asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that the tins of dried eggs now being offered to the British housewives bear the imprint, "For European Recovery supplied by the United States of America "; and, in view of the fact that consumers have to pay 2s. 6d. per tin for this dried egg, if he will have this wording amended.

This dried egg was bought with Marshall Aid funds and the imprint was placed on them by the American authorities. Moreover, the price to us was about one half of the cost to the United States Government. I feel sure the hon. Member will agree that in these circumstances it would be ungenerous to do as he suggests.

asked the Minister of Food how many tins of oysters have been imported to this country from the United States of America since January, 1946; what average price was paid for them; and what was the average retail price charged.

understand that private traders imported before May, 1947, about 850,000 ½ lb. tins at an average price of about 2s. 7d. per tin c.i.f. This importation was then prohibited. The selling price is not controlled.

asked the Minister of Food what proportion of the recently announced additional issues of animal feedingstuffs is made up of Russian oats.

Oats from all sources will comprise between 5 per cent. and 10 per cent. of the bonus issue of feedingstuffs, but it is impossible to say in advance what proportion of this quantity will consist of Russian oats.

asked the Minister of Food in view of the increasing shortage of coffee, what steps he will take to prevent an increase of price.

Coffee prices are controlled by Statutory Instrument and coffee essence prices are controlled by an understanding with the principal manufacturers. I have no reason to fear that either of these measures will prove ineffective.

asked the Minister of Food what action he is taking as a result of the appeal made to him to stop the closure of underground bread bakeries in London.

Approval of underground bakeries is within the discretion of local authorities under Section 54 of the Factories Act, 1937, which is administered by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour; and there is a right of appeal to a court of summary jurisdiction. I should therefore have no locus standi in the matter unless supplies of bread and flour confectionery were being jeopardised. I have no information that this is so.

asked the Minister of Food when the discussions are to take place regarding the provision of wheat from Canada after the end of the present contract next year.

No such discussions are contemplated at present.

asked the Minister of Transport what state of preparations has been reached in his survey for an alternative road to A.6 which will pass through the Vale of Lune in order to avoid Shap.

The preliminary survey to fix the line of the road has now been completed, and the details are under consideration. The next step will be for me to advertise a scheme under the Special Roads Act, 1949, and I expect to be able to do this within the next six months.

asked the Minister of Transport what effect the reductions in capital investment recently announced will have upon the scheme put forward by the London Plan Working Committee to spend £340 million upon new tubes for Greater London as described by him on 4th July, 1949.

As I explained in my answer to the hon. Member for Hornsey (Mr. Gammans), on 14th November, the application of the recent capital cuts to railway works is now being worked out. It is unlikely, however, that they will have any immediate effect upon the works proposed by the London Plan Working Party Report because these are, in the main, long-term proposals on which relatively little expenditure could, in any case, have been incurred in 1950.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the export possibilities of the Crellin motor coach, and that these are largely dependent on its being licensed and used successfully in this country; and if he will now take early steps to have this vehicle licensed as a single decker.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mr. Skeffington-Lodge) on 7th November. I will make my decision known as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Transport why there has been delay in confirming the applications of the Breconshire County Council for two pedestrian crossings and a one-way street to the Teddington control factory in High Street, Cefncoed.

Decisions have now been given in both these cases. As regards the pedestrian crossings, there was, I regret, some delay in my Department. In the case of the one-way Order, the delay was almost wholly due to the time taken to notify my Department of the results of the advertisement.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will give an assurance that in any reduction in the number of productive employees in Royal Ordnance factories a reasonable proportion of the administrative staff in those factories is also made redundant.

Yes. Reductions in staff will certainly involve administrative as well as manual workers.

asked the Minister of Supply the amount of tin held by his Department and its purchase price; and, now that the London Metal Exchange is reopened, if he will offer Government holdings for sale.

My Department at present holds about 31,000 tons of tin. Before 18th September the metal was bought at the world price of £554 a ton from Malaya and £559 a ton in the United Kingdom. Metal bought since that date will be paid for at a price adjusted to meet the revaluation of sterling. Stocks will be released at a rate which aims at ensuring reasonable price stability and the final disposal of any unsold stocks will be considered when the market has had time to settle down.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many Germans from the British zone of Germany are known to have sought asylum in the Soviet zone since the end of the war; and what is the average number which has entered the Soviet zone each month this year.

