asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty from what sources it is intended to recruit for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve apart from National Service men.

Apart from National Service men who are accepted into the R.N.V.R., both before and after their period of whole-time service, men with former service in His Majesty's Forces may be accepted into this Reserve up to the age of 45 years.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what is to be the future intake of National Service men for the Royal Navy as a result of the increased period of service.

This matter is now under consideration in connection with the preparation of the Navy Estimates for 1951–52.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many workers in Chatham Dockyard, whose weekly wage is £4 15s. a week or less, drew overtime pay in 1950; and what was the weekly average of such pay.

Of the 382 employees in Chatham Dockyard whose weekly wage is £4 15s. a week or less, 290 drew overtime pay in 1950; the weekly average of such pay was 6s. 4d.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that there is not enough work to keep many employees at Chatham Dockyard fully occupied and what action he intends taking.

No. Chatham Dockyard has sufficient work to employ all available capacity to the full.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of men who applied to enlist on a Regular engagement in the Royal Navy between the date of the introduction of the new pay increases and 31st December, 1950; the number of men actually enlisted; the number rejected on medical grounds; the number rejected for other reasons; and if he will give the figures for the corresponding period of 1949.

The information requested is as follows:

—	1st September, to 31st December, 1949	1st September, to 31st December, 1950
(a) Number applied	10,231	7,560
(b) Number finally entered	4,186	2,931
(c) Number medically unfit	1,320	1,049
(d) Number rejected other reasons	4,832	3,804

The figures do not include men re-entered after a period in civil life.Certain of the men entered during this period had applied to enter prior to 1st September in the respective years. The numbers entered were those required to meet authorised strengths except that there was some shortage in the entries of seaman boys in 1950.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of ratings who applied to re-engage in the Royal Navy between the announcement of the recent pay increases and 31st December, 1950; the number actually accepted for such re-engagement; and what were the figures for the corresponding period of 1949.

The number of R.N. ratings and R.M. other ranks who re-engaged for pension in the four months September to December, 1950, was 488. The figure for the corresponding period in 1949 was 363. No information is available as to the number who applied but were refused re-engagement.Men may re-engage at any time within two years of the completion of their first continuous service engagement and there is some evidence that the new pay code and re-engagement bounty have led to earlier re-engagement than before. On the other hand, men being retained may postpone re-engaging until eventually released. In view of this and the fact that larger groups of men are completing their first 12 years service at the present time than was the case a year ago, the number of re-engagements quoted are not directly comparable.

asked the Postmaster-General why he pays British European Airways Corporation the equivalent of 2.09 gold francs per tonne/kilometre for internal airmail, and 2.9 gold francs for overseas carriage, when the cost for internal routes is the greater; and when the agreement between the Universal Postal Union and the International Air Transport Association calls for a rate of three gold francs per tonne/kilometre on short haul services.

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension in regard to the existence of an agreement between the Universal Postal Union and the International Air Transport Association covering conveyance rates paid by postal administrations to their national air-operators. The sterling payments made to the British European Airways Corporation for both international airmail of United Kingdom origin and internal airmails are negotiated on a commercial basis.

asked the Postmaster-General how many primary schools in Wales were equipped with telephones during 1950; and how many outstanding demands there are for telephones by schools of all types in Wales.

This information cannot be made available without excessive local inquiry, as our records do not distinguish between different types of business-rate subscriber.

asked the Postmaster-General how many Post Office employees who were compulsorily directed into civilian employment during the First World War have thereby suffered a reduction in pensions; and what steps he is taking to remedy their grievance.

Any Post Office officer who took up civilian employment (such as munitions) during the First World War did so voluntarily, or as an alternative to entering the Armed Forces, and I regret I have no information as to the number who did so. I see no ground for re-opening previous decisions in this matter.

asked the Minister of Food what quantity of Canadian apples he agreed to import in 1950; what price in dollars he paid for them; and what is the average price at which his Department sold them.

