asked the Minister of National Insurance the number of old age pensioners in Cardiff who are in receipt of supplementary pension; and how much money has been expended in this way during 1949 to the nearest convenient date.

I am having prepared such information as is available and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of National Insurance how many persons are employed by his Department in checking the good behaviour of those in receipt of sickness benefit as compared with the numbers so employed prior to the coming into force of the National Insurance Act.

Checking the propriety of claims is part of the general duty of maintaining proper supervision of sickness benefit. It is not possible to segregate particular individuals as being engaged on this work, nor can similar figures be given in respect of the former administration by approved societies.

asked the Minister of Labour the numbers of insured workers in Glasgow who received holidays with pay in 1939 and 1949, respectively.

I regret that figures are not available in respect of particular areas.

asked the Minister of Labour how many were registered as unemployed at Finnieston employment exchange, Glasgow, at the latest convenient date, and in the corresponding month in 1938, respectively.

Finnieston—3,640 at 14th November, 1938, and 1,097 at 14th November, 1949.

asked the Minister of Labour how many unemployed have been registered in the Borough of Preston during each of the four years since 1945 at the most convenient date; and how these figures compare with the numbers of unemployed in the same area during the four years immediately following the end of the First World War.

The numbers registered as unemployed at the Preston employment exchange and youth employment bureau were as follow: November, 1945–977; November, 1946–1,428; November, 1947–753; November, 1948–790; November, 1949–687; November, 1922–6,090; November, 1923–9,199. Corresponding figures are not available for any year before 1922.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of men and women registered as unemployed at the Redhill and Dorking employment exchanges at the latest convenient date.

At 14th November, 88 males and 68 females at Redhill and 38 and 16 respectively at Dorkine.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now in a position to report agreed conversations with bodies fully representative of all branches of the legal profession in Scotland on the subject of the Legal Aid Scheme for Scotland.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the population of the Island of Stroma; how long have the people there been without the services of a qualified resident nurse; what is the total amount per week of National Insurance contributions paid by the residents; what National Health Services are provided on the island; whether a doctor visits the island regularly each week; and what are the other responsibilities on the mainland of this doctor.

The population of the island is about 95, and there has been no resident nurse since May, 1949. As at most 10d. of any National Insurance contribution goes towards the cost of the National Health Service, the income under this head in respect of insured residents on the island probably does not exceed £2 weekly. All residents on the island are of course entitled to the full range of National Health Service facilities, including transport to hospital where necessary. Family doctor services are provided by the doctor at Canisbay, on the mainland. He visits the Island when required and can be summoned by wireless telegraph and telephone. He has just under 1,000 patients in all on his National Health Service list.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that the condition for which Mr. A. E. Smith, 15, Prospect Road, Burley-in-Wharfedale, who underwent an operation when in the Army has now recurred; and whether he will review his eligibility for a disability pension.

Compensation for Mr. Smith's war disablement has been granted in accordance with the decision of the independent statutory appeals tribunal. I am making further inquiries with a view to seeing whether it is possible to help Mr. Smith and I will write to the hon. and gallant Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Pensions why the words, "at the discretion of the Minister," which appeared in S.R. & O., No. 183, 1947, Article 49, have been left out of S.I., 1949, No. 2025, Article 41 (1).

The omission of the words in question from Article 41 of the new Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme was purely a drafting matter: it has not altered the discretionary character of these education grants.

asked the Minister of Pensions what is the estimated additional cost to the scheme of the proposals in S.I., 1949, No. 2025.

The estimated additional cost of the improvements to the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme set out in the explanatory note to S.I. 1949 No. 2025 is about £45,000 a year.

asked the Minister of Pensions what it is estimated would be the increase in expenditure each year involved in the payment under Article 59 (3) of S.I., 1949, No. 2025, of a gratuity to widows who remarry.

About £17,000, slowly declining.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to state, by countries, the total new capital investment overseas from Great Britain since the end of the war.

I would refer my hon. and gallant friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bexley (Mr. Bramall) on 11th November.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to state, by countries, the extent to which their short-term sterling assets, as at August, 1945, have been drawn down since the end of the war; and whether he will give an estimate as to how much of these amounts were converted into gold or dollars.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to Cmd. 7793, Table IV, items 4–7 and 18–20. As I stated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bexley (Mr. Bramall) on 11th November, it would not be proper for me to publish figures of actual drawings on sterling balances by individual countries. Nor would it be proper to say how much has been drawn from the central reserves or contributed to them by individual countries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what stage plays and other entertainments have been granted exemption from Entertainment Duty in the present calendar year.

As I have explained, the conditions governing exemption from duty under Section 8 of the Finance Act, 1946, relate to the status and activities of the organisation concerned and not to the particular play. Several thousand societies have qualified under these conditions during the present calendar year, and 1 am afraid that to compile a list would mean an undue amount of work.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why, in view of his policy with regard to bonus shares, he has permitted the Capital Issues Committee to sanction the distribution of £2,943,140 in the form of 4½ per cent. preference shares to the stockholders of the Ford Motor Company of Great Britain.

