asked the Minister of National Insurance (1) if he will arrange for individuals who have paid all their contributions under the National Insurance Act, 1946, to be entitled to all pensions and benefits without reference to any previous voluntary contributions in an approved society, so that they will not be at a disadvantage compared with a new entrant who made no contribution prior to 1947;(2) if he is aware that some contributors to National Insurance who prior to 1946 had been voluntary contributors in an approved society are worse off than new entrants; and why a voluntary contributor who has paid all his National Insurance contributions is unable to qualify for full pensions without his previous record of contributions being taken into account.

The arrangements under which rights and obligations under the previous insurance schemes were carried into the present scheme were, in general, greatly to the advantage of those concerned. To change them now would involve breaches of faith with persons who contributed in the knowledge that these arrangements would operate, and I am not prepared to re-open them.

asked the Minister of National Insurance what steps he has taken during 1952, and what steps he will be taking in 1953, in order to reduce substantially the administration costs of his Department.

Measures taken in 1952 have so far saved about 900 staff. I shall continue to do all I can to secure economies by simplifying and reducing the work of the Department, but I do not think that further substantial economies are possible without seriously curtailing the services rendered to the public and considerable modification of the schemes of National Insurance benefit and Family Allowances.

asked the Minister of National Insurance how much unemployment benefit was paid at the West Ham employment exchanges during the year ended 31st October; and what were the comparable figures for the previous 12 months.

Unemployment benefit paid at the employment exchanges at Canning Town and Stratford amounted to £75,685 during the year ended 31st October, 1952, compared with £43,269 during the year ended 31st October, 1951.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if his attention has been called to the inability of the Rhymney Valley Water Board, consequent upon the refusal of a grant under the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945, to supply water to the proposed Llanbradach pithead bath; and if he will make a statement thereon.

The right hon. Gentleman has been misinformed. I am advised that there is an adequate water supply for the pithead bath now under construction.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when the proposed new model of the Severn Barrage will be available; and what further action he is taking in prosecution of this scheme.

We must wait for the new model which, I am told, will probably be ready in two or three years.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the report of the United Nations Commission on South Korea which contains an indictment of the continued corruption in public affairs of the Syngman Rhee Government; and if he will arrange for copies of the report to be placed for the convenience of Members in the Vote Office.

Yes. I shall arrange for copies of the report to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, before Her Majesty's Government gives its assent to the Draft Constitution for the Sudan, it will urge the Sudanese political leaders to delete (b) from paragraph 1 (1) of Part IV (Section 23) Qualifications of Voters in order to secure the right to vote for women on the same terms as men.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend on 22nd October. Her Majesty's Government in giving their consent to the draft Constitution for the Sudan, have drawn attention to the article laying down that no disability should attach to Sudanese by reason of sex. In the view of Her Majesty's Government the application of this principle is a matter for decision by the Sudanese Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the present British occupation of the Reserved Area of Ethiopian territory conflicts with the Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1897, as well as with the Agreement of 1944, which stipulated that the occupation was purely for the purposes of World War II and with the contribution by Ethiopia towards its success, and how soon he proposes to end this occupation.

It is in accordance with the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement of 1944 that we continue temporarily to administer part of the Ethiopian territory adjoining British Somaliland. This administration does not conflict with the provisions of the 1897 Treaty. The replacement of the 1944 Agreement by a formal treaty is under discussion with the Government of Ethiopia.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action he has taken to reach an effective international agreement for the control of over-fishing in the North Sea and other areas.

The problem of over-fishing in the North Sea and other areas adjacent to the British Isles was studied by a conference held in London in 1946. The Convention, which was published in 1946 as Cmd. 6791, drawn up at this Conference, has been ratified by Her Majesty's Government and is expected to come into force early next year. The United Kingdom is already a member of the North West Atlantic Fisheries Convention which regulates fishing in that area. This Convention was ratified by Her Majesty's Government in 1949 and came into force in 1950.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will introduce legislation to concede to old age pensioners the privilege of obtaining a weekly supply of milk at a reduced rate.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. and gallant Friend gave the hon. and learned Member for Gloucester (Mr. Turner-Samuels) on 14th October last.

asked the Minister of Food what steps are being taken to prevent a recurrence of the loss of £882,283 on Cornish new potatoes caused in June, 1949, through deterioration as a result of transport delays.

The Ministry has not bought Cornish new potatoes since 1949.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he is taking in order to relieve the traffic situation at Skerton Bridge, Lancaster.

I regret that in present economic circumstances it is not possible to authorise expensive works which would be necessary to improve the traffic situation at this bridge.

asked the Minister of Transport why the staff of the Transport Tribunal has been increased from 10 in 1951–52 to 15 in 1952–53.

In August, 1951, my predecessor transferred to the Transport Tribunal under Section 73 of the Transport Act, 1947, the functions of the Appeal Tribunal established under the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933. The staff was increased to deal with the additional work, but this increase was more than offset by the saving of the staff of the Appeal Tribunal.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will now introduce unilateral waiting restrictions in certain streets of Wembley, as requested by the Wembley Borough Council.

My right hon. Friend proposes to defer action at Wembley until results are available of the unilateral waiting restrictions which are to be tried out in other parts of the London Traffic Area.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the approximate value of British exports purchased against the overseas sterling balances accounts from the end of the war until October, 1951.

It is impossible to distinguish between exports paid for by running down sterling balances and those paid for by other means. But if my hon. Friend will refer to Table 16 of Cmd. 8201 and Table 15 of Cmd. 8666, he will see that our total sterling liabilities to all countries did not fall but rose between the end of 1945 and either June or December, 1951.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will advise the banks to allow responsible farmers in Kent the credit essential to enable them to expand their production in accordance with the need for increased home-grown food.

As my right hon. Friend has already informed the House, he has taken steps to make it clear to the banks that in applying their advances policy they should give full weight to the importance of agricultural production. I am confident that the banks are co-operating fully in carrying out the Government's policy in this respect. This applies to Kent as well as to all other counties.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to what extent more steel will now be allocated to local authorities for housing purposes.

My right hon. Friend trusts allocation will prove adequate for the expanding housing programme.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether, in view of the fact that it will only cost £360,000 a year, he will consider increasing alternative widows' pensions awarded to widows of soldiers killed in the 1914–18 war by the same amount as the new standard rate increases announced in April last, particularly in view of the fact that the alternative pensions were based on loss of earning capacity at 1914–18 standards and that they have not been increased since their award.

I do not feel justified in expending any additional available money on increasing the pensions of those war widows who are already in receipt of pensions at rates above the standard rates.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has any information to give on the proposed apple and pear marketing scheme; and when a decision on this will be reached.

I cannot yet add anything to the answer I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Cheltenham (Major Hicks Beach) on 20th October and to the hon. Member for Faversham (Mr. Wells) on 23rd October.

asked the Minister of Supply the number of orders for woodware placed by his Department in the last convenient period; the total value of such orders; and the number of firms on his list of possible suppliers.

During the three months ended 31st October, 1952, 341 orders were placed to the value of £902,000. The number of woodworking firms on the Ministry's lists is 923.