asked the Minister of Education if he is satisfied that the education authorities are taking all practicable steps to ensure the attendance of gipsy children at schools.

I have no reason to doubt that local education authorities are doing all within their power to deal with this sometimes difficult problem.

Is the Minister aware that the great majority of these gipsy children cannot sign their names on identity cards or any other Government documents, and that very many of them are avoiding all forms of education completely?

To the extent that it is possible we catch them and bring them into school.

asked the Minister of Education how many times the instruction film entitled, "How Life is Carried On," has been shown to children in schools under his jurisdiction and by whose permission; and how many sex instruction films are being shown in such schools.

The hon. Member is no doubt referring to a film-strip produced by an independent firm and entitled "How Life is Handed On." Arrangements for showing films and film-strips in grant-aided schools are a matter for the local education and school authorities. I have no information as to how many times this particular film-strip has been shown, nor how many sex instruction films are being shown in grant-aided schools.

While I am not suggesting that there is any offensive intention on the part of the Minister, may I ask whether he is aware that part of the Communist technique is to demoralise the youth of the country?

I do not know anything about that technique, but I do deplore the way in which these problems are being presented from time to time in the Press, and I would ask that we should remember the number of cases in which this teaching, carried on all over the country, has been of benefit to the children rather than otherwise.

Will the Minister make certain that none of these British children see the play known as "Desire" or something—[An HON. MEMBER: "A Streetcar Named Desire."]—which is an outstanding example of American moral technique?

asked the Minister of Education what steps he has taken to ensure that educational institutions in receipt of grants from his Department do not make particular political opinions either a qualification or disqualification for appointments to their staffs.

So far as I am aware the general principle stated by the hon. Member is well understood, and I have seen no occasion for any action on my part to enforce it. If, however, the hon. Member has any special case in mind and will let me have particulars, I will investigate it.

In view of that very helpful answer, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether, when he read his "New Statesman and Nation" on 24th September, he noticed an advertisement advertising an appointment at a college of London University which was described as being a post for a woman of Labour sympathies? In view of that will he investigate it?

I do not often read the journal referred to, but I will have a look at it.

Is the Minister aware that it is not very long ago since a Socialist could not get a position in a school as a teacher, and that the promotion of the teacher who taught me was deferred for 10 years because he was a Socialist?

That is an additional reason for doing as the hon. Gentleman suggests.

Does the Minister make grants to Ashbridge?

The answer is "No."

asked the Minister of Education whether he is aware of the conditions at the Bradwell village school, near Great Yarmouth, particularly in regard to sanitation and water supply; what representations have been made to him on the general inadequacy and bad condition of the premises from parents and residents; and what action he proposes to take to remedy present conditions.

Yes, Sir, my hon. Friend has sent me complaints from a member of the parish council and several parents. The managers have also complained to the East Suffolk local education authority. The complaints have been investigated by the county architect and the school medical officer, and I have just received a report of their findings, which I am considering. I understand that steps have been taken to prevent the playground being flooded again.

Will my right hon. Friend send one of his own inspectors to look at the deplorable conditions in which this school has to carry on its work? The sanitary arrangements are antiquated and thoroughly unsatisfactory, and there is periodical flooding, and the whole village is burning with resentment against the delay in putting these matters right.

I am not suggesting that everything is as it should be, but I would point out that it is still under the managers' control, and that they are responsible for the building.

asked the Minister of Education how many marks were required in the last examination for grammar school places in Shropshire for pupils to gain entry at each school without interview; and how many marks were required for pupils to gain an interview at each school.

I have not got particulars of the marks but they are not the only factors taken into account in determining admission to the grammar schools in Shropshire. There is some variation in the standard required for entry to these schools. This is due to a variety of causes, especially to the uneven distribution of the present facilities for secondary education. In general, however, I am satisfied that the proportion of pupils admitted to grammar schools in different parts of Shropshire compares not unfavourably with that in other similar areas.

Would my right hon. Friend indicate whether his reply means that a child or children of a higher attainment at one school are debarred from entering to the higher school although their standard may be substantially better than that of children who are granted entry at other schools?

That could possibly be so if they were in two separate areas in the county.

Does not my right hon. Friend think that it is about time some attempt at standardisation and equalisation of treatment of pupils at the different schools was made through some action on his part?

That is one of the things we are striving to bring about. The problem of distance sometimes enters into the matter; but in principle I certainly agree.

Although the Minister knows the marks, are the parents informed about the number of marks required to qualify?

No. Not to my knowledge.

Is my right hon. Friend taking any steps to impress upon local education authorities the need for some modern methods of choosing children for secondary schools in accordance with the 1944 Education Act?

Yes, but there are so many different ideas among the experts as to the best method of choosing them that it is difficult to get anything in the nature of a standardised system throughout the country.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is aware that there are at present vacant places at the Thirsk, Easingwold, and Yorebridge Grammar Schools in the area of the North Riding of Yorkshire; that in the neighbourhood of these grammar schools there is at present a lack of secondary modern schools which is causing grave overcrowding; and what action he proposes to take to secure the intentions of the Education Act, 1944, are fulfilled in these areas.

I am informed that owing to a decline in the local child population there are at present not enough suitable pupils to fill all places at these three grammar schools. I am also informed that there is no grave overcrowding in other schools in their neighbourhood. I am satisfied that the intentions of the Education Act are being fulfilled by the local education authority's plans for new secondary modern schools.

Is the Minister aware that these conditions of shortage of pupils in grammar schools and of overcrowding in secondary schools are general throughout the country and will be accentuated by the cuts in school transport and the school meals programme; and will he, in the interval while this failure of administration is occurring, fill up these grammar schools?

I am certainly not aware of the fact stated by the hon. Gentleman, because it is not the case. This is the only case of which I know where vacancies in the secondary schools are not filled immediately.

asked the Minister of Education in view of the statutory obligation to provide county colleges within three years of the raising of the school-leaving age, how many county colleges will be available on 1st April, 1950.

The Order in Council under Section 43 of the Education Act, 1944, which makes it the duty of local education authorities to establish and maintain county colleges, was made on the 10th March, 1947. Most authorities have already sent in their plans, which are being considered and discussed. I do not expect that any separate new buildings for county colleges will have been erected by 1st April, 1950, but a large number of major establishments already have part-time day students and further provision of this kind is contemplated.

Can the Minister say how many places will be available in the county colleges by next April?

No. I would point out that it is under the next Section of the Act that the duty of compulsory attendance arises and this comes into operation on a date such as the Minister by Order in Council may direct.

Will the right hon. Gentleman see that the first priority up to 1950 goes to the primary and secondary schools?

We have already indicated that.

asked the Minister of Education how many nursery school places have been provided during 1949, and how many are expected to be provided during 1950.

The number of children on the registers of recognised nursery schools was estimated as 22,000 in January, 1949. Two hundred and eighty-eight additional places have been provided since that date, and buildings for a further 120 places are expected to be completed before the end of 1949. I cannot at this stage give a forecast for 1950.

Has not the Minister received the plans of the various local education authorities with regard to nursery schools; and in view of the question which has been put to him by the hon. Member for the Combined English Universities (Mr. K. Lindsay), and as this is an important matter, will he give attention to it?

We have not only received plans for nursery schools but for many primary and secondary schools which will be required for the implementation of the 1944 Act; nursery schools are taking their place among the rest.

Has the right hon. Gentleman been able to establish a school on the lines designed by the Nursery Schools Association, which, I think, halves the actual cost?

No, I believe that there is one going up at the moment, but it is not yet established.

asked the Minister of Education if he will make a statement on the arrangement which has been concluded with economic co-operation administration to send 50 British scientists and technologists to the United States of America to graduate study in leading technical schools and to On-the-job training in factories to learn American production methods; and if he will give the proportion of scientists and technologists which this British delegation comprises.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the notice which has been circulated to all concerned. Some 200 applications have been received and eight successful applicants have already gone to the United States. The selection of the remainder to the number of about 40 is proceeding, and it is hoped that they will leave next January. It is not possible to classify the successful applicants rigidly as either scientists or technologists.

Is it the intention of the right hon. Gentleman to promote this development of interchange between United States technicians and ours by every means possible?

Yes, certainly. The circular which I am sending to the hon. Gentleman indicates that.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what provisions he is making with local authorities for the collection of salvage; and why such collection has ceased in some parts of the country.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what arrangements are being made for the disposal of waste paper collected by local authorities.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the big stocks of waste paper that were accumulated by local authorities before he removed the order to collect it; if householders must destroy their waste paper; if he is aware that waste collecting firms, as for instance in Birmingham, in face of the considerable increase in the importation of wood pulp, are finding it does not pay to handle any but the higher qualities of waste; and what action he is contemplating in this situation.

I would refer the hon. Members to the replies given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Mr. Symonds) and the hon. Member for Darwen (Mr. Prescott) on 30th June and 18th October, respectively.

Does the right hon. Gentleman think that the relaxation of the Government's attitude in this matter has given people the right idea about the necessity to be careful in this regard; and in this economic crisis is it not more than ever necessary to conserve salvage and make the fullest use of it?

This is principally a reference to paper salvage, and, as I have made clear on previous occasions, the collection of various mixed and unspecified grades of paper has run beyond the capacity of merchants to absorb it.

Surely the right hon. Gentleman is making inquiries as to when the demand is likely to arise again; and can he not in the meantime co-operate with local authorities, wherever possible, to see whether storage facilities can be obtained, so that when the demand does arise again the paper will be available?

As the House knows, the paper situation has eased very considerably in the last few months. The advice we have given local authorities is to keep in close touch with local merchants to see at what rate they will be able to absorb this stock.

What about the copies of the little book "The Right Road for Britain," now that it has been disowned and is no longer in use?

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider exploring the possibility of the further use of waste paper, of which there is a great quantity, and the alternative uses for which might well be a matter for inquiry in his Department?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that some local authorities are told by merchants that the reason the salvage is not wanted is because of the importation of wood pulp and paper-making material; and is he quite certain that we cannot make further savings in imports by the fuller use of paper salvage?

The pulp and wood pulp that is coming into the country is coming from soft currency sources. Indeed, for the most part I am having to resist pressure by the countries concerned for us to take larger quantities of the pulp and wood pulp.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a list giving details of the specific instances brought to the notice of his Department alleging that the countries of Eastern Europe had closed their markets to the general range of British exports; and if he will say what representations were made to, and what reply received from, the Ministry of Foreign Trade or other appropriate body, in each case.

No, Sir. The compilation of a list of complaints would not justify the research involved. Imports, into Eastern European countries are made almost entirely by State controlled monopoly organisations, and there is no free market for the general range of United Kingdom exports. Only restricted quantities of the goods we should particularly like to sell gain admittance to these markets. Representation on particular cases are therefore useless, but in our trade agreements with Poland and Czechoslovakia small annual quotas for United Kingdom exports of this kind have been secured as part of an overall bargain.

The right hon. Gentleman having now had an opportunity to consider the matter, will he agree that the statement he made on 29th September, that the Eastern European countries had closed their markets, was totally misleading to the House and to the country; and will he not now agree that the real reason we cannot sell the products of our main industries to Eastern Europe is the prohibition imposed by the Marshall Plan, backed up, of course, by the prejudice of many people in this country?

Well, having had time to consider my previous statement I now consider it a serious understatement of the position. In the discussions I, personally, have had with representatives of, for instance, the Soviet Union I found it totally impossible to get any opening at all for the standard lines of British export goods into that country.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that foreign imports of mats and baskets are having an adverse effect upon employment in workshops for the blind in Wales, and particularly in Newport; and whether he will restrict such imports into this country.

No, Sir. The quantity of baskets and mats at present being imported from abroad is well below the pre-war level, and should not be causing undue hardship. The purpose of our import licensing restrictions is to safeguard our balance of payments, and I should not be justified in using them for the protection of a special section of industry.

Is it not a fact that there are certain types of mats and baskets which it is only possible to manufacture in these workshops of the blind; and that a market having been created in this country for such mats and baskets they are now being manufactured abroad to the serious detriment of these workshops, which is causing a great deal of unemployment in Wales?

Naturally, we all feel very deep concern about the effects on the employment in workshops for the blind, and if there is any other way of dealing with the question I should be very glad to consider it; but we cannot consider using for this purpose import restrictions used for the balance of payments.

Could my right hon. Friend say whether the very low level of such imports as have been negotiated has been adhered to, and whether there is any present intention to vary those rates?

Not without notice.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his Department takes action to ensure that timber merchants and fellers leave woodlands in a satisfactory condition after the conclusion of operations under a tree felling licence.

The extent to which clearance of debris takes place after felling is entirely a matter between the seller and the buyer of standing timber.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action his Department takes after issuing a tree felling licence to ensure against the indiscriminate destruction of adjacent trees not included in the licence.

The Control of Growing Trees and Home Grown Round Timber in the Log (No. 1) Order, 1944, prohibits the felling of home-grown timber without a licence, and its provisions are well known to the trade. A felling licence indicates clearly what trees may be felled and if trees are felled which are not covered by a licence the feller concerned is liable to prosecution. If there is damage short of felling the matter is not for my Department, being one between the owner of the land and the timber merchant.

Is any action being taken by anybody; and whose responsibility is it to see that other trees are not felled in this way?

If they are felled it is an offence, and renders the person concerned liable to prosecution. Where we have had evidence of reckless damage and of debris being left we have made representations to the person concerned to get it cleared, though we have no power to force him to do it.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us whether in future Questions about forestry should be addressed to him; and whether he is taking over responsibility for the Minister of Agriculture?

No, Sir, but the powers under this particular Order are exercised by the Board of Trade.

Why?

Would the right hon. Gentleman look into the situation in Kent, where both of these rather unfortunate conditions prevail?

I have looked into that. I think the hon. Gentleman is referring to conditions at Boxley Warren.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why no major textile display is to be arranged for the British Industries Fair for 1950.

It is the wish of the textiles industry as a whole to stage a major display at the British Industries Fair on alternate years. The last major display was at the 1949 Fair, and the next will be at the 1951 Fair. Nevertheless, the textiles and clothing section at Earls Court will be one of the largest trade groups at the 1950 Fair, embracing the displays of 150 firms, occupying more than 55,000 square feet.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that this trade is the biggest potential dollar-earner we have; that next year is the vital year, not 1951; and will he do his best to persuade the trade to reverse their previous decision and to make a large-scale display at the 1950 B.I.F.?

Of course I am aware of the dollar-earning importance of this industry. It was only because in, for instance, 1948 that the textiles industry held back at the B.I.F. that we were able to get the highly successful exhibitions of leather and jewellery, which have also played a great part in the export trade.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is now in a position to announce the end of the hosiery control.

I have decided, after discussions with the Hosiery Controller, that the Hosiery Control Office at Leicester may be closed on 31st December. The remaining part of the work will be transferred to the Board of Trade headquarters. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work of the Hosiery Controller, Mr. Cecil Coleman, who for the last seven years has given his services, and under whose guidance the Control has functioned with the utmost efficiency.

While agreeing with the right hon. Gentleman in his tribute to Mr. Coleman, might I ask him to take steps to ensure that when the remaining parts of this control are transferred to his Department they will be dealt with just as well and as expeditiously as they have been dealt with by the present Hosiery Controller?

I will try to see that that is done.

Will the transfer of the work of the office at Leicester to the Board of Trade headquarters result in any relaxation of control? That would be undesirable in the present circumstances.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if it is now possible to make an announcement of the date on which deferred business scheme claims under the War Damage Act will be paid.

I regret that I cannot add to the answers given to my hon. Friends the Members for Wimbledon (Mr. Palmer) and South-West Bethnal Green (Mr. Holman) on 4th May and 28th July, respectively.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that for the past four years many business men have been without equipment they lost during the blitz and have been unable to do any kind of work at all? Why is it more important to allow refunds for chattels than for business equipment?

I think the House will agree, particularly in view of the Debate on the statement of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, that to speed up the payments of these claims would be highly inflationary at the present time, although we have, of course, made arrangements for payment in cases where hardship is involved.

Would it be inflationary if these people were engaged in productive work?

There is no evidence to the effect that a large number of them are not already engaged in productive work.

Will not the right hon. Gentleman consider paying a percentage of the claims as an earnest of his intentions?

