asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the increasing concern in Malaya at the low price of rubber; and what steps he proposes to take to alleviate the situation.

Yes. I am aware of the concern in Malaya, which I share. The hon. Member will be aware that His Majesty's Government have no control whatever over the market or the price of rubber, but both the Malayan Government and His Majesty's Government are always willing to consider any suggestions for assisting the industry to maintain its economic position.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will now make a statement on the detailed arrangements for the making of war damage compensation payments to Malayan rubber companies.

I regret that it is not yet possible to make a statement on the subject, as the revised offer of assistance by His Majesty's Government towards a Malayan War Damage Compensation Scheme, referred to in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypool (Mr. West) on 13th May, is still under consideration by the Malayan Governments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is yet in a position to announce what steps he has taken or intends to take with a view to the consolidation and co-ordination of the several systems of administration of justice in the British West African Colonies.

I have nothing to add to the reply given to my hon. Friend on 17th March, 1948, except that the West African Court of Appeal has since been reconstituted by the addition of a President and one or more Justices of Appeal as permanent members of the Court.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the first Annual Report of the Colonial Development Corporation will be published.

The Report will, I hope, be published on 13th July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when it is proposed to announce the appointment of a new Governor of Malta.

The announcement will be made tomorrow.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what steps he intends to take to improve the status of Maltese naval ratings engaged on non-continuous service; and in what circumstances they will be permitted to enter for continuous service.

Maltese ratings who enter the Royal Navy on the Mediterranean Station have a limited liability for service with conditions based on local standards. Some improvements are being made to the pay of certain seagoing ratings and ratings serving temporarily overseas from Malta. Other conditions are kept under review and changes will be made as necessary. Only those Maltese who are resident in the United Kingdom can be considered for entry on continuous service engagements.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that parcels addressed to the personnel of H.M.S. "Glasgow," and despatched from London in December, 1948, had not reached the individuals concerned on 17th June, 1949; whether the parcels have been found and delivered since that date; and whether he will make a statement concerning the reasons for this long delay and measures he proposes to adopt to avoid delays in the future.

Yes. A number of bags of undelivered mail were discovered early this month in the post office at Rio de Janeiro and are now on their way to London for examination. If, as there is reason to suppose, the parcels for H.M.S. "Glasgow" are found among these bags, they will be re-despatched to the ship without more delay. The Admiralty and the General Post Office are investigating the reason why this mail was held at Rio de Janeiro; measures to avoid similar occurrences in the future are under consideration.

asked the Minister of Defence whether he will arrange for an issue of light raincoats for Summer wear for the Army and Royal Air Force.

Perhaps my hon. Friend will await the answers to the Questions on this subject that he has addressed to the Secretaries of State for Air and War.

asked the Minister of Food, in view of the fact that the International Emergency Food Council is dispensing with the control of cocoa beans, whether he will permit free purchases of cocoa at current world prices by manufacturers in this country.

No. We must have some experience of the effect of the Council's action before considering the course suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Food why it is necessary for two representatives of his Department to visit a trader dealing in animal feedingstuffs to check the number of coupons received from legitimate customers.

I assume that the hon. and gallant Member is referring to investigations made by enforcement officers of my Ministry. In Scotland no one can be convicted of an offence unless there is the evidence of at least two witnesses implicating the person accused with the commission of the offence. It is therefore necessary for inquiries which seem likely to provide evidence for a prosecution to be made by two officers.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware of the difficulties caused to the Associated Wafer Paper Companies, Limited, of Coggeshall, Essex, by the delay in issuing them with further import licences; and if, in view of the urgent demand for this commodity, he will expedite the necessary inquiries and the issue of licences.

Yes. The difficulties are known and action is being expedited. The application is for a larger amount of currency than we can agree to allot for wafer cups, but provision is being made for the firm's most pressing needs.

asked the Minister of Food if he is prepared to grant special facilities for the making and baking of meat pies for agricultural workers and their families and the same allocation of meat and ingredients to those distributing meat pies as to industrial canteens in factories, in addition to any existing arrangements available to groups of farmers.

