asked the Minister of Transport if he will now assist to bring about the provision of omnibus shelters in the near future.

I cannot usefully add at present to the answer given to the hon. Member's Question on 15th December last.

asked the Minister of Transport how many free ferries exist in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively.

There are at present two free vehicular ferries in England, four in Scotland and none in Wales. My information about pedestrian ferries is incomplete and I know of one only which is free to all pedestrians.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will extend the public free ferry services on Rivers Thames and Clyde to the River Forth.

No, my right hon. Friend has no statutory powers to give financial assistance for the purpose of freeing from tolls the existing ferry over the Forth, or to acquire it; and there are no funds at his disposal to establish a new ferry.

asked the Minister of Transport under what conditions and subject to what safeguards, motor or other road vehicles are permitted to carry loads extending beyond the length of the vehicle.

Except in certain London streets, I am not aware of any legal restriction on the carriage of projecting loads by any vehicle on account of length alone, provided that they are not likely to cause danger or obstruction. At night, if the load projects more than 6 ft. behind the rear light or reflector of the carrying vehicle an additional or substituted red light must be shown not more than 6 ft. from the extreme end of the load. Paragraph 44 of the Highway Code states that the ends of projecting loads should be marked in daytime with either a white cloth or something else which will attract attention.

asked the Minister of Transport how many zebra crossings he has authorised; how many have been lighted since the order was made; by what date lighting of crossings was to be compulsory; and to what date he is now postponing it.

There are now about 11,000 authorised zebra crossings, but few if any of these have yet been lighted apart from experimental installations. No order has been made on the subject of lighting, but my right hon. Friend has asked local authorities to proceed with lighting the beacons as rapidly as possible in advance of the amendment of the regulations which will in due course make this compulsory. No date has yet been fixed for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Transport why he has allowed the removal of all the zebra crossings outside the Austin Motor Company's premises at the junction of Bristol Road South and Lickey Road, Birmingham.

The crossings were removed by the Birmingham Corporation with my right hon. Friend's approval because they held up traffic very seriously at the times when workers were arriving or leaving and for the rest of the day they were not needed. There are refuges which help pedestrians to cross the roads here in safety.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will indicate the cost of snow clearance during the last three months by the counties of Brecon, Carmarthen, Cardigan, Glamorgan, Monmouth, Montgomery, Pembroke and Radnor; how many of these counties have had to curtail their estimates because of this special expenditure; and which counties have received from him a special grant aid for snow clearance.

The cost has been £11,763 on trunk roads and £59,550 on classified roads, but I cannot give the expenditure on unclassified roads. No separate grant is given for snow clearance, which is covered by the annual grant for maintenance. I am informed that four of these counties will have to curtail their maintenance programmes.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has considered representations from the National Association of Parish Councils and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents requesting the acceptance by his Department of the full financial responsibility for the lighting of trunk roads, similar to that for the construction, improvement, maintenance and repair of trunk roads; and if he will take urgent steps, with a view to legislation, if necessary, as the proper and adequate lighting of trunk roads is a national requirement, and should be financed from the appropriate road fund.

I have not yet received these representations. When I do so I will consider them carefully, but I could not at present commit myself to assuming further financial responsibility for lighting on trunk roads. The Ministry already contribute from the Road Fund 50 per cent. of the cost of approved schemes.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will make a statement of the progress made in Scotland up to date with the elimination of accident black spots on the roads.

On trunk and classified roads 63 schemes, estimated to cost

—			At end of August
					1948	1949	1950	1951	1952
Applicants	…	…	1,269,036	1,454,317	1,593,114	1,688,541	1,826,382
Visits per week	…	…	66,435	84,154	96,417	96,809	100,544
Callers per week	…	…	98,503	84,100	88,620	95,169	117,709
Staff	…	…	7,138	7,371	7,292	7,704	8,052

NOTE: The figures given in the last three lines are for visits, callers and staff relating to all Area Office functions, which consist mainly of assistance and non-contributory pensions work. As separate figures for visits, callers and staff in respect of assistance only are not available, persons receiving noncontributory pensions are also included in the figures in the first line relating to applicants. "Applicants" means persons receiving regular weekly payments.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the Report of the London Plan Working Party on priority measures to improve transport facilities in north London.

I hope soon to make the statement which I promised to the hon. Member in my reply to his Question on 20th October last.

asked the Minister of Supply what steps are being taken to accelerate the production of bye-pass jet engines in order to ensure the continuity of our lead in jet engines.

