asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what saving of fuel he estimates has resulted from short-time working in the textile industry.

I am not able to answer this Question precisely, but I can say that coal consumption in the textile industries so far this year is about 8½ per cent. down as compared with last year.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when he expects to receive a report or interim report from the Ridley Committee dealing with the better co-ordination of the fuel and power industries.

The Committee on National Fuel Policy are hoping to report to me within the next few months.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is yet able to give any details about the plan for advancing up to £1 million to industries wishing to finance schemes connected with fuel efficiency.

Consultation on the details of the scheme are now taking place with representatives of industry and I hope to be able to announce details by the end of the month.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his representations to the Italian Government on behalf of a number of British seamen recently detained by the police at Naples included any protest against the action of the Italian police in taking these men to court in chains.

Representations were made to the Italian authorities before the trial took place with a view to expediting the trial. These representations were successful; and as a result the men, though sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, were immediately released. In these circumstances no representations have been made since the trial.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will give the total number of locally-employed staff at the British Embassy in Washington, distinguishing between British subjects and others.

The total number of locally-engaged staff at the British Embassy at Washington is 343, of whom 218 are British subjects and 125 Americans.

asked the Minister of Food if he will take steps to enable milk to be supplied in more one-third pint bottles for the benefit of old people living alone, in order to protect their milk supplies in hot weather.

I am advised that this would require legislation.

asked the Minister of Food what decision has been reached on the recent recommendations of the Food Standards Committee regarding the fruit content of jams.

I have not yet received the Committee's final recommendations.

asked the Prime Minister to what extent the Co-ordinating and Supervising Ministers are consulted by, and receive reports directly from, the civil servants of the Departments with which they are concerned.

The Co-ordinating Ministers, with the knowledge and consent of the Departmental Ministers, consult their officials and receive reports from them.

asked the Prime Minister, in view of the ever-increasing importance and complexity of African problems, if he will consider making an early appointment of a Minister for African Affairs.

It is not proposed to make any change of this kind at the present time.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will introduce regulations making it compulsory for British coasting vessels of every tonnage to carry radio telephone equipment.

At present all cargo ships over 1,600 gross tons and all passenger ships, unless specially exempted, must be provided with radiotelegraph installations. The rules which my right hon. Friend is proposing to make under the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1949, will provide, in addition, that cargo ships between 500 and 1,600 tons must carry either a radiotelegraph or a radiotelephone installation. It is not proposed at present to extend these requirements to cargo ships under 500 tons, but the matter will be kept under review in consultation with the interests concerned.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is satisfied that measures taken at the Esso Refinery, Fawley, will prevent further pollution by oil of the beaches in the Portsmouth and Isle of Wight areas; and what complaints have been received during the last few months.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the nuisance and damage caused by oil pollution in the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the mainland due to the discharge of oil from tankers and other vessels using these waters; and what steps are being taken to stop this nuisance which is causing damage to yachting and other facilities in the Solent.

Since the beginning of the year we have received eight complaints about oil pollution in and around the Solent, all of which have been or are being investigated. Six of these complaints were subsequent to an incident which occurred at Fawley on 13th April when oil escaped from a separating tank. The Esso Petroleum Company state that the discharge was due to the failure of one of their employees to comply with the Company's instructions and that he has been dismissed. We are also informed that they are taking steps which will prevent any similar occurrence in future. The discharge was within the limits of jurisdiction of the Southampton Harbour Board and we understand that the Board are considering what further action, if any, should be taken.Masters and chief engineers of ships entering United Kingdom Waters are warned that it is an offence under the Oil in Navigable Waters Act to discharge oil into our territorial waters. If satisfactory evidence of an offence is obtained my right hon. Friend will have no hesitation in instituting proceedings. Inside a harbour, however, proceedings can be instituted only by the harbour authority.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) if he will take powers to prevent privately operated omnibus undertakings from increasing workmen's and sub-standard fares;(2) if he will examine recent decisions of licensing authorities to permit increases of workmen's fares, with a view to suitable action to prevent such increases continuing to operate in those instances in which they have already been imposed.

Under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, the licensing authorities for public service vehicles are empowered to attach conditions to road service licences for securing that the fares shall not be unreasonable. The decisions of the licensing authorities are taken after public sittings, at which objectors can be heard, and the Act of 1930 provides for an appeal to me by local authorities and certain other persons if they are aggrieved by the licensing authority's decision. I have no present intention of asking Parliament to modify these provisions.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can now state the extent and value of the fare concessions to be made in London; the additional amount that will remain to be paid in proportion after such concessions have been made; and the date from which such concessions will operate.

