Written Answers

Written Answers To Questions

Friday, 7th March, 1952

Fevers

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of undulant fever, caused through drinking milk, there have been in the British Isles since March, 1948; what were the numbers infected; and where they were located during 1951.

As this is not a statutorily notifiable disease I am afraid that the information requested is not available.

asked the Minister of Health if his experts have yet established the difference between undulant fever and what is known as Q fever, with special reference to the Withal test.

Yes, I am advised that laboratory methods which distinguish between these diseases are now available.

Category of Pensioner or Description of Pension	Date of operation of present pension scale
National Insurance Acts, 1946–1951:
Retirement pension where pensioner is over 70 (65 for women)	3rd September, 1951.
Retirement pension where pensioner is not yet 70 (65 for women) but was over 65 (60) on 1st October, 1951.	1st October, 1951.
Retirement pension where pensioner is not yet 70 (65 for women) and was under 65 (60) on 1st October, 1951.	30th September, 1946.
Widow's pension	5th July, 1948.
Widowed Mother's allowance	3rd September, 1951.
Guardian's allowance	3rd September, 1951.
National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act, 1946:
Disablement pension	5th July, 1948.
Widow's pension
Widower's pension
Parent's pension
Relative's pension
Old Age Pensions Act, 1936, and Blind Persons Act, 1938, as amended:
Non-contributory Old Age pension	30th September, 1946.
Widows, Orphans and Old Age Contributory Pensions Acts, as amended:
Contributory Old Age Pension	2nd January, 1928.
Widow's basic pension (formerly known as Widow's pension)	4th January, 1926.
Orphan's pension (now known as Guardian's allowance)	4th January, 1926.
War Pensions:
Officers disabled during the 1914–18 war or since 2nd September, 1939, and their dependants; widows and dependants of officers whose death was due to service in the 1914–18 war or since 2nd September, 1939.	August, 1943.
Ratings and other ranks disabled during the 1914–18 war or since 2nd September, 1939 and their dependants; widows and dependants of ratings and other ranks whose death was due to service in the 1914–18 war or since 2nd September, 1939.	February, 1946.
Officers of the Mercantile Marine injured in either world war; widows and dependants of officers whose death was due to injury.	August, 1943.
Injured merchant seamen of either world war and civilians injured in the 1939–45 war; widows and dependants of merchant seamen and civilians whose death was due to injury.	February, 1946.
Member of the Auxiliary Fire Service and National Fire Service disabled between 4th September, 1939, and 31st March, 1948 and Auxiliary Police of the 1939–45 war.	February, 1946.

National Finance

Pensioners (Statistics)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a list of all categories of pensioners dependent in whole or in part on public funds for the payment of their pensions with the dates when the present scale of pensions became operative.

I regret that the preparation of a comprehensive list would involve a disproportionate expenditure of time and labour since it would have to include, for instance, pensions payable to the staff of many non-Governmental bodies which receive grants from public funds. The following are the main categories of pensioner dependent directly or indirectly on public funds.

Category of Pensioner or Description of Pension	Date of operation of present pension scale
Service Pensions:
Officers in receipt of service retired pay	Awards other than for attributable death or disability:—See Notes 1 and 4.
Ratings and other ranks in receipt of service pension
Officers, ratings and other ranks in receipt of disability retired pay or pension in respect of peace-time service before 3rd September, 1939.
Widows and dependants of all ranks whose death was due to peace-time service before 3rd September, 1939.
Widows and dependants of officers and certain warrant officers in receipt of "ordinary" pensions in respect of the husband's rank and length of service.	Awards for attributable death or disability:—Officers: August, 1943, Ratings and other ranks. February, 1946.
Officers and other ranks in receipt of special awards such as wounds pensions, good service pensions, compassionate annuities, etc.
Certain pensioners in receipt of pensions, under special Admiralty Orders-in-Council, namely:
Riggers and Yardcraft Men	See Notes 1 and 4.
Shipwrights
Hong Kong Police
Teachers in Royal Marine Schools
Officers of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service
Civil Service Pensions:
Civil Servants, and certain Judicial, Diplomatic and other officers (including officers of both Houses of Parliament) to whom the Civil Service superannuation code is applied, and their dependants (Superannuation Acts, 1834–1950).	See Notes 2 and 4.
Colonial and Dominion Governors, and their dependants	See Notes 2 and 4.
Member of the Diplomatic Service pensioned under the Superannuation (Diplomatic Service) Act, 1869.	See Note 2.
Retired and disbanded members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and their widows.	See Notes 2 and 4.
Pensions charged on the Consolidated Fund:
Mr. Speaker Clifton Brown (Mr. Speaker Clifton Brown's Retirement Act, 1951).	1951.
Lord Chancellors, Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, Judges of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Court of Session, Judges of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland, County Court Judges, Metropolitan Police Magistrates, Sheriffs and Sheriff Substitutes in Scotland, Chairman and Members of the Scottish Land Court. (Administration of Justice (Pensions) Act, 1950.)	1950.
Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1929).	1929.
Judicial Commissioner of the Irish Land Commission and Recorder, Galway. (Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1922.)	1922.
Comptroller and Auditor General (Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1950).	1950.
Members of Royal Households	See Notes 2 and 4.
Special pensions paid for services outside the United Kingdom:
Certain British police officers employed by the Mission to Greece, the High Commission in Austria or the Control Commission for Germany (Police (England & Wales) Police Pension Regulations, 1949—S.I. 1949, No. 1241).	1949.
Pensioners of the former Palestine Government not paid by the succession states.	1949.
South African Constabulary disability pensioners	1910.
European judges of the former Indian and Burman High Courts (Judges Pensions (India and Burma) Act, 1948).	1948.
Recipients of sterling pensions payable from Indian revenues (small pension increases under the Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1948).	1st December, 1946.
European officers of the former Indian Services:
(a) Supplements to pension in respect of re-employment during the 1939–45 war.	19th December, 1945.
(b) Supplements to pension to officers unable to earn full pension owing to the transfer of power.	16th August, 1947.
British soldiers granted emergency commissions in the Indian Army.	19th December, 1945.
National Health Service Pensions:
National Health Service employees and general medical and dental practitioners (National Health Service Act, 1946, and Regulations made under it).	See Notes 2 and 3.
Local Government Pensions:
Local Government employees generally (Local Government Superannuation Act, 1937).	See Notes 2, 3 and 4.
Local Health Authority employees	See Notes 2, 3 and 4,

