asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what moneys have been confiscated from American visitors leaving the United Kingdom within any recent convenient period.

Currency notes to the value of approximately £1,520 were seized from Americans leaving the country during the past three months, but the seizures are not necessarily final.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information concerning the amount of paper money which can be taken out of this country is given to tourists from overseas when entering the United Kingdom.

Full information on this subject is brought to travellers' attention, in every way that we can devise, before they leave their own country and during their stay here. It is also contained in a leaflet which is placed in the passports of tourists from overseas when they enter the country.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the shortage of shillings in circulation, he will advise the nationalised industries to include more shillings in pay packets.

Yes. I am asking my colleagues who are responsible for the several nationalised industries to ask the industries to help in ensuring a better distribution of shillings.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the shortage of shillings in circulation, he will instruct the Post Office to distribute more shillings when giving change

Head postmasters were instructed last March to see that a fair proportion of shillings are distributed

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what would be the estimated annual cost of repaying post-war credits to wives on the death of their husbands;(2) what would be the cost of repaying all post-war credits to widows as at 1st May, 1950;(3) what would be the estimated annual cost of repaying post-war credits to all those who have successfully applied for public assistance and who own such credits.

I am afraid that the information requested is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of old age pensioners who avail themselves of the tobacco tax concession; and the annual cost to the Exchequer.

Some 1,700,000 old age pensioners receive tobacco duty relief, the value of the tokens issued to them is at present about £10¼ million a year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will revert to the previous practice of permitting the issue of Form No. 12 (Income Tax Return) to be supplied in duplicate on application, so that taxpayers who wish to do so can keep a copy of their annual return.

Yes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any form has been prescribed by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue for claims to allowances and deductions by non-residents pursuant to the proviso to Section 24, Finance Act, 1920, Section 20, Finance Act, 1926, and Section 19, Finance Act, 1925; and how any such prescribed form has been brought to the notice of the public.

Forms R43 and R231 are provided for this purpose. Certain return forms sent to taxpayers in this country indicate that a special form is provided for non-resident claimants.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many persons are at present suspended from Government employment for security reasons; how many are receiving full pay; and how long it is intended to continue their suspension on full pay in each case.

Twenty-three persons are suspended from duty on full pay, 10 pending a decision under the agreed procedure, 13 while the possibility of alternative employment is being investigated. Suspension is continued for as long as is required to ensure that all reasonable efforts have been made to secure alternative employment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make arrangements for the refund to motor-car dealers of half of the Purchase Tax paid at the 66¾ per cent. rate on motor-cars in stock in respect of which Purchase Tax has since been reduced.

No. The law provides for no such rebate. Furthermore, it is understood that the motor trade themselves will deal with this matter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will temporarily relax financial restrictions on the Post Office to enable that Department to use the services of unemployed men in Caithness for urgent telephone work.

The Post Office's investment programme necessarily has to be related both to the money available for capital investment in the country as a whole, and to the requirements of other programmes. For these reasons, I regret that it is not possible to revise this programme. What work is to be carried out within the programme is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) how many people are involved in the claims, and how much compensation has been claimed for non-permanent officers and men who arrived in Burma after 3rd September, 1939;(2) whether he is yet in a position to state what decision has been reached about compensation for non-permanent officers and men who arrived in Burma after 3rd September, 1939.

Officers and men, whether Regular or not, who proceeded to Burma after 3rd September, 1939, are treated alike as regards compensation for loss of personal effects owing to enemy action in Burma. Twenty-six claims in this category have been received, but as some of the claimants have not submitted details the total amount involved cannot be stated. A decision regarding compensation for these officers and men has now been reached, and I propose to circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for War what constitutes a day's out of camp training for a member of the Territorial Army; and what is the comparison between 15 days' out of camp training required of non-volunteers and 120 evening training periods required of volunteers in the Territorial Army.

Four evening training periods of one hour constitute a day's out of camp training. Thus 15 days out of camp training by non-volunteeers would be equivalent to 60 evening training periods. These would normally be performed in 3 years whereas the 120 training periods by volunteers would extend over four years.

asked the Secretary of State for War what penalties can be imposed on men who without reasonable excuse fail to attend for training with the Territorial Army when ordered to do so.

