asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation why, in view of the fact that London Airport is under his control, he does not provide a rapid and direct transport service between the airport and the Central London area.

Responsibility for surface transport between the airport and Central London rests with the air line operators, in conjunction with the licensing authority for public service vehicles and the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolitan Area as to the routes to be followed.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I have pointed out in the Question that he is responsible for London Airport, and that I require to know whether he is satisfied that the present arrangements are satisfactory, and whether he has any future plans, because at present it takes passengers travelling between the airport and the centre of London as long as a third of the time it takes to fly between London and Paris?

The transport of passengers between the centre of London and the aerodrome is the responsibility of the operator, and not of the aerodrome owner.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, if he will now make a statement regarding the Government?s policy in connection with flying clubs.

No, Sir.

Is not a statement to be made about the flying clubs by the hon. Gentleman?s Ministry, in view of the fact that we were promised a statement in two months? Nothing is being done about the flying clubs.

If the hon. Gentleman will look in the OFFICIAL REPORT of yesterday?s date, at col. 2011, he will see the report of a statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air.

As presumably the hon. Gentleman and the Government trust the chief executive of B.O.A.C., and as two years ago that chief executive recommended that aid should be given, is it not about time the Government decided to follow that advice?

This is a Government decision, not the recommendation of an individual.

Why should it be left to the Secretary of State for Air to make a statement about flying clubs, when they are the responsibility of the Minister of Civil Aviation? When is the hon. Gentleman going to make up his mind about this? We have been waiting now for two years.

The hon. Gentleman will find the answer in yesterday?s statement.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation what is the nature of the financial arrangements with the United States for the payment for the six Boeing Stratocruisers on order.

The financial arrangements are embodied in a contract between British Overseas Airways Corporation and the Boeing Aircraft Company. The details of this contract are a matter of management reserved to the Corporation.

Could the hon. Gentleman say how much of the purchase price has already been paid? Is there an escape clause in the contract in case the aircraft do not come up to the specification required?

Nearly 6,000,000 dollars have already been paid. I really could not answer the second part of the supplementary question without notice.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation how soon it is proposed to open Stansted Airport in order to provide facilities for charter operators; and what will be the position of residents in the huts at present on the airport.

Progressively from 1st April, as accommodation can be made available. The huts will be needed for those employed on the aerodrome, and I am afraid that the present occupants, not so employed, will have to move elsewhere.

Would the hon. Gentleman be ready to receive a deputation accompanied by the right hon. Member for Saffron Walden on this subject, in order that the full case may be put to him of the circumstances of those on the airport?

We are already in very close consultation, and I am happy to acknowledge the close co-operation of Bishop Stortford Urban District Council; but we should be happy to receive a deputation headed by the right hon. Gentleman.

Would the hon. Gentleman also acknowledge that he has had the co-operation of Saffron Walden Rural District Council, which is intimately concerned in this matter?

Yes, Sir, but not quite so actively.

Would the hon. Gentleman also receive a deputation about Errol Airport, which has been waiting for three years, on the same terms?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, how many Vikings have been sold by the British European Airways Corporation; and how the selling price compares with the price paid for them.

I am informed that British European Airways Corporation have not sold any of their Vikings.

May I ask how it is that a statement to the effect that they have been sold appears in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, who censures the Government for what happened when the sale took place; and is it not extraordinary that a high public official should make a statement which is now denied from the Government Front Bench?

I am only responsible for the correctness of my own statement. No doubt the Comptroller and Auditor General can justify his.

Surely, the Auditor General would never make a statement without having evidence before him. He must have taken evidence, and does the hon. Gentleman deny the evidence which he must have received before he made up his mind?

I can only repeat that B.E.A. has not sold any Vikings.

In view of the highly-conflicting and unsatisfactory answer, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation how many York aircraft have been disposed of by the air Corporations; what sum was paid for these York aircraft; and for what price were they sold.