The development of a gas turbine engine employing the bye-pass principle was given super-priority some nine months ago and everything possible is being done by the manufacturers and the Government to accelerate progress.

asked the Minister of National Insurance the increase in the number of applicants in receipt of National Assistance; the average number of domiciliary visits per week; the number of callers on the area offices of the board each week on 1st September in the years 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1952; and the staff attending to those duties during the said years.

The reply is as follows:

asked the Minister of National Insurance what additional staff was allocated to enable the National Assistance Board to cope with applications for legal aid in England, Wales and Scotland: and the work arising from the charges for dentures, optical treatment, surgical aids and prescriptions and for the payment of fares to patients attending hospital.

Except for special arrangements in a few places about legal aid, all this work is dealt with as part of the normal work of the Board's area offices and though taken into account in deciding what total staff is needed separate staff is not specifically allocated to it.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether he will make a statement concerning the pneumoconiosis benefit scheme giving, to the nearest date, the number of applications made for benefit, the number of cases examined and still outstanding and the number receiving benefit following examination.

The answer is as follows:

PNEUMOCONIOSIS AND BYSSINOSIS BENEFIT SCHEME, 1952
Period from 10th March, 1952 (commencement) to 3rd January, 1953, inclusive
—	Total Disable	Death	Total
Applications received	5,586	860	6,446
Claims allowed	2,179	458	2,637
Claims disallowed	2,153	237	2,390
Claims under examination	1,254	165	1,419

asked the Minister of National Insurance approximately how many insured workers receive in a given year injury benefit on account of dermatitis following irritation by dust or liquids; and, of these, what numbers ultimately receive disablement benefit and what numbers a life pension.

It is not possible to give figures showing how many of those awarded injury benefit for an industrial disease in a particular year go on to an award of disablement benefit or may ultimately receive a life pension.In 1950, however, about 21,000 awards of injury benefit were made for the disease in question and about 3,000 initial awards of disablement benefit. At the end of the year there were about 2,200 pensions in payment for the disease of which 80 were life pensions.

asked the Minister of National Insurance whether he is aware how much lower the accident rate is for insured women workers than for men; and whether he will either increase the benefits offered to women or reduce their contribution rate.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes" and to the second "No." It is a fundamental principle of the Industrial Injuries Scheme that rates of contributions and of benefit should not vary with the risk.

asked the Minister of National Insurance the number of retired pensioners in Cardiff; the number in receipt of supplementary pensions; and the number in receipt of non-contributory pensions.

The number of retirement pensioners in this area is not known as it is not possible from our records to give this figure by localities. On 16th December last the two National Assistance Board offices in Cardiff were paying 7,510 regular weekly grants of National Assistance in supplementation of retirement pensions and 2,740 non-contributory old age pensions of which 1,274 were being supplemented by National Assistance.

asked the Minister of National Insurance the number of retired pensioners in Cardiff who have sought supplementary assistance to obtain clothing, bedding, etc., during the past year; and the number of applications that have been refused.

I regret that the specific information asked for is not available, but during the 12 months to December, 1952, 2,082 pensioners or other applicants received from the Board's offices in Cardiff grants to meet exceptional needs for clothing, bedding, etc.

asked the Minister of National Insurance how much money is estimated to be spent per annum by his Department in ensuring that old age pensioners do not earn money without making deductions from their pensions; and how much it would cost in a year to enable pensioners to earn as much as they wished without making any deductions from pensions.

I regret that it is not possible to give the information asked for. But the cost of administering the earnings rule is trifling in comparison with the extra expense which payment of pensions without a retirement condition, of which the earnings rule is an integral part. would involve.

asked the Minister of National Insurance, in view of the fact that most items in the average budget of old age pensioners have risen during the past year, whether he will now increase the amount of these pensions to meet the increased cost of living.

No. I do not think the basis on which the present pension rates were fixed has been affected by subsequent changes in the Retail Price Index.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if he is aware that many old age pensioners are non-smokers and derive no benefit from tobacco concessions; and if he will consider giving cash in lieu of tobacco coupons to those old age pensioners who have conscientious objections to the use of tobacco.

No. My right hon. Friend has no power to make a payment of this kind.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he has considered the representations made to his Department by the Association of Urban District Councils on Mining Subsidence: what reply he has given; and whether he will accede to their request to receive a deputation on the subject.

