asked the Minister of Works at what date he intends to derequisition the property 57, West Craibstone Street, Aberdeen, which has been in his hands since 1944.

It has not been possible to find alternative accommodation and consequently this property must be retained until new Government offices can be erected in Aberdeen. I hope that the new building will be available about the end of 1951.

asked the Minister of Works how many skilled lift engineers are employed by his Department.

One engineer and 26 lift inspectors are employed by the Ministry of Works on the design and inspection of lifts and lifting appliances in Government buildings throughout the country for which my Department is responsible.

asked the Minister of Works how many men are employed on the maintenance of sites Nos. 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 15 and 16 at Corsham; and what was the total cost of maintenance work in the past year.

The total number of men employed on the maintenance of these sites is 190. The total cost of the maintenance work in 1948–49 was £74,165.

asked the Minister of Works whether, when the lighting restrictions are relaxed, the fountains of Trafalgar Square will be lit up and played daily.

The fountains already play daily and will continue to do so. When the permanent floodlighting system has been installed it is proposed to illuminate the fountains twice weekly.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware of the frequency of burglaries in the Hanover district of Germany; and whether he is satisfied with the measures taken by the German civil police in safeguarding the property and households of British personnel.

I understand that before the arrest last December of 10 members of the Hanover City Police, burglaries were particularly frequent in this district. The position is now better. All practicable measures, including the institution of extra police patrols, have been taken to protect British families and my right hon. Friend is satisfied that the German police are doing everything in their power to combat these burglaries.

asked the Minister of Food what financial loss was sustained by the purchase from and resale to Eire of potatoes.

I assume that the hon. Member refers to the purchase by my Department from Eire of 50,000 tons of the 1948 crop ware potatoes. Up to the 19th March about 20,000 tons had been resold to Eire for processing into alcohol at an estimated loss of £ 135,000.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is now prepared to discontinue the Flour Confectionery (Maximum Prices) Order.

Not yet, I am afraid.

asked the Minister of Food what are the factors which render it necessary to continue to ration tea in this country; and how soon he hopes to be able to take tea off the ration.

The principal factor is that there is not enough tea to meet the demand and I cannot say how soon there may be enough to allow us to de-ration.

asked the Minister of Food at what figure per hundredweight the gross margin for sugar refining now stands.

Thirteen shillings and threepence per cwt., including duty payment.

asked the Minister of Food what is the annual consumption of onions in this country.

Consumption of onions varies from year to year, according to supply, price and the other vegetables available. In the 12 months ended 30th June, 1948, it was about 152,000 tons. In the year to June, 1949, it may be 243,000 tons.

asked the Minister of Transport how many miles of the London to Holyhead road, running between London and Shrewsbury, are considered too narrow for this type of main road; what steps he proposes to take to bring the whole length of the road up to a satisfactory width; and when this work will be completed.

This road is generally adequate for its present traffic and, in view of existing economic conditions, my right hon. Friend does not intend to carry out any major widening schemes in the near future.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will provide a Bailey bridge at Newnham over the Severn in view of the temporary postponement of the Severn Bridge.

No. The erection of a Bailey bridge in this position would be much too expensive both in money and in materials to be justifiable as a temporary measure, and this type of bridge is not suitable for permanent structures.

asked the Minister of Transport when he proposes to announce the names of the Transport Consultative Committee for Wales.

My right hon. Friend has received nominations from the representative bodies which he consulted about the establishment of the Transport Users Consultative Committee for Wales, and expects to be in a position to announce the membership of the committee in the near future.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the ships sailing from Dublin to Glasgow have to discharge cattle at Merkland Wharf and that passengers are held up for three hours and frequently are only able to land about 1.30 p.m., whereas on the journey from Glasgow to Dublin they may land at 9 a.m.; and when improved port facilities and a modern passenger steamer may he expected on this journey.

I understand that there is delay varying between half-an-hour and two hours according to the number of cattle to be unloaded, but that to avoid this, arrangements are likely to be made in the near future for the Customs examination to be made at Merkland Quay. The shipping company say they have no immediate plans for new ships.

asked the Minister of Transport how many C licence vehicles are held by local authorities, public utility undertakings and nationalised industries, respectively.

I regret that the figures are not available, as C licences are not analysed under the headings asked for.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what consideration has been given to the possibility of extending the grain storage subsidies payable under the Hill Farming Act, 1946, to all corn growers who wish to build suitable storage facilities on their own land; and if he will make a statement.

Any provision for grain storage under the Hill Farming Act would be incidental to a comprehensive improvement scheme. No general subsidy for this purpose could be justified, as the prices fixed for cereals are intended to include provision for the capital investment involved in the expansion programme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is now in a position to announce his proposals for the improvement of marginal lands.

Yes. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Clitheroe (Mr. Randall) on 24th January, 1949. A revised Marginal Production Scheme has now been published as Statutory Instrument 1949, No. 536, and came into operation on 1st April.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the prices to be paid to producers for eggs is calculated to necessitate the elimination of breeding birds from the flocks of accredited poultry breeders; and what action he proposes to take to counterbalance this tendency.

No. The introduction of seasonal prices for eggs is more likely to stimulate the demand for reliable stock.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will consider the advisability of increasing the ration of feedingstuffs for domestic pig and poultry keepers in order to encourage people to feed themselves.

