asked the Minister of Health to state the outcome of his consultation with the Medical Research Council regarding the development of audiometers for the National Health Service.

I have just received from the Medical Research Council a number of recommendations, which I am at present considering with my advisers.

asked the Minister of Health why, without effective consultation with their Central Committee or awaiting the findings of the Whitley Committee which is inquiring into this matter, he has imposed upon chemist contractors, under the National Health Scheme, a cut from 33 per cent. to 16 per cent. in the on cost allowance on drugs supplied by them under prescription.

I am determined that all unnecessary expenditure on the National Health Service should be eliminated, and after consultation with the chemists' representatives in accordance with the Regulations I was satisfied that there were grounds for an immediate provisional reduction in this allowance. Negotiations are proceeding, however, and I have undertaken to accept whatever final percentage may be agreed by the Whitley Council or awarded by an arbitrator.

asked the Minister of Health why special bottle teats for babies with cleft palate and hair-lip are not included in the official list of goods for dispensing under the National Health Service.

Special appliances are only supplied under the National Health Service if, in a particular case, they are necessary on medical grounds. Such cases should be under specialist care and any necessary appliances could be provided through the Hospital Service.

asked the Minister of Health whether, having regard to the fact that many doctors prescribe expensive proprietary preparations for which cheaper non-proprietary preparations of equal therapeutic value might be substituted, he will consult the British Medical Association as to the best way of bringing the matter to the notice of both doctors and chemists, with a view to saving expenditure without in any way impairing the service to the patient.

Yes. I have been in consultation with the British Medical Association about the action to be taken on the Report of the Joint Committee of the Central and Scottish Health Services Councils which has been considering prescribing under the National Health Service. The Report is to be published and will, I understand, be available on 1st July. Copies are being sent to all doctors, both general practitioners and hospital medical staffs, who are taking part in the National Health Service, with a covering letter asking for their help in avoiding unnecessarily expensive prescribing. The question of other action on the Report is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health in view of the fact that 11,000 people suffering from tuberculosis are awaiting hospital beds, if he will give favourable consideration to the suggestion that a minimum of 10 per cent. of the beds in general hospitals should be set aside for tuberculosis cases.

Yes, I am doing so. But there can clearly be no set rule about it.

asked the Minister of Health what is the number of persons suffering from tuberculosis and awaiting admission to hospital or sanatorium in the boroughs of Dover, Deal and Sandwich and the rural districts of Dover and Eastry respectively; and what is the average period of waiting.

I have not got the information. for local authority areas; and waiting periods vary so much that no average has much meaning.

asked the Minister of Health when Mr. Fletcher, of Knottingley, may expect to be supplied with suitable spectacles; and whether any disciplinary action is being taken against the optician concerned in this case.

My hon. Friend will by now have received a detailed letter about this case. I trust that this has made the position clear.

asked the Minister of Health when Mr. F. C. Davis, of 51, Joydon Drive, Barley Lane, Romford, Essex, is to receive his bi-focal glasses which were ordered by Mr. R. Hasted, optician, of 18B, Goodmayes Road, Ilford, on 2nd May. 1949.

I will make inquiries and let the hon. Member know the result.

asked the Minister of Health at what date the change in the ratio of private building licences to one in five will take place.

asked the Minister of Health what is the earliest date on which the increased allocation of private building licences to local authorities can take effect.

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wembley, South (Mr. Russell) on 15th June, of which I am sending them a copy.

asked the Minister of Health why he will not allow the Sherborne Rural District Council to issue any more licences for houses to be built privately until some time during 1951; and why the issue of licences at the present date should have any relation to the council's 1948 allocation.

The position has already been explained to the hon. Member in correspondence. During 1948 and 1949, the council exceeded the proportion of their allocations which could be used for private building, and the balance cannot be redressed until 1951. They should be able to resume the issue of licences out of their allocation for that year.

asked the Minister of Health if he will circularise the local authorities, directing them to use their powers under the Public Health Act to inspect the sanitary conditions on railway stations and railway trains.

I have no authority to give such directions.

asked the Minister of Education why children of school age who attend mental deficiency occupation centres are ineligible to participate in the school meals service; and whether he will take action to remedy this anomaly and enable such children to share in the benefits of the school meals service in the same way as children attending normal schools.

