asked the Minister of Works whether the pavilion, situated by the bowling green in Hyde Park, can be made available to footballers for changing facilities.

Footballers already have the use of the washing facilities and the lavatories in this pavilion and I am arranging for them to use the remainder of the pavilion next season for changing. There will be room for only two teams at a time; a charge will be made to cover attendant's wages and the cost of cleaning.

Does the Minister know that his reply will give very great satisfaction to many people who use this park for recreational purposes?

asked the Minister of Works, in view of the fact that the Kent County Council has a claim against his Department for reinstatement of the premises and site known as Halstead Place, Kent, of £6,037 5s., if he will state who was responsible for allowing this property to deteriorate; and if he will take disciplinary action against those concerned.

Neither the extent of the dilapidations nor the amount of my Department's liability has yet been agreed. I see no ground at present to consider any disciplinary action.

Is the Minister aware that I visited Halstead Place yesterday? The fabric appears to be in quite good order. Cannot something be done to save the building, in view of the strong local opinion? Would it not be much cheaper to repair it than to pull it down and build a new one? Is this not further evidence of the evils of State control and the waste of public money?

I hope that the result of the report will be to show that the building is worth repair.

asked the Minister of Works if he will take steps to exempt the cost of the time spent by a person building his own house from the £100 limit.

It is already the practice, for the purposes of building control regulations, to exclude from the cost of work the value of the personal labour of the building owner himself.

Will the Minister remove all obstacles to the building of small homes and set the people free?

That is really a question for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing.

asked the Minister of Works why Herbert Foy and nine other men are considered redundant at the Ministry of Works, 60/62, Soho Street, Liverpool; and if he will make further efforts to retain their services.

The amount of building maintenance work to be carried out by direct labour in Liverpool has been reduced and the services of these men are no longer required.

Was not the understanding that elderly men would be retained? Is it not possible for the right hon. Gentleman's Office to carry out what they have told these people they would do?

We have found that in Liverpool certain building maintenance work can be done considerably cheaper by contract. These men are being discharged in strict accordance with the redundancy agreement which we have entered into with the trade union.

Surely the principles of redundancy are not effective in this question of economy? These men will have to draw relief, and the difference between what the Ministry would pay by contract and what he would pay these men would keep the men employed.

The hon. Member will agree that my responsibility is to do the job efficiently and cheaply. As I have found that it can be done more efficiently by contract, I have no choice but to reduce my staff.

Would the Minister say how he can make this comparison between the work done by his Department and the work done by contract? How can he come to any conclusion until he has tried both?

I have tried direct labour.

asked the Minister of Works the estimated cost of the new offices now being built at Strathaven which the Ministry of National Insurance is to occupy; when the expenditure was authorised; and how much steel will have been used in this undertaking.

The estimated cost of the new office at Strathaven which is to be jointly occupied by the Ministry of Labour and National Service, and the Ministry of National Insurance, is approximately £20,000. The expenditure was authorised on 4th September, 1950. 10½ tons of steel will be used in the construction.

Does not my right hon. Friend consider that the expenditure of money, labour and steel involved in this construction could be better applied to either domestic or school building?

The work began in January, 1951, and will be completed in June, 1952. I think my hon. Friend will agree that we had better finish the job, whatever the standards were when it was begun.

Would it not be possible even at this late stage to economise in the use of steel for this construction and thus make it available for other purposes, such as school buildings which are badly needed not far away?

I think not, since there are only two months left before final completion.

asked the Minister of Works if he has yet come to a decision about the yew hedge which surrounds St. James's Park.

Since I replied to my hon. Friend's Question on 11th March, I have received expressions of opinion in favour of removing the hedge and I have decided to start by grubbing up the hedge opposite the Horse Guards Parade. But the questions of the kind of fence to put in its place and the money to pay for this fence are still under consideration.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that his decision will be received with great satisfaction by many people—[HON. MEMBERS: "No."]—who regard St. James's Park as the most lovely of all our English parks, and will he make certain that no fence is put in place of the yew hedge so that the public can have an uninterrupted view?

