asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the textbook, "Life in the U.S.S.R.," by Beatrix King, is in use at Kirkcudbright Academy; and whether the Scottish Education Department has sanctioned its use in this school.

The book has recently been withdrawn from use in Kirkcudbright Academy. The choice of textbooks is the responsibility of the education authority and is not subject to the sanction of my right hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many small burghs in Scotland which have had allocations of houses to be built have not taken these allocations up in full; and how many houses in the aggregate have been allocated and are not built.

Four small burghs have refused all or part of the allocations made to them in January. Their refusals involve 58 houses. Four small burghs have not yet finally accepted their allocations, which amount to 48 houses. Schemes covering houses allocated in January are still in the preliminary stages and none has yet been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for War why the appeal on hardship grounds of reservist J. S. Simpson, Burnley, concerning whom particulars have been supplied, was not granted seeing that his call up will necessitate the closing down of his one-man business, no one being available to carry it on in his absence.

I am having inquiries made into this case and will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the decision to reduce by 39,000 those to be called up in the Z Class Reserve, he will arrange for the over 40's, non-specialist, and personal hardship cases to be the first to have their call up notices cancelled.

Two hundred and thirty-five thousand was the maximum figure of Class Z reservists which we took powers to recall. We have repeatedly stated that the actual number might be lower. We have adopted the principle of never recalling a man unless some really useful purpose will be served. Reservists have been pre-posted to particular units on the basis of their skill, rank, military experience and regimental connection, and it is not practicable to reduce the numbers to be called up in the manner suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for War what regulations exist for preventing soldiers in Korea from contributing articles, directly or indirectly, on the war in Korea to the Press; and if, in view of public interest in the war, he will amend these regulations.

Under King's Regulations an officer or soldier is forbidden to publish in any form whatever, or communicate, either directly or indirectly, to the Press, any military information, or his views on any military subject, without special authority; and he will be held responsible for all statements contained in communications to his friends which may subsequently be published in the Press or otherwise. I see no reason to amend the regulations in this respect in regard to Korea.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the amounts of tax collected since the beginning of the year from greyhound bookmakers and totalisators installed on greyhound tracks; and the comparable figures for 1950.

The figures of receipts of Pool Betting Duty from greyhound racecourse totalisators and of Bookmakers' Licence Duty during January and February, 1951, and comparable figures for 1950, are as follow:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give a list of the committees that act as a link between industry and the Treasury.

The National Production Advisory Council on Industry and the 11 regional boards for industry with their district committees.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received in favour of the intention contained in Purchase Tax No. 4 Order, to increase the duty on home permanent waving outfits from 33⅓ per cent. to 100 per cent.

I have received representations to that effect from manufacturers and wholesalers of hair-dressing goods and beauty preparations. They do not see why the rate of tax on home permanent waving outfits should differ from that on other articles sold to the public for personal beauty treatment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of Marshall Aid allocated to the United Kingdom up to 31st December, 1950, was spent on animal feedingstuffs in comparison with France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and Western Germany.

None of the Marshall Aid allocated to the United Kingdom was spent on animal feedingstuffs, but since the latter part of last year, free dollars have been made available to meet the requirements of the livestock rationing scheme. With permission I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the figures for France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and Western Germany.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes he is prepared to make in the present currency control regulations to encourage emigration to the Commonwealth.

The only part of the Commonwealth at present affected by currency control is Canada. I have reviewed the position and come to the conclusion that we should not for the present make any change in the currency arrangements applying to emigrants.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the total value of tax-paid retail stock exempted from Purchase Tax on 11th April, 1951.

I regret I am unable to make any such estimate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he proposes to refund to retailers the Purchase Tax paid on stock now exempt from tax.

I do not propose to do so.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the revenue from the Customs duties on imported wines of less than 27 degrees of proof spirit in the financial years 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50 and 1950–51, respectively.