There is no evidence that any Germans from the British zone have sought asylum in the Soviet zone since the end of the war.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many German refugees whose homes were in the Soviet zone are known to have entered the British zone of Germany from the Soviet zone since the end of the war; and what is the average number which has entered the British zone each month this year.

The number of refugees previously resident in the Soviet zone who had registered as entering the British zone between the end of the war and the 1st October, 1949, was approximately 513,200. The present average monthly influx is estimated at 3,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on the basis of what treaties or other instruments or binding declarations, His Majesty's Government recognise the control at present exercised by the Chinese authorities over the island of Formosa.

The only relevant declaration is that made at Cairo in 1943 in which the heads of the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and China stated that the territories stolen from China by the Japanese, including Formosa, would be restored. The Cairo Declaration was reaffirmed by the Potsdam Proclamation of 1945, to which the Soviet Union adhered. It was on the basis, of the Cairo Declaration that the Chinese authorities took control of Formosa at the time of the Japanese surrender, and have exercised the administration of the Island ever since.

asked the Minister of Works how many tenders have been received for the work of demolishing the Palace of Industry in Bellahouston Park; and when he expects that demolition will begin.

Six tenders have been received for the work of demolishing the Palace of Industry at Bellahouston Park. Today is the final date for submission of tenders and until these have been examined I am not in a position to state when demolition will begin.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power, in view of the desirability of improving housing conditions in the mining areas, if he will discuss with the National Coal Board the question of allowing miners working in privately-owned mines to be considered as tenants of houses specially erected for miners.

The only houses specially erected for miners with whose allocation the National Coal Board are concerned are some of those built by the Scottish Special Housing Association. These are for miners transferred from coalfields where the reserves of coal are declining. The question of which miners should be offered tenancy of these houses is, it seems to me, certainly a matter of day-to-day administration in which my right hon. Friend would not think it right to intervene.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what was the total sum paid in respect of 1947 and 1948 by his Department to the National Coal Board as loss of profits on opencast coal and in lieu of royalties, respectively.

The following are the figures:

—	Calendar Year
	1947	1948
	£	£
Compensation in respect of loss of profit.	192,572	225,309
Payments in lieu of royalties	165,364	192,473
Totals	357,936	417,782

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power upon what date notice of appeal was given by the Crown against the decision of the sheriff at Edinburgh on 19th October that the presence of commercial petrol, as defined in S.I., 1948, No. 1127, could not be proved by analysis; and when the appeal was abandoned.

Notice of appeal was given on 20th October and the appeal was abandoned on 15th November.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what quantity of petrol is being purchased with the £19,545,000 just allocated for this purpose under the Marshall Aid grant; what is the total quantity that will be received for the current year through Marshall Aid finance; and what is the total amount of petrol allocated annually under the Basic Petrol Scheme.

The Economic Co-operation Administration has in recent months allocated 68.6 million dollars for the purchase of crude petroleum and petroleum products by the United Kingdom in the second half of 1949; it is estimated that these purchases will include 738,000 tons of motor spirit. Total allocations by the Economic Co-operation Administration for the purchase of petroleum in 1949 are 133.2 million dollars and it is estimated that these purchases will include 1,705,000 tons of motor spirit. The total amount of petrol, including the "Summer bonus," represented by Standard Ration coupons which it is estimated will be issued during 1949, is approximately 470,000 tons.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether, in view of the reduction in the number of hackney carriages licensed to ply for hire from a street rank or stand during the petrol rationing period June to November, 1949, compared with former petrol rationing periods, and the consequent reduction of the service to the public, he will now consider increasing petrol allowances for private hire in all areas where there has been a reduction of petrol allowed to such hackney carriages.

No.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what were the total petrol allowances in the City of Exeter for the rationing period, December 1948 to May 1949, in respect of vehicles operated as private hire cars and vehicles licensed as hackney carriages to ply for hire from a street rank or stand; what were the equivalent figures for the rationing period June to December 1949; and what were the number of licensed hackney carriage vehicles for which allowances were made in the two rationing periods.

The total petrol allowances in the City of Exeter for the rationing period December 1948 to May 1949, in respect of vehicles operated as hackney carriages licensed to ply for hire and as private hire cars, were respectively, 66,968 gallons and 15,262 gallons. The equivalent figures for the rationing period June to November, 1949, inclusive, were 35,886 gallons and 37,205 gallons. The number of hackney carriages licensed to ply for hire for which allowances were made in the two rationing periods were 115 and 59 respectively.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what advice was tendered by the Forestry Commission to the Parish Council of Harting, in West Sussex, upon the state of the trees at the Warren; and to what extent the felling of the trees was in accordance with the advice tendered.

