asked the Secretary of State for War what are the comparative details for the ammunition used in the 280 rifle, the 303 rifle and the 300 rifle as regards the weight of bullet, the muzzle velocity, the maximum range, the remaining velocity at maximum range, and the type and weight of the propellent charge, respectively.

It would not be in the public interest to give this information.

asked the Secretary of State for War to what extent previous civilian training and qualifications are taken into account in determining to which unit a National Service man is posted; how far it is the policy of his Department to consider in such posting the man's future career; and why 22442470 Private I. E. Theobald, who was called up in the middle of his training as a civil engineer, has been transferred from the Royal Engineers to an infantry unit.

Each National Service man's previous civilian training and qualifications and his future career are taken into account when he is allocated to a corps or regiment for his period of whole-time service. Other factors, such as the availability of vacancies in particular corps, and the extent to which arms of the service are represented in the Reserve Army in the man's area, have also to be taken into account. The reasons for the transfer of Private Theobald were explained to the hon. Member by my hon. Friend on 31st May.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will now make a statement in regard to the protest addressed to the Commander-in-Chief of the British Commonwealth Forces in the Far East by the Commonwealth chaplains against the decision to bury British soldiers killed in Korea in unconsecrated ground near Yokohama.

The incident, which I presume the hon. Member had in mind, occurred in connection with a ceremony in the Imperial War Graves Commission cemetery for the dead of the last war in Yokohama. It had nothing to do with the burial of soldiers killed in Korea. The form of ceremony was decided by the representative of the Imperial War Graves Commission in Tokio and did not include a religious service.The Deputy Assistant Chaplain-General of the British element of the Commonwealth Forces in Korea had been invited to attend the ceremony and had been given to understand that there would be a short service. On learning that no service would be held he declined the invitation to attend the ceremony and afterwards gave an interview to the Press. He was recalled partly in order that a full investigation into the incident could be made and partly because it was considered that it would not be appropriate for him to remain in his post.

asked the Minister of Local Government and Planning what proportion of houses of one bedroom, two bedrooms, three bedrooms and more than three bedrooms have been found to be needed in the nation's housing programme as a result of the investigations carried out by his Department's research section.

I would refer the hon. Member to my replies to his Questions on 19th June. No national proportions would have much local meaning. Each local authority must settle their proportion in the light of local circumstances.

asked the Minister of Local Government and Planning the number of houses or living units now available in the new towns of Crawley, Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead and Basildon, respectively.

On 30th June, 1951, 251 dwellings had been completed at Crawley, 72 at Stevenage,448 at Hemel Hempstead, and 3 at Basildon.

asked the Minister of Works if, in view of the Government policy on capital investment, involving local interference with house-building programmes on account of the priority deemed necessary for defence works, and since defence is a national rather than a local responsibility, he will consider reinstituting some form of mobile building force for defence works.

On present indications I do not think this would be justified.

asked the Minister of Works what arrangements have been made for the opening to the public of the Tower of London on Sundays.

I hope to be able to arrange for the Tower to be opened on Sunday afternoons for a trial period from 15th July. Further details are still under discussion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applicants for the single plot-holder concession have the Central Land Board received.

Up to 31st May, 1951, 12,740 applicants had been accepted as eligible for the single plot concession. No record is kept of the number of applicants who were not eligible.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what number of temporary clerks in the Civil Service are under 45 years of age; what number are over that age; and what are the corresponding figures of clerical assistants.

No central record is kept which would show the ages of temporary clerks in Government employment. The number of clerical assistants in post on 1st January, 1951, under 45 years of age was 17,578; the number aged 45 and over was 582.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what arrangements exist to move Customs officers between airport terminals in this country in the event of diversion of aircraft.

The arrangements are necessarily flexible and depend on the circumstances of particular cases, including the amount of notice given to the Customs. Customs officers are sent to the extent that is necessary from the most convenient air or sea port.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what authority the Inland Revenue Department has asked individuals to produce their bank passbook when making an Income Tax return.

If the hon. Member will give me particulars of any case which he has in mind I shall be glad to have inquiries made and to communicate with him in due course.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he proposes to deal with the pledged securities which will be released when the loan of $425,000,000, obtained in 1941 from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, is wholly repaid.