Is not the real trouble: What is the alternative? It is not far better to have a brushwood fence of some kind rather than iron railings which tend to isolate the park from those who seek to enjoy it and its amenities?

The hedge does not perform the function for which it was intended, and anyone who looks at it opposite the Horse Guards Parade will see that it is a very miserable affair. I do not think that we could expect yew to grow underneath the trees. The height of the fence which must be put in its place is under consideration. I assure my hon. Friend that I am on the side of a low fence.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the hardship caused to golf clubs by the operation of the regulations under the Catering Wages Acts; and if he will exclude golf clubs from the working of the Acts.

The minimum remuneration of workers in licensed golf clubs is fixed by wage regulation orders, which give effect to proposals duly published by the Licensed Non-Residential Establishment Wages Board and submitted to me after considering any representations received. These orders can only be amended as and when fresh proposals are submitted by the Wages Board. It is not in my power to exclude licensed golf clubs from the working of the Wages Board except on a recommendation by the Catering Wages Commission.

Are we to understand that golf clubs object to paying union rates and to giving trade union conditions to their employees?

As far as I know, "No, Sir."

Can we have an assurance that the right hon. and learned Gentleman will resist any attempt by his hon. Friends to attack wages in any industry?

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement on the reasons which led to the dismissal of a machine room employee from the Glasgow staff of D. C. Thomson & Company, newspaper proprietors, Dundee; and what steps he is taking to deal with the trade dispute which has developed as a consequence of the dismissal.

As regards the first part of the Question, I am afraid I am not in possession of agreed views. The firm informs me that the man over whom the present difficulty at Glasgow arose was not dismissed but left the firm's employment. The other men involved also left their employment.

On the other hand, the union in communication to me and in public statements have declared that the man was dismissed without reason and that the other men, with the support of the union, have withdrawn their labour as a challenge to the authority of the firm in denying any workers employed by them the right to join a trade union if they choose. They have declared that there will be a full resumption of work immediately the non-union condition of labour is withdrawn.

As regards the second part of the Question, my officers have discussed with the firm in what way the Department can be of assistance in helping to resolve this dispute, but the firm do not feel that any attempt at conciliation would serve a useful purpose. My Department's services are, of course, available at all times if they can be of assistance and the firm have been so informed.

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman answer one or two further points? If the firm seeks to evade any of the conditions contained in the Notification of Vacancies Order which he imposed last November, will appropriate action be taken against it? Secondly, will the right hon. and learned Gentleman assure us that the Order will not be used solely against employed persons?

Might I give the second assurance at once? Certainly it is not going to be so used. With regard to the first part of the supplementary question, if cases of evasion of the conditions of the Order are brought to my notice, I shall take appropriate action.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend tell the extreme members of the T.U.C. that the T.U.C. is not Her Majesty's Government?

Does the Minister agree that it is an extraordinary anachronism that we should today have a firm asking its employees to sign a definite anti-trades union document, and will he express some adverse comment on such a practice at the present day?

The first thing I would say to the right hon. Gentleman is that this anachronism, as he has described it, has been going on for some 25 years and that I cannot be responsible for all of it. I appreciate that it is a matter upon which strong views are held, but, if my Department is to help, the less I say at this stage the better.

Under the Notification of Vacancies Order, is not this firm now bound to get new employees from the employment exchange? One of the points made by the firm is that any person desiring work with it must sign a document to the effect that he will not have anything to do with trade unions. If the manager at the employment exchange informs a person that there is a vacancy at Thomson's and that person is refused the employment because he is a trade unionist, does not that constitute an offence under the Order?

I do not think the hon. Gentleman is suggesting that there would be an offence as the matter stands at present. As to any alteration in the existing law, I should not like to make a pronouncement now.

