asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Report of the Nigerian Livestock Commission will be published.

My right hon. Friend is still in consultation with the Governor on this but he hopes to settle the matter soon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will now give further information in respect of the inquiry into the prevalence of corporal punishment inflicted for offences committed in the Colonies; and to what extent the frequency of this punishment is now to be drastically modified.

The Colonial Social Welfare Advisory Committee over which my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State presided at their meeting on 3rd May had before them the results of the review of corporal punishment made by the Treatment of Offenders Sub-Committee which included a draft circular despatch submitted to the main Committee for approval.This Committee recommended to me that a despatch on the general lines of the draft circulated to them should be sent to Colonial Governments. I am in agreement with their views and propose to address Governors in this sense and to emphasise the need for bringing to an end within measurable time the use of whipping or flogging. I shall recommend the restriction of the award of corporal punishment to the High Court, the reduction of offences for which corporal punishment may be awarded to adults by the Court to those of assault upon the person in which brutality plays a part, the provision of alternatives to corporal punishment in the case of juveniles, the extension of these limitations to awards by native courts, and the restriction of corporal punishment for prison offences to the three offences for which it may be ordered in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will recommend to Colonial Governments that they place before Colonial Legislatures the problem of establishing a system of humane killing of animals for human food.

This is a problem of which Colonial Governments are already well aware and much is being done to introduce improved methods. Nevertheless I will consider sending out a despatch emphasising the importance which we attach to the introduction wherever possible of a system of humane slaughter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether approval has yet been given to the ten-year development plan for the Gold Coast.

No. A revised plan is being prepared by the Gold Coast Government and should be completed shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what instructions he has given to His Majesty's Government's representative on the Trusteeship Council with regard to the charge that the administration of the British Cameroons as an integral part of Nigeria is a violation of the provisions of the Trusteeship Agreement and of the trust reposed in His Majesty's Government by the United Nations; and whether he will make a statement.

This accusation, which was made by the Philippines representative on the Trusteeship Council, is without foundation and was couched in regrettably discourteous terms. Our representative on the Council made it clear that the General Assembly approved the Trusteeship Agreement on the understanding that the British Cameroons would be administered as an integral part of Nigeria. This was the arrangement under the Mandate, and it accords with the interests of the local inhabitants and, I believe, their wishes.

asked the Minister of Food what proportion of food imported direct by his Department in 1949 was carried in British vessels.

The information could only be obtained by a detailed analysis of the loadlists of over 2,000 ships and I do not think that the work involved would be justified.

asked the Minister of Food how many ration books have been issued for the current period; and how many people who are entitled to ration books have not yet claimed them.

Nearly 49 million had been issued by 20th May, leaving about 720,000 still to be claimed.

asked the Minister of Food if he has now inquired into the excessive price of glucose and glucose preparations; and what action he will take to ensure that this commodity is sold at a reasonable price.

I am afraid my inquiries are not yet complete, but I shall be writing to my hon. Friend about this as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Food whether he has yet completed his investigations into the present necessity for the restriction on retail purchases of flour in excess of 28 lb.

Not yet.

asked the Minister of Food whether he has considered the application that the Union of Cooperative Societies in France shall sell meat to his Department; and what reply he has given to the application.

I have not received this particular application, but we are discussing the possibility of buying meat with the French Ministry of Agriculture.

asked the Minister of Food what quantities of blood plasma are being imported; which items of manufactured foods contain this ingredient; and to what extent special action is taken to ensure its purity.

Licences were issued for the import of 15 tons in 1949 and five tons so far this year. There is a two-fold check on the purity of these imports—by examination of samples and a veterinary certificate supplied by the country of origin. Blood plasma is used mainly in flour confectionery as a substitute for egg white.

asked the Minister of Food to state approximately on an annual basis the number of forms which will not be required to be filled up owing to the abandonment of points rationing.

About 25 million a year.

asked the Minister of Food how many employees of his Department will be surplus to requirements as a result of the abandoning of points rationing.

The abolition of points rationing will enable us to make a reduction of about 10 staff in the points division at headquarters and rather over 1,000 in the local and regional offices.

asked the Minister of Food how many employees in the agricultural industry are in receipt of the extra cheese ration; and for how many people were catering allowances for harvest rations granted to farmers in August, 1949.

The latest available figure of the number of agricultural, horticultural and allied workers receiving the special cheese ration is 599,522. I cannot say for how many people seasonal allowances were drawn in August, 1949, as our returns show quarterly totals only. Issues from July to September, 1949, inclusive would, however, have provided continuous allowances for just under 650,000 people for those three months.

asked the Minister of Food how far shopkeepers in Coatbridge are receiving their full share of the well known popular brands of chocolates.

