asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many recruits were received into the Royal Navy during 1952; what is the present shortage of naval ratings in relation to the allowed total complement; and what forms of publicity are in hand to attract the best types of young men towards the Service.

Approximately 10,300 Regular ratings and Royal Marines were recruited in 1952. This was about 1,500 fewer than the numbers aimed at. Publicity is mainly concentrated on Press advertisements, but use is made of films for display to schools and youth organisations, and of the touring exhibition called "Meet the Royal Navy."

Would my right hon. Friend consider giving more attention in his publicity to the definite benefits which may be obtained by those who join the Service, such as a petty officer who, after five years' service, will be receiving a wage of £500? I think that this might well attract people to the Service.

I shall be very glad to bear in mind the suggestion of my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware of the additional hardship experienced by sea-going personnel serving on foreign stations compared with land based married personnel on the same stations, and if some provision of married quarters ashore for sea-going ratings can be made.

Married quarters cannot be provided at present for naval personnel abroad serving afloat. There is a shortage of married quarters on all stations abroad, which we are reducing as quickly as financial considerations permit; but, until more quarters are available, their allocation is restricted to those serving ashore who can make better use of them because they can spend more time with their families than those serving afloat. Those serving afloat whose families join them on their overseas station under officially approved arrangements receive a rate of local overseas allowance which takes account of the level of rents paid for private accommodation on the station.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that prolonged periods of service on foreign stations discourage long-term engagements by naval ratings; and if he will consider introducing a system comparable with the United States task Forces, whereby service on foreign stations could be limited to periods of 18 months to two years.

There are a number of possible reasons that may contribute to a man's decision not to take up a long-term engagement. The problem is a complex one. The task force system is already under consideration in this connection.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the thought of a task force being introduced into the Royal Navy will give great satisfaction to many thousands of ratings serving with Her Majesty's Forces?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the circumstances in which the Admiralty agreed to co-operate in the making of the film, "Victory at Sea"; and what assurances he obtained that this film would present an accurate account of the war at sea.

My hon. and gallant Friend will realise that this programme was produced by an American company for United States audiences. In order to encourage the producers to include some aspects of the parts played by the Royal Navy, the Admiralty was only too willing to place its material unreservedly at the disposal of the company. The Admiralty naturally used all the influence it could to ensure that the operations of the Royal Navy were treated in reasonable perspective.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the showing of that film on television in this country has caused widespread resentment, as it appears to be a deliberate attempt to belittle our own efforts at sea?

My hon. and gallant Friend must bear in mind that this film was produced by Americans for Americans, so perhaps there is nothing very surprising in the result. The policy the Admiralty adopted was, I think, the only possible one of showing the maximum good will towards this film. After all, the White Ensign was shown on 20 occasions. The decision to show the film on television was taken by the B.B.C.

But will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that when the Admiralty give their sanction for a film, it is tantamount to putting a hallmark of respectability on it, and that this is a bad film?

Have the Admiralty made any protest to the American Government about this state of affairs?

No, Sir. We have not.

Are the Admiralty going to set the matter right by aiding in the production of a British version of "Victory at Sea"?

That is another question, and I am afraid I cannot, at the moment anyhow, give an answer to it.

Will my right hon. Friend communicate with the B.B.C.?

Yes, I will certainly do that.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the standard night-fighter aircraft now in squadron service; and what steps are being taken to replace this with a more modern type.

The naval night fighter at present in squadron service is the Sea Hornet Mark 21. It is to be replaced by the Sea Venom, the first squadron of which is planned to be formed towards the end of the present year.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied that this aircraft is in fact a good fighter?

Perhaps my hon. and gallant Friend would await a fairly comprehensive statement that I propose to make on Naval Aviation during the debate on the Navy Estimates next week.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the situation whereby large numbers of Naval Aviation aircraft are partly out-dated before they have got into service will not be righted until the system by which those aircraft are produced from the drawing board is corrected?

My hon. Friend will have to wait to hear what I have to say about the system on the Navy Estimates next week.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty to particularise in detail the qualifications required of those who form the special Admiralty interview boards which enable them to assess whether candidates are likely to make satisfactory naval officers.