The existing scale of rations for domestic pig and poultry keepers is sufficient, with the addition of kitchen and garden waste, to enable a reasonable number of domestic livestock to be kept in relation to the size of the household. The limited available supplies of feedingstuffs would in any event preclude an increase in rations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what are the duties of the Agricultural Land Service of his Department; whether any of these are also carried out by the advisory services; and what increased activities explain the need for a 100 per cent. increase in staff.

The main duties of the Agricultural Land Service, many of which are undertaken in conjunction with county agricultural executive committees, are: advice on estate management; acquisition of land; management of land, including that under the control of the Agricultural Land Commission; work in connection with Parts II and V of the Agriculture Act, 1947, and the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1948; advice on the agricultural aspects of land use; smallholdings; hill farming improvement schemes; marginal land schemes; field drainage and water supply schemes; agricultural building licences. None of these duties is carried out by the National Agricultural Advisory Service. The Agricultural Land Service was only set up in February, 1948, and could not be expected to be fully staffed in the first year.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware that there has been a marked deterioration in the quality of coal allocated to Northampton for the period commencing 2nd May next; and whether he will take steps to improve this allocation.

I would not agree that there has been a marked deterioration in the quality of coal allocated to Northampton for the period commencing 2nd May next as against last summer, which is the comparable period. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary has already written to my hon. and learned Friend explaining inter alia that our export commitments and the geographical position of depots must, in present circumstances, be the main factors determining the allocation of coals from the various divisions and areas of the National Coal Board.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when a reduction of the present high duty on cotton piece goods in Tanganyika may be expected.

The duties on cotton piece goods in Tanganyika are identical with those in force in Kenya and Uganda. A wartime surcharge of 10 per cent. was recently removed. In view of the revenue requirements of the territory, no further reduction is at present contemplated.

asked the Minister of Education if he will give a list of local education authorities charging interest on

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave to him on 24th March. I am writing to him on the subject.

asked the Economic Secretary to the Treasury whether he will revise the estimates of revenue and expenditure and surplus on current account of public authorities, as shown in Tables 24 and 25 of the Economic Survey, by giving figures for 1949 based on the Budget proposals.

The information is given in the following Tables:

asked the Minister of Supply how many visits were made by officials of his Productions Departments to firms who are not members of a trade association or who are not adequately represented by their trade association in 1948; and what are the principles laid down by his Department to guide those officials in deciding when and to whom such visits shall be made.

The visits to firms which officers of my Department make are not determined by whether the firms are members of trade associations, but by the needs of public business. No special guidance is necessary and no records are available which would enable me to answer the first part of the Question.

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of hospital and domiciliary midwives in the county of Nottingham are trained in the use of analgesia; and what percentage of women desiring analgesia are able to receive it.

Ninety-five per cent. of the domiciliary midwives and 49 per cent. of the hospital midwives are so trained. I regret that the other information asked for, which depends upon the medical and other circumstances of the individual cases, is not available. But the number of domiliciary cases in which analgesia was used by midwives in the last six months of 1948 was equivalent to 28 per cent. of the domiciliary confinements of which they were in charge, and analgesia or anaesthesia would be given in a high proportion of the hospital confinements and of the domiciliary confinements of which doctors were in charge.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish a statement for the last convenient annual period for each local health authority area in Wales and Monmouthshire, showing the number of domiciliary births attended by a midwife only; the number of such births in which analgesia was administered; the total number of midwives employed; and the number of these midwives provided with their own transport in the form of a car or a car allowance.

The latest information available on the first three parts of the Question relates to the period 5th July, 1948 (the date on which the National Health Service came into operation), to

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the scale of salaries for the lecturers of the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, Edinburgh, is lower than the scale which obtains for lecturers of the Royal Veterinary College, London.

The scales of salaries for comparable lecturer grades at the two colleges are as follow:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a statement for the last convenient annual period for each local health authority area in Scotland, showing the number of domiciliary births attended by a midwife only; the number of such births in which analgesia was administered; the total number of midwives employed; and the number of these midwives provided with their own transport in the form either of a car or a car allowance.

The following table gives the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that general division clerks of the Scottish Dental Estimates Board in Scotland receive a lower salary than their counterparts in England; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy this position.

The scales in existence in Scotland are those recommended by the Scottish National Joint Industrial Council for similar posts in the local government service. I am aware of these differences as a result of better scales having been agreed to by the English counterpart of this organisation and the matter has now been referred to the Health Services Whitley Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can now give the date on which the first part of the report of the Oaksey Committee on Police Conditions of Service will be published.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I received from Lord Oaksey on 7th April the first part of the report of the Committee on Police Conditions of Service. This was immediately presented to Parliament as a Command Paper and is being printed. I hope that it will be available to Members in about a fortnight's time. This part of the report deals with pay and allowances, hours of duty, compensation for overtime, annual leave and pensions. It also includes the results of a statistical survey carried out by the Committee into police recruitment, promotion and wastage. A further report by the Committee on the other matters within its terms of reference will be presented in due course.

asked the Minister of Health what was the vaccinal condition of the man who died from smallpox in the s.s. "Multan" and of his wife who subsequently developed the disease; and whether the man was isolated in the ship when it was thought he was suffering from chickenpox.

My information is that both these persons were unvaccinated. The answer to the second part of the Question is "Yes."