The Forestry Commission informed the council in December, 1947, that the trees were over-mature, showing signs of decay, and that those within reach of the road were a source of real danger to the public. The council was advised to consider felling and replacing the trees before they became useless for timber and increasingly dangerous, and the felling was thus in full accordance with the advice tendered.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power (1) whether the boiler house equipment to be installed in the new Bankside Power Station is being designed to combine both oil and coal burning; and whether he will give the estimated fuel cost per units generated for oil fuel and also for coal;

The boiler house equipment at Bankside is designed for oil burning only. The estimated average cost of electricity generated at Bankside by means of oil fuel, assuming a 40 per cent. load factor, is 0.76d. per unit. The estimated average cost by use of coal, if the station had ben designed for burning coal, would have been of the order of 0.69d. per unit. Both these estimates are based on pre-devaluation costs. Whether this relationship will still hold good when the station comes into operation will naturally depend upon the relative prices at that time.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give a list of all fees paid to date to British counsel acting in connection with war crime trials and, in particular, at what rate is remuneration being paid at the present time in connection with the trial of General von Manstein.

Fees paid to date to British counsel acting as Judge Advocate and Prosecutor in connection with war crimes trials by British Military Courts amount to some £16,400 and £7,700, respectively. As regards the trial of Field Marshal von Manstein, it is not the general practice to divulge the rate of remuneration being paid to counsel while the court is sitting. Payments to British counsel in connection with the early conduct of the case amounted to some £1,700.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an estimate of how far the standard of living of the British people would be lowered if food and raw materials were purchased from the dollar areas only to the extent to which they could be paid for by our exports, both visible and invisible, to those areas.

The most recent figures available are those for the year ending June 30th, 1949. The United Kingdom deficit on current account with the dollar area for that year was:

	£ million*
Imports (f.o.b.)	391
Exports and re-exports (f.o.b.)	185
Deficit on visible trade	206
Net deficit on invisibles	44
Total deficit on current account	250
*At 4.03 dollars to the £.

It is not possible to give an estimate of what would have been the effects on the standard of living in the United Kingdom in 1948–49 of reducing imports from the dollar area by £250 million. The effect that would be involved can however be judged from the following figures of the percentages (by value) of United Kingdom imports which came from the dollar area in the year ended 30th June, 1949:

COMMODITY CATEGORIES
	per cent.
Food and Feedingstuffs	17
Raw Materials	21
Other Imports (tobacco, petroleum machinery, etc.)	32
INDIVIDUAL COMMODITIES
	per cent.
Wheat and Flour	74
Sugar	42
Cotton	27
Timber	22
Non-ferrous Metals	46
Tobacco	42
Petroleum	38

asked the Lord President of the Council what medical research is being done by the Medical Research Council into the problem of treatment, cure, prevention and cause of rheumatism which affects almost two million of our people; and the number employed and the money expended yearly on this research.

Research on rheumatic diseases has formed an increasingly important part of the programme of the Medical Research Council since a new approach to the problem was opened by the recent discovery in America of the effect of Compound E (Cortisone) in relieving these conditions. The possibility of preparing better compounds of a similar type is being actively pursued at a number of centres in this country, and large numbers of investigators are concerned.The work is necessarily costly but in view of rapid expansion in the field of study it is not yet possible to estimate the total expenditure in the current financial year.

asked the Lord President of the Council how far the Medical Research Council sponsor, subsidise, or assist research into the problem of the rheumatic disease which causes an economic loss of over £20 million per year; and how much money has been spent annually since the war in this type of research.

The Medical Research Council have a Research Unit which is at present wholly devoted to the study of acute rheumatism, and they are making substantial grants for the support of research on rheumatic diseases at various hospitals. In addition, they support much work on fundamental problems of endocrinology such as led in America to the discovery of Compound E (Cortisone). The annual expenditure by the Council on these and allied problems has increased greatly since 1948 as a result of the new approach to the problem made possible by this discovery. Expenditure by the Council on research limited to rheumatism was £1,135 in 1946–47, £3,800 in 1947–48, and £4,810 in 1948–9. I am not in a position to express a view as to the accuracy of the figure as to economic loss mentioned by the hon. and gallant Member.