Proposals for modification of certain fare increases in operation are being worked out as quickly as possible but I am not yet in a position to announce the changes.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement as to the general directions he will give in order to suspend the powers at present available for the closing down of efficient road services, at the instigation of the transport authority, to cover the interim period until the new Transport Bill is introduced.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the present precipitate orders for the dispersal of old-established undertakings and loyal employees in the North-West Division without any indication of future prospects or security to the persons employed, will obstruct the possible transfer of undertakings, either to private enterprise or a more appropriate executive of the British Transport Commission with whose organisation the undertakings concerned could be more conveniently integrated; and, in view of declared Government policy that road haulage should revert to private enterprise, if he will order a standstill to delay the Road Haulage Executive's efforts to disperse the units and personnel of compulsorily-acquired haulage undertakings.

Now that the Government have announced their intended policy for transport, I propose to take an early opportunity of consulting with the British, Transport Commission as to the conduct of their undertaking in the interim period.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement as to the general directions he will issue to stop closing down all local railways until he has brought the transport authority under the control of Parliament by a new Transport Bill.

I have no direction of this character in mind.

asked the Minister of Transport what consultation he had with the Transport Commission before the publication of the Government's proposals contained in Command Paper, No. 8538.

The British Transport Commission were appointed to carry out the duties assigned to them by the Transport Act, 1947, and it is not part of their statutory functions to advise the Government on future transport policy. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Commission were informed in confidence of the Government's intentions immediately before the publication of the White Paper, and the Commission and its Executives will, of course, be asked to advise about those practical issues arising out of the Government's policy in which they are concerned.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will consider utilising that part of the Embankment on the North side of the Thames between Westminster and Blackfriars about to be abandoned by the tramway system as a parkway verge.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend's predecessor to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir E. Keeling), on 23rd April, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Minister of Transport if consideration is being given to using the Kingsway subway to facilitate through traffic from North to South by the construction of an exit from the subway which will emerge on the northern end of the Waterloo Bridge thereby by-passing the present bottleneck in the Strand.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Transport what are his reasons for refusing to comply with the request of the Blackpool Corporation that he should approve an order extending the 30 miles-per-hour zone on Preston New Road to a point close to the borough boundary; whether he is aware of the anxiety of parents who live in the Mere-side housing estate which is adjacent to this road for the safety of their children from road accidents; and whether he will reverse this decision or, alternatively, produce other safety precautions.

The Mereside Estate is the only development near this length of road and lies well back behind an open space and service roads. As the length of road is not built up, I do not think that a speed limit would be justified. My right hon. Friend is asking his divisional road engineer to look into the accident record with the highway authority in order to see whether any other remedial measures are called for.

asked the Minister of Transport what objections were lodged against unilateral waiting regulations before they were introduced in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds or Bristol; and how they were overcome.

Over 100 objections in all were made to the proposals to introduce unilateral waiting in the six cities mentioned, and some of the proposed Orders were modified to meet them. A public inquiry was held in the case of Liverpool. The Birmingham Order was amended further after it had come into force.

asked the Minister of Transport how far the unilateral waiting regulations are operating successfully in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Bristol; and to what extent difficulties have been encountered in enforcing them.

We understand that these Orders are on the whole operating successfully and we have not been informed of any serious difficulty in enforcing them.

asked the Minister of Transport how many persons are licensed under Part IV of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, to drive public service vehicles; and how many were killed or injured whilst so employed during the latest complete year for which the information is available.

On 31st March, 1952, 218,767 persons were licensed to drive public service vehicles. The information asked for in the second part of the Question could not be given without a considerable amount of work, which would not be justified.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that, on Saturday, 26th April, 1952, a railway engine crashed through the gates at the level crossing near Needingworth, Huntingdonshire; what injuries resulted; what was the cost of the damage done; what was the cause of accident; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received from the British Transport Commission the usual statutory report of this accident, in which the engine of a freight train broke through the gates at night. There were no personal injuries, and the cost of the damage is estimated by the British Transport Commission at about £130. The distant signal was at caution, but the driver failed to observe it and he was unable to stop when he saw the red light on the gates. Responsibility also rested with the crossing keeper, who was slow in clearing the line for the train although he was warned of its approach.

asked the Minister of Supply in view of the amount of short-time working in iron foundries, what steps he is taking to ensure that the resources of the industry are fully utilised.

I am not aware that there is short-time working on any appreciable scale in the iron foundry industry as a whole. However, I know there are difficulties at individual foundries arising from the general shortage of raw materials and also, to some extent, from the recent cut in Commonwealth imports.

asked the Minister of Supply what materials are stored on his behalf on the premises of Messrs. Hindle Brothers, Cornholme, Todmorden; and what storage charge is being paid.

None.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to repeal the Import Duties Act, 1932.

No..

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of his reaffirmation that we would maintain and extend our rights of Empire and economic preference, he will now regard as urgent the protection of the British horticultural industry and announce the necessary measures as soon as possible.