I have been asked to reply. Mental defectives are excluded from the educational system by the Education Act. 1944. They are the responsibility of local health authorities. The latter were authorised in June, 1948, to supply meals on payment to mentally deficient children attending occupation centres and in cases of hardship to remit the charge either wholly or partly.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the number of smallholdings and the acreage involved in the schemes submitted so far by county councils in Wales under Part IV of the Agriculture Act, 1947.

Schemes for capital improvements to seven existing smallholdings on 271 acres have been submitted for approval. In addition a scheme has been submitted for the acquisition of 10 acres for addition to an existing smallholding.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he intends to take to secure a larger timber allocation in order to make available more timber for agricultural joinery.

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies given to him on 25th May and 20th June.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the poisonous qualities of D.N.O.C., used for spraying grain crops, which recently resulted in the death of two men, he will issue a warning to farmers of the great need for care in handling this product.

My Department has been giving wide publicity to the precautions to be observed in the use of D.N.O.C. and similar substances. A new leaflet is in preparation, and the question of what further steps are desirable in the interests of safety is being actively examined in consultation with the interests concerned.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many co-operative fish marketing schemes there are in Cornwall; how many fishermen are enrolled in them; and whether they are successful experiments.

There is one cooperative fish marketing scheme in Cornwall, the Gorran Haven Fishermen's Cooperative Society Ltd., which has 36 members. I understand that it is operating successfully.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider legislation to give effect to the supplementation of the Garrett Report on Foundry Sickness.

I do not consider further legislation necessary or appropriate at this stage. Improvements of many different kinds are being progressively made and this seems to me the most practicable way of making progress.

asked the Minister of Labour under what statutory authority the National Arbitration Tribunal of the building industry can ban the working of overtime.

There is no such body as that referred to by the hon. and gallant Member.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will consider amending the Factory Acts in order that additional finance can be allocated for health and safety research in factories.

No.

asked the Minister of Labour what were the terms of award No. 1426 of the National Arbitration Tribunal; what area is covered by this award; what areas are covered by similar awards; what is the statutory authority for this procedure; and how is it enforced.

I am sending to the hon. Member a copy of the award in question together with a copy of a similar award. These awards were given by the National Arbitration Tribunal under the powers conferred on it by the Conditions of Employment and National Arbitration Orders. As regards the last part of the Question, the award becomes an implied term of the contract between the employer and the workers to whom it applies and can be enforced by civil action.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will give an assurance that before granting permits to foreign girls to come to this country to take posts as typists or shorthand-typists, he will take into account the numbers of middle-aged British women who are well qualified for this kind of employment but are finding it harder to get work on account of age.

Permits would not be granted for the admission of foreigners for such employment unless, among other things, I was satisfied that suitable British subjects or resident foreigners were not available for the employment.

asked the Minister of Labour when the docks inquiry will have its first meeting; and whether their proceedings are to be public or private.

The first meeting of the Committee conducting this inquiry took place on Wednesday, 24th May. I understand that the Committee has decided that its proceedings will be private.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the large number of furniture trade workers who are unemployed; and what steps he is taking to deal with this situation.

I aware that the numbers unemployed in this industry have recently gone up from 2,998 on 17th April to 3,567 on 15th May, including 1,167 temporarily stopped on the latter date. I am keeping a close watch on the position and will consult my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade if this trend should continue.

asked the Minister of Labour if in view of the fact that remuneration depends largely on training, vocational guidance and employment counselling, he will support the inclusion of such facilities in the proposed International Convention at the International Labour Conference at Geneva.

The text of the conclusions on these matters proposed in the Report of the International Labour Office has been adopted without vote in the Conference Committee dealing with the subject of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.

asked the Minister of Education what steps are being taken to provide teaching posts for 155 teachers in the London area who have recently completed their course under the Emergency Training Scheme.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware of the unemployment which exists amongst emergency trained students in the London area; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy this position.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware that many of the teachers trained at Wandsworth College are now faced with unemployment; and what action he is taking to find employment for them.