Is the Minister aware that he has been quite misled by that statement of the firm that this man left of his own accord, and that investigation would prove their statement to be inaccurate; is he further aware that all the trade unions in this matter are asking is, not for recognition, but merely that the men should be free to join a trade union if they so wish; is he further aware, so far as Mr. Thomson is concerned, of what the present Prime Minister said about this gentleman in a public speech in Dundee some time back, when he said:

"He is a narrow, bitter, unreasonable being, eaten up with his own conceit, consumed with his own petty arrogance, pursued from day to day and year to year by an unreasonable bee in his bonnet"

and that this gentleman, with this bee buzzing in his bonnet, will get badly stung if he continues as he is doing?

I am very anxious not to get into trouble about bees in bonnets in Dundee.

Is the Minister aware that, while it is true that this dispute has been going on for 25 years, there is now a very grave danger of the issue spreading to an area much wider than Dundee and Glasgow; and will he take steps to see that that does not happen?

I am aware of the danger of the existing situation. As I said, the less I say now the more I may be able to help at a later stage.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Minister of Labour the cost in 1951–52, and the estimated cost for 1952–53, of the Youth Employment Service in Scotland; and in what proportion these sums are divided between the taxpayer and the ratepayer.

The Youth Employment Service in Scotland is administered either through the Ministry's local offices or, in certain areas, by the education authorities. The total cost of the service in Scotland was approximately £200,000 for 1951–52 and is estimated to be £180,000 for 1952–53. These figures include expenditure by the education authorities concerned of about £125,000 for 1951–52 and £114,000 for 1952–53, 75 per cent. of which is met by grants from the Ministry.

While I did not hear the actual figures, will my right hon. and learned Friend tell me whether he is perfectly satisfied that the amount spent is really justified by results?

I am satisfied that this Youth Employment Service is doing good work. I cannot express a view as to the exact sum spent in this case without investigation.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is satisfied with the rate of build-up of manpower in the sections of the engineering industry which are engaged upon the re-armament programme.

There is a scarcity of skilled workers in the engineering industry, and in certain areas this is retarding the intake of other workers by firms engaged on the defence programme.

Does that mean that at the present time the programme for the production of arms is seriously curtailed; and could the Minister say over what period of years he considers the re-armament programme will now have to be stretched until it is completed?

There is curtailment of some matters in the re-armament programme which we should all like to see dealt with more speedily. As to the period over which it will be spread, I should not like to make a prophecy.

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of persons unemployed in Sunderland at the latest convenient date.

Figures for 21st April will be available in a few days and I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour what part the cotton industry is expected to play in the shift of labour from the consumer goods industries to re-armament envisaged in the Economic Survey for 1952.

The extent to which workers in the cotton industry will transfer to re-armament work will depend very largely on the future level of the employment in the cotton industry.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that on page 37 of the Economic Survey it is stated that some 55,000 additional workers will be required for defence work by next March, a number of whom have to come from the consumer industries; and in view of his very indefinite reply, are we to take it that this Economic Survey contains no serious plan of action, or has no relationship with reality?

I hope that the hon. Lady will not draw any such inference. It is extraordinarily hard to say what contribution is likely to come from a particular section of the consumer goods industry until one knows more about the likely optimum strength of the workers in the industry, which I could not now say.

Would the Minister bear in mind that there is very considerable unemployment in the cotton industry at the moment; that in the past the country has depended, as it will in the future, upon the cotton industry for a very significant part of the export trade by which it lives; and that to transfer labour from this essential industry to a temporary re-armament programme is certainly no advantage in dealing with the long-term policy in the industry?

I fully appreciate the troublesome difficulties of unemployment in the area to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I am not saying that there will be an attempt to reduce the number of workers in the industry. It is only that if they become available and there is not work for them, there are here opportunities, in some cases, which they could take.

asked the Minister of Labour what effect the cut imposed on the National Institute of Houseworkers has had on its one centre in Scotland.