The bulk of this loan has already been repaid out of income from the securities and proceeds of certain sales and it is likely that the loan would in this way have been wholly repaid by the autumn of this year. We have, however, now given notice to the Corporation under Section 6 of the Loan Agreement that we will repay any balance still outstanding on 1st October, 1951. The securities, which were borrowed, will be returned to the owners as soon as possible after they have been released from pledge. The securities which were vested in the Treasury will, as a general rule, be retained in the Treasury ownership. There may, however, be a few cases where there is a strong case in the national interest for the resale of the vested securities to the former owners. I am prepared to consider resale at current market value to former British holders of substantial share holdings where this enables them to resume active interest in undertakings with which they were previously associated.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how much profit the British Government have made by the sale of wool since 1945.

The United Kingdom Government's share of the profits made by the sale at auction of the stocks of Commonwealth wool which were accumulated during the last war, amounted to £62,870,432 from 1945 to 30th June, 1950, the latest date to which accounts have been prepared. The sale by auction of wool grown in the United Kingdom which had been purchased by the Government resulted in a profit of £416,656 in respect of the wool produced in the years 1945–49. The British Wool Marketing Board was responsible for the sale of the United Kingdom wool clip for 1950.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made with Argentina for the import of British goods; and whether he will publish a list giving details of the commodities concerned.

The discussions in Buenos Aires at the Mixed Consultative Committee to which my right hon. and learned Friend referred in his statement in the House on 7th June are taking longer than we had hoped. His Majesty's Ambassador has recently urged on the Argentine authorities the importance of the early issue of import licences.The discussions cover the whole field of Anglo-Argentine trade apart from the commodities already dealt with under the Protocol of 23rd April. When the Argentine Government issue their instructions to the import licensing authorities we shall publish in the usual way the list of United Kingdom goods for which import licences will be issued.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that Japanese exports to China show increases up to nearly 100 per cent. in the last year, particulars of which have been sent him; what steps His Majesty's Government is taking to stop these exports; and if he will make a statement.

The information supplied by the hon. Member refers to the five months, July to November, 1950. A comprehensive control upon exports from Japan to China was imposed on 6th December. I am sending the hon. Member a note which shows that exports during the four months, December, 1950, to March, 1951, were at less than half the rate of exports in the five months July to November, 1950. The second part of the Question, therefore, does not arise.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how much sulphur from Italy and Sicily is expected to have reached this country during the whole month of June; at what cost; and how much of the cost is on account of transport.

Import figures for sulphur for the month of June are not yet available and I will send them to the hon. Member when they are to hand.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when the Indemnity Bill in relation to Statutory Instrument. 1951, No. 413, will be introduced.

I am not yet in a position to say when this Bill will be ready for introduction.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the percentage increase in the cost of wages and raw materials, respectively, which were taken into account when the increase in the maximum price of utility boots and shoes was recently authorised.

The revised maximum prices for utility boots and shoes took account of increases in costs between May, 1950, when the previous maximum prices were fixed, and April, 1951. The increase in wage costs was about 5 per cent. As to materials, there are wide variations in the types of leather used in footwear manufacture, and the price movements have not been uniform. But the increase in the cost of leather to footwear manufacturers between May, 1950, and April, 1951, was, on average, about 70 per cent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will reconsider the proposed increase in the prices of children's boots and shoes and make such adjustments in the prices of other footwear that it may not be necessary to raise the prices of children's articles, or if he will arrange with the manufacturers for an improvement in the quality of children's boots and shoes in order that parents may feel assured that they are receiving better value for their rising expenditure.

I am afraid that, if price arrangements of the kind suggested by my hon. Friend were introduced, supplies of children's footwear would not be sufficient to meet the need, since manufacturers specialising in children's footwear would not be able to operate except at a loss.As regards the second part of the Question, I am satisfied that the great majority of children's boots and shoes produced under the utility scheme is of reasonable quality. We have a small staff of inspectors who are continually visiting footwear factories and where products appear to, or are reported to, fall below the standard required by the utility scheme, they pursue the case with the manufacturers concerned.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet indicated to the iron and steel industry the revised export pattern which he wishes the industry to follow in the next six months.