I am aware that some men students have found it difficult to obtain posts on the completion of their course. Following discussion with the National Advisory Council on the Training and Supply of Teachers, I am today giving to local education authorities generally information concerning the probable supply of teachers up to October, 1951, and advice that consideration should be given now to the early appointment of teachers against requirements for the school year as a whole. Copies of the Circular will be sent to the hon. Members for information.

asked the Minister of Education how many teachers have completed the emergency training course in the London area since 1st January, 1950; how many more are due to complete their course before the end of the current year; and what proportion of them will be able to secure an engagement on leaving their college.

The answer to the first part is 815 men and 464 women. The answer to the second part is 126 men and 460 women. I expect that the very great majority of these will be able to secure appointments at the end of their college course.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will introduce amending legislation before the end of this year whereby teachers' pensions will be paid monthly instead of quarterly as at present.

I have promised to consider this matter in the event of legislation being introduced, but I cannot give the undertaking for which the hon. Member asks.

asked the Minister of Education why he has issued instructions to county community councils that no further grants towards the erection of village halls will be granted at present; and whether he is aware that this decision is causing concern in the countryside where many schemes are in an advanced stage and preliminary expenses have been incurred.

asked the Minister of Education why he has ceased to make grants towards the building of village halls; whether he is aware of the hardship this is causing to village communities; and whether he will reconsider his decision.

Restrictions on building village halls and similar institutions were necessary because of the limited resources available. I am aware of the concern in the countryside and will be glad to ease the position as soon as I possibly can.

asked the Minister of Education whether he has yet given consideration to the extension of the regulations under the Teachers' (Superannuation) Act, to provide for a pension to the widow of a school teacher who dies shortly before he has qualified for his own pension.

This matter has already received, and is still receiving my consideration. As I informed the hon. Member a year ago, new legislation would be required, and particularly in view of the difficult financial problems involved. I can make no statement on the question at present.

asked the Minister of Education what is the number of male teachers employed in the schools of England and Wales at the end of the last financial year; the total amount of their contributions to the Teachers' Super; annuation Fund for that year; the number of women teachers employed in the schools of England and Wales at the end of the last financial year; and the total amount of their contributions to the Teachers' Superannuation Fund for that year.

The information is not yet available. The position on 31st March, 1949 was that about 86,000 men and about 135,000 women teachers were employed in contributory service under the Teachers (Superannuation) Acts, their contributions to the Teachers' Superannuation Account being at the approximate annual rates of £2,350,000 and £2,750,000 respectively. In addition there were 2,000 men teachers and 3,770 women teachers in contributory service under special schemes made under Section 21 (1) (a) of the Teachers (Superannuation) Act, 1925, their contributions to the separate accounts under the schemes being at the approximate annual rates of £70,000 and £75,000 respectively.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is aware of the differing practices of local education authorities with regard to the payment of tuition fees for children entering schools maintained by an authority other than that within whose area the child is resident; and whether, in view of the anomalies which result, he will take steps to introduce a uniform practice in this matter.

No. A committee set up by the associations of local authorities and the L.C.C. has recommended a uniform procedure for assessing contributions between authorities in respect of pupils attending maintained schools from outside the area of the maintaining authority, and reviews the recommended arrangements from year to year. I understand that the Committee's recommendations have been welcomed by authorities and very generally adopted by them.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he is aware that the state of the graves of the Imperial troops who died during the South African war is unsatisfactory; and what action he is taking in the matter.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply which I gave yesterday to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Tiverton (Mr. Amory).

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will give details of the recent agreement with the Soviet Government whereby the latter plans to provide 153,000 standards of timber with a possibility of supplying larger quantities; and state the prices to be paid for the different qualities, and approximate delivery dates;(2) what quantity of sawn softwood it was hoped to obtain from Sweden this year; for what quantity contracts have so far been placed; and what is the maximum quantity for which contracts are likely to be placed this year.

With regard to supplies of timber from Russia, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answer I gave on 22nd June to similar questions by the hon. Members for Wallasey (Mr. Marples), Gloucestershire, West (Mr. Philips Price), Richmond (Sir G. Harvie-Watt) and Wembley, North (Wing-Commander Bullus). As regards Sweden, the trade agreement last December mentioned 250,000 standards, subject to agreement on price and specification. It is not the practice to state the current contract position or to anticipate contracts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what quantity of timber has been imported from Austria in each of the past three years; and what quantity it is proposed to import during 1950.

