asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why, at the completion of entries on one page of a Post Office Savings Bank book, the book has to be sent to London.

This arrangement is necessary to ensure that the entries in the books agree with those in the headquarters ledgers. It also helps to reduce the risk of fraud.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why he recommended the continuation of Regulation 60CC relating to the power of Post Office officials to demand the production of identity cards.

In the short time that had elapsed since he took up office, it had not been possible for my noble friend to consider the matter fully.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he is aware that the red 2½d. stamp causes confusion; and if he will consider returning to the blue issue, which is familiar and popular.

The change of colour was necessary to conform to the Universal Postal Union Convention, and it is not practicable to return to the old colour. There was some confusion at the time of the change but, generally speaking, the public have now become accustomed to the new colour.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what special arrangements he is making to fly out letters and parcels to troops in Malaya and Korea for Christmas.

For letters, existing air mail facilities are considered adequate. As regards parcels, I would ask my hon. Friend to await the reply which my hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave today.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he is aware that preparations are being made to receive television pictures on a large screen at one of London's largest cinemas; and what were the terms of the licence granted to the proprietors.

No licences have been granted for the showing of television programmes to paying audiences, though I am aware that some newspapers have reported that plans are being made to install apparatus for large screen television at certain cinemas.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he has any statement to make about the continued unsatisfactory radio reception in South-East England; and what proposals the British Broadcasting Corporation has for improving the quality of the reception of both radio and television services in this area.

I understand from the B.B.C. that in South-East England the Light Programme should be received satisfactorily on the long wavelength. The London Home Service is subject to interference from foreign stations and also to some fading in winter at places remote from the transmitter. The Third Programme is subject to fading and foreign interference in the coastal areas.The B.B.C. has recently provided additional stations near Ramsgate, Hastings and Brighton to improve local reception of the Home Service. A transmitter will be brought into service soon at Folkestone. These temporary installations will be replaced by equipment of higher power to improve reception at some other places, including Eastbourne.The foreign interference has been taken up with the authorities concerned.The best hope for improved reception lies in the use of very high frequencies, but owing to defence and economic requirements I cannot forecast when this will be possible. For the same reasons I cannot say when it will be possible to improve television reception.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what delays there have been in regard to men or material in the erection of television at Kirk o' Shotts; and when Scotland will now have television.

The B.B.C. informs me that there has been some delay, owing to the general shortage of labour and materials, in the manufacture of the main transmitters for Kirk o' Shotts; nevertheless, the transmitters are in an advanced stage. The main building and the mast have been completed.Work on the Post Office radio link between Manchester and Kirk o' Shotts is making good progress, but the manufacture of the equipment has taken rather longer than was expected.The Corporation hopes to begin experimental transmissions on low power as soon as the radio link with Manchester is available; this is expected to be in February, 1952.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he will state the results of television reception tests made in North-West Lancashire in recent weeks.

I am informed by the B.B.C. that a comprehensive survey of the area covered by the Holme Moss television station is being made but it will take some months to complete.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what contracts the Ministry of Health, have placed with the Post Office for the production of bone-induction hearing aids; and when the hearing aids are likely to be available.

The Post Office on behalf of the Ministry of Health placed an order for 500 bone-conduction hearing aids in July, 1951. The finished articles were delivered to the Ministry of Health in October.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General on what financial basis the Post Office has undertaken the work of producing hearing aids for the Ministry of Health.

The Post Office does not actually manufacture hearing aids but it negotiates and places contracts for these items on behalf of the Ministry of Health. The charge to the Ministry is made up of the contractor's charges plus 2½ per cent. to cover Post Office establishment charges.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General when he expects the new telephone exchange at Cardiff to be in operation.

In February, 1952.

asked the Minister of Civil Aviation if he will make a statement on the effects of the present situation in Egypt on our imperial air routes passing through Cairo.

No air services have been diverted from Cairo on account of the present situation in Egypt.

asked the Minister of Civil Aviation how many passengers left, in 1950, Scottish airports for Europe and the United States of America; and the number who left airports in England and Wales during that period.

In 1950, 6,075 passengers left Scottish airports for Europe and 5,620 for the United States of America; in the same year 403,472 passengers left airports in England and Wales for Europe, and 39,895 for the United States of America.

asked the Prime Minister if, after appropriate consultation with the United States authorities, he will make available to the House the detailed reports in the possession of His Majesty's Government, prepared and submitted by United States specialised combat troops, as to the relative merits of the.280 rifle, as compared with alternative weapons.

No. These reports would disclose information on the standards which are acceptable to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and such disclosure would not be in the national interest.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that there are some Ministers who, owing to the short Sittings of Parliament, will not have been able to give oral answers to Questions on any occasion for a period of seven months; and what steps he proposes to take to restore to the Private Member the privilege of obtaining oral answers.

Members' rights in asking oral Questions have not been impaired by His Majesty's present Government. The reasons for the proposal that the Adjournment for Christmas should be longer than usual have already been explained to the House. The long interval between July and November when no Questions at all were asked was, of course, due to the summer Adjournment and was prolonged by the election. The House will not expect this Government to answer for those arrangements. We hope that we are entering a more normal period of Parliamentary life.My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House is discussing through the usual channels the special problem of Scottish Questions before Christmas.

asked the Minister of Food, in view of the agreement with Cuba, when he will increase the sugar ration.

I am afraid I cannot hold out any hope that we shall be able to afford to buy enough sugar to increase the ration in the near future.

asked the Minister of Food what arrangements for a bonus issue of meat for Christmas are being made.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to her on this subject on Wednesday, 14th November.

asked the Minister of Food if he has had time to consider the resolution sent on to him by the Barking Food Control Committee after their meeting on 12th November; and what action he proposes to take.

I am arranging for a reply to be sent to the Barking Food Control Committee and I will send the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Minister of Food what effect the new import cuts will have on imports of food through South Wales ports.

It is not yet possible to estimate the effect but I have no reason to think that South Wales ports will suffer from the effects of these cuts more than other port areas.

asked the Minister of Food what help he will give to Scottish growers to secure them a fair market for their soft fruit, bearing in mind that they are subject to heavy overheads, including established wage rates, without any corresponding assurance of rewarding prices.

I afraid this is a matter in which I cannot intervene as soft fruit prices are not regulated in any way.

asked the Minister of Food when the review of soft fruit prices is made, to give due consideration to the special conditions obtaining in Scotland with regard to tomatoes and other fruit.

No review is made of prices of soft fruit or of any other fruits.

asked the Minister of Food what is the total quantity of food produced in this country and imported, respectively; within these two categories, how much of this total is animal foods or animal products and how much is all other types of food; and what is the amount consumed per annum per head of the population of each.

Table I shows the proportion of each of the principal foods which were home-produced and imported into the United Kingdom in the

asked the Minister of Food if he will allow additional fats, particularly bacon, to people suffering from tuberculosis.

Like my predecessors I shall be guided by the advice of the Special Diets Advisory Committee of the Medical Research Council on such matters.

asked the Minister of Food what is the present value in calories of rationed food per week; what is the estimated average per person of all foods being consumed; and what is the estimated minimum necessary to maintain good health.

The estimated daily calorie value of the domestic ration of the non-priority adult consumer in the week beginning 18th November is about 650 calories; the rations included are butter, margarine, cooking fat, cheese, carcase meat, bacon and sugar.The estimated daily average calorie value of supplies of all foods per person in the year ended June, 1951, the latest period for which figures are available, is 2,990 calories.The adequacy of the calorie value of the diet is judged by reference to the figures contained in Table IV of Command Paper 7842 (1949), the interpretation of which is given in paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Appendix. I would refer the hon. Member to this Command Paper for details.

asked the Secretary or State for Foreign Affairs if he will review the arrangements by which certain Persians obtain free higher education in this country, free travel and gifts of pocket money at the British taxpayers' expense, with a view to seeing that the British taxpayer is relieved of this burden.

There are at present five Persian post-graduate students in this country holding scholarships financed from public funds. The awards are made by the British Council as part of their general scheme for bringing students here from other countries. They cover travel, academic fees, subsistence and books, but no separate provision is made for pocket money. I think it is desirable that a certain number of selected young Persians should pursue their education in this country, learn about it at first-hand, and be able to impart that knowledge to others on their return.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what powers have been transferred to the German Federal Republic enabling them to prohibit the wearing of semi-military uniforms in Western Germany.

At present the Allied High Commission has, under its Law No. 7, power to prohibit the wearing of any uniform of the former German armed forces, any uniform of the Nazi Party or of a para-military organisation, any uniform resembling the above and any distinctive dress or insignia tending to foster the resurgence of militarism or Nazism. This power will automatically be transferred to the German Federal Government when the new relationship now being evolved with Western Germany is fully established.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what information he has as to the reasons why the offer of an immediate cease-fire in Korea on the existing battle-line has been refused by the United Nations' negotiators.

I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend said in the Foreign Affairs debate on 19th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement as to the treatment of United Nations' prisoners in Korea.