The information asked for is not available in terms of the Question since the records are prepared in terms of the tariff ratings: wine not exceeding 25 degrees proof spirit duty paid at full rates and wine not exceeding 27 degrees proof spirit duty paid at preferential rates. The net receipts of duty in respect of wine of these descriptions during the years 1947–48, 1948–49 and 1949–50 and the 11 months April, 1950, to February, 1951, were as follow:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what part of the item on page 4 of the Financial Statement described as Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue and Balance of Post Office Votes amounting to £33,347,000, consisted of the cash deficit of the Post Office during the year ended 31st March, 1951.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer from what source it is intended to raise the sum of £457,000,000 being the excess of the under the line expenditure over the Budget surplus as shown on page 33 of the Financial Statement.

By means of borrowing to the extent necessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what regulations he has made governing the rate of transfer of Russian roubles into sterling in the case of transactions other than those arising out of normal trade.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is yet in a position to state what exchange allow- ances for foreign travel are to be permitted for the financial year commencing 1st May.

Yes. The allowance will remain unchanged at £100 for adults and £70 for children.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the revenue from the Customs duties on imported cigars in the financial years 1938–39, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50 and 1950–51, respectively.

The net receipts of duty paid in respect of imported cigars were:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the hardship imposed upon British firms operating in Brazil and other countries from which only a limited proportion of profits can be remitted, in view of the fact that the present arrangements involve such firms in finding sterling from resources other than the profits which are taxed, to pay such taxation; and if he will now take steps to arrange for the deferment of the tax charge involved until the profits have actually been received or are remittable in sterling.

I could not arrange for any general deferment of collection such as the hon. Member suggests; but where the tax in question cannot be paid without serious hardship the Inland Revenue authorities are prepared to allow payment to stand over until funds to meet it become available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the proposed limit of £400,000,000 annually on the National Health Services is intended to be a permanent ceiling in the same way as the cost of the food subsidies, irrespective of price increases.

As I said in my Budget Statement £400 million is the ceiling for the time being.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now give an assurance that any differentiation of pay of tax officials, as between London and other parts of the country, will not involve reductions for the existing staff.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20th March. This matter is still under discussion with staff representatives.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can give an assurance that the raw materials necessary for the purpose of carrying out the re-armament programme for 1951–52, as announced by the Prime Minister, are now available.

The Government are taking all possible steps to ensure that the defence programme is not held up through shortage of raw materials, but as my hon. Friend is aware, future supplies of materials in several cases depend on the outcome of discussions now in progress in Washington.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the policy of the Inland Revenue Department on assessing tips of car and taxi drivers for Income Tax purposes.

Tips received by car and taxi drivers are liable to tax under the law and the Inland Revenue take such steps as are practicable to secure that tax is charged accordingly.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury why copies of Statutory Instruments 606 and 607 of 1951 which were laid before this House on 9th April, 1951, had not been provided to the Vote Office so as to make them available to hon. Members at one o'clock on the afternoon of 12th April, 1951.

The reason was that the Instruments had not then been published. Copies were supplied to the Vote Office on publication during the afternoon of 13th April, 1951.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost in the current year of lowering the age limit at which widows and spinsters receive the old age allowance from 65 to 60 years of age.

About £1 million. The cost in a full year would be £2 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fresh instructions he has issued to the Capital Issues Committee.

I have today addressed a memorandum to the Capital Issues Committee. As on previous occasions, the banks are being asked to observe the principles of this memorandum in granting credit to customers. I am confident that, as I said in my Budget Statement, I can continue to rely on them to maintain restraint in their credit policy, and, in particular, to ensure that advances are not made for the increased finance of hire purchase, particularly of consumer goods, for any speculative purposes, or for capital expenditure or investment which would conflict with the intentions of the revised principles of guidance to the Capital Issues Committee.The terms of the memorandum are as follow:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether monetary prizes won outside this country by British citizens are subject under his regulations to tax.

Liability to Income Tax would depend on the circumstances of the case. In some circumstances a prize would be regarded as professional earnings, but a prize, like the Nobel Prize, awarded simply as a mark of honour or distinction is outside the scope of Income Tax liability.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what material information he has as to the extent to which industrial productivity in this country is at present reduced by the imposition of a 20 miles per hour speed limit on all goods vehicles with an un-laden weight of over three tons; or whether he will arrange to obtain such information and make it available to the House.