In the first place, the members of these boards must have an intimate knowledge of those personal characteristics which are essential in any naval officer, in whatever branch OE specialisation he may be required to serve. Secondly, there must be on the board a member, or members, who have a more detailed knowledge of the work of the special branch in which the men are candidates for commissions. These members must be capable of recognising potential ability as well as any skills or positive characteristics which the candidates may have at the time of interview. This last qualification is directly related to the ability to recognise in the candidates those who are capable of absorbing instruction and benefiting from it to the full. For this reason instructor officers with academic, as well as naval, qualifications also serve on the boards.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that two youths from my constituency who got 82 per cent. and 70 per cent. marks in their written examination were brought before a board for interview for a few minutes and were turned down; and is he also aware that when I asked for one of these youths to be transferred to the Air Force I received a reply from the Admiralty that this youth was making good progress, and they could not agree to his being transferred to the Air Force?

The hon. Gentleman talks of two cases. I know of one case of a constituent of his who has a knowledge of Russian, and who, as a coder, is carrying on, I understand, with his studies. I would point out that, however good the marks in written examinations may be—and I am sure that both the men the hon. Gentleman mentioned are thoroughly good chaps—they do not necessarily mean that the men would have the necessary qualities which the interviewing board would want them to have to pass them at that stage.

Can the right hon. Gentleman assure us that the social origin of candidates has nothing to do with their selection; and would he not agree that to put this matter beyond all doubt, the selection board itself ought to be drawn from all sections of the community?

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the social background of the candidates concerned has nothing whatever to do with it, as I think the latest figures in another sphere—at Dartmouth—definitely show. The board have to consider academic as well as naval qualifications. I really do not know the social background of these men. For all I know, it may be a very wide one.

Is it not putting the cart somewhat before the horse to have oral examinations after all the effort of written examinations? Why not interview candidates first and then let them do their written examinations?

I think that is an entirely different question from the one on the Order Paper.

If what my hon. Friend says is correct, and these boys were at the interview for only two minutes, may I ask how can any board interview and assess people in two minutes? Will the right hon. Gentleman make inquiries into that aspect? I cannot accept that anybody can assess the character or the potentialities of boys in two minutes.

I should be grateful to the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. A. Roberts) if he would check that information. I find it very hard to believe that a strong, numerous board like this would give only a two minutes' interview to a candidate.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in a letter he made a statement to the effect that this youth was making good progress, whereas on the other hand he says the youth is not suitable material?

What I said was that he is making good progress as a coder: not as an officer, but as coder.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the percentage of officers and ratings serving ashore and afloat. respectively.

Sixty-three per cent. of officers are serving ashore and 37 per cent. afloat: the corresponding figures for ratings and Royal Marines are 52 per cent. and 48 per cent. respectively. In aggregate, the proportion ashore is 53 per cent., which includes some 10 per cent. engaged on naval aviation duties ashore and about 20 per cent. under training or employed in training establishments ashore.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty (1) how many helicopters are being flown by the Naval air service; and what progress is being made in developing machines suitable for sea warfare;

A total of about 30 helicopters are in use at present. All carriers operating aircraft have one each for the rescue of aircrew at sea and some naval air stations have been provided with them. It is the intention to provide all carriers with two each and to increase the number at air stations as soon as possible. There is also a unit established ashore for helicopter training and trials and, as the House was informed on 17th November last by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, a squadron of larger helicopters is operating in Malaya manned by the Navy.

Would my right hon. Friend agree that this type of aircraft, which is particularly suitable for carrying on operations against enemy types of attack both below and above the surface. should offer an opportunity for our own naval designers to produce a type of aircraft which is at least pre-eminent among all the navies of the N.A.T.O. countries?

I agree with a good deal of what my hon. Friend says. His question really should be addressed to the Minister of Supply, who deals with that aspect.

If my right hon. Friend can give this very detailed information, why could he not tell me the other day how many different types of aircraft are in production for the Royal Navy?

I am afraid I am unable to answer that question without notice. I have forgotten my original answer.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General from what newspapers he has received applications for a sponsored television licence.

It is for the prospective licensees to disclose their applications, should they wish to do so.

Since it is well known that certain newspapers are prospective licensees, will the Minister give an assurance that there will be no discrimination among applications on political grounds?

The question of the selection of prospective licensees has not been considered. I can certainly give that assurance.

Does the hon. Gentleman mean by that that if an application is made by the "Daily Worker," it will be considered equally with an application from the "Daily Telegraph"?

If they pay for it.

All applications will be considered equally.

Did not the Home Secretary in the June debate make it clear that it was the controlling body's job to make recommendations to the Postmaster-General as to the bodies to whom licences should be granted?

That is so.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many applications for permission to provide sponsored television programmes are under consideration; and what opportunities objectors will have of making representations to his Department before any licences are granted.