Any man of the Territorial Army who without reasonable excuse fails to fulfil his training obligations renders himself liable, under Section 21 of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907, to a fine not exceeding £5, recoverable on complaint from a court of summary jurisdiction. A National Service man who is serving in the Territorial Army during his part-time service, if he fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a training notice, renders himself liable, under Section 5 (4) of the National Service Act, 1948, to a fine of £25 if he is convicted by a court of summary jurisdiction, and to a sentence of detention or imprisonment not exceeding two years if he is convicted by a court-martial. A training notice is only issuable for a period of training of not less than six days.

asked the Secretary of State for War why W.O. Code No. 5595 does not explain what training a non-volunteer member of the Territorial Army would be required to do during his fourth year's service therein.

A National Service man posted to the Territorial Army will normally complete his 60 days obligatory training during his first three years. In his fourth year he will only be required to carry out any uncompleted balance of such training

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will amend the arrangements at present in force affecting those in the Royal Army Reserve of Officers willing and anxious to do an attachment to a Regular unit, in such a way as will eliminate the expense necessarily incurred under the present arrangements.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Lewes (Major Beamish) on 25th April last.

asked the Secretary of State for War what steps are being taken to avoid a recurrence of the epidemic of ringworm and other skin diseases which seriously affected the health and efficiency of the reinforcements in Hong Kong last summer; if he will ensure that this year there will be sufficient medical supplies to meet such an epidemic should it occur; and if he is aware of the unsatisfactory laundry facilities for the 40th Infantry Division and the need for a mobile laundry to be sent to Hong Kong.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will specially examine the medical services of the Army in Hong Kong on his visit there.

The repeated incidence of skin diseases in Hong Kong led to an investigation being made in 1948 by an Army Dermatological Research Unit. There is no shortage of medical supplies, but the local medical authorities, who are very much alive to this problem, have asked for more effective laundry arrangements, in consequence of which a laundry expert of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps was flown to Hong Kong in March. I hope to have an opportunity of examining the medical services in Hong Kong during my forthcoming visit.

asked the Secretary of State for War if, before the Committee stage of the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation Bill, he will arrange for the latest annual report of the Corporation to be published by the Stationery Office as a printed Parliamentary Paper, showing details of the staff and salaries at headquarters, Sackville Street, Piccadilly, London, W.1, and at the Royal Victoria Patriotic Orphanage, Bedwell Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, so that hon. Members may have the same information about the Corporation, the Soldiers' Effects Fund and the orphanage, as the Ministers dealing with the Bill.

The latest annual report of the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation to be published is that for the year 1948. As the stock of copies is practically exhausted, I have ordered 100 copies to be reproduced. They will be made available in the Vote Office in about a week's time. The accounts appended to the Report show the amount expended on the salaries of staff both at the Headquarters office and at the Royal Victoria Patriotic School. The numbers of staff and their respective salaries are at the discretion of the Corporation under paragraph 12 of the First Schedule to the Patriotic Fund Re-organisation Act, 1903, and I am unable to add to the information disclosed in the accounts. The annual report and accounts for the year 1949 will not be published until about the end of August next.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the names and ranks of the General Council of the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation, the Government Departments and charitable or other organisations represented; and indicate those who attended the annual meeting in July, 1948, and any other meeting during that year.

The names and appointments of the members of the General Council of the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation, and the organisations, if any, which they represent, are given at the beginning of the report of which copies are to be made available. The names of those who attended the annual meeting of the General Council on 15th July, 1948, are shown in the printed report of the proceedings of that meeting. Copies of that report will be made available at the same time as the copies of the annual report for 1948. There was only one meeting of the General Council in 1948.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state for the year 1948 the total cost from the several Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation funds, of the Royal Victoria Patriotic Orphanage, Bedwell Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and the amount of State pensions received; the number of girls accommodated; between what ages; and the average total cost per girl for that year.

