asked the Minister of Transport whether he will approach the Department concerned to see if it is possible to arrange for part of the Bailey bridge equipment, at present being used in connection with the South Bank Festival, to be allocated when the Festival terminates for temporary use to reconstruct Pilley Bridge, Cheltenham.

The Bailey bridge material used for the crossing of the Thames was lent by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War. The constructional work was undertaken by the Royal Engineers as a contribution to the Festival of Britain. I should not feel justified in requesting similar facilities for the purpose referred to in the Question.

asked the Minister of Transport what amount of grant has been decided for the maintenance of trunk roads and classified roads in Wales. Scotland, and England, respectively, for 1951–52; and how these compare with the amounts granted in 1950–51.

The comparative figures are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether 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 the contributions should remain as at present for houses completed up to 30th June. 1952.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps have been taken by the Government of Mauritius to safeguard the rights of the teachers in approved secondary schools as to the payment of their salaries on an agreed scale between the interested parties, and in the revised scale of living allowance to be granted to these teachers.

The Secondary School Teachers' Union has been negotiating with the Government of Mauritius on these matters. A revised system of allocating financial aid to these schools has recently been approved, whereby the grant is related to teachers' emoluments paid at approved rates, and revised salary scales have now been introduced.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power (1) what is the number of coal miners employed in Scotland in the last completed year:(2) what is the total consumption of coal in Scotland in the last completed year;(3) what is the total production of coal in Scotland in the last completed year.

The average number of coal miners employed in Scotland in 1950 was 81,500. The total production and consumption of coal in Scotland in the same year were 23.9 and 21.7 million tons respectively.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will state, in respect of the coal year 1950–51, aggregate coal allocations, to the nearest 1,000,000 tons, for the purposes of power houses, railways, gas undertakings, other industry, export, including bunkers, and domestic consumption, respectively.

The following are the figures of coal supplied in the coal year 1950–51:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the ratio of women's pay in the Civil Service to men in the administrative and executive grades in each Government Department.

The differential between the rates of pay for men and women in the general service administrative and executive classes varies from nothing to 20 per cent.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, under his regulations, women civil servants are entitled to take pay claims to arbitration.

Arbitration procedure is determined in an agreement with the Staff Side, under which arbitration is open on certain matters to recognised associations of civil servants. At present, one association open solely to women is so recognised.

asked the Minister of Local Government and Planning what is the present average erection cost of houses with two, three and four bedrooms, respectively, now being built in the new towns.

It is not practicable to give erection costs until houses have been completed and costs have been ascertained.

asked the Minister of Local Government and Planning what, was the size of the building labour force engaged in each of the new towns in December, 1950, in March, 1951, and at the latest convenient date.

The numbers of men employed on building and civil engineering work for development corporations in each new town on the last pay day of December, 1950, March, 1951, and May, 1951, are given in the following table. The figures do not include labour en gaged on work for local authorities, on schools and on G.P.O., gas and electricity projects.