Yes, I have considered these representations. The Association have been informed that I do not, in present circumstances, propose further legislation on this matter. They have been invited and have agreed to send me a memorandum with fresh evidence, which I shall most carefully consider.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will publish the report of his Departmental inquiry into the use of automatic load control devices for electricity supply systems.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to a joint study of the possible uses of various load controlling devices which officials of my Ministry and representatives of the electricity boards have recently completed. Their purpose was to advise the Minister and the British Electricity Authority and not to prepare a document for publication.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the total dollar cost of oil used in this country in 1952.

About £54 million f.o.b.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he has yet had an opportunity of discussing with representatives of the fuel industries the giving of help to manufacturers of fuel-saving installations, as well as to those who put them in.

I have been in touch with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply and he informs me that present supplies of steel should be sufficient for the manufacture of fuel-saving installations.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will make a statement on the present shortage of coal stocks in Macclesfield

I am making inquiries and will write to my hon. and gallant Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Materials whether he will waive the necessity of applying for a licence to erect a flagpole for the Coronation, in view of the fact that such licences will, presumably, be granted as a matter of course.

No. Licences are not needed for softwood poles of 3 inches or less in diameter, or hardwood poles, but, although licences will be issued freely for other poles, they will only be valid for flagpoles made from homegrown softwood. Without licensing, there would be no way of ensuring that home-grown softwood was used, or of preventing the import of flagpoles or even the use of poles already imported for other essential purposes.

asked the Minister of Materials if he is yet in a position to make a statement about the possible development of deposits of potash salts in north Yorkshire.

I cannot yet add to the answer which I gave on 15th December to my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr. Hurd).

asked the Attorney-General whether his attention has been drawn to the remarks made at Winchester Assizes on Friday, 5th December, 1952, by Mr. Justice Devlin, with regard to the privilege of the Crown from disclosure of documents; and whether he will consider advising Government Departments to adopt a less rigid attitude with regard to such disclosure.

asked the Attorney-General, in view of the recent judicial criticism at Winchester Assizes of the method of exercising Crown privilege regarding disclosure of documents, if he will advise Government Departments to relax their practice in such cases in the interests of justice.

I have seen a report of the remarks made by Mr. Justice Devlin to which the hon. Members refer. The question whether in any particular case privilege from disclosure should be claimed by the Crown in respect of any particular document is one of policy to be determined by the Minister of the Department concerned. That being so, it would not be proper for me to give advice of the kind suggested in my hon. Friends' Questions. The principles to be applied, which were laid down long ago, were reformulated by the then Lord Chancellor in the case of Duncan v. Cammell Laird in 1942, and great care is taken by Ministers in applying those principles in each case.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will renew the provision whereby tenants are secured against expulsion by landlords when existing tenancies have elapsed after the present two years' period of postponement has been completed.

A Bill extending the operation of the Leasehold Property (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1951, is now before Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the present situation in the fishing dispute with Iceland.

I regret that I am not yet in a position to add to the reply I gave to the right hon. Member for Grimsby (Mr. Younger) on 17th December.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what stage has been reached in the negotiations about the Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's statement of 20th January, in reply to the hon. Member for Maldon (Mr. Driberg).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will publish as a White Paper the proposals of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and of the Egyptian Government, together with the terms of the Salem Agreement, in connection with the negotiations on the Sudan.

I do not think it would be appropriate to publish these documents whilst they are still under discussion with the Egyptian Government. A White Paper dealing with the official exchanges between the Egyptian Government and ourselves will, however, be laid before Parliament in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what contribution this country will make in 1953 to the United Nations Extended Programme of Technical Assistance to Underdeveloped Countries.

Her Majesty's Government propose to ask Parliament for £500,000 in 1953.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government to the Government of the United States of America on the subject of the McCarran Act.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 20th January to the hon. Member for Itchen (Mr. Morley).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how far he still has the authority to ensure that no part of the heavy industries of the Ruhr again falls into Nazi hands.

The Allied High Commission has power under the law for the deconcentration of German heavy industries to ensure the break up of excessive concentrations of economic power held by any of the former owners. Considerable progress has been made in the reorganisation of the German coal and steel industries accordingly on the new basis.The hon. Lady's Question may have been prompted by Press reports that one of the seven former Nazis recently arrested was in the steel industry. I understand that the individual in question, Herr Heinz Siepen, is in fact part owner of a razor blade factory.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information as to the sources of the incomes and funds at the disposal of the leaders arrested in Western Germany; and how far these are derived from the coal, iron and steel industries.

The investigations are still proceeding, and I cannot make any statement on this point at the present stage.

asked the Minister of Food when he will be able to improve the quality of meat content in sausages.

My right hon. and gallant Friend hopes to make a statement on this subject in the near future.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that the reallocation of sugar supplies to confectionery manufacturers has been condemned by the Cocoa, Chocolate and Confectionery Alliance; that the new allocation is unfair to those who have refused to use imported composite materials containing sugar and fat in their sweet manufactures; that a cut of 10 per cent. in supplies of sugar has been imposed on them; and whether he will reconsider this cut and treat all manufacturers alike.

My right hon. and gallant Friend has taken fully into account the views of the industry. He is satisfied that the new scheme is as fair and equitable a way as can be devised to relate allocations not only to pre-war usage but to current production. It contains adequate safeguards against hardship.

asked the Minister of Food what consultation took place with the cake and biscuit manufacturers and bakers on the subject of the reallocation of raw material; how far his plan will increase the availability of sugar and fat for the trade; and what advantage will accrue to the consuming public from the compulsory imposition of this new system of allocation.

Full consultations have taken place with all the trades affected and a wide measure of agreement has been reached with some of them. Reallocation will not by itself make additional supplies of sugar and fats available. But a scheme of allocation which reflects present-day production as well as the prewar pattern must ultimately be of advantage to the public.

asked the Minister of Food if he can now make a statement on the arrangements for the marketing of eggs after derationing takes place.

Not yet.

asked the Minister of Food why he derationed gammons and at the same time reduced the bacon ration.

To give greater freedom in the use of the bacon supplies available. The freeing of surplus gammon is in no way related to the temporary reduction in the bacon ration. As already announced, it is hoped to restore the ration to 5 oz. on 22nd February.

asked the Minister of Food approximately how much sugar is available from dollar and non-dollar countries, respectively; how much was imported, and how much was exported since 1st January, 1952, to and from dollar and non-dollar countries, respectively.

At the present time the principal source of non-dollar sugar outside the Commonwealth is Eastern Europe, but there are no reliable estimates of the quantities available for purchase. Harvesting in the dollar area is only about to start.The reply to the second half of the Question is as follows:

SUGAR
Total Imports into, and exports from, the United Kingdom for the Calendar Year 1952 by currency areas:—
—		000's tons tel quel
		Imports	…	Exports (including re-exports)
Sterling Area	…	899·5	354·4
Dollar Area	…	1,067·6	0·5
Others	…	91·5	324·8
TOTALS	…	2,058·6	679·7

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that there has been a sharp increase in price following his decontrol of bananas; and what steps he now proposes to take.

Yes, though some increase would have been necessary had control continued. In the great majority of cases the increase since decontrol has not been unreasonable, but there have been some individual exceptions. The marketing companies have taken action to deal with the situation. My right hon. and gallant Friend is watching the position closely.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that there has been a sharp increase in price, following his decontrol of coffee; and what steps he now proposes to take.

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies given to him on 10th December, and to the right hon. Member for Battersea, North (Mr. Jay) on 15th December, 1952. There has been no significant change since then.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what amount bank credit has contracted since October, 1951, in Scotland, England and Wales respectively.

The London Clearing Banks do not distinguish between their operations in England and in Wales. Their published figures for these two countries together show that between October, 1951, and November, 1952, advances fell by £154 million, or about 8 per cent. Similar figures for the operation of the Scottish Banks are not published, but I have no reason to suppose that the degree of contraction of bank credit is appreciably different in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by whose authority Poplar Walk, in the Borough of Croydon, was made a one-way street many months before this was authorised by Statutory Instrument, No. 2304, 1952.

The Commissioner of Police, with the agreement of the local authority and the Ministry of Transport, arranged for Poplar Walk, Croydon, to be made a one-way street

		Conviction or order affirmed
Year	Number of persons	Without modification of sentence or order	With modification of sentence or order	Conviction or order quashed	Appeal abandoned etc.
1948	115	63	19	21	12
1949	162	77	47	20	18
1950	143	77	29	17	20
1951	111	65	23	15	8
1952	133	69	26	17	21

Where the sentence was modified, the records do not show whether it was reduced or increased.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals there were from the Liverpool City Magistrates' Courts to the Liverpool City Quarter Sessions for each of the 12 months ended 31st December, 1948, 31st December, 1949, 31st December, 1950, 31st December, 1951, and 31st December, 1952; in how many cases the sentences were increased, remained the same or were reduced; and in what number of cases, due to be tried before the stipendiary magistrate in each of these periods, the accused person elected to go for trial to quarter sessions.

