asked the Minister of Education if in 1951 there will be a second examination for the general certificate of education in December, to enable candidates to sit for it who will be under 16 years of age on 1st September of that year but who will have reached the age of 16 by 1st January, 1952.

understand that four of the eight approved examining bodies intend, with the concurrence of the Secondary School Examinations Council, to offer a second examination for the general certificate of education in 1951, mainly at the ordinary level. It will, however, be available only for candidates of 16 years of age or more on 1st September, 1951.

Will my right hon. Friend give second thoughts to the possibility of adjusting the qualifying age to suit the later date of examination? Is he aware that a boy reaching the age of 16 early in September will either have to stay at school another whole year or else take the examination after the leaving age and that that, of course, would be most unsatisfactory? Will he try to avoid over-rigidity in this matter?

I will certainly look at it again. I have looked at it at least half a dozen times.

In order to give my right hon. Friend an opportunity of having second thoughts about this matter I beg to give notice that I shall raise it on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Education what Government organisations distribute films for use in schools; what is the amount of the grant towards providing films for schools; and what means exist of giving advice on the type of film meriting distribution.

The Educational Foundation for Visual Aids, which was set up for the purpose of distributing films to educational institutions, is not a Government organisation, but receives a loan from the Exchequer. No grant is available towards providing films, but the Foundation devotes such part of its income as it can afford towards the cost of sponsoring them. The National Committee on Visual Aids in Education is available to give advice on the type of film suitable for use in educational institutions.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, whether the National committee is available or not, it is in fact never consulted, and that this organisation the Educational Foundation is a law unto itself? Is he aware that there are at least some people who feel very strongly that this body is not entirely impartial in the type of film it distributes to schools, and will he therefore look into the matter, particularly as regards the impartiality of the organisation?

I will certainly look at it, if there is that feeling.

Is it not the case that if the hon. and gallant Member for Eastern Renfrew (Major Lloyd) would consult his hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. S. Marshall) who sits on the Educational Foundation his hon. Friend would tell him that every statement he has made is completely inaccurate?

asked the Minister of Education if agreement has now been reached about the future use of Horton Lodge, Rudyard, Leek, as a special school for delicate children.

In the absence of agreement between the parties concerned, a statutory local inquiry has been held.

Does this mean that the inquiry that my right hon. Friend set up has come to the conclusion that the needs of the City of Stoke-on-Trent are greater than those of the county in this matter?

Yes, Sir, I think that that inference can be drawn.

asked the Minister of Education how many special boarding schools for handicapped pupils, and homes, hostels and training centres for them after leaving these schools have been opened in the last four years; how many children have been admitted; how many more will be catered for in the next year; and if he will consider arranging for assistance regarding training fees after these children leave school.

Since 1st January, 1946, 53 boarding special schools, exclusive of hospital schools, have been opened, with accommodation for 3,300 pupils, and I estimate that 30 more, with accommodation for about 1,500 pupils, will be provided by the end of 1950. During the same period, 39 new boarding homes with accommodation for 917 pupils have been approved. No new training centres for handicapped persons have been provided under the Education Acts, and no additional provision is expected next year. The training facilities provided by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, 1944, are available for handicapped pupils when they leave school.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say if he is taking special care to see that children who have been trained at these special schools are given some priority at the centres, because at the present time many of them are going back to rather unsuitable homes or to institutions and are not being enabled to take full advantage of the education they received?

We are doing our best to help them in all instances. I know that there are difficulties, due to the places where they reside. Wherever possible we get them into touch with the facilities.

asked the Minister of Education whether grants can be extended a further six months for ex-Service medical students who have qualified, and whose grants stop on qualifying, in order to enable them to take on a resident post in hospital which is an essential part of medical education.

Yes, Sir. My Department is prepared to consider extending, for a period of six months in the first instance, an award under the Further Education and Training Scheme to a medical student appointed to a resident post in order to supplement his salary if the circumstances justify it.

May I thank the Minister for that very generous answer? I am sure that he is aware that very many students in hospitals will be satisfied with the decision.

Will the right hon. Gentleman extend that principle to prospective teachers who take their university degree in June and cannot get a post in a school until September?

There is a slight difference between an individual who is waiting for a post in a school and an individual who takes up a post which is part of his training.

Could not newly qualified doctors be encouraged to undertake posts as trainee practitioners with doctors in general practice while waiting for their hospital appointments?

asked the Minister of Education having regard to variations which occur from year to year in a particular area, how far it is in accordance with his policy that some places in a secondary school may properly remain unfilled.