I am informed that no Yorks have been disposed of by the Corporations.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in view of the excessive losses accruing, what is the future policy of his Department regarding British South American Airways and the other two Government Corporations.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation if, in view of operating difficulties, he will amalgamate the British Overseas Airways Corporation and the British South American Airways; and to what extent legislation will be necessary for this purpose.

I would refer the hon. Members to the statement that I made yesterday.

Why did the hon. Gentleman make the statement yesterday? Why did we have to receive a premature statement here because a statement happened to be made in another place? These Questions were on the Order Paper for seven days, and it is generally the practice when Ministers have Questions put to them to answer them in this House. Are we subordinate to another place?

I am at the direction of Mr. Speaker whether a statement is made. If the hon. Gentleman has any supplementary question, I will deal with it.

Is it a fact that this amalgamation is taking place, and, if so, is the new corporation—B.O.A.C.—going to assume responsibility for B.S.A.A. as regards aircraft which have already been ordered by B.S.A.A.?

I answered both questions yesterday, and the answer again to both is,?Yes, Sir.?

On a point of Order. The hon. Gentleman has now said that whether or not he makes a statement is at your discretion, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday when a statement was made, and the matter was put to you on a point of Order, you, I think, said that it was not a matter for you, but it was entirely a matter for the Minister.

Further to that point of Order; when an occasion arises and we try to put down a particular Question on urgent private business, if a Question happens to be on the Order Paper relating to it, however remotely, we are not allowed to ask it as a Private Notice Question. On the other hand, a Minister can come in here and make a statement at any time.

It was surely obvious that when a statement was to be made in another place, as I gathered was the case yesterday, there would have been complaints if the statement had been made in another place and not made here as well. Therefore, in spite of the Question on the Order Paper, the Minister was entitled to make his statement. If a statement is to be made—and I am no judge on that— and it must be made in both places, I think it is only courteous to this House that it should have a statement at the same time as the statement in another place.

I am much obliged to you, Mr. Speaker, for that explanation, but that is not the point that I raised. The hon. Gentleman said just now that whether or not he made a statement was a matter for your decision. If I remember rightly, you said yesterday just the contrary, and that whether the Minister made a statement or not was for him to decide.

I was looking up Erskine May this morning, and actually the Minister who wants to make a statement has to ask my permission. I am informed that a statement is to be made. I cannot say whether it is a good or bad one, but unless it seems to me to be quite unreasonable, I have no reason for withholding my consent.

I have seen a lot of this happen in this House. A Minister can make a statement to the House by permission of the House. It is the House that has to give the permission, and the Minister yesterday did not even have the courtesy to ask the House for permission.

The hon. Gentleman is in error. The Minister has the right to make a statement, subject, as I have said, to my consent, but, apart from that, a Minister on domestic affairs or on foreign affairs has, I think—I am speaking from memory—the right to make a statement. I think that if Ministers abused that right, the House would soon let them know.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation when he intends introducing the compulsory registration of gliders.

1st April, 1949.

Is there any pressing reason why this regulation should be brought in on 1st April, 1949? If there are to be fees prescribed for these flying clubs and gliding clubs I hope that they will not be too high.

The regulation comes in under the new Air Navigation Order and Regulations which become operative on that date. There will be fees charged, but the whole question of regulations and fees charged has been discussed with the British Gliding Association and the Royal Aero Club who feel quite happy about them.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation what are the delivery dates for the six Boeing Stratocruisers on order for the British Overseas Airways Corporation; and when are they expected to be in service.

I am informed that, according to the latest information received from the manufacturer, the first of the six aircraft on order for the British Overseas Airways Corporation should be delivered in September and that delivery should be completed by the end of November. If these dates are maintained a limited North Atlantic service should commence as from 1st January, 1950.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Western Airlines of America are disposing of this type of aeroplane, as are also other international airlines, and is he still satisfied that this aeroplane will come up to specifications and do what is required?

As to the first part of the question, I was not aware of that. As regards the latter part, that is not a question for my noble Friend or myself but for the operator who is to operate the aircraft.

Surely, dollars are required for these aircraft and that comes within the purview of the Government?