Imports of timber from Austria were 1,542 standards of softwood in 1947; one standard of softwood in 1948; 2,174 cwt. of veneers in 1949; and 1,409 standards of softwood and 905 cwt. of veneers in the first four months of 1950. It is not the practice to forecast future imports from any source.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now make arrangements to issue the Monthly Trade and Navigation Accounts more promptly; and why statistics of emigration and immigration are no longer included in these returns.

No. Bearing in mind the amount of information presented I think the Monthly Trade and Navigation Accounts are laid before the House with a commendably short delay. So far as I can ascertain, migration statistics have not been published as part of the Monthly Trade and Navigation Accounts, but they have appeared in the Board of Trade Journal since 1920. It is hoped to present improved and quarterly figures in that publication in the course of this year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps are being taken to increase the stocks of newsprint in the country, which, with the present consumption, are likely to fall to a low level and compel provincial newspapers to reduce their size in the near future.

Home newsprint mills are working to full capacity and imports from soft currency countries are freely allowed. We have already authorised the expenditure of dollars for the maximum supplies which are likely to be available from Canada this year, and I am glad to announce that it has now been decided to authorise the importation of 37,500 tons of Canadian newsprint in the first half of 1951.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how the higher prices recently announced for British newsprint compare with the cost of imported newsprint.

Although the prices of home-produced newsprint are to be raised by £2 3s. 9d. a ton on 3rd July owing to the increased cost of imported woodpulp and other factors, they will still be cheaper than the current quotations for forward delivery from almost any other source.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has considered the account of the results of the recent Anglo-American textile mission to Japan, a copy of which has been sent him; and if he will make a statement.

I invited the Chairman of the Cotton Board and other members of the British side of the recent Anglo-American Mission to see me shortly after their return to this country, and had some preliminary discussion with them. They stated that they were reporting back to the industry, which will give further consideration to the various problems involved, and I hope to receive representatives of the industry again shortly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of enamel bedroom chamber pots of 18 centimetres and 24 centimetres that have been imported from Poland during the last 12 months.

Statistics of our external trade are available only for the commodities listed in the official Import and Export Lists. The articles to which the hon. Member refers are not separately distinguished in the Import List and import statistics are not available.

asked the Minister of Transport what arrangements he is making to deal with London traffic problems, in particular with regard to the parking of cars during the period covering the Festival of Britain.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the car parking problem in the London area is already serious and will become acute during the Festival of Britain; and if he will make a statement as to the plans which are being made to deal with this situation.

I am fully conscious of the difficulties of car parking in London. The London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee have set up a special sub-committee to examine the problem and to report to me. The London County Council have made provisional arrangements to deal with car parking for the Festival. It is expected that car parks for several thousand cars will be available for visitors to the Exhibition sites, together with provision for over 1,000 coaches on Clapham Common and in Regent's Park.

asked the Minister of Transport in view of the necessity of traffic control signs being illuminated, whether he will circularise local authorities in the Metropolitan Police area to the effect that all non-illuminated signs should be kept cleanly painted and conspicuous.

I am not quite clear what my hon. Friend means by the first part of his Question, but on the second part I have no reason to think that local authorities generally in this area are unmindful of the necessity for keeping signs clean. If my hon. Friend has any particular case in mind I will look into it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of claims which have been rejected by the War Damage Commission upon the grounds that they have not been lodged with the Commission within the prescribed time; and the approximate amount to which the claimants claimed to be entitled.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the persistent increase in the cost of living, he

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether he is aware that the large number of caravans appearing in the West Mailing area are causing inconvenience to the inhabitants of certain housing estates; and whether he will introduce legislation to ensure the provision of suitable parking lots for

No. I do not think the appointment of such a body would serve any useful purpose.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning what is the value of roads, sewerage, water, gas and electricity services respectively which will be necessary in each of the new towns; and the value of such work so far executed.

It is impossible to say at this stage what will be the final cost in each of the new towns of providing these services. The following table gives the cost of work already executed by New Town Development Corporations. This does not include the cost of similar work done by local authorities, statutory undertakers or gas or electricity boards.caravans by local authorities, who, under the present law, cannot refuse a licence providing sanitary requirements are complied with.