The following table shows the number of persons who appealed to the Liverpool City Quarter Sessions during the years 1948 to 1952 (not including appeals against bastardy orders) and the results of the appeals:I regret that the information asked for in the last part of the Question is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been instituted during the last convenient period of 12 months for allowing avoidable smoke or visible vapour to be emitted from a motor vehicle; and in how many cases convictions were obtained.

I regret that this information cannot be supplied without disproportionate labour, except in respect of the Metropolitan Police District, where in 1951 proceedings for this offence were instituted against nine persons, all of whom were convicted and fined.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many brigade commanders there are in Anti-Aircraft Command; and how many of these officers had regimental experience of anti-aircraft gunnery before their appointment to these commands.

There are 36 of these appointments, of which one is vacant. Twenty-four of the officers holding these commands had regimental experience of anti-aircraft gunnery before appointment.

asked the Secretary of State for War the total expenditure on anti-aircraft emplacements in Great Britain during the period 1st January, 1952, to 1st January, 1953; and what is the estimated expenditure for the period 1st January, 1953, to 1st January, 1954.

It is not the practice to publish details of this particular expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many officers and other ranks, respectively, are employed at Headquarters, Anti-Aircraft Command; and what was the total annual expenditure on the upkeep, including pay of all ranks of this headquarters, during the period 1st January, 1952, to 1st January, 1953.

72 officers and 151 other ranks, of whom 6 officers and 57 other ranks are of the Women's Royal Army Corps, are at present employed at this Headquarters. The cost of military pay, allowances, rations, etc., and of civilian salaries and wages last year was about £210,000.

asked the Secretary of State for War the total expenditure involved, including pay of all ranks, in the upkeep of the headquarters of an anti-aircraft group, and an anti-aircraft brigade, respectively, during the period 1st January, 1952, to 1st January, 1953.

The strengths of these headquarters vary. At one of the group headquarters the cost of military pay, allowances, rations, etc., and of civilian salaries and wages last year was about £90,000; the comparable cost at one of the brigade headquarters was some £10,000.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many applicants in the seven crofter counties, and in Ross-shire in particular, are on the waiting list for telephones; and what is the longest period any one applicant has been waiting.

There were 2,738 applications outstanding on the 31st December, 1952. Of these, excluding 73 in course of provision, 311 were for the mainland of Ross and Cromarty and 143 for Lewis. The application outstanding for the longest period was dated 16th December, 1944. Seven and a half miles of new wiring would be needed to provide service and with the many urgent claims on our restricted resources it has not so far been possible to justify using the material and labour for this one application.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how far the number of trunk calls in the Exter area, between the hours of 6 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., has decreased.

The number is higher than a year ago. The average daily figure for the period between 6 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. was 1,353 in December, 1952, an increase of 6.5 per cent. over the corresponding figure for December, 1951.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he has now concluded his consideration of claims for recognition by Post Office unions; what decisions have been reached; and what principles will he applied in considering any future claims which may arise.

No; the discussions between the unions concerned begun as a result of my noble Friend's statement of 25th June last are for the most part still in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why William Canning, a convicted gunman serving a seven-year sentence, was released from Barlinnie Prison on 7th January to attend his wedding; and whether he will take steps to ensure that any further weddings in which prisoners are concerned take place only in prison chapels.

In accordance with practice, this prisoner was released under escort for less than three hours to enable him to marry his fiancée in order to prevent their child from being born out of wedlock. There are objections, on security and other grounds, to allowing weddings to take place in prison chapels.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty when the light fleet carrier now building at the shipyard of Vickers-Armstrongs Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, will be launched.

The Light Fleet Carrier, H.M.S. Hermes, will be launched by Mrs. Winston Churchill on Monday, 16th February, 1953, at the shipbuilding and engineering works of VickersArmstrongs Limited, Barrow-in-Furness.The Hermes gives her name to the class of four light fleet carriers, three of which have already been launched, namely, the Albion, Bulwark and Centaur, but will incorporate many improvements as compared with the earlier ships of the class. The angled deck, which enables aircraft to land without the possibility of over-running catapult operating positions or aircraft parked at the forward end of the flight deck, will be embodied in the ship.