asked the President of the Board of Trade in which industries in the North-East Development Area unemployment has increased; and what action he is taking to increase employment in this area.

The main increase has been in the textile, clothing, furniture and paper manufacturing industries. Her Majesty's Government intend to continue the policy of giving preference to the Development Areas whenever practicable.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many departures from specifications over the Utility field have been permitted since 1951; and what practical steps he is taking to ensure a minimum standard of reliability.

Various departures from the Utility cloth and clothing specifications had been permitted before the Utility cloth and clothing schemes were revoked as from 17th March, 1952. For the progress since made in establishing new textile and clothing standards I would refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Members for Hammersmith, South (Mr. W. T. Williams) and Dartford (Mr. Dodds) on 26th June and 3rd July respectively. Since then agreed specifications for bedding have been published by the British Standards Institution.Under the Utility furniture scheme, which is still in force, we have allowed variations in approximately 400 individual cases this year. These variations, of course, have not allowed any lowering of quality.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when the Committee on Copyright may be expected to present its Report.

I understand that the drafting of the Report of the Copyright Committee is now at an advanced stage and I trust it will be presented before the next Session of Parliament.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make grants to the Arts Council conditional upon their earmarking funds for the continuance of the Old Vic theatre school.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bristol, South-East (Mr. Benn) on 17th July.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the travelling expenses paid to civil servants for journeys inside Great Britain during the last month for which figures are available; and the corresponding figure for the same month the previous year.

I regret this information is not available and could not be obtained without an unjustifiable expenditure of official time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what allowances are granted to Ministers and civil servants for the use of their private cars on official business.

No allowances are paid to Ministers who use their private cars on official business. The rates for civil servants, which are now under review, range from 2d. to 9d. a mile.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if agreement has now been reached between the North Thames Gas Board and the Inland Revenue Department regarding the valuation of gas undertakings in the borough of Slough.

No. Certain special problems relating to the valuation of gas undertakings in general are under consideration and I hope that we shall make early progress in the matter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider paying interest on post-war credits outstanding.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will extend the facility, under which £15 foreign exchange allowance is permitted to a car owner taking his car abroad for a holiday, in a modified form, to those who wish to take a horse to the Continent of Europe for a riding holiday.

I doubt if equestrian facilities can be based on the same system as the car allowance, but I am prepared to look at any particular case on its merits.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement about the fiduciary note issue

Yes. In anticipation of a further seasonal increase in the demand for notes, the Treasury yesterday authorised an increase of £50 million in the fiduciary note issue, bringing the total of the issue up to £1,550 million. The Treasury minute will be laid before Parliament.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is satisfied that there is an adequate patrol on duty to look after the exhibits in the National Maritime Museum.

Between 11.50 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. on 15th July a gold casket, presented to Admiral Vernon by the City of London, was stolen from a glass case in the medal room of the National Maritime Museum. The police investigations are continuing and I understand that a small part of the box has been recovered.On the questions of the adequacy or otherwise of the warding staff and of the arrangements made for its deployment at the material time, a number of factors affected the situation. I should, however, prefer not to enter into details of the security arrangements at a time when inquiries are continuing.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what is the policy of his Department regarding the continued disfigurement of natural beauty spots by pylons and overhead electrical cables; and if he will seek powers to restrain the Central Electricity Board in these activities.

Overhead electric wires in general already require the approval of the Minister of Fuel and Power, and he is required by statute to consult the local authorities concerned before reaching a decision. My right hon. Friend is consulted if objections are made on account of disfigurement of natural beauty or prejudice to other amenities. No question of seeking further powers therefore arises.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware of the protests of the residents of Cedar Avenue, Armley, Leeds, about the emission of grit, smoke and filth from the factory of Messrs. Blakeys Boot Protectors, Limited; and what action he proposes to take against this increasing menace to the health of the local residents.

My right hon. Friend is making inquiries and will write to the hon. Member as soon as he can.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has considered the Memorandum on National Policy on the Discharge of Trade Effluents into Public Sewers prepared by the Institute of Sewage Purification, of which a copy has been sent to him; and what action he proposes to take to carry out the recommendations contained therein.

The recommendations cannot be considered in isolation since they affect many interests.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what are the financial arrangements between the Government, the Miners National Housing Association and the National Coal Board, when the Housing Association builds houses for miners.

The object of the Coal Industry Housing Association, to which my right hon. Friend assumes the hon. Member refers, is to build houses under arrangements made with a local authority under Section 94 of the Housing Act, 1936. Exchequer subsidy will be payable to the local authority in the same way as if the houses had been provided by the local authority, and the authority will pay an annual grant to the housing association of an amount not less than the Exchequer subsidy. The Housing Association has been set up by the National Coal Board and will be financed by them.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many cases were dealt with in 1951 by the rent tribunal at its sittings in Dartford, Erith and Crayford, respectively.