I am advised by the trade that shopkeepers in my hon. Friend's constituency are receiving a fair share of these chocolates.

asked the Minister of Food when he anticipates that the progressive improvement in meat supplies will enable him to increase the meat ration.

I would rather not speculate on the future level of meat supplies; but I have already agreed to increase the present 1s. 6d. ration by the issue of two pennyworth of canned corned meat for a period.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many fishing vessels were used by his Department during the war of 1939–45; and how many men were attached to the Royal Navy during this period.

1,830 fishing vessels and between 10,000 and 12,000 fishermen.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what action his Department proposes to take regarding the sunken wrecks which are at present obstructing Angle Bay and Dale Roads.

The wreckage in Angle Bay will be cleared as soon as possible. The only wrecks in Dale Roads known to the Admiralty are a naval examination vessel and a merchant vessel, the "Dakotian." It is an Admiralty responsibility to clear the examination vessel, which has been dispersed to a depth of 37 feet, which is considered to be adequate for navigational purposes. I understand that Trinity House, which is the authority responsible for deciding whether to clear the merchant vessel, is at present lighting and buoying the wreck.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what consideration he has given to the payment of supplementary grants to dependants of persons lost in the "Truculent" disaster; and with what result.

Though the provisions of Treasury Injury Warrant No. 2, 1935, do not normally apply to industrial staff, it has been decided that, in view of the special circumstances of this disaster, supplementary grants under the Warrant shall be paid to the widows of those workmen who lost their lives. The exact amounts payable are now being ascertained, and in the meantime provisional payment has be made to each widow. The provisions of the Warrant apply to non-industrial staff earning more than £250 a year, and awards have already been made to the widows of two of the four men in this category who were lost. The other cases are being investigated, and I hope that decisions will be reached very shortly.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty when it is expected that prize money will have been paid out to all those entitled to receive it.

In the past few weeks there has been a large number of belated claims to prize money and I estimate that there are now about 47,000 eligible claims unsettled. Of these, about one-third are relatively straightforward and should be cleared within two months. The remainder, which includes some 20,000 claims from personal representatives of deceased officers and men, need special consideration but should be settled before the end of this year. A certain number of applications are still expected from overseas countries, and I cannot forecast when these will have been disposed of.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that 160 workers have been discharged from Aberdeen shipyards and orders there for ships have been cancelled and held in abeyance; that the need for these orders to be proceeded with is urgent and the need there for new ships to be built and old ships to be repaired great; and if he will inquire into and rectify this situation so that the dismissed men are re-employed and further dismissals avoided.

I am aware of the position in the Aberdeen shipyards, and would refer my hon. and learned Friend to the reply I gave on 9th May and to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service gave on 18th May on the subject.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will now report on the investigation into future prospects of shipbuilding and ship repairing, as foreshadowed by him on 15th February, 1950.

I am not in a position to make any statement at present.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty when the report of the committee investigating ship repairing facilities on Merseyside will be available for publication.

It is not possible at present to say when this Report will be ready.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many orders for small fishing vessels built of wood have been cancelled during the last month.

Builders are not required to report cancellation of orders for minor fishing vessels, and the information asked for is not, therefore, available.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many orders given to British shipyards for the building of British fishing vessels have been cancelled in the last month.

During the past month the Admiralty have been notified of the cancellation of orders on British yards for 10 major fishing vessels intended for British owners. Information about the cancellation of orders for minor fishing vessels is not available.

asked the Postmaster-General how many vacancies for the grade of sales representative in his Department have been filled this year by applicants under 35 years of age and over 35 years of age, respectively; and how many applicants in each of these age groups were interviewed in connection with these vacancies.

The numbers interviewed are 601, under 35; and 157, 35 or over. Of these, 24 and three have been appointed; 20 and one are awaiting appointment; 43 and 12 are on a reserve list; and five subsequently withdrew their application.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will make arrangements for business reply envelopes to be delivered by the first post in the morning instead of the second delivery at midday.

No.

asked the Postmaster-General how many very-high-frequency licences have been granted to date.

There are 424 licences currently in force for operation exclusively on very-high-frequencies. These cover 3,507 stations.

asked the Postmaster-General how much of the funds allotted to his Department for works involving capital expenditure will be spent in the Blackburn area during the current financial year, and whether he is satisfied that the allocation is adequate.

