asked the Minister of Supply if he will give the comparative details for the latest available dates of the amounts paid out by way of assisted travel to staff engaged in royal ordnance factories, the number of persons and the amount per head to be shown separately.

A comparison of the nett weekly cost of assisted travel in the years 1945, 1946 and 1947 at those royal ordnance factories which are still operating is as follows:

asked the Minister of Supply how many R.A.F. aircraft engines were dumped into the sea at Takoradi, on the Gold Coast; how much did they originally cost; and what were the reasons for this method of disposal.

Fifty-five aircraft engines, which originally cost £3,280 each, were disposed of in this way. They were surplus to R.A.F. requirements and were dumped after unsuccessful efforts had been made to sell them, either as engines or as scrap.

asked the Minister of Supply what is the allocation of tinplate for the production of containers for all kinds of foodstuffs; and the amount of tinplate allocated for non-foodstuff purposes.

In the second quarter of 1947, 88,300 tons of tinplate will be allocated for food packing and 40,700 tons for other purposes.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made in the negotiations with the Yugoslav trade delegation towards a trade agreement; and what obstacles there are to concluding such an agreement.

I presume my hon. Friend is referring to the Yugoslav Trade Delegation which visited this country in the early part of last year. The discussions about trade were essentially of an exploratory and informatory character, and there has been no intention to conclude a formal Trade Agreement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether coupons must be surrendered for purchase of second-hand articles at village jumble sales.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bodmin (Mr. D. Marshall) on 18th March. Second-hand clothing below certain prices is coupon free.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that in Bradford and the West Riding of Yorkshire there is considerable unemployment in the textile factories due to the fact that the coal is going to utility undertakings and not to the mills; and, in view of the enormous production that is being lost, what steps he proposes taking to remedy this shortage.

Yes, Sir. I am aware that in recent weeks coal deliveries to many textile factories in the West Riding have fallen short of allocations and have varied considerably as between one factory and another; and that this has been due mainly to the necessity for diverting supplies to public utilities. I am hopeful that, with the return of more normal conditions, deliveries will now improve.

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware that the N.F.S. terminated their tenancy of Roker Lane Methodist Sunday School, Pudsey, on 29th September, 1945; that the claims submitted by the trustees in November, 1945, have not yet been met; that it took 11 months for an official of his Department to visit the school; if he will explain the reason for these delays; and when the trustees will be compensated and the terms of the tenancy observed.

I regret the delay which has occurred in dealing with this claim. The delay has been partly due to difficulty in obtaining details to support the claim. I have instructed my officers to reach an early settlement in co-operation with the trustees' surveyors and I hope there will be no further delay.

asked the Minister of Works what progress is being made in the repair and renovation of the Cwmdu Brickworks, Skewen, Glamorganshire; and when it is expected that this undertaking will be ready to resume production.

Financial arrangements for carrying on the undertaking are under discussion, and I hope that the works will soon be opened either by the present owners or under alternative arrangements.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he is aware of the campaign initiated by the Empire Rheumatism Council to launch a national research fund of £100,000; what funds for such research are made available through the Medical Research Council; and whether he is satisfied that adequate financial assistance is being given.

I have been asked to reply. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council to the hon. Member for Royton (Mr. Sutcliffe) on 5th November last.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many wives and children, respectively, were included in the allowances made to supplement the pensions of disabled soldiers on 31st December, 1920, 31st December, 1938 and 31st December, 1946; and what was the annual cost, respectively, of the wives' and children's allowances on these dates.

The information available does not enable exact figures to be given. It is, however, estimated that the approximate numbers of wives and children, in respect of whom allowances were being paid in addition to pension, and the annual cost of these allowances, at the dates stated were as follow:

asked the Minister of Education the number of teachers in elementary and secondary schools, respectively, in 1938, 1945, 1946 and 1947; and give an estimate of those available in 1948.

