asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in the interests of Franco-British cultural relations, he will amend the existing Customs regulations as a result of which Purchase Tax and Import Duty of over 100 per cent. are charged on illustrations to French books of art and scholarship unless such illustrations are, contrary to Continental practice, actually bound up with the text.

In general, prints are chargeable with both Customs Duty and Purchase Tax, but books are not. Where it is established that the prints are really a subsidiary part of a book, though not bound therewith, they are not charged with duty or tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many international bodies Her Majesty's Government is represented; and what is the annual cost in subscriptions, salaries, travelling and other expenses in connection therewith.

Her Majesty's Government is represented on 64 international bodies. In this total each specialised agency of the United Nations Organisation is treated as a separate body. The annual cost, based on available figures for the current financial year, is approximately £11,350,000. This figure includes the United Kingdom contribution to the N.A.T.O. Civil Budget, but excludes expenditure arising out of our military commitments as a member of N.A.T.O. About half of this total amount goes on relief works undertaken by United Nations relief agencies, notably the Relief and Works Agency and the Korea Relief Agency.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of the National Land Fund at the latest convenient date; and if he will show the interest accruing and the amount spent in each year since the fund was established.

The approximate amount of the National Land Fund at the present date (including investments at present market value) is £52,936,000. Figures of interest received and amounts spent in each year since the fund was established are as follows:

Year				Interest Received	Amount Spent
				£	£
1946–47	…	…	…	318,577	—
1947–48	…	…	…	886,053	109,669
1948–49	…	…	…	888,998	149,750
1949–50	…	…	…	892,686	55,163
1950–51	…	…	…	1,071,202	163,121
1951–52	…	…	…	1,090,230	241,547
TOTAL	…	…	…	5,147,746	719,250

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has recently had with industry about the introduction of special export incentives; and whether he will make a statement about the conclusions which were reached.

We have recently received the views of various Trade and National Associations on this subject, which we are now considering. My hon. Friend will recall that during the debate on the Address my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer made it clear that he is ready to support any sound and practical scheme for encouraging exports.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, when framing his Budget, be will consider the repayment of post-war credits to the heirs or executors of holders, who have died before reaching the age at which repayment is normally made, in order that the estates of such deceased persons may be finally wound up.

The question of paying post-war credits to either general or particular classes of taxpayers is one of the matters which my right hon. Friend will consider when framing his Budget proposals.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of post-war credits outstanding to date.

About £587 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costs will fall on the Exchequer for Coronation celebrations in London, in the provinces of England, in Scotland and in Wales, respectively.

Estimates are being prepared and will be presented to Parliament at the appropriate times. I should prefer not to attempt to anticipate them.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the recent re-allocation of functions and responsibilities amongst Her Majesty's Ministers; and if he will take steps to reduce the number of Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries.

The public announcement gave details of the rearrangement of functions. No office will be continued in being longer than is necessary.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what progress has been made with the pear and apple marketing scheme.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Baker White) on 20th November.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why the clerical staff in the Fertilisers and Seeds Division has increased from 118 in 1951–52 to 185 in 1952–53 despite the fact that the rest of the staff has fallen from 63 to 62.

The estimated increase in the number of clerical staff in the Ministry's Fertilisers and Seeds Division arises from the additional clerical work required for the administration of the fertiliser subsidy schemes which have been made during the current financial year. The number of clerks employed at present is 169.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why he is contributing this year £733,025 towards the losses of local authorities on small holdings and allotments.

Over 90 per cent. of this expenditure arises from annual contributions towards the losses incurred in providing small holdings for ex-Service men of the First World War under the Land Settlement (Facilities) Acts. These contributions cannot be reduced except as and when the original loans raised by local authorities are paid off and loan charges cease.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is satisfied that the expenditure of £73,500 this year on the National Stud is justified, in view of the fact that in 1951–52 the cost was £11,010.

Yes. The estimated increase in expenditure for 1952–53 is mainly due to provision for the purchase of additional stallions to enable the Stud to make a full contribution to the thoroughbred industry in this country.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he has taken during 1952, and what steps he will take in 1953, in order substantially to reduce the costs of his Department; and if he will take steps to stop all trading activities.