£262,000 has been allotted to the Blackburn telephone area for capital development in 1950–51; but I must emphasise that the inter-relation between capital works in neighbouring areas, and the spread of large schemes over more than 12 months, make figures for any one area taken in isolation an unreliable guide. My right hon. Friend is satisfied that our limited resources are utilised to the best national advantage.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the unsatisfactory position with regard to new telephone equipment at the Blackburn Exchange; and whether he can hold out any hope of improvement in the near future.

A temporary manual exchange should be ready by September, and should meet development for the next few years until a new automatic exchange can be provided.

asked the Postmaster-General in what parts of Southern England a letter can only be delivered by the second delivery when posted in Altrincham and Sale on the previous evening in time to catch the general night mail.

Broadly speaking, in those parts of southern England which lie south of a line drawn between London and Bristol.

asked the Postmaster-General what changes affecting overseas telegrams from this country will result from the introduction of the revised International Telegraph Regulations adopted at the Paris Conference last year.

The effect of the new International Regulations which come into operation on 1st July, 1950, is that the deferred telegram service and the code telegram service at reduced rates will cease. The charges for urgent and ordinary telegrams to destinations outside the European system will in general be reduced by approximately 25 per cent. and the charges for letter telegrams will be slightly increased. The Press rate of 1d. per word within the Commonwealth will remain unchanged. I am arranging for the details of the new charges to be given publicity well before 1st July.

asked the Postmaster-General why broadcast reception has deteriorated in Devonshire during the past few years.

The B.B.C. is not aware that there has been any change in general conditions of broadcast reception in Devonshire during the last few years, but the Corporation is investigating the possibility that in the north-western part of the county reception may have deteriorated slightly since the introduction of the Copenhagen Plan on 15th March.

asked the Postmaster - General whether the Beveridge Committee will present an interim report on the subject of trade union recognition by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

I do not know. This is, I think, a matter for the Beveridge Committee to decide.

asked the Postmaster-General how many telephones have been installed in the City of Birmingham since September, 1945; how many private houses and business premises, respectively, are waiting for telephones; and what number are being installed each week.

Twenty-four thousand and fifty; the number now being installed weekly is 110; 9,334 residential and 5,610 business applications are outstanding.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will install more public telephone kiosks in the Amersham rural district of Buckinghamshire so as to give a closer network of public telephone facilities than is at present available to those inhabiting this country area.

Four additional kiosks should be provided in this area by the end of the year.

asked the Postmaster-General how many telephones are still out of order in the Home Counties due to the recent snowstorm.

Service has now been restored to all subscribers whose lines were damaged by the recent snowstorm. I am sure the House will agree that the Post Office staff are to be congratulated on an excellent job of work.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of applicants waiting for telephones in the Borough of St. Marylebone to date; how many there were on the same date in 1949; and what is the average length of time of waiting now and in 1949.

The numbers are 940 and 760. Line plant is short in a small part of the borough; elsewhere, the waiting time both now and in 1949 is about three months.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) how many applications for telephones were outstanding in the urban district of Barnet on 1st January, 1949, and 1st January, 1950, respectively; how many installations were made during 1949; and how long the earliest application has been outstanding;(2) how many applications for telephones were outstanding in the urban district of East Barnet on 1st January, 1949, and 1st January, 1950, respectively; how many installations were made during 1949; and how long the earliest application has been outstanding.

I will answer these two Questions together. Separate particulars for the urban districts of Barnet and East Barnet are not available. These districts (and neighbouring areas) are served by four telephone exchanges, for which the particulars requested are as follows:

asked the Postmaster-General how soon he can promise improvements in the Battersea telephone service; how many applicants have been waiting five years for installation; and why such a long time has been necessary.

Special attention is being given to this exchange. Three applicants have been waiting for five years, and new cables are needed to give them service. These cables cannot be provided for the present within the limits of our restricted capital resources.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of subscribers on the Wallasey telephone exchange; the number on the waiting list for telephones; and the average period of delay between applying for a telephone and on being installed.

There are 8,376 subscribers on Wallasey exchange and 1,006 applicants on the waiting list. If plant is available, it takes from two to 10 weeks to connect a new subscriber.

asked the Postmaster-General what is the present position regarding the provision of television for the people of Aberdeen and the northeast of Scotland.

The present programme for the extension of television provides for a low-power station to serve Aberdeen and its immediate neighbourhood. I am not yet able to say when the construction of the station will commence.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will make a statement on his further discussion with sports promoters on the question of televising sporting events.

