic petrol in this country.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Fuel and Power is not aware that the production of synthetic petrol in this country is being restricted by the International Hydrogenation Patents Company to which I presume the hon. Member is referring, but I will gladly consider any information the hon. Member can let me have on the subject. The Government's policy in regard to restrictive practices is to inquire into the extent and effect of particular arrangements and to take appropriate action to check those shown to be contrary to the interests of the nation, and as already stated they propose as soon as time permits to initiate legislation on these lines.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when the price scales for waste paper were last revised; whether he is satisfied that the present scales bear any relation to real values; and whether he will have re-examined all the restrictions and controls affecting the disposal of waste paper so as to make available for pulping the maximum amounts possible.

A new Order amending certain of the waste paper prices came into force on 7th July, 1947. A control over waste paper is designed to secure that the maximum amount of waste paper is made available to re-pulping at reasonable and adequate prices. It is kept under constant review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the recent imposition of new currency restrictions affects schemes for reciprocal hospitality between individual British and foreign subjects and between parties travelling for educational and similar purposes.

No, provided that no money passes, and that no foreign exchange is used.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether he is aware that Mrs. Lucy Addyman, of 28, Byron Street, Royton, Oldham, who is 78 years of age, and is still working full time in the cotton industry, and who has been a widow for over fifty years, is being denied a pension on the ground of her absence from this country until 1939; and whether he is prepared to reconsider this case.

If, as I understand, Mrs. Addyman has now resided in this country for 12 years in all since attaining the age of 50, she has now acquired the necessary residence qualification for a non-contributory old age pension. Her means, however, at present exceed the statutory limit. Should they be reduced sufficiently she should at once make another application.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Gibraltarians are now left in camps in Northern Ireland; what assurance has been given to the Gibraltar evacuees about their removal from Northern Ireland before this winter; and why all suitable camps in England have been earmarked for foreigners such as Poles and Lithuanians, so that no accommodation remains now for the Gibraltar British subjects.

There are now 1,359 Gibraltar evacuees in the Northern Ireland camps. With regard to the second part of the Question, the evacuees were informed by an official Colonial Office announcement on 11th November that a limited amount of accommodation had been obtained for them in England and that it was hoped that a number of evacuees would be transferred to this country before the winter: it was not possible to state when the transfer would begin nor how many would be moved, but efforts would be made to find sufficient accommodation to enable the camps in Northern Ireland to be closed. Since this announcement was made, the evacuees have been informed that transfer to hostels in London will begin during November, but that it will not be possible to complete the transfer before the early part of next year. With regard to the third part of the Question, I am informed that there are no suitable camps in England for the accommodation of complete family units. Sufficient hostel accommodation has, however, now been found for the great majority of the Gibraltar evacuees who are still unable to return to Gibraltar.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will annul the regulation which makes it illegal to sell less than one cwt. of lead, so that more lead scrap will be made available.

The purchase of lead in quantities less than one cwt. is prohibited by Section 13 of the Prevention of Crime Act, 1871. This section was suspended during the war by Defence Regulation 57B which was revoked on the 9th May, 1945. The question whether it is possible to take any steps by which the section could again be suspended is receiving consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what steps are being taken to provide support for Christian Churches in India which, until 15th August, 1947, were the concern of His Majesty's Government.

The support from Indian revenues hitherto given to the Christian Churches in India arose largely from the obligation to provide religious ministration for the European members of the civil and military services of the Crown in India and their families. As British troops and officials leave India and Pakistan this obligation disappears. The Indian Ecclesiastical Establishment, in common with the other services of the Secretary of State, came to an end on 15th August; but it was intended that a certain number of chaplains should be retained until the end of this year. Before the transfer of power the Government of India had decided that the church buildings and buildings connected therewith hitherto maintained out of Indian revenues should be handed over to the Trustees of the various Christian Churches. Provision was made in the budget of the Government of India for 1947–48 to enable grants-in-aid to be made to the various Churches for the supply of additional chaplains and other services on the same basis as in the past, and it was proposed that they should, in the financial year 1948–49, be paid a final lump sum equal to the annual grants made to them in the past in respect of the provision by them of chaplains and other services, but excluding payments made to them in the past in respect of chaplains of the Indian Ecclesiastical Establishment and the maintenance of church buildings.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what the cost was of administering Divisional Petroleum Offices in the United Kingdom in May, 1947; and what it is now.

The monthly cost of the staff employed in Divisional Petroleum Offices in Great Britain together with that of the relevant administrative staff at headquarters was approximately £39,000 in May, 1947, and is now estimated at approximately £50,000. The increase is due partly to overtime, partly to a temporary increase in staff, and to a smaller extent to increased wage scales. In addition my Ministry bears the cost of administering petroleum rationing in Northern Ireland, which averages approximately £5,000 monthly.