The Institute will not be in a position to retain this centre after the latest entrants amongst the present trainees finish their course in November next.

Is the Minister aware that this one centre in Scotland draws its students from the islands to the North of Scotland right to the South of Scotland, and that it will be a very great pity indeed if it is closed, since those girls who have had the training have found that it has been of great benefit to them; and will he not reconsider his decision that this one centre for the whole of Scotland should be closed?

I wish I could hold out hopes that there was more available for this purpose, but there has had to be economy in this service and the result is that this centre cannot be kept open.

Is the Minister not aware that there is no other institution providing the same type of training and education, and that by this economy he is wiping out completely one form of education and training?

I greatly regret that there has to be any economy in this service. What I was anxious to do was to make sure that, though there was economy, the Institute should be able to continue to function, as it will do, so that when times are better it can expand.

Why should this institution, which is training many girls from all parts of the country and in other centres than Scotland, be chosen for economy when it is vitally necessary, in accordance with the Ministry of Labour policy, that we should have more trained people in all sorts of industries, and when these girls are fulfilling a very useful function?

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, when attempts are made to economise it is not only things which one would like to see economised upon that suffer the economies. I regret that it has become necessary, but it has.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that this unfortunate curtailment, coming at a time when unemployment is on the increase, is really throwing away so much of the good work and the good will instituted by the late Ernest Bevin, with help from all sides of the House, to decasualise housework, and at the same time to ensure that those ladies should have a status and a regular week's work; and will he, on the grounds of status and rising unemployment, added to other considerations, look once more at this problem?

I appreciate, as anyone who has held my office must appreciate, the interest which Mr. Bevin took in this work. I would add that we have been able to secure the retention of the Institute, and if opportunity comes to see it brought again to the areas in which it has functioned, I shall take it.

asked the Minister of Labour the latest unemployment figures for Macclesfield and Congleton.

The figures for 21st April will be available in a few days and I will write to my hon. and gallant Friend.

In the meantime, does my right hon. and learned Friend recall that I did ask him whether he would send a representative from his Ministry, and try to arrange for representatives of the Ministry of Supply and the Board of Trade to visit this area, to see first hand the conditions, and to examine what could be done; and will he consider that again?

Yes, I will certainly consider that again. The reason why the figures are not available at the moment is simply that 14th April was Easter Monday and it was thought better to take the count on the 21st. I shall see that the figures are available as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour what provision is made in any of his training centres for the teaching of trades to sub-normal men and women.

I understand that my hon. Friend has in mind men and women who are mentally sub-normal. The answer is that no special provision is made, but they are not excluded from any training course which they are capable of taking.

Would it not be possible for a man mentally sub-normal to learn at a Government training centre to follow a normal unskilled occupation so that he can give service in that way?

Yes, Sir. That is the reason why the sub-normal people are put to work with the others in the hope that they will acquire this skill.

asked the Minister of Labour what new means he proposes to use in order to obtain labour for super-priority aircraft; and how he will harmonise labour requirements of the super-priority programme with the requirements of the export industries.

Lists of undertakings engaged on aircraft production to which super-priority has been given have been circulated to the appropriate employment exchanges, who have been instructed to give special attention to their labour requirements. They have further been advised to do this with as little prejudice as possible to the needs of the export programme.

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman assure the House that this new range of priorities, originally established in order to ensure the most suitable direction of raw materials, will not involve a new and possibly a limited direction of labour?

It will not do that. We cannot, after all, nor would we desire to, put a symbol on labour. All that we can do is to draw attention through the employment exchanges to these tasks of particular importance, but at the same time, they can only be dealt with by discretion because an individual case may turn out to be suitable not so much for super-priority as for the export trade. I cannot lay down a general rule.