My right hon. Friend's discussions with leading personalities in the sports world, representatives of the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Radio Industry Council on the question of televising sporting events, were resumed yesterday.After the sports representatives had reported the results of the consultations with their associations and indicated that they were willing to proceed with the proposals my right hon. Friend had made at the previous meeting, he repeated his assurance that, before granting any licences for the showing of television to paying audiences, he would consult sporting interests again. These consultations would take place through a new body which he proposed to appoint under independent chairmanship and which would be known as the Sports Television Advisory Committee. The main function of the Committee would be to collect from sources open to it such information as it considered necessary to enable it to assess the direct and indirect effects of televising sporting events during an experimental period. The sporting interests agreed that during the experimental period, which would start straight away, they would negotiate with the B.B.C. rights to televise in the Home Service a series of sporting events of the order of one hundred events a year, representative of all types of sport including a reasonable number of major events. From time to time as it may see fit, the Sports Advisory Committee will advise my right hon. Friend of its conclusions on the facts and statistics disclosed during the experimental period.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the future of the Inter-Allied Reparations Agency.

The work of the Inter-Allied Reparations Agency, which was established under the 1946 Agreement on Reparations from Germany, is nearly complete. The Agreement requires certain final accounts to be presented by member governments by February, 1951, and it is expected that the activities of the Agency will be on a very reduced scale thereafter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has limited the concession whereby tax relief is allowed on goods shipped as passenger's baggage under the Personal Export Scheme to a parcel of a retail value, tax exclusive, of £10 or more as in doing so he is losing money to this country which might otherwise be spent by visitors from overseas other than those from the United States and Canada.

This matter is at present under review, and I hope to make an announcement on the subject very shortly.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware that allocations of coal to Derby last winter fell much below the permitted quantity; and whether he will state the amount that will be made available to individuals in Derby during the coming winter and the prospects of the amount in question being met.

Yes. Coal allocations are not and never have been sufficient to provide the full permitted quantity for every household, but I am satisfied that Derby has had its fair share of the supplies available. As to future supplies, I said in answer to a question on 15th May that the whole question of the supply of coal for household consumption was under urgent consideration and I am not yet able to add to what I said then.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in addition to the six persons who died in the Glasgow smallpox outbreak and were vaccinated either as contacts or on admission to the smallpox hospital, how many other of the smallpox cases in that outbreak were vaccinated as contacts or on admission to the smallpox hospital.

Of the 12 persons concerned, all of whom had previously been successfully vaccinated, two were vaccinated as contacts and the remaining 10 on admission to the smallpox hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has yet received a Report from the Local Government Manpower Committee for Scotland; and what action he proposes to take on it.

The Committee have submitted a first Report dealing with the distribution of functions between central and local Government and the possibility of relaxing departmental supervision of local authority activities and delegating more responsibility to local authorities. The Report is being published today. In general, and subject to further consideration of the proposals involving legislation, the recommendations made have been accepted by the Government. Some have already been implemented and action to carry out others is in hand.The Committee are now proceeding with the consideration of the remaining part of their terms of reference. I should like, however, at this stage to express the Government's warm appreciation of the work which the Committee have done and in particular of the way in which the local authority representatives with the help of a large number of local government officers, have co-operated with Government Departments in arriving at the agreements recorded in the first Report.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that members of the Regular Armed Forces are experiencing difficulty on discharge to civil life in getting their names on to local authorities' housing lists as they have no previous domicile claim; and if he will ask local authorities to take these special conditions more fully into consideration in assessing the applications of such people for houses.

I have already made recommendations to local authorities which are designed to meet this and similar difficulties.

asked the Minister of Health whether the Erskine-Simes Committee on the practicability and desirability of meeting part of local expenditure by an additional rate on site values have yet reported; and when publication of the report may be expected.

The Committee have not yet reported.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning when he expects to come to a decision on the reconstruction scheme for Swansea now under consideration by his Department.

I am in general agreement with the proposals of the Swansea Corporation for the reconstruction of their central area, and I have agreed with them that the rebuilding of shops shall start this year.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning what steps were taken by his Department in 1949

A special allocation of steel was made in 1949 for the reconstruction of blitzed city centres, enabling a start to be made on the building of shops, offices, and other projects, to a total value of about £6 million. In addition, a number of compulsory purchase orders for land within the blitzed areas were confirmed by my Department.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning on what dates and with regard to what areas have public inquiries been held about applications for permission to mine ironstone which are now awaiting his decision.

Nine local inquiries have been held. The details are as follows: