asked the Minister of Food whether he will announce his policy regarding special allocations of food for the children's parties that are being organised in London and elsewhere for Coronation day.

I am considering the general question of provision for parties on Coronation day.

asked the Minister of Food if, in view of the small percentage take-up of cod liver oil and orange juice at local food offices, he will consider the possibility of giving these foods free to retirement pensioners.

No more of these welfare foods is produced than is taken up by the present beneficiaries. I am afraid that I cannot extend the service to other groups having other nutritional needs.

asked the Minister of Food what is the importation of molasses this year compared with the two previous years; if he is aware of the difficulty of securing this commodity for domestic use; and, in view of the medicinal value of molasses, if he will undertake to secure an adequate supply.

I assume the hon. Member is referring to crude black molasses. Imports are not separately recorded in official statistics. Imports of molasses for domestic consumption are freely permitted from the sterling area and if there is difficulty in securing supplies it is not because of any restriction on the issue of import licences.I understand that licences to import more than 500 tons have been issued so far this year.

asked the Minister of Food the number of cattle purchased at Northern Ireland grading centres; the number of such cattle retained for consumption in Northern Ireland; and the number imported into Britain.

During the current period 29th December, 1951, to 7th November, 1952, 238,933 fat cattle were purchased in Northern Ireland. Of these 168,409 were shipped to Great Britain and 70,524 were retained for slaughter in Northern Ireland.The last mentioned figure includes 67 cattle killed in Belfast for subsequent shipment to Great Britain in carcase form.

asked the Minister of Food why, although in 1951 we imported 39 per cent. more than in 1950, the volume of feedingstuffs for animals imported during the first three quarters of this year has been only 94, 81, and 58 per cent., respectively, of the amount imported in 1950.

The percentages quoted refer to the imports recorded in the monthly Trade and Navigation Accounts of the United Kingdom under the heading "Class I Group B Feeding-stuffs for Animals." These figures do not include grain imported for animal feed which is recorded separately under the heading "Class I Group A Grain and Flour." The figures in Group A for barley, oats, maize and sorghums should, therefore, be added to the totals for Group B when comparing imports of feedingstuffs for one period with another.Imports of feedingstuffs recorded under Group B have been rather less during the first three quarters of 1952 than they were in the corresponding period of 1950. But imports of feedingstuffs of all kinds including grain have been sufficient, together with home produced feedingstuffs entering the ration pool, to maintain the latter at the level of approximately 5.5 million tons and to provide a satisfactory stock of feedingstuffs.

asked the Minister of Food the retail prices in all the countries of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation at the end of October, 1952, or the latest convenient date, as disclosed in the Organisation's statistics, of sugar, butter, margarine, lard, cheese, eggs, beef, mutton, pork, bacon, tea, coffee, bread and potatoes, showing comparisons with 1st October, 1951.

The Organisation for European Economic Co-operation

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress is being made in building the airstrip in Grand Cayman.

Work has been finished on the terminal building, storerooms and water supply. Good progress is now being made in preparing the runway but surfacing has not yet begun.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what the Government's plans are for development in the Caymans.

Schemes for mosquito control and for developing agriculture, roads, schools and medical facilities are being carried out with colonial development and welfare assistance. The Colonial Development Corporation have set up a turtle cannery.An airstrip is being built on Grand Cayman which will open up the islands generally and, in particular, help the expansion of the tourist industry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what arrangements are being made by his Department to develop air communications in the Western Caribbean and especially to and from the Caymans and British Honduras.

No new arrangements are being made at present except that the Cayman Islands authorities are constructing an airfield on Grand Cayman. The Government of Jamaica is also considering the possibility of internal air services in Jamaica.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps have been taken by the Government of Northern Rhodesia to encourage a helpful approach to the problem of racial discrimination, as foreshadowed in the Northern Rhodesia Government's statement on 8th April, 1952, on partnership.

The statement was given full publicity in Northern Rhodesia and has been, and still is being discussed at meetings with representative bodies of Africans all over the territory. Many of those meetings were attended by the Governor who have repeatedly stressed, in public speeches and informally, the importance of a helpful approach by all races to the question of partnership.Chambers of commerce and individual traders have been asked to help and Government Departments have been instructed to pay particular attention to practices which may appear discriminatory; they are doing so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will consider taking steps to discuss with the North Rhodesian Mineworkers' Union, European, and the North Rhodesian African Mineworkers' Union, the progressive implementation of the Dalgleish Report.

