asked the Minister of Supply what steps have been taken to integrate aircraft production in the United States of America and Great Britain.

There is close consultation and regular exchange of information in this matter between the United Kingdom and the United States as well as other N.A.T.O. countries.

Would my right hon. Friend do all he can to increase his close consultation which he has just mentioned, because I believe it could be very much to the advantage of the re-armament programme of both countries if we could get closer integration in our manufacturing programme.

There is a good deal already going on in this way. As the House knows, the Canberra bomber and also the Sapphire jet air engine are being produced in the United States under licence, and we are also producing here, under licence, a number of aircraft components and other items.

Would the right hon. Gentleman see to it that in any integration which takes place this country is not again left specialising in military types of little or no civil value?

That is just the point. It would be unwise for us to make ourselves entirely dependent on the United States for any particular item.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied that the production of air frames and jet engines is evenly balanced?

I do not think they ever have been completely.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will make a statement on the future of the Brabazon aircraft.

I am at present reviewing the aircraft programme as a whole. Meanwhile, I should prefer not to make any statement on particular projects.

As a lot of public money has been spent on this project, will my right hon. Friend give an undertaking that he will make a decision at a very early date on this important matter?

I hope to be able to make a statement quite soon.

Does that mean before the Christmas Recess?

I should not like to commit myself until I have completed this review.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will give a list of the atomic scientists who have disappeared since 1945, while in the employment of his Department.

Professor Pontecorvo is the only atomic scientist who has disappeared while employed by the Ministry of Supply.

Will the Minister make sure that no other disappearances will take place?

asked the Minister of Supply what restriction is proposed in the use of phosphor-bronze for the manufacture of draught-proofing equipment.

The use of phosphor-bronze for this purpose, except under licence, is already prohibited under the Copper and Zinc Prohibited Uses (Minister of Supply) Order, 1951.

Is the Minister aware that substantial supplies of this expensive metal are still being used in the manufacture of this luxury equipment? What is he doing to investigate the possibility of any abuse in this direction?

I think it must be a case of old stocks being used up. If the hon. and gallant Gentleman thinks that is not the case, perhaps he would give me an opportunity to look into the causes of his complaint.

Is my right hon. Friend not aware that this device is one of the best means of promoting fuel economy?

asked the Minister of Supply what action he is considering following the publication of the Monopolies Commission's Report on electric lamps.

asked the Minister of Supply what action he proposes to take on the recommendations of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission contained in the Report on the supply of electric lamps.

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply given to the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Fenner Brockway) on 20th November.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that something like 42 million radio lamps are imported into this country? Is not this a sad state of things when we have firms like British Thomson-Houston and many others that are second to none in the world?

I thought the hon. Gentleman was asking about the Report of the Monopolies Commission on electric lamps. The position there is that I have asked the manufacturers for their comments on the criticisms contained in the Report. I must await that reply before considering what action should be taken.

Could the right hon. Gentleman assure the House that the sudden flight from the country of the Secretary of State for the Colonies has nothing to do with this?

asked the Minister of Supply what progress has been made in British national research stations with the problem of harnessing atomic energy for industrial, travel and other peaceful development purposes; and when it is likely to be available for use for such purposes.

As the answer is rather long, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

In view of the comfort which the use of atomic power for peaceful purposes would give to the general public, will the Minister consider issuing a schedule of its potentialities for peaceful purposes in the form of a White Paper?

Perhaps the hon. and learned Gentleman will look at the reply to be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT—it is fairly full and technical. If he wishes for further information, perhaps he will put down another Question.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he will make arrangements with the local authorities concerned to take up the disused tramway tracks in London in order that they may be used as scrap metal.

Discussions are at present taking place between the Ministry of Supply, the Ministry of Transport and the local authorities on this matter.

Is my right hon. Friend likely to come to some conclusion soon, because I believe the local authorities are waiting for the Government on this very important matter?

We are trying to expedite it as much as possible. Quite a lot of scrap steel could be obtained, amounting we expect to about 30,000 tons, and we recognise the importance of it.

In view of the great financial difficulties of all the London local authorities in undertaking this work, is the right hon. Gentleman considering some form of financial help?

That is just one of the questions which is under consideration, namely the financial cost. It is quite considerable.