I have received representations on this subject from the Trottiscliffe Parish Council, and I am inquiring into these. Local authorities already have power to purchase land for parking lots. The establishment of permanent new sites is controlled under the Town and Country Planning Act and the Public Health Act, and the local planning authority are free to refuse permission.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is aware that low-flying aircraft over the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, seriously disturbed the international musical festival being held there; and what steps he proposes to take to prevent recurrences during the period of the festival.

Aircraft of Fighter Command took part on 17th and 18th June in an air defence exercise over the whole of East Anglia, and I am sorry if some disturbance was caused to the musical festival at Aldeburgh. During the latter part of the festival R.A.F. pilots had strict instructions to avoid Aldeburgh.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if, in view of the increasing anxiety caused by continued excessively low flying over the towns of Saxmundham, Aldeburgh and Debenham, which seriously frightens many people, he will

Large-scale air defence exercises are invariably announced beforehand in the Press but I am afraid it would not be practicable to give notice of day-to-day training flights. I am looking into the possibility of other measures to reduce the nuisance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of Colonial students in the United Kingdom on 31st May whose studies were sponsored by his Department or Colonial Governments or other Government agencies; and what were the numbers of such students respectively engaged in the main branches of study.

At 31st May there were in the United Kingdom 1,484 Colonial students holding scholarships financed from Colonial Development and Welfare and Colonial Government funds, and 2,489 private students. The numbers engaged in the main branches of study are as follows:

asked the Postmaster-General what amount of steel was allocated in 1949 for the supply of poles for telegraphic and telephonic purposes; and whether the allocation is decided in relation to the availability of home-grown timber for these purposes.

Two thousand seven hundred tons was allocated to complete an order placed in 1947, when there was a serious deficiency in timber supplies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many African women students and how many African men students from the East and Central African territories were receiving the equivalent of university training during the year 1949–50.

One woman and 49 men of African race from the East and Central African territories are receiving the equivalent of university training in the United Kingdom in the current academic year. In addition, there are 184 men and five women from the territories other than Uganda receiving such training outside the United Kingdom. I am awaiting figures of students from Uganda studying outside the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has considered the petition from the British Virgin Islands Progressive League to the Caribbean Commission with regard to the difficulties of travel between the British and United States Virgin Islands; and what action he proposes to take in the matter.

Yes. The matter has been discussed with the Government of the United States who, while they are unable to modify the immigration laws which apply to British Virgin Islanders wishing to visit the American Virgin Islands, are considering what can be done to make access to an American vice-consul easier for British Virgin Islanders who wish to apply for United States visas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the hon. Member for Hornsey may expect to get a reply to his letter of 14th January about the complaint raised by Mr. Kendall, of 1, Greystone Avenue, Leicester, concerning the Malayan Government.

A reply has now been sent to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the doctors, nursing staff and attendants who looked after the smallpox cases in the recent Glasgow outbreak of smallpox were all volunteers; how often they had been vaccinated; and on what dates they had been vaccinated.

The staff of the smallpox unit at Robroyston Hospital, to which all cases were transferred or admitted immediately the disease was diagnosed, were all persons who had previously volunteered for this duty and had, since volunteering, been vaccinated and re-vaccinated as necessary. Extraction of the detailed records of the considerable number of staff involved would take time and would serve no useful purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the Asiatic seaman was discharged from Knightswood Hospital on 23rd March; and why he was taken to the smallpox compound at Robroyston on 26th to 27th March.

This patient, having been diagnosed as suffering from chickenpox, was discharged from Knightswood Hospital on 23rd March on completion of the normal period of quarantine for that disease. Immediately it was established that contacts with the seaman had developed smallpox he was admitted to the smallpox unit at Robroyston Hospital for investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date the baby who died at Robroyston was vaccinated; and whether this vaccination took place in the smallpox compound or at Stobhill, the hospital from which she was removed to the smallpox hospital.

Vaccination was attempted at Stobhill Hospital on 27th March when it became known that the baby had been in contact with smallpox, and again the following day on admission to the smallpox unit at Robroyston Hospital after the disease had been diagnosed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the review of Exchequer contributions payable for new houses completed by local authorities in Scotland.

As a result of a review which I have just completed I have decided that I would not be justified in making an Order reducing the level of these contributions, which will remain as at present in respect of houses completed up to the 30th June, 1951. I shall submit a report to the House on this subject at an early date.