This is a matter on which two views are possible but where, as in the area which I assume my hon. Friend has in mind, the grammar school provision is above the average for the country as a whole, the arrangements for admission provide equal opportunities for all children, and the filling of every vacancy for the sake of filling it would mean lowering the standard of admission, I would not take exception to the Authority's action in leaving a relatively few vacancies unfilled.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that his reply, for which I thank him, will give very great satisfaction indeed to all local education authorities in the country?

As the examination at 11 plus can never be a just criterion of a child's future development, is it not a very great waste to have empty places in this type of secondary school when there are children who are willing to enter and parents who are anxious that their children should enter?

That depends on the number of children and the number of parents who are anxious. If a standard is assumed it is difficult to determine which of the children whose parents are anxious that they should enter should fill the vacancies. In the old days vacancies were filled by paying for the child irrespective of its ability.

Has my right hon. Friend looked at the results of children who did not pass the school entrance examination for these very schools over the past few years?

I have not those over the past few years. What I do know is that all those which are being brought to my attention are of children who failed at 11 and have subsequently passed, leaving out of account the thousands who were turned down at 11 and did not have another opportunity.

Will my right hon. Friend see that if exceptions are made and the standard is lowered, it is done over a whole area rather than in particular cases?

That is done.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that men's shoes are now being made with a six iron shoulder outer sole, a board insole and heels of compressed board with only one leather layer; that footwear will not normally last for a reasonable period unless it is provided with an eight iron bend outer sole, a belly inner sole and an all-leather heel; and if he will safeguard the interests of the buying public by prescribing minimum specifications in respect of the manufacture of utility footwear.

Detailed specifications of utility footwear have been departed from so as to allow for greater flexibility in manufacture and to give the public a wider choice of styles. The Board of Trade keeps a careful watch on the quality of the output. Manufacturers generally are co-operating and producing satisfactory footwear. I have no knowledge of shoes being made with shoulder soles and cardboard insoles, but if the hon. Member would let me have details of the specific cases he has in mind I would have them investigated.

In the absence of any minimum specification of quality for utility footwear, is not the President of the Board of Trade apprehensive that, owing to the rising cost of living and the demand for cheaper footwear, some people may be tempted to put this sort of shoddy on the market?

I have not seen any evidence of the kind of shoddy to which the hon. Gentleman has referred, but if he will let me have particulars I will investigate the matter.

Is it not due to the footwear that the iron entered into the "inner sole" of the right hon. Gentleman.

The word "iron" in this connection, as I am sure the hon. and gallant Gentleman realises, is a measurement of thickness, being only l/48th of an inch.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the volume of cotton textile exports, on the latest available date, expressed as a percentage of the 1937 volume.

The volume of United Kingdom exports of cotton yarns and manufactures in the third quarter of this year was 54 per cent. of the average for the year 1937.

Has the right hon. Gentleman good reason to suppose that these figures will shortly be increased?

Yes, Sir, I certainly hope they will, but I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will realise the difficulties of expanding output in exports in an industry which has 30 years of neglect and the difficulties of war-time behind it.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how the volume compares with exports of 20 years ago?

Not without notice.

asked the President of the Board of Trade in view of the not excessive quantity of newsprint involved, if he will now allow newspapers and periodicals to display placards again.

The restrictions on placards relate only to the display of contents posters and I am not aware of any general desire on the part of the publishers concerned to revert to this practice in the present position of newsprint supply.

Does my right hon. Friend think that it is compatible with the dignity and pride of the great capital of this Empire that the newsvendors in the streets should go about with dirty sheets of paper in front of them all bescribbled with words which hardly anybody can read?

I am not aware of any demands on the part of the publishers concerned to have other forms of paper advertising.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the introduction of placards for the "Daily Herald" might put up the election expenses of Labour candidates?

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many chip basket manufacturers are actually manufacturing chip baskets in the area west of a line drawn from Bristol to Bournemouth.

I regret that this information is not available.

Is the President of the Board of Trade aware that if he goes into this, he will probably find that there is only one, and will he see to it that sufficient timber is given to that manufacturer to meet the demand of horticultural interests in the West of England?

I know that the hon. Gentleman has brought this case to the notice of my officials. We shall certainly do all we can to help.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it is now the intention of His Majesty's Government further to identify and publicise individual firms who have successfully responded to official appeals for greater dollar-earning efforts.

Yes, Sir, subject to the practical difficulty of being sure that credit goes where credit is due.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what cartel agreements exist discouraging British firms from expanding trade with dollar markets; and what action he is taking to see that such agreements are terminated.