That decision was given in 1946 when the hon. Gentleman then held my position.

When Mr. Peter Masefield returned from the South West Pacific conference he made a report to the Minister of Civil Aviation which contained a great deal of useful information with regard to stratocruisers, and can that report be made available to Members of this House?

I should require notice of that question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the steps which he is taking in view of the prospect of the Eastern Colonies going short of food owing to the difficulties of importing rice from Burma while the civil war there continues.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the written reply which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Food gave on 9th March to the hon. Member for Bury (Mr. W. Fletcher) about the prospects of Burma rice exports. The supply position to the Far Eastern Colonies of rice from all sources and the local stock position are kept under constant review. Increased rice production is being encouraged in Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has seen the coloured film of Southern Rhodesia; and whether, in order to lessen ignorance of British Colonies, he will arrange for coloured films to be made of West African and other Colonies.

I have not seen this film. There are already a number of colour films of Colonies in the Central Film Library, and more are included in the current production programme. The relevant details are set out in the booklet?Britain and the Colonies? published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, a copy of which has already been sent to the hon. Member.

Would not the hon. Gentleman see this film, because he will find that it is a revelation as to what can be done to dispel popular ignorance, which is very profound, about the Empire and Commonwealth; and why should not the Colonial Office, which has far greater resources than Southern Rhodesia, blaze the trail?

I think we have already blazed the trail in this respect.

Not in West Africa.

We have in the Central Film Library coloured films on the Gold Coast, Kenya and Northern Rhodesia, and we are producing coloured films on the West Indies, Cyprus and others on Northern Rhodesia. However, I should be very happy to see this film, and I will try to make arrangements to do so.

May we be assured that there is no colour bar in this matter?

Are any of the films now being taken in Nigeria by the Film Unit coloured films; and if so, how many?

No, they are ordinary films, not coloured films.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent he is in receipt of regular reports on Communist activities in the Colonies; by whom these reports are rendered; and at what intervals.

Governors furnish my right hon. Friend with regular reports, for the most part at monthly intervals, upon all political matters in the Colonies. The only exceptions to this rule have been in the case of a few of the smaller territories, but contact on political matters is maintained with them by normal correspondence.

Is my hon. Friend aware that any perfectly honourable trade union or nationalist leader in the Colonies can now be branded as a Communist agitator by a Governor with whom he may have had some disagreement; and can he say what steps he is taking to obtain clear evidence of Communist affiliations in such cases?

I do not accept that suggestion. I am quite certain that any reports which come from a Governor are based on the most careful and carefully scrutinised evidence.

Is the Under-Secretary himself satisfied that any criticism which has been made of political activities in these districts has been confined to Communists; and has he not some disquiet himself?

That is another question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many vacancies for posts in Government service now exist in each of the West African colonies; how far the number of these vacancies is decreasing; and to what extent it is estimated that these vacancies will be filled during the next three years by Africans and British, respectively.

The following figures relate to posts in the higher grades of the Colonial Service and do not include posts which are filled by the Crown Agents for the Colonies or those filled by Colonial Governments from Colonial people. On the 31st May, 1948, there were 324 vacancies in Nigeria, 111 in the Gold Coast and 41 in Sierra Leone and the Gambia: total 476. On 31st December the vacancies were 324 in Nigeria, 125 in the Gold Coast and 46 in Sierra Leone and the Gambia: total 495. This shows an excess of 19, notwithstanding the fact that 230 vacancies were filled throughout West Africa during this period of seven months. I regret that it is not possible to forecast the vacancy position during the next three years, but it is certain that an increasing number of higher posts will be filled by Africans.

Does the Under-Secretary appreciate that meantime many of these key posts have been vacant for some time and that unless they are filled Nigerian development is likely to be held up.

I appreciate that, and we are doing all we can to fill them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) how many immigrants from the Union of South Africa have entered Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Kenya and Tanganyika, respectively, since 1945; and how many of these have taken up land for settlement;

(2) how many non-Europeans have entered Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Kenya and Tanganyika as settlers since 1945; and how many of these have been allowed to take up agricultural holdings.