No revised export pattern has yet been notified to the iron and steel industry, but pending a final decision about the level of exports on finished steel, the industry is continuing to work on the pattern of distribution approved for the first six months.

asked the Minister of Labour what, on average, was the percentage ratio which the salaries of female inspectors of factories bore to those of male inspectors in grades 1A in 1938 and in 1946.

I am not sure precisely what information the hon. Member requires, but I am sending him a statement of the position which includes details of a change made in 1946 in the basis of salaries of Class 1 factory inspectors.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the approximate number of married women who are at work at the present time.

Approximately 2,800,000 at the end of May, 1950, the latest date for which figures are available.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of strikes, official and unofficial, and the number of people involved, in the nationalised industries from January, 1950, up to the present time.

One thousand four hundred and two stoppages of work, due to industrial disputes, occurred from January, 1950, up to the end of May, 1951, in industries which are now nationalised. The number of workers involved in these stoppages was about 233,000. The number of days lost was about 760,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent Scottish senior secondary schools are at present short of fully-qualified teachers of mathematics; and what is the outlook for the coming session.

Separate statistics for senior secondary schools are not available. There are, however, about 670 fully qualified teachers in mathematics in Scotland. Another 140 would bring staffing to a satisfactory standard. I fear that this will continue to be the position in the coming session.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is prepared to permit local authorities to acquire houses built in their areas by the Scottish Special Housing Association on terms to be negotiated.

Yes. I am always prepared to consider any proposals which would reduce the financial commitments of the Exchequer but which do not prejudice the chances of those unsatisfactorily housed. The reaction of local authorities to this proposal, I am bound to add, will, I think, be cautious since it would involve them in heavy additional expenditure without adding to their pool of accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the intention of the Scottish Council (Development and Industry) to appoint a committee of experts to make a survey of the availability and location of industrially-important sources of power in Scotland; the number of nationalised boards, Government committees and Government-sponsored bodies which are already active in the field of industrial power from all sources; and what steps he proposes to take to avoid such duplication of effort.

I am aware that the Scottish Council (Development and Industry) recently decided to appoint a committee to inquire into power supplies and industrial location. There are, of course, several boards of socialised industries and other official bodies which are concerned with the development of power of all kinds and its supply to industry, but I am sure that every effort will be made to see that the inquiry which the Scottish Council propose will not duplicate any of their work.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what daily expenses and emoluments are granted in addition to salary to Scottish Ministers and Under-Secretaries in respect of the periods when they are resident in London; from what date have such allowances operated: what retrospective payments have been made; and to whom.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what allowances are now being paid to Scottish Ministers in addition to salary; and if these additional payments operate from the date of appointment.

No emoluments in addition to salary are paid to any Scottish Minister. All Ministers, including Scottish Ministers, are eligible for subsistence allowances at normal Treasury rates when absent from their administrative headquarters and home in the discharge of their ministerial duties. No Income Tax relief is allowed in respect of expenses incurred during such absences.Subsistence allowances have, since the date of their appointment, been paid to the resent Scottish Law Officers in the discharge of their ministerial duties in London, and a similar payment was made last year to my predecessor. The amounts of, and periods covered by, retrospective payments were:Lord Advocate: £378 (3rd December, 1947 to 28th April, 1950).Solicitor - General for Scotland: £181 10s. 0d. (23rd February, 1948 to 28th April, 1950).The right hon. Member for Clackmannan and East Stirling (Mr. Woodburn): £339 18s. 0d. (19th October, 1947 to 15th December, 1949).No claim for such subsistence allowances has been made by the present Joint Parliamentary Under-Secretaries. An inquiry, dated 28th June, from my hon. Friend the Member for Berwick and East Lothian (Mr. J. J. Robertson), relating to his period of office, is being considered.

asked the Lord Advocate what legislative or administrative steps are necessary to end the use of the "Not proven" verdict in Scottish courts; and, in view of the fact that provision for the use of this verdict is not consistent with the principle that a person should be held innocent until he is proved guilty, whether he will initiate such steps.