I am not in a position to know of private agreements which may exist between firms in the United Kingdom and firms overseas; nor could the effect of any such agreements on our exports to dollar markets be assessed without full investigation in each case. If any concrete instances where such agreements appear to be restricting our dollar earnings were brought to my notice, I would see what could be done having regard, if need be, to the provisions of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948. Meanwhile I would urge all concerned to consider the matter carefully before continuing old or entering into new agreements.

Has the attention of my right hon. Friend been drawn to statements by officials of the State Department and the European Co-operation Administration, reported in a responsible Sunday newspaper last week, that they have information that British firms are deliberately staying outside the dollar markets in order to honour illegal cartel agreements, citing chemical fertilisers in particular, and will he approach the E.C.A. and the State Department to ask for the necessary information to enable him to investigate this matter?

The only cases brought to my attention are cases where the British firms concerned are subsidiaries of American firms or are manufacturing under patent royalty arrangements where there have been agreements that our firms will not enter the dollar market.

Do I understand from the replies of the right hon. Gentleman that no specific instances justifying action under the Monopolies Act have been brought to his attention to date?

That is the position.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now consider allowing exporters to dollar countries to retain a percentage of the dollars earned; and whether he will make a statement.

I am not yet in a position to make a statement about what, if any, additional incentives are necessary or desirable to assist the export trade to the dollar areas, but the Government remains ready to consider on its merits any scheme, orthodox or unorthodox, which would promote exports to the dollar areas.

Will the Minister be saying something more about this point later, because he was widely reported as having said something on his recent return from North America?

What I said was that a number of suggestions had been put before us and, in answer to a query from the Press representative concerned, I gave a description of the scheme in force in Holland, which was one of many suggestions made to me, but it does not represent a scheme on which we have taken any decision about introducing into this country.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now consider sending an economic and trade mission to China forthwith to investigate trade prospects with that country.

No, Sir. The question of recognition of the Communist regime would have to be settled first, and there has been no evidence yet that the attitude of the Communist authorities towards foreign trade would give opportunities for a successful trade mission.

While I appreciate the difficulties about recognition, when recognition is granted will my right hon. Friend consider appointing commercial and trade attaches as soon as possible?

That is a hypothetical question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will take steps to improve the supply of men's corduroy trousers and drill shirts in the slate-quarrying areas of Caernarvonshire.

As I promised in the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend on 1st February last, I have sought the help of firms engaged in this trade to increase supplies of men's corduroy trousers in this area. There is, however, a general shortage, which will be eliminated only by increased production of the cloth. Similarly, with drill shirts, it is to increased production of drill cloths that we must look for elimination of supply difficulties, and all practicable steps to that end are being taken.

Surely there must be some way of giving priority in these matters to areas where workers such as slate quarrymen are working; and does my right hon. Friend know that there is more corduroy in Bloomsbury than there is in North Wales?

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the programme for home timber production in 1950.

Yes, Sir. The types of timber which comprise the great bulk of home production are hardwood and pit-wood. I am glad to say that the improvement in the import prospects has enabled us to make further progress towards bringing the felling of our timber into line with the annual increment of growth. Felling in 1949 was limited to 75 per cent. of the hardwood and 50 per cent. of the softwood felled in 1947; and a further reduction of 20 per cent. from the 1949 level has been agreed for all home felling in 1950. From 1st January next, the Forestry Commission will issue all licences to fell.

Is this increase likely to lead to the removal of controls on the use of softwood, and will it lead to an improvement in the supply position of softwood for housing?

I have made it clear that this was not an increase in felling but a decrease, and that it was principally hardwood and pitwood supplies that were affected. The softwood position still remains extremely difficult.

Can further consideration be given to paying to the home producer the same price as is being paid to the foreign producer?

The control on the price of homegrown timber has been removed with effect from 1st December last.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say whether these regulations also apply to the Forestry Commission, and has there been the fullest consultation between his Department and the Head of the Forestry Commission as to whether it is a proper economic proposition?

Yes, there has been the fullest co-operation and, as I have made clear, control over felling will now be exercised by the Forestry Commission so that felling can be related to the forestry needs of the country.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the nuisance caused to persons living within one or two miles of the Five Ash Down flax factory by the smell of the retting; and if he will employ some method of deodorising to abate the discomfort caused.

I am aware that some people living near the Five Ash Down Flax Factory have complained of the smell of retting. The possibility of deodorising any gases that emanate from the retting tanks is being investigated at the Flax Research Establishment.