Is the Minister aware that the allocation of super-priorities to certain sections of the aircraft industry will, in fact, perform the dual function not only of stepping up the re-armament programme but also in the field of export, where they can be of inestimable value?

I very much hope that will be the case.

Will the Minister give an assurance that the super-priority arrangements have been carefully worked out and based on sound administrative principles, and that they are not the result of a half-baked scheme of the Prime Minister which has not been worked out?

So far as my own Department is concerned, we have done our best to work out the scheme very carefully with the employment exchanges and other departments, and, so far as I can judge at present, I think it is working satisfactorily.

Will the Minister make quite sure that it is not a question of one section of the industry being reserved, otherwise he may be reserving people of no particular skill?

I follow that.

asked the Minister of Labour on what principle he bases his decisions to recommend or not recommend remission of periods of service on the Z Reserve; and to what extent those who are judged available for Z Reserve training are likely to be available for military duties in an emergency.

The general principle is to avoid recalling for training those men who come within certain general categories of employment in which it is virtually certain that they would be reserved from full-time service in an emergency. Where the question would depend on the particular circumstances of the individual case at the time of the emergency, it is not possible to say at this stage that a man would be reserved at some unknown date in the future, but it is proposed to provide machinery for settling such cases nearer to the time. Meanwhile such men are not exempted from training. Accordingly some men now recalled for training may in an emergency be reserved from full-time service, but the numbers would be comparatively small.

I appreciate the points which my right hon. and learned Friend has made, but does he not agree that the object of the scheme is to train men who will subsequently be available, and that considerable time is spent on training? Therefore, if men who will not be available on the day are called up to key positions, there is waste not only to the Services but also to the men concerned in taking them away from their normal duties?

asked the Minister of Labour what machinery exists for Z reservists, who dispute the certification of fitness by a medical board, to appeal to some other medical tribunal; why Mr. G. H. Schaverien, 2, Lincoln Road, Portslade, has been passed as fit contrary to the opinion of high medical authority at the Royal Sussex County Hospital: and why, when he appealed, he was resubmitted to the same board.

There is no provision for a formal appeal against a medical board's findings, but where an application for the review of a finding is supported by additional medical evidence, it is customary to arrange re-examination.

Having regard to the high standards maintained by medical boards, I see no reason why Mr. Schaverien, or other men who appeal, should not be re-examined by the same boards. I am, however, making inquiries into the medical aspects of this particular case and will write to my hon. and learned Friend as soon as possible. In the meantime, I have arranged with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War for the cancellation of the notice requiring Mr. Schaverien to report for training on 3rd May.

I am grateful for the personal action taken, but does not my right hon. and learned Friend think it unsatisfactory that an appeal should go back to the same board? It is very unlikely that they are going to reverse their original decision and say that they were wrong the first time.

In the big cities where there are available several boards we follow the course of sending the appeals to a different board. In the case of Brighton, to which this case referred, although the board had the same chairman the other four members of it were entirely different.

My right hon. and learned Friend is misinformed. The president and two members were the same as on the subsequent occasion. I hope he will say that he regards that as unsatisfactory.

Perhaps my hon. and learned Friend will give me further particulars, because I did give the information which has been supplied to me, which he challenges.

asked the Minister of Labour under what circumstances his regulations permit deferment of National Service to be granted on the ground of industrial need in the national interest.

Deferment on these grounds is granted to coalminers; to agricultural workers employed on small farms whose immediate withdrawal would cause a substantial loss of food production; to agricultural stockmen whose withdrawal would cause a substantial reduction in the livestock on the farm; and to ex-apprentices in certain highly skilled occupations employed on specified re-armament projects of the highest priority.

Will the Minister also give consideration to framing his regulations to permit deferment of key workers in the export industries, whose withdrawal means the inability of the firms to complete their export orders, in view of the fact that he stated—I think rightly—that exports should have equal priority with defence?