Forty-six inquiries have been received about licences and 26 about time for sponsored programmes. I have nothing to add to the statement in the White Paper on broadcasting that Parliament will have an opportunity of considering, before the first station is licensed, the terms and conditions under which competitive television will operate.

Does that mean that Parliament will also have an opportunity of knowing which application is being considered and on what grounds?

Parliament will certainly have an opportunity of knowing to whom licences are given.

What about the objections?

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what proposals have been made to him that the British Broadcasting Corporation should sell the dead hours of its television transmitters to commercial concerns.

The B.B.C. Licence provides that the Corporation shall not engage in commercial broadcasting except with the consent of the Postmaster-General. That consent has not been sought. Any proposal that the B.B.C. should sell television transmitter time to commercial concerns would be a matter for the Governors of the Corporation in the first instance.

Can I take it, then, that the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, in his speech on 13th February, was flying a kite for commercial interests rather than for the Government?

Before this dead time is sold, will my hon. Friend bear in mind that unlimited hours of T.V. would be an unmixed blessing for families with small children?

A mixed blessing.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that when I made my statement on 13th February I was merely reiterating what had already been put before this House from the Government Front Bench during the June debate, and also proclaimed in the White Paper, namely, that we were resolved to see that the B.B.C. public service remains free from advertisements?.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what consultations he has had with organisations representing teachers and parents about the impact on children of commercially-sponsored television programmes.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what steps he is taking to ensure that commercially-sponsored television programmes in this country will not contain a disproportionate emphasis on violence and crimes, as occurs in commercially-sponsored television programmes in other countries.

Government policy remains as set out in paragraphs 8 and 9 of the White Paper on Broadcasting (Cmd. 8550). Matters such as those mentioned by the hon. Members will be due for consideration at the time the controlling body is set up.

Is the hon. Gentleman warning commercial interests who may be contemplating sinking capital in television that if, as seems likely, television is harmful to children, they can expect no mercy from any future Labour Government?

The hon. Gentleman is giving himself shudders unnecessarily over a bogy of his own designing. When he sees the safeguards that the Government propose, he may find himself satisfied.

When is the controlling body envisaged in paragraph 9 of the White Paper to be set up?

I cannot make a statement on that subject at the moment.

Would it not be much better, in order to allay the widespread suspicion that exists, to set up the controlling body as soon as possible so that they can indicate the conditions under which commercial television will be considered?

I am not in a position to make any statement at the moment about when the controlling body will be set up.

May I ask my hon. Friend three questions? Firstly, is it suggested that the proposed Press Council should be advised by parents and teachers? Secondly, is my hon. Friend aware that nobody has any idea what commercial television in this country will produce? Thirdly, is he aware that the objections to commercial television are nothing more or less than a laboriously sponsored ramp?

Will the hon. Gentleman advise his noble Friend not to take any steps to expedite the introduction of commercial television until the undertaking of the B.B.C. has been carried out that five low-powered stations will be built?

That is outside the Question on the Order Paper.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General to what extent his regulations permit him to take action against owners of television sets which cause interference with other television sets.

The television licence is issued on condition that the apparatus shall not cause interference with other sets; and it can be cancelled if this condition is not observed.

In that case will the Assistant Postmaster-General take action against certain sets of which I am sure he is well aware, and which cause interference unless a mechanical device is fixed to them? If he knows of the cases, will he take action so that those interfered with can enjoy their television properly?

If my hon. Friend cares to give me actual cases, we will have them investigated.

Is the ordinary wireless set protected in the same way, because recently I brought a case to the notice of my hon. Friend and I found him a particularly unsatisfactory correspondent.

Yes, of course they are.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what progress has been made in resolving the difference between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the sport authorities with regard to the televising of sporting events.

I am informed that the B.B.C. and the Association for the Protection of Copyright in Sport have not yet reached conclusions on the problems to be solved, but their discussions are continuing.

In view of the fact that these discussions have been going on for a long time and that the public are still being denied views of very large sporting events, is not this one of the places where the Postmaster-General might apply a little pressure?

Nobody knows better than the right hon. Gentleman the intricacies of this problem, but, as he is probably aware, the Cup Final is to be televised in full this year, and that is an Improvement on the past two years.

Is it not obvious that the public will be denied the televising of sporting events until such time as we get commercial television?

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General the approximate annual value and quantity of timber used by his Department; and how much of this is imported.

Timber used by the Post Office consists mainly of telegraph poles, of which about 130,000, of a value of about £290,000, are used in a year. The Post Office has taken all homegrown supplies offered in recent years, amounting to between 5,000 and 10,000 poles a year. The rest of the supplies has been imported.