I will ask the Governors of the respective territories for the information and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as it is available.

Will the Under-Secretary include in his inquiries what provision is being made educationally for Afrikaans-speaking children, in view of the number of immigrants from the Union; and will he say whether any discrimination as to colour or race exists in the immigration provisions for non-Europeans, and that the only qualification is whether they have sufficient capital to work the land properly?

As the information called for in this Question is rather important, will not the Under-Secretary consider issuing the information as a written answer in the OFFICIAL REPORT instead of giving it in a private letter to the hon. Member?

I will do that.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is satisfied that the dollar allocations put at the disposal of the Governments of Nigeria and the Gold Coast are sufficient for their urgent present needs, in view of the increasing contributions both countries are making to our total dollar earnings; and if he will review the matter.

Colonial spending of dollars on imports is regulated in accordance with annual import programmes which are drawn up in the territories and sent to my right hon. Friend for approval. I am satisfied that these arrangements enable Nigeria and the Gold Coast to obtain their essential imports. The matter is kept continuously under review.

Is my hon. Friend satisfied that the relationship between the requirements, as expressed by the Governor, and the allocations is reasonably close.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies approximately how many lepers exist in Nigeria; how many are now receiving treatment and care in hospitals or similar institutions and as out-patients; and whether leprosy is compulsorily notifiable.

It is estimated that there are about 400,000 lepers in Nigeria. Thirty-seven thousand are receiving hospital and similar treatment; 33,000 are out-patients. Leprosy is compulsorily notifiable only in districts proclaimed under the law governing the isolation and detention of lepers.

Cannot steps be taken to prevent lepers from still wandering around Nigeria; and can my hon. Friend give any indication of any long-term policy regarding this terrible scourge?

Yes, Sir. In the last few years the number of persons undergoing treatment who were said to have leprosy has been quadrupled. As regards the long-term policy, the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund is providing £400,000 to this end. In addition, the Resident has power to detain anyone who is alleged to be a leper.

Will my hon. Friend answer the first part of the my supplementary question to the effect that many lepers are still wandering about Nigeria who are likely to spread the disease?

If these people are notified to the Resident he has power to order them to be detained, but the Government's policy is that it is better to proceed in this matter by voluntary methods rather than to use compulsion.

Arising out of the answers that have been given, I beg to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made respecting the inquiry into the disposal of mineral royalties in Nigeria; and when is a report likely to be made public.

As the matter is still under consideration it is not possible to make a statement at present.

Does the Under-Secretary appreciate that this has been going on for a long time and that there is ambiguity in the whole matter? In view of the interest in this matter, will the Under-Secretary see that a report is made at the earliest possible date?

We are doing all we can about the matter.

In view of the fact that these mineral rights depend on an agreement made in 1898 and thus were handed over to the Nigerian company on the assumption that they were worth less than £1 million, whereas the company has received over £3 million, will my hon. Friend do his utmost to bring this matter to a conclusion?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (1) how many fully qualified pilots and air observers are serving on the naval staff of the Imperial Defence College and the Joint Services Staff College; and how many of these officers have had war flying experience;

(2) how many fully qualified pilots and air observers are serving on the staffs of the Royal Naval Colleges, Greenwich and Dartmouth; and how many have had war flying experience.

One observer is serving on the staff of the Joint Services College, but there are no pilots or observers on the staff of the Imperial Defence College. One pilot and two observers are serving on the staff of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and there is one pilot on the staff of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. The five officers holding the appointments have war flying experience.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I put down these two Questions precisely in this form a year ago, at which time he expressed some concern at the small number of these officers, since when the numbers have been reduced by one?

No, Sir, the total number is the same as last year. However, we are concerned with the small numbers, the trouble being that during the war few officers specialised in naval aviation, and of those few quite a large percentage were killed.

Is it not infinitely more important that those who are supervising training should take priority over those actually carrying out flying duties?

What steps are being taken to improve this most unsatisfactory position?

The only step that we can take is to see that we get more naval officers specialising in naval aviation, and we are taking steps to that end as rapidly as we can.

