asked the Minister of Agriculture when he will be able to announce his final decision about the future of the Ellbridge Horticultural Station.

I am unable at present to add to the reply which I gave the hon. Member on this subject on 15th May.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the factors which the Agricultural Wages Board are required to take into account in arriving at the minimum rates of wages for farm workers.

The Agricultural Wages Act, 1948, specifically provides that in fixing, cancelling or varying any minimum rates the Agricultural Wages Board shall not be limited to the consideration of any particular matter. The provisions of earlier legislation which prescribed certain considerations that had to be taken into account were repealed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the remoteness of Mull, he will, instead of slaughtering livestock, put this island in quarantine in an effort to combat the present outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

I am certain that the loss suffered by the islanders under any such arrangement would be heavier in the long run than under the slaughter policy. Moreover, the island would be for many months a source from which the mainland of Scotland might be infected, not only by movements of cattle and sheep from Mull but also by other agencies, for example people and birds. The slaughter policy is the only practicable way of eradicating the disease, and I cannot agree to depart from that policy in the Island of Mull.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the shortage of policemen, if he will review the duties now performed by the police with a view to transferring those that are not directly associated with police work to other bodies.

In accordance with the recommendation of the Oaksey Committee in paragraph 103 of their Report, a small committee appointed by my predecessor is already conducting a detailed examination of the extraneous duties now carried out by the police. I am fully in sympathy with the view that so far as practicable police should be relieved of any duties which are not really relevant to their main functions, and on receipt of the Committee's report I will give their recommendations my most careful consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish his views on the recommendations in the Report of the Royal Commission on Gambling.

The Commission recommended a number of fundamental changes in the law relating to gambling: quite apart from the controversial issues of principle involved, legislation on this subject would require so much Parliamentary time that I can hold out no hope of its early introduction.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is now in a position to make a statement on the result of the discussions with local authorities regarding the supervision of school crossings, concerning which representations have been made by the borough of Hastings.

I am examining in consultation with the Secretary of State for Scotland, the necessary steps, including legislation, required to give effect to the proposed new arrangements, mentioned by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport on 19th May in a reply to the hon. Member for Colchester (Mr. Alport) for recruiting, training and organising school crossing patrols, and for the present I hope that any existing local arrangements for maintaining such patrols will be continued. I have not been able to trace the receipt of any representations from the brough of Hastings on the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether in future inquiries either by the Home Office or the Ministry of Health about escapes from prisons or asylums, he will seek the assistance and expert advice of someone who has been actively connected with war-time escape from enemy camps.

The conditions and the considerations involved are so widely different that I doubt whether the advice and assistance suggested by my hon. Friend could serve a useful purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the gross cost of residential nurseries per child per week for the latest convenient period in London, Croydon, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, respectively.

According to information obtained from the local authorities concerned, the gross cost per child per week for the year 1950–51 was as follows:

			£	s.	d.
Birmingham	…	…	7	9	8
Croydon	…	…	6	10	7
Liverpool	…	…	8	18	0
London	…	…	9	14	3
Manchester	…	…	9	12	6
Sheffield	…	…	9	12	9

Croydon and Liverpool have one nursery only, and the figures for Liverpool and Manchester include the sums of 31s. 9d. and 17s. ld. attributable to capital expenditure defrayed out of revenue.

aked the Minister of Labour if he will state, for the latest convenient date, the number of unemployed men and women in Burton-on-Trent, Uttoxeter and Tutbury, respectively; and also the estimated number of operatives on short time.

The figures for 12th May will be available in a few days and I will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Labour to what extent the first preference system is applied in the work of the Technical and Scientific Register and of the Appointments Offices.

No formal first preference system is in use for this purpose. The Technical and Scientific Register pays special attention to meeting the most important demands for technical and scientific staff. With regard to administrative and professional posts of the kind dealt with by Appointments Offices, there is in general no shortage of applicants, and accordingly no need for a preference scheme.

asked the Minister of Labour how many people were wholly, and how many partially, unemployed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on the latest convenient date; and what were the principal trades affected.

The figures for 12th May will be available in a few days and I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour how many stage hypnotists from overseas have been granted or refused licences to perform in this country; why Mr. Ralph Slater has only been given a limited licence; and what steps are being taken to prevent stage exhibitions or entertainments by hypnotists.

Statistics of permits granted do not classify foreign stage hypnotists separately but, so far as is known, the only permit granted in recent years has been for Mr. Ralph Slater who has been here for limited periods on three occasions since 1948. Permits for variety stage artistes are granted for limited periods related to the duration of contracted engagements. In regard to the last part of the Question, there is a Private Member's Bill before the House dealing with this matter.

asked the Minister of Labour what communication he has received from the Amalgamated Engineering Union concerning the repudiation of the Relaxation of Customs Agreement; and what effect this will have on the position of dilutees in Air Ministry Maintenance Units.

I have seen Press reports about the resolution adopted by the National Committee of the Amalgamated Engineering Union regarding the Relaxation of Customs Agreement in the engineering industry. I have, however, received no communication from the Executive of the Union about this resolution and am not in a position to express any view as to its possible effects.

asked the Minister of Labour how many Italians have been brought into this country to work in the mines; and what has been the total cost of recruitment and transport.

The total number of Italians brought to this country for underground coalmining is 2,400. The cost of transport from Italy, which was borne in the Vote of my Department, was about £23,000. Other expenses connected with their recruitment were borne by the Italian Government and the National Coal Board.

asked the Minister of Labour if, in view of the fact that for some months there has been increasing difficulty in placing Italians in the coal mines, owing to the unwillingness of miners lodges to accept them, he will now stop the waste of public money involved in bringing them to this country.

The recruitment of Italians for underground coalmining employment in this country has already ceased.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of foreign workers employed in agriculture in Scotland at the present time, giving figures of the different nationalities to which they belong.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Minister of Labour why the National Institute of Houseworkers Centre at Swansea is to be closed; whether he will give information as to the number of girls who have been through the centre; how many have been placed in situations; whether he will make a statement as to the usefulness of this centre for South Wales; and if he will review the decision to close.

Owing to the need to reduce public expenditure, it has been necessary to reduce the grant to the National Institute of Houseworkers to an extent which will provide for only one training centre on present lines. The Institute will not therefore be in a position to retain the Swansea centre after the end of the present course in August. One hundred and thirty-four students have successfully completed their training at this centre and 122 of them have been placed in employment. This has undoubtedly been valuable work but, in present financial circumstances, funds cannot be made available to continue it.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that Messrs. Spicer's Paper Mill at Eynsford, Kent, which has been in existence for 300 years, is to be closed down and will put many out of work; and what steps he is taking to find alternative employment for these people.

I am informed that this mill is being closed as part of a general re-organisation. The services of the employment exchange are available to help those affected to find other work.

asked the Minister of Labour how many workers have been assisted to transfer under the General Transfer Scheme from 1st January, 1952, to the latest convenient date; how many of these are men and how many women; to what industries they have transferred; and to what areas.

From 1st January to 31st March, 1952, 5,493 workers, 5,383 men and 110 women, were assisted under the General Transfer Scheme to take up important employment away from their homes. I regret that the other information asked for is not readily available.

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of permits issued by his Department during 1951 enabling foreign actors and actresses to work on the stage and in films in this country.

One hundred and fifty-seven permits were issued in 1951 in respect of the engagement of foreign actors and actresses for the legitimate stage and 52 for films.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that some regional hospital boards are economising by advertising nursing posts for which they state that the holding of the B.T.A. certificate is desirable but not essential; and whether this practice has been approved by his Department.

The practice referred to is related not to economy but to the shortage of nurses holding the certificate of the British Tuberculosis Association, and it does not require the approval of my Department.

asked the Minister of Health what negotiations are proceeding with foreign, Dominion or colonial Governments with a view to securing reciprocal arrangements for free medical, dental, etc., services for visitors or citizens settling in countries other than their own.