I wish that I could hold out hope of further extensions of deferment, but it is my duty to find the men who are wanted for National Service, and it is only with great difficulty that we have been able to make the very specialised exceptions to which I have referred.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent the food in school meals is subsidised; and what the effect will be of the reduction in food subsidies on the total cost of the service.

The food in school meals is subsidised to the same extent as other food. There will be some additional cost, but it is not yet possible to estimate how much this will be.

Will the Minister inform the House whether the increased cost which is inevitable will be passed on in toto to the parents of the children getting meals at school at the moment?

As the hon. Member knows, the average cost of food per meal is at present about 8d. and the maximum charge on the parents is now 7d. The balance and overhead costs of the service are met by Exchequer grant. No increase in prices to parents is proposed at present.

The hon. Gentleman says, "proposed at present." Does that mean that any increase is contemplated in the near future?

There is no increase contemplated, but we can give no guarantee for the future.

No guarantee before the local elections.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many abdominal belts, pairs of surgical boots, or shoes, and elastic stockings, have been supplied in each year since the inception of the National Health Service;

(2) how many wigs have been supplied under the National Health Service Act in each year since the inception of the service.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many, and in what districts, of Scotland during each of the last 10 years there were prosecutions for deer poaching; in how many

As the reply consists of a table of figures, I propose, with permission, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Can the Minister give an estimate of total saving involved if the National Health Service Bill passes all its stages, and is he aware that very soon after the local elections all his Front Bench friends will need wigs?

Perhaps the hon. Member will put down a question.

Can the Minister say how many wigs? I want to know how many have still been able to keep their hair on.

The number of wigs supplied in the first six months of the Health Service was 19. It rose in the next year to 991 and in 1950 to 1,489; in 1951 it was 1,052, and for the first three months of this year, to 14th March, 198.

Can the right hon. and gallant Gentleman say if injured miners have obtained these abdominal belts and surgical boots, essential for their rehabilitation and return to the pits?

I think that matter was fully dealt with in a recent debate.

As the reply involves a table of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Is the Minister aware that the Government in their own Poaching of Deer Bill dealt with this very matter? Why this secrecy? Why have we to drag out the facts by Question and answer?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland his estimate of the annual potentialities in numbers, in weight and value of the deer herds of Scotland for supplying venison as human food without unduly depleting those herds; and his estimate of the numbers at which these herds should be maintained for the purpose of human food.

I regret that I am unable to give the estimates requested in the first part of the Question. As to the second part the Scottish Committee of the Nature Conservancy have suggested that the optimum carry of deer in Scotland would be 60,000, exclusive of calves. They estimate that with efficient management this total would yield annually 800 tons of meat.

There is no secrecy at all. It is merely that the hon. and learned Member has not known where to look for the facts.

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it would be desirable in justifying the Bill to have all these facts available, so that the problems relating to deer can be put on a rational basis—instead of leaving the deer prey to the blood lust of so-called sportsmen?

Of course, there is a great deal of difference of opinion on this matter, but I think that when we have the Bill from another place, we shall have ample opportunity to discuss the questions raised by the hon. and learned Gentleman.

Would my hon. Friend give the hon. and learned Member the assurance that to run about the hillsides weighing deer is not really a practical proposition?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons there are in mental hospitals in Scotland at the latest convenient date.

The total number of patients at 1st January, 1952, was 20,049.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons there are in mental hospitals in Scotland who are voluntary patients.

The total number of voluntary patients at 1st January, 1952, was 3,257.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons are in mental hospitals in Scotland who are certified as suffering from senile decay.

None, Sir.

In view of these statements, does my hon. and gallant Friend not think that the right policy for dealing with old people who are not certifiable is to encourage the development of old peoples' homes, rather than taking the line proposed in the Bill presented by the hon. Lady the Member for Coatbridge and Airdrie (Mrs. Mann).

Is my hon. and gallant Friend aware—[HON. MEMBERS: "Friend?"] I should have said hon. and gallant Gentleman, of course, but I have known him for 25 years, and we have always been friends; it is very difficult to look upon him otherwise. I ask that the hon. and gallant Gentleman will give certificates issued for senility. In view of the large number—22,000, of whom over 40 per cent. are people over 60 years of age—is it too much to ask for an additional certificate of senility? I have certificates here. They are for lunatics, idiots, and the mentally unsound. [Interruption.] Hon. Members opposite can have some if they want them. There are two doctors here on this side of the House willing to be witnesses. Does not the hon. and gallant Gentleman think it would be a simple matter to introduce a fourth certificate merely for senility? That is all the Bill asks for. Can we have his blessing on the Bill?

The hon. Lady is perfectly correct in saying that there is no separate certification, but I think she would not expect me to comment on a Bill she is presently going to introduce.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has further considered the objections to the order relating to the return of berried lobsters to the sea; and whether he has devised an alternative scheme for the preservation of stocks.

I have carefully reconsidered the objections to this Order, but I am satisfied that it is too early to attempt to judge its effect. The answer to the second part of the Question is accordingly in the negative.

Will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that the facts were well known last year, and that objection to this Order was taken by every lobster fisherman on the coast, and that alternatives were suggested which. I believe, are the practice in other countries? Will he not look at the matter again to consider a more suitable method than this?

There were objections on the Order's introduction in May last year, but there have been no subsequent objections of any standing. I suggest to the hon. Gentleman that he should read the book that has just been published by the Department, "Practical Hints for Lobster Fishermen," which really contains the answer to his question.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent any of the holdings in the three townships in Ross and Cromarty, for which schemes have been formally approved under the Hill Farming Act, are owned by the Department of Agriculture.

The townships concerned are all in private ownership.

Could my hon. Friend give the names of the townships? Is he satisfied that these schemes are going ahead quickly enough, and does he not think that a great deal more could be done on the township basis under the Hill Farming Act?

As my hon. Friend knows from previous replies, it has never been the custom to make public the names of individuals who are in receipt of subsidies or grants. It would be a breach of confidence to do so. I am sorry, but I cannot give him the names. In regard to the second part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, things are going on well under the Act.

I am not asking for the names of individuals but of these townships concerned.

Perhaps, if my hon. Friend were to put that question down, I could give the actual names.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement in regard to the progress made by the Hill Lands Commission to date.

The Hill Lands (North of Scotland) Commission have made considerable progress in examining the problems involved in their remit, and have started to survey areas which promise well for the purpose in view. The questions to be considered are many and various, as my hon. Friend will appreciate, and while I know that the Commission are pursuing their task with vigour, I could not reasonably expect early results.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of persons on the waiting list for beds in Kirkcaldy General Hospital; and the total number of beds in this hospital.

There are 1,598 persons at present on the waiting list for admission to Kirkcaldy General Hospital. This hospital has 74 beds.

In the light of those shocking figures—1,500 patients awaiting hospital beds in a hospital that has a total of 74 beds—will the hon. and gallant Gentleman do something—cause an inquiry to be held, or do something—to improve the provision of beds in this particular area?

I explained the position fully to the hon. Gentleman in reply to his Question on 5th February, 1952.

On that particular occasion I was told that it was impossible to give a date for the new building. It is not much good at all simply to say that at some date in the future some steps will be taken. I again ask the hon. and gallant Gentleman to start an inquiry into this matter so that something be done now, and to give a date when we can expect the provision of beds in this area, which is a large mining area where there is a large incidence of accidents.

Will the hon. and gallant Gentleman take into account that the Fife area is growing at a tremendous rate with the influx of miners, and that really, from the point of view of the hospital board, it is absolutely necessary to get away from the habit of the whole population of Fife coming to Edinburgh for treatment? Would it not be an economy to have the hospital developed in Fife?

I will bear that matter in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of aged persons awaiting hospital beds in Kirkcaldy.

The total number of aged persons awaiting admission to hospital beds in Kirkcaldy is 30.

Here again, might I ask that something should be done to deal with this matter which is causing much concern to everyone, including the hospital Board? Is the hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that last week in a welfare home three persons awaiting hospital treatment died and might well have been saved had provision been made for them? Will he institute inquiries to see whether more provision cannot be made for chronic sick people?

indicated assent.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware of the poor condition of the agricultural township roads in the west of North Uist Island, and that this is detrimental to the agricultural and general development of the Island; and what urgent measures of assistance he proposes to deal with the problem.

Under existing legislation there are no powers under which assistance can be given towards the improvement of these roads unless the work forms part of an approved scheme under the Hill Farming Act, 1946, and Livestock Rearing Act, 1951.

Does not the Under-Secretary think it is high time that powers were taken by the Government in order to assist people who are doing their best under very difficult circumstances to boost agricultural production and make themselves independent of food from the mainland? Cannot he move the Government—I have tried this over many years with many Governments—to provide some special form of assistance to enable these people to improve the roads?

Fresh legislation would be required for what the hon. Gentleman asks.

Could not the Minister see that more was done under the Hill Farming Act?

Would the Minister consider introducing legislation to meet this point which has widespread application throughout the whole of the Highland area?

Is it not perfectly obvious to the hon. Gentleman's Department that this applies not only to the Highlands but also to the Lowlands?

It is available under two different sets of legislation at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the work on the Hydro-Electric Board's distribution scheme for the lochs area of the Isle of Lewis is to begin; and if he will state the reasons for the delay in bringing electricity to the Isle of Harris.

I am informed by the Board that distribution to the lochs area will begin as soon as the supply of materials permits: and that work in Harris could only be expedited by diverting materials from other areas.

Is the Under-Secretary aware that, in fact, the lines, poles and all the works going on on one side of the Island are only 300 yards away from the biggest lochs area village, and would it not be a double economy that while serving the west side the Board should try to attend to this other area at the same time?

This is a matter which is now in the hands of the Board, and I will see that the hon. Gentleman's views are transferred to them.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in the interest of competition, he will name the county councils in Scotland which have received a reduced allocation for domestic building because they have failed to build up to the limit of their previous allocation.

A variety of circumstances determines the number of houses to be built by local authorities, and quite often the circumstances are outside the local authority's control. A statement such as my hon. Friend desires would, therefore, be misleading.

Would it not be of advantage, despite all my hon. and gallant Friend has said, to consider the competitive instinct and the competitive pride that might be invoked if county councils were encouraged in this fashion?

Yes, Sir, if an equitable basis could be provided.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will inquire into a decision by the Lanarkshire County Council to charge rents for damp and ill-heated temporary huts at Burnwood Camp, Carluke, which approximate to rents charged by the county council for permanent county council houses in the same town.

In fixing these rents the county council had regard primarily to rents charged for temporary houses in the county. The matter is one within their discretion, and my right hon. Friend has no power to interfere.

Will my hon. and gallant Friend bear in mind that one of his predecessors nobly intervened in this matter to good effect, and, furthermore, that the rents charged are 11s. 10d. a week as against 12s. 1d. locally for permanent accommodation? Will he have another look at the matter?

As I have already stated, that is quite outside the scope of my right hon. Friend's powers.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will consider issuing a circular to local authorities in Scotland encouraging some standardisation of practice in the publication of lists showing the claimants to whom houses have been allocated and the categories, or points rating, under which the respective allocations have been made.

A recommendation on this subject by the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee was brought to the notice of local authorities in May, 1950, and a further circular seems unnecessary.

Is my hon. and gallant Friend aware that there appears to be considerably more satisfaction in areas where such lists are available for public inspection? Is it not important, not only that justice should be done, but that every facility should be given to the public to assure themselves that justice is being done?