Is it not a fact that in other places where tramways have been discontinued it has usually been found that the cost of taking up the tram tracks exceeds the value of the steel that is recovered? [HON. MEMBERS: "Where?"] In Manchester, for example.

The cost is inevitably heavy, but tramway lines have been recovered from 10 provincial cities, and the possibility of recovering such tracks from other places is being examined. The cost is heavy, but we must also take into consideration the cost of road repairs in doing away with the tramways.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he will give an assurance that the markets for engineering products, built up over the last six years, and now exposed to German and Japanese competition, will not be jeopardised by the re-armament programme.

Every effort is made to place defence contracts in such a way as to cause the least possible interference with exports.

asked the Minister of Supply to what extent the M-Form system in the allocation of steel supplies to the various Government Departments is still in force.

The M-form system is at present used only for sheet steel and tinplate. Under an Order which I made last week a similar scheme will be introduced next February for other forms of steel.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there has been much criticism regarding that form of allocation, and does he agree that it is adequate to offset any form of abuse that may be introduced?

I am not saying that it is absolutely watertight. What I can say to the hon. Gentleman is that the industry was thoroughly consulted in the matter and, on balance, came to the conclusion that this was the best scheme that could be produced in the circumstances.

asked the Minister of Supply why £240,000 worth of Royal Air Force shirts have recently been ordered from Italy; and why this order was not placed in Northern Ireland where there is unemployment at present in the shirt manufacturing industry.

I am told that last June, wben these orders were placed, the material position was such that the order could not have been fulfilled in Northern Ireland in the time stipulated.

Can my right hon. Friend give the House an assurance that so long as there is unemployment in this industry in any part of the United Kingdom he will see that orders of this kind are placed here at home where work is wanted?

I can tell my hon. and gallant Friend that last week I had a talk with Mr. McCleery, the Minister of Commerce for Northern Ireland, and gave him precisely that assurance, that we should do everything we could to place orders which were suitable in Northern Ireland to take up the unemployment which existed in that part of the country.

While endorsing what the right hon. Gentleman has said, may I ask him if that has not in fact always been the case, that where orders have been able to be executed in Great Britain and Northern Ireland we have placed them there and nowhere else?

The right hon. Gentleman is quite correct. The difficult unemployment situation did not exist to the same extent at the time when these orders were placed.

Will my right hon. Friend make certain that these are not "black shirts" washed or dyed?

asked the Minister of Supply if he will take powers to ensure that people whose names have been on a waiting list many years have priority in the delivery of new cars.

No, Sir.

In view of the widespread dissatisfaction throughout the country on this matter, may I ask if the right hon. Gentleman is aware of the racket, which is perfectly legal, by which car dealers take cars from customers at around two-years old, and therefore outside the covenant, and sell them at twice the listed price, and so are able to make that profit plus the profit of a new car, and that that means that people on the normal waiting list have just no chance at all of their priority?

It is a very difficult problem, but I do not think it is one which the Government can tackle. During the war, when there were comparatively few private cars being produced, it was possible to control the priorities for those cars. We now have to deal with about 80,000 cars a year. It is quite beyond the organisation that we could manage to set up—we should not be justified in setting up a larger one—to try to decide who should and who should not buy these cars.

Cannot my right hon. Friend consider the policy of releasing in the next few months a larger number of cars to the home market so that dealers can see what is the real position of the waiting list and remove many of those who have their names down for two or three different cars?

We should very much like to increase the number of cars available to the home market, but we have to bear in mind the importance of the export trade at this moment.

I appreciate that it is beyond the powers of the present Government to deal with this, but will the right hon. Gentleman do something to ensure that ordinary people do get the priorities to which they are entitled?

As I explained to the hon. Lady last week, the industry are doing their best to ensure that specially urgent categories of people, such as doctors, district nurses, and midwives, do receive priority. If there should be other categories of people for whom it is urgent and important to have new cars, I am quite prepared to make representations to the industry to see that they get special attention.

asked the Minister of Supply the total anticipated output of steel ingots and castings for the year 1951, compared with the total of 16.29 million tons in 1950; and what is the total anticipated production figure of steel ingots and castings for 1952.

