asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the figures for civil staff of the Admiralty in proportion to those of uniformed personnel borne on Vote A in 1937, 1939, 1948, 1951 and on the latest convenient date in 1952.

The numbers of civil staff (Industrial and Non-Industrial both at home and abroad and including locally-entered staff abroad) employed by the Admiralty were in the following proportions to the numbers of personnel borne on Vote A in the years indicated:

	per cent.
January, 1937	86
January, 1939	89
July, 1948	117
July, 1951	118
October, 1952	118

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how this staff at the Royal Naval Air Station, Donibristle, Fife, is to be reduced; what are the reasons for such reduction; and whether he will make a statement on the future of this establishment

In order to economise in administration, and thereby release more men from shore duties for service afloat, it is planned to redistribute some of the tasks of the Royal Naval Air Station, Donibristle, to other Naval Air Stations and to arrange a contract with a commercial firm for those flying tasks which must remain. Some of these arrangements have already been put into effect and others are still under consideration. The extent and timing of the reductions involved, therefore, cannot be accurately forecast at present.Apart from those employed in the R.N. Aircraft Repair Yard, which is not affected by these arrangements, the complement of the Air Station last summer was 430 R.N. and W.R.N.S. personnel and 189 civilians. These numbers are expected to be reduced in due course by not less than three-quarters of the R.N. and W.R.N.S. personnel and half of the civilians.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty why no master-at-arms has been promoted to officer's rank in 1952; how many promotions he expects in 1953 and 1954, respectively; and if, in view of the dearth of promotions, he will review the existing upper age limit for promotion, so that men do not pass out of the promotion zone without a reasonable chance of review.

No masters-at-arms have been promoted to commissioned master-at-arms during 1952 because no vacancies have occurred in the authorised bearing of officers in the Regulating Branch during the year. The numbers of vacancies at present foreseen during 1953 and 1954 are one in each year and corresponding numbers of promotions of master-at-arms will be made in each of those years. I prefer not to raise the upper age limit for promotion. The hon. Member will appreciate that such a course would not improve promotion prospects in the Branch as a whole.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that although the average age for advancement to master-at-arms is 32, the upper age for promotion to commissioned master-at-arms is 34; and, in view of the fact that a master-at-arms may be in the review zone for only two years, he will lift the upper age limit for promotion to commissioned rank.

The age zone for promotion to commissioned master-at-arms is 25 to 34, in common with the age zone for promotion to Branch Rank in other Executive Branches. I prefer not to raise the upper age limit. In my view, it is better to modify the arrangements on the lines we are now considering, which are designed to enable ratings to qualify earlier for master-at-arms and commissioned master-at-arms and to remain eligible for promotion to the higher rank over a longer period than at present

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty out of what Vote levies will be paid to the new Iron and Steel Board in respect of the steelmaking equipment at Portsmouth dockyard.

If the scheme to be prepared by the Iron and Steel Board requires a contribution by the Admiralty in respect of iron and steel activities within the dockyard, it would be paid from Navy Vote 8.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will consider requiring horticultural products, whether imported or home-grown, being made subject to marking orders under the Merchandise Marks Act, 1926.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Faversham (Mr. P. Wells) on 4th December. There is no power under the Merchandise Marks Act, 1926, to require the marking of home-grown produce.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that there are so few certifying officers employed by his Department in connection with the calf subsidy that some localities in Kent are often only visited once a quarter it the most; and if he will see if this situation can be remedied.

The Calf Subsidy Scheme has only just been approved. I believe that sufficient full-time certifying officers have been appointed to meet present needs. In the initial stages there may be some delay in certifying calves, but I shall keep the situation under review, and additional staff will be appointed if required.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will consider taking steps to increase the £5 reward offered in cases of sheep worrying with the object of further decreasing this serious problem.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the rewards which are offered by a number of county branches of the National Farmers' Union to persons who report cases of sheep worrying. I do not think that it would be appropriate to increase these awards out of public funds.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what action he proposes to take to prevent the risk of foot-and-mouth disease infection from motor vehicles coming to this country from the Continent which may have picked up mud or manure on the roads in an infected country.

This matter is being considered by the Gowers Committee and I shall, no doubt. receive their advice in due course. In the meantime, I do not propose to take further action for the reasons given in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Tonbridge (Mr. G. Williams) on 19th June.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, since anthrax has increased in this country over the years in direct proportion to the amount of imports of feedingstuffs and bones, if he will require that these are all properly sterilised before being admitted to this country.

It would not be practicable to require all such substances to be sterilised before importation, but my Department is considering what further steps can be taken to prevent infected material getting into feedingstuffs.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will introduce legislation to permit the use of antibiotics for fattening pigs.

If the trend of results of the current trials is confirmed by a favourable recommendation from the Agricultural Research Council at the end of the year, the Government intend to introduce legislation when opportunity offers to permit the use of antibiotics in animal feeding under suitable safeguards, and the necessary Bill is in preparation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how far the alterations in the defence production programme will result in a reduction in the number of aircrew required for the Royal Air Force.

The number of aircrew required will naturally be smaller than under earlier plans; but there will still be a very large requirement for Regular aircrew of the highest quality. There will also continue to be openings for the training of National Service candidates of similar calibre. The number of National Service men accepted for aircrew training will, however, be substantially reduced and they will in future be trained as pilots only.It will also be necessary to limit the training given to National Service pilots and navigators now in the Service. All those who are suitable will be trained to the stage when they qualify for the award of wings and will thereafter receive advanced training. In addition, candidates for the Royal Auxiliary Air Force will complete an operational conversion course

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what effect any envisaged reduction in aircrew training is likely to have on those civil firms which provide training under contract.

As a result of the reduction in the numbers of National Service men to be trained as aircrew, the seven schools set up for that purpose will soon be closed, and new entries will be trained in Service schools in Flying Training Command. The grading or preliminary flight testing now carried out in two civil schools will also be transferred to Service schools.In my reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Derby, North (Group Captain Wilcock) on 27th November, I stated that limits were to be placed on the numbers of existing Reserve aircrew who would be re-engaged, and it has now been decided to close down seven of the existing Reserve Flying Schools during the next six months. The effect will be spread as fairly as possible, but account must be taken of cost and geographical location.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a further statement in relation to protests about facilities by defence counsel at Kapenguria in view of the telegrams exchanged between four hon. Members of this House and Mr. Pritt, copies of which were sent to him on 15th December.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on the 18th December to the hon. Member for Dudley (Mr. Wigg).

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies who submits the nominations to the Resident of Buganda and to the Provincial Commissioners from which the Governor appoints representatives of growers to the Uganda Lint Marketing Board; and whether those representatives of growers are in all cases Africans.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 3rd December, 1952; Vol. 508, c. 149] supplied the following information:The Resident, Buganda, and the Provincial Commissioners submit their nominations after informal consultation with the people in their areas best qualified to advise. The representatives of the growers are in all cases Africans.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated increase in revenue from Purchase Tax arising from the introduction of the D Scheme for furniture.

The estimated revenue from furniture (including domestic, office and garden furniture) under the D Scheme is £8 million a year, an increase of £3 million over the present figure.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total of Income Tax revenue for the latest convenient year, collected from the 5 million taxpayers with the lowest incomes paying the tax.

It is estimated that for 1950–51, the latest year for which figures are available, the total amount of Income Tax paid by the 5 million taxpayers with the lowest incomes actually liable for tax was £31 million. This figure represents the amount due for that year and is not necessarily the same as the amount collected in the year, for which no comparable figure is available.It will be appreciated that the 1952–53 figure may be substantially different as the average income of the 5 million taxpayers with the lowest incomes this year will be higher following the Finance Act, 1952, which took some 2 million taxpayers out of the tax field.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amounts determined in respect of the 6,000 claims in England and Wales and the 5,000 claims in Scotland on the £3 million global fund which were rejected because they fell within the de minimis provisions of Sections 63 and 60, respectively, of the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the official announcement broadcast by Mr. Menzies on 16th December, that the recent Commonwealth Conference agreed on clear-cut and constructive proposals to achieve partial convertibility of sterling, and as this was not recorded in the Conference communiqué, Command Paper No. 8717, he has any statement to make.