No negotiations are now proceeding for securing general reciprocity. Discussions are being held in the Council of Europe as regards the medical care of persons without sufficient resources, and bilateral agreements are being negotiated with the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg as regards insured workers working abroad.

asked the Minister of Health what inquiries are being conducted to discover the cause and cure of coronary thrombosis in view of the high death rate in this country due to this disease.

A number of investigations into treatment are at present going on in hospitals in this country, and experimental biochemical studies of the cause of the disease are also being made. The possible part played by social and environmental factors is one of the major interests of the Social Medicine Research Unit of the Medical Research Council.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will communicate to the Governmental committee of inquiry into the adequacy of security arrangements at Broadmoor, the evidence and findings of the investigation by the Board of Control into the conduct of an attendant at Broadmoor.

It would not be appropriate to communicate to the Government Committee the recommendations which the Board of Control may make as to the action I should take regarding the conduct of the attendant. No action will, however, be taken until I have received the report of the Government Committee.

asked the Minister of Health for an estimate of the number of dentists who will be eligible to retire from service under the National Health Scheme during each of the next six years; whether he will give an estimate of the number of persons who will qualify as dentists during each of these years under the existing training facilities; and what special steps are to be taken to make good the deficiency which will result, having regard to the estimate of the Teviot Committee that 20,000 dentists are required to provide a fully comprehensive service in Great Britain.

I am unable to make the estimates asked for and, as regards the expansion of training facilities for dentists, I would refer the hon. Member to the last report of the University Grants Committee (Cmd. 8473) published in February of this year.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is satisfied with the response of hospital authorities to the request from his Department that they should call annual meetings and have public meetings so that their accounts can be explained in the locality each hospital serves.

I have no reason to think that the response has been unsatisfactory. A circular has been issued recently to hospital authorities on this subject, a copy of which I am sending to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health when the publication showing the patient costs in individual hospitals in England and Wales for the year ended 31st March, 1951, is to be issued.

About the middle of next month.

asked the Minister of Health if he has now been able to consider the letter sent to him by the hon. Member for Canterbury regarding the use of unfermented apple juice in dietary treatment in hospitals and sanatoria, together with a memorandum reprinted from the Monthly Bulletin of his Department in which Dr. H. E. Magee urged that hospital tests of apple juice should be made in this country; and whether he will now institute such tests.

I wrote to my hon. Friend on 14th May. For the reasons given in that letter and in my predecessor's reply to a Question on 24th April, I do not feel justified in instituting a special large-scale investigation.

asked the Minister of Education the number of vacancies for teachers in schools in the West Riding of Yorkshire at the latest convenient date.

My Department keeps no record of vacant teaching posts which are, of course, constantly changing. I am aware of no special staffing difficulties in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

asked the Minister of Education the percentage of girls leaving school at 18 years of age who go to teacher-training colleges.

Nearly 50 per cent. of the girls who left school at 18 years or over in 1951 went direct to teacher-training colleges.

asked the Minister of Education if she is aware that infants at Ramsay Primary School, Huntingdonshire, are being taught in the corridors because classrooms are overcrowded; and that children are being refused admission every term; and what steps she proposes to deal with this matter.

I am aware that this school is overcrowded, but conditions will be greatly improved when the authority have completed the adaptation of the former grammar school buildings as an infant school. This work was approved on 18th March last.

asked the Minister of Education whether she has been able to reach a decision on the application of the Kent Education Committee for her approval to the proposal to reinstate the bomb damage suffered by Gravesend Grammar School for Boys in 1941.

I have considered this application carefully, but I regret that I cannot see my way to include the project in the current building programme.

asked the Minister of Education if she will circularise local education authorities in agricultural areas, requesting them, when fixing the dates of school holidays, to bear in mind the invaluable help which children can give to farmers in getting in the potato crop.