The estimated output of steel ingots and castings for 1951 is approximately 15¾ million ingot tons. The estimate for 1952, based on present raw material supply prospects, is 15¾ to 16 million ingot tons.

In consideration of the shortage of finished steel during 1952 that the Government have estimated at 1½ million tons, can my right hon. Friend tell the House by what amount that figure will be abated by American imports and, secondly, by the diminution of steel users in this country arising from steel rationing due for inauguration on 4th February.

We hope—it is only an estimate, but we hope—that by some increase of output and some increase of imports the gap may be narrowed from 1½ million tons to one million.

asked the Minister of Supply what consultations he had with representatives of the lock trade, centred in Willenhall, Wednesfield and Wolverhampton, before deciding to prohibit the use of copper and zinc in the making of lock furniture.

I am informed that there were no consultations with representatives of the lock industry on this matter. I understand that the integral parts of locks and latches should have been exempted from the prohibition. The necessary amendment to the Order will be made without delay.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if, in view of the fact that the average duration of the life of man is shorter than the average duration of the life of woman, he will take steps to ensure that men shall be paid their old age or retiring pension at an age no later in life than the age at which the old age or retiring pension is paid to women.

An alteration of this kind would involve major changes in the financial structure of the National Insurance Scheme, and I cannot undertake to consider it at the present time.

But if the poor old man is to die first, why should he get his pension last? In view of this undoubted biological superiority of women, will the Minister do something for the poor old men?

The hon. and learned Gentleman must remember that we have to legislate for the rule and not for the exception; and let me assure him that none of us has noticed any diminution in his intellectual powers since he reached the age of 60.

asked the Minister of National Insurance the total benefit payable to a workman, with a wife and two children, who is unable to work through injury sustained at his place of employment; and if he will state what benefit may be obtained from the National Assistance Board in such a case.

If the man's disability is sufficiently serious and lasts a long time he could, including family allowances, get £3 18s. 6d. a week for 26 weeks and thereafter £5 4s. 6d. a week. To this latter sum constant attendance allowance up to £1, or exceptionally up to £2, might be added. Whether anything would be payable by way of assistance would depend on the rent paid, the ages of the children and other circumstances.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in my constituency there is a case of a man who, during 26 weeks, was paid only £3 17s. a week, which is quite inadequate for a man who has to keep a wife and two children?

If my hon. Friend has a particular case in mind, perhaps he will send me particulars of it.

asked the Minister of National Insurance how many people were in receipt of public assistance at the latest available date.

At the end of October, 1,431,000 persons were receiving regular weekly grants of National Assistance, which took into account, where necessary, the needs of the recipient's wife and any other dependants.

asked the Minister of National Insurance when he proposes to review the position of old age pensioners; and what form the review will take.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 12th November, 1951, by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Morecambe and Lonsdale (Sir I. Fraser).

Will the Minister compare the answer he has just given with what was put out in the Conservative Party's election manifesto?

I would inform the hon. Gentleman that the question of pensions affects a great many other Departments besides my own, and that, so far as my own Department is concerned, the new rates, which were introduced in last summer's Bill, have been operating for only a few weeks.

Can my right hon. Friend say whether the proposed review has started, or whether it is going to wait for the quinquennium?

I think that my hon. Friend, if he is referring to the review mentioned by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, had better put down his question to that Department.

That is the question that I put down.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that there is nothing in the Question about the rates of pensions, and that there are a great many other questions that could be reviewed besides the rates of pay, such as conditions of retirement, which is becoming, in these times of shortage of manpower, an important subject.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether he is aware that the National Assistance Board's form for claiming a non-contributory old age pension from the age of 70 is obscure in its wording and causes difficulty to many would-be claimants; and if he will take steps to have it amended.

The actual claim form can hardly be simplified. It only requires the claimant to state his name, address, date of birth and whether he has previously applied for a pension or assistance. As regards the explanatory leaflet attached to the form, I do not think it would be possible to explain the provisions of the Act with which it deals any more simply.

Would my right hon. Friend look again at the explanatory memorandum, particularly paragraph 4, which is very difficult to understand and upon which many complaints have been made to me?

I should be most grateful if my hon. Friend would explain in greater detail what difficulty he had in understanding this form.

My right hon. Friend will understand that I am not asking this Question on behalf of myself.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if he is now in a position to increase pensions given to those pensioners who are in receipt of only 10s. per week.