All I can add to my answers to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Leeds, South (Mr. Gaitskell) on 18th December. is to say that future developments depend upon the outcome of the consultations mentioned in paragraphs 20–22 of the communiqu¹. These, by their nature. must take some time.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will arrange that part of the viewing facilities in the offices of the Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel and Power on the Coronation line of route are reserved for miners and the children of miners who have lost their lives by recent mining disasters to enable them to view the Coronation procession.

The hon. Member has overlooked the fact that the office of the Secretary of State for the Coordination of Transport. Fuel and Power. does not overlook the route of the Coronation procession.

asked the Minister of Food the present annual subsidy on food; and how much of this is received by British producers.

A total of £308.8 million has been provided for food subsidies in the Estimates for this financial year. Any attempt to apportion the benefit received respectively by consumer and home producer would involve so many assumptions, many of them arbitrary, that it could only be misleading.

asked the Minister of Food to what extent the sugar beet factories in England have so far during the present season been able to handle without delay the quantities of sugar lifted from the farms; and whether he will make a statement on the progress being made with regard to the manufacture of sugar from this year's sugar beet crop.

By 17th December over 300,000 tons more beet had been processed than by the same date last year. Production of sugar from this year's crop is progressing well. The quantity of sugar in the beet is above average and the extraction of sugar from the beet is showing is showing a marked improvement.

asked the Minister of Food how the costs of carrying this season's crop of sugar beet from the farms to the factories compare with the costs of carrying last year's crop.

It will not be possible to make a reliable comparison until the transporting of this year's crop has been completed, but the best estimate that can be made at present suggests that the total cost of carrying this year's crop from the farms to the factories is likely to be about 7 per cent. higher than last year's cost.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that the new system of allocating meat to meat manufacturers operates unfairly as between one manufacturer and another; and whether he will reconsider the question.

At present, allocations of meat to manufacturers are based on their pre-war usage. This arrangement is clearly out of date and next year allocations will be based upon the actual usage of meat by manufacturers during the three months September to November, 1952. Issues of manufacturing meat were relatively high during that period, which was chosen after consultation with the trade, and I am satisfied that the new system, the detailed application of which is being discussed with the trade, will be fair to all concerned.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will have published in HANSARD a list of the imported and British types of cheese, giving the natural fat content of each per ounce or per lb.

There are so many varieties of cheese and the information about their composition is so scattered that a complete statement would involve a long search of the technical literature and would hardly be suitable for reproduction in HANSARD.So far as the commoner home-produced cheese are concerned, however, the following table gives average figures summarised form a paper in "The Analyst" (1941, 66, 265–286)by Dr. J. R. Nicholls, C.B.E., of the Government Chemist's Department:

Variety			Fat content per cent.	Equivalent ozs. of fat per 1b. of cheese
Cheddar	…	…	31·8	5·1
Cheshire	…	…	30·0	4·8
Lancashire	…	…	27·4	4·4
Wensleydale	…	…	27·7	4·4
Derby	…	…	30·6	4·9
Leicester	…	…	30·2	4·8
Stilton (blue)	…	…	35·7	5·8
Caerphilly	…	…	28·4	4·5

The same detailed information is not available for all imported cheeses but average figures culled from various sources for the popular varieties are given below:

Variety	Fat content per cent.	Equivalent ozs. of fat per1b. of cheese
Cheddar (New Zealand)	36·9	5·9
Camembert (France)	22·0	3·5
Brie (France)…	22·5	3·6
Pont l'Eveque (France)	23·l	3·7
Gruyere (France)	28·0	4·5
Gouda (Holland)	28·5	4·5
Samsoe (Danish)	27·0	4·3

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, if he is aware that Great Britain has declined to join France in protesting against recent nationalistic utterances in the Federal Republic of Germany and that France, in consequence, protested unilaterally; and why Her Majesty's Government have felt unable to join the French Government in its action against neo-Nazism and militarism.