I should much like to see some early progress made with the advancement of Africans in the mining industry of Northern Rhodesia, but I cannot at this moment make any further statement about this difficult and longstanding problem.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies for what reason the trade union leader, John Sichalwe, of Northern Rhodesia, was expelled from Northern Rhodesia on 24th June, 1952.

The hon. Member has been misinformed. Mr. Sichalwe has never been expelled from Northern Rhodesia.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will encourage and assist the formation of a co-operative wholesale society in Northern Rhodesia, so that the co-operative consumer societies may have freer access to goods on reasonable terms.

Consumer societies with African membership are not yet sufficiently developed to make a wholesale society an economic proposition. Societies with European membership need no assistance to form their own wholesale society.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the shipments of iron ore during 1951 from Sierra Leone to the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany and Holland, expressed in percentages of the total.

Of the total exports of iron ore from Sierra Leone in 1951, 54 per cent. went to the United Kingdom, 20 per cent. to the United States of America, 23 per cent. to Germany and 3 per cent. to the Netherlands.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what facilities have been provided by his Department and the Sierra Leone Government to encourage the extraction of iron ore by the Sierra Leone Development Company Limited.

The development of the Marampa deposit has been on the basis of a 99-year concession negotiated before the war on favourable terms to the company. It was also facilitated by legislation providing for the construction of a private railway and by a loan from the Colonial Development Fund created by the 1929 Act.The company was granted a 99-year concession over the Tonkolili deposits in 1944 and are now considering their development. The Sierra Leone Government have facilitated the acquisition of land for a new railway which will be required and have given certain assurances requested by the company.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent further modification of the Sierra Leone constitution is now being considered.

The allocation of portfolios to Unofficial Members of the Executive Council is now being discussed and, in accordance with the assurance given by my predecessor in June, 1950, will in due course be considered by the Legislative Council.I cannot yet say what amendment, if any, of the constitutional instruments would be involved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will give details of the Commission set up by the Governments of Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, in connection with the establishment in Central Africa for a college for higher education for Africans.

The Commission is composed of Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders, as Chairman, Dr. A. Kerr, Dr. A. V. Hill, and Professor F. G. Young, with Mr. Walter Adams as Secretary. The Commission is now in Central Africa. The following are its terms of reference:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which representatives of Africans have been invited to attend the conference on Central African federation next January; and what were the terms on which the invitation was issued.

I am considering urgently with the two Governors of the Northern Territories the method of choosing their African delegates and the terms of the invitation to be issued. I hope to be able to make a statement before long.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the Government Tung Station in Nyasaland has been closed down.

The station has not been closed down, but it now does other work as well.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the Colony of Dominica needs this year a grant of £82,500 in aid of expenses of administration as compared with only £15,000 last year.

In 1951 revenues were increased by exceptional receipts from new stamp issues. Ordinary revenue increased in 1952, but was insufficient to counteract rising costs and a deficit carried forward from the previous year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the communication which Mr. P. S. Wright has made to him following his expulsion from Kenya, he will now review the order made by the Governor in Council declaring him a prohibited immigrant.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what means of appeal are open to Mr. Peter Wright against the order made by the Governor of Kenya, declaring him to be a prohibited immigrant under Section 5 (1) (f) of the Immigration (Control) Ordinance, 1948.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a further statement regarding Mr. Peter Wright, whose permission to stay in Kenya was recently terminated.

Mr. Wright arrived in Kenya from India in January, 1951, under a contract with the Kenya Education Department. In 1952 his political activities began to cause the Kenya Government some concern. For instance, during a visit to Tanganyika in April he expressed opinions which were highly critical of the educational policies of Kenya and Tanganyika. He was warned by the Director of Education about his activities.In June, 1952, he attended a secret political meeting, with Jomo Kenyatta in the chair, at which leading figures in subversive politics in Kenya and Uganda were present. Mr. Wright claims that this was only a meeting of a study group and was broken up as soon as he arrived. In September he encouraged and advised Asian and African journalists and editors to oppose the pre-emergency legislation.In view of these political activities and associations, the Government of Kenya decided to terminate Mr. Wright's contract under a clause in the contract which provides for termination on payment of one month's salary in lieu of notice.During a search of his quarters following the receipt of information in another connection, a list in Mr. Wright's handwriting headed "Political Advisers" was found, which included his own initials. Five of the persons mentioned in the list have been detained under the Emergency Regulations, and of these five Jomo Kenyatta and three others have now been charged in court with managing, or assisting in the management of, the Mau Mau Society. A sixth was ex-Senior Chief Koinange, now charged in connection with the murder of a loyal fellow Chief, and a seventh was an Asian Communist. In addition, correspondence was found from the leader of the disturbances which took place at Makerere College in Uganda last August.The cumulative effect of these indications was that Mr. Wright, while in Government service, was in active association with those behind the troubles in Kenya. The Government of Kenya therefore concluded that in the present state of emergency there he must either be detained or sent out of the country. The second alternative was chosen and he was