Consent to this issue was given on 4th August; no consents have been given since my announcement on 25th October.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what principles he applies to the assessment of the monetary rewards given to persons who inform him of tax evasion; and to what extent money so paid ranks as income for Income Tax purposes.

Rewards are given only where the services of the informer result in some substantial recovery of duty and he has incurred expense or expended time and trouble in support of his allegations and the information supplied would not otherwise have become available to the Revenue. These rewards are not income for Income Tax purposes.

asked the Postmaster-General how far his regulations prescribe the charging of Customs Duty and Purchase Tax on goods bought by British troops in Navy, Army and Air Force Institute canteens in Berlin and sent home as presents.

I have been asked to reply. Goods bought by British troops in N.A.A.F.I. canteens in Berlin and sent home as presents or otherwise are subject to the ordinary Customs charges, except that gift post parcels sent home by them which do not exceed 10s. in total value and which do not include any tobacco, scent or liquor, are admitted free.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in view of the high price of Christmas cards and the disparity in the prices charged, he will; reduce the Purchase Tax on them, bearing in mind the burden the tax imposes upon old people who wish to keep contact with their friends.

At present three rates of Purchase Tax apply to Christmas cards. I propose to reduce this to two with effect from 2nd January. The plainest ones will qualify for the 33½ per cent. rate. For the more elaborate ones I consider that 100 per cent. is the appropriate charge.

asked the Economic Secretary to the Treasury why a 66⅔ per cent. Purchase Tax is imposed on machinery-cleaning cloths and, in view of the need for reducing industrial costs, whether it can now be removed.

Machinery-cleaning cloths fall within the general description "tissues and fabrics" and are taxable under that heading. There are exemptions for utility cloths and for rags and many kinds of cloth suitable for machinery-cleaning fall within their scope and are accordingly free of tax. As regards other cleaning cloths such as dish cloths I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Totnes (Brigadier Rayner) on 22nd November.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the amount refunded to Income Tax payers as post-war credits for each year of the scheme; and what percentage these amounts are to the total amount of the estimated payments still to be made for each year of tax collection.

The following table shows the position on 30th September, 1948, the latest date for which detailed information is available:

Year	(1)	(2)
	Amount Repaid	Approximate amount outstanding	Percentage which (1) bears to (2)
1941–42	£m27·6	£m120	23·0
1942–43	30·9	150	20·6
1943–44	12·2	30	40·7
1944–45	27·9	185	15·1
1945–46	26·2	190	13·8

My hon. Friend will find a complete analysis of post-war credit repayments in Table 33 of the 91st Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware of the form of words used by the collector of taxes on form P.33A; and whether he will consider having the words "Require payment" altered to "Request payment," as being more suitable.

No. This is a demand note sent to employers who have failed to respond to previous requests to pay over the tax that they have deducted under P.A.Y.E.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the current average price of home-produced sheepskin pelts; on what basis they are allocated to processers; what is the current average price for similar pelts imported from New Zealand; and how far he proposes to make arrangements whereby larger allocations of home-produced pelts can be given to firms who can re-export to dollar markets.

The current average price of home-produced pelts is about 45s. 4d. per dozen for sheep pelts and 31s. 8d. per dozen for lambs in lime ex fellmonger's yard. At the last auctions of New Zealand pelts, which were held in September, the average f.o.b. prices were 71s. 9d. per dozen for sheep and 47s. 11d. for lambs in pickle. The present allocations of domestic pelts are based on usage immediately prior to the war, with modifications to meet the needs of firms whose allocations on this basis would be abnormally low. The Leather Control have for some time past been considering how additional supplies could be provided for firms which can use them for dollar and other export orders, and following a meeting last week with representatives of the trade a scheme is being introduced immediately.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now reconsider the decision to discontinue the issue of monthly quotas of timber to recognised builders for small repairs.

I regret that the present shortage of softwood makes it impracticable to issue a fixed quota to builders each month for use entirely at their discretion. Timber can only be supplied against licences for specific jobs which are essential and for which the use of softwood is necessary.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of the ring spindles, at present installed in the Lancashire cotton mills, are not being operated because of a shortage of labour; and how this compares with labour available in the mule rooms.

In the week ended 19th November, nearly 20 per cent. of the ring spindles in running mills in the cotton spinning industry were not being operated, primarily because of shortage of labour. The comparable figure for mule spindles was just under 17 per cent. There are outstanding vacancies for both mule and ring spinners.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the reasons for the resignation of Sir Graham Cunningham as chairman of the Dollar Exports Board.

No. It would not be appropriate for my right hon. Friend to make any statement with regard to the resignation of the chairman of an independent body.

asked the Minister of Works whether he is satisfied with the present provisions for incentive payments to employees in the Scottish building industry.

The provisions for incentive payments are a matter for the industry itself and are governed by its working rules. The Scottish National Joint Council for the Building Industry have the matter before them and I hope that satisfactory results will ensue.

asked the Minister of Works the area of requisitioned office accommodation in the Borough of Holborn which is to be released now that Ariel House is occupied by the Ministry of Civil Aviation; and on what date the release will become effective.