This question arose after the speech made by General Ramcke on the 26th October. As my right hon. Friend explained in answer to a Question on 30th October, he did not instruct the United Kingdom High Commissioner to intervene because he did not consider that General Ramcke's remarks constituted a real threat to the security of our forces in Germany, and also because the German Federal Government and German public opinion had strongly condemned them.On 31st October the French Government raised with Her Majesty's Government the question of joint action by the Allied High Commission. In reply the French Embassy were informed of my right hon. Friend's views as stated on the previous day in the House. The question was however also considered in the Allied High Commission. Meanwhile, as M. Maurice Schumann has already stated in Paris, the French High Commissioner made a unilateral démarche. Further action by Her Majesty's Government was thought to be unnecessary, more especially as the German Federal Government were aware of our views from my right hon. Friend's statement on 30th October.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of certain statements made by the chief of the delegation for Korea of the International Committee of the Red Cross in a letter to the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations forces about the actions in April of this year of United Nations troops guarding prisoners of war on Koje Island, he will make available the text of this letter and of the Commander-in-Chief's reply.

Yes. The texts are being placed in the Library of the House.The delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross represented to General Clark that, contrary to the provision of the 1949 Geneva Convention, food and water had been withheld from prisoners of war in three hospital compounds of United Nations prisoner of war Enclosure No. 10, and that concussion grenades had been used against patients in the same compound.In his reply, General Clark said that the three compounds of Enclosure No. 10 were controlled by fanatical Communist leaders and had resisted every attempt of the camp authorities to restore law and order. Although the enclosure contained many patients, the Communist leaders refused to permit the peaceful entry of United Nations Command medical personnel. The delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross tried for several days without success to secure the co-operation of the prisoners and were unable to suggest any satisfactory method of bringing this about. After every other attempt to regain control had failed, the United Nations Command prepared a new compound in the immediate vicinity of Enclosure No. 10. General Clark's reply explains that food and water were made available in the new compound, and the rebellious prisoners informed that rations would no longer be delivered to the three compounds they occupied. These prisoners were free to avail themselves of the facilities in the new compounds and could do so merely by moving to them. General Clark emphasises that food and water and medical services were available. At no time were prisoners denied them.General Clark's reply further explains that concussion grenades were used when United States troops entered the first of the three compounds. Against the strong and concerted resistance of aggressive prisoners, armed with a variety of lethal weapons which they had fashioned in preparation for and actually used in overt action, the United States troops used only tear gas and concussion grenades. The concussion grenade is a shock weapon, of the non-fragmentation type, and is not considered a combat missile. The delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross on the scene were reported to have commented very favourably on the skill and self-control exercised by the United States troops, despite the danger to which they were subjected by the rioting prisoners.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the retail price per gallon of average or any one quality of paraffin at London, Glasgow, Inverness, Stornoway and Berneray, Isle of Harris. respectively.

I do not control the retail price of burning oil and the information could not he readily obtained. The maximum wholesale price of the ordinary grade of burning oil is 1s. 4¼d. per gallon in London and Glasgow, 1s. 5¼d. in Inverness and 1s. 5¾. in Stornoway. The oil companies do not delivery burning oil to Berneray, Isle of Harris, and buyers there have to make their own arrangements for collection from the companies.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the price per gallon of petrol in Glasgow, Kyle of Lochalsh, Stornoway and Lochmaddy, Isle of North Uist, respectively.

The retail price of petrol is 4s. 2¾d. per gallon at Glasgow and 4s. 4¼d. at Kyle of Lochalsh and Stornoway. I do not control the retail price of petrol in the Isle of North Uist, but the price charged by the oil companies for regular bulk deliveries in barrels to Lochmaddy is 4s. 3¼d. per gallon.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish in HANSARD a list of those 20 cities and towns which have the highest atmospheric pollution, giving the weight of solids that falls annually per square mile or per acre; and the figures, where available, of the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and cancer of the lung and bronchiæ.