declared to be a prohibited immigrant under Section 5 (1) (

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the results of the consideration which he is giving to affording facilities for the visit to Kenya of an all-party delegation of Members of this House.

As I told the House yesterday, I have considered this proposal but such a visit would not be helpful at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how far it is within the competence of the Court of Appeal in Kenya to review the evidence as well as the sentence in any case where the evidence has been obtained on affidavit.

The Court may, on appeal, or on reference, quash, modify or confirm these sentences, and can and should at the same time review the evidence and decide whether it is admissible and the weight that ought to be attached to it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give particulars of the emergency regulations announced by the Kenya Government on 20th November to deal with the prevention of crime.

I will place copies of these and further regulations in the Library of the House as soon as they are available in London. They provide for the seizure and, if necessary, the forfeiture of stock or bicycles and other forms of transport in areas where serious crimes or Mau Mau meetings have taken place and where the inhabitants fail to do what they properly could do to prevent crimes in their locality. In some cases, shops and markets may be closed within a certain radius of an incident.I explained the background of these regulations in my statement in the House yesterday. Much as the Governor of Kenya and I regret the necessity of using communal punishment, I am satisfied that in the present circumstances in Kenya such measures are necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is now in a position to announce the composition of the advisory committee to which internees in Kenya may appeal.

Not yet.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the urgent need for developing retail co-operatives to combat the steep rise in the cost of living in Malaya; what plans are being made; and what amount is to be spent on their development in 1952–53.

Yes. Substantial progress has been made in the last two years. The Federal Government has recently increased its guarantee of the Malayan Co-operative Wholesale Society funds from $1 million to $1.5 million.The Federal Estimates also provide for direct financial assistance to Co-operative shops, the amount in 1953 being $107,580 (£12,550).

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the Singapore Government has stated that a minimum of 13,000 houses in a year is necessary over a period of 10 years; that the Singapore Improvement Trust is planning to build only 1,200 units in 1953; and what steps are being taken to increase the number of houses and, in particular, to meet the need of low cost housing for workers earning less than $200 a month.

Yes. I am aware that the figures quoted by the hon. Member were given in the Press recently. My information is that the target of 1,200 units to accommodate 8,000 people was for 1952. The Singapore Improvement Trust has now altered its policy and is concentrating on low-cost flats to be let at an average rental of $20 (46s. 8d.) per month.I am awaiting information about the 1953 programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many children in Singapore are not receiving any education; and what plans are being prepared to provide a primary education for these children.

Some 50,000 Singapore children between 6 and 12 do not go to school. The target is universal primary education before 1960. Thirty-six new primary schools have been built or are under construction. Sixty-two more should be completed in the next five years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will publish a White Paper containing the achievements in all British Trust Territories since 1945.

Our achievements in these territories are described at length in the annual reports which Her Majesty's Government submit to the United Nations. They are also mentioned in the reports on the Colonial Territories generally, which are submitted each year to Parliament.I fully sympathise with the purpose underlying the question, but in the circumstances I think that the expense and labour of preparing a special report would hardly be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what further steps are being taken to combat swollen shoot disease in West Africa; what proportion of diseased trees have now been cut down in the Gold Coast and Nigeria; what is the estimated rise or fall in production of cocoa during the next five years compared with the past five years; and what increase in the price paid to farmers is contemplated.

In Nigeria cutting out has continued steadily and over 1½ million out of about 6¼ million affected trees have now been cut out. In the Gold Coast cutting out is again proceeding vigorously and over 15 million out of an estimated total of 40 million affected trees have been cut out. It seems likely that production will be maintained at least at current levels over the next five years.Prices paid to farmers are fixed each season before crops are marketed and are not normally altered during the season.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps he is taking to fill the four vacancies now existing in the establishment for assistant registrars of co-operative societies in Uganda.

