asked the Minister of Agriculture the numbers of farmers in each county in England and Wales who, on 30th June, were under supervision within the terms of the Agriculture Act, 1947.

On 30th June the number of farmers under supervision for failure to comply with the rules of good husbandry were:

asked the Minister of Agriculture how much of the total output of the agricultural industry consists of livestock and livestock products.

In terms of gross value, approximately 60 per cent. at the present time.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the fact that the large acreage of marginal land which is not now fully used could be utilised to increase substantially the meat supplies of this country, he will take steps to grant additional financial assistance to enable farmers to increase the productivity of this land.

As the hon. Member is aware, a number of important measures have been adopted with the object of increasing the output from marginal and hill lands. These include the Marginal Production Scheme, the grants for improvement of hill farms and the hill sheep and cattle subsidies under the Hill Farming Act, 1946, and the grants for water supplies, liming and farm drainage. Nevertheless the Government fully appreciate the desirability of ensuring that these lands make a full contribution to our meat supplies and is keeping this problem under continuous review.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can now make a further statement showing the development of experimental husbandry farms and horticulture stations; and when financial accounts and results of the work already done are to be published.

It is proposed to establish in England and Wales 17 experimental husbandry farms and six experimental horticulture stations including a National Fruit Variety Testing Station. The National Agricultural Advisory Service will be responsible for their direction and management. Six farms have so far been acquired and also a site for the National Fruit Variety Testing Station, while negotiations are well advanced for two properties for use as experimental horticulture stations.These farms and stations are intended to provide extended facilities for investigation and to enable research workers to test their results under different environments and practical farming conditions. The financial results therefore would have no basis of comparison with those of holdings run as commercial units and it is not proposed to publish accounts. Reports on the experimental work and the results obtained at the several centres will be published as appropriate from time to time.

asked the Minister of Agriculture to state his policy for amending the Forestry Dedication Scheme and for improving the financial conditions of private forestry.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Mr. G. Jeger) on 28th July.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will amend his regulations to permit the wife of an airman to be brought back from hospital by service transport as well as taken to hospital, thus bringing the Royal Air Force amenities into line with the civilian Health Service.

Royal Air Force transport may be used in cases of medical necessity for conveying airmen's wives to their homes on leaving hospital. This is in line with the arrangements under the National Health Service.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is aware that the National Union of Teachers enjoys a representation on the teachers' panel of the Burnham Committee of 16 out of 26; that this constitutes a permanent majority and that, as the decisions of the Burnham Committee are taken by a majority vote, these circumstances make the National Union of Teachers practically an arbiter of salary awards; and whether it is his intention to perpetuate this situation.

The answer to the first part is "Yes." I do not accept the implication in the remainder of the Question and I do not contemplate at the present time making any change in the constitution of the Committee.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is aware of the unrest among teachers in Wanstead and Woodford, who are not paid the London area allowance although caretakers, clerical and domestic staff in the schools in that area receive London pay, and if he will take steps to remedy this anomaly.

I am unable to add to my answer to the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Boyd-Carpenter) on the 21st July on this subject.

asked the Minister of Education whether the provision of large multilateral schools as the normal type of secondary school throughout this country is part of the accepted educational policy of His Majesty's Government; and what instructions to this effect have been issued to education authorities.

I have stated my views about the organisation of secondary education generally in the pamphlet "The New Secondary Education" and about multilateral schools in particular in Circular 144. I am sending copies of both documents to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what deposits of uranium have been found in Tanganyika; and whether this discovery requires to be reported to the Trusteeship Council.

No appreciable deposits of uranium ores have been discovered in Tanganyika, though for many years minor occurrences have been found from time to time. The second part of the Question does not therefore arise.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order to save dollars, he will now endeavour to arrange for the allotment of Economic Co-operation Administration funds to be used to buy Canadian wheat.

The allotment of E.C.A. funds is the responsibility, subject to the provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act, 1948, of the Economic Co-operation Administration which is already aware of the special position of the United Kingdom in relation to Canadian wheat supplies.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider a relief in taxation for farmers, to enable them to replace obsolete farm buildings in order to increase their efficiency in food production and thereby save dollar expenditure.

I would refer the hon. Member to Section 33 of the Income Tax Act, 1945, under which expenditure on the construction of farm buildings, if not allowable in a maintenance claim, can be relieved, for Income Tax purposes, over a period of 10 years.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what restrictions are imposed by the Roumanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Polish, Jugoslav and Czechoslovak Governments on the movements of British diplomats; what restrictions are imposed on diplomats representing these countries in the United Kingdom; and if he will now take steps to reciprocate in this respect.