We now expect to import about one and a half million cases during the present season. As I explained to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. S. Marshall), on 8th December last year, I am not prepared to disclose the prices paid by my Department for supplies of imported fruit purchased from particular sources. The apples are being sold on the open market. The prices so far realised average 42s. per case but over the whole season the average will probably be much lower.

asked the Minister of Food if he is now in a position to announce the 1951 allocation of tinplate to the food canning industry as a whole and to canners of fruit and vegetables respectively.

I do not yet know how much tinplate will be available to my Department this year, and therefore cannot yet say what supplies food canners, including fruit and vegetable canners, may expect over the whole year; but for the first quarter they will get about 20 per cent. less than in the same period last year.

asked the Minister of Food on what dates his Department ordered and took delivery of consignments of tinned Russian crab meat.

Contracts for these purchases were made on 21st March, 1947, and 1st November, 1948; and consignments against these contracts arrived on 5th October, 1947, 31st January, 1949, and 21st November, 1949. A further contract was made on 6th November, 1950, but no consignments against this contract have yet arrived.

asked the Minister of Food what reductions have been effected in the allocation of meat to catering establishments at the same time as the reduction in the domestic meat ration; and whether the same reductions have been applied to all types of catering establishments.

Except for allocations for school meals, which have been reduced by one-ninth, the reduction for all catering establishments has been the same as that for the domestic ration—that is, one-third.

asked the Minister of Food whether he has any statement to make on the future of the meat ration.

Not at the moment, but I propose to make one very shortly.

asked the Minister of Food what tonnage of meat not produced in Great Britain was included in the Scottish ration for the latest year for which statistics are available.

In the year ended 30th December, 1950, we estimate that Scotland received just under 50,000 tons of imported meat for ration purposes as compared with 90,000 tons of home-killed meat which included meat produced from the slaughter of fatstock from Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. In addition 6,000 tons of canned corned meat were issued in Scotland.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will impose a price control upon the sale of rabbits, in view of the high prices now being charged.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that some wholesalers are asking 2s. 4d. a 1b. for rabbits; and what steps he proposes to take to control prices during the meat shortage.

asked the Minister of Food when it is proposed to impose controls on the prices of fish and rabbits.

I know that the public are concerned about high fish and rabbit prices; and I have recently discussed with the trade how to keep prices down to reasonable levels without the risk of reducing supplies. I would rather see whether, given reasonable conditions, these discussions produce speedy and effective results before making any final decision to re-impose price control.

asked the Minister of Food if he will impose controls on the prices charged for fish and rabbits.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave today to my hon. Friends the Members for Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd), Dartford (Mr. Dodds) and Rossendale (Mr. Anthony Greenwood).

asked the Minister of Food what is the cost of the subsidy of 7s. 9d. a sack on flour, from 24th September to 25th November; and what will be the cost, on an annual basis, of a subsidy of 8s. 2d. per sack.

The subsidy rates quoted by the hon. Member are the rates payable to bakers on flour used for making price-controlled bread in England and Wales only. The cost of the baking subsidy in England and Wales at 7s. 9d. per sack was £1,290,000 during this period. The annual cost at 8s. 2d. per sack for England and Wales is estimated at about £7,900,000.

asked the Minister of Food the average time during which meat and poultry are kept in cold storage before delivery to the butchers; and if he will give details of the varieties of meat, quantities and the longest and shortest time that they have been kept in cold storage.

The length of time meat is kept in cold storage depends on current needs and supplies. Normally, a third of our imported ration meat is issued direct from ship. The remainder is held in cold store for an average of two to three months. My Department does not now hold any stocks of poultry. Those held in cold store last year were there for an average time of five months.

asked the Minister of Food to state, on an annual basis, the cost of granting retail butchers a rebate of 2s. 3d. in the £.

The present rebate of 2s. 3d. in the £ on butchers' wholesale purchases of meat amounts to about £300,000 per week. If this rate were maintained over the whole year the annual cost would be £15,600,000.

asked the Minister of Food what quantity of homegrown eating apples are still awaiting sale in this country; and whether he will defer the marketing of imported apples until the home-produced stocks can be absorbed.

