asked the Minister of Food if he will give, separately, for England and Scotland, the total boneless weight of all meat for manufacturing purposes supplied to other than retail butchers for the first four months of 1947.

Issues to manufacturers, excluding retail general butchers, in England and Wales were 37,633 tons and in Scotland were 1,942 tons. I am sorry that it is not possible to give figures for England alone.

asked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the numerous cases of food poisoning resulting from the consumption of tinned food, he will inquire into the method now used of sealing tins, which employs a rubber strip liable to erosion and wear and replaces a soldering process; what methods of inspection to supervise conditions of tins containing food are now employed; and when it will be possible to resume the soldering method instead of the present procedure

There is nothing to indicate that any recent cases of food poisoning have been due to the defective sealing of cans, and I am satisfied that the soldering of cans has no advantage from the point of view of public health over the use of a rubber can-sealing compound. As regards the second part of the hon. Member's Question, inspection methods vary in different canneries, but every canner in his own interest maintains an inspection service to ensure that the canning process is efficiently carried out. In addition to the precautions taken by the manufacturers, the officers of local food and drugs authorities, including sanitary inspectors, have power to examine any food offered for sale to the public, in the normal course of their duties, and to condemn any they consider unfit for human consumption. The vast majority of canners in this country use the compound sealing method and if there were any question of turning over to the soldering process it would mean a complete reorganisation of the industry with no benefit to the public.

asked the Minister of Food what proportions of the more important foods are now provided by home production, with comparable figures for 1939 and 1940.

Figures for the year 1939 are not readily available, so, with the hon. Member's permission, I will give figures for the prewar annual average (1934–38).

PROPORTIONS OF THE MORE IMPORTANT FOODS PROVIDED BY HOME PRODUCTION
	Prewar Annual Average per cent.	Calendar year 1940, per cent.	Year to June 1947, per cent.
Liquid milk	100	100	100
Eggs in shell	66	75	76
Carcase meat and offal	50	48	46
Bacon and ham	33	42	36
Cheese	24	17	12
Butter	9	9	7
Margarine, lard and compound cooking fat	4	1	less than 1
Sugar	18	26	27
Flour	12	13	23
Potatoes	94	97	98

asked the Prime Minister if all members of His Majesty's Forces who were reported in casualty lists as having died on active service are to be regarded as having died as a result of service for the purpose of entitling their next-of-kin to a Memorial Scroll on application to the Ministry of Pensions in cases where the next-of-kin is not in receipt of a pension.

The next-of-kin of those of His Majesty's Forces who died as a result of service will be qualified for the grant of a Memorial Scroll. Next-of-kin of those who died otherwise will not so qualify, whether or not the name appeared in a casualty list.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many non-Government schools in Kenya receive grants-in-aid from the Government; how many of these are African-controlled; and what are the difficulties which frequently prevent Government grants being given to independent African schools.

One hundred and twenty-nine non-Government schools are aided from Central Government funds and 568 are aided from the funds of local Native Councils. Fourteen aided schools are wholly African controlled and 554 aided schools come under the jurisdiction of district education boards which have both European and African members. Apart from lack of funds, the main difficulties which at present prevent Government grants being given to independent African schools are their inability to conform to Government regulations and standards and to simple accounting instructions. It is, however, the policy of the Kenya Government to encourage Africans to manage their own schools.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in order to increase understanding in his Department of problems arising in the Colonies, he will consider the reorganisation of the service so that officials called upon to serve at home may all have had firsthand knowledge of service conditions in the Colonial Empire.

The permanent administrative staff of the Colonial Office are members of the Home Civil service, but most of the senior officers have some experience of service in the Colonies, and a period of such service forms an essential part of the normal training of new entrants. The permanent staff is reinforced by a constant succession of administrative officers seconded from the Colonial Service, who serve here for varying periods and at various levels. The advisory staffs are composed largely of persons drawn from the Colonial Service. Those who have not actually served in the Colonies are constantly obtaining firsthand knowledge of Colonial conditions by means of visits.The present arrangements are, therefore, designed to promote the closest understanding by my Department of the problems arising in the Colonies. If by a reorganisation of the Service the hon. Member means that the staff of the Colonial Office should be amalgamated with the Colonial Service, I can only say that whenever this question has been examined in the past it has been concluded that the weight of argument is against such amalgamation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many women and children, respectively, were amongst the passengers on the "Exodus 1947."

There were 1,649 women and 956 children on board this vessel, exclusive of women and children there may have been among the 34 relatives of the injured who were allowed to land in Palestine and regarding whose age and sex I have at present no particulars.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what are now the Government's plans for bringing the Statutory Instruments Act into operation.

I am grateful to the hon. and gallant Gentleman for giving me this opportunity of announcing a change in the proposed date for the commencement of the Act. The Government now propose that the date should be 1st January, which it has always been recognised, is most convenient from the point of view of the public. The technical difficulties which were thought to make it necessary to choose, instead, the beginning of a Parliamentary Session have now been overcome.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish tables classifying incomes between earned and investment sources for any recent year, similar to those contained in Tables 21 (a) (b) and (c) of the 83rd Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue.

Tables 21 (a) (b) and (c) of the 83rd Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue were obtained from a special analysis of the returns of taxpayers for 1937–38. No corresponding details are available for any later year but I regret that the necessary work could not be undertaken in the Inland Revenue Department at present.

asked the Minister of Health whether arrangements will now be made for an officer of his Department to interview Mr. W. H. Simpson, 48, Northampton Road, East Croydon, with regard to the question of building licences for maintenance and repair work to certain properties in Penge, about which he has already been informed.