We have no information on the subject and do not consider that the time and labour necessary to carry out an enquiry would be justified.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has examined the possibility of obtaining sulphur from Cyprus.

Cyprus has no sulphur as such, but sulphur bearing ores in the form of pyrites. Our purchases of pyrites from that source were interrupted in the war years, but resumed in 1949 since when we have continued to obtain supplies. We hope next year for a substantial increase in the quantity from Cyprus.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that during recent months large quantities of motor spare parts and other items of equipment suitable for military vehicles, have been ordered from a firm in this country, particulars of which have been supplied to him, for shipment to Hong Kong; that the quantities ordered far exceed those normally capable of being absorbed by the market in Hong Kong; and what steps he has taken or proposes to take to ensure that this material is not intended for military use against the Forces of the United Nations including our own and the Dominion Forces by the Chinese and North Korean Governments.

I am grateful to the firm in question for drawing the attention of the Board of Trade to certain orders which they have received. The motor industry has already been informed that His Majesty's Government wish supplies of motor spare parts to Hong Kong to be limited to the normal requirements of the Colony. In the case to which the hon. and learned Member refers, the ostensible destination of the goods was not Hong Kong, but it subsequently came to light that it was probably intended that they should be shipped on to that Colony. We are actively considering means of ensuring that they do not eventually come into Communist control.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what additional matters he has referred to the Monopolies Commission for investigation.

A new reference was made to the Commission on 16th April. The subject referred is the application of the printing process to woven fabrics. The following is the full text of the reference:

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the 80,000 motor cars which, according to the Economic Survey are to be made available for home market this year, include those to be allocated to Government Departments; and how many will be absorbed in this way.

I have been asked to reply. The home quota includes supplies to Civil Departments, but not to Service Departments. During 1951 I expect that about 800 cars will be supplied to Civil Departments, including about 350 for disabled ex-Service men.

asked the Minister of Local Government and Planning whether, in view of the need for economy of fuel he will institute an inquiry as to the best methods of conservation of heat in houses built with the aid of a Government subsidy.

There is no need of further inquiry. I am circulating to local authorities the latest information on this subject.

asked the Minister of Local Government and Planning to what extent the increased prices for softwoods has affected building costs, and especially the cost of ordinary dwelling-houses.

It is too early to estimate this yet.

asked the Minister of Local Government and Planning whether he has considered the effects of the shortage of steel upon the erection of new flats; and what action is he taking to avoid delay to the housing programme.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (Mr. J. Johnson) by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply last Friday.

asked the Minister of Local Government and Planning if he will reconsider the present arrangements concerning the collection of night-soil in The Causeway, Needham Market, in view of the fact that there is considerable dissatisfaction over the existing facilities.

I have had no communication from the local authority, but shall be glad to consider any representations from them.

asked the Minister of Works (1) the value of building licences granted to the City of Liverpool, for industrial purposes, education schemes, health services, including hospitals, and housing, separately for the years 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51;(2) what was the value of the buildings licences granted for the City of Liverpool for the years 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50 and 1950–51.

I regret that statistics of licences are not kept separately for individual cities.

asked the Minister of Works what was the nature of the work for which the bigger building licences granted in Fife in the last year were given.

The largest building licences were given for factories and industrial premises.

asked the Minister of Works if he has considered the representations of the East Fife Building Trades Association and other bodies, sent to him by the hon. Member for Fife, East, appealing for an increase of the sum allowed to be spent, without a licence, on house repairs; and if he intends to authorise such an increase which is made necessary by the rise in building costs.

The points mentioned in these representations will be among those considered in deciding on the amount which may be spent without licence in the period beginning 1st July.

asked the Minister of Works whether, in view of the unforseen delays in completing the work on the Festival Gardens, the opening date of 3rd May is to be adhered to.

