asked the Minister of Health if he will make a statement on the influenza epidemic in Liverpool.

asked the Minister of Health what evidence he has as to the causes of the present influenza epidemic incapacitating a large proportion of the population in Birkenhead, on Merseyside, and in other large riverside ports in Scotland and the north of England; and if he will make a statement.

Merseyside and, to a less extent Tyneside, are the areas worst affected by the present epidemic of influenza. It is impossible to predict the behaviour of epidemic influenza with any accuracy but there is reason to hope that the epidemic has passed its peak in these areas although the incidence remains and may continue to be heavy. Available evidence suggests that the epidemic is still spreading in other parts of the country though the mortality so far is less serious.It is possible that the infection spread to this country from Scandinavia where it was prevalent towards the end of 1950.The epidemic is throwing very heavy burdens on all those helping the sick, especially general practitioners. I am sure that the whole nation is grateful to them and I would like to express my personal appreciation of the great value of their services. The public will, I know, show them all possible consideration at this difficult time.

asked the Minister of Health why the National Health Service does not provide for the renewal of an appliance needed by a British taxpayer who is temporarily abroad in the employ of the Colonial Development Corporation, although the appliance would be provided under the service were he in this country.

The authority given by the National Health Service Acts to provide services does not extend to persons abroad.

asked the Minister of Health how many patients can be accommodated by the Bracebridge Heath Mental Hospital, Lincoln, on the male and female sides; and how many inmates there are on each side.

Bracebridge Heath Hospital provides authorised bed space for 542 male and 679 female patients; total 1,221. On 1st January, 1951, there were in hospital 715 males and 492 female patients; total 1,207.

asked the Minister of Health what number of consultant posts recommended for each hospital region by the review committee have not yet been filled; and in what specialities these deficiencies occur.

I assume the hon. Member is referring to the teams appointed to review the medical staffing of hospitals. These teams have not yet submitted reports giving this information.

asked the Minister of Health what figures he has of the number of urgent medical cases in Kent for whom hospital beds are not now available.

I regret that I have no separate figures for Kent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can give the relative output per man engaged in the agriculture industry on behalf of the rest of the population of Great Britain.

Home-produced food in the United Kingdom in 1949–50 represented 39 per cent. of the total intake of calories, 53 per cent. of the protein and 34 per cent. of the fats and was produced by farmers and farm workers representing roughly 5 per cent. of the population in gainful employment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture in how many cases and for how many birds, out of over 90,000 head of poultry which have recently been slaughtered, did his inspectors and the owners of the birds agree that there was no outward sign of fowl pest present or any variation from a normal condition.

Slaughter has been carried out in 46 flocks containing 1,600 birds in none of which, at the time of inspection by the Ministry's veterinary officer, was there any visible sign of ill-health. In every case, however, there was reason to suspect that the flocks had been exposed to infection, and the existence of the disease was confirmed by a blood test before slaughter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the names of the local Sea Fisheries Committees in England and Wales; the number of members on each committee; and the number of fishermen serving on each committee.

Following is the reply:

asked the Minister of Health whether he will now take measures to secure the wives and families of men serving in Korea from eviction if living in a tied cottage.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my predecessor on 14th December last, to which I cannot add anything at present.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures to show where the reductions in Government expenditure, announced at the time of devaluation in September, 1949, became effective in the financial year 1950–51.

As my right hon. Friend's predecessor explained in his Budget speech, the economies of the autumn of 1949 were taken into account in the Estimates for 1950–51 which would have been that much higher but for those economies. No proper comparison between the Estimates and the actual expenditure of the year 1950–51 is possible until the end of the financial year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the Purchase Tax on a box of tennis balls which last season was 5s. 8d. is now to be increased to 8s. 9d. owing to increased costs of manufacture; and whether, regarding this as a typical example of the inflationary effect of an ad valorem duty, he will arrange to institute ceiling limits for Purchase Tax in his next Budget.

A rise in wholesale prices on which Purchase Tax is chargeable does of course increase the amount of the tax. But, apart from other difficulties, the Purchase Tax covers hundreds of thousands of different goods and any system under which fixed values had to be determined for, and applied to, each article would be impossible to work fairly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is prepared to allow a small amount of dollars for visits to close relatives living in the United States of America and Canada.

Yes. My right hon. Friend is now prepared to allow up to £35 worth of dollars or of any other foreign currency on application through banks or travel agencies by anyone wishing to visit close relatives living abroad. The concession thus includes visits by parents of G.I. brides to their daughters.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in the framing of the next Budget, having regard to the rising cost of living, he will give some tax relief to pensioners and other elderly or infirm persons living on small fixed incomes.

I am afraid that I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friends' Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of Marshall Plan Aid to the United Kingdom; what amount of this has to be repaid as loan; and what is the amount which is free grant.

The total allocation of Marshall Aid to the United Kingdom amounts to $2,694.3 million. Of this we have agreed to repay as loan $336.9 million, and the balance of $2,357.4 million is free grant, including conditional aid, amounting to $530.5 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider an arrangement whereby the holders of post-war credits, between the ages of 60 and 65 years, who are no longer in employment, can set off their National Insurance contributions against their postwar credits.

I am afraid I cannot entertain this suggestion.

asked the Minister of Labour when he proposes to recruit Italian colliery workers.

It will be necessary first to conclude preliminary arrangements with all concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) if he is aware of the large numbers of workers threatened with unemployment because of the diverting of raw materials to armament factories; and what special arrangements have been made or contemplated to deal with this situation;(2) what arrangements have been made or contemplated to persuade in advance workers in factories having to close down because of lack of materials to undertake other urgent jobs instead of drifting into less essential work.

Some time ago, employers were asked, through their associations, to give employment exchanges advance notice of redundancy. Similarly, workers were asked, through their trade unions, to register in advance of discharge so that they might be placed in alternative work without an interval of unemployment. I am about to remind both sides of industry of these arrangements so as to ensure that the existing machinery of the employment exchange service is effectively used both to reduce unemployment to a minimum and to place workers as far as possible on important work which will make full use of their skill.

asked the Minister of Labour how many blacksmiths there were and how many men employed by them as journeymen and apprentices, respectively, at the latest convenient date.

I regret that statistics giving the information desired are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of persons employed in the soft drinks industry at the latest convenient date.

Workers in the soft drinks industry are not separately recorded in the statistics compiled by my Department. I would, however, draw the hon. and gallant Member's attention to the Board of Trade Journal dated July, 1950, which gives certain information based on the Census of Production for 1948.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of men who registered in 1950; the number of such men found to be medically unfit for call up; and the number of men actually called up for National Service during the period.

Approximately 301,000, men, nearly all of whom were born in 1932, registered for National Service in 1950. An analysis of the National Service registers on 29th September, 1950 (see page 371 of the Ministry of Labour Gazette, November, 1950) showed that 20,100 of the men in the first half of the 1932 age class who had, by that date, been medically examined had been found medically unfit for service. Later figures are not yet available. Approximately 174,000 men were called up for National Service during 1950; over half of these were men who registered in the latter part of 1949, or who registered earlier and were called up on expiry of postponement or deferment.

asked the Minister of Education whether, in view of the difficulties of transporting young children to the nearest school, he will consider reopening the village school at Low Catton, Stamford Bridge, East Yorkshire.

The matter is for the Yorkshire East Riding local education authority to consider in the first place but, on the information available to me, I am not prepared to suggest that there is need to re-open this school, which was closed in 1923.

asked the Minister of Education whether the report of the Foundation for Educational Research into punishments and rewards of children is now completed; and when it will be published.

I regret that I cannot add anything to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend on 19th October last.

asked the Minister of Education how many schools have been closed down this year on account of shortage of coal; and whether they are all now re-opened.

Local education authorities are not required to inform me about temporary closure of schools but in the instances known to me, which were few in number and of short duration, the schools are all now open again.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is yet in a position to state his proposals concerning technical education.

I am still receiving comments on recommendations of the National Advisory Council on the future development of higher technological education, and these will have to be considered before any statement can be made.

asked the Minister of Education whether the Durham County Council has accepted his ruling that membership of a trade union is not to be compulsory for teachers under their jurisdiction; and what action he is proposing.

I have given no such ruling. What I did was to inform the Durham local education authority that if they persisted in the line of action proposed, and as a result were unable to discharge their statutory obligations under the Education Act, 1944, I should be compelled to take action. I am not aware that this situation has arisen.

asked the Minister of Education how many exchange teacher visits took place during 1950 with British Dominions and Colonies, with the United States of America, and with other foreign countries respectively; and how many such visits are planned for 1951.

Following is the information:

asked the Minister of Education what steps he is taking to encourage the youth service as an integral part of the educational system of the country.