We are prepared to pay a percentage, or the full claim, in cases where hardship is involved.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the circumstances in which books published in Eire are being prohibited from import into Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

There is now no prohibition on the import of books from the Irish Republic. An open general licence came into force on 5th October, permitting unrestricted imports of books into the United Kingdom from a number of countries, including the Irish Republic.

Will the right hon. Gentleman see that there is reciprocal treatment so that there is no censorship or duty on British books going to Ireland?

asked the President of the Board of Trade to which countries 50 per cent. of the 1,200,000 American novelettes and Hollywood romances imported during September and October are to be re-exported; and out of what dollar funds the purchases are financed.

The licence in question was issued before the standstill on new dollar expenditure under the policy, then in force, that imports of books of fiction from the United States could be allowed provided that not less than 50 per cent. by value of the imports were re-exported. No stipulation was made as to the particular countries to which the re-exports should be sent. Payment for the imports would be made from our general dollar funds. As I explained in answer to the hon. Member's earlier Question on 20th October, this policy has since been discontinued.

Was it ever necessary or desirable to spend dollars in this way to enable us to send Hollywood books to soft currency countries?

I have had a number of representations from Members in all parts of the House to allow some token imports of fiction into this country. I am sure the House will agree that I could not use the import licence regulations for censoring different types of literature coming into the country.

Has it not been a feature of the book trade that we have been a shining example to the world by allowing free importations? What precisely does "American novelettes and Hollywood romances" mean? Does it not include a large proportion of perfectly good fiction?

Are these the exports the right hon. Gentleman is trying to get the Eastern countries of Europe to accept?

No, Sir. The hon. Member's previous Question related to our exports, not to our imports from the United States.

Are there not many other categories of goods on which dollars are spent on condition that 50 per cent. are exported without there being any guarantee of exporting them only to sterling areas?

I should like to have notice of that Question. As I have pointed out, these goods are no longer being imported.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many excavators under one yard capacity have been imported from the United States of America and Canada, respectively, during the last 12 months.

I regret that the desired information is not available, as excavators under one yard capacity are not separately recorded in the trade accounts.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a large number of excavators of this kind were imported for dollars, that they are available in this country at the present time, and that the action of his Department is not helping our dollar position? May I have an answer to my question? If I cannot have an answer, I shall have to ask leave to raise the matter on the Adjournment, as it is a question of vital importance.

I have said that it is not possible to say how many have come into the country. The only ones we know anything about are those bought by the Ministry of Works some two years ago, which came to this country before our production increased.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of replies, in terms of percentage of the total sent out, has been received to the questionnaires on the Census of Production; and what number of such replies gave an answer to all the questions asked.

The answer to the first part of the Question is, "About 87 per cent." I regret that the particulars asked for in the second part are not available.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman's answer show that there is a good deal of information lacking in the returns which have been sent in? Is he quite satisfied that he has sufficient information for his conclusions to be accurate and not to be a danger to industry in general?

Most of the returns that have come in so far and have been analysed have been very well filled in. There is, of course, a considerable number of firms not being asked or expected to fill in all the information required on the forms.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether he is satisfied that he can come to any true conclusions?

I hope so, although we have not yet had time to study all the returns that have come in.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that there is a considerable demand for jute cloth in the United States of America; that Dundee firms are anxious to meet this need, but are prohibited from doing so by the export quotas imposed by his Department; and what steps he intends to take to encourage this important section of exports to the dollar area.

The output of jute cloth in the United Kingdom is insufficient to met all requirements. These consist principally of packaging for, or use in the manufacture of, goods which are in many cases themselves exported at a value greatly in excess of the actual jute used. It would clearly be inappropriate, therefore, to allow direct export of jute cloth if this meant reducing the supply for these purposes. Exporters are, of course, free to dispose of their individual quotas in the dollar markets.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long Mr. Seyoum Berhane, aged 22, was detained in Brixton Prison following his escape from the Russian zone of Germany.

I cannot trace that this Abyssinian was ever in the Russian zone of Germany, and he was certainly not escaping from that country when he came here as a stowaway on the "Lucrino" on 14th May, 1949. He was refused leave to land and was put back on board ship, but he absconded from the ship on the day it sailed. He was not arrested until the 19th August, 1949, nearly three months after he had absconded. He was detained in Brixton Prison until 2nd October, when he was put on board the "Ercole," the first ship belonging to the owners of the "Lucrino" to leave the United Kingdom after his arrest.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of assault have been reported to the police alleged to have taken place during this year in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green; how many people have been reported assaulted; in how many cases have charges been made; and with what result.