In. view of the reclassification of schools under the Education Act, 1944, it would be misleading to give separate figures for primary and secondary schools. The following table, however, shows the total number of teachers in public elementary schools and in grant aided (other than direct grant) secondary schools for 1938 and in maintained and assisted primary and secondary schools for 1945 and subsequent years:

asked the Minister of Education what is the total estimated cost for the ensuing financial year of the emergency training service in respect of provision of premises, both rented and otherwise, and of fees, allowances, individual grants and other expenses incidental to the training of emergency teachers as distinct from other categories.

The total estimated cost for 1947–48 is of the order of £5 million. The hon. Member will find detailed particulars under subhead E(4) and on page 7 of the published Estimates of my Department (Civil Estimates, 1947–48, Class IV) and also in the table on page 6 of the Memorandum on the Ministry's Estimates, 1947–48 (Cmd. 7060), where the assumed local education authorities expenditure of £3,450,000 on the training of teachers includes about £2¼ million in respect of emergency training.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that the sale of onions to retail merchants is being restricted because wholesale merchants make it a condition of sale that other goods must also be bought which the merchant may not need; and what action he proposes to take to place onions on allocation as they formerly were.

As regards the first part of the Question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the combined reply given on 17th March to the Members for Heston and Isleworth (Mr. W. R. Williams) and Dagenham (Mr Parker), of which I am sending him a copy. With regard to the second part of the Question, the Ministry of Food is no longer the sole importer of onions and unless the supply position renders such a course necessary, I do not propose to re-introduce a system of controlled distribution.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the difficult transport conditions and shortage of accommodation at Singapore, arrangements can be made for the large number of planters and others proceeding to Northern Malaya in the s.s. "Alcantara" to be disembarked at Penang instead of the former port.

Passengers for Malaya in the troopship "Alcantara" were booked by a shipping company in the normal way. If 50 or more passengers express a wish to disembark at Penang, it is customary for a call to be made at that port. In this particular case, no requests were made before sailing, either to my Department or to the shipping company, for disembarkation at Penang. In reply to my inquiry the ship has now reported by wireless that 115 passengers wish to land at Penang and a call will accordingly be made.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give the gross revenue of the four main line railway companies for the year 1946; and the gross revenue of the L.P.T.B. for the same period.

Under the Railway Control Agreement all revenue receipts and expenses of the controlled undertakings are pooled and clearances between them are not made. Any division of the pooled gross revenue between the main line railway companies and the London Passenger Transport Board would therefore be misleading I shall present a White Paper at an early date giving the estimated pooled revenue receipts and expenses and the resultant net revenue of the Controlled Undertakings for the year 1946.

asked the Minister of -Agriculture if he will give a detailed account of the total costs direct and indirect incurred by his Department in connection with the committee meeting at Lewes on 3rd July, 1946, and the tribunal hearing on 12th December, 1946, preparatory to the dispossession from his holding of Mr. House, Great Studgate Farm, West Hoathly, Sussex.

The meeting referred to was the regular weekly meeting of the East Sussex War Agricultural Executive Committee. Mr. House's case was only one of a number of items on the agenda, and it involved no additional direct cost. The direct cost of the Tribunal hearing amounted to £65. As the hon. Member will appreciate, the indirect costs arising from the taking of administrative action in a case such as this, include part of the salaries of a number of officials. A considerable amount of work would be necessary to arrive at any estimate, and I do not feel that this would be justified in present circumstances.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what priority is being given for the repairs to glasshouses used for food production, which have been damaged during the recent bad weather.

This subject has been discussed between my Department and the Ministry of Works. Applications for building licences for the repair of glasshouses used for food production and damaged in the recent bad weather will be treated as sympathetically and quickly as possible. The supply of horticultural glass for such repairs is being given especially urgent attention.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will be able to give a reply to the claim for parity of pay for permanent and temporary staffs in the Civil Service submitted to him in November, 1946.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 11th March to the hon. Member for Drake (Mr. Medland).

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why a British subject in Malta who desires to travel to this country has to pay a deposit of £10; and in what circumstances it is refundable.

This deposit is required only of persons intending to settle or seek employment outside Malta in case they become destitute and require repatriation. It is repayable after 12 months or on earlier return to Malta.