In the present circumstances, will the Minister consider widening the specification for the type of pole to be used? Is my hon. Friend aware that we have an immense amount of home-grown timber which must find a market during the coming year? Will he see what he can do along these lines?

If my hon. Friend is thinking, as I imagine he is, of the timber recently blown down in Scotland, I assure him that the Post Office have already been in touch with the Forestry Commission and we are prepared to take all that we can use.

Is the Minister aware that the specification for home-grown timber is already much lower than that for imported timber?

Yes. I think that my hon. Friend was, in fact, seeking an assurance that the Post Office would not let go the opportunity of trying to use some of the timber which was, unfortunately, recently blown down in Scotland.

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 be applied in considering any future claims which may arise.

No, Sir. The discussions between the unions concerned, begun as a result of my noble Friend's statement of 25th June last, are not yet all completed.

Can the hon. Gentleman give any indication when a decision will be made, having regard to the fact that approximately nine months have elapsed since the statement that the decision would be deferred for six months? Does the Minister not consider that in future it would be advantageous if there were certain guiding principles, such as those contained in the Listowel formula, which would assist the Minister in deciding these claims for recognition?

I remind the hon. Member that this is primarily a difference of opinion between the unions. My noble Friend does not wish to intervene unless it is absolutely necessary that he should do so. Therefore, I cannot hold out any hope that an immediate decision will be given.

Would it not be in accordance with the attitude taken on this side of the House when we were in opposition that the outstanding claims should be recognised under the old procedure and that the board would then be clean for any future method to be considered?

I know very well the feeling of my hon. Friend in this matter, but I hope that it will be possible to settle the matter amicably between the unions concerned.

Would not the Minister agree that it would be quite wrong for anybody, on either side of the House, to bedevil the negotiations that are now taking place?

Yes. I hope that the House will not press me any further on this. I hope that this matter, which is primarily a trade union matter, will be settled by the unions themselves.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why letters posted in London take three days to reach Knutsford in the Knutsford Division.

If my hon. and gallant Friend will let me have details of any letter which has been so delayed, I will gladly look into the matter. Letters and postcards—but not correspondence at the printed paper rate—posted in London in time for the 6–7.30 p.m. collections, should be delivered in Knutsford by the first delivery next week-day, and such letters and postcards posted in time for the 8.15–9 p.m. collections should be delivered by the second delivery.

Is my hon. Friend aware that I have been writing to his Department since 1945 and that all I have got have been stone-walling letters in reply and that the service, instead of getting better, is getting worse? Can I repeat the special request on behalf of the Knutsford division which I made some eight or nine summers ago—would my hon. Friend consider reducing the charge, as this service is so bad?

If my hon. Friend will only give me specific cases, I will have them investigated.

While not wishing to prod my hon. Friend, will he tell the House why the county of Cheshire, in which my hon. and gallant Friend's constituency is situated, seems to be singled out for such very poor postal services? Is he aware that constantly my mail between Chester and London has been held up for two or three days? Why should that be when there is a main-line railway service?

I would ask hon. Members on both sides of the House not to make these wild allegations. If they will let me have specific instances of late deliveries of letters, I promise them that they will be thoroughly investigated. I would point out that it is only by investigation of complaints of that sort that the Post Office can do its job.

Will the Minister urge on his hon. Friend the necessity to give specific instances of what he has in mind, because unless he has got some concrete evidence that his correspondence has been delayed, ought he not to apologise to this House and to the workers in the Post Office?

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many applications for reimbursement of losses in connection with registered letters have been received since November, 1951, to date; in how many cases compensation was refused; and in how many cases the decisions were reversed on a second application.

I am sorry that information, in the form desired by my hon. Friend, is not available. In the financial year 1951–52 the Post Office paid 7,820 claims for loss and damage to inland registered letters, but the number of claims which were rejected altogether, or allowed only after appeal against a first refusal, is not recorded centrally.

In view of the incident which I reported to my hon. Friend, and on which he very kindly took action, does he not think that the information ought to be available? His answer fills me with suspicion.

It would be a waste of time if we were to keep all statistics centrally. This happens to be one of the statistics which are not kept in London.

I am still suspicious.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he will now say if the new books, containing stamps of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, will be available prior to the Coronation.

Yes, Sir; 21½d. and 1½d. stamps of the new reign will be included in books of stamps issued in May.

How many of these books are being printed?