64, 33 and 19 respectively of which 37. 15 and 12 were rent references.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to what extent the progress of house building is being held up by the refusal of certain local authorities to grant private licences.

My right hon. Friend is aware that there are variations of practice among local authorities. Circumstances vary in different districts and he hopes that local authorities will exercise the discretion which he has given to them in accordance with the needs of the situation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works as representing the Lord President of the Council, what are the functions of the five scientific officers in the Establishment Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Four of the officers referred to, one of whom is an assistant establishment officer, are concerned with the recruitment, probation, training and inspection of scientific and technical staff. The fifth is concerned with the specialised building and accommodation requirements for the Department's scientific work.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will give details of the estimated saving of £100,000 a year resulting from the change of policy in providing cars for Ministers and civil servants.

The estimated saving is made up as follows:

	£
137 drivers resigned or discharged	48,000
Reductions in clerical and executive staff	10,500
Garages	12,000
Maintenance	18,000
Consequential savings in Service Departments	16,000
	£104,500

asked the Minister of Labour what factors have caused the increase of 791 in the number of persons unemployed in Sunderland, compared

NUMBERS OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS ON THE REGISTERS OF THE LEIGH AND ATHERTON AND TYLDESLEY EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES AT THE UNDERMENTIONED DATES WHOSE LAST EMPLOYMENT WAS IN THE COTTON OR RAYON, ETC., INDUSTRIES:
LEIGH
Industry		15th October, 1951		17th March, 1952		16th June, 1952
		Males	Females	Males	Females	Males	Females
Cotton:—
Wholly unemployed	…	9	38	24	112	29	183
Temporarily stopped	…	—	9	480	978	420	1,111
Rayon, Nylon, etc., Production and Weaving and Silk:—
Wholly unemployed	…	—	6	—	5	4	17
Temporarily stopped	…	—	—	80	513	86	365

ATHERTON AND TYLDESLEY
Cotton:—
Wholly unemployed	…	2	1	9	21	25	66
Temporarily stopped	…	—	2	466	911	296	770
Rayon, Nylon, etc., Production and Weaving and Silk:—
Wholly unemployed	…	—	—	—	2	3	4
Temporarily stopped	…	—	3	4	43	—	20

Figures are available for one day only in the middle of each month.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the need for an extension in the West Ham Workshops for the Blind; what were his reasons for refusing to grant the application made for

The increase in unemployment in Sunderland was spread over a variety of industries, mainly those concerned with consumer goods. The staple industries, shipbuilding, ship-repairing and marine and general engineering, were little affected.

asked the Minister of Labour the numbers of men and women cotton or rayon operatives who were unemployed in Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley during the last week of October, 1951, and the last weeks of March and June, 1952.

The following table gives the information desired:a building licence; and whether he will now reconsider his decision.

Yes. Officers of this Department have recently discussed with representatives of the local authority its application for assistance towards the cost of an extension. The application was not for a building licence but for a substantial grant and this is at present the subject of detailed examination.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the concern felt by the tally clerks in the Royal group of docks at the growing practice being adopted by the employers of introducing non-registered workers into occupations formerly held by registered port workers; and, as this is contrary is the national agreements and the Dock Labour Scheme, what action he proposes to take to prevent this practice.

As the hon. Member has been informed on previous occasions the administration of the National Dock Labour Scheme is a matter for the National Dock Labour Board. I understand, however, that the workers in question were engaged by the shipowners for

Month			Liverpool Committee		Birmingham Committee
			Applications Heard	Applications Granted	Applications Heard	Applications Granted
July, 1951	…	…	12	7	35	16
August	…	…	22	8	38	21
September	…	…	8	4	37	21
October	…	…	18	5	25	14
November	…	…	17	7	36	22
December	…	…	15	5	35	18
January, 1952	…	…	24	7	48	21
February	…	…	26	13	60	29
March	…	…	22	12	48	18
April	…	…	18	7	35	19
May	…	…	21	9	47	35
June	…	…	22	9	49	27
TOTAL	…	…	225	93	493	261

asked the Minister of Labour who are the three Chairmen of the Manchester Military Service (Hardship) Committee and when, and by whom, they were appointed.

The three Chairmen of the Manchester Military Service (Hardship) Committee are:

• Mr. R. W. Leach: appointed June, 1939.
• Mr. C. W. Edwards, J.P.: appointed May, 1947.
• Mr. J. Furness: appointed August, 1948.

asked the Minister of Labour how many applications for postponement of liability to be called up under the National Service Acts have been heard by the Military Service (Hardship) Committee in the Cities of Liverpool and Birmingham in each of the last 12 months; and in how many cases such applications were granted.

The following statement gives the information:These appointments have been subsequently renewed on several occasions. Chairmen of Military Service (Hardship) Committees are appointed by the Minister of Labour and National Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many new houses have been completed by the East Kilbride Development Corporation to the last convenient date.

The Corporation had completed 413 houses at the 19th July.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of architects and planning staff employed on new building by the East Kilbride Development Corporation.