Arrangements already exist whereby the local authority or any responsible voluntary organisation, or any group of persons with the approval of the county agricultural committee, or failing any of these, a local trader may be licensed to operate a rural meals scheme, and to obtain allowances of rationed foods for meals for the workers and inhabitants of rural areas. These meals usually consist of meat pies and cake or flour confectionery. The allowances of meat and other ingredients are similar to those granted to industrial canteens.There are at present over 3,500 rural meals schemes in operation serving one and three quarter million meals a week. We are prepared to give similar facilities for the operation of new schemes in any area where the divisional food officer is satisfied that the need exists and approves the proposed method of distribution. We are, of course, always prepared to issue a licence to any farmer or group of farmers to operate a canteen for the benefit of their workers and to make the full range of rationed foods available for this purpose.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now make a full statement on the attempts by the Soviet Government to jam British broadcasts to the Soviet Union; and what action he proposes to improve the situation.

asked the Postmaster-General what jamming of Russian broadcasts is carried out by the British Broadcasting Corporation; and what jamming of broadcasts to Eastern European countries is being carried out by Russia.

Severe jamming of B.B.C. broadcasts in Russian started on 25th April, 1949, and has continued. To overcome this opposition the number of daily broadcasts has been increased and there is reason to believe that some of the programmes can now be clearly received in Russia. The position is being closely watched and the B.B.C. will continue its efforts to make its programmes heard. There is little or no evidence that Russia is deliberately jamming B.B.C. broadcasts to other Eastern European Countries. The B.B.C. does not jam Russian or any other broadcasts.

asked the Postmaster-General if, in the interests of free association inherent in the democratic practices of this country, he will recognise the National Association of Postal and Telegraph Officers.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Northern Dorset (Mr. Byers) on 22nd June.

asked the Postmaster-General why Messrs. Artistic Woods & Metal Company Limited, 58a Theodore Street, Aston, Birmingham, 6, will not receive even shared telephone service for nearly a year; and how long it will be before business applicants for new telephones in Birmingham will receive their telephones as quickly as business applicants in London.

I regret that the amount of essential work already on hand in the Birmingham area will prevent us from providing service for Messrs. Artistic Woods & Metal Company Limited for about another year. We endeavour to meet business applications for service in all parts of the country as soon as practicable; and in the Birmingham area additional installation staff has recently been recruited for the purpose.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the increased pay of Post Office workers amounting to £5 million will enable him to offer late collection facilities more in keeping with the pre-war service.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Air to what use the Seco huts at a disused Royal Air Force station at Bibury, Gloucestershire, are to be put and if he will consider allowing the newly-formed Aston branch of the British Legion to rent or buy one to be used as its headquarters.

The Seco huts at the R.A.F. station, Bibury, are required for the temporary storage there of R.A.F. equipment or to be converted to serve as married quarters at other stations, and I regret that one is not available for the Aston branch of the British Legion. I am, however, exploring the possibility of providing the Legion with a suitable hut of another kind from an R.A.F. station in the district.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what was the number of personnel discharged from the Royal Air Force suffering from tuberculosis in 1947 and subsequent years; and whether such discharged personnel receive X-ray examinations at the time their medical unfitness for further service is determined.

Men and women discharged from the Royal Air Force suffering from tuberculosis numbered 1,803 in 1947, 1,060 in 1948 and 355 in the first five months of 1949. The answer to the second part of the Question is "yes".

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that general alarm is felt at the proposal to utilise the bird sanctuary in the Severn Estuary known as the Severn Wildfowl Trust as a practice bombing range; that this sanctuary affords great research and recreational facilities and that if it were interfered with many rare types of birds would disappear; and whether these factors will be taken into consideration before a final decision is reached.

I am not yet able to add anything to the answer I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Lewes (Major Beamish) on 22nd June.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many funeral grants have been made since 1945, or nearest convenient date, in respect of deceased disabled ex-Service men; and whether all claims in respect of such deceased disabled pensioners or persons whose pensions were under consideration at the time of decease have been admitted.

Since 1st July, 1946, 11,771 funeral grants have been paid in respect of deceased ex-Service men and women. A funeral grant is paid by my Department if the pensionable disability is the cause of death—or irrespective of the cause of death if the pensioner dies whilst under approved treatment in hospital. Where a claim to pension is under consideration at the date of death a funeral grant is paid if my medical officers certify that the fatal disability is due to service.