I have already done so. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of a letter which was sent on 5th February last to the local education authorities concerned.

asked the Minister of Education the numbers on the roll at the latest convenient date in Cornish primary, secondary modern, and county secondary grammar schools, respectively; the comparable figures a year earlier; and the estimated numbers for the next two years.

The following is the answer to the first two parts of the Question:

—	Registered Pupils
	Maintained Primary Schools	Secondary Modern Schools	County Grammar Schools
January, 1950	31,471	3,668	5,064
January, 1951	31,263	3,761	5,009

The comparable figures for January, 1952, are not yet available, and I cannot forecast the numbers on the next registers of particular types of school in the next two years.

asked the Minister of Education how many school meals were served in schools administered by the Cornwall Education Committee at the latest convenient date; how many a year earlier; and how many were free in each case.

20,107 on a day in February this year, of which 1,545 were free, compared with 19,022 on a day in February last year, of which, 2,151 were free.

asked the Minister of Education what sum she expects to save in Exchequer Grants as the result of economies in the school meals service called for in Circular 250.

My aim is to secure economies in the overhead expenses which will save about £1 million in Exchequer Grants in a full year.

asked the Minister of Education which new schools are expected to be completed in Sunderland during the year 1952-53.

Two secondary modern schools at Thorney Close, and probably also two primary schools at Thorney Close and two at Pennywell East.

asked the Minister of Education how many new schools have been built since the war; and how many of these have been built as a result of war damage, increase of the birth rate, building of new housing estates, and closure of blacklist schools, respectively.

Between April, 1945, and 1st February last, 814 new primary and secondary schools were completed. I regret that the details asked for in the second part of the Question are not available.

asked the Minister of Education the approximate value of the capital assets to be transferred to the proposed Derbyshire Educational Foundation; and what will be the approximate net annual income of that foundation.

The nominal value of the capital assets is £29,800 excluding land, and the approximate net income is estimated at £1,150 per annum.

asked the Minister of Education in what counties have educational foundations, amalgamating local foundations, been established in accordance with schemes settled under her seal; and for what other counties she proposes to inaugurate similar schemes.

The answer to the first part of the question is Hertfordshire. In addition to the Derbyshire scheme which has been sealed by me, schemes have so far been drafted for Dorset, Berkshire, Northumberland, Norfolk, Leicestershire, Herefordshire and Somerset.

asked the Minister of Education if her attention has been called to the ultimatum sent by the National Union of Teachers to the Durham County Council demanding that their closed shop policy should end by 30th May or resignations will be tendered; what action she is taking; and if she will make a statement.

Yes, I have received a complaint from the National Union of Teachers together with a copy of their letter addressed to the local education authority of Durham County. I have asked the authority to let me have their comments at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Minister of Education the number of school dentists employed at the present time.

On the 1st May, the number of school dentists, in England and Wales, was equivalent to 793 full-time officers as compared with 716 six months previously.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he is aware that British subjects who have emigrated to Australia are refused the issue of new passports or the return of their own passports by the High Commissioner's Office there: and on what authority British subjects are deprived of their passports in this way.

The hon. Gentleman presumably refers to the fact that in connection with the assisted passage scheme with Australia it has been the practice since 1950 for Government assisted migrants, who have undertaken if they leave Australia within two years to repay the financial assistance given to them, to be refused passports if they are not willing to make the repayment. Should these migrants, notwithstanding their undertaking, still press to leave Australia within that period without fulfilling it, the practice is for the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in Australia to give them a travel document. As regards the authority to withhold passports. I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the hon. Member for Enfield, East (Mr. Ernest Davies), on 8th May. 1950.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many new factory projects have been approved since 1st November, 1951, for building in the North-East Development Area; and on what dates construction is expected to begin.

In the North-Eastern Development Area, the Board of Trade have granted Industrial Development Certificates for seven new factory projects since 1st November, 1951. Only one of these has yet been licensed for building; work is expected to start in July, 1952. In addition, Industrial Development Certificates have been granted for 19 extensions to existing factories. Of these projects, five have been licensed for building; work has already started on two; and work on two others is expected to start at once.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) if it is yet intended to release decorated pottery for sale on the home market; and what arrangements are to be made;(2) to what extent it is intended to increase the output of pottery; and what action is being taken to increase manpower;(3) if his consultations with the representative organisation of the pottery industry have been concluded; and if he will make a full statement.

