asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that Canadian orders for British goods are being withheld because of the fear of the devaluation of sterling to the detriment of our export trade; and will he consider guaranteeing such orders against devaluation through the Export Guarantee Department at a nominal rate to facilitate trade and to demonstrate that devaluation fears are groundless.

I do not think the amount of such abstention is serious and I am not prepared to adopt the suggestion in the second part of the Question.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will extend the terms of reference of the Millard Tucker Committee so that it may consider the computations for Income Tax purposes of professional profits, since these are calculated for such purposes in the same way as trade profits.

I do not propose to extend the terms of reference of the Committee which, as indicated in my Budget speech, were directed to industry. But as Cases I and II of Schedule D have the same Rules in common and the line between trades and professions is not clearly defined, the Committee would be justified in interpreting their present terms of reference as covering professional profits charged under Case II of Schedule D.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what he attributes the fall in ordinary Revenue for the first quarter of the year as compared with the same period in 1948; and to what extent he anticipates a similar fall in the remaining quarters of the year.

The fall in Revenue during the June quarter this year compared with the same period last year is mainly in Income Tax and Purchase Tax. In both cases the fall is due to factors which were taken into account when the Estimates were made on which the Budget was framed. It is too early in the year to forecast the outturn of the year but receipts in the June quarter are according to expectations.

asked the Economic Secretary to the Treasury if he will make a statement on the result of his inquiries into the economics of timber substitution.

No. The inquiries have covered a wide field and are not yet completed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the manufacture and sale of a non-narcotic smoking mixture, the product of a private limited company operating in Southend-on-Sea, was prohibited by His Majesty's Customs in October, 1948, whilst other companies have been allowed to manufacture and sell and continue to do so, products of a similar nature, undergoing similar chemical processing.

The Revenue law prohibition on the manufacture of vegetable or other materials to resemble or to be mixed with tobacco is administered with strict impartiality. If the hon. Member will let me have particulars of the cases he has in mind I will have the matter investigated.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will have placed in the Library a copy of the official note taken of his last interview with the representatives of the Pool Promoters' Association.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total sum borrowed from the United States of America by His Majesty's Government since V.J.-day to the latest convenient date; and by how much it is anticipated this sum will be increased in the present financial year.

Four thousand and 63 million dollars. It is hoped that there will be no increase this year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the fiduciary note issue.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the fiduciary note issue.

Yes. The amount of Bank of England notes in circulation at present is £1,277.9 million. The Treasury Minute authorising the maintenance of a fiduciary issue of £1,300 million expired yesterday and the opportunity was taken to authorise an increase in the fiduciary issue in anticipation of the normal seasonal increase in the demand for notes over the holiday period. The Treasury Minute issued under the Currency and Bank Notes Act, 1928, as amended, authorising an increase in the fiduciary issue by £50 million to £1,350 million for a maximum period of six months is being laid before Parliament.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury why lead pencils marked, "Made in the U.S.A.," are being used by Government Departments and, in particular, at the Royal Armoured Corps Records Office, Enfield; and if he is satisfied that there are not sufficient British-made pencils available.

These supplies are from surplus war stocks left by American forces and handed over to the Stationery Office; issues to Government Departments are being made concurrently with British-made pencils. The latter are readily obtainable.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the recent fall in exports from this country to North America, what steps is he taking to check this decline.

Active steps are being taken to expand our exports to North America in accordance with the statement made by my right hon. Friend on 11th April, during the course of the Debate on the Budget proposals.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the difficulties that local authorities in North Staffordshire are having in disposing of waste paper after collection; and what arrangements he has made for the taking over of waste paper after collection.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the difficulty experienced by the Hetton Urban District Council and other authorities in the disposal of waste paper stocks, which, during recent weeks, merchants have been unable to accept; and what steps does he intend to take to enable local authorities to dispose of the mentioned stocks.

I would refer my hon. Friends to the reply given on 30th June to my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Mr. Symonds), from which they will see that the compulsory directions on local authorities to collect paper salvage are being withdrawn. I recently received a deputation from representatives of local authorities, and certain proposals which they made are being considered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of persons who left Great Britain during 1948 and who may be correctly classed as emigrants.