I understand that the supplies of home-grown eating apples which still remain to be marketed are very small indeed; and it would be quite wrong therefore to deprive consumers of the imported supplies now coming forward.

asked the Minister of Food the total sum paid by his Department to producers for animals exhibited at the Fat Stock Show, held in Edinburgh on 29th and 30th November, 1950; the total sum received by his Department in respect of these animals after slaughter; and the total loss sustained by his Department as a result of the purchase and sale of these animals.

The total payment made was £1,417, and the total sum received in respect of the sale of the meat, hides, skins and offals is estimated at £1,071 0s. 0d. After adding the expenses incurred, the total loss, which, of course, forms part of the subsidy on meat, is estimated at £422.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will extend the Canadian Air Training Scheme to include many more trainees than are at present envisaged.

The Canadian Government have recently announced that they are offering to increase substantially the facilities in Canada for aircrew training for North Atlantic Treaty countries. The Government warmly welcome this offer, We hope to avail ourselves of the increased facilities as soon as arrangements, can be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that, under the new pay scales, the pay of pilot officers who were commissioned from the rank of flight sergeant before 1st September, 1950, is, in some cases, 5s. 6d. a day lower than the pay of those commissioned after that date, and 4s. a day lower than they themselves would now be receiving had they remained in the rank of flight sergeant; and whether he will examine such anomalies with a view to rectifying them.

Yes, my right hon. Friend is aware of this pay anomaly and action is being taken to rectify it.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the number of men who applied to join the Regular Air Force between the date of the introduction of the new pay increases and 31st December, 1950; the number of men actually enlisted; the number rejected on medical grounds; the number rejected for other reasons; and if he will give the figures for the corresponding period of 1949.

Between 1st September and 31st December, 1950, a total of 17,260 men submitted completed application forms to join the R.A.F. as Regulars; 9,084 were actually enlisted, and at least 3,000 more were provisionally accepted but requested that their enlistment should be deferred until after 1st January, 1951. In the corresponding period of 1949, there were 5,015 applications and 2,004 enlistments. Figures of rejections on medical or other grounds, and of applications withdrawn, are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the number of men serving in the Regular Air Force who applied to re-engage between the announcement of the recent pay increases and 31st December, 1950; the number actually accepted for such re-engagement; and what were the figures for the corresponding period of 1949.

Four thousand Regular airmen applied to re-engage between 1st September and 31st December, 1950, and 1,413 in the corresponding period in 1949. The number actually accepted in the period stated was 755 in 1950 and 208 in 1949, but ultimate acceptances for the 1949 applications reached 60 per cent., and the percentage is expected to be even higher for 1950.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation what is the average time taken to open a public inquiry into a flying accident.

The average interval between the occurrence of an aircraft accident and the opening of a public inquiry has been about 85 days.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he now has any further statement to make regarding the whereabouts of the Bishop of Korea, and the treatment accorded to him by the North Koreans.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is yet in a position to make a statement concerning the whereabouts of Captain Vyvyan Holt.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he now has any information as to the whereabouts of Captain Holt, former Minister in North Korea; and what steps his Department is taking to trace him.

I am sorry to say that all efforts to obtain news about Captain Holt, Bishop Cooper and other British subjects who remained in Korea have been fruitless.Mr. Gromyko informed His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Moscow on 22nd December that the latter's request for information had been brought to the notice of the authorities of the Korean Peoples Democratic Republic. This has brought no response. The International Red Cross Committee have not been able to pursue the matter through this channel as no representative has been permitted to go to the territory occupied by that authority. Inquiries which have been addressed by His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Peking to the Central Peoples Government, the last being on 19th January, have so far yielded no information.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will ascertain how far the Yugoslav Government have used materials provided by His Majesty's Government exclusively to prevent the weakening of the defences of Yugoslavia, to facilitate the export to this country of raw and semi-manufactured materials, and to facilitate work of British observers.

The Yugoslav Government are believed to have supplemented out of their own resources and in other countries the purchases of materials which they have made with the credits provided by His Majesty's Government. It is not known to what purposes all these materials have been put. Information of the kind referred to by the hon. Member, cannot be ascertained with any degree of accuracy, and I should not feel justified in asking the Yugoslav Government to devote time and labour to its compilation.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action he is taking to ensure that appropriate compensation is made to those members of His Majesty's Forces who were prisoners of war in the Far East and who were deprived of prisoner-of-war rights when in captivity.