Four hundred and sixty-five cases of assault have been reported to the police in these three boroughs during the period from 1st January to 16th October, 1949. This total includes a large proportion of cases of common assault and of fighting between husbands and wives. Four hundred and eighty-seven persons were reported to have been assaulted. Charges have been brought against 54 persons. The charge was found proved in 36 cases and was dismissed in three; 15 cases are outstanding.

Apart from the normal relations which may exist between husband and wife, is the Home Secretary aware that there is great uneasiness in these boroughs, as has been mentioned by many Members, and will he not consider the desirability of setting up an inquiry of some kind to see if means cannot be found to restore confidence to these people?

I have no reason to believe that the people in these boroughs have lost confidence in the police. Such information as reaches me is to the contrary, and I do not think there is any need to have an inquiry into the matter.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that as the law now stands all His Majesty's subjects, whether they be Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Mohammedan, are entitled to the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the phrase "Liberty of the subject"? Will he therefore see that these freedoms are preserved and secured for the people in these areas?

I fully accept that responsibility, and I do my best, in the difficult circumstances prevailing in the East End of London, to discharge it.

Is there any special explanation of the rather odd fact that whereas the police have established that 400 persons were assaulted, there were only 50 prosecutions?

These are cases which came to the notice of the police. All the persons assaulted did not desire that there should be prosecutions, and in cases of domestic quarrels, very often, if the police attempted to intervene, they would be as unpopular as anyone else who did so.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that within my knowledge, as a representative of the East End of London, the people of London have not lost confidence in the integrity of the police? If strong charges are made against the integrity of the police ought not the people who make those charges to be prepared to bring forward evidence, so that it may be inquired into?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the great resentment caused by allegations—I am not referring to those made in this House—made by people outside the House of no importance? They have made lying accusations against the police of partiality, and great indignation has been caused by these utterly untrue charges.

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I will make a statement on that matter at the end of Questions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the time of the Metropolitan Police is taken up with road traffic work; and if he will introduce a system of road traffic wardens specially trained for this class of work in order to relieve the police to perform the work for which they were primarily appointed.

It is not practicable to give a figure representing the overall demands of traffic work on police time, but the total number of men employed full time as mobile patrols and on traffic points represents 6.9 per cent. of the present strength of the Metropolitan Police Force. Traffic work is an integral part of police duty, and I am not satisfied that it would be in the public interest to introduce a separate organisation of traffic wardens.

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the feeling of disturbance about the number of non-detected crimes? It is felt that the police spend so much time on traffic duties and the detection of traffic offences that they cannot give attention to the detection of crime?

I hope the figure I have been able to give as a result of this Question will provide some reassurance, but I would also direct my hon. Friend's attention to the Report of the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, with reference to traffic warnings. It is to be found on page 13 of his last Report.

Has my right hon. Friend any figures about the increase of crime since the police went over to the new patrol system, instead of patrolling around the beat as they used to do?

So far as England and Wales are concerned, the way in which the police deal with this matter varies from place to place; there has been no wholesale passing over from one system to another.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the important matters with which the second part of the Oaksey Committee's Report is concerned, when he expects that this report will be made available to him and to the House.

I am informed that the final report ought to be ready for submission to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and me early next month. It will be printed and presented to Parliament as soon as possible thereafter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he has now agreed with the representatives of farmers and the veterinary profession on a scheme for the establishment of clean areas where only attested cattle will be permitted; and when a start will be made.

I am afraid that I am not yet able to add anything to the reply given to the hon. Member on 4th April.

Can the Minister give us some reason for the prolonged delay in starting this scheme for the eradication of tuberculosis?

As the hon. Member is aware, discussions have been proceeding for quite a long period, and the question of compensation and finance generally, perhaps may have caused the delay.

Is it proposed to include the postponing of this scheme under the £6 million cuts announced earlier this week?

It is quite conceivable that there may be some deferment for a short period.