Is the Minister aware that nearly 200 people have filed a petition on the subject; and how long will this factory remain open, because locally it was understood to be a temporary war measure?

It will certainly be necessary to go on with this factory because of the shortage of flax from other areas, but I am aware of the petition and I hope that the investigation in the research department will make possible some alleviation of the smell of which complaint is made.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the enlightened methods employed in Northern Ireland by which this difficulty is eliminated?

I am fully aware of the methods in force in Northern Ireland. There are peculiar difficulties in the case referred to in the Question, due particularly to shortage of water supplies.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why, by S.I., 1949, No. 1934, he has exempted from price control sales of sulphuric acid to Government Departments.

The intention of the exemption is to provide for purchases of sulphuric acid by Government Departments in cases where the maximum price cannot be assessed under Section 2 (b) of the Order by reference to the maximum price already paid by comparable industrial undertakings in the area where the acid is to be consumed.

But why should Government Departments be permitted to pay a price which, if paid by private firms, would amount to a black market transaction, and what justification is there for giving Government Departments a privilege to evade price restrictions imposed on everybody else?

There is no question of black market transactions in this. What we have in mind is that there are certain Ministry of Supply atomic and other research establishments situated in areas where there are no other consumers on the basis of which it would be possible to fix a fair price, and therefore they are exempted for this reason.

But is this concession given to any privately owned firm placed in the same position?

If there was a privately owned firm in an area where there were no other comparable consumers, naturally special arrangements would have to be made.

Is it not a fact that variations in price are caused only by the variation of the cost of delivery, and surely the reason advanced by the right hon. Gentleman is quite improper?

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many individual firms have asked for advice in raising productivity, from the Production Efficiency Service of the Board of Trade, in the years 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949, respectively.

The number of individual firms who have asked for advice on raising productivity, from the Production Efficiency Service, is as follows: 1946, 99; 1947, 92; 1948, 132; 1949, 109.

Can I ask my right hon. Friend from whom these firms will How get the assistance they need, since the service has been closed down.

We are fully satisfied that there are sufficient arrangements now in industry for any firm requiring consultant advice to get it through normal channels.

Has the right hon. Gentleman received any request for advice on this subject from the Overseas Food Corporation?

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, having regard to the considerable number of people whose names appear on voting registers in two or more constituencies, and in the interest of maintaining the principle of one man one vote, he will arrange for all reprints of Electoral Registration forms to carry the warning that it is an offence to vote more than once at the same Parliamentary Election.

I had already decided to arrange for a note on this subject to be printed in future on Form A.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department into what category of persons, specified in Form R.P.F. 9, do Members of this House fall in respect of their applications for a postal vote at the forthcoming General Election.

A person, now a Member of this House, who proposes to be a candidate in a constituency other than that in which he is an elector may apply on that ground, on the form in question, to vote by post at a General Election.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that only those Colonial civil servants who are paid out of money provided wholly by Parliament are eligible to vote in an election in the United Kingdom; and, as this rules out the majority of Colonial servants, what steps he proposes to take in the matter.

Yes, Sir. The provision to which the hon. Member refers is contained in regulations approved by Parliament and accords, in my view, with the intention of Parliament when it enacted Section 6 of the Representation of the People Act, 1948.

Does the right hon. Gentleman recognise the anomaly that officers in the Consular Service abroad have a vote in this country, but officers in the Colonial Service abroad normally have no vote?

That is a point that should have been raised when we had a very full discussion on this matter when the Bill was going through the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement as to how the total number of electors, excluding Service voters, on the new registers compares with the number on the last registers prepared before the re-introduction of the house-to-house canvass.

As I informed the hon. Member in answer to a Question last week, the number of electors on the Civilian Residence Register for 1948, the last compiled under the old law, was 31,122,555 in England and Wales and 865,917 in Northern Ireland. The provisional return, which will be published tomorrow will show that the approximate number of Parliamentary electors, excluding Service voters, on the October, 1949, register, the first under the new law, is 30,047,945—a r eduction of 1,074,610—in England and Wales, and 863,663—a reduction of 2,254—in Northern Ireland.

As the population has increased during the 12 months, could the Home Secretary express an opinion whether the new system, which has produced a smaller total, is better than the old, or vice versa?

I think the new system is better than the old. The registration officers, whose advice I take in regard to the arrangements, anticipated that the change from the old system to the new would probably result in a reduction of about 5 per cent., owing to the more faulty method of compiling the registers under the old system. As a matter of fact, the reduction is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3 per cent.