The position of the youth service as an integral part of the educational system of the country is assured by the inclusion in the schemes of further education prepared for my approval by local education authorities of a section dealing with their arrangements for securing the provision of social and recreative facilities for leisure time for persons under the age of 18. Moreover I am continuing to give direct grant both to the national headquarters of the national voluntary youth organisations and also in aid of capital expenditure by local voluntary associations.During the year 1949–50 the amount of my direct grant to voluntary organisations was £311,000 and the estimated expenditure of local education authorities on the youth service for the same period was £1,650,000.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many copies of forms for the Census of Production, in convenient categories, have been sent out; what is their cost; and what penalties are liable to be incurred by those who do not fill up and return these forms.

For the Census of Production which is being taken in 1951 in respect of 1950, about 118,000 statutory forms and nearly 73,000 other forms have been sent out. The cost of the printing, paper and despatch of these forms is £3,645. The penalties incurred by those required to furnish returns for the Census of Production but who fail to do so are set out in Section 4 of the Statistics of Trade Act, 1947.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now make a statement on the recent mission of Sir Esler Dening and Mr. Frank Roberts to Nepal.

Sir Esler Dening went to New Delhi, and then to Kathmandu, where he stayed from 3rd-7th December, to discuss with the United Kingdom High Commissioner and His Majesty's Ambassador the position arising out of the disorders in Nepal. The Ambassador and he were able, in personal conversations with the Nepalese Prime Minister, to emphasise the importance attached by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to stability in Nepal and to urge the importance of speeding up the programme of democratic reforms on which Nepal had already embarked. They also stressed the advisability of Nepal's striving to reach agreement with her great neighbour, India.I am glad to be able to report that the Nepalese Prime Minister has since, in agreement with the Government of India, announced a far-reaching programme of reforms in Nepal, of which the chief features are the convening of a Constituent Assembly based on adult suffrage by the end of 1952, and the immediate formation of a Cabinet of 14 members—seven of them popular representatives—to govern the country and overhaul the entire administration. The Nepalese have also agreed to the return of King Tribhubana to Kathmandu. It is hoped that as a result of these developments, and of an appeal by Mr. Nehru for all parties to co-operate in the reforms and desist from violence, the disorders which again broke out in Nepal in December will now cease.His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom welcome the Maharajah's statesmanlike action and endorse Mr. Nehru's appeal that all concerned should unite in the way of peaceful progress which now opens before the Nepalese people.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what damage was caused by the recent earthquakes in St. Kitts and Nevis; whether there was any loss of life; and whether he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. P. Smithers) on 24th January.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent the Governments of Roumania, Bulgaria and Hungary have observed the obligations of their Peace Treaties to restrict the numbers of their forces to 120,000, 55,000 and 65,000, respectively.

As was pointed out in our note to the Soviet Government of 5th January, there is "disturbing and growing evidence of the rearmament of the states of Eastern Europe." Since, however, the Bulgarian, Hungarian and Roumanian Governments publish no statistics on the size of their armed forces, it is difficult to estimate with any degree of certainty how far the Treaty limits have been exceeded.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what approaches have been made by the Government of Pakistan to His Majesty's Government about the cessation in deliveries of jet aircraft to the Pakistan Air Force; and what answer he has made.

His Majesty's Government received representations some time ago from the Pakistan Government about delays in the delivery of jet aircraft to the Royal Pakistan Air Force, but arrangements have now been made which have been accepted by the Pakistan Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the population of the island of Niulakita at the time consideration was given to selling it to the Niutao Co-operative Society.

There is no indigenous population on the island of Niulakita. There is a Government Copra plantation there worked by imported labour from the island of Niutao.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies from what company the Government bought the remainder of the lease of Christmas Island; and what plant, machinery, buildings and other similar equipment, erected by the company, was covered by the £50,000 sterling paid for the lease.

The lease was bought from the Central Pacific Cocoanut Plantations Company Limited and the purchase included all the plant property, machinery, buildings, works and other assets of the company. The value of such equipment was, however, small as the company suspended operations in 1939. Since then the plantations have been worked by the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Government and are now producing about 1,000 tons of copra a year to the value of about £50,000.

asked the Minister of Defence what decision he has come to as to the calling up of Class Z Reservists, in view of the anxiety caused to families by continuing uncertainty on this matter.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which the Secretary of State for War gave yesterday to the hon. Member for Hendon, North.