The principal expenditures of my Department, including the trading services, are directly related to the Government's programme to increase food production. I am effecting economies so far as is consistent with that general policy. In the past year the total staff has been reduced by 1,000 and I expect to secure further reductions in the coming year.The main trading activities are constantly reviewed to see how far they remain absolutely necessary to the success of the Government's programme. The scale of some of these services and the net cost of the trading services as a whole have now been very considerably reduced. Arrangements have been made for terminating the Pool Labour Service by the end of the present financial year and I aim to make the remaining services as nearly self-supporting as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the sum paid to Kent farmers under the Drainage Grant Scheme for the 12 months ended 30th September, 1952, or nearest convenient date.

For the year ended 30th September, 1952, the grants made in Kent for farm drainage totalled £31,416. This payment was in respect of 242 ditching schemes and 162 under-drainage schemes.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he is proposing to take with a view to bringing nonproductive common land into use.

I cannot add to the statement I made in the debate on 12th June. On that occasion, I said:

"At present I have power under the Defence Regulations to retain until December, 1954, possession of common land and other land requisitioned in the interests of food production. I propose to use that power wherever retention of such land can be justified in the national interest as a means of maintaining food production—but I do not underestimate the importance of the wider problem, and I am urgently considering the whole future of common land and how best the contribution that it can make to our national food supplies can be increased."

asked the Minister of Agriculture what information he has regarding the disease of hard-pad among dogs, particularly sheep-dogs; in what areas it is most prevalent; to what extent it is increasing; and what steps are being taken to combat it.

Hard-pad disease, which is very infectious, is caused by a virus of the distemper type and may affect any animal which is susceptible to distemper. I have no information about its prevalence and or whether it is increasing. Immunisation against distemper is believed to offer some protection against hard-pad. I understand that research on the disease is continuing at the Wellcome Foundation and the Animal Health Trust, and that investigations of methods to obtain a better immunity appear to be making some progress.

asked the Minister of Agriculture for which of the purposes specified in the Supplies and Services (Transitional Powers) Act, 1945, or the Supplies and Services (Extended Purposes) Act, 1947, it appears necessary or expedient to him to permit the continued requisition of the land at Park Close, Portsdale, owned by Captain Cottingham; and upon what grounds he has come to this conclusion.

As I have already informed my hon. and learned Friend, the power given by Defence Regulation 51 to requisition land for allotments has been delegated to local authorities. It is for the local authority to decide what are the statutory purposes for which they exercise this delegated power in any individual case, and no question of permission from me arises.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will now make a statement with regard to the Herbage Seed Marketing Board.

I hope to inform the promoters very shortly of the Government's views on the draft Herbage Seeds Marketing Scheme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the total acreage of rough grazing in Great Britain as at 4th June, 1952; how far that figure includes common land; and if he will show the acreage of each classification for each county separately.

The provisional estimate of the total acreage of rough grazing in Great Britain as at 4th June, 1952, is 16,383,000 acres, including common land. I am sending the county figures to my hon. Friend separately.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, in view of the need for economy in Government expenditure, he will now review the organisation of the Land Settlement Association, with a view to abolishing its central organisation and putting the individual estates under local control.

No, I do not think that such a change would lead to any economy, but rather the reverse. I am satisfied that the central organisation of the Land Settlement Association is performing important functions. Among other things, they arrange for the central purchase of agricultural requisites for the tenants at more advantageous terms than would be possible with local control, and also arrange for the better marketing of their produce. The general finances of the Scheme are improving, and I hope that it will shortly be self-supporting.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why, after 33 years of experience, the Forestry Commission is expected to lose £6,559,000 in the current year.

It would be wrong to regard the sum referred to as a loss. It is the grant-in-aid for the current year and includes not only the net cost of maintaining the Committee's existing assets and the cost of administering the control of felling, but also the investment in new plantations, land and buildings, and expenditure on research and education and on assistance to private woodland owners. All such expenditure is essential to carry out the Government's forestry policy.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will take steps to ensure that, when the Forestry Commission take over woodlands and incorporate these woodlands in forestry areas, the original name of the wood shall be retained.

When a number of small separate woodlands are incorporated into the Forestry Commission's forests a general title is selected after local consultation, but this does not supersede the original names which continue to be used.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the percentage of the total acreage of Northumberland respectively owned and planted by the Forestry Commission.

Approximately 8 per cent. of the total acreage of Northumberland is at the disposal of the Forestry Commission for forestry purposes and about 4½ per cent. has been planted by them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken by the Metropolitan Police to efface the inscriptions of un-sponsored and illicit slogans from walls and public sites.Sir D. Maxwell Fyfe: It is the practice of the police to invite the owner of the property to remove any such inscription, and to ask the local authority to give him any necessary help. It is also the practice for the police themselves to remove or obscure a slogan which is obscene or otherwise offensive.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the staff of the Inspectors of Constabulary rose from eight in 1951–52 to 12 in 1952–53.

This increase is caused by the return of one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary who had been seconded as Inspector-General of Colonial Police Forces, the appointment ment of a staff officer to assist on police aspects of Civil Defence planning, and the appointment of two drivers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what number of indictable offences, involving violence to the person, have become known to the police during a period of six months ending at the latest convenient

Offence	January-June, 1951	July-December, 1951	January-June, 1952
Murder	68	64	87
Attempts and threats to murder	97	75	93
Manslaughter, infanticide, child destruction	101	96	111
Felonious and malicious wounding	2,698	2,825	2,788
Rape	180	155	147
Robbery with violence, etc. (section 23 (1) of the Larceny Act, 1916)	328	305	359
Robbery and assault with intent to rob (section 23 (2) and (3) of the Larceny Act, 1916)	101	66	116
	3,573	3,586	3,701

For the eighteen months from 1st January, 1947, to 30th June, 1948, 1,334 offences under Section 23 (1) of the Larceny Act, 1916, were known to the police, compared with a total of 992 such offences shown above. These offences were punishable by corporal punishment up to 13th September. 1948.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the Report of the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment which was appointed in 1949.

I understand that the Report is likely to be presented within the next few months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to examine and improve the law relating to the liability of insane persons for criminal acts.

This is a question which the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment, appointed in 1949, have had under consideration. They will

The latest period of six months for which provisional statistics are available is January to June, 1952. The following table shows the number of indictable offences involving violence to the person known to the police during this period and during the two preceding periods of six months:—no doubt include observations on it in their Report, which is likely to be available within the next few months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the number of immigration officers in his Department increased from 314 in 1951–52 to 333 in 1952–53.

The increase in the estimate of the number of immigration officers was due partly to a large increase in traffic at the London airports and partly to the temporary need for additional staff to obtain information about aliens who came to this country during and since the war in large groups and were not given a personal examination at the ports of landing. A statement about the arrangements for dealing with these aliens was made to the House by my predecessor on 18th October, 1950. The additional staff recruited for this purpose is now being dispensed with.

asked the Secretary of State for Home Department if he will issue an appeal to all citizens to hand to the authorities all daggers, guns and dangerous weapons possessed by them or their children; and if he will make arrangements for the receipt of these articles at police stations throughout the country.

While I sympathise with the object which the hon. Member has in mind, I do not think that this would be a suitable or effective way of dealing with the problem of dangerous weapons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will appoint a committee to advise him upon the desirability and practicability of prohibiting the sale of dangerous weapons as toys to children.

I am considering various suggestions which have been made with regard to the sale of toy weapons, and I will bear the hon. Member's suggestion in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will recommend the setting up of a committee to inquire into the financial relationship between Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is now in a position to make an announcement as to the establishment of a committee to investigate the financial and economic relationship of Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is now able to make a statement on the question of appointing a committee to examine the financial and economic relationship of Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom.

I have given very careful consideration to this matter in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The preparation of a separate return of Government revenue and expenditure in Wales is complicated by the fact that the boundaries of the Customs and Excise collections do not coincide with the Welsh Border. The publication of separate figures for Wales would therefore involve a much greater expenditure of manpower than the publication of separate figures for Scotland. The same considerations apply in regard to the collection of separate revenue statistics.I have therefore come to the conclusion that, in the present period of acute financial stringency, the administrative expenditure and increase in Government staffs involved in the publication of a separate return for Wales would not be justified and that no useful purpose would be served by setting up a committee to consider the matter at the present time.In so far as one object of a separate return would be to show the scope of Government services in Wales, I would point out that there is already much detailed information on this matter in the annual Report of Government Action in the Principality.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to announce his decision on the subject of the creation of a committee to inquire into the financial and economic relations between Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave today to the hon. Members for Anglesey (Mr. C. Hughes), Caernarvon (Mr. G. Roberts) and Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Watkins).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the regulations regarding corporal punishment at the new detention centre for juvenile criminals at Campsfield House, Oxfordshire.

The law does not authorise the infliction of corporal punishment in detention centres.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that the Crown Court at Bristol was destroyed 10 years ago and that the assizes are held in the council chamber, which is not always available; and whether he will take steps to provide adequate accommodation for the assize courts at an early date.

I am aware that the Crown Court at Bristol was destroyed during the war. I understand that the city council chamber is now used for the trial of civil actions and that it seldom happens that it is not available for this purpose. It would be for the local authority to provide a new assize court, but the restrictions on capital investment would make it impossible for me to sanction the building of a new court at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present position of the discussions with the Isle of Man with regard to the financial position of the island.

There has been much useful exploratory discussion but there are still one or two matters of importance on which agreement has to be reached. I hope to discuss these with a delegation from Tynwald in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the maximum rates paid for overtime and supervisory duties in approved schools; when were these rates last revised; and whether he is satisfied that the rates are adequate.

As recommended in 1946 by the Reynolds Committee, teachers and instructors in approved schools engaged on supervisory duties outside normal working hours receive an allowance, the maximum of which is £104 a year for a weekly average of 15 hours' duty. Negotiations are proceeding for the establishment of a committee to deal, on Whitley principles, with the pay and conditions of service, including such matters as extra duty allowance, of approved school and remand home staff whose rates of pay are related to Burnham scales. Other grades of staff entitled to overtime are paid the rates adopted from time to time by appropriate national wage-fixing bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what counties in England and Wales permit the Sunday opening of cinemas.

Many county councils have delegated their licensing powers to other authorities; there is power to permit Sunday opening in parts, or in a few cases, the whole, of every county in England except Westmorland, and in a few areas in Brecknock, Flint, Glamorgan and Radnor.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sums have been paid from the takings of cinemas open on Sundays, in each of the last three years, to charity and to the Cinematograph Fund, respectively.

Approximately £400,000 and £21,800 respectively in each year.

asked the Minister of Labour the figures for the latest available date of the number of dock workers signing on for whom employment could not be found at each of the control points in the docks on Merseyside; and the proportion which each of such figures represents of the numbers available on the register.

In the week ending 15th November, the average daily number of registered dock workers surplus to requirements in the Merseyside ports was 5,610 or 26.2 per cent. of the totals on the registers. I will circulate the particulars for each port in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that cases arise where disabled persons, requiring training for a new type of employment, cannot receive much training in the near vicinity of their domicile; and whether he will design a scheme whereby factories and offices accredited to his Department can be enrolled to provide certain manual and clerical training, thus increasing considerably the number of training facilities.

Under the Vocational Training Scheme, arrangements can be made in suitable cases to train disabled persons in employers' establishments.

asked the Minister of Labour to give an assurance that, in setting up his proposed committee on the employment of the disabled, he will invite representatives of both sides of industry, the medical profession and voluntary organisations having special knowledge and interest in this question to serve thereon; and that the committee will be invited to report with all possible speed.

For the moment, I an unable to add anything further to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. G. R. Howard) on 18th November last.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will extend the Remploy Factory at Gateshead, in order to provide useful occupation for the 125 disabled persons who have been unemployed for

Location of factory					Estimated capacity	At 15th Sept., 1952	At 17th Sept., 1951
Abertillery	…	…	…	…	65	57	50
Blackwood	…	…	…	…	100	63	71
Bridgend	…	…	…	…	185	171	174
Brynamman	…	…	…	…	75	50	50
Maesteg	…	…	…	…	50	12	Not opened until October, 1951.
Merthyr Tydfil	…	…	…	…	170	124	131
Neath	…	…	…	…	60	30	29
Pentre	…	…	…	…	75	60	55
Porth	…	…	…	…	125	88	96
Swansea	…	…	…	…	150	106	118
Tonyrefail	…	…	…	…	75	74	70
Treforest	…	…	…	…	150	122	136
						(plus 15 homeworkers)	(plus 19 homeworkers)
Ystradgynlais	…	…	…	…	100	51	59
TOTAL	…	…	…	…	1,380	1,008	1,039
						(plus 15 homeworkers)	(plus 19 homeworkers)
NOTE.—Ferndale factory was closed down in March, 1951, and the workers transferred to the Porth factory.

No Remploy factories are in course of construction.

Remploy Limited are unable to undertake any further building or extension of factories until they have consolidated their trading position. Only the 32 severely disabled persons are eligible for Remploy work and as vacancies in the Remploy Factory occur they will be considered for employment.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) how many Remploy factories have been completed in the South Wales Development Area; how many are employing their full complement of disabled persons; and how many are in course of construction;(2) how many disabled persons are employed in each of the Remploy factories in the South Wales Development Area; and what were the corresponding figures last year.

Thirteen Remploy factories have been completed in the South Wales Development Area. The estimated capacity of each factory; the numbers of severely disabled persons employed as at 15th September, 1952; and at the corresponding time last year are as follows:

asked the Minister of Labour to make a statement as to the reasons which have caused the Government to cut down the number of our labour attachés.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which the Prime Minister gave yesterday to the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mr. Noel-Baker).

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that anxiety about unemployment exists in North-West Durham mining areas, where the coal seams are fast working out, or are not an economic proposition; and what are the Government plans to find alternative employment.

Yes, but I am informed that the National Coal Board are trying out new methods in an effort to maintain as high as possible the output of this particular valuable coal. Alternative coalmining employment is available for those willing and able to move to the Eastern part of Durham and to other coalfields. In the area itself a number of new factories have been built since the war and others are under construction and my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is continuing his efforts to attract suitable projects to this part of the North-East Coast Development Area

asked the Minister of Health whether he will make an early statement regarding the registration of duly qualified physiotherapists in this country; what are the statutory or other qualifications to be required by him before such registration is permitted; and whether he will take steps to introduce the necessary legislation to give effect to such registration, and, in the meantime, remove the present discrimination adopted in the employment of physiotherapists by his Department and State hospitals under the National Health Service which favours a particular association without setting up a general test applicable equally to all physiotherapists irrespective of the association to which they may belong.

I hope to be able to make a statement shortly.

asked the Minister of Health what is the average cost of each Medresco hearing aid supplied through the National Health Service.

The average cost of new aids supplied up to June last was £3 11s. 6d. This does not include the costs of batteries or of distribution and other overheads which are not available.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been drawn to the increase in the number of people suffering from stomach ulceration; and if he will make a statement as to what special researches are being undertaken with a view to discovering the reason for the increase in the incidence of this ailment.

The evidence seems to be that the incidence of all forms of peptic ulcer has not increased recently and that of stomach ulceration is decreasing. Deaths from peptic ulceration have decreased in recent years. Research into causes and treatment is in progress in many centres.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the difficult situation in which Health Service Officers, who on the appointed day opted to retain their present conditions of service, find themselves in that no cost of living addition has been granted to them; and whether he will give consideration to easing their financial difficulties.

These officers can always take the appropriate national negotiated rate of pay when that is increased. It would be contrary to established practice to increase a personal protected rate which is already higher than the national rate.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give an assurance that in allotting next year's expenditure for the hospital service, he will allocate an increased amount for capital expenditure by the Newcastle regional hospital board to ensure that this region has the same basis for capital outlay as other regions.

The basis of capital allocations for the current financial year was the same for all regional hospital boards. In the allocations for 1953–54, which have already been made, some boards, including Newcastle, received amounts which were weighted to take account of their special needs.

asked the Minister of Education if, in accord with Government policy of conserving useful agricultural land, she will advise local education authorities to use common land for school playing fields where possible.

In present circumstances I do not normally sanction the acquisition of playing fields for existing schools, and local education authorities naturally make use where necessary of public playing fields which are accessible to schools. The use of common land comes within the jurisdiction of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and is subject, I understand, to legal restrictions.

asked the Minister of Education how many pupils the Wokingham Secondary School is designed to accommodate.

600.

asked the Minister of Education whether any agreement has yet been arrived at between her Department, the university authorities and local education authorities on the question of the standardisation of financial grants to university students.

I have nothing to add to the information given in Administrative Memorandum 425 and Circular 252 of which I sent the hon. Member a copy last July. The only further discussions held between my Department, university authorities and local education authorities have been concerned with methods of selection and not with standard figures of maintenance.

asked the Minister of Education the average award or grant to each individual student in each local education authority area in Wales and Monmouthshire for 1951–52.

I am not yet able to give particulars of grants for 1951–52. The table below shows the average grant per student for 1950–51:

ACADEMIC YEAR 1950–51
L.E.A.	Average grant per student Fees and Maintenance
	University Courses	Non-University Courses
Counties	£	£
Anglesey	136	46
Breconshire	185	153
Caernarvonshire	85	70
Cardiganshire	84	70
Carmarthenshire	135	83
Denbighshire	132	57
Flintshire	118	65
Glamorgan	210	138
Merioneth	81	46
Monmouthshire	210	142
Montgomeryshire	220	173
Pembrokeshire	146	96
Radnor	221	107
County Boroughs
Cardiff	143	83
Merthyr Tydfil	220	191
Newport (Mon.)	234	119
Swansea	213	161

asked the Minister of Education whether £422, the cost of supplying javelins to Stanhope school, Ashford, by the Kent Education Committee, will rank for grant.

£422 is the amount spent by the Kent local education authority since 1st April, 1950, on the purchase of javelins for secondary schools for boys in the county as a whole, and this expenditure is eligible for grant in the ordinary way.

asked the Minister of Education the number of pupils admitted to grammar schools, including direct grant schools, and to grammar streams in multilateral and bilateral schools in September, 1951, per thousand of the number of children aged 10 and under 11 in maintained schools in March, 1950.

The actual number of pupils admitted is not available, but I estimate that the number of pupils admitted in 1951 was 212 per thousand children aged between 10 and 11 on the registers of maintained schools in January, 1950.

asked the Minister of Education whether she is now in a position to give a decision on the use of a hut at St. Aidan's Roman Catholic School, Huyton, about which the right hon. Member for Huyton wrote to her on 24th June last; and if she is aware that children of school age are being kept at home because of the delay in her coming to a decision.

I replied to the Lancashire local education authority on 22nd November, and the right hon. Member will now have had my letter to him of 24th November. My information is that children of compulsory school age need not be out of school.

asked the Minister of Education what is the average cost per child in residential special schools maintained by local education authorities for educationally sub-normal children.

Particulars of the cost of these schools are being collected for the first time for 1951–52. For the 39 schools for which information is available out of a total of 65, the average cost per child was £266 per annum.

asked the Minister of Education how many of the 1,567 classes at present accommodated off school premises are situated in each of the counties and county boroughs of England and Wales.

I am sending this information to the hon. Member. I regret that by an oversight the figure of 1,567 quoted in the answer given to the hon. Member for Leek a fortnight ago did not include 81 similar classes in Wales. I would remind the hon. Member that these are figures for approvals given over the last three years, and they cannot necessarily be taken as showing the number of classes at present accommodated off school premises.

asked the Minister of Education whether she is aware of the anxiety of parents whose children have to walk to school along roads which have no footpaths; and whether, in view of the danger to such children, she will supply schools transport in cases of this kind where the journey exceeds a quarter of a mile.

Generally speaking I do not consider that the provision of transport for distances less than the statutory distances laid down in Section 39 (5) of the Education Act, 1944, is justifiable in present circumstances. I am willing that authorities should make more generous arrangements to meet special difficulties in particular cases but I could not regard the absence of a footpath on journeys exceeding a quarter of a mile as sufficient justification in itself for the provision of transport.

asked the Minister of Education whether her attention has been called to the case of a boy, aged 14, at Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, who recently committed suicide rather than go back to school where he had been threatened with further corporal punishment after his father had given him a beating for staying away from school for one day; and whether she will circularise local education authorities to the effect that such action by schools is detrimental to the welfare of children for minor offences and should be abolished.

I have received a report on this sad case from the local education authority. The authority tell me that no punishment of any kind had been threatened by the school; that no corporal punishment had been administered to this boy by the school at any time, and that there was no suggestion at the inquest or in the coroner's verdict that the boy was afraid to return to school. The answer to the last part of the Question is "No."

asked the Minister of Education what annual amount she expects to save through the recent decision to reduce the British contribution to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister explained in an answer yesterday the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has accepted for the two years 1953 and 1954 a budget of $18 million in place of $20 million proposed by the Director-General. The United Kingdom contribution to a budget of $20 million is estimated at about £810,000 and to a budget of $18 million at about £730,000.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what instructions have been given to the United Kingdom delegates to the United Nations Assembly on the subject of racial discrimination in the Union of South Africa.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Flint, East (Mrs. White) on 30th October in which I stated that the view of the United Kingdom Government is that the subject matter falls outside the competence of the United Nations and that any discussion of it is out of order. The United Kingdom Delegation therefore opposed the inclusion of this item in the agenda of the General Assembly, and for these reasons abstained from voting on the two resolutions dealing with the substance of the matter which were recently passed by the ad hoc Political Committee of the General Assembly.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations how many emigrants have gone to Australia in each of the latest 12 months for which he has records.