In view of the recent decline in overseas markets I have decided to allow some decorated pottery to be sold on the home market during the next six months, in addition to export rejects and frustrated exports. The broad effect will be to treble the amount of decorated pottery previously available. Supplies will therefore be easier and price control will shortly be removed from decorated pottery.This respite from previous restrictions is necessary to avoid unemployment in the industry and to help the industry prepare itself in changing conditions for a renewed export drive. The need for exports is such that I do not think it would be in the national interest to remove control altogether from the sale of decorated pottery on the home market. Indeed, I propose to review with the industry in three months the measures already taken in the light of export prospects at that time.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what amount of cotton textiles are being imported from dollar and other hard currency countries at the present time.

Imports of cotton yarn and manufactures in the first three months of 1952 from the dollar area were valued at £577,000, from non-sterling O.E.E.C. countries and their dependencies at £8,472,000 and from other non-sterling countries at £3,037,000.I should add that imports of cotton textiles on private account from the dollar area are allowed only under the Token Import Scheme, expenditure on which has been reduced by a quarter this year compared with last; that no further licences are being granted for the time being for the import of cotton textiles from Japan, except in relation to outstanding commitments; and that the substitution of quotas from the recently cancelled Open General Licences for imports of cotton textiles from O.E.E.C. and certain other countries will reduce imports from these sources substantially.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the great dollar earning attraction of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, he will take steps to allocate funds from his Department to preserve it from decay.

My Department has no funds which could be used for this purpose.

asked the Secretary for Overseas Trade, as representing the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what losses are being incurred by his Department in respect of falling world prices of non-ferrous metals; and when he proposes to denationalise dealings in these metals to enable British manufacturers to buy their supplies on a free market at world prices or lower.

I have been asked to reply.The recent reductions in Ministry of Materials selling prices of zinc and lead as a result of the fall in world prices are involving losses. Since they are attributable in part to depreciation in the value of stocks as distinct from the writing off of the premium element in high-cost contracts made during the period of scarcity, the exact amount of the loss cannot be determined until the stocks are actually sold.It is the policy of the Government to return trading in non-ferrous metals to private hands as soon as the balance of payments permits.

asked the Secretary for Overseas Trade, as representing the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what was the value of the 2,275 tons of electron metal imported last year from Canada, Norway and Japan.

The value of the 2,275 tons of virgin magnesium metal imported during 1951 was £564,000.

asked the Secretary for Overseas Trade, as representing the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, for what number of workpeople was the canteen at the Magnesium Electron Factory, Lowerhouse, built to accommodate.

One thousand seven hundred.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will request all museum and art galleries who may have to close rooms or galleries, as a result of his call for economies, to make special arrangements for students and other persons specially interested to be able to visit such rooms from time to time.

It is the established practice of museums and galleries to provide all possible facilities for students to examine collections which are not on public exhibition, and I am sure they will continue to do so.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to have satisfied the claims of British holders of Hungarian bonds and loans; how far he has implemented the promise of his predecessor to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion, on 1st May, 1951, to give effect to paragraph 1 of article 29 of the Hungarian Peace Treaty; and what steps he intends to take to make such that Hungarian assets at present in the British Zone of Western Germany will not be returned to Hungary on the signing of a peace treaty with Western Germany until the debts due to British holders of Hungarian bonds and loans are paid.

The necessary administrative arrangements to give effect to that paragraph of the Peace Treaty are at an advanced stage, and my right hon. Friend hopes shortly to make known the Government's proposals. The claims of British holders of Hungarian bonds and loans, among others are being borne in mind, but I cannot anticipate the proposals. On the last part of the Question, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which he received yesterday from my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many men and women, respectively, of the temporary staff in the Exchequer and Audit Department have been discharged since January and how many are likely to be discharged this year; how many of these have been, or will be, under 60 years of age; and, in view of the difficulty of those over 50 years of age securing suitable alternative employment, whether special consideration is given to the necessity of retaining temporary staff, who have given many years of service, until they are 60 years of age.