I am aware of the importance of this question and the examination of the application by the National Farmers' Unions for increased protection for horticultural products is proceeding as rapidly as possible.

asked the Minister of Education if she will take action to see that children arriving at the London County Council Sheerwater Estate, Woking, are given proper educational facilities.

The local education authority are aware of the needs of this estate for school accommodation and are in consultation with my Department about the best way to meet them.

asked the Minister of Education if she will grant permission to teachers in charge of arranging overseas visits of schoolchildren during vacations to have the loan of school omnibuses to convey the parties to the railway stations on application and prepayment.

My permission is not required, but I understand that a local education authority might find it difficult for various technical reasons to comply with such a request.

asked the Minister of Health the expectation of life of a man at 21, 45 and 65 years of age, and a woman at 21, 40 and 60 years of age today, as compared with 1925 and 1939.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Health how many general practitioner hospitals existed on 5th July, 1948; how many of those still exist as general practitioner hospitals; and to what uses the others have been converted.

There were 386 general practitioner hospitals (excluding maternity homes) on 5th July, 1948. Three hundred and fifty-one of these still exist as general practitioner hospitals. Twenty-one have become general hospitals, six annexes of general hospitals, five special hospitals, three general practitioner maternity homes. A number of additional general practitioner units have been provided elsewhere.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will introduce legislation to enable him to compensate civilian users of invalid chairs for the increased price of petrol.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Brierley Hill (Mr. Simmons) on 8th May.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he can now give the estimated receipts from Purchase Tax on the various classes of textiles for the first three months of this year.

The following is the reply:

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware of the need for new furniture in Her Majesty's Embassy at Moscow; and what steps he is taking in the matter.

I am aware that certain furniture in the Embassy is due for replacement. These replacements are now packed and awaiting shipment.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence what are the additional periods of service now required from Regular sailors, soldiers and airmen, respectively, at the end of their normal engagements; and when it is expected that these arrangements will be brought to an end.

Eighteen months, 15 months and 12 months for the Navy, Army and Air Force, respectively. As I explained in reply to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. G. Thomas), on 7th May, it is intended to reduce the period progressively until by September, 1953, no man will be retained in the Army or Air Force beyond the end of his normal engagement. As regards the Navy, it is hoped progressively to reduce the length of retention from 1953, but it is not yet possible to state when all retentions will cease.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if he will take steps, in consultation with the National Assistance Board, to amend the National Assistance (Determination of Need) Regulations, 1948, Statutory Instrument, 1948, No. 1334, so as to increase the amount of disregarded earnings from 10s. to 15s. where the applicant registers at the employment exchange and in other cases from 20s. to 40s.

No. The House has only just approved certain amendments to these Regulations proposed by the Board and if the Board thought that any such change as the hon. Member suggests was necessary they would, I am sure, have included it in their proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the lack of adequately trained forest rangers revealed by the first annual report of the Forestry Adviser, Gambia: and whether this deficiency has now been remedied.

The training of staff is one of the most important duties of this Adviser, whose own appointment dates only from 1950. At the end of 1951 the five posts of forest ranger had been filled but only one of the holders had then had more than one year's training.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will publish a list showing which telephone and ancillary rental increases in Statutory Instrument, 1952, No. 673, are the result of budgetary policy; and which are caused by increased costs and expenses in the operation and administration of the telephone service.

The general ground for an increase in Post Office charges was described in my reply to the hon. Member for Caerphilly on 19th March last. The increase in telephone rental and ancillary charges is necessary in order to avoid a deficit on the operation of Post Office services, which would otherwise arise as a result of increased costs of labour and equipment.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will explain on what basis the charge of £2, contained in Statutory Instrument No. 673 of 1952, was arrived at for the removal of a hand-microphone, without bell incorporated.

This is the charge for taking out a black telephone at the subscriber's request and replacing it by a hand-microphone in a standard colour. The increase over the present charge of £1 3s. reflects the higher cost of a telephone in a standard colour and the increase in the labour costs of fitting the telephone.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will explain on what basis the charge of £1 10s., contained in Statutory Instrument No. 673 of 1952, was arrived at for the removal of a telephone instrument cord not more than 15 feet long.

The normal length of cord is six feet and the charge referred to by my hon. Friend is a maximum charge, which applies to the replacement of a cord of normal colour by a cord of non-standard colour up to 15 feet. The charge for replacing a cord of normal length and colour by one of greater length (up to 15 feet) is at present 4s. 7d., and this will become 8s. Od. The increased charges are based on the increased labour and material costs.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how much has been spent on research into foot-and-mouth disease in each of the last three years; how many research stations specialise in this work; and what is the staff employed at each.

Research into foot-and-mouth disease is carried out at the Foot-and-Mouth Research Institute at Pirbright, Surrey. The annual expenditure has been as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture what was the price of wool per pound during the years 1938, 1941, 1944, 1947, 1950 and 1951.

The average prices per lb. paid for the home wool clips were as follow: