asked the President of the Board of Trade what has been the average percentage rise in utility clothing ceiling prices between August, 1945, and February, 1951; and what are the respective figures for the most important half dozen items.

There are many thousands of ceiling prices for utility clothing and there have been substantial changes in the various utility schemes during the last five and a half years. Many new utility cloths have been introduced, and the austerity regulations which were generally in force in 1945 have long since disappeared. These factors make it impossible to compare maximum prices even for one group of articles over the years, much less to make a comparison for the utility clothing scheme as a whole. As far as changes in actual retail prices are concerned, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour gave to a question by the hon. Member for Dorset, West (Mr. Digby) on 3rd April.

May I ask the President of the Board of Trade two questions? First, does he think that the rise in utility clothing prices has, on the average, been greater than is shown by the fall in the cost-of-living index of between 20s. and 15s. 9d. for the same period? Second, since raw materials are still costed at a very much lower rate than replacement costs, does he think that the present prices can be held for any length of time?

I have made it clear to the House on a number of occasions that further increases will be necessary as the dearer raw material works its way through to the production stage. As to the first part of the question, I have no reason to suppose that the clothing component of the retail price index, which would be a proper comparison, does not reflect accurately the changes in utility and other clothing prices.

Is my right hon. Friend wearing his monkey-nut suit?

I am not sure that that arises out of this Question, but the answer is "Yes."

Is my right hon. Friend aware that utility cloths are being withheld by manufacturers from retailers, pending the expected increase in the price? Can he take any action in that matter?

I have no evidence on that question, but there is always the danger that this may happen if we postpone price increases, as it is reasonable to do.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied that the pending increases in the price of utility clothing cannot be minimised by further reductions in the profit margin?

We are keeping a very close watch on the utility profit margin, and I can assure my hon. Friend that the ceiling prices are not unreasonable.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when his Department gave warning to the trade of the possibilities of a shortage of sulphur.

Warning of the shortage of sulphur for sulphuric acid manufacture was first given to the trade by my Department in April, 1949. No information was available as to a shortage of sulphur for purposes other than acid making until the allocation for the first quarter of this year was announced by the United States on 18th December last.

If the right hon. Gentleman was aware of the shortage as long ago as the first month he mentioned, why did he allow the Treasury to compel him to run down the stocks and put us in the present position?

There was no question at all of the Treasury running down the stocks. I have made it clear on a number of occasions that dollars were made available for all the sulphur the trade felt it desirable to have, in so far as supplies were available in the United States.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any further information to give the House about this very important matter?

No, Sir. I am sorry that we have not received any further information from the United States since I spoke on Monday.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a further statement about the supply of sulphur to this country during the current year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet received any reply from the United States Government to his request for an allocation from their reserves of sulphur.

I am unable at present to add anything to the statement I made about the supplies and allocation of sulphur and sulphuric acid in the course of the debate on the Budget proposals on Monday last.

From Monday's speech, is it to be assumed that the 19,000 tons received on account now form a charge against the second quarter and cannot be considered as an extra allocation for the first quarter? Second, can any further supplies or final allocation be considered probable until the Raw Materials Committee has finished its deliberations in Washington? If so, when does he expect to get the report of that Committee?

The hon. and gallant Gentleman is quite right: the 19,000 tons is in addition to whatever will be the final allocation for the second quarter and not the first quarter. I certainly hope that we shall receive an allocation before the Raw Materials Committee ends its deliberations and, as far as I know, they have not been considering the second quarter allocation.

If the President does not receive an allocation, can he say to what extent the re-armament programme will fall short of the target that the Prime Minister has announced for the next year?

I do not think I have anything to add to the statement I made on Monday on that subject.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether any supplies we have succeeded in obtaining from countries other than the United States of America are deducted from the supplies that the U.S.A. will send us?

There has been no suggestion of that so far.

Will my right hon. Friend say to what extent the Sulphur Commodity Group is functioning, and who is the British representative of that group?

It is functioning very actively at the present time, but, as I have said, we are not expecting it to produce any results in terms of the second quarter allocation, which is the subject of direct negotiation. Our representative is Mr. Fennelly, the Under-Secretary in charge of sulphur and chemical supplies at the Board of Trade.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that any reluctance on the part of America to increase supplies of sulphur to this country is not due, and could not be due, to our having supplied sulphur to Communist countries?

It could not be due to that because sulphur has been on strict export licensing since 18th October and none has been exported to those countries. In fact, none has been exported to those countries during the whole of 1950.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the high rate of mortality of tortoises if subjected to transport during their hibernating season, he will consider the desirability of introducing an order prohibiting their importation into this country between 1st September and 30th April.

The import licensing powers conferred on the Board of Trade under the Import, Export and Customs Powers (Defence) Act, 1939, are intended primarily to safeguard the balance of payments, and I do not think it would be appropriate to use these powers for such a purpose.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this is a serious matter? Has his attention been called to the recent incident at Plaistow involving over 200 tortoises and the one in October, 1950, at Peckham, involving some 6,000 tortoises? Is he aware that the Zoological Society of London strongly supports the efforts to get a close season, as suggested in my Question?

I am sure that the whole House will share the regret of my hon. Friend about these incidents, but I must reiterate that this is not a question which can be dealt with by import licensing powers. If it were to be dealt with at all, it would require special legislation.

Are not the tortoises likely to arrive at their destination more rapidly if they travel under their own steam, rather than by nationalised transport?

Why does not the right hon. Gentleman stop the importation of tortoises altogether? Surely they are not indispensable.

I do not see why such a control should be applied. If the people of this country require tortoises I do not see why they should not be imported. The matter raised by my hon. Friend could be dealt with in other ways.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what information he has as to how many local authorities have discontinued the practice of collecting waste paper salvage; what reasons were given; what effect this discontinuance has upon the tonnage of salvage collected; and what action he now proposed to take in this matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress is being made in the salvage of waste paper by local authorities and other public bodies.

As a result of the salvage drive, more than 1,200 local authorities are now collecting, or have decided to collect, waste paper separately, as compared with the 1,767 authorities who were at one time obliged to make separate collections under the Defence Regulations. The direction was withdrawn in 1949 and the number fell to about 700 at the end of that year. Almost all of those which are still not collecting are in districts of scattered population where it is difficult to organise collections on an economic basis.

The average weekly tonnage of all waste paper received by the mills was greater in February this year than any figure previously recorded. Receipts reached the rate of 987,000 tons per annum, as compared with the target of 1,000,000 tons which the Waste Paper Recovery Association had originally set for 1951. The Waste Paper Recovery Association, with my support, is now planning an intensified publicity campaign for increased collections.

In view of the urgent need for waste paper and scrap iron, will my right hon. Friend make it incumbent upon all local authorities to collect this waste, especially those who have discontinued the practice during the past year or so?

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Local Government and Planning and I have been taking this matter up with the local authorities who have not come back into the picture, and I think that the increase in the number now collecting from 700 to over 1,200 is a rather good achievement.

When stimulating the collection of salvage, will the Minister emphasise the value of cartons and cards in addition to newspapers? It is generally accepted by the public that newspapers and old correspondence are the salvage which is required, but cartons and cardboard have their value, too.

I am sure that the Waste Paper Recovery Association will be glad to follow the advice of the hon. and gallant Gentleman.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that one way to increase the supply of waste paper would be to give the newspapers more newsprint?

The newspapers are, as they have been for some time, perfectly free to bring in all the newsprint they can from Europe, and for some time past there has been a very big allocation of dollars if the newsprint is available in North America.

Does the authority of the right hon. Gentleman in this respect extend to Scotland? If it does, is he aware that a great many local authorities there are doing absolutely nothing at all about it?

I should be very glad to look into that.

Has the right hon. Gentleman yet formed an opinion whether the target, set tentatively some months ago, of one million tons of waste paper salvage per year will prove adequate in view of the increased demands of the defence programme?

I understand from the trade that it is considered adequate, but we shall review the position from time to time.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what were the arrangements made with the paper trade for preferential treatment to be given to the requirements of all political parties for both national and local elections; and when were these arrangements made.

The voluntary priority scheme for paper and board was discussed with the various trade associations concerned at a series of meetings commencing last November and ranging over a period of some weeks. Attention was directed in suitable cases to the importance of seeing that supplies of paper were made available to all political parties for elections. On 12th March the associations in question were specifically reminded of the importance of this matter.

Is the Minister entirely satisfied with these rather loose arrangements? Would it not be better to earmark supplies of paper for the forthcoming General Election, which must surely be imminent?

What the hon. and gallant Gentleman is suggesting is that I should reimpose full control on paper supplies. As he has said, the present arrangement is a rather looser one, but all the cases which have been referred to my Department or to the special trade committee concerned with this matter have been dealt with successfully.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in the south-west of England there is very great concern about the supply of newsprint for the forthcoming municipal elections? Will he look into the matter of supplies for that purpose?

If my hon. Friend will give me particulars, I will certainly look into the matter, but all cases reported to me have been dealt with successfully.

Has my right hon. Friend taken notice of the position in Carlisle, which has been brought to his attention, where the whole of the city council will seek re-election at the municipal elections and there is an acute shortage of paper for those elections?

I will certainly look into that matter.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that two or three printers in Bristol have exhausted their supply of paper in meeting the needs of the political parties for the municipal elections? Will he see that the printers have sufficient paper for their normal requirements?

If that is the case, there are arrangements in the trade to see that that is done.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the progress of negotiations with Canada for future supplies of newsprint.

I understand from the Newsprint Supply Company that the arrangements for 1951 have now been settled and that the Company expect to obtain 100,000 tons from Canada this year, which includes a small quantity shipped at the end of 1950. I am informed that negotiations for deliveries in later years are proceeding satisfactorily, but that it is too early yet to make any statement.

Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that these arrangements will ensure that we shall at least get to the end of this year without any reduction in the size of newspapers and without the uncertainty which prevailed during the latter part of last year? Can he say anything about the arrangements which the Canadians are reported to be making to include newsprint with strategic raw materials as a matter for international discussion?

I should like notice of the question about the report, which I have seen. As to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's question, Canadian supplies should certainly remove a great deal of uncertainty from the newsprint situation, but a lot will depend on the time they arrive. I have already informed the House that if there is any further danger to newsprint supplies I shall be prepared to consider the question of a reduction of exports.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet come to a decision on the question of convening an Empire and United States of America Conference to consider the distribution of the available supplies of newsprint.

As I informed my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Brixton (Lieut.-Colonel Lipton) in reply to his Question on 11th April, a decision has already been taken to set up a Pulp and Paper Committee in Washington. Newsprint will be one of the subjects considered by that body.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that this important topic deserves a conference to itself. As the right hon. Gentleman must take a large share of the blame for this situation, has he not also some responsibility for finding a remedy?

I do not accept the suggestion in the concluding part of that supplementary question. But I think I can claim a large share of the credit for the fact that there is to be an international conference to discuss newsprint. It was not possible to get a separate conference.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the recent report of the Film Finance Corporation, he will make a statement on their request for further funds.

I am not yet in a position to make any statement.

Is the President aware that according to the report of the Film Finance Corporation their moneys will be exhausted by this summer? Is he prepared to see this Corporation, whether one likes it or not, jeopardised? If not, surely he should produce legislation now to see that their moneys do not run out before Parliament has made further provision?

The report was received by me only on 11th April. Surely the hon. and gallant Gentleman will agree that this is a matter of great importance, which requires careful study before I can give an answer.

When does the right hon. Gentleman expect to be able to give an answer?

Quite soon.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the Government's present policy regarding the exports of cotton yarn.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr. Shepherd) on 12th April.

In view of the fact that many of our weaving sheds are on short time owing to lack of yarn, is it not ironic that we should be sending it to those countries which are receiving a larger allowance of cotton from America than ourselves?

I have discussed this fully with the cotton trade and they are most anxious that I should not do anything to reduce too much the export of yarn. They have given an assurance that they will reduce it, and that supplies to home weaving sheds will not be endangered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish the list of the committees that act as a link between his Department and industry.

As the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Watkinson) was informed on 12th April, the list is too long to publish in the OFFICAL REPORT, but, for the information of hon. Members, I am placing a copy in the Library.

While it thus becomes possible for hon. Members to look at the copy, it is still not possible for the public or the Press to see a copy? Will the right hon. Gentleman make a copy or copies available to the Press and the public?

I will consider that, but I thought hon. Gentlemen opposite wanted the maximum degree of consultation with these trade bodies. I thought also, in a recent debate on clothing, that they were very severe on my proposal to centralise arrangements for discussion with the clothing trade.

But would not consultation be improved if the public knew of the existence of this committee?

Is my right hon. Friend aware that regional officers of his Ministry provide all this information and in all cases are helpful to inquirers?

I am quite prepared to see that information is given to the Press and anyone who wants it.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that every one of these committees is an added hindrance to our economic recovery?

Practically every one of them was set up at the request of the trade or trade association concerned.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the continued postponement of payment of claims under the War Damage (Business Scheme) Act, 1941, he will now at least authorise payment of the 2½ per cent. per annum interest promised on such sums; and if he will give an estimate of the cost of paying such interest.

There is no power under the War Damage Acts to pay interest except in those cases in which a claim is fully discharged on grounds either of public interest or of undue hardship. The aggregate amount of accrued interest now outstanding is approximately £10 million.

But those are not the cases I was referring to. Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that it savours of sharp practice to keep money, on the plea that interest is to be paid, and then to default on the interest?

If the hon. and learned Gentleman is referring to interest paid when the capital sum is due, it is, of course, the policy of His Majesty's Government to pay it.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these claimants all paid premiums and that they have not received the insurance money which was due to them? It is a very serious state of affairs.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that, by the end of 1951, the Imperial Chemical Industries output of test tube fibre made from the waste product of monkeynuts is estimated to be about 8 million pounds and, if mixed with wool, sufficient for 4 million suits; and if he will make a further statement on this matter.

I understand the output of protein fibre in 1951 will be of the order mentioned by my hon. Friend. As he was informed in answer to his Question on 12th April, only a small proportion of this fibre will, I understand, be made into suitings. The number of suits which this will make must, of course, depend upon what blend of wool and protein fibre is found to be technically satisfactory for suitings. This is a new fibre and its development continues.

Would my right hon. Friend agree that this is a discovery with a great future, and would he state whether or not he is wearing today his famous monkeynut wool suit?

Yes, I have already said I am, and I have not changed it since I gave that answer. I believe that this development, and a number of others, in synthetic fibres have great hopes of future development.

Is it true that the right hon. Gentleman was the centre of attraction in Paris when he went out arrayed in his suit?

Will the Minister give an undertaking that this monkeynut fibre will not be described as animal fibre when used alone or in conjunction with wool or other fibres?

Can the President tell us how the cost of this fibre compares with the present cost of wool, and also the percentage of this fibre that is now being produced in Scotland?

Until it is in full production I do not think it will be possible to get exact costings, but I understand from Imperial Chemical Industries that it will be very cheap in relation to natural wool production.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what groups and classes of goods for export he now proposes to discourage on account of their low conversion value; and what raw material content qualifies goods for inclusion in the group referred to as low conversion value.

As I explained to the House on Monday last during the debate on the Budget proposals, there is no suggestion of a total ban on exports from the United Kingdom of semi-manufactured goods of low conversion value. But it is not possible in our present circumstances of raw material shortages to allow the shipment of large quantities of materials in raw or semi-fabricated form which are essential to our own industrial production. The factors to be borne in mind in fixing the conversion value will, obviously, vary from commodity to commodity and it is not possible to specify a figure for the raw material content likely to qualify any range of goods for export purposes.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the conversion value of exports or re-exports depends to a large degree upon the cost of the constituent raw materials? In view of his statement last Monday, which seemed to indicate a change of policy in regard to textile exports, can he amplify that statement?

I agree that it should depend on both the cost and the scarcity of the materials. So far as textiles are concerned, we have to put in a certain figure for exports of yarn and we have not planned the textile exports on a conversion value basis. We have on non-ferrous metals.

Can the President give an undertaking that he will try to give information to the trade as early as possible on the position, which, I appreciate, must change from month to month, and as to what classes of semi-finished materials will be banned?

