asked the Postmaster-General whether he will reconsider the claims for a reassessment of his superannuation award by Mr. B. W. Farnell, 7, Hutton Terrace, Pudsey, who served the State for over 36 years and who, through no fault of his own, was not established until very shortly before his retirement.

The superannuation award granted to Mr. B. W. Farnell has already been reviewed as a result of representations by Mr. Farnell. The award is in accordance with the provisions of the Superannuation Acts and I regret that it is not possible to increase it.

asked the Postmaster-General what priority he exercises to secure early delivery of new vehicles for his Department.

No priority is exercised to secure early delivery of new vehicles.

asked the Postmaster-General what period of time elapses between his placing an order for light Post Office delivery vehicles and their receipt by him from the makers.

Delivery of light Post Office vehicles commences about six months, on average, after the placing of the order and is normally spread over nine to 18 months. Preliminary advice is given to manufacturers four to six months before the order is placed.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that two parcels recently took four days to arrive from Corwen, North Wales to Mobberley, Cheshire; that a letter posted from Reigate before 10.30 a.m. on Friday, 22nd April, arrived at Mobberley on Tuesday, 26th April; and whether he will investigate this matter.

I am obliged to the hon. and gallant Member for the details which he was good enough to send me, and desire to repeat the expression of regret which I have already conveyed to him by letter for the delay. The position is being kept under close observation.

asked the Postmaster-General why the cheap call rate starts in public telephone kiosks at 5.30 p.m., whereas subscribers do not get this advantage until 6.30 p.m.

The commencing time for cheap evening calls was brought forward to 6.30 p.m. during the war. Calls from public telephone kiosks were admitted at the cheap rate from 5.30 p.m. so as to clear out of the way some of these calls which are more difficult to handle than calls from subscribers' telephones. This avoids building up a heavy peak of traffic at 6.30 p.m. and so helps to save manpower.

asked the Postmaster-General how much money was invested in the Post Office Savings Bank in July, 1945; how many investors there were; and what are the comparative figures at the present time to the nearest convenient date.

At 31st July, 1945, there were about 19,880,000 active accounts in the Post Office Savings Bank and the aggregate amount due to depositors was approximately £1,642,420,000. On 30th April, 1949, there were about 23,716,000 accounts with an aggregate balance of £1,973,090,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why terminal leave granted to Regulars has been changed from the period just prior to the end of their engagement to the period following the last day of engagement.

There has been no such change but the regulations were ambiguous and they have now been made clear.

asked the Secretary of State for Air when the issue of pyjamas to other ranks in the Royal Air Force as authorised on 28th March, 1947, will be carried out.

It was made clear when this decision was announced that it would take some time to carry it out because of the shortage of cloth. Ninety thousand suits of pyjamas have been delivered since then, and I hope the rate of delivery will increase, but I cannot say how soon it will be before all airmen can be issued with them.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if it is proposed to send more modern fighters than Spitfires to reinforce the garrison of Hong Kong.

It would not be in the national interest to give this information.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what restrictions are placed on citizens in Nigeria which prevents free discussion and meetings on constitutional matters.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies approximately how many chiefs and similar personages are recognised as heads of native authorities in Nigeria and the Gold Coast respectively.

My right hon. Friend is asking the Acting Governor for this information and will write to my hon. Friend when it is received.

asked the Minister of Food what will be the amount of manufactured meat, such as sausages, pies, etc., which will be made available in Essex and the North Riding of Yorkshire under the revised scheme for the allocation of manufactured meat; and how this compares with the distribution before the recent cut to group one manufacturers.

We estimate that the total sales of manufactured meat products in each of these counties are now about the same as before the introduction of the revised scheme. The products are rather more evenly distributed within the counties than they were.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is satisfied with the quality of certain sweets being sold in Newport at 3s. a pound, a sample of which has been sent him; and what action he proposes to take in the matter.

Yes. We are satisfied that this product, which was not sold on personal points when sweets were rationed, is made from wholesome ingredients.

asked the Minister of Food if he will consider the establishment in Hurlford of a sub-food office.

I am sorry my right hon. Friend cannot agree to open a sub-food office at Hurlford. To do so in the case of these smaller communities would lead to an unjustifiable increase in staff and expense.

asked the Minister of Food if he will give an estimate of the additional tonnage of animal feedingstuffs he would have to import over and above that already arranged for to enable the fresh and preserved meat ration to be increased by three ounces per week after September, 1950.

If the additional feedingstuffs were used to produce fresh pork, the amount needed would be between one million tons and one and a half million tons, depending on the quality of feedingstuffs imported and the production methods adopted by farmers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now in a position to say when he expects to set up the National Research Development Corporation.

I regret that I can add nothing at present to the reply given on 16th May to my hon. Friend the Member for King's Norton (Mr. Blackburn) on this subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what amount of factory space in the. Scottish Development Areas he expects to have completed during 1949.

Subject to unforeseen difficulties and, in some cases, to the amount of work necessary to adapt factories to the essential needs of tenants, it is estimated that since 1945 just under five million square feet of new Government-financed factory building will have been completed in Scotland by the end of 1949. Of this, about 2¼ million square feet will have been completed during 1949. In addition, the adaptation of about four million square feet of ex-R.O.F. and other Government buildings is proceeding, but the greater part of this area is already occupied.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that there is no water supply or system of sewerage in the village and district of Pandy Iudur, near Llanrwst, in the County of Denbigh; that young families are leaving the district because the local authority cannot build houses without a water supply; and what proposals he has in mind to deal with the situation.

I am aware that there is no piped water supply or sewerage in the area. Grant has been promised on such part of a temporary scheme for water supply as can be incorporated in a projected comprehensive scheme for the area, and amended proposals from the Hiraethog Rural District Council are awaited. The district council have submitted outline sewerage proposals and they have been asked for particulars so that a provisional allocation of grant can be made. The council were asked on 17th May if they intended to proceed with the sewerage proposals.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the unmade streets in the Urban District of Hornchurch which are awaiting adoption by the urban authority specifying the date when the frontages on each such street were developed and the length of each street which remains unmade.

I regret that my records do not include this information.