I have no official information regarding the treatment of United Nations' prisoners of war but I would refer the hon. Member to the reply regarding British prisoners of war given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War yesterday to the hon. Member for Maldon (Mr. Driberg) and to the relevant passage of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's speech on 19th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in view of the inadequacy of fire-fighting resources in Nigeria, what action is being taken to improve these; and whether responsibility for fire-fighting is being transferred to the Lagos and Port Harcourt town councils.

Extensions to water supplies, as part of the ten-year development plan, should improve the fire-fighting resources in some towns with a pipe-borne supply. In the north some native authorities are to experiment with large mobile chemical fire extinguishers.Responsibility for fire-fighting in Lagos and Port Harcourt is to be handed over to the respective town councils but I cannot yet give a date for the transfer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, what proposals were put up by the Africans of Northern Rhodesia at the Victoria Falls Conference; and to what extent discussion took place regarding the practical implementation of a partnership in political affairs between Africans and Europeans.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will assure the House that any action taken towards the political integration of the Central African territories will only be taken in agreement with African as well as European opinion.

I made a statement after Questions today about the closer association of the Central African territories and the Victoria Falls Conference.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether His Majesty's Government has been able to assure the delegation of 11 representatives from Basutoland on a visit to this country that their country will not be handed over to be administered by another country, even if that country is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to Questions put on this subject by the hon. Members for Croydon, East (Sir H. Williams), and Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hector Hughes), on Thursday, 15th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what system is in force now regarding the immigration of white persons into Northern Rhodesia.

The system is governed by the Northern Rhodesian Immigration Ordinance, a copy of which I am sending to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the value of damage done in recent riots in Grenada; and to what extent the cost was met by the culprits, the property owners, the Colonial Government and the British taxpayer, respectively.

Damage incurred during the Grenada strike is now estimated at about £65,000. An accurate assessment is impossible since the principal claims relate to unharvested crops alleged to have been stolen. No part of the cost has been met by the culprits or the United Kingdom taxpayer. A claim by the local agricultural association for compensation amounting to £45,036 in respect of uninsured or uninsurable losses incurred by private owners is now being considered by the Grenada Government. The Grenada Government will also meet the cost of repairing or replacing Government property.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies for what reason the Belize City Council, British Honduras, has been disbanded and replaced by an entirely nominated body.

The Governor dissolved the council on account of certain acts of disloyalty to the Crown by the majority party in the council in their official capacity. In announcing his decision, the Governor made it clear that this was a purely temporary measure, and that fresh elections would be held in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action, other than military, he is contemplating taking to bring an end to the fighting in Malaya.

The campaign against Communist-inspired terrorism cannot be pursued by military action alone. I intend during my visit to Malaya to see as much as possible of the other counter-measures already in force and to discuss further measures with responsible officers on the spot.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will arrange during his forthcoming visit to South-East Asia to meet representatives of the trade unions in Singapore and Malaya, in order to obtain a clear picture of the industrial position in that area.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent the Council of Singapore has succeeded in setting up a wages council for the Colony; what powers this council will exercise to fix minimum rates of wages to be paid in the principal industries; and how far inspectors will be employed to see that the rates fixed are enforced.

The Wages Council Bill is now being drafted in Singapore.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if the proposed new constitution for Tanganyika has now been debated in the Tanganyika Legislative Council; and what decision has been arrived at.

The report of the Constitutional Development Committee was debated in the Tanganyika Legislative Council last week and the debate was adjourned until 18th December.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he proposes to take to terminate the illegal occupation of British territory in the Falkland Island Dependencies by Chilean and Argentine parties.

The policy of His Majesty's Government is to take all necessary steps to maintain British title to the Falkland Islands Dependencies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the three Colonial Government committees considering the question of corporal punishment are expected to issue reports.

I am asking the Governments concerned how this matter stands and will write to the hon. Member when I have the information.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if a decision has yet been taken in regard to making the Naval Ordnance Inspection Department a uniformed branch of the service.

No. This matter is still under consideration.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how far it is the policy of his Department to give special consideration to ports in the development areas when orders for shipbuilding or ship-repairing are being placed.

Apart from the Royal Dockyards, the bulk of the shipbuilding and ship-repairing capacity in the United Kingdom is located in the development areas. The Admiralty policy is to place its shipbuilding and ship-repairing contracts, other than specialist work which must be carried out in specialist firms, in the yards which are most in need of work in so far as it is practicable and economical to do so. Other things being equal, preference is given to firms in the development areas.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what arrangements have been made to continue the employment of out-workers at the Royal Marines Tailoring Organisation at Eastney Barracks; and what arrangements are being made for housing workers who have been offered employment at Chatham.