The figures for emigrants of Commonwealth citizenship who travelled direct by sea from the United Kingdom to Australia during the period September, 1951, to August, 1952, are as follow:

1951
September	…	…	7,262
October	…	…	2,774
November	…	…	5,696
December	…	…	2,266
1952
January	…	…	4,264
February	…	…	9,152
March	…	…	2,866
April	…	…	5,016
May	…	…	5,298
June	…	…	3,488
July	…	…	4,318
August	…	…	4,050
Total	…	…	56,450

These figures relate to persons who have expressed the intention of taking up residence in Australia for a period of one year or more.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether the Working Party on Development, set up by the Commonwealth Finance Ministers, of which he was chairman, has now completed its work; whether a report will be available to the forthcoming conference; and whether a report will be published.

The Interim Report of the Commonwealth Working Party on Development was the starting point of discussions upon development which took place in October at the meeting of Commonwealth officials in preparation for the Commonwealth Economic Conference. The results of this meeting of officials are now to be considered in the Conference. It would not be desirable or in accordance with established practice, to publish documents that are being considered by Commonwealth Prime Ministers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a further statement on the results of consultations between the cotton industry and the British Standards Institution regarding quality standards for household textiles.

I am informed that consultations are still in progress within the cotton industry on the details of a draft British Standard which has been prepared for cotton household textiles. When these have been completed, the draft will be circulated by the British Standards Institution for comment in accordance with the normal procedure.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the need still further to reduce the importation of sugar-fat mixtures and similar expensive products, and having regard to the fact that reductions already imposed have caused no inconvenience to the public, he is now able to make a further statement.

As announced in Notice to Importers No. 527, dated 24th November, the quotas fixed for the first six months of 1953 for imports from Western European and certain other non-sterling countries of sugar-fat mixtures and fondant are £200,000 each. These compare with quotas for the latter half of 1952 of £1,000,000 for sugar-fat mixtures and £750,000 for fondant. The quota for sugar-fat-cocoa mixtures, which was £60,000 during the last six months of 1952, will be £5,000.

asked the President of the Board of Trade which of the Grenfell factories in South Wales are now in full production; and what is the position with regard to the others.

Tenants are well established in seven of the Grenfell factories, but the factories are not, in general, in full production. A new tenant is at present installing machinery in another factory. The two remaining factories are in the hands of Receivers, but negotiations are taking place in order to secure new tenants for them.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many persons are employed in each of the Grenfell factories in South Wales; how many of them are disabled; how many of them are ex-miners disabled through pneumoconiosis; and if he will give the corresponding figures for the same period last year.

Information about employment in individual factories is supplied in confidence by the firms concerned. The total employment in the 10 Grenfell factories at the 30th September, 1952, the latest available date, was 575. This included 219 registered disabled persons, of whom 133 were pneumoconiosis cases. Owing to a change in the date for collecting information, I cannot give comparable figures for 30th September, 1951, but on 18th August, 1951, 717 people were employed in the factories of whom 311 were disabled, including 150 cases of pneumoconiosis. I understand that practically all the cases of pneumoconiosis are ex-miners.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will refer to the Monopolies Commission the allegations of price-fixing and cartel activities which have been made against British oil companies in connection with the current United States inquiry.

No. I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25th November to the hon. Member for Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd).

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider revising the trade restrictions on postage stamps.

The import and export restrictions on postage stamps of philatelic interest were reviewed recently but no relaxation is possible at present because of the balance of payments situation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that certain detergents are now having materials added to them which have the effect of producing permanent foam with a consequential prejudice to public health; and what steps he is proposing to take under the Public Health Act to deal with this matter.

My right hon. Friend presumes my hon. Friend has in mind the effects of this foaming on sewage processes and sewage effluents. My right hon. Friend is aware of the troubles that are being experienced and, as a first step, he is having the technical problems investigated in consultation with the manufacturers.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to print in HANSARD the list of local authorities who now support cultural activities in their areas, and give the amount of money allocated in each case and its rateable value.

This information is not available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the number of occupied dwellings in England and Wales in 1945 and 1951.