Yes. Sir

asked the Postmaster-General the surplus or deficit in the telephone service for each year from 1932 up to the latest date for which figures are available.

The surpluses of income over expenditure (after charging interest on capital) shown by the Post Office Telephone Commercial Accounts for the eight years to 31st March, 1940, are:

			£
1932–33	…	…	409,521
1933–34	…	…	1,392,929
1934–35	…	…	1,684,983
1935–36	…	…	2,126,847
1936–37	…	…	1,472,370
1937–38	…	…	429,460
1938–39	…	…	269,639
1939–40	…	…	995,156

asked the Postmaster-General the number of telephone stations per 1,000 of the population for the latest year for which figures are available, together with such comparable figures for other countries as are in his possession.

The figures of telephone stations per 1,000 of population in 1945 (the latest date for which comparable figures are available) are as follow:

United Kingdom	…	…	86
Belgium	…	…	45
Bulgaria	…	…	7
Denmark	…	…	140
France	…	…	46
Mexico	…	…	10
New Zealand	…	…	152
Norway	…	…	109
Portugal	…	…	4
South Africa	…	…	22
Sweden	…	…	183
Switzerland	…	…	148
United States	…	…	211

asked the Postmaster-General the cost of installation, per instrument, in the telephone service for the year 1937 and for the latest date for which figures are obtainable.

The cost of installation covers (1) the provision of the subscriber's pair of wires from the Exchange to his premises; (2) his instrument, bell and internal wiring; and (3) the exchange termination of his line. The average capital cost of installation on this basis was estimated in 1939 (the nearest available year to that asked for) to be approximately £40 per exchange line instrument. Investigations into current costs are in hand but the results are not yet available.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of telephones installed in the year 1932 and yearly since then up to the latest date for which figures are obtainable, together in each case with the percentage increase for each year.

The figures for which the hon. Member asks are as follow:

NUMBER OF TELEPHONES INSTALLED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Year ended 31st March.		Gross No. of telephones installed.	Percentage increase (or decrease) over previous year
1932	…	256,373	0·3 decrease
1933	…	264,091	3·0 increase
1934	…	279,526	5·8 increase
1935	…	347,215	24·2 increase
1936	…	365,114	5·2 increase
1937	…	437,956	20·0 increase
1938	…	436,624	0·3 decrease
1939	…	418,322	4·2 decrease
1940	…	451,421	7·9 increase
1941	…	446,388	1·1 decrease
1942	…	496,318	1·1 increase
1943	…	466,263	6·1 decrease
1944	…	440,656	5·5 decrease
1945	…	414,104	6·0 decrease
1946	…	503,864	21·7 increase
1947	…	832,101	65·1 increase
Increase 1947 over 1932 = 224·6 per cent.

asked the Postmaster-General the average cost per local telephone call in Great Britain for 1937 and for the latest date for which figures are available, together with such comparable figures for other countries as are in his possession.

The average cost of a minimum distance local telephone call in 1937 was estimated to be approximately 1¼d. An investigation of the current costs is now in hand but the results are not yet available. No information is in my possession as regards comparable costs in other countries. I should perhaps add that the cost varies appreciably according to the type of exchange, the size and nature of the area covered and the number of exchanges within that area. The assessment of cost also involves apportionment of the substantial costs of staff and plant common to local, toll and trunk telephone services and the telegraph service.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of telegraph messages sent through the Post Office for the years 1932–33 and onwards to the latest available date, together with the surplus or loss in each year attributable to the telegraph service.

The numbers of telegrams transmitted by the Post Office and the excess of expenditure (after charging interest on capital) over income as shown by the Post Office Telegraph Commercial Accounts, for the eight years to 31st March, 1940 are:

—			Numbers of telegrams.	Deficit.
				£
1932–33	…	…	45,500,000	838,301
1933–34	…	…	45,500,000	653,591
1934–35	…	…	44,000,000	651,235
1935–36	…	…	53,000,000	797,975
1936–37	…	…	58,500,000	669,003
1937–38	…	…	58,500,000	776,479
1938–39	…	…	59,500,000	823,320
1939–40	…	…	64,000,000	550,994

The preparation and presentation of commercial accounts was suspended during the war and will only be resumed with the accounts for 1947–48, but approximate and unaudited accounts on a simplified basis have been compiled for Departmental use.The numbers of telegrams transmitted and the approximate deficits incurred since 1939–40 are:

—			Numbers of telegrams.	Deficit.
				£
1940–41	…	…	61,500,000	439,000
1941–42	…	…	67,000,000	252,000
1942–43	…	…	75,500,000	69,000
1943–44	…	…	70,500,000	158,000
1944–45	…	…	71,000,000	100,000
1945–46	…	…	75,500,000	38,000
1946-47	…	…	63,500,000	2,200,000
				(provisional)

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the standard wage per hour of a State-registered nurse and midwife for part-time work is less than the customary minimum wage per hour for daily domestic helps, as an example furnished demonstrates; and, in view of the present critical short- age of nurses, if he will rectify this position.

I do not think that a comparison can usefully be made with daily domestic help, which is subject to no regulation and varies widely in different parts of the country. I expect shortly to publish improved rates of pay for part-time nurses and midwives in accordance with recommendations which have been made by the Rushcliffe Committee