No, Sir. These pensions were carried over from the old scheme and have no counterpart in the modern National Insurance arrangements. For most of the people concerned other and more appropriate provision is already made in the National Insurance Acts. If there are any who have no resources beyond their 10s. pension they should apply to the National Assistance Board for assistance.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that something like half a million men and women are in receipt of this pension, people who during their working life were unable to make any contribution to a National Insurance scheme, and that 10s. a week does not go very far in these days?

This amount is only part of the transitional arrangements and, so far as the 10s. per week old age pensioners are concerned, they will all have qualified for the higher rate by 1953.

asked the Minister of National Insurance what is the practice of the National Assistance Board with regard to the provision of warm clothing, especially for old people, in the winter.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Board's statement on pages 14 and 15 of their annual Report for 1949.

Would my right hon. Friend see whether he cannot extend this scheme—this method of help—as it is a sensible one and gives good value for money?

My hon. Friend will, of course, know that any initiative in this matter rests not with me but with the Board. He may also like to know that last year 132,000 exceptional need grants, mostly for clothing, were made by the Board, averaging nearly £4 a piece.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will take steps to secure a uniform retail price for domestic coal throughout the country.

No, Sir, this would not be practicable.

Is the Minister aware that in the South of England people pay 20s. to 30s. a ton more than people in the Midlands and North of England, and, since this is a nationalised industry, cannot some arrangement be made for pooling freightage charges in order to get a more uniform price for coal?

No, Sir. I am afraid that this is another matter in which one-half of the country thinks differently from the other half.

Can my right hon. Friend say what is the price paid per ton for what is known as concessionary coal?

That is a different question.

Will the Minister bear in mind that the whole question of a flat-rate for transport is much wider than just the distribution of coal, and will he give an assurance that the one question will not be raised without consideration of the whole matter?

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is aware of the shortage of domestic fuel in the City of Aberdeen; and if, in view of the special requirements there during the winter period, he will substantially increase the allocation and supplies of coal to that city.

I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for Accrington (Mr. H. Hynd) and Bristol, Central (Mr. Awbery) on 12th November.

Will the Minister bear in mind that 527 miles north of London the climate is very much colder than it is in his office?

Yes, Sir, but unfortunately there is not enough coal to give anybody any more, even in the north of the Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how many coke oven and by-product plants are under public ownership; and how many are under private enterprise.

There are 76 coke oven plants in operation under public ownership and nine under private enterprise. All of them, except two of the former, have by-product plants.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether, having regard to the severity of the weather on the north Suffolk coast during the winter months, he will bring that area into the northern allocation for fuel for the winter period.

I regret that the acute shortage of house coal will not permit an increase in supplies in any area.

Is the Minister not aware that the Lowestoft Division is the most easterly division of the country, the prevailing winds are easterly, coming right off the North Sea, and the zoning is most unfair in respect of this area which is subjected to these bitter winds, and that people in the north and particularly in the north-west, which has a milder temperature, have the benefit of the northern allocation? Will he have another look at this problem?

I do not think the prevailing winds have changed since I succeeded the right hon. Gentleman.

Is the Minister aware that there is an even stronger case for the Norfolk coast, and that the present line must be unfair, because it assumes that the climate of north-eastern Norfolk is the same as Torquay and Bournemouth?

I appreciate the difficulties, but unfortunately there is at present not enough coal.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware that there is a local shortage of coke in the East Midlands, and that it results in hardship to the occupants of council houses fitted in the interests of fuel economy with grates that only burn coke or only coke and anthracite; and what steps he proposes to take to provide supplies in such cases.

Yes, Sir. I find that the coke and boiler fuel situation has become very serious over the past year and the prospects for the winter are bad.

Is the Minister aware that one of the difficulties is that no one in his Department or in the Gas Board seems to know where the council houses are which are fitted with coke burning apparatus, and, as they have been put in for the purpose of fuel economy, will he take steps to ascertain from councils the number of houses of this kind and then make some special provision for the inhabitants who cannot use coal in this apparatus?

