asked the Minister of Health how many houses which were requisitioned in Blackpool for key workers during the war, are still under requisition for this purpose; and of these houses how many of the occupants are no longer employed in the same type of employment as that for which they were granted requisitioned houses.

The answer to the first part of the Question is 215. None of the occupants is now in his original employment.

asked the Minister of Health whether the 550 contracts, referred by the Paddington Borough Council to the tribunal under the Furnished Houses (Rent Control) Act, 1946, were the subject of individual references on the merits of each case; or whether all cases were included in one general reference.

I am informed that all these cases were included in one general reference.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish a list setting out the rates for each Metropolitan Borough for the year 1948–49; and the amounts, where applicable, estimated to be payable to the London County Council in the year 1948–49 in the proposed scheme to be made under Section 10 of the Local Government Act.

The following is a statement showing for the City of London and each Metropolitan Borough, the rate levied in the year 1948–49 and for the City and each Borough for which the contribution exceeds any amount receivable under the proposed scheme, the net amount estimated to be payable to the London County Council during that year in con- sequence of a proposed scheme to be made by the Minister under Section 10 of the Local Government Act, 1948, after consultation with the London County Council, the Common Council of the City of London and the Metropolitan Boroughs' Standing Joint Committee:

asked the Minister of Health why the Estimate for the National Health Service is already increased by more than £100 million a year, as compared with the Estimate in the 1944 White Papers, Command Papers Nos. 6502 and 6550; and if he will now give an estimate of what the service will cost when it is in full operation.

The scheme for a National Health Service outlined in Command Paper 6502 differed substantially from that set up under the National Health Service Act, 1946, so that estimates of cost of the two schemes are not strictly comparable. The estimates in Command Paper 6502 were prepared on the basis of pre-war services at the prices and levels of wages and salaries existing in 1943. The Parliamentary Estimate is based on the proposed new services and current levels of wages and prices, which have substantially increased since 1943. The cost of the scheme in future years cannot be forecast, but on the basis of current costs, etc., a full year's working would involve an expenditure of about £230 millions gross.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has yet any statement to make with regard to the legal committee, which he proposes to appoint, to advise him whether the National Health Service Act ought to be amended to secure an equitable result between partners in medical practice.

Yes. I am glad to say that I have been fortunate enough to enlist the services of the following Gentlemen: Mr. G. O. Slade, K.C. (Chairman), Mr. Colin Pearson, C.B.E., Sir Cyril Radcliffe, K.C., Mr. J. H. Stamp and, from the Scottish Bar, Mr. J. R. Philip, K.C. The terms of reference are as follow:

"To consider whether, in the application of the principles set out below to partnerships existing at the appointed day, it is desirable, in order to secure an equitable result as between partners, to amend Sections 35 and 36 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, either by clarification of the provisions thereof or by the extension of the powers thereby conferred or in some other way, and to make recommendations accordingly.

The principles above referred to are—

(1) The general prohibition of the sale or purchase of the goodwill or any part of the goodwill of the medical practice of a medical practitioner whose name is on the appointed day or at any time thereafter entered on a list prepared under Section 33 (2) of the Act is to be maintained.

(2) Compensation is to be paid on the lines set out in Section 36 to practitioners whose names are on the appointed day entered on any such list, and subject to the provisions of Section 37, to such practitioners only.

(3) Practice in partnership is to be encouraged, and, except for the purpose of securing an equitable result, there should be as little interference as possible with the continued operation of existing partnerships.

(4) Within the general principle of the prohibition of sale and purchases of goodwill, exceptions in relation to sales or purchase in pursuance of a partnership agreement existing at the appointed day are permissible, if they appear necessary to secure the equitable working of these principles in relation to doctors practising in partnership.

(5) The possibility of legislation to make some addition to the sum of £66 million, for which provision is made in Section 36, in order to meet cases which might arise if doctors whose names were entered on a list at the appointed day were required, in pursuance of a partnership agreement existing at that date, to buy the goodwill of doctors whose names were not so entered, is not excluded if such an addition appears to be necessary in order to secure an equitable distribution of the £66 million between doctors whose names are entered on a list at the appointed day."

asked the Minister of Education whether he will hold a public inquiry into the site for a new senior school at Burford, Oxfordshire, to enable the local authorities concerned to express their views.

No. I am aware that the Burford and certain other local councils do not agree with the Oxfordshire local education authority's choice of site. I am, however, satisfied that there is no better alternative. There is already on this site a practical subjects centre which will form the nucleus of the new school, and which has been attended by senior children from Burford since its erection in 1932.

asked the Minister of Education how many emergency trained teachers have been deprived of their status of qualified teacher because their probation study has been unsatisfactory; by what means judgment is reached that this has been unsatisfactory; and as these trainees have taught for three years in the schools, what compensation is offered them upon dismissal.

No emergency trained teacher has yet completed two years' teaching service and failed to carry out satisfactorily the part-time course of study required of him during this period: the second and third parts of the Question do not therefore arise.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why the price of ammonium nitrate for making compound fertilisers has recently been increased by £4 per ton.

If the hon. and gallant Member will let me have details of any particular transaction he has in mind, I will be glad to look into the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps are being taken to promote trade between the United Kingdom and Manchuria in view of the existence of exportable surpluses of soya beans and other products in Manchuria.

Owing to the disturbed state of Manchuria it is not at present practicable to take special steps to develop trade with the United Kingdom. Some purchases of soya beans have been made, but for the reason given shipment is proving difficult.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will arrange for an officer of his Department to be available on board s.s. "Queen Elizabeth" or s.s. "Queen Mary" on a voyage from U.S.A. to this country in the near future with a view to ascertaining the exact requirements of American tourists with regard to using cars in this country; and whether he will instruct this officer to calculate what amount of dollars is being lost to this country as a result of the present regulalations applying to the use of cars in this country by American tourists.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Kennington (Mr. Gibson) on 23rd March. The arrangements which I then announced were made in close consultation with the British Tourists and Holidays Board and I understand they have been well received by those organisations in the best position to judge of tourists' needs.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what is the maximum half-yearly petrol allocation allowed to each of the various categories of applicants for cars; and whether the maximum allocation is the same for those living or working in rural areas as for urban areas.

I regret that it would be quite impracticable to give details of the various types of applicants, the categories into which they fall, and where a maximum allowance is fixed for any category, what this maximum is. In some cases also, applicants who apply for allowances for a number of different purposes would fall under several categories, some with a maximum and others without. Maximum allowances to persons in rural areas are not greater than those which may be granted for the same purposes to persons living in urban areas, provided other circumstances are the same.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what proportion of coal is cleaned, partly cleaned and untreated, respectively; and what were the corresponding figures for 1938.

In 1946 (the latest year for which information is available) 47·4 per cent. of the total output of saleable coal was mechanically cleaned. The corresponding figure for 1938 was 45·4 per cent. Information on the proportion of partly cleaned and untreated coal for the two years is not available, but in 1946 approximately 7 per cent. of the total saleable output was sold as unscreened coal.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that surveyors who are now bringing old ordnance maps up to date have received instructions not to show bridle paths separately as hitherto but to show them as merely rights of way or footpaths; and whether he will take steps to countermand such instructions to ensure that all established bridle paths are still shown as such on ordnance maps.

Surveyors of the Ordnance Survey have been instructed not to distinguish between bridle and other paths because it proved impossible to obtain authoritative information that would enable the distinction to be made with certainty. The Ordnance Survey is not concerned with rights of way.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider his refusal of a dollar allotment to more than 20 members of the British Orthopædic Association who wish to attend the joint meeting of the American, Canadian and British Orthopædic Associations to be held in Quebec in June, followed by a tour of leading orthopædic surgical clinics in America as the guests of the American Orthopædic Association, having in mind the experience to be derived by British surgeons by such a visit, the advantages to Anglo-American friendship and the relatively small dollar expenditure involved.

No. I am fully alive to the value to be derived from meetings of this kind, but I am afraid that in our present position I can only provide dollars for a representative delegation of about 20 members of the Association.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost to the taxpayer of the recent tour of Africa made by the Paymaster-General and his staff.

The cost is now estimated at £4,000 rather less than the figure given by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the hon. Member for Orpington (Sir W. Smithers) on 17th February last.

asked the Minister of Works what the intentions of his Department are in regard to Pool Park Camp, Ruthin, in the county of Denbigh, now used for German prisoners of war; and whether on their departure this land will be released for agricultural purposes.

It is the intention to retain part of the camp as a hostel for agricultural labour needed in the district. Unless some urgent Government need arises, the remainder—about five-sixths of the total area—will be derequisitioned on the departure of the prisoners of war.