asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to see that the recruiting of special constables, especially in rural areas, does not infringe unduly upon the manpower available for other essential services; and what authority is responsible in each county for controlling this aspect of Civil Defence.

Special constables, for whose recruitment in any particular area the chief officer of police is primarily responsible, perform a valuable peace-time service. I have no reason to think that the special constabulary is making a disproportionate demand on the manpower available for part-time service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how far the Waverley Committee on Coast Erosion has progressed with its deliberations; whether a further interim report will be made; and when the final report will appear.

I received the Committee's final report during the Easter Recess; it is now with the printers and will be published towards the end of this month.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the average annual cost of maintaining a prisoner in gaol.

The average cost, excluding the cost of new buildings but including all administrative expenses, of maintaining a prisoner in prisons in England and Wales was £257 in the financial year 1952–53, the latest year for which this information is available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give an assurance that adequate warning will be given this year of the closing of any of the streets in the approaches to this House on the occasion of rehearsals for the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the Government intend to bring the Visiting Forces Act, 1952, into operation.

It is proposed that the date should be 12th June, 1954.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) the estimated accommodation now available in deep thermo-nuclear bomb-proof shelters which will be available to the general public in the county borough of Oldham, the urban district of Chadderton and the county palatine of Lancaster, respectively;(2) what alterations have been made in the specifications of deep thermo-nuclear bomb-proof shelters following the recent explosions.

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension if he thinks it possible to provide complete immunity from air attack. Apart from a small number of exceptional cases where natural underground shelter was available, no attempt was made in the last war to provide deep bomb-proof shelters for the public, and no provision for this purpose was contemplated in the guidance which was given to local authorities for planning purposes in 1950.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the present arrangements for sealing off an area destroyed by thermo-nuclear bombs; and what authority is to be entrusted with the power to make such arrangements, with special reference to industrial Lancashire.

The arrangements necessary for this purpose would depend on the resources available at the time, and they could not be planned in detail in advance. The co-ordination of these arrangements would be a responsibility of the appropriate Civil Defence Controller or the Regional Commissioner, as the case might be.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the present instructions issued to the Civil Defence authorities for dealing with survivors of thermo-nuclear bombing who have become radio active.

It is assumed that the hon. Member is referring to persons who become contaminated with radio-active material. The instructions for cleansing such persons are contained in the Home Office Civil Defence Pamphlet on Atomic Warfare and are in no way changed by the advent of thermonuclear weapons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Civil Defence plans in view of the latest developments of the hydrogen bomb.

I am not yet in a position to add to the reply which I gave on 5th April to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Llewellyn), but I hope to be able to make a preliminary statement in about two weeks' time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements have been made for compensation to be paid to members of the Auxiliary Fire Service when injured on duty, in addition to that payable under the National Industrial Injuries Acts.

As I stated in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Ian Harvey) on 9th March, it has been decided that members of the Auxiliary Fire Service who suffer loss of earnings as a result of injury on duty should receive sick pay based on that of a part-time fireman for a period not exceeding 26 weeks. Regulations giving effect to these arrangements will be laid before Parliament as soon as I have received the views of the local authorities whom I have consulted on the details of the scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions he has given to local authorities about the removal of air-raid shelters built by them in private gardens.

Local authorities have been advised that all sound existing shelters should be retained and that demolition at public expense should be undertaken only where there are exceptional circumstances, such as danger to health or danger of collapse of the structure.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in order actively to discourage adolescents from starting to smoke, he will consider circularising local authorities and urging them to take action along these lines.

The statement which I made in answer to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Ilford, South (Squadron Leader Cooper) on 12th February received wide publicity and has been discussed at length in professional journals. I am sure that local authorities can be relied on to make appropriate use of this information in their health education programmes.

asked the Minister of Health how many people in the West Riding of Yorkshire voluntarily availed themselves of the mass radiography facilities during 1953; and how many of this number were diagnosed as suffering from tuberculosis.

The units within the geographical county made 199,934 examinations, of which 407 revealed tuberculosis.

asked the Minister of Health if he will hold an inquiry into the effect of fumes from diesel engines in our streets as the cause of cancer of the lungs.

Investigations into this and other forms of atmospheric pollution are already being carried on by the Medical Research Council.

asked the Minister of Health if he has any statement to make concerning the problem of persons from abroad taking up residence in this country while suffering from active tuberculosis.

The Central Health Services Council have recommended that appropriate action be taken to ensure that those seeking work in this country from abroad shall be free from infectious tuberculosis. The Standing Tuberculosis Advisory Committee, on the other hand, have expressed the view that the position does not indicate a serious menace to the health of the country. Special inquiries that have been made suggest that the number of those entering with active tuberculosis is very small indeed. Only about three out of each 1,000 occupied T.B. beds in England and Wales were occupied by temporary residents during the preceding 12 months who were thought to have active T.B. on arrival. Of this very small number, the majority are Commonwealth citizens or citizens or the Republic of Ireland, over whose entry into the United Kingdom there is no statutory control.As regards the minority who are foreigners coming from abroad, as workers or otherwise, I have decided, after consultation with my right hon. and learned Friends the Home Secretary and the Minister of Labour, that the establishment of a health check sufficiently thorough to ensure that tuberculous foreigners were denied entry to the United Kingdom would involve the imposition of fresh restrictions quite out of proportion to the danger to public health.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is satisfied that local health authorities are giving sufficient priority to building houses for hospital staffs.

I have no reason to believe that they are not giving adequate priority where this is appropriate.

asked the Minister of Health when Brook House Maternity Home, Solihull, will be opened.

I very much regret the delay there has been in opening this home. I am informed that the Regional Board hope to open Brook House next month.

asked the Minister of Health how many psychiatric social workers are employed by mental hospitals under the National Health Service; and what increase there has been during the past year.

Figures for 1953 are not yet available, but in 1952 the number at hospitals in England and Wales was 260 full-time and 40 part-time, an increase of 20 full-time over the previous year.

asked the Minister of Health when the building of the new admission block at St. Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is to be commenced and finished.

I am informed that the Regional Hospital Board expect to start work on 17th May and complete it in 18 months.

asked the Minister of Education whether she is yet in a position to make a statement on her discussions with the governors of the Educational Foundation for Visual Aids regarding educational films.

No.

asked the Minister of Education the purpose of the Polish Grants Committee at her Department; and whether, in making its grants, this Committee is bound by the same principles as those which govern the award of grants to British students.

The Committee for the Education of Poles in Great Britain was appointed in March, 1947, to administer the educational provisions of the Polish Resettlement Act on behalf of the Minister of Education and of the Secretary of State for Scotland. One of its functions is to make awards to enable Polish students to attend universities and other institutions of further education. In general, the Committee follows the same principles as my Department in making these awards. The number of Poles for whom educational provision has to be made under the Act has steadily declined and the work of the Committee will be taken over by my Department at the end of September.

asked the Minister of Education the number of graduates and non-graduates, respectively, who are employed in maintained and assisted schools in Wales, giving the separate figures for primary, secondary modern, secondary technical and grammar schools, respectively.

On March 31st, 1953, the latest date for which figures are available, 3,983 graduates and 13,737 other teachers were in service in maintained and assisted schools in Wales. Of these, 620 graduates and 11,062 others were in primary schools; 710 graduates and 1,938 others were in secondary modern schools; 84 graduates and 65 others were in secondary technical schools, and 2,422 graduates and 539 others were in secondary grammar schools

asked the Minister of Education the average annual cost of maintaining a boy in a grant-aided residential school.

The cost of boarding at grant-aided secondary schools varies considerably owing to a variety of factors, including the number of boarders accommodated. The approved boarding fees (which are designed to cover the cost of boarding), range from £100 to £130 per annum at the majority of secondary schools maintained or assisted by local education authorities. The average cost per pupil of all ages for tuition in such schools is about £59. These figures do not apply to residential special schools maintained by local education authorities for handicapped pupils, where there is a wide variation in cost owing to the very great diversity of conditions which necessarily obtain in schools catering for different types of handicap.

asked the Minister of Education, on the basis of existing legislation and salaries, what will be the credit balance in the Teachers' Superannuation Account 20, 30 and 40 years hence, respectively.

On the basis stated in the Question and if, in addition, it were assumed that the number of teachers in service would continue to increase roughly at the present annual rate for the next few years, and would thereafter remain at a more or less steady level, the credit balance in the Account would, it is estimated, drop from about £320 million in 1974 to about £210 million in 1984, and become wholly exhausted by 1994. There would then be liabilities of some £680 million, the capitalised value of pensions payable after that date.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what consultations he has held with the farmers' representatives about permanent egg marketing arrangements.

The National Farmers' Unions have submitted informally an outline of proposals for an egg marketing scheme, including the setting up of an egg marketing board. As I told the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Kurd) on 29th April, the Government have commented on these proposals, and discussions to facilitate consideration of a formal proposal under the procedure laid down in the Agricultural Marketing Acts, are continuing.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what consultations he has held with the farmers' representatives about fatstock and meat marketing.

There have been numerous discussions with the National Farmers' Unions about the new arrangements for the fatstock guarantees described in the White Paper on the Annual Review and Determination of Guarantees, 1954. The unions are also represented with the other interests concerned on the Joint Advisory Panel appointed by the Ministry of Food to discuss the arrangements for marketing fatstock after decontrol.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the proposed Fatstock Marketing Scheme conflicts with the principles of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Act, 1948; and if he will define the policy of his Department in this connection.

No. The Agricultural Marketing Acts, 1931 to 1949, under which the draft Fatstock Marketing Scheme is put forward contain special safeguards against any abuse of their powers by marketing boards. The Government are satisfied that these safeguards are adequate. The draft Scheme will be fully examined before it is submitted to Parliament, in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Marketing Acts.

asked the Minister of Agriculture (1) in which papers, and on what dates, the statutory notices of submission of the Fatstock Marketing Scheme have appeared;(2) whether he is satisfied that fatstock producers have had adequate notice of the Fatstock Marketing Scheme;(3) whether he is satisfied that fatstock producers had adequate opportunity to consider the Fatstock Marketing Scheme before it was submitted to him.

Notice of the submission of the draft Fatstock Marketing Scheme was published in the three official gazettes in London, Edinburgh and Belfast on 26th March. A Press notice was widely circulated which included information on how copies of the draft Scheme might be obtained. I am satisfied that fatstock producers have had adequate notice of the Scheme. I am also satisfied that the promoters of the Scheme are substantially representative of fatstock producers generally, as is required by the Agricultural Marketing Acts, 1931 to 1949.

asked the Minister of Agriculture in view of his decision to regard the reference, under Section 11 of the Agriculture Act, 1947, to the maintenance of a reasonable standard of efficient production as requiring costs and returns to be taken into account, what steps he has taken to ascertain from the Inland Revenue Department the names and addresses of those farmers who have consistently farmed at a loss.

None. All returns made for taxation purposes are confidential.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why he gave permission for the ploughing-up of part of the Normanton group of barrows, which form part of the Stonehenge complex, in view of the fact that these barrows are scheduled as an ancient monument.

I think my hon. and gallant Friend is under a misapprehension. Application was made to my Department for a £10 an acre ploughing grant in respect of an area including part of the Normanton group of barrows. The applicant was told by my Department that he should not plough that part and that there could be no question of a grant in respect of it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will publish the full details of the Crichel Downs Inquky as a White Paper.

I propose to publish Sir Andrew Clark's report as soon as possible after I receive it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture when he expects to receive the Report of Sir Ernest Gowers' committee on foot-and-mouth disease.

I understand that the Committee have nearly completed their Report and hope to submit it to me by the end of June.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if the cause of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease amongst pigs at Aldermaston last week has been established; and if the particular source of origin has been identified.

The source of the virus infection in this outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has not been definitely established. It is suspected to lie in uncooked swill stored on the infected premises, and that contamination was conveyed indirectly, probably by rats.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware of the arrival of large numbers of Irish cattle showing heavy infestation with the grubs of the warble fly; if he has yet received a report from his inspector at Fishguard on a badly diseased consignment which was shipped from Waterford last week; and what action, in conjunction with the Irish Department of Agriculture, he is taking to prevent recurrences which conflict with his Department's campaign to eradicate this pest.

I am aware that Irish cattle entering this country are frequently found to be infested with warble fly maggots. Reports from my veterinary officer at Fishguard indicate that the proportion of heavily infested cattle in the consignment from Waterford mentioned by my hon. Friend was above the average for the season. I have had under review the whole problem of warble infestation to see whether it is practicable to take any further corrective steps, and I am writing fully to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, since there is no appeal to a court of law against his decision under Section 84 of the Agriculture Act, 1947, in the case of Burwell and Swaffham prior fens, if he will state from what sources outside his Department he received evidence after accepting the Report of the Agricultural Land Commission; and what caused him to decide against accepting the findings of the Commission in the case of Gibblings Farm on the grounds that in his opinion the full and efficient use of the land for agriculture could be secured without his exercising his powers of acquisition under Section 4 of the Act.

My decision in this case was reached after considering not only the report of the Agricultural Land Commission, but also the evidence given at the public inquiry into objections to the Compulsory Purchase Order. I excluded Giblins Farm from the draft Compulsory Purchase Order before the public inquiry stage because, in all the circumstances, I was not satisfied that full and efficient use of the land would be prevented if the additional fixed equipment recommended by the Commission was not provided.