The Uganda Government are recruiting Africans for two of the vacant posts. A candidate from the United Kingdom has been selected for the third and a private candidate for the fourth has been invited for interview in the Colonial Office this week.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the totals of the cotton and coffee price assistance funds at the nearest available date.

On 10th October, 1952, the Uganda Cotton and Coffee Price Assistance Funds amounted respectively to £20,301,810 and £11,468,672.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will make a statement about the handing over to the National Maritime Museum of the observatory at Greenwich, built by Wren, in which astronomical observations have been made for nearly 300 years; and whether the building will be open to the public next year, so that visitors to this country for the Coronation may see it and its old instruments.

The move of the Observatory from Greenwich to Herstmonceux Castle must for technical reasons take quite a long time and I do not think that it can be completed before 1956. As buildings become vacant they are handed over to the Ministry of Works, who are renovating some of these before re-allocating them to the National Maritime Museum for the eventual display of the historic astronomical instruments which have been associated with the long history of the Observatory.I am considering whether it will be possible to open to the public buildings still occupied by the Observatory as my hon. Friend suggests. The opening of any buildings handed over to the National Maritime Museum involves staff questions which are under consideration by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will now announce the date of the Coronation Review; and whether it will take place at Spithead.

The Review of the Fleet on the occasion of Her Majesty's Coronation will take place on Monday, 15th June, 1953, at Spithead.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why provincial post offices covering a population of many thousands are not supplied with an up-to-date directory of London telephone subscribers.

The practice is to supply copies of the London directories to the principal post offices in towns where we find as a result of experience, there is a reasonable public demand. If my hon. Friend will let me know which towns he has in mind I will gladly see whether London directories can be supplied.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why he makes firms pay for the renting of a private post box in view of the fact that the expense of delivery no longer becomes a charge upon his Department.

The provision of a private box service requires special arrangements involving costs which actually exceed the expenses of normal delivery by postman.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the increased rates for registering parcels have made it cheaper to insure large consignments with insurance companies; and what steps he is taking to prevent the General Post Office from losing business as a result of such increased rates.

There is no evidence that the general trend of registered parcel traffic has been affected by the increased charges. In any case the Post Office was losing money on this particular service. I would point out that the service provided by the Post Office is not merely the insurance of the article despatched, but also segregation from ordinary packets and in addition proof of delivery.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General when the present limit of compensation for goods sent by parcel post was fixed at £3.

In July, 1934.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will increase the compensation figure for parcels lost in transit in view of the inadequacy of the present maximum of £3 per parcel.

The compensation payable on inland unregistered parcels is of an ex gratia character and an increase in the maximum of £3 is not contemplated: the registration service is available to cover parcels of more than £3 in value.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he is aware that the Post Office canteen in Canterbury has been extended into a general stores to sell tinned foods, confectionery and the goods usually sold in a grocer's shop; that these goods are being sold at prices below the normal prices laid down for fair trading; and whether he will issue instructions to put an end to what is unfair competition with traders who are ratepayers.

Post Office refreshment clubs exist for the purpose of providing food and drink for the staff during the period of their duties and extensions of this function are discouraged. Steps have now been taken to ensure that the head post office canteen at Canterbury conforms to this policy, and I am obliged to my hon. Friend for drawing my attention to the matter.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he will make arrangements in the Middlesex area for the morning postal delivery to take place at an hour which will enable those travelling to London to work to obtain their letters before they leave home.

The first delivery in urban areas of Middlesex is due to finish by 9.15 a.m.; in rural areas the finishing time may be later. Earlier completion of the delivery would mean extra manpower which cannot, I regret, be justified.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General when the new post office in Newport will be completed; when it will be available for public service; whether the new installation for the modern telephone system has been started; and when it will be completed.

A precise date cannot yet be given, but I hope that the new post office will be completed and brought into public service in the late autumn of next year. The installation of the new telephone exchange cannot begin until the new wing of the building is ready, and is expected to take about a year from that date.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General when books containing the new stamp of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be available.

It is hoped that books containing some postage stamps of the new reign will be on sale by about the middle of next year.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what are the reasons for including 1d. stamps in 5s. and 2s. 6d. books, thereby wasting space; and if he will alter these arrangements to substitute additional 2½d., 1½d., or ½d. stamps for the 1d. stamps.