The "Not proven" verdict forms part of the Common Law of Scotland and has obtained for centuries. If the use of the verdict were to be ended legislation would be required. When the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act, 1949, was before the House, I canvassed the views of representative bodies in Scotland, including the highest judicial authorities, on the question of the retention or abolition of this form of verdict, and discovered that there was an almost unanimous opinion in favour of its retention. In the circumstances, it was decided to take no action along the lines now proposed and I do not consider that anything has occurred in the interval to justify a change in that decision.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement on the proposed expenditure on education in Scotland as a result of the recent review of civil investment.

The investment approved for 1951 is £5.6 million, and for 1952 it is £6.8 million, as compared with actual expenditure in 1950 of £4.4 million. The increase will enable more rapid progress to be made with the building and extension of schools and technical colleges, but no increase of building for the development of informal further education and the school meals service will be possible.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether, under his regulations, a widow is eligible for pension if her husband died as a result of war service before the beginning of the recent war.

Yes, provided that the marriage took place before the husband sustained his war disability.

asked the Minister of Pensions if, in view of the new scale of National Assistance, he proposes to review the pensions and rent allowances for war widows to ensure that these are not less generous than the scales of national assistance.

No general comparison can be made between the war pensions provisions for widows and the scales of National Assistance. I do not feel that the new scale justifies either a review of the recent decision of the Government not to increase the basic rates of widows' war pensions or an increase of the rent allowances for war widows beyond that recently announced.

asked the Minister of Pensions the maximum pension and allowances payable to a war widow with two children between 11 and 16 years of age, and whose rent is 16s. a week; and the maximum amount such a widow could receive from the National Assistance Board under the proposed new scale of allowances.

The maximum rates of war widows' pensions vary according to the husband's rank. The minimum pension and allowances payable to a war widow whose rent is 16s. a week and who has two children between 11 and 16 years of age is 67s. a week. A family allowance of 5s. a week would be payable in addition, making a total of 72s. a week. Education allowances up to £80 a year for each child may also be payable. Under the proposed new scales of National Assistance such a widow could expect to have her income, including the family allowance, made up to 73s. a week.

asked the Minister of Pensions how the provisions for war widows over 40 years of age and without children whose husbands were killed on active service or who have since died of their wounds, compare with the proposed new rates of National Assistance and rent allowance.

Such widows would receive a war pension of 35s. a week with an addition where the husband's rank was above private. Under the proposed new scale of National Assistance a widow living alone could expect to have her income made up to 30s. a week, plus an allowance for rent. The war widow also may receive an allowance for rent from the National Assistance Board if she is paying more than 5s. a week rent.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many disabled ex-Service men of the 1939–45 war are in receipt of disability pensions of 30 per cent or less; and how many of them are receiving an allowance for lower standard of occupation.

Approximately 215,000 are in receipt of pensions at the 30 per cent. or 20 per cent, disablement rate and 25,700 weekly allowances for disablement of less than 20 per cent. Of these, approximately 6,000 are receiving an allowance for lowered standard of occupation.

asked the Minister of Pensions the present value of the disability pension of 27s. a week payable to ex-privates for an amputated arm or leg. by comparison with 24s. a week paid in 1938.

Measured over the whole field of consumers' goods and services, the purchasing value today of 27s., the amount of the basic pension for disablement of 60 per cent., in relation to its purchasing value in 1938, is about 13s.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if, in view of the undertaking given to the right hon. Member for Leicester, South-East, in the last Session of Parliament, that no more than the barest courtesy would be shown to the Hungarian Legation until the safe return of Mr. Sanders to this country, he will give an assurance that no person attached to the Hungarian Legation was sent an invitation to the service at St. Paul's or to attend the Festival of Britain.

The Hungarian Minister was invited, with Madame Bolgar, to attend the opening ceremonies of the Festival of Britain at St. Paul's Cathedral, and on the opening day of the South Bank Exhibition. Two tickets giving admission to the South Bank Exhibition were also placed at the Minister's disposal for the use of members of his staff: such tickets were made available to the heads of all foreign diplomatic missions in varying numbers, depending upon the size of their respective staffs.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he has yet fixed the day on which the South Bank Exhibition and the Pleasure Gardens are to be closed this year.