Can my right hon. Friend say the reason for the reduction, in view of his statement that the new system is better than the old? Is he aware that the old system omitted quite a number of people from the registers and, in view of this large fall, does he not think there must be many omitted from this register?

No, Sir. I think what happened under the old system was that certain people whose names ought to have been removed because they had left the district, or for other reasons, were in fact continued on the list and that led to a very considerable inflation of the registers.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in some parts of Scotland the registrar has sent out notices asking persons to fill them in and send them back? Those notices frequently have not been filled in and sent back and a reminder has been sent and that is the only method they have at the moment in those places and consequently is there not bound to be a tremendous number left out?

My hon. Friend should address his remarks in regard to Scotland to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland. My experience is that when what my hon. Friend has described has occurred, there is a personal canvass of the property in question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can give an estimate of money owing to county agricultural committees; and what proportion of this is written off as bad debts.

The debts owing to county agricultural executive committees at 31st March, 1949, the latest date for which figures are available, totalled £3,352,000. I cannot say what proportion will be written off as bad debts, but of the total charges to fanners of £96½ million from the commencement of the committees' operations to 31st March, 1949, only £22,200, or rather less than one-fortieth of 1 per cent., had been written off by that date.

In view of the enormous losses by these county committees and the enormous amount of money involved, and in view of the fact that these committees are the thin end of the wedge for the nationalising of the land, will the Minister scrap them?

No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will make a statement in connection with the recent resignation of some of the chairmen of the county agricultural committees; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure that men of experience are retained.

Three chairmen of county agricultural executive committees have resigned since 1st January last; one on the grounds of age; another because of ill-health; and the third through difficulties of an administrative nature. I am sure that the chairmen and members of county committees appreciate that the work they are doing in the national interest and for the good of the industry is as important as ever.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that I am a seeker after truth? Can we have an assurance from him that men in responsible positions will be retained and will not be allowed to resign because there has been unnecessary disagreement between them and Whitehall officials?

I am glad to be able to say that we always have people who are willing to accept these great responsibilities.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that the shortage of veterinary surgeons employed by his Department in Somerset is such that food production is retarded and farmers are often unable to have obligatory tests carried out; and what action he will take to obviate this difficulty.

There is at present a general shortage of veterinary surgeons for both official duties and private practice. There is, however, little delay in carrying out official tuberculin tests in Somerset, though I understand that a number of veterinary surgeons have waiting lists of clients anxious to have the preliminary private tests of their herds made. With regard to the last part of the Question, arrangements have already been made, as part of the policy embodied in the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1948, to increase the flow of graduates into the profession, but naturally it will be some time before the full effect of these measures can be felt.

Can my right hon. Friend give any estimate of when he hopes that the demand for veterinary surgeons will be met?

I am afraid I cannot because that depends on the rate of recruitment of new students and their departure from the various universities.

Has not the treatment of the doctors had a deleterious effect on recruitment for the veterinary profession?

I should think that it has helped considerably.

asked the Minister of Agriculture in view of the fact that the commoners at Constantine Bay, Cornwall, have assigned their rights to him, whether it is with his authority that sand hauliers have made a road into the common lands for the purpose of removing sand from the beaches; whether he is aware that that they are now engaged in removing the sand dunes themselves; and whether he will institute legal proceedings to protect the common lands.

No commoners' rights at Constantine Bay have been assigned to me, and the access road to which my hon. Friend refers has not been made with my authority. I am not aware that the hauliers are now removing sand dunes. I have no power to institute proceedings to protect the common lands and it is primarily for the owners of the soil to consider whether any action should be taken in the matter.

But is my right hon. Friend aware that he is paying these people a subsidy to take away the common lands and does it not show that his methods of inspection and checking are completely inadequate, as I have said for years?

My hon. Friend must agree, from the letter which I sent to him last evening explaining the full facts of the case, that I am in no way responsible for the statement made in his Question.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that I have not yet received it?

Will the Minister protect the age-long right of Cornish farmers to have sand to manure their own land?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a list of firms, showing the separate amounts at present on loan to them from the Treasury.

No, Sir. It would be contrary to the normal practice to give these particulars about individual companies, most of which are private companies. The total number of companies assisted is 27, under Section 4 of the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945, and 5 under the Special Areas (Amendment) Act, 1937. The respective amounts outstanding are £1,305,302 and £209,484, a total of £1,514,786.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the nature of the association between the Arts Council of Great Britain and Tennent Productions, Ltd. in the production of the play "A Streetcar Named Desire"; in what proportion any profits earned by this play are divided between the two bodies; and what restriction is placed on the uses to which such profits may be put.