None of the requisitioned buildings which are being released as a direct result of the occupation of Ariel House is within the Borough of Holborn.

asked the Minister of Health the nature and the extent of the investigation which is to be carried out on behalf of his Department in the Sale district between 1st and 16th December by the Social Survey.

The Sale district is being included in the Monthly Survey of Sickness which is now carried out on behalf of the Registrar-General. The Survey, which started in 1944, covers each month a sample of 4,000 persons aged 16 and over and is carried out in areas distributed over the whole of England and Wales selected in such a way as to secure proper representation of different types of area. Interviews are conducted by Social Survey workers at the homes of the persons selected, who voluntarily give information about illnesses and ailments experienced by them during the two months preceding the month of interview.

asked the Minister of Health at what proportion of the hospitals under his control a superintendent, who may have only lay qualifications, is in charge of the medical staff in medical as well as administrative matters.

I know of no hospital in the National Health Service in which this is the position.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent the allocation committee of the executive council can refuse to exempt a practitioner who, for any reason applies to them, from the liability to have persons assigned to him, and from the liability for emergency night calls to persons not on his list; and under what sanctions.

An allocation committee has full discretion, subject to the terms of the allocation scheme for the area made under the General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services Regulations, 1948.

asked the Minister of Health whether, pending the provision of health centres maintaining a 24-hour medical service, he will make alternative provision for dealing with emergency cases in highly populated areas.

I am not clear what the hon. Member has in mind. The normal present arrangements for dealing with emergency cases are continuing.

asked the Minister of Health if, in view of the necessity of continuous injections of insulin in cases of diabetes, he will exclude diabetic patients from the charge per prescription exacted from other classes of sufferers, who do not require such continuous repetition of medicines.

I am not yet in a position to add anything to my reply to the hon. Members for East Willesden (Mr. Orbach) and North Salford (Mr. McAdam) on 3rd November.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the maximum, minimum and average difference in the price paid for wool to the farmer, and by the manufacturer.

For the year ending 30th April, 1949, which covers the 1948 wool clip, the average price paid to the farmer was 2s. 1d. per pound, to which should be added the costs of collection and marketing, whilst the average price realised by sale at auction was 2s. 4¼d. per pound. It is not possible to give maximum or minimum figures for individual lots, because the individual farmers' clips are sorted and bulked in graded lots before sale.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the average amount paid to merchants for handling wool; and what is the maximum and minimum amount for the highest and lowest grades.

The payments to the merchants for all the services which they perform have been determined after an examination of the actual costs incurred. It is not the normal practice to disclose details of these payments which are regarded as confidential between the Ministry and the merchants concerned, but the average payment to merchants on the 1948 clip was 2.7 pence per lb.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the average cost per pound incurred in selling wool from merchants to manufacturers; and the average profit per pound made at wool auctions held within the last year.

The average cost per pound incurred during the year ended 30th April, 1949, from the time the wool was taken from the farmer until it was finally sold was approximately 3¾ d. per pound. The net profit on the wool sold was slightly less than one penny per pound. Sales, however, included nearly 10 million pounds (by weight) from the 1947 clip, which had been bought at much lower prices.

asked the Minister of Education how many schools, planned on a lower standard than that of the 1944 building regulations, he has approved during the last year; what is the percentage of saving achieved by the lower standard; and under what section of the Act he has approved the lower standard.

In view of the need for economy in the cost of new school provision and of the fact that the Building Regulations of 1945 have, in certain respects, been found to be insufficiently flexible, I have been having them reviewed. Meanwhile local educational authorities have been permitted to plan schools on the basis of changes that are projected. Interim amendments are now about to be made and these and other amendments will be embodied in a new set of regulations to be issued later. My expectation is that, except for a number of cases falling under Section 7 (2) (b) of the Education Act, 1948, no school premises which are built to plans approved within the last year will, when taken in use, fail to conform to the regulations. I could not answer the first and second parts of my hon. Friend's Question without undue expenditure of time and labour.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of punishments in each girls' Borstal institution in 1948; and the number and type * of offences, and how punished, in each of the girls' Borstal institutions up to the end of October, 1949.

During 1948, 49 punishments were awarded against girls undergoing Borstal training at Aylesbury. The corresponding figures for East Sutton Park, for Exeter, and for the girls detained at Holloway in consequence of the revocation of their Borstal licences, were 1, 18 and 14. The particulars asked for in respect of the period 1st January, 1949, to 31st October, 1949, are as follow:At Aylesbury there was one offence of violence against the person, 35 offences of violence against property, nine escapes and attempts to escape, one offence of trafficking and 18 other breaches of regulations; the punishments imposed consisted of one award of close confinement and 63 awards of loss of stage, privilege or remission.At East Sutton Park no offences were recorded.At Exeter there was one offence of violence against the person, 12 offences of violence against property, and 17 other breaches of regulations; there were 21 awards of loss of stage, privilege or remission.At Holloway there were two offences of violence against the person, one attempted escape, two offences of idleness, two of trafficking, 10 of insubordination and 10 other breaches of regulations; the punishments imposed consisted of three awards of close confinement and 24 awards of loss of stage, privilege or remission.