Thirty-five.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will consider introducing legislation to amend the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1949, to provide for the payment out of the Legal Aid Fund of expenses awarded to a successful litigant against an assisted person.

The courts are empowered by Section 2 (3, e) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1949, to limit an award of expenses against an unsuccessful assisted litigant to such amount, if any, as in the court's opinion is a reasonable one. While I am watching closely the operation of this provision, amending legislation is not at present in contemplation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he can give the period taken to complete 670 Lawrence houses at Milton Site, Glasgow; the average number of bricklayers employed; the principal components of wall construction used; and how far this scheme represents a post-war record in permanent non-traditional house building in Scotland.

I am informed that these houses, in which the external walling is of pre-cast concrete hollow blocks, were begun in mid-August, 1950, and completed by the end of June, 1952. Too many variable factors are involved to permit of accurate comparisons between building times. I have no information as to the average number of bricklayers employed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent the gypsum panel, of which he has been informed, is now being used in house construction in Scotland; what is the estimated saving in man hours; and if he is satisfied that this new form of interior wall finish is fully known to housing authorities and the building trade in Scotland.

Gypsum plaster panelling has been, or is being, used in the construction of some 3,000 houses in Scotland. I regret that I cannot give an authoritative estimate of the saving in man hours. I am anxious to encourage the use of all new materials which can advantageously be used in house construction and I have drawn the attention of local housing authorities to this particular product in official circulars.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if his attention has been drawn to the latest Report, dated 6th February, 1952, of the Scottish Council (Development and Industry) which recommends that new industries he introduced into Aberdeen; and what steps he proposes to take on the lines of that recommendation.

I am in touch with my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade about the recommendations of this Report. The Government will consider sympathetically, within the limitations on capital investment, any industrial projects which may be put forward for the north-east of Scotland which make worthwhile contribution to defence, export or other essential production.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why all reference to the importance of international trade between Scotland and Canada is excluded from Industry and Employment in Scotland, 1951 (Command Paper No. 8521); and what developments have taken place in trade between Canada and Scotland since the publication of, and on the lines indicated in, Industry and Employment in Scotland, 1950 (Command Paper No. 8223).

The chapter on American and Canadian participation in Scottish Industry, published in the White Paper for 1950 was a special one reviewing developments in this important field during the past century I did not think that such a general review could usefully be repeated this year.As regards the second part of the Question, I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the replies that I understand that my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is giving him to two other Questions today.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will provide free air travel to enable National Service men serving in foreign stations to spend their leave at home in Scotland.

My noble Friend has written to the hon. and learned Member explaining the reasons why this cannot be done.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in what circumstances the contract for water pipes in the water supply installation in Nicosia, Cyprus, was recently placed with a firm which could not guarantee delivery; whether the lowest tender was accepted; whether the quality of the pipes accepted was in any respect superior to those quoted in the tender rejected; why there were resignations on the water board and local opinion over-ridden; and why the local authorities are now entering into a contract which offers no firm price or period of delivery.

A contract for pipes for the distribution system was placed by the Nicosia Water Board on the advice of the water engineer to whom the Board had unanimously agreed to entrust the execution of the water supply scheme. The lowest tender was unacceptable because in the opinion of the water engineers the pipes offered were technically unsuitable. The tender accepted provides for variation of price in accordance with changes in costs of production, transport and insurance.It also provides for deliveries to begin six months after the placing of the contract and to continue by regular shipments until completion in 24 months. This will keep the supplies of pipes in phase with the scheme.The Nicosia Water Board consists of three official members, one of whom is chairman and has a casting vote, and three members of the Municipal Council of Nicosia. Following differences of opinion about the technical suitability of the pipes offered, the municipal councillors absented themselves from the meeting of the Board at which the decision was finally taken to place the contract, and later offered to resign from the Board.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give the cost of imports of maize into the Colonial Empire from each country which supplied it in 1951.

The following table shows the cost of maize imports in 1951 into those territories which have so far tabulated them, distinguishing important sources of supply:

Source of Supply	Importing Colony		Landed Cost per cwt. (including insurance and freight)
			£	s.	d.
French Togoland	Gold Coast	…	1	6	0
Kenya	Seychelles	…		16	0
Kenya	Zanzibar	…	1	0	0
Nigeria	Gold Coast	…	2	2	0
Syria	Malta	…	1	16	0
Tunisia	Malta	…	1	8	0
U.S.A.	Bermuda	…	1	8	0
U.S.A.	Gold Coast	…	2	2	0

If my hon. Friend would care to put down another Question in a few months' time it will be possible to supplement the above information with figures for other Colonial Territories which are by then available.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many licences for television were issued during the 12 months up to the latest convenient date in that part of the country served with broadcasts from Holme Moss station.

On 31st May, 1952, about 300,000 television licences were current in England and Wales north of a line running roughly from Caernarvon to Louth. The corresponding figure on 31st May, 1951, was about 67,000.