Full details of the information available on this subject were given in the "Board of Trade Journal" of 18th June, 1949. In 1948, 2,596,000 persons left the United Kingdom by sea and air. The number who emigrated direct by sea to countries outside Europe and the Mediterranean area was 168,000. The number who emigrated to or via the Continent of Europe or by air is not known. The figures given are for the United Kingdom as the movement between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is treated as internal movement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now allow the insurance brokers, whose names have been given him, permission to use the second-hand noiseless American typewriter which their American partners have sent them as a gift and which is now in this country.

No. An import licence has been refused for the reasons which have been fully explained to the hon. Member.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the total value of imports of spectacle lenses in the last six months, to the most convenient date; and the conditions governing the issue of import licences.

The total value of imports of lenses for spectacles, goggles, eyeglasses or monocles into the United Kingdom in the six months ended May, 1949, was £7,000. Since then, imports have been made, and are expected to continue, on a much larger scale. Applications for import licences are referred for advice to the Ministry of Health, and licences are normally issued on their recommendation. No special conditions are attached to the licences.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what monthly loss of exports is involved by the ban on the import of finished consumer goods by South Africa.

It is not yet possible to estimate the monthly reduction of United Kingdom exports to South Africa resulting from the restrictions on imports of finished consumer goods, because these have not yet been defined by the Union authorities. Import permits are now being issued only for essential raw materials and capital goods, but the Union Government intend to review the position in August in the light of the fuller information which will then be available to them about outstanding commitments, and they will then determine what amounts of less essential goods it will be possible for South Africa to import.

asked the President of the Board of Trade in the course of the present discussions in connection with the extension of the Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement of 1947, what special consideration is being given to the question of timber imports.

Timber is under discussion but I cannot give details while negotiations are proceeding.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has now reached agreement with the Ministry of Food as regards the changed arrangements for the importation of jam and marmalade from Australia, British West Indies, France and French Possessions, the Irish Republic, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia; and whether it is intended to issue block licences to importers so as to avoid them having to obtain individual licences for each consignment.

Yes. Traders may apply for import licences, and if the applicant undertakes to comply with the required conditions, block licences can be issued.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is now in the position to give the names of the directors of the National Research Development Corporation.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 30th June to a similar Question on this subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has considered the case, particulars of which have been forwarded him, of a group of tenants in business premises in the City of Glasgow, who are being forced to quit by a London syndicate who have purchased the property, the four remaining tenants, unable to obtain other accommodation, being treated as common squatters; and what action he proposes to take.

I am afraid that this is not a matter in which I can intervene. The Committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Guthrie, which has been appointed by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the President of the Board of Trade, is now investigating the question of giving some security of tenure to tenants of office and other business premises in Scotland.

asked the Minister of Food if he will make a statement regarding the recent importation to Scotland of several thousand tons of Cornish potatoes; and if he is aware that this proceeding has blocked the whole market normally available to Scottich growers of early potatoes and inflicted severe loss on the industry.

Only about 1,325 tons of Cornish new potatoes were sold for human consumption in Scotland. The last sale was on 13th June. This action had no adverse effect on the market for Scottish early potatoes, few of which were ready for lifting at that date.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons engaged on the training and administrative staff at each of the Remploy factories situate, respectively, at Tonyrefail, Treorchy, Porth and Treforest.

At 16th May, 1949, the numbers were 10, four, seven and 20, respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement about arrangements for spreading the industrial electricity load next winter.

This matter has been under careful consideration by the Electricity Sub-Committee of the National Joint Advisory Council. Although new generating plant is being brought into service as quickly as possible, demand continues to grow at such a rate as generally to offset this increased capacity, and it is clear that steps must again be taken in the coming winter to reduce the load on the power stations during the peak periods in the morning and evening. The risk would otherwise arise of cuts in the supply of electricity on a scale sufficient to cause serious interference with vital industrial production.It is stressed in the Report of the Electricity Sub-Committee that the problems of industrial, commercial and domestic demand must be considered together in making plans to reduce peak loads. The Sub-Committee were, however, primarily concerned with the contribution which industry should be asked to make. They have recommended that the same general administrative arrangements which were so successful last winter should be made for the coming winter; that is to say, that arrangements on national lines should be made by the Regional Boards for Industry to cover the months of December, January and February, and that during the "fringe months" of October, November and March the Regional Boards should again be given discretion to make such arrangements as they consider appropriate in the light of regional circumstances.As a result of the experience which has been gained and of the fuller knowledge of the incidence of the peak load, it has been found possible to recommend some easement in the contribution asked of industry. During December, January and February industry will be asked to cut its maximum peak demand on Mondays to Fridays inclusive by 20 per cent. during the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., but during the hours of 10 a.m. to 12 noon the reduction asked for will be only 10 per cent. From 1st December until 15th January a reduction of 20 per cent. will also be necessary between the hours of 4 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays inclusive. After that date the problem of the afternoon peak should be left to the discretion of the Regional Boards. To achieve the target reductions it will be necessary for the Regional Boards to ask some firms in appropriate cases to make an extra reduction in respect of their particular loads, but it is not intended that the general figure of 20 per cent. should be exceeded over large areas. As in the last winter the arrangements to achieve these aims should again be worked out by the Regional Boards for Industry and their Committees with the firms concerned. Copies of the Electricity Sub-Committee's Report have been placed in the Library.The Government have accepted these recommendations and are asking the Regional Boards for Industry to make the necessary arrangements. They are confident that both sides of industry will once again show the same spirit of co-operation which has characterised these arrangements in the previous two winters, but as an assurance to the vast majority of public spirited employers and work-people that their efforts will not be rendered useless by any selfish minority, the Government have decided that statutory powers should continue to be available to deal with unreasonable failure to operate load spreading arrangements.It is not enough to make these arrangements to reduce the consumption of electricity by industry during the peak periods: other classes of consumers must also make a contribution proportionate to their demand, and it has therefore been decided that as in last winter commercial consumers, including shops, offices, warehouses, hotels and cinemas, should be brought within the scope of the arrangements made by the Regional Boards for Industry and that they should be required to reduce their consumption by the same amounts and during the same hours as industry. The Ministry of Fuel and Power and the British Electricity Authority with the Area Boards will also take appropriate steps to ensure that domestic consumers and small commercial consumers (too numerous to be approached individually) exercise the fullest economy in the use of electricity during the peak hours.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning (1) what is the number of personnel employed by the Central Land Board; and the annual total salary of the Board's personnel;(2) what is the annual overall cost of the Central Land Board to the State, including hire and purchase of premises, etc.

The Central Land Board shares with the War Damage Commission a common staff, and if my hon. Friend will refer to the Estimates under the respective Votes he will find full details of the financial provision made for salaries, etc., and for allied services. (Class V., 12, pages 116 and 117, in the case of the Central Land Board; and Class IX., 8, pages 81 to 83, for the War Damage Commission.) No precise allocation of staff and premises between the two jobs is possible since for economy reasons both are interlocked at all levels and the force allocated to either necessarily fluctuates.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning what is the total revenue received on development charges from 1st July, 1948, to 1st July, 1949.

£1,025,025. In addition development charge to the amount of £1,047,500 had been determined up to 31st May, 1949, and set off against claims on the £300 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many, and what proportion of, beds in State-controlled hospitals in Glasgow are reserved for fee paying patients.

Two hundred and forty-four beds, or 1½ per cent. of the total, have been set aside in terms of Section 5 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act for patients paying the whole cost; but 30 of these are at present occupied by non-paying patients, as permitted by the Act. In addition there are 523 beds, or 3.2 per cent. of the total, in single rooms or small wards to which, when they are not occupied by patients requiring them on medical grounds, other patients can be admitted on payment of

asked the Secretary of State for War the total amount of public money spent upon recruiting luncheons held in hotels in many parts of the country to support the campaign for the Territorial Army; and how many recruits joined up within three months of these luncheons.

The information asked for is not available and it could not be obtained without a disproportionate amount of work.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of contracts for furnished lettings have been reported to the Glasgow tribunal under the provisions of the Rent of Furnished Houses Control (Scotland) Act, 1943; in what numbers of these cases has the rent payable been decreased and increased, respectively; and by what approximate percentage.

The information asked for is as follows:

asked the Minister of Works, in view of the fact that a large number of bricks were available and ready for use in or adjacent to Plymouth, why his Department ordered over two million from London, over 200 miles away, recently.

The bricks referred to by the hon. Member were specified for use as being suitable for a particular job; but local bricks have been used for other work undertaken by my Department at Plymouth.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether he has considered the case of a London University graduate, particulars of which have been sent to him, in which a provincial Government in Pakistan has failed to carry out the agreement reached between His Majesty's Government and the Government of Pakistan to grant to those British Government servants whose services have been terminated the cost of travelling to the port of embarkation, the full leave earned, and proportionate pension; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure that these concessions are now made available.

I am making inquiries into this case and will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.