These closing dates have already been announced. They are 30th September for the South Bank Exhibition and 3rd November for the Pleasure Gardens.

asked the Under-Secretary for the Home Department, as representing the Lord President of the Council, if he can give figures that will enable a measurement of the pollution of the atmosphere to be made over the whole of England and over the cities of Bournemouth, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent, respectively.

It is not possible to give an accurate measurement of the pollution of the atmosphere over the whole of England. Measurements made in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Stoke-on-Trent are included in monthly bulletins issued by the Fuel Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. I am sending the hon. Member copies of these bulletins issued over the past 12 months. No measurements are made in Bournemouth.

asked the Minister of Supply if, in view of the thefts of lead from church roofs, he will consider taking steps to restrict or control the transfer of lead by licensing to accredited dealers or making compulsory some record of the source of supply.

Scrap merchants and users of non-ferrous metals are now required to obtain a licence before they may acquire scrap and must maintain records of stocks and give invoices for all purchases. These provisions, though designed primarily to control the price of scrap and improve its distribution, should assist in detecting theft. My right hon. Friend has asked the trade, through the Scrap Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Supply, to maintain their records in a way that will help the police, and not to buy scrap from unknown sources without careful inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether the Chieftainship of the Bamangwato tribe is vacant; and if so, having regard to Section 3 (2) of the Native Administration Proclamation, 1944, of Bechuanaland, what person under native custom is charged with the duty of summoning the tribe to assemble in Kgotla.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes." With regard to the second part of the Question, I would draw the hon. Member's attention to Section 4 of Proclamation No. 10 of 1950, which is the relevant provision. This enables the Resident Commissioner to authorise any fit and proper person to assemble the tribe in Kgotla and preside at the meeting. Since this Proclamation was enacted the Resident Commissioner has, on each occasion that a formal Kgotla has been held, authorised the District Commissioner, as the Native Authority for the time being, to assemble the tribe. This is not a continuing authority.

asked the Postmaster-General what volume of written evidence and from how many unions, was received by the Terrington Committee on Union Recognition; which organisations have given oral evidence; and what further arrangements have been made by the Committee to hear the interested parties.

I understand that the written evidence submitted to the Committee totals some 150,000 words. Written statements have been furnished by 12 unions. In addition, on 4th June oral evidence was taken from the National Association of Postal and Telegraph Officers, the National Guild of Telephonists, and the Union of Post Office Workers. This written and oral evidence is now being studied by the Committee. In the meantime, invitations have been sent out to the Engineering Officers (Telecommunications) Association and the National Guild of Motor Engineers to give evidence on 27th August, and to the Post Office Engineering Union and the Telephone Sales Supervising Officers' Association to give evidence on 28th August.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what representations he has received from coal merchants that their present supplies are too limited to allow them to build up stocks for the winter; and what action he is proposing to take to remedy the position.

The Merchants' Consultative Committee, when I met them recently, called attention, interalia, to the low level of stocks of house coal for the time of year. The low level of stocks is due not so much to shortage of supplies, since deliveries to the house coal market for the first seven weeks of the coal summer are 250,000 tons more than last year, as to a very high demand during the inclement weather in the early weeks of the summer, which. has resulted in deliveries to domestic consumers of over 300,000 tons more than last year, combined with a very low level of stocks at the beginning of the coal summer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give a list of United States post-war investments in British Colonial Territories.

The required information is not all centrally available, but I am taking steps to obtain figures and will write to the hon. Member as soon as I can.

asked the Minister of Transport how many meetings of the Central Transport Users' Consultative Committee have been held during the last 12 months; when the last meeting was held; when the next will be held; and what was the cost of the committee during the last 12 months.

This Committee met four times during the last 12 months. Its last meeting was on 10th April and its next will be on 10th July. No separate figure of the cost is available, but for the year 1950 this Committee, together with the Transport Users' Consultative Committee for the London Area, cost £6,228.