I am awaiting a report from Festival Gardens Ltd., and I understand that they hope to make a definite announcement this week.

asked the Minister of Works (1) on what date the revised estimate of the increased cost of the Festival Gardens, published on 6th March, was received by the Festival Office of the Lord President's Department or by any other Government office;(2) On what date the second revised estimate of the increased cost of the Festival Gardens, published on 19th March, was received by the Festival Office of the Lord President's Department or by any other Government office.

I would ask the right hon. Gentleman to await the statement I have promised to make to the House on the report of the investigation into the finances of Festival Gardens Limited, which I am expecting shortly.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the estimated cost of altering the tramway tracks, including the laying of new tracks, undertaken in connection with the South Bank site of the Festival of Britain.

The cost of alterations to the tram tracks at the junction of Westminster Bridge Road and York Road, including the laying of some new track, is estimated at £65,000.

asked the Minister of Works if he will give the name of the firm entrusted with the contract for supplying radar equipment at the South Bank Exhibition.

asked the Minister of Works if he will make a statement on the cancellation of the proposal to use a radar transmitter and receiver to obtain echoes from the moon on top of the tower at the South Bank Exhibition.

The contract for the supply of radio telescope equipment at the South Bank Exhibition is placed with Leland Instruments Ltd., electronic engineers and consultants. In the circumstances brought about by the defence programme it has proved difficult to obtain early delivery of the parts of the equipment required for radar transmission and it has, therefore, been decided that the radio telescope should be used to receive signals from outer space but not to transmit them.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that some employers are insisting that their employees who have been called for training in Class Z Reserve must take their annual holiday during the fortnight that they are doing their training; and what action he is taking to stop this practice.

No such cases have been brought to my notice, but if my hon. Friend will let me have particulars of those he has in mind I will consider what action I should take.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he now has a further statement to make about the decision of the Government of India to deduct tax from pensions paid by them to residents in the United Kingdom.

As a result of the representations made to the Government of India about the administrative arrangements for the collection of Indian tax on these pensions, the Government of India have now agreed that for the time being no deduction for Indian tax should be made from pensions that were paid yesterday. Accordingly, these pension payments were made with deduction only for United Kingdom tax, where this tax is payable.Instructions from the Government of India about the detailed arrangements for the collection of Indian tax are on their way to London. In the meantime, brief telegraphic summaries of the instructions show that Indian tax is to be deducted initially from pensions to be paid in May, June and July as if the pension is the total world income, which I take to mean, as if the pensioner had no income other than his pension. Any additional Indian tax on pensions for these three months which can properly be claimed by the Government of India, together with Indian tax on pensions paid during April and current Indian tax, will be paid by deductions spread over pension payments made in the eight months beginning in August.When Indian tax is deducted, the normal United Kingdom tax, if any, will be adjusted at the same time in order to give the measure of relief from double taxation provided by United Kingdom law. The relief will be the equivalent of the Indian tax, or three-quarters of the United Kingdom tax, whichever is the less.

asked the Postmaster-General when it will be possible to make the Third Programme available to British Broadcasting Corporation listeners on Merseyside.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply I gave him on 12 April. The Third Programme is already available on Merseyside, although there may be some fading in parts of the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can now make a further statement about the incident in which Lord Russell was involved in Germany.

The papers regarding this incident have been before the Lord Chancellor, who has himself seen Lord Russell of Liverpool and examined all the reports. The Lord Chancellor takes the view that it might be unfair to blame Lord Russell for the original traffic incident, but thinks that he made an error of judgment alike in the matter and manner of his communication with the Press. I have accepted the view the Lord Chancellor has formed of the case.There is, of course, a risk that Lord Russell, in consequence of the publicity already given to the case, may find himself becoming a focus of political feeling in Germany, and it has been necessary to take account of this possibility. Lord Russell's appointment in Germany was, in any case, to end shortly, and in the circumstances I have agreed with the Lord Chancellor that it would be advisable if Lord Russell were to hand over to his successor at the end of this month and resume his duties in England.