Claims for compensation against Japan on behalf of prisoners of war, and other nationals, of the British Commonwealth and other countries concerned, amount to very considerable sums. The matter is under consideration, but on the basis of our examination of this question, I doubt whether presentation of such claims would lead to their satisfaction.As regards the possibility of compensation being paid by His Majesty's Government, I would refer to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence on 4th April, 1950, in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Perth and East Perthshire (Colonel Gomme-Duncan), of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the Protocol for the amendment of the Statute of the Council of Europe; and whether he will make a statement as to the policy of His Majesty's Government on this subject.

Yes. A copy of the draft Protocol prepared by the Consultative Assembly's Special Committee on the Statute was received in the Foreign Office from the Secretary-General on 11th January. It is clear that the proposals have far-reaching political and constitutional implications and will require to be examined very closely. My right hon. Friend has felt obliged to inform the Foreign Ministers of the other member countries that His Majesty's Government cannot agree to accept these proposals as a basis for discussion until that study has taken place. It will be noted in particular that there are provisions in the Protocol which would very closely affect the sovereignty of this Parliament. I refer especially to Articles 7 and 35.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps have been taken to implement the clause in the Italian Peace Treaty which makes Slovene and Italian the joint official languages in Zone A of the Free Territory of Trieste.

Since no Governor has been appointed for the Free Territory the Annex to the Peace Treaty which contains this clause has not come into force. On the other hand, the Peace Treaty lays down elsewhere that in the interim period existing laws shall remain valid unless and until they are revoked or suspended by the Governor. Thus Italian continues to be the sole official language in Zone A but special arrangements have been made by the Allied Military Government to meet the needs of the four communes where Slovene predominates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the average percentage of unemployed workers in Jamaica last year; and what arrangements are made for their maintenance and those of their families during periods of unemployment.

There are no statistics showing the average percentage of unemployed workers in Jamaica. As regards the second part of the Question, the Government of Jamaica spends substantial sums each year to help the unemployed through land settlement schemes, additional public works and public assistance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the tonnage of tin and rubber exported from Malaya in each of the years from 1946 to 1949; and what was the value in sterling.

The table below shows the exports of tin and rubber from the Federation of Malaya and Singapore for the years 1946 to 1949 inclusive. The figures shown in brackets are quantities and values of rubber and tin imported into Malaya from neighbouring countries and re-exported. These quantities are included in the unbracketed figures. The values of exports are those of the total

—	Year	Quantity		Value
		(tons)		(£)
TIN (blocks, ingots, bars and slabs)	1946	7,619	(760)	2,511,861	(180,085)
	1947	32,072	(4,739)	12,701,184	(1,378,343)
	1948	47,215	(5,015)	25,012,499	(1,987,253)
	1949	54,783	(9,083)	31,924,584	(3,635,083)
RUBBER (Sole crepe, dry (smoked, sheet and crepe) and latex).	1946	558,001	(187,290)	57,730,719	(15,032,628)
	1947	953,303	(313,700)	91,125,011	(20,944,201)
	1948	979,115	(300,471)	101,769,936	(20,070,420)
	1949	899,211	(155,952)	84,804,568	(14,422,640)

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many civil servants have been appointed, in all grades, in Malaya during the past three years; and how many of them are Asians.

I regret that it has not been possible to compile figures of all the appointments made throughout the Civil Service in Malaya during the past three years. This would entail much research which cannot be undertaken in the present state of the emergency in Malaya. The very great majority of appointments are of course Asian.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Commission of Inquiry will begin its work regarding the riots in Singapore, following the decision in the Bertha Hertogh case; and if he will name the members of the Commission.

Hon. Members will already be aware that the Governor of Singapore, in consultation with me, is appointing a Commission of Inquiry with the following terms of reference:—

"To inquire into and report on the recent disorders in Singapore on 11th December and subsequent days, with special reference to the causes of these disorders, and the measures taken to protect life and property and restore law and order."