Yes, Sir.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent soft woods imported on private account during the year 1951 are to be stockpiled; and to what extent stockpiling of soft woods will be restricted to supplies bought on public account by the Timber Control Department of his Department.

It is my intention to allow all privately imported timber to go into consumption and to use Government imports partly to bridge the gap between total consumption and private imports and partly for the stockpile.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now provide more equipment and facilities for use in the training of Civil Defence volunteers.

Adequate supplies of training equipment have been issued to local authorities, but if the hon. Member has any particular items of equipment or training facilities in mind and will let me know, I shall be glad to look into the matter.

Are adequate supplies available of the new devices and techniques which will be necessary for training, such as, for example, radiation detectors?

Not long ago I answered a Question on that point. I will communicate with the hon. Member and bring that information up to date.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the strength of the Civil Defence Corps and of the Auxiliary Fire Service in England and Wales on 31st March.

The figures are 131,000 and 9,700 respectively. I will circulate the detailed figures in HANSARD.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of recent developments in the United States of America regarding the use of radio amateurs in connection with Civil Defence communications; and whether he will give an assurance that the potential value of radio amateurs in this country for similar purposes is not being overlooked.

Yes, Sir.

Will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that among the 14,000 amateurs there are many with war-time experience who, at little or no cost to the country, have played a most valuable part in providing communications without calling upon the technical manpower which is needed for other purposes?

I recognise that. This question, of course, refers to the United States, where geographical conditions are very different from those prevailing here.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the representation sent to him from the Surrey County Council regarding the need for hospital treatment for aged sick persons in welfare establishments and voluntary homes; and what action he proposes to take.

Yes, Sir. But the trouble is one of shortage of staffed beds and is bound to take time to put right.

Can the Minister hold out any encouragement that he will take action in these matters?

Yes, Sir, action to, increase the number of beds available is going on all the time.

asked the Minister of Health what improvements in the facilities for maternity cases can be expected this summer in the Surrey area covered by the Redhill Group Hospital Management Committee.

There is already adequate provision, both hospital and domiciliary, in this area and no immediate increase is necessary.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a very real hardship, due to lack of midwives, beds and trained personnel for maternity cases in this area, and that my constituents feel that there is a lack of sense of urgency on the part of those responsible for these matters at a higher level? Will he please look into the matter again and accept the facts from me?

My advice is that of births in 1950 in this area 63 per cent. took place in hospital, 10 per cent. in nursing homes and only 27 per cent. were domiciliary, which is regarded as a rather high proportion of births in establishments of that kind.

Is it not a fact that Tory-led local authorities have been agitating against increased maternity facilities?

asked the Minister of Health what would have been the total saving if charge for dentures and spectacles had been made from the start of the National Health Service.

An exact calculation cannot be made, but I estimate that the saving in England and Wales would have been of the order of £50 million.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he is aware of the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis amongst foreign workers in Bradford; and whether he will now cause a much stricter medical examination to be made of foreign workers entering this, country by the immigration authorities:

(2) how many cases of pulmonary tuberculosis among foreign workers in Bradford were notified in each of the years, 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1950; and what percentage these figures represent of the total number of cases notified in the same years;

(3) if he will make a statement on the inquiry he has recently caused to be made about the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis among foreign workers in Bradford.

Notifications of respiratory tuberculosis among foreign workers in Bradford in the years 1947 to 1950 were respectively nil, 6, 15 and 26. The last three figures represented 2.9, 5.4 and 10.4 per cent. of the total notifications in that city. Over half the cases were European volunteer workers, who are medically examined for tuberculosis before being brought to this country, and most of the others were ex-prisoners of war or members of the Polish Armed Forces. I am examining with other Ministers concerned whether anything more can be done to prevent immigration of foreign workers with tuberculosis.

Will the Minister take note of the fact that out of 225 cases among European volunteer workers examined by the tuberculosis officer for Bradford, 52 were found to be positive and 21 suspect? Does he not think, having regard to those very serious figures, that a more strict examination should be made of those people when they enter the country?

Yes, Sir. But I do not think I can deal any more effectively with these points than I have already done in answer to the Question.