asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how much rum was consumed as free issue by the Royal Navy and auxiliaries during 1951; how this compares with earlier years; and whether all rum now issued is of British West Indian origin.

About 318,000 gallons. There has been little change in the consumption rate in recent years. The present blend of Navy rum consists of 95 per cent. British West Indian and 5 per cent. South African.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what responsibilities he holds in respect of the wreck of the ss. "Richard Montgomery" in the Medway; what action he has taken, and intends to take with regard to this vessel and her cargo; and what steps he is taking to ensure that this cargo shall not blow up.

The answer to all three parts of the Question is "None." The responsibility is that of the Port of London Authority.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why executive officers are being compelled to retire on age grounds when they are competent and willing to continue at work in the Post Office.

Under present Post Office practice executive officers who are competent and willing to continue at work are retained for a period up to two years beyond their 60th birthday. The actual period in any particular case is based on a balance between the need for retaining an experienced officer on the one hand and the undesirability of blocking promotion on the other hand. Proposals have been made to the Staff Sides of the Post Office Departmental Whitley Councils for raising further the age of retirement in accordance with the policy recently announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to augment the pensions of retired officers of the Post Office in view of the increase in the cost of living.

In his Budget speech my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer promised some additional help for public service pensioners. Detailed proposals are now being worked out and it is hoped to introduce legislation later this session.

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

In August this year.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what instructions have been issued to telephone managers regarding the issue of new editions of telephone directories to residential subscribers who ask for them.

Telephone managers have been instructed to supply without question a new directory to any existing residential subscriber who asks for it.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will give priority to the establishment of a television station in East Anglia.

My noble Friend cannot unfortunately consider establishing a new television station anywhere so long as the restrictions on new capital developments remain. I would, however, point out to my hon. Friend that East Anglia was not included in the list of five low-power stations which comprised the next development stage of television.

asked the Minister of National Insurance why employees of his Department are being automatically retired from service at 65 years of age contrary to the declarations of Her Majesty's Government.

I assume the hon. Member has temporary staff in mind. There is no such automatic rule as the hon. Member suggests, but temporary officers over 65 may be discharged either where they are not fully efficient in the duties of their grade or where redundancy exists.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if he will review the scale of allowances for travelling and other expenses for persons required to attend before a medical appeal tribunal, and make appropriate increases to meet the higher costs of travelling and subsistence.

Increases in rail or bus fares do not affect a person required to travel for the purposes mentioned as the actual amount incurred is refunded. I am not aware that other allowances are regarded as inadequate, but I will willingly consider any information the hon. Member may care to let me have about them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the payment of the first instalment, due on 1st April, 1952, of the Burma debt to Britain.

As I informed the hon. Member for Swindon (Mr. T. Reid) on 21st April, the Burma Government recently requested Her Majesty's Government to agree to the postponement of this instalment. We have asked the Burma Government to reconsider this request.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total receipts from Purchase Tax on textiles during each month of 1951 and 1952 to date.

Purchase Tax is payable quarterly, and it is estimated that receipts of tax in each quarter of 1951 from clothing (except footwear), haberdashery, textile piece goods, household textile goods and floor coverings were as follows:

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the tram lines on the Victoria Embankment are shortly to be taken up; and whether he will support the provision thereafter of a double carriageway.

I understand that the future layout of the road after the tramway has been abandoned this summer is under consideration by the Westminster City Council and the Corporation of the City of London, who are the highway authorities concerned.

asked the Minister of Supply what steps are being taken to

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that many local authorities are concerned at their failure to secure on hospital management committees adequate representation of their districts; and whether he will take steps to draw the attention of the regional hospital boards to the desirability of adequate local authority representation on the hospital management committees.

Although consultation with local health authorities among other bodies is enjoined on regional hospital boards by the National Health Service Act, 1946, the appointments are not made on a representative basis and are by the statute a matter for the boards. I should not therefore regard it as justifiable to add to the general guidance given in a circular a copy of which I am sending to my hon. and learned Friend.

A development contract has been placed for work on a form of rotary wing aircraft which has also conventional propellers.

asked the Minister of Health how many wigs, abdominal belts, pairs of surgical boots or shoes and elastic stockings, respectively, have been supplied through the National Health Service in each year since its inception.

The combined figures for England and Wales are:

asked the Minister of Health the number of prescriptions dispensed in England and Wales under the National Health Service for the latest convenient period of 12 months.

The number of prescriptions dispensed in the year ended 31st December, 1951, was approximately 228.6 million.

asked the President of the Board of Trade approximately what quantity of finished artists' brush handles were imported into this country from Germany during 1951; what is the current tariff on these imports; and how this quantity compares with that of similar brushes manufactured in the United Kingdom.

I regret that this information is not available, since artists' brush handles are not classified separately in the Import List. The current tariff is 15 per cent. ad valorem.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of horses imported into Northern Ireland from the Irish Republic to be killed for beef in 1950–51 and the numbers imported for work; the numbers sent to England from Northern Ireland in 1950–51 for beef purposes and the number sent to work.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Secretary for Overseas Trade, as representing the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, whether, in view of the improvement in the newsprint position shown in the recent report of the Pulp and Paper Committee of the International Materials Conference, he will now free local weekly newspapers from tonnage rationing.

My noble Friend attaches great importance to the value of the work done by local weekly newspapers. He believes that while the shortage of newsprint is by no means over the supplies now expected should shortly be sufficient to make it possible to release them from tonnage rationing and enable them if they so wish to publish up to the maximum paging permitted by the Control Orders. But this is a matter which is the concern of the Newsprint Rationing Committee who represent the newspapers as a whole, and I will refer the matter to them for advice since the interests of other newspapers are also involved.