The Chairman will be the Right Hon. Sir Lionel Leach, K.C. I hope that it will be possible to announce the full composition of the Commission very shortly, and that the Commission will arrive in

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the increase in the number of bandit attacks which have taken place in Malaya since the beginning of December.

There has been no major change in the general situation in Malaya during the past two months but the number of bandit attacks has in fact decreased slightly since the beginning of December. The total number of bandit attacks for the first week in December was 98, whilst the totals for the first two weeks in January were 86 and 97. Major incidents have been somewhat lower during December and January than in November of last year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps he proposes to take to counteract the statement made by the Peking Radio to the effect that the Chinese population in Malaya is being persecuted and subjected to torture.

I do not consider that a formal refutation of such evident untruths is necessary. The policy of His Majesty's Government and the Federation Government is, as has been repeatedly stated, to foster a common citizenship for members of all communities who regard Malaya as their real home and object of loyalty. The vast majority of the Chinese in Malaya are peaceful and law-abiding. Far from being persecuted by the Government of the Federation of Malaya, they are protected by that Government from the violence of the Malayan Communist Party, which is almost wholly composed of alien Chinese.Since 1948 some 1,300 civilians have been murdered by the Communists in Malaya. Of this total 870 have been Chinese. It is clear, therefore that the sufferings experienced by the Chinese in Malaya are the result of the actions of a desperate minority which seeks to terrorise and exploit them for exclusively Communist ends.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken to relieve distress and unemployment on Turks Islands; and whether the reorganisation of the local salt industry has yet begun.

The Turks Islands are almost entirely dependent upon the salt industry which has been suffering from the cumulative effect of lack of capital and disruption of trade with the Far East. Unemployment has become a difficult problem. The industry is being reorganised as a limited liability company in which the Government of the Dependency are to hold a controlling interest. New capital and better working arrangements will be introduced and it is hoped that unemployment will be alleviated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement with regard to the recent earthquakes in the Leeward Islands.

I regret to report that severe earth tremors occurred in Nevis, and to a lesser degree in St. Kitts, on 27th December. Shocks, sometimes as many as a hundred a day, continued until the end of the first week in January. Tremors subsequently have been very slight and none were noticed at the end of last week.I am glad to say that the Governor has informed me that there has been no loss of life and no people are homeless. Large stone and concrete buildings have, however, been damaged. In St. Kitts a few buildings in Basseterre were affected. In Nevis, a number were severely damaged, including a hospital, court house, two churches and a school. Damage to Government buildings alone is at present estimated at some £100,000.I wish to express appreciation of the help received from neighbouring territories, the United States naval authorities, and the American and British Red Cross.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will ban the importation of table poultry from countries where fowl pest is known to exist in an endeavour to safeguard the British poultry industry.

This matter is under review with the other Departments concerned but it raises a number of important issues and it is unlikely that there will be any change of policy in the immediate future.

asked the Minister of Agriculture at what price dried sugar beet pulp of the 1951 crop will be sold to growers.

An increase in the price of dried sugar beet pulp will be necessary in due course to take account of a number of factors including the higher price of molasses (which is used in its manufacture). The National Farmers' Unions have been informed that the increase will be not more than £1 per ton over the present prices prescribed by the Feeding Stuffs (Prices) Order, 1950, for sales in bulk net weight; with a corresponding increase for sales in sacks gross-weight including an appropriate charge for the sacks. These new prices will also apply to dried sugar beet pulp from the 1951 crop purchased by growers of sugar beet under the terms of their contract with the British Sugar Corporation; whereas the prices paid by growers for pulp of the 1950 crop purchased under their contracts have been £1 lower than the maximum prices prescribed in the above Order. The total increase in the growers price will therefore be £2 a ton.

asked the Secretary of State for War why gun emplacements on the Kent coast, built during the late war and in perfect condition, are being demolished.

These gun emplacements, which originally formed part of the coast artillery defence of Dover, are being dismantled since the guns are obsolete and the port of Dover and the Straits are already adequately covered by other batteries.

asked the Minister of Supply why a quantity of Service and Civil Defence equipment was sold by auction at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, on 4th and 5th January; and if he is satisfied that all of it was obsolete.