Figures showing the total cost of the Royal Victoria Patriotic School for the year 1948, the amount of State pensions received and the number of girls accommodated will be found in the accounts which will be made available with the annual report for that year. On the basis of the figures in that account, the total cost of the school for the year including expenses of management, but excluding capital expenditure, was approximately £10,500. The amount of State pensions received was approximately £1,150. The number of girls accommodated was 63. The average cost per girl for that year was thus approximately £167.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give particulars of the scheme to enable relatives to visit war graves from the present time until 31st March, 1951.

This scheme is the same as that previously in operation save for the fact that the total assistance provided to relatives from public funds will be on a more limited scale. The voluntary bodies involved will shortly be informed of the maximum contributions which will be made from public funds during the current financial year. I will circulate details of the scheme in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the continual blowing of bugles at Wellington Barracks is a nuisance and source of annoyance to the residents of the district; and if he will arrange for these barrack rooms to be fitted with a system of bells as is done in most camps and barracks throughout the country.

One of the functions of the bugle is to pass necessary administrative signals to individuals both indoors and outdoors over an extensive barrack area. If bugles are not available it may be convenient to arrange signals by siren, bell or loudspeaker, but these noises may be more objectionable than the bugle. Furthermore, save for the loudspeaker, the signals they can give are clearly very limited. In these circumstances I think we had better stick to the bugles.

asked the Secretary of State for War if, during his coming visit to Malaya, he will inspect Scottish soldiers; and what steps he in tends taking to obtain from them first hand information about their experiences in fighting in the jungle.

No doubt there will be Scottish troops among those whom I shall meet in Malaya. I will bear my hon. Friend's point in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for War, in regard to the Lovat Arms Hotel, Beauly, the date the hotel was requisitioned, the date the hotel was de-requisitioned, the date upon which the rehabilitation claim was finally agreed, and the date upon which final payment was made to the owners.

The Lovat Arms Hotel, Beauly, was requisitioned on 25th September, 1940, and de-requisitioned on 1st October, 1946. The rehabilitation claim was agreed on 20th January, 1950, at £1,092. £1,000 was paid on account in 1948 and the balance will be paid immediately.

asked the Secretary of State for War when he estimates the factory accommodation to be built on the same site as the new War Department married quarters at Colchester will be completed; whether these factories will be operated by private enterprise; and if he will give an assurance that existing local concerns will be given priority when these factories are offered for lease.

There is no intention to build factory accommodation on the same site as the new War Department married quarters at Colchester.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether he is yet in a position to make a statement on the way in which he intends to simplify planning procedure.

Yes. I have made an Order and am today laying regulations with this object in view. Their effect will be to exempt a large number of small developments from the need to obtain planning permission. Householders, farmers and industrialists will all benefit from this simplification, which will also, I hope, reduce considerably the administrative work of the planning authorities and of my Department.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning what steps he proposes to take to deal with the housing problem in Willesden, where there are 8,800 families on the borough council's waiting list for accommodation, in view of the fact that the Hemel Hempstead scheme is not likely to meet the demand for many years to come, and in view of the shortage of building land in the borough.

It is anticipated that, in addition to Hemel Hempstead, the new towns of Stevenage, Welwyn, Hatfield and Harlow will assist in relieving the housing shortage in Willesden.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning how many freeholders are there in the area designated for the new town of Basildon.

This information is not available, and the time and labour required to obtain it would be out of all proportion to its value.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether he is aware of the concern at the proposal to extend the St. Albans Gas Works in the vicinity of St. Albans cathedral; and if he will arrange to hold a public inquiry.

I understand that this proposal is at present before the Hertfordshire County Council, and I am inquiring into it at once.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether it is intended that the Exchequer grant to meet the deficit in the current accounts of new towns should ultimately be repaid by the development corporations of the towns concerned.

The grants as such are not repayable, but any surplus arising from the winding up of a development corporation will be paid into the Exchequer.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning on what basis of calculation half the management expenses of the new towns are being capitalised; and for how many years it is intended to continue this system.