I have been asked to reply.I understand from the Department of Scientific Industrial Research that it is not possible for technical reasons to determine with any certainty the towns which have the highest atmospheric pollution

Total number of appeals decided		Number dealt with by hearing		Number dealt with (a) by correspondence
		Dismissed	Allowed	Dismissed	Allowed
Posters	575	125	20	348	82
Trade Signs (b)	257(37)	17(2)	12	146(23)	82(12)
Totals	832	174		658
Notes:
(a) Including cases in which the site was visited by an officer of the Department accompanied by representatives of both parties to the appeal.
(b) These figures include appeals for direction signs not on the trader's premises as shown in brackets.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why the inquiry into an appeal against permitting the erection of five flag posts on land at Felbridge was held at Hind-head, Surrey, with consequential inconvenience to local residents wishing to give evidence.

The firm made two appeals; one about flag posts at Felbridge, the other about flag posts at Hindhead. It seemed convenient and economical to hear the appeals together; and nobody objected to this procedure.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to give details of the number of appeals by advertising interests dealt with during 1952 under the Control of Advertisements Regulations, 1948; how many of these appeals were dealt with by public hearings and by correspondence, respectively; how many in each group referred, respectively, to posters, including bulletin boards but not trade signs, and of trade signs on the premises of the occupiers concerned; and how many of each separate category were rejected or allowed.

From 1st January to 30th November the total number of appeals decided was 832.Details are as follows:

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will revise his predecessor's approval of the general principles for the standardisation and simplification of electricity charges by altering the recommendation that for the domestic tariff the number of rooms should be generally adopted as the basis of assessment.

I have asked the Boards to review the working of their new tariffs when sufficient experience of their operation has been obtained. Consideration of any revision of the principles approved by my predecessor would depend upon the results of these reviews.

asked the Minister of Health the average cost per week of keeping a child in a day nursery; and the highest amount and the lowest amount in any local authority.

Provisional figures for 1950–51 give the average gross cost of a nursery place as £2 5s. ld. per week. The highest and lowest figures for individual local health authorities are £3 9s. 6d. and 18s. 4d. per week.

asked the Minister of Health the cost and the number of people served by each of the executive councils in England and Wales.

—	Wigs (pairs)	Abdominal belts	Surgical boots(pairs)	Elastic stockings
Quantity supplied in six months to 30th September, 1952	414	3,562	3,356	1,536
Quantity supplied in each year since the inception of the National Health Service:
1948 (from 5th July)	19	1,045	542	243
1949	991	12,696	6,142	1,614
1950	1,489	8,342	5,975	1,977
1951	1,052	8,017	7,472	2,619
1952 (to 30th September)	612	5,185	5,253	2,223

The figures for elastic stockings are for supplies through the hospital service only; statistics of supplies on prescription

As the answer in volves a lengthy table I am sending it to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health why 11, Bramcote Road, Putney, belonging to the Cassel Hospital, has stood empty for three years; what attempts have been made to sell it: and why it cannot be turned over to the local authority for housing homeless families.

This property is surplus to hospital needs and efforts have been made to dispose of it by auction and otherwise. I should be glad to sell it to any interested authority for a suitable price, but I understand that it is considered to be too costly to adapt for housing homeless families.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many wigs, abdominal belts, pairs of surgical boots, and pairs of elastic stockings, respectively, have been supplied through the National Health Service in the last six months: and what are the corresponding figures for each year since the inception of the service.

The following is the information required:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many houses in England and Wales which are subject to Demolition Orders under Section 11 of the Housing Act, 1936, are inhabited.

I regret the information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have escaped from Wakefield Prison since the war; whether he will make a statement on the circumstances under which Robert Harrington Sanders escaped from there earlier this month; how far special precautions were taken in dealing with this prisoner who had already previously escaped from custody on two occasions; and whether he will cause an inquiry to be made as to the conditions prevailing and precautions taken at this prison.