Category of Pensioner or Description of Pension	Date of operation of present pension scale
Local Government Pensions—cont.
Police officers and their dependants (Police Pension Regulations, 1949, as amended and earlier enactments).	See Notes 2, 3 and 4.
Special Constables (Special Constables (Pensions) Orders, 1950 and 1952).	See Notes 2, 3 and 4.
Members of Local Authority Fire Brigades (Fire Services Act, 1947, and earlier enactments).	See Notes 2, 3 and 4.
Teachers (Teachers Superannuation Acts, 1918–46, and Education (Scotland) Act, 1946).	See Notes 2, 3 and 4.
NOTES—
1. With the exception of awards for attributable death or disability, the rates of retired pay or pension payable are as laid down in the relative Prerogative Instrument in force at the time of retirement or discharge.
2. The rate of pension paid is determined by retiring salary and length of service.
3. Contributory occupational pension.
4. Pensioners within certain maximum income limits have had their pensions increased by a series of Pensions (Increase) Acts (and corresponding Instruments), the latest of which was passed in 1947.

Uk Companies (Migration)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will permit companies to migrate without restriction from the United Kingdom to British Dominions within the sterling area and to British Colonies.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Barnet (Mr. Maudling) on 21st February, 1952.

Meteorological Office (Assistance To Agriculture)

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he is now in a position to give any information as to the plans of the Meteorological Office for assisting agriculture in this country; and what is the present position with regard to the special agricultural branches of that Department at Harrow and Bristol and also with regard to the proposed meteorological advisory sections to be set up at Cambridge for the Eastern Region, at Leeds, for the Northern Region and at Edinburgh, for Scotland.

The Meteorological Office helps agriculture in many ways. The B.B.C. forecasts, issued four times a day, are drafted with the needs of farmers in mind. Frost warnings are broadcast in spring, and snow warnings in winter and spring. During the harvest, farmers can, for a nominal fee, receive individual notification by telegram when spells of fine weather are expected.

In order to foster close co-operation between the farmer and the meteorologist, a special branch of the Meteorological Office at Harrow is devoted to agricultural meteorology. It is responsible for applying existing meteorological data, facilities and knowledge to agricultural problems, and for research into fundamental questions such as micro-climate, the relationships between weather and crops, pests, diseases, land utilisation and irrigation. The staff keep in close touch with agricultural research establishments throughout Great Britain.

The Headquarters Branch maintains a unit at the Agricultural Advisory Service Centre at Bristol to find out from farmers how best meteorology can help them. It is hoped to establish similar units at the Advisory Centres at Edinburgh, Cambridge and Leeds in that order, but I cannot say how soon this will be possible.

Civil Service (Clerical Grades)

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many persons have been established through the normal open clerical officer examinations since 1946, and what was the minimum pass-mark for qualification in the years 1948 to 1951; how many women and girls have entered the clerical assistant grade by the short-interview method of recruitment; and what is the number of new entrants for whom provision has been made in 1953.

The number of candidates recruited for the clerical classes from the normal open competitions among boys and girls from 1946 until the end of 1951 is 13,282. The mark obtained by the lowest successful candidate in each of the years 1948 to 1951 was 400 out of a maximum of 900. There is no "short-interview" method of recruitment to the clerical assistant grade.Since 1948 about 32,000 women and girls have been recruited for established posts in the clerical assistant and typing grades after passing a simple qualifying test conducted by the Civil Service Commissioners. Separate figures for clerical assistants are not available. The number of appointments to be made to the Civil Service in 1953 has not yet been determined.

Uk-Argentina Trade

asked the President of the Board of Trade when a delegation will be leaving this country to negotiate a new trade agreement with the Argentine; and who will be on the delegation.

Her Majesty's Ambassador in Buenos Aires is being given full authority to discuss trade matters with the assistance of the Commercial Minister and such experts as it may be necessary to send from London

Telephone Wire

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what is the estimated weight of telephone wire on poles but not in use owing to replacement by underground cable; its estimated value and the cost of dismantling; and what steps have been, or are being, taken to bring this valuable and scarce commodity into fresh use.

During the past two years the value of wire recovered was about £1 million, compared with £200,000 for the two previous years. So far as can be estimated without detailed inquiry, 3,000 to 4,000 tons of wire remain to be recovered and work on this is being pressed forward as rapidly as the claims of defence work permit.

Housing, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has yet replied to the communication of the city and county of Newcastle-upon-Tyne asking him to receive a deputation to discuss the urgent need for materials for housing schemes in the city; and what are the terms of the reply.

Yes. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of my letter.

Volume 497: debated on Friday 7 March 1952