Part of the revenue deficit is capitalised for the reasons given in my answer to the hon. Member for St. Albans (Mr. J. Grimston) on 18th April. Normally half is being capitalised in the first year, three-quarters in the second, and the whole thereafter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when a settlement may be expected of outstanding claims for loss of personal effects, submitted by civilians who fell into Japanese hands in Malaya and Hong Kong and were interned.

Under the scheme which my right hon. Friend announced on 27th June last in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr. Benson), ex gratia payments are being made to United Kingdom British applicants, whether they were interned or not, who lost furniture and other personal goods in British and ex-British territories in the Far East and who have returned to reside in the United Kingdom. Payment is made as soon as the applications have been examined and approved and the work is being expedited as much as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what Colonial hard woods are proving most popular in this country; in what quantities; and for what purposes.

Since the import of hardwood, and the distribution of nearly all of it, is no longer controlled, I am afraid that I have no information as to which kinds of Colonial hardwood are proving most popular, or for what purposes. If my hon. Friend wishes to know whether any particular type or types of hardwood are being more widely used, I will try to find out for him.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, why his letter, replying upon a matter affecting a school situated in the Wolverhampton, South-West Division, was sent to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East, on 26th April, two days before a copy of it was sent to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-West.

I regret that this should have happened, due entirely to the fortuitous timing of replies to two letters received on the same subject. Steps are being taken which, I hope, will prevent a recurrence.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the percentage rise in the cost of the import prices of raw materials and manufactured goods since September, 1949.

The Board of Trade index numbers of import prices (in terms of sterling) showed increases between September, 1949, and March, 1950, of 22 per cent. for raw materials, and 17£ per cent. for manufactured goods

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many tons of asparagus were imported into this country between 1st January and 15th April, 1950; and how many tons have been imported since 15th April, 1950.

Statistics of imports are not compiled for periods of less than a calendar month, and the latest figures available are for March. Imports of fresh asparagus in the three months January to March were 11½ tons and of preserved asparagus one-fifth of a ton.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he proposes to assist industrial development in Aberdeen, in order to overcome threatened unemployment in the shipbuilding and ship repairing industries.

Within the existing restrictions on industrial building, I am prepared to consider sympathetically any proposals for the further expansion of existing industries and the introduction of new industries to Aberdeen and district. Meanwhile, in conjunction with my noble Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour, I am keeping in close touch with the employment position in shipbuilding and ship repairing industries in Aberdeen and other areas.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will investigate the need for the establishment of a small industrial undertaking to absorb those who are unable to secure work in the neighbourhood of Ilfracombe and Combe Martin; and what he proposes to do in this connection.

Unemployment in Ilfracombe and district is confined largely to the winter months and, as was explained in paragraph 89 of the White Paper on Distribution of Industry (Cmd. 7540), there are few industries with a peak demand for labour at this time of the year. Moreover, industrial undertakings large enough to absorb all those out of work in Ilfracombe in the offseason would run the risk of losing labour in the holiday season. I am, however, prepared to consider sympathetically any proposals to set up a small industrial undertaking in Ilfracombe and district.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to remedy the shortage of cotton tyre cord.

Production of cotton tyre cord increased from a weekly average of 400,000 yards in August last to 600,000 yards in March of this year. We are keeping the situation under close review.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he will consider increasing the allowances to paraplegic ex-Service men who have been issued with motor cars by his Department, in view of the increased cost of petrol.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Morecambe and Lonsdale (Sir I. Fraser) and others, in the House on 25th April.

asked the Minister of Pensions what are the names and amounts of all existing official funds collected to relieve distress among ex-Service men.

In 1937 when my Department compiled a Guide to Voluntary Organisations and Funds (a copy of which is in the Library of the House) the number was over 400. My Welfare Service has a considerable amount of up-to-date information which is used for the benefit of war pensioners, but I could not give an authoritative list of funds nor do I know the amounts involved.

asked the Minister of National Insurance what is the total number of people at present in receipt of national assistance; and what proportion of the total is old age pensioners.

Regular weekly grants of national assistance are being paid to 1,189,000 persons, of whom about 660,000 are old age or retirement pensioners. The grants take into account the needs of any dependants, including wives some of Whom may be in receipt of pensions themselves.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether title to death benefit under the National Industrial (Industrial Injuries) Act has been allowed in respect of nurses in a Glasgow hospital who died recently after contracting smallpox in the course of their employment; and whether she is now pre pared to schedule communicable disease generally as industrial diseases ranking for benefit under this Statute in the case of health workers.

I understand that two claims have so far been lodged. They await decision by the independent statutory authorities. As regards the second part of the Question, my right hon. Friend is still awaiting a report from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, on the question as to whether tuberculosis and other communicable diseases should be prescribed under the Industrial Injuries Act in respect of nurses and other health workers.

asked the Minister of National Insurance how many ex-employees of the Ministry of Food at Colwyn Bay have been disqualified under her regulations from receiving unemployment benefit on the ground that they have neglected to avail themselves of alternative employment in Guildford.

Six, comprising one married man and five single women: but in the case of the man the insurance officer has now reviewed his decision on fresh evidence and allowed benefit.

asked the Minister of National Insurance how many types of cramp of the hand and forearm are now listed as prescribed industrial diseases; whether she is aware that the prolonged use of a fettling tool in the pottery industry may exactly reproduce writers' cramp; and whether she will take steps to ensure that in such cases those affected will receive compensation under the industrial Injuries Act.

Three types of cramp of the hand and forearm are included in the schedule of diseases prescribed under the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act, namely, telegraphist's cramp, writer's cramp and twister's cramp. As regards the second part of the Question mentioned by my hon. Friend, no case of the kind has come to my notice. If he has any information indicating a need for action on my part, I shall, of course, be glad to consider it.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether she has considered the case of Mrs. Barham of Dews-bury, particulars of which have been sent her; for how long and during what periods Mrs. Barham has been in receipt of assistance from the National Assistance Board; and whether she will now consider arranging a series of broadcasts in order to give the widest possible publicity to the social services rendered by the National Assistance Board.

This family has been in touch with the Board on and off since July, 1948, and assistance has been granted on a number of occasions when Mr. Barham was out of work or in prison or living apart from his wife. No question therefore arises in this case of the Assistance service not being sufficiently known

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether, in view of the increased cost of living, she will introduce legislation to amend Section 17 (3) of the National Insurance Act, 1946, in order to allow widows with dependent children to earn 45s. a week, instead of 30s. before suffering reduction of their widowed mothers' allowance, or their widows' pension, in accordance with the terms of the Act; and whether she will make a similar amendment to Section 20 (5) to enable other women with dependants to earn 30s. a week, instead of 20s., while in receipt of a retirement pension.

No. If we were to ignore so substantial an amount of employment as the hon. Member suggests we should have to look again at the whole basis of the new widows' benefits under the National Insurance Act, which are designed primarily to help those who cannot support themselves by their earnings.

asked the Minister of Labour what special action he proposes to take to provide employment for the 1,250 men who will be discharged from the Royal Ordnance Factory, Fazakerley.

The number of men involved is under 400. This is a difficult area for finding fresh employment, and special arrangements have been made for interviewing these men before they are actually discharged from the R.O.F., with a view to giving them every possible help.

asked the Minister Labour how many shipyard workers in the city of Aberdeen were employed and unemployed, respectively, on 1st May, 1950, 1st May, 1949, 1st May, 1948 and 1st May, 1938.

For 1948 to 1950, statistics of employment are available, at quarterly dates only, in respect of firms supplying employment returns to the Department. The numbers employed by such firms in the shipbuilding and ship repairing industry in Aberdeen at the end of March, 1948, 1949 and 1950 were 2,640, 2,790 and 2,250, respectively. Corresponding figures are not available for 1938, but the estimated number of insured persons employed in the industry in Aberdeen at July of that year was approximately 900. The numbers of persons in the industry registered as unemployed at the Aberdeen Employment Exchange in April, 1938, 1948, 1949 and 1950, were 330, 96, 90 and 168, respectively.

asked the hon. Member for Bristol, North-East, as Chairman of the Kitchen Committee, why oysters are being served out of season in the Members' Dining Room.

I am informed that the opening and the closing of the oyster season are determined by the oyster producers, depending on the quality of the oyster at the time; therefore the start of the season may be delayed until the oysters reach the standard that the producers require. Further, the season may terminate about the middle of April, or it may go on, as it has this year, until 3rd May. I may add that oysters were served for two days only.

asked the Minister of Works how soon the debris from a war camp at Kingwood Common, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, will be cleared away; and what measures are being taken to dispose of those sections of dismantled buildings now lying un-cared for on the common.

The debris is now being removed from the camp at Kingwood Common, near Henley-on-Thames. I hope that the last of the surplus huts will have been demolished and the site cleared within a month

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware of the decline this year as compared with previous years in the number and tonnage of ships laid down and under construction in Aberdeen ship yards; what is the cause of this; and what steps he is taking to restore the ship yards to full production.

The number of ships of 100 gross tons and upwards laid down and under construction in Aberdeen shipyards on the 30th April this year was the same as the number a year ago. The estimated gross tonnage of these ships was 13,000 compared with 18,000 a year ago, the difference being mainly due to the completion of two comparatively large ships last year. The future prosperity of these firms will depend on their ability to obtain further orders.

asked the Minister of Food what tonnage of tinplate was allocated to the canning industry in each of the past four years.

The tinplate used by the canning industry in the years 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949 was approximately 115,000, 127,000, 131,000 and 151,000 tons respectively.

asked the Minister of Supply whether, in view of the fact that there is no longer any shortage of steel, except for sheets and tinplates, he will now abolish or modify the steel distribution scheme.

The steel distribution scheme is at present under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what countries the French Government have cited as comparable in the British Commonwealth to the status of the State of Tunisia; and which British Colonies have not yet paid French or French colonial subjects their war damage compensation.

The French Government has not referred to any particular country. With regard to the second part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the replies given to dim on 21st February, 1949, and 27th My, 1949, by my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has any information as to the opening date of the Crown post office at Ruislip Manor.

The new Crown post office at Ruislip Manor should be opened in the early summer of 1951

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in view of the terms of Article 1 (c) of the Anglo-Israeli Financial Agreement, who is responsible for the payment of pensions due to former officials of the mandatory Government resident outside Israel.

Liability for payment of all such pensions is at present accepted by His Majesty's Government. This is in accordance with the assurances given by His Majesty's Government in the statement made to the House by the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies on 1st March, 1948. The assurances were that before termination of the Mandate, the expatriate officers of the Palestine Government would receive the compensation and statutory benefits to which they were entitled and that, pending the establishment of successor States which, in the opinion of His Majesty's Government, are capable of taking over the liability, the non-expatriate staff should, so far as may be practicable, receive the payments due to them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why he insists upon a small dairy herd being kept at Ningwood Manor, Newport, Isle of Wight, in view of the fact that this establishment was left to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on trust for the specific purpose of keeping old horses, and that the Society cannot adequately carry out the terms of that trust if he insists upon the establishment of a dairy herd on that property.

I am not insisting. While appreciating the humane purpose of the Society's establishment at Ningwood, and the limitations imposed by the terms of the trust, I have a duty to ensure that agricultural land is used productively. My Department has suggested to the Society that some form of agricultural production ought not to be inconsistent with the primary purpose of the establishment at Ningwood Manor, and, with the knowledge of the Charity Commissioners who are responsible for seeing that the trusts are kept, milk production was suggested. As a result of correspondence, however, my Department has very recently offered to send an officer of the Agricultural Land Service to meet a representative of the Society at Ningwood to discuss again what form of agricultural production could reasonably be undertaken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the composition of the arbitration tribunal investigating wage claims and the cost of living of dairy farm workers in Hong Kong.

The Tribunal, which published its award on 24th March, consisted of Professor Robertson, Professor of Economics at Hong Kong University, as arbitrator together with six assessors, three nominated by each party to the dispute.