What does the hon. Gentleman mean when he says that only a few naval officers specialised in air operations during the war? Surely very large numbers specialised?

No, relatively few, Sir.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why the Assistant Superintendent of Applied Ballistics receives a salary of £1,534 per annum, whereas his superior officer the Deputy Superintendent of Applied Ballistics receives a salary of only £1,145 per annum.

The figures quoted by the hon. and gallant Member are not quite accurate. The difference is somewhat smaller than his figures suggest. Normally these officers would both be members of the Naval Ordnance Inspection Pool, and the Assistant Superintendent would receive less remuneration than the Deputy Superintendent. At present, although the Deputy Superintendent is a Pool officer it has been necessary as a temporary measure to fill the Assistant Superintendent post by an Active Service R.N. officer who is not a member of the Pool. The latter is still in receipt of the full naval pay and allowances appropriate to his rank.

Is not the Minister aware that the figures which I have put in the Question are taken from page 136 of the Navy Estimates, Vote 9? Surely it is most unfortunate that inaccurate information should be given in an official paper laid before this House.

I cannot agree that the information is inaccurate so far as the Navy Estimates are concerned. Various allowances are given to both individuals referred to, and it is because of these allowances that the hon. and gallant Gentleman's figure is somewhat higher than it should be.

Does not the Minister's rather diffuse reply mean that the junior officer is receiving more than his superior? If so, why?

It is because a naval officer is doing the job at the present time, and he is receiving the pay of a naval officer.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many permanent officers of the Naval Ordnance Inspection Department have resigned from service in that Department since V.E.-Day.

Thirteen, Sir.

In view of the small permanent strength of the Department, does not this loss indicate the considerable dissatisfaction with the conditions of service in it?

I do not think so, because since VE-Day more people have entered than have gone out.

Do not these resignations amount to about 40 per cent. of the whole strength, and is it not really time that the position of these officers was considered?

It is being considered very carefully at the present moment.

That is all that gets done.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many established non-industrial Admiralty employees, who were sent to the Rosyth Dockyard during the war as temporary additional staff, have not yet been returned to the home-yards from which they were drafted.

There are approximately 100 established Admiralty employees in non-industrial grades who were sent to Rosyth Dockyard during the war and are still employed there. This number includes transferees from the Admiralty, foreign yards and non-dockyard establishments as well as transferees from other home yards. In the time available it has not been possible to divide the number into its several component parts. I should make it clear that the majority of established non-industrial employees are on general lists and, being liable to service at any naval establishment, have no expectation of returning to their previous establishment. Draughtsmen borne on separate dockyard lists are not liable to serve at other yards except in emergency, and the number of draughtsmen now at Rosyth who were appointed there from southern yards during the war is seven.

Is my hon. Friend aware that my Question asks about temporary additional staff, and not about those who were sent there permanently? Is my hon. Friend further aware that there is a considerable sense of grievance amongst some of these men because they were promised that they would be returned home when the war ended, and will my hon. Friend do something to expedite the return of those men who were transferred temporarily?

It is very difficult to sort out the temporary transferees and those who were transferred in the normal way. That is why I have not been able to give the figures. I can assure my hon. Friend that we have no information at the Admiralty of this expressed desire to return on the part of those people who have gone to Rosyth.

Why should these men wish to transfer from Rosyth when they now have the privilege of living in the kingdom of Fife?

Does the retention of these people in Rosyth indicate that the Government are shortly going to make a decision about the retention of Rosyth as a full-time Royal Dockyard?

That is a different question altogether.

But does it mean that?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why two ex-Service men sent by Magherafelt employment exchange to the foreman employed by the Admiralty at Toome aerodrome were not taken into employment, and why two other men who had never volunteered or served in His Majesty's Forces were taken on instead; and whether it was on his instructions that the Admiralty foreman stated that he would not take ex-Service men into civilian employment for the Admiralty.

The two ex-Service men referred to were not engaged, as they were considered to be less suitable than two other men sent along by the employment exchange. I am informed that no statement was made that ex-Service men would not he employed.