Two men and one woman have been discharged since 1st January. Two were under 60 years of age. I regret that it is impossible to predict to what extent it may be necessary further to discharge temporary staff this year.As for the second part of the Question, I have nothing to add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Newport (Mr. Peter Freeman) on 26th February.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what grades of civil servants are entitled to individual telephone facilities.

If "individual telephone facilities" means "sole use of a telephone instrument" the answer is that no general rule has been laid down: it depends upon the nature of the individual's work.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Guru Charen Dass who has received £700 unemployment pay since 1949 and worked in that period for just eight weeks; and for how long a man has the option to refuse suitable work which is offered to him.

The payments which this man has been receiving have been payments of National Assistance, not unemployment benefit. Mr. Dass has been charged under the National Assistance Act with persistently neglecting to maintain himself and his family. As the case is still before the Court, it would be improper for me to comment upon it.

asked the Minister of Food what proposals have been made by the White Fish Authority for the equalisation of transport charges from any port to any destination in England, Scotland or Wales.

I am informed that the White Fish Authority have not yet completed their scheme. I am sending my hon. Friend an extract from the Press statement issued by the Authority after the last meeting of the Advisory Council.

asked the Minister of Food whether the supply of tinplate for the canning of the salmon and crab we

—			Pre-war average	Per cent. of total supplies provided by home production
				1945	1951
Wheat and Flour (as wheat equivalent)	…	…	12	32	24
Oils and Fats (crude oil equivalent)	…	…	16	6	11
Sugar (refined value)	…	…	16	31	23
Carcase Meat and Offal	…	…	50	50	65
Bacon and Ham (including canned)	…	…	34	34	43
Fish (including canned and shell fish)	…	…	85	64	84
Butter	…	…	9	8	5
Cheese	…	…	24	10	18
Condensed Milk	…	…	70	59	63
Dried Milk (whole and skimmed)	…	…	59	49	43
Shell Eggs	…	…	71	87	87
Milk for human consumption (as liquid)	…	…	100	100	100
Potatoes for human consumption	…	…	94	100	97
The pre-war average figures are for the years 1936–37 to 1938–39, with the exception of oils and fats and fish which are for the years 1934–38.

asked the Minister of Works the number of building trade operatives engaged in Scotland on new house building now and in the years

—	New Housing (including Local Authority direct labour)	New Work over £1,000
		Factories	Hospitals	Schools
1950 (monthly average)	29,900	8,800	500	2,500
1951 (monthly average)	31,600	7,300	700	2,400
1952, March (latest available date)	34,900	5,800	800	2,600

Yes.

asked the Minister of Food what proportions of the more important foods are now provided by home production, with comparable figures for 1939 and 1945.

The following table shows the percentage by weight of the total supplies of the more important foods provided by home production in the years 1945 and 1951. As 1939 was an abnormal year for imports, the prewar average figure, which is generally used for purposes of comparison, has been given.1950 and 1951; and likewise the numbers engaged on building new factories, hospitals and schools, respectively, for the same years.

The following is the information:

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what the present arrangements are for the carriage of mail by air to Orkney and Shetland in view of the cancellation of air services.

No air services used for the conveyance of mail to or from Orkney and Shetland have so far been cancelled.

asked the Attorney-General whether he has now reconsidered the case of Mr. de Bernales in the light of the representations made to him; and what decision he has reached.

In view of the anxiety expressed by some hon. Members about this matter, I arranged for a further medical examination to be made independently by a very experienced doctor. His report confirms the view that Mr. de Bernales is unfit to stand the strain of any prolonged proceedings and it also indicates that he would be incapable of giving evidence or of assisting in the preparation of his defence. In these circumstances, I have decided nct to institute proceedings against Mr. de Bernales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many rewards he has offered for the capture of enemy leaders in Malaya; what is the total sum involved; and how much has been collected.

