asked the Minister of Works what are the various hotels and restaurants where Government receptions have been held in the last year.

Government receptions have been held at the following hotels and restaurants during the past year: Claridge's Hotel, the Dorchester Hotel, Grosvenor House Hotel, Gunter's Restaurant, the Hyde Park Hotel, and the Savoy Hotel.

asked the Minister of National Insurance when the hon. Member for Clitheroe may expect a reply to his original representations on behalf of pensioner Mrs. M. A. Breckell, No. 51468810, for a retirement pension in her own right, dated 16th January, 1947.

A letter was sent to my hon. Friend about this case on 21st March. Mrs. Breckell had been awarded an increased pension in right of her husband's insurance but her title in right of her own insurance was still under investigation. Her claim in respect of her own insurance was rejected on 9th May. Mrs. Breckell has now exercised her right of appeal to an independent referee with whom the final decision rests. I regret that my hon. Friend has not been kept informed of the progress of the claim. I will write to him when the result of the appeal is known.

asked the Lord President of the Council what are the qualifications of Mr. S. C. Leslie for the post of chief officer of the Economic Information Section in his department; and what have been his previous employments.

Mr. S. C. Leslie has had wide experience in responsible posts concerned with various aspects of publicity on economic matters. His previous employments have been:

• 1922–23.—Lecturer, University of Wales.
• 1924–6.—Lecturer, Melbourne University.
• 1926.—On the staff of Mr. S. M. Bruce, Prime Minister of Australia, for the Imperial Conference.
• 1927–36.—London Press Exchange.
• 1936–40.—Publicity Manager of the Gas, Light and Coke Company.
• 1939–40.—Honorary Publicity Adviser to the National Savings Committee.
• 1940.—Director of Public Relations, Ministry of Supply.
• 1940–43.—Director of Public Relations, Home Office and Ministry of Home Security.
• 1943–45.—Principal Assistant Secretary, Home Office and Ministry of Home Security.
• 1945–47.—Director, Council of Industrial Design.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 21,571 experiments for cancer research performed during the year 1944 were done under a grant from the British Empire Cancer Campaign; and how many were performed with anaesthetics; and how many without.

This information is not available. Licence holders under the Act of 1876 are not required, when furnishing their annual return of experiments to my Department, to indicate whether and from what sources they, or the institutions at which they are working, receive grants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Ronald Tozeland, 71, Gladstone Terrace, Northampton, has received no acknowledgment from Passport Control Officer, York House, Berlin, of a registered communication containing his birth certificate, a certificate from his local clergyman, and a letter declaring his intention to marry Waltraut Prusse, 34, Waldstrasser, Hanover, 20, in spite of the fact that the registered communication contained a stamped and addressed envelope and a request for an acknowledgment.

I am making inquiries and will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many naturalisation certificates have been revoked since the war.

Three certificates of naturalisation have been revoked since the cessation of hostilities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what record is kept of naturalised persons convicted of fraud and other serious offences.

No special record is kept, but the police have been asked to report to me any serious offences committed by naturalised persons which might render their naturalisation liable to revocation under section 7 of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) at what date he hopes to close Polish camps in Caithness; and whether he is aware that the behaviour of the Polish forces there is a source of anxiety to the public;(2) whether he is aware that Hepworth's premises at Thurso, Caithness, were recently broken into by members of the Polish forces; that goods valued at £100 were stolen; that offenders received 60 days' imprisonment from the sheriff and that others were sentenced to 40 days' imprisonment by magistrates for serious assault and breach of the peace; and what steps he proposes to ensure that Polish forces stationed in Caithness will be of good behaviour.

The majority of the Poles in Caithness are recalcitrant members of the Polish Armed Forces and I am aware that their discipline has been unsatisfactory. Active steps have, however, now been taken under the powers given by the Polish Resettlement Act to ensure that discipline is properly enforced and. I hope that there will be no further trouble. I shall not hesitate to take rigorous disciplinary action if necessary. It is not at present possible to say when the Polish camps in Caithness can be closed.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power why Leonard Dosey, Sheffield Road, Killamarsh, near Sheffield, was refused work at Brookhouse colliery, near Sheffield, after he had been examined by the Silicosis Board who had refused to issue a certificate in his favour.

I have asked the National Coal Board to look into the matter and to communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the wages and conditions of employees of His Majesty's Stationery Office presses and warehouses will be brought into line with those obtaining in commercial houses doing the same work.

The wages and conditions of industrial employees in the Stationery Office are in accordance with national agreements between employers and trade unions in the industries concerned. They are also in line with those general in commercial houses doing similar work.

asked the Postmaster-General why the request made in April by Mrs. Haley, Bankfield, Kirkheaton, near Huddersfield, for the transfer to her of Post Office savings account No. Kirkheaton 749, previously standing in her name and that of her deceased husband, has not yet been granted; and whether he will now arrange for the transfer to be made without further delay.

The Post Office Savings Bank Statutory Regulations provide that, on the death of a depositor (including a joint depositor) whose estate exceeds a certain sum, the Postmaster-General must, before making any pay- ment (otherwise than as required by the legal personal representative), call for a statement from the Inland Revenue with regard to death duties. In order that no delay might occur in dealing with any application for payment which Mrs. Haley might wish to make she was asked on 19th May to obtain the statement and it is understood that she has made an application to the Inland Revenue authorities.

asked the Minister of Health what reply has been sent to the request of the Easterton Parish Council, dated 3rd June, 1947, requesting permission to sell their recreation ground.

I have indicated to the parish council my readiness to consent to this sale subject to my being informed of the proposed sale price, and being satisfied that it is an appropriate price.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if it is permissible for a civil servant to hold office in a political party and take part in the public activities of a political party; and whether the regulations apply equally to the industrial and non-industrial sides;(2) whether the rules regulating the political activities of civil servants are the same for both established and non-established personnel.

There has long been a well-recognised general rule that non-industrial civil servants, permanent or temporary, should not accept office in, or write or speak publicly in support of, a political party. Industrial staff are not subject to the same restrictions.