asked the Minister of Works for what reason he is destroying ex-Government buildings which housed £20,000 worth of mining machinery near Horsham belonging to Mr. A. P. Harman; and whether he will order the postponement of demolition until this matter can be reconsidered.

This property is held under requisition by the Ministry of Agriculture who have declared the buildings redundant and my Department has been asked to dismantle and dispose of the buildings before derequisitioning. I

asked the Minister of Works if he will provide a schedule showing in detail the increases and decreases in the price of the principal building materials since March, 1948, indicating in which cases the changes have been due partly or solely to changes in distributive margins.

The following table gives the information for the principal materials for which my Department is responsible:occurred but distributive margins have been reduced.

asked the Minister of Food why he continues to control the price of poultry since its price is below the controlled limit; and if he will now abolish this control.

I am glad to say that it is a fact that some, though not all, types of poultry are now selling below maximum prices but I am advised that this is probably no more than a temporary seasonal feature and that demand is now increasing with the approach to

asked the Minister of Food the total amount of the advances made by His Majesty's Government to

asked the Minister of Food details of the quantities of meat, pork, rabbits and other food held by him which have been condemned as unfit for human consumption since 1st January, 1949.

Food held by the Ministry of Food which has been condemned as unfit for human consumption since 1st January, 1949.the Overseas Food Corporation under the Overseas Resources Development Act, 1948.

The total amount of the advances to date is £29,350,000.

asked the Minister of Food, whether, in view of the uncertainty that exists in the Evesham district of Worcestershire and in other districts throughout the country, regarding the canning of the tomato crop by growers, and the practice which has been pursued this season of selling such products off points, he will clarify the position and assist growers who have canned part of their unsaleable crop by allowing them to sell these products off points.

There should be no uncertainty. A licence is necessary for the canning of more than one ton of tomatoes a year, but will be readily granted if the applicant's equipment and premises are suitable. No request for a licence has been refused this season. I am not prepared at present to take them off points.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that the permission which has been granted to hotels and restaurants to make extra charges such as house charge, dancing, oysters and coffee, and the inability to restrict the high prices being charged for drinks, has made the 5s. meal restrictions ineffective; and, in view of the fact that there is now no longer any danger of increased prices being charged in cafes and canteens throughout the country, if he will remove the 5s. limit.

I cannot agree with the implications in either part of my hon. Friend's Question and I am not prepared to remove the 5s. limit at present.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when the first annual report of the British Electricity Authority will be published.

I am advised by the British Electricity Authority that they expect to submit their report and accounts, together with those of the 14 area boards, to me before the end of this month. The exact date of publication will depend on the time necessary thereafter for printing the documents.

asked the Prime Minister whether a medal is to be struck or other special awards made for gallantry and good service by police and armed Forces engaged against the Malayan insurgents.

Since June, 1948, some 84 decorations and medals have been granted in the armed Forces and the police for services in Malaya. In addition there have been 218 mentions in despatches. Further awards are contemplated.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will publish the reports furnished to his Department in recent weeks relating to the living conditions in the crew's quarters in the s.s. "Adviser."

Reports made by Ministry of Transport surveyors are confidential documents, but the facts were before the Court which tried cases concerning this ship at Northfleet and at which a surveyor gave evidence. As that evidence showed, an official of the National Union of Seamen agreed with the Surveyor that the accommodation was reasonable and habitable. It is not of the standard to be found in new ships and the owners have been asked to put right certain minor defects, and to consider the possibility of making improvements.

asked the Minister of Transport how many people have been killed in air, rail and road accidents, respectively, during 1947, 1948, and the first nine months of 1949.

I will circulate the figures in HANSARD. Those relating to air accidents have been given to me by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Civil Aviation.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will now state what is the estimated revised cost of the 1951 Festival of Britain.

I have been asked to reply. My right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council has already given the House this information in his speech on 27th October in the Debate on the Economic Situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that the Archbishop of York was recently refused permission to visit Mexico even for a few hours unless he removed his clerical collar and dressed as a layman; what representations he has made to Mexico City on the matter; and if he will make a statement.

There is a Mexican law prohibiting the wearing of clerical garb in public. I understand that the Archbishop of York, on learning that an exception to this law could not be made, decided not to visit Mexico. No representations have been made to the Mexican Government on this matter, which concerns the application of Mexican law in Mexico.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in what circumstances a confidential document written by him to the British Ambassador in Rome was published in an American magazine recently.

My right hon. Friend cannot accept responsibility for the recent article in the American magazine "Newsweek" which purported to reproduce his views on Anglo-Italian relations. I am glad to be able to say that the Italian Government have informed me that they regard the incident as being of no consequence and that they do not intend to allow it to affect the continued improvement of Anglo-Italian relations. I have informed the Italian Government that His Majesty's Government fully reciprocate these sentiments, which, indeed, reflect their own attitude.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if an arbitrator has yet been appointed to consider the five disputed rent increases on Duchy farms in the Bowland district of Yorkshire.

No. Discussions as to a suitable arbitrator are still taking place between the parties.

asked the Minister of Supply what contribution is paid by workers in Royal Ordnance factories in connection with the sick pay scheme.

None.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent the visit of the Executive Secretary of the Monopolies Commission to the United States of America was arranged on the initiation of his Department; and what amount of dollars has been provided for this visit.

The Monopolies Commission is an independent body which is itself fully responsible for the assignment of duties to its Secretary and other members of its staff. Accordingly, this visit was not arranged on the initiative of my Department, though it had knowledge of what was proposed. One thousand, one hundred and fifty-eight dollars have been provided, of which 910 dollars will be met out of the Economic Co-operation Administration's Technical Assistance Funds.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many industrial civil servants have been granted certificates of establishment as a result of the invitation issued by the Civil Service Commission in 1948; and how many applications remain to be dealt with by the Commissioners.

Forty-six thousand nine hundred and ten certificates have been issued by the Civil Service Commissioners to industrial civil servants since January, 1948. Twenty-four thousand, four hundred and thirty-one cases remain to be dealt with.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the subsidies and other forms of financial assistance from the Exchequer paid to agriculture and industry other than nationalised industries, in the current financial year and the three preceding years, giving the amounts involved in each case.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. and gallant Member for North Portsmouth (Major Bruce) on Tuesday, 1st November, 1949.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered the application of the National Union of Bank Employees for all banks to close on the first business day of January and July to the public to enable the staffs to deal more effectively with the half-yearly balances; and with what result.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on the 3rd May by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Lipson), to which I have nothing to add.

asked the Minister of Education the cost of educational building started in 1946, 1947 and 1948, respectively; what he estimates will be the comparable figure in 1949; the revised target for 1950; and the cost of educational building for each year in the period 1929–39.

The estimated cost of educational building projects started in the years 1946, 1947 and 1948 was £7 million, £24 million and £26 million, respectively. For 1949, the figure is likely to be between £45 million and £50 million. A revised target for 1950 has not yet been decided, since it will be necessary to take into account the reduced building costs which are to be effective for work started in 1950.The value of building work approved by the Board of Education in each of the financial years 1929–39 was as follows:

asked the Minister of Education, to what extent men are now being recruited for teaching in primary schools, in view of the fact that there is little possibility of obtaining women teachers in sufficient numbers to meet the influx in the primary schools for at least a generation.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of Circular 174, which was issued in June, 1948. Paragraph 9 (c) of the circular emphasised the importance of increasing the proportion of men employed in teaching children over the age of 8 in order to secure an adequate supply of teachers, men and women, for both secondary and primary schools. The advice given in this circular is being generally followed.