Restrictions exist only in Bulgaria and Roumania. In Bulgaria British diplomats other than the head of the mission have to inform the Bulgarian Ministry of Affairs of any intended journey 24 hours in advance, and obtain a certificate to the effect that they have complied with this regulation. Certain areas of the country are moreover totally out of bounds.In Roumania the greater part of the country is out of bounds to all member of our diplomatic mission. Special permission to travel on official business may in theory be obtained from the Roumanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs but in practice His Majesty's Legation have always met with the greatest obstruction.No similar restrictions are imposed on foreign diplomats in this country and on the subject of retaliation I have nothing to add to the answers I gave when replying to the question of the hon. Member for Hornsey (Mr. Gammans) on 11th July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what answer has been given to the invitation from the Finnish Parliament for a British Parliamentary Delegation to visit Finland; and if he will make arrangements for this visit.

I am glad to inform the House that the invitation has been accepted and arrangements are being made for the visit to take place from the 15th to 22nd September.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why Mr. and Mrs. Harry Ronald Gilby, 57, Cedar Road, Northampton, who applied by letter and sent passports for a permit to travel in Germany on 27th June, who sent a further letter, forms and fee of 10s. on 30th June, and who came to London to pay a personal visit on 4th July, have not received their permit.

I much regret that owing to the very heavy pressure in the Military Permit Office these passports were mislaid before the recent reorganisation took effect. They have now been despatched by post endorsed with the entry permits.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware of the grievance of Malayan rubber planters now on leave in Great Britain that they can obtain only sufficient petrol for 250 miles motoring and have difficulty in obtaining any additional allowance; and whether, in view of the fact that planters in Malaya at present are living under conditions of difficulty and danger which compare unfavourably with the conditions of Service personnel abroad, he will take steps to provide some modifications of the present procedure.

I regret that in present circumstances I cannot agree to any increase in the allowances at present made available in such cases.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware that before a British rubber planter on leave from Malaya can obtain extra petrol he has to show a passport bearing the stamp of the immigration officer from where he comes but that since these stamps as between Malaya and Britain have been replaced by embarkation and landing cards, his officers are obliged to search passports for something which no longer appears on them, with the result that unnecessary delays occur in the issue of petrol; and whether this matter can be remedied at an early date.

British civilians who are permanently domiciled in a Commonwealth country are entitled to claim the overseas allowance of 250 miles' motoring and my officers necessarily have to satisfy themselves by inspection of the applicant's passport or equivalent documents that he is normally resident abroad.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that his decision to refuse to approve a system of water supply on a certain Cretingham route because the consumers concerned had not been prepared to make a contribution towards the cost, is causing much dissatisfaction amongst the potential consumers, many of whom are farmers, and as it is felt that in asking for contributions that his Department is in fact delaying plans for a proper water supply to be undertaken, if he will reconsider his decision.

I am looking into this case and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health the number of building operatives employed on new houses on the New Parks Estate, Leicester, on a recent convenient date in July, 1949; and the number upon the same date last year.

The latest available figures relate to the end of June and are, I am informed, as follows: June, 1949, 357; June, 1948, 497.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many representatives of the United Kingdom Government are attending the conference on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade now sitting at Annecy;(2) if he will give the names of the representatives of the United Kingdom conducting negotiations on trade at Annecy;

The United Kingdom delegation at Annecy consists at present of five delegates and advisers, viz.: Mr. R. J. Shackle, C.M.G. (Adviser on Commercial Policy, Board of Trade) (Head of Delegation), Mr. C. W. Jardine (Board of Trade), Miss N. K. Fisher (Board of Trade), Miss Y. Lovat-Williams (Board of Trade), and Miss M. A. Cotterill (Ministry of Food), together with Mr. J. R. Cross (Secretary of Delegation) and junior staff. At earlier stages it was larger and included officers from certain other Departments. It has been progressively reduced whenever this has been rendered possible by the conclusion of particular parts of the work.The main items on the agenda of the Conference have been:

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the resentment felt by British people attending the conference at Annecy over the prices agreed to by His Majesty's Government with the hotel which were in excess of the ordinary prices; and if he will explain how this came about.

I am not aware of any complaints by members of the United Kingdom Delegation at Annecy about the cost of their hotel accommodation, which is in fact met by His Majesty's Government in accordance with prices negotiated between the secretariat of the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Annecy hotel-keepers. It was decided by vote of the contracting parties to hold the Conference at Annecy, although the hotel accommodation there is limited and the level of prices relatively high, since the Conference secretariat services could be efficiently and economically based on the Palais de Nations in Geneva, where, however, sufficient hotel and office accommodation for delegations was not available. During most of the Conference, the agreed hotel prices have been below the holiday season level, though, owing to the unavoidable extension of the Conference, certain seasonal price increases have had to be accepted since 1st July. Every effort has been made to keep down the cost of accommodation as far as possible, and, of course, to send back to the United Kingdom members of the delegation as soon as their services at Annecy could be spared.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the proposed county road plan for East Suffolk, if carried out, would mean that thousands of acres of agricultural land would be spoiled; and whether he will reconsider the plan before any definite decision is taken.

I cannot express any opinion on the plan as I have not yet seen it. I should naturally wish to avoid any unnecessary interference with agriculture.