asked the Secretary of State for Air what is the total number of books for educational and recreational purposes in the possession of the Royal Air Force; and how many are stored at Innsworth Royal Air Force station.

About a million educational books are in the possession of the R.A.F. of which about 200,000 are at the Book Distribution Centre, Innsworth. A considerable number of recreational books, mainly provided from non-public sources, are held in station recreational libraries but the actual number is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why it is necessary for the demobilisation of certain trades in the Royal Air Force to be delayed; and if he is aware that this is causing much dissatisfaction amongst those who are called up for National Service who are taught a trade and who then find that their demobilisation is delayed by reason of this trade.

In some trades, as foreshadowed in the announcement of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service on 18th January, 1949, demobilisation has been speeded up. In no case, however, has a National Service man's period of service been increased beyond that stated in my right hon. Friend's announcement.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning what general directions his Department has issued to town planning authorities in connection with the preservation of trees.

Advice to local planning authorities on the preservation of trees is contained in the Department's "Memorandum on the Preservation of Trees and Woodlands" and in Circular 66, copies of which I have sent to my hon. Friend. I have also sent him a copy of Circular 24 which relates to tree planting in urban areas.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of deaf hearing aids exported in the second quarter of 1949.

I regret that figures for the whole of the second quarter are not yet available, but for the two months April-May, 1949, exports of hearing aids and parts thereof were valued at £30,000.

asked the Attorney-General how much money was expended from public funds for the purpose of poor persons' matrimonial causes for the years ended 31st March, 1948, and 31st March, 1949, respectively.

The total amount expended from public funds for the year ended 31st March, 1948, was £198,585. No definite figures for the year ended 31st March, 1949, are yet available but the estimated figure is £177,140.

asked the Postmaster-General what are the statistics of faults on the Whitehall telephone exchange now and 12 months ago, respectively; and whether he is aware that the service given by this exchange is deteriorating.

The service statistics for Whitehall exchange show that the service is now slightly better than it was 12 months ago apart from the speed of answer which deteriorated last summer but has since been improving. The fault statistics compare favourably with those of other automatic exchanges in London.

asked the Postmaster-General how many communities there are in Ross-shire, of over 30 persons, who have not a telephone within two miles, which can be used in time of emergency such as illness or accident.

In view of the scattered distribution of the population in Ross-shire it is not possible to give the information in the form desired. One hundred and forty-three telephone call offices are in service in the county and it is hoped to install a further six kiosks by the end of this year.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is prepared to arrange a check of membership of the organisations concerned in order to determine the proportion of the postal and telegraph officers organised in the National Association of Postal and Telegraph Officers in connection with the claim of that body for recognition.

No. The membership claimed by the National Association of Postal and Telegraph Officers falls so far short of the proportion required for recognition that a check of the membership of the association and of the recognised body would serve no useful purpose.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of women established as clerical assistants respectively from candidates outside and within the Civil Service up to date; and whether he is satisfied that the scheme for such recruitment announced by the Treasury to Departments on 20th April, 1948, has had the desired effect.

The numbers under the 1948 scheme are 4,507 from outside and 22,943 from within the Civil Service. I regard the results of this scheme as generally satisfactory.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the numbers who die each year possessed of more than £1,000, £5,000, £10,000, £25,000 and £100,000, respectively, with the share of the total property accounted for by each category; and whether, on the basis of information available to him, he is able to make any estimates of the division of the whole population according to the amounts of capital which they own.

The hon. Member will find distributions of the numbers and capital values of estates liable to Estate Duty for the year 1946–47 in the 90th Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue. Similar information for the year 1947–48 will appear in the 91st Report which will be available shortly. Information is not now available regarding estates below £2,000, the present Estate Duty exemption limit. It would be a major undertaking to prepare estimates of the distribution of the capital of the living, nor is sufficient information at present available for the post-war period to enable satisfactory estimates to be made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can yet release some sports grounds so that they may revert to their original function.

I presume my hon. Friend is thinking of sports grounds at present either cultivated under directions or requisitioned for food production. A considerable number have already been returned to their original use, and I expect it will be possible for more to be released soon after this year's harvest, although the importance of food production has not diminished.

asked the Minister of Defence what was the maximum number of allowances in the three Services paid to unmarried wives during the last war.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the replies given to questions by my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Mr. Palmer) on 11th and 12th May.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is now the average length of the extra period of service in the case of Clerks (G.D.).

There is no differentiation in the rate of release of men in various Corps or trades. General Duty clerks are released at the same time as other men in the same age and service group.

asked the Secretary of State for War when clerks (G.D.) in Group 115 will be released.

Between 6th and 17th August, 1949.