Penny stamps were included in stamp books in 1951 as a result of a widespread demand. They will continue to be included in the new 5s. books which should be on sale early in the New Year, but because of the different composition of this book, there will be no blank spaces. Blank spaces are unavoidable, however, in the 2s. 6d. books.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General when he will be in a position to grant a licence for the installation of a television amplifier at the Dyke, Brighton.

I hope it will be possible to make an announcement on this matter shortly.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what applications have been made for commercial television licences; by whom; when a decision is likely to be made; and on what conditions.

Twenty-four inquiries have been received about licences to operate commercial television stations and twenty-one applications from other persons for time for sponsored television programmes. Without consent of the applicants it would be improper for me to disclose their identities. As hon. Members are aware, my noble Friend will grant licences on the advice of the controlling body described in Command 8550, but it is much too early to say when and on what conditions licences will be granted.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what degree of priority is given by his Department to applications by clergymen for the installation of a telephone, particularly where they have the care of large scattered parishes.

Applications from clergymen in the kind of parish mentioned by my hon. Friend are given priority over other residential applications.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the cost, to date, of the provision of the Royal Air Force Station at Beacon Hill, Trimingham and the domestic buildings at Mundesley, Norfolk.

About £280,000 and £155,000 respectively.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the value of orders of internal electrical wiring contracts placed with the electricity boards by his Department over the 12 months ended September, 1952, as compared with the value of orders placed with electrical contractors engaged in private enterprise.

£276,000 and £857,000.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what steps he is taking to reduce the staff of the Air Member for Supply and Organisation which increased from 2,052 in 1951–52 to 2,417 in 1952–53.

The figures quoted by my hon. Friend are forecasts prepared for Estimates purposes. The numbers actually employed were 2,081 on 1st April, 1951, 2,404 on 1st April, 1952, and 2,537 on 1st November, 1952.The defence programme has resulted in a greatly increased load of work throughout the Air Ministry, much of which falls on the department of the Air Member for Supply and Organisation. My noble Friend is satisfied that the number of staff employed is not more than is warranted by the vital work that has to be done.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will make an announcement about a Coronation review of the Royal Air Force.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what arrangements are being made for a Coronation review of the Royal Air Force.

I am glad to say that Her Majesty the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve that a Coronation review of the Royal Air Force be held on Wednesday, 15th July, 1953.An announcement about the details of the review will be made later.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what the gross takings of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes' Club in Nottingham were for the first six months of 1951 and the first six months of 1952.

As the N.A.A.F.I. Corporation does not publish details of its trading position, I regret that I cannot give the hon. Member the figures for which he asks.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if, and when, he will set up a group of the Royal Observer Corps in Northern Ireland; and, since numerous applications from ex-members of the Royal Air Force to join have been received, if he will immediately start a group of this Corps, which is essential to the interests of the United Kingdom.

I hope that it will soon be possible to make an announcement on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will seek from the United States Government privileges and rights for British Service men, stationed in United States territory similar to those enjoyed by United States Service men in this country.

When the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Status of Forces Agreement, which has been signed by both the United States and the United Kingdom, comes into force between the two countries, British Service men in the United States and United States Service men in this country will receive corresponding privileges and rights under that Agreement.The only British Forces now in the United States are the Joint Services and Technical Missions. Certain members of these Missions already receive privileges under the Agreement on the Status of N.A.T.O. National Representatives and International Staff.

asked the Minister of Food whether the proposals for the solution of the Icelandic fishing dispute which were submitted to him 10 days ago by the hon. Member for Louth on behalf of British owners and skippers who are engaged in Icelandic fishing have yet been discussed by the Foreign Office with the Icelandic Government and with what results.

I have been asked to reply. As I informed the hon. and learned Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hector Hughes) on 12th November, the Icelandic Government have not so far been prepared to contemplate any changes in their fishery regulation limits, or to allow such changes to be discussed between representatives of the British and Icelandic fishing industries.In these circumstances, I have as yet had no opportunity to put to the Icelandic Government my hon. Friend's proposals for certain modifications in the Icelandic fishery limits. I will, however, bear them in mind if a solution on these lines should later appear to be practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for War why Z reservists are often ineligible for service in the Home Guard when they would be useful as instructors.

Permission for a Z reservist to enrol is, in the normal course, only withheld if the man is likely to be needed in the very early stages of mobilisation. But, even where an applicant is ineligible for this reason, the War Office normally gives authority for his enrolment for peace time service, if the general officer commanding-in-chief of the command considers that the man would be useful to the Home Guard as an instructor or in some other key appointment.

asked the Secretary of State for War why 16,813 persons are employed as civilian workmen at Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineering establishments at an estimated cost of £6,561,000 in this country.