The number of prisoners who have escaped from Wakefield prison since the war is 29; 28 from the prison itself, one from the satellite camp administered from the prison.Sanders was employed as a night stoker, which is a position reserved for prisoners who are considered to be trustworthy. At 8 p.m. he was allowed to leave the main prison building without supervision, in accordance with normal practice, to stoke-up for the night the boilers which are within the prison wall. He then escaped by means of a grapnel hook and lengths of electric light cable. His absence was reported at 8.10 p.m. and the alarm was given.No special precautions were taken in dealing with this prisoner because throughout the period of over six years which he has served of his present sentence his behaviour had been good and he had for over a year been employed in positions of trust.The reports relating to this escape are still under consideration, and I should prefer to complete my study of them before deciding what further action, if any, I ought to take.

asked the hon. Member for Woolwich, West, as Chairman of the Kitchen Committee, why the Kitchen Committee require to make a profit of ls. 7¼d. per lb. on the price of sausages sold in the Members' Tea Room.

In order to cover partly the cost of wages, the purchase of plant and equipment and other overheads.

asked the Minister of National Insurance the average annual cost to the National Assistance Board, during the last three years, of maintaining wives and families who have been deserted by their husbands: and the number of such cases.

It is estimated that there are about 70.000 women receiving National Assistance who are married but live apart from their husbands. About 20,000 of these women are old age or retirement pensioners, and it would appear that in a considerable proportion of the cases the separation is of long standing, but it is not possible to give numbers or cost in respect of those wives who have been "deserted."

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will explain the arrangements made for the settlement of telephone accounts where a party line is used, so that neither party using the line is responsible for the payments of the other subscriber.

All subscribers on shared lines are given separate accounts for trunk calls. Separate accounts are also given for local calls, where the exchange is a manual exchange. Special apparatus is needed to enable local calls to be registered for each subscriber with a shared line to an automatic exchange. and because of the restriction on our resources it will be some time before all automatic exchanges can be so equipped.Where this equipment is not available, it is necessary for the two parties to come to terms about the charges for metered local calls, and for one of them to accept responsibility for payment to the Post Office.

asked the Minister of Supply what proportion of the steel foundry industry, measured by any convenient means, is at present controlled by the British Iron and Steel Corporation.

Companies controlled by the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain accounted in 1951 for 19.3 per cent. of the total output of steel castings.

asked the Minister of Supply, (1) why vehicles belonging to his Department are stored in the open air at G.L.3 Storage Depot, Atcham Airfield, Salop, without any protection, have been unused, and their engines not even turned over for over 18 months, and in some cases 21 months; and why they are permitted to deteriorate in this way at such a cost to the taxpayer; (2) why G.L.3 Storage Depot, Atcham Airfield, Salop, is administered by a non-technical authority, which has resulted in vehicles belonging to his Department being stored in the open air, unused, and without any protection.

Covered storage accommodation is not available for these vehicles, which do not normally remain in the depot for more than about three months. The normal practice is to turn over the engines once a month, but unusually heavy deliveries since August have made it difficult to keep to this timetable. I am inquiring into the position. A technical officer is in charge of the depot.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to make a statement of his policy regarding the imports of fruit, flowers and vegetables in 1953; and regarding the imports of fruit pulp during 1953–54.

Quotas for 1953 for imports of most fresh fruits from Western European and certain other foreign countries have already been announced. Some of these quotas are for the whole year and others for the first six months.Imports of most vegetables from Western European and certain other foreign countries may be made under open general licence which will, as at present, be subject to suspension for certain items during the main marketing seasons of the home crops. A detailed announcement will be made shortly. No decision has been taken on the value of imports of fruit pulp from foreign countries during the year beginning 1st July, 1953. In 1952, there were one or two small quotas for these goods from countries not included under the above arrangements and similar quotas may be arranged in 1953.Quotas for imports of cut flowers will be arranged, as in previous years, under bilateral trade agreements.Imports of fresh fruit and vegetables and of most types of fruit pulp from the sterling area may be made under open general licence.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now in a position to make a statement as to the possibility of reopening and increasing East-West trade; and what is the policy in relation thereto of the Export Credits Guarantee Corporation.