No reliable estimate is available of the number in 1945; the estimate for 1951 is 11,933,900.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government for an estimate of the number of occupied dwellings in England and Wales which have fallen into such disrepair that they cannot be rendered fit for human habitation at a reasonable cost of repair.

I do not think there is any means of making a reliable estimate short of a detailed survey.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many houses in England and Wales between 1945 and 1951 have been demolished or closed as being unfit for habitation; how many have been diverted to other uses; and what is the total number of new houses built during this period.

During the period referred to 33,656 unfit houses were demolished and 5,377 were closed; 769,318 permanent and 124,970 temporary houses were erected. The number of houses diverted to other uses is not known.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will publish for the Huyton-with-Roby and Prescot urban district councils, respectively, the number of houses completed in each of the calendar years 1946 to 1951, inclusive, and figures for 1952 to the latest available date.

I am unable to add to the information contained in Appendix B to the published Housing Returns.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how far it will be possible to approve extension of service for aircrew members of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who are now completing their initial period of Reserve service.

Since the end of the war, most aircrew members of the R.A.F.V.R. and other Reserves have been men who learnt to fly before or during the war. Many had operational experience: others were still under instruction when the war ended. We are very grateful to all of them for their service.During the next few years, an increasing number of National Service aircrew or young men who have completed short Regular engagements will be passing to the Reserve; and we can therefore use more discrimination in selecting for extension of contract those aircrew reservists whose qualifications are likely to be most useful to the Royal Air Force in the future. Age and flying experience will be considered, as well as any special qualifications.Future Reserve requirements are under review, and for the present no engagements will be renewed for more than two years.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will now reveal his arrangements for a Royal Air Force pageant and flying display in 1953; where this will take place; on how many days; if he will ensure that the programme will have features in common with that of the display organised by the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, details of which have been sent to him, such as the demonstration of military prototypes; and whether he will ensure adequacy of the approaches by road into the place chosen.

As I stated on 26th November, in answer to Questions by my hon. and gallant Friends the Members for Stockport, North (Wing Commander Hulbert) and Portsmouth, West (Brigadier Clarke) 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. Details of the Review will be announced later.

asked the Minister of Transport when repairs will begin on the bridge over the railway on the Geldard Road, Birstall, in the borough of Batley; when he expects that this portion of the main Leeds—Huddersfield road will be in use again for two-way traffic; and if he will expedite the reconstruction of the bridge in view of the present menace to road safety.

A contract for the reconstruction of this bridge is now about to be completed and the work will then begin at once. It will be about 18 months before the bridge is in full use again for two-way traffic.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how far the place of the Forth and Tay bridges in the development of the East Coast has now been confirmed; and if an assurance can be given that local planning can proceed on that definite understanding.

I have been asked to reply. The line and limits of deviation of the proposed Forth Bridge have been fixed by an Act of Parliament and land is being acquired by the Joint Board responsible for the bridge. Only preliminary proposals have been made for a road bridge over the Tay. No line has been fixed and no request has been made for planning to proceed.

asked the Minister of Transport in view of the substantial sum already guaranteed by the local authorities concerned, if he will give an undertaking that the Forth Road Bridge will now be brought to the head of the priority list.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Fife, West (Mr. Hamilton) on 17th November.

asked the Minister of Materials if he will grant a licence to purchase newsprint to the "City Press" newspaper.

I am prepared to consider favourably an application for a licence to enable newsprint to be supplied to the "City Press."

asked the Parliamentar Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, whether the report on district heating schemes has yet been received; and what action he proposes to take on it.

The Report on District Heating by the Heating and Ventilation (Reconstruction) Committee of the Building Research Board of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has been received. The Report will be published as soon as possible as Volumes Nos. 31 and 32 in the series of Post-War Building Studies.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what are the average weekly earnings of surface workers in the coalmining industry as compared with 1946 and 1938.

I regret that comparable figures of average weekly earnings by surface workers in these years are not available.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many applications for telephones in the city of York are outstanding; how many applications have been met during the last 12 months; and how long, on an average, an applicant has to wait before a telephone is installed.

Nine hundred and thirty-two applications were outstanding at the 30th September, 1952. Six hundred and twenty-two lines were connected in the preceding twelve months. Service is provided in about two months in priority cases where exchange equipment and lines in the underground cable are available; no estimate can be made of the average time when new plant is required.