Is the Civil Lord aware that the suitability of one of the men engaged by the foreman was that he was the foreman's own brother?

I am not aware of that.

asked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the increase in liquid milk supplies, more milk will be made available for the manufacture of proprietary baby foods, in order that these may be made available for small children over the age of one year.

No, Sir. The extra milk is needed for other important uses, such as cheese. We already meet the essential needs of children under one, and those between the ages of one and two for whom a doctor certifies these foods to be essential.

Shall we ever have a land flowing with milk and sugar in this country?

Yes, Sir, while this Government is in power.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will instruct the Post Office Advisory Council to investigate the unsatisfactory postal services between Manchester and London and report to him.

No, Sir. The evidence which the hon. Member was good enough to let my right hon. Friend have yesterday has disclosed some weakness in organisation which will be thoroughly investigated. He is satisfied that the remedy lies in departmental action and he will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

While I am grateful for the action which is being taken, could the Minister publish the reply that he is going to send, and bear in mind that the evidence which just one hon. Member can collect is only a very small indication of the total amount of dissatisfaction which exists?

I do not admit for one moment that the state of affairs which the hon. Member has envisaged concerning the case at Manchester is common to the whole of the Post Office.

When this matter has been investigated, will the Public Relations Officer of the Post Office issue a statement?

That is a different question.

In the meantime, will the hon. Gentleman undertake to publish the letter to which he has referred so that other people in the Manchester area will know what it is all about?

I think the hon. and gallant Gentleman had better wait and see.

Will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that it is not what I envisage but what I am being told by business men in Manchester?

asked the Postmaster-General how many times the Post Office Advisory Council met in 1948; and what advice they tendered to him.

The Post Office Advisory Council met five times in 1948 and gave the benefit of their advice on all matters of current interest. The proceedings of the Council are confidential, and I regret I am not at liberty to disclose them.

Would it not remove the feeling that this Council is moribund if the evidence was published?

I do not think it is.

Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that the proceedings of the Council are most valuable from the point of view of advice tendered to the Postmaster-General, and that at every meeting we have been able to exchange views?

I agree entirely with the hon. Member.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will introduce legislation to enable interest to be charged on every telephone account between the end of the quarter and the date when the account is rendered.

No, Sir.

Will the hon. Gentleman allow me to congratulate him on declining to follow the bad lead of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who sucks interest from the payer of the Special Contribution, even for the period before the account is sent to him?

asked the Postmaster-General how many of the 330,000 new telephones provided by the Post Office last year were for private individuals; how many were for Government offices; and how many for local authorities.

Of the net growth of 330,000 telephones last year, 135,000 were for residential subscribers. I regret that the other information desired by the hon. and gallant Member is not readily available.

Who pays for the installation of Government telephones? Is it the Department concerned or the Post Office?

That is an entirely different question from the one on the Order Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what steps he is taking to inform airmen and their wives of their procedure of making service declarations under the Representation of the People Regulations, 1949; and whether he will give the necessary order to ensure that airmen and their wives are notified of the entry of their names in the electors lists.

An Air Ministry Order setting out the procedure for making service declarations will be published tomorrow, together with a leaflet for display on unit notice boards. In addition to this, two Air Ministry pamphlets will be issued in the next few days for the guidance of airmen and their wives in completing these declarations. The responsibility for notifying Service declarants that they will be entered in the electors lists is laid upon electoral registration officers by Regulation 58 of the Representation of the People Regulations, 1949.

Apart from that, will the Under-Secretary take steps to see that these airmen and their wives are also notified by their station commander as to what polling electoral list they are on, because at the present time there is great dissatisfaction as they do not know where they get their votes?

I do not quite understand that question. As I said, under the regulations, if the hon. Member studies them, it is quite clear that it is the electoral registration officer who is under an obligation to notify service declarants.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what rental the Darlington and District Aero Club is obliged to pay for the use of the Croft Airport; and whether, for the purpose of encouraging the use of this airport by this flying club, he will consider the revision of that rental.