Yes, Sir, but the fact remains that consumers have been encouraged to install this special coke-burning apparatus but no arrangements have been made to ascertain where these special stoves have been installed in particular houses. At the beginning of the winter it is immensely difficult administratively to find that out in time.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what progress has now been made with regard to the payment of compensation to shareholders in coal-mining companies following nationalisation; and when it is anticipated that such payments will be completed.

Up to the present, capital compensation has been met in cash or Treasury Stock, to a total of £126,407,371. It is not possible to estimate with any exactitude when valuations will be completed and final payments made.

Can my right hon. Friend do anything to speed up the payment of this compensation?

It is a most complicated matter; indeed, in certain instances guidance has to be sought from the courts.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power by what amount he expects the production of deep mined coal in 1951 to exceed that of 1945.

By about 36 million tons.

Would the right hon. Gentleman agree that that speaks volumes for the success of the nationalisation of the mines, and would he not agree that it is a great credit to the miners? Will he see that those figures are publicised in Tory papers in every constituency in this country?

I only wish that the total increase had been much greater. When we congratulate ourselves as a country upon that, we must also remember that even at the present figure it is still 30 million tons below what it was in 1937.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the estimated output of opencast coal for the year ending December, 1951; and the targets for 1952 and 1953.

Production of opencast coal this year will be about 11 million tons. As regards 1952 and 1953, the policy of the Government is to win as much opencast coal as is practicable, having regard to the availability of sites and plant.

Are we to understand from the Minister that there will be no alteration whatever in the policy in regard to opencast coal production laid down by the previous Government?

In the present situation we must have as much opencast coal as possible, but we shall pay careful regard to amenity.

In getting opencast coal, do we not very often destroy good agricultural land in order to send that coal abroad and bring back products which we can grow ourselves?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I have recently spoken to farmers in my constituency whose land was turned up for opencast coal, and that they have informed me that the land is in better shape now than it was before?

Can we have an assurance from my right hon. Friend that he will take great care not to encroach unduly on good agricultural land?

Yes, Sir, but I think the House appreciates the acute crisis in coal production. We never do anything of this kind without close consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether his attention has been called to the recent report published by the American Department of the Interior with regard to the experiment in underground gasification of coal conducted jointly by the Bureau of Mines and the Alabama Power Company at Gorgas, Alabama, of which a copy has been sent to him, in which gas produced by burning coal underground was found suitable for driving turbines and generating steam; what liaison there is between his Department and the American Bureau of Mines on this subject; and how far the results of the experiment conducted in this country confirm the American findings.

Yes, Sir. We are in close touch with the U.S. Bureau of Mines about underground gasification, and as a result of an invitation from the Bureau and the Alabama Power Company a scientist of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has been working with the team at Gorgas for the last 2½ years.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will state the anticipated duration of the underground gasification of coal experiments being conducted at Bayton, Worcestershire; on what costing basis the contractors employed by his Department are operating; how far periodical examination and interim scrutiny of costs is to be undertaken by his Department; whether the gasification measures to date are deemed successful; and whether he will make a statement.

It is expected that two coal seams will be ignited at Bayton early in 1952, but I cannot forecast how long this phase of the experiment will last.

Would the Minister be prepared in connection with this contract to answer a fundamental point—are the contractors conducting the experiment on a cost plus basis and what degree of control over the cost is being exercised by his Department?

That is a different Question, but I shall inquire into it.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that underground gasification of coal has been a great success in the Donetz Basin for the last 15 or 16 years, and would it not be advisable to send out to the Soviet Union some of our experts in this particular field in order to see the progress made there?

I believe it is a fact that considerable work has been done on the subject in the Soviet Union. I am not aware myself whether that works is definitely on an economic basis, but I will inquire into it.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how much coal is being exported; and what proportion of total exports is opencast coal.

During the first 10 months of this year 6,287,000 tons of coal have been exported, of which approximately 3 per cent. has been opencast coal.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the stocks of coke at coke ovens at gas works and at merchants' depôts on October, 1950, and October, 1951.

Stocks of coke at the end of October, in the years 1950 and 1951, respectively, were as follows: at coke ovens, 253,000 and 82,000 tons; at gas works, 931,000 and 395,000 tons; in merchants' yards, 143,000 and 93,000 tons.

Having regard to the serious drop in the stock position throughout the country, will the Minister consider expediting his carbonisation programme?

We shall do all we can.