I would ask the hon. Member to await my right hon. Friend's reply to Questions on Monday, 29th January.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will arrange for copies of the Declaration issued by the Commonwealth Prime Ministers at the end of their Conference in London to be placed in the Library.

Yes. I am arranging for copies of this Declaration to be laid in the Library.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has yet received the Report of the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee on traffic congestion in central London.

Yes, I have just received this Report.

asked the Minister of Health how many individuals suffering from tuberculosis in Kent were awaiting admission to a sanatorium at the last convenient date.

The latest figures available, pending completion of hospital returns for 1950, relate to 31st December, 1949, when tuberculosis patients on the registers of chest clinics in Kent who were awaiting institutional treatment numbered 520.

asked the Minister of Health how many medical officers were employed on full-time duties in the treatment of patients suffering from tuberculosis on 1st January, 1949, 1950 and 1951, respectively.

On 31st December, 1948, there were 335 whole-time medical officers of all grades specialising in diseases of the chest on the staff of hospitals and clinics in the National Health Service. The corresponding figure for 1949 was 477. The figure for 1950 is not yet available.

asked the Minister of Health what is the average length of time spent by tuberculosis patients in sanatoria; what is the number of patients who insisted upon discharge from sanatoria contrary to medical advice during the past 12 months; and how many of these latter had tuberculosis in an active and infectious form.

It would need a special and extensive inquiry to obtain this information, and I doubt whether the value of the result would justify the labour and expense involved.

asked the Minister of Health what was the number of prescriptions, Form EC. 10, issued to patients during the 12 months up to the most recent convenient date; and what was the total cost of providing the drugs and dressings prescribed thereon.

The number of National Health Service prescriptions dispensed by chemists in the 12 months ended 30th November, 1950, was 216,795,000. The estimated cost of these prescriptions is £33,517,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the suspension of Marshall Aid to this country, how our dollar earnings were made up, including individual Dominion and Colonial sources, for the period of Marshall Aid.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to Table 10 of Cmd. 8065, and to the next Balance of Payments White Paper, which will be published in April. I am not prepared to give figures of individual countries' earnings.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many temporary executive officers were offered permanent status in an executive officer post between January, 1949, and May, 1950.

Figures are not available to answer the precise Question asked. During 1948 and 1949 Departments were implementing a scheme for establishing 750 temporary executive staff. A further scheme, covering up to 2,000 staff, was announced in May, 1950, and is now being carried out.

asked the Minister of Works what steps he is taking to ensure that there are adequate supplies of plasterboard for use in houses erected to the order of local authorities.

The production of plasterboard is restricted by a shortage of the paper liner used in its manufacture. While this shortage persists, plasterboard manufacturers have undertaken that, as far as possible, available supplies will be sent to housing and other essential work where delays on site would otherwise occur. I am in touch with my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade about the maintenance of supplies of paper liner.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will make more coke available to meet domestic needs in York.

Owing to the necessity for repairs to the coal carbonising plant at York gasworks, the local production of gas coke has fallen appreciably in recent months. Repairs have now been completed, and I am informed that the quantity of locally produced coke is increasing. While the current general shortage of coke continues, however, I regret that it will not be possible to meet in full the requirements of domestic consumers generally.

asked the hon. Member for Bristol, North-East, as Chairman of the Kitchen Committee, how much was contributed this year to the Staff Christmas Fund; on what basis it was shared out, and to how many employees; how many hon. Members contributed; and what sums were contributed at each previous Christmas since 1945.

The amount contributed to the Refreshment Department Staff Fund for Christmas, 1950, was £1,005. This was paid to the employees on a basis to which their representative had agreed: full-time staff received one share each, heads of departments received one and a half shares, and a proportionate part of a share was paid to part-time workers according to length of service, provided they had been engaged for three months.The number of employees was 138; the number of contributors was 462. The amount contributed for 1949 was £993; for 1948, £1,074; and for 1947, £1,038. No collections were made prior to 1947.