The general employment of women out-workers who have been doing part-time tailoring work for the Royal Marines at Portsmouth and Plymouth will cease in December, when the decision to centralise the work at Chatham comes into effect. It is, however, hoped to be able to provide some work for a few of these out-workers who have been employed on this work for a long time and who, because of physical disability or other exceptional domestic handicaps, have no prospect of alternative employment of any sort.It is assumed that the second part of the Question refers to the whole-time civilian male employees who have up till now been employed at Portsmouth in connection with this work. I understand that only one of these employees wishes to transfer to Chatham, and that he intends to return to Portsmouth on his retirement in April next. He will be entitled to lodging allowance whilst at Chatham.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation granting home rule for Wales.

No. The Government have taken action to meet the needs of Wales, but they do not consider that it would be in the best interests of Wales that the government of the Principality should be divorced from that of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will prohibit by Regulation the use of strychnine for poisoning animals.

My right hon. Friend has no power to prohibit by Regulation the use of strychnine for poisoning animals but its sale for this purpose is already prohibited by the Poisons Rules except that it may be obtained for poisoning seals and moles on the production of a written authority. The Committee on Cruelty to Wild Animals recommended that this relaxation of the rules should be reviewed, and the Committee's recommendations are being examined.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why a letter from the Town Clerk, Hove, relating to taxi-cab fare increases, dated 5th June, 1950, remained unanswered until 25th July; whether he is aware that this delay caused further delay of many months owing to the summer Recess, thereby greatly inconveniencing those concerned; and what steps he is taking to ensure that letters from public authorities receive prompt attention.

Owing to the abnormal number of inquiries which were being received from local authorities at this time about the amendment of byelaws to provide for an increase in taxi-cab fares, there was a regrettable delay in dealing with correspondence and it was not possible to reply to the Town Clerk's letter earlier. The position is now more normal: indeed when a further letter from the Town Clerk was received on 17th September it was answered within two days.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will override the formalities of the war damage claim procedure to enable the elderly occupier of 31, Valnay Street, S.W.17, 80 years of age, to obtain compensation for the damage to her property;(2) if he will consult with the War Damage Commission upon the long negotiations in regard to the war damage repairs to 80, Streathbourne Road, S.W.17, with a view to announcing a favourable decision to the occupier.

I regret that in accordance with the practice followed ever since the War Damage Commission was set up in 1941, I cannot undertake to answer Questions about individual war damage cases.I have, however, made inquiries of the Commission about these cases and am writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give sympathetic consideration to the claims of older retired Post Office workers for an increase in their fixed pensions.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave on 12th November to the hon. Member for Morecambe and Lonsdale (Sir I. Fraser).

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the slow rate of house building in the City of Edinburgh; and what action he is taking to find out the reasons for the delay.

I am aware that Edinburgh's housing programme has been delayed largely because of lack of sites and shortage of labour. The corporation have now overcome these difficulties, and I hope that output will be substantially improved next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why Purchase Tax is charged on utility police uniforms.

Police uniforms have to stand up to very hard wear in all weathers and retain a reasonably smart appearance. Utility materials are not suitable, and non-utility materials, on which Purchase Tax is payable, have had to be used.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many occupied houses there are in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth; and how many applicants for houses are registered in these cities.

The information is given in the following table:

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how many married quarters there were in the Royal Air Force, both at home and abroad, on 1st September, 1939, and on the most convenient date within the last three months.

On 1st September, 1939, there were 6,629 permanent married quarters at home and 558 overseas. On 1st October, 1951, there were 11,322 at home and 1,021 overseas.The numbers of quarters other than permanent at home and overseas on the same dates were 10 and 5,794.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what is the number of roads in Lincolnshire to which the public is prevented from having full rights of access and passage owing to the requirements of his Department.

I regret that it would involve a disproportionate amount of work to provide this information.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the present population of horses; and what were the comparable figures in 1900 and 1925.

The only returns collected are of horses on agricultural holdings at the date of the June census. The figures are as follow:

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the total area in square miles of Great Britain; what is the area now under cultivation, respectively, for pasturage and for crops, vegetables, cereals and fruit; what is the area of urban development; and what other area cannot be used for the cultivation of food.

The total area of Great Britain and the area under cultivation are given below. There are no figures available to show how much of the area unaccounted for in the table is taken up by urban development or other uses and how much is waste.