I cannot say how many rewards the Federal Government have offered since they are not as a rule rewards for the capture of named individual leaders but for information leading to the capture or killing of any known terrorist. The amount paid as a reward increases with the status of the terrorist caught or killed. I am ascertaining the total amount paid in rewards and I will write to the hon. Member when I have this information.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power to what extent the supply of coke has fallen short of the needs of industry in each of the years since the end of the war.

It is impossible to estimate in respect of past periods the amount, if any, by which consumption would have been greater if more coke had been available.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the present aggregate annual rate of coal consumption at the power houses of the British Electricity Authority; the estimated amount by which consumption, during 1952, will exceed earlier years; and whether he will state the annual aggregate increase in coal consumption at the British Electricity Authority's power-houses during each year to 1960, in consonance with the planned expansion of electric power generation, set out in the schedule of such power-generation expansion recently submitted by him to the hon. Member for Kidderminster.

Coal consumption by the British Electricity Authority power stations amounted in 1951 to 34 million tons and this year is expected to amount to between 34 and 35 million tons. In view of the uncertainties regarding the future course both of demand and of power station construction I am not prepared to make forecasts of coal consumption for future years.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what research he has made into equipment capable of burning and utilising large accumulations of pit-mound with a view to finding employ. ment for it in certain circumstances; and whether he will make a statement.

My Department has given advice on the design of a device to burn coal of very high ash content and has encouraged the private development of a combustion chamber for this purpose. The work is proceeding and, if it is successful, the possibility of the economic utilisation of material in existing pit mounds can be examined. In addition, I understand that the results of research now being conducted by the National Coal Board may have a bearing on this problem.

asked the Minister of Supply the total number of residents at the Highways Hostel, Euxton, Chorley; the total number of staff employed; and the various positions in which employed.

There are 655 residents. The staff number 148 full-time and two part-time, employed as follows:

—	Full-time	Part-time
Warden	1	—
House Administrator	1	—
Accounts and office staff, etc.	15	1
Catering	61	1
Domestic staff	67	—
Sick Bay	3	—

In view of the fact that this hostel is not at present fully occupied, I am considering whether some reduction should be made in the staff employed.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will now publish, in synopsis, in the OFFICIAL REPORT, details of the new principles evolved by the appropriate committee of his Department for the avoidance of purely sales promotional advertising by the nationalised fuel and power industries; and how far these principles have been accepted, without reservation, by the industries concerned.

The principles referred to by my hon. Friend are that the nationalised fuel and power industries should avoid purely promotional advertising and that their publicity should be informative and educational. All three industries have accepted these principles subject to the settlement of detailed points raised on the application of the principles to particular forms of publicity.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware of Press advertisements by the Midlands Electricity Board telling householders that they can save their winter coals by burning electric space heaters; and whether his Departmental committee will now proscribe and cause such advertisements to be withdrawn as part of the policy of avoidance of purely sales promotional advertising by the nationalised fuel and power industries.

I am in communication with the Midlands Electricity Board about this advertisement. The Committee referred to by my hon. Friend is a body to co-ordinate and agree principles to guide the Boards in their publicity arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will indicate in what counties in Wales the 96 drill halls which serve intoxicating drinks on Sundays are situated; the membership, both male and female, in each; and how many of these are National Service men now in the reserves.

The 96 drill halls to which authority has been given for the sale of intoxicating liquor on Sundays are situated as follows:

Wales:
Anglesey	…	1	Flint	…	6
Brecknock	…	3	Glamorgan	…	30
Caernarvon	…	10	Merioneth	…	3
Cardigan	…	2	Montgomery	…	4
Carmarthen	…	2	Pembroke	…	3
Denbigh	…	9
Monmouth	…	23

I am obtaining the other information asked for and will write to the hon. Member.