As my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has repeatedly stated, Her Majesty's Government would welcome any increase in trade with Eastern Europe in non-strategic commodities. Our approaches to Russia and the other Soviet bloc countries about the goods which we are ready and anxious to sell have not, however, met with any success. As regards the second part of the Question, the Export Credits Guarantee Department, with Treasury approval under Section 2 of the Export Guarantees Act, 1949, afford cover to exports against confirmed irrevocable letters of credit opened before shipment. or. in certain cases, short term credit.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what progess is being made on the question of the revision of tariffs on horticultural products.

While good progress has been made in the examination of that part of the horticultural tariff which relates to fresh and preserved fruit and vegetables, there remains a wide range of horticultural products, the examination of which has not yet been completed. I am not in a position to announce any decisions on individual items.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the considerable and increasing dollar earnings of the car hire trade and its contribution to tourist promotion generally, if he will encourage further development of these facilities by means of some relaxation of the Hire Purchase (Control) Order, 1952, as regards the purchase of new rolling stock for Coronation year.

This matter is under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet asked the Monopolies Commission to undertake any inquiry under Section 15 of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Enquiry and Control) Act, 1948.

Yes. A requirement for a report under Section 15 was sent to the Commission on 17th December. The full text is reproduced below.Broadly, the Commission are to report on practices which involve agreement amongst a number of traders to discriminate in favour of or against a defined class of customers. These include the practices which have been referred to in reports of the Commission as "exclusive dealing" and "collective boycott."THE MONOPOLIES AND RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES (INQUIRY AND CONTROL) ACT, 1948.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the figure accepted by his Department as the normal civilian requirements of China for imports of penicillin, streptomycin, sulpha drugs, and other antibiotics together with the actual quantities of those drugs permitted by his Department between the publication of the embargo list in June, 1951. and the latest convenient date to be exported from the United Kingdom to China.

The permissible export by the United Kingdom to meet China's normal civilian requirements of antibiotics and sulpha drugs has been estimated by reference to our exports to China and Hong Kong of these drugs in the first six months of 1950. Licences are granted to exporters up to the amount of their exports to those territories in that period, and, additional exports have been licensed to Hong Kong to meet special needs certified by the Hong Kong authorities. The values of export licences granted accordingly during the period 1st July, 1951, to 16th December, 1952, for antibiotics and sulpha drugs were £889,700 and £417,900, respectively.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will meet a deputation from the North-East Development Association to discuss ways and means of providing alternative forms of employment in the right places: and if he is aware that those responsible for the above association are disturbed about the situation in the north-east and would welcome the opportunity of placing their views before him at an early date.

The North-East Development Association have not yet made any request for a deputation, but, if they desired it, I should certainly be prepared to meet them on behalf of my right hon. Friend to hear their views on industrial development in the North Eastern Development Area.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the public anxiety concerning the need of an improvement scheme near the East Glamorgan Hospital on the south-east of the Pontypridd-Llantrisant Road, A473, so as to obviate traffic congestion and danger to the public when visiting the hospital.

This is primarily for the Glamorgan County Council, who are the highway authority for this road and are, I understand, looking into the matter. They have not yet submitted an improvement scheme, but if they do so my right hon. Friend will consider it.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will make arrangements to increase the artificial lighting in the Central Lobby of the Houses of Parliament up to the standard provided in St. Stephen's Hall and adjoining corridors so that it may be possible for Members to recognise their visitors and for visitors to read written communication; and whether the necessary work required for the purpose can be done during the approaching Christmas Recess.

Provision has been made to improve the illuminations in the Central Lobby during the Summer Recess next year. It is not possible to carry out this work earlier, as the new fittings have to be specially designed and made