These civilian employees are required, together with officers and men of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, to staff central and command workshops which undertake the overhaul, modification and repair of all types of Army equipment.

asked the Secretary of State for War why 22,243 persons are employed in works and engineer services by his Department at an estimated cost of £7,050,000.

These civilian employees, together with the military staffs, are engaged at home and abroad on the administration and execution of works services, the running of engineer installations and engineer stores depots, and in the lands services.

asked the Secretary of State for War why the estimated requirements of clerks and typists for military schools and training establishments have increased from 1,046 in 1951–52 to 1,384 in 1952–53.

This increase in civilian staff was due to two main factors. First, the recruitment of as many civilians as possible in the training organisation to replace soldiers and so release them for duty with field formations. Secondly, the transfer of basic training from 13 infantry training centres to 63 infantry depots, which necessitated some increase in clerical staff at the latter establishments.

asked the Minister of Education the grounds on which was based the proposal of Her Majesty's Government's delegation at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation for a reduction in that organisation's budget of approximately £750,000 a year.

I would refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mr. Noel-Baker).

asked the Minister of Civil Aviation how many Solent flying boats his Department took over from the British Overseas Airways Corporation; at what price; on what date; and how many he still has.

These aircraft were never owned by B.O.A.C. but were purchased from the manufacturers by my Department at a cost of about £150,000 each. Delivery of the first aircraft was made in April, 1948. They were hired to the Corporation until 1950, and of the 17 boats then left in the hands of my Department, six have been sold and 11 are still on sale.

asked the Minister of Civil Aviation what is the total annual cost of maintaining the Solent flying boats in Northern Ireland; and what price he is asking for their sale.

The cost of maintenance during 1951–52 was approximately £5,700. The price asked is £35,000 each, but my Department is prepared to consider reasonable offers.

asked the Minister of Civil Aviation what expert opinion he has sought in connection with the Gatwick project outside the officials of his own Department.

The selection, design and construction of civil aerodromes requires the views of experts in a number of fields, in many of which, such as civil air traffic control, up-to-date experience is unavoidably mainly confined to my Department. In this as in other cases, outside experts have been consulted wherever their assistance would be of value on such matters as the commercial requirements of air transport, surface transport, drainage, etc.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of offences dealt with by magistrates' courts in 1939, and from 1946 annually to the end of the first six months of 1952; and in how many cases were solicitors engaged in submitting evidence on behalf of the police.

The number of persons against whom proceedings were taken in magistrates' courts in each of the periods referred to was as follow:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the average cost of police houses erected in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire, during the past three years.

The average of approved tenders for police houses since 1st November, 1949, is: Bedfordshire, £1,953; Buckinghamshire, £2,041; Hertfordshire, £1,791; Oxfordshire, £1,795.These figures are affected by the dates at which the various tenders were approved and the number of houses included in each contract.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the total strengths of the police forces of England and Wales for 1948 and 1951, respectively.

The actual strengths on 31st December were 57,614 men and 1,036 women in 1948 and 61,610 men and 1,506 women in 1951.

asked the Minister of Agriculture (1) whether he is aware that a great proportion of the cases of anthrax that are now occurring can be traced to imported feedingstuffs which only have a certificate that they have been properly sterilised in their country of origin; and if he will see that some more reliable arrangement is introduced to avoid continuance of this serious trouble;(2) if, in view of the fact that 73 outbreaks of anthrax were confirmed between 1st and 15th September, 96 from 16th to 30th September, and 52 from 1st to 9th October, he will call for an official investigation at the earliest possible moment as to the cause of this, so that a remedy may be devised.

The requirement about the sterilisation of imported bones and bone products in their country of origin is confined to imports from Europe. The certificates that accompany such imports are signed on behalf of the Government of the country of origin and I have no evidence that they are not reliable, or that imports received under these certificates have been a source of infection.As I explained in the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr. Hurd) on 30th October, my Department is already conducting special inquiries into the sources of infection of anthrax and the possibility of introducing further safeguards. I regret that I cannot at present add to that reply.

asked the Minister of Health if he has yet received the report of the Standing Advisory Committee on the investigation into the causes of lung cancer, with special reference to smoking as a possible cause.

No. The Standing Advisory Committee on Cancer and Radiotherapy is still considering the relevant evidence.