I could not say, without notice.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General the result of the inquiries into the possibility of confiscating the propaganda sent by post from China to this country addressed to the next-of-kin of British prisoners of war in Communist hands, accusing the soldiers of the United Nations of the murder, torture and rape of defenceless civilians.

Detestable as this exploitation of human misery is, I am advised that these postal packets do not contravene Post Office Regulations, and I have, therefore, no power to interfere with their passage through the post.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the delivery by the Post Office of this Communist propaganda offends, disgusts and distresses the recipients, who are, in most cases, parents of soldiers captured when doing their duty?

I entirely agree with what my hon. Friend said, and I wish there were some means whereby they would not distress the people who now receive them.

This is a very important question. Will the hon. Gentleman look at it again and consider it with the Foreign Office, and see whether the matter can be raised with the Universal Postal Union? There must be some machinery for dealing with this matter.

The question has already been raised with the Foreign Office, but so far as the Post Office is concerned I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we have considered this matter very carefully. We have no power whatever to do what my hon. Friend suggests.

May I press the hon. Gentleman? Have the Government considered with the Universal Postal Union what can be done? The Universal Postal Union is one of the most efficient of all international organisations, and this problem surely can be taken up with it.

I will certainly have another look at the point raised, but the difficulty is that the Post Office have no idea what is in a letter unless we open it, and we have no power to open letters of that sort.

Is it not a fact that the Post Office have power to open any letter? Is it not a reasonable presumption that any correspondence from that source is likely to contain some propaganda?

No, I do not think that is a fair presumption at all. It would mean opening all letters that came from any part of China.

Does the hon. Gentleman recall that the House has always been strongly opposed to the Post Office being made an instrument of censorship for any purpose whatever, and will he hold to his original reply that censorship is no purpose of the Post Office? Is he aware that many of us do not want to have Littlewood's coupons sent to us, but would not put forward the argument that the Post Office has to do anything about it on our behalf.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General when additional telephone exchange facilities will be ready for use at Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

A new automatic exchange should be ready by the autumn of this year.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many applications for telephones in the Shrewsbury area remain outstanding to the latest convenient date.

Four hundred and twenty-nine applications were outstanding at 21st February, 1953.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the majority of the telephone kiosks on the western part of Victoria Station, S.W.1, were unavailable to the public on 28th February because they had just been repainted; and if he will arrange that, in future a better system of planning should be applied to the repainting of telephone kiosks.

In one suite of 17 kiosks on Victoria Station, nine kiosks were out of service on 28th February; but there were 51 kiosks available elsewhere on the station, and up till 10.30 p.m. there was an attendant at hand to direct would-be callers. I am sorry, however, if any inconvenience was caused, and I have given instructions for normal arrangements for repainting kiosks in smaller batches to be adhered to in future.

Is my hon. Friend aware that, in addition to the batch of 19. there were another six which had fallen out of action? My Question referred to the western part of the station, because I discovered that the eastern part had not been painted.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why the distribution of the Plymouth telephone directory, published in August, 1952, has been restricted; how many Cornish subscribers have not received a copy of this directory; and whether Cornish advertisers in this directory have been offered compensation in respect of the diminished circulation of this publication.

The new issue of the Plymouth area telephone directory, which was sent automatically to business subscribers and new residential subscribers, was not sent to old residential subscribers, although, of course, they may have a copy if they ask for it. This is in line with recent practice in London and elsewhere, and I am pleased to say that public co-operation has resulted in considerable economy and saving of paper. Some 6,000 residential subscribers in Cornwall were affected. As regards compensation to advertisers, I would point out that their contracts do not stipulate the range of circulation of the directory.

Surely it cannot be satisfactory to collect money from advertisers who suppose that directories will be distributed in the ordinary way when, in fact, they are not. Is not my hon. Friend aware that this has caused a good deal of ill feeling in Cornwall, and that the "Western Morning News" has already described this incident as a new phase in the cold war waged by the Post Office against the people of Cornwall?

I am quite aware from what my hon. Friend has said on other occasions that I am not at the moment exactly a popular figure in Cornwall. I remind him, however, that in London alone this method last year saved us a quarter of a million pounds, and at a time when we are trying to hold down charges to the public we ought not to neglect an economy of this sort. Any private subscriber who wants a directory can get one by asking for it.

Will the Minister make that clear by advertisement, because there are Members of this House who are subscribers in Cornwall who have not got a new directory? Will he also bear in mind that Cornishmen are tired of the Government's mean and petty economies and hope that he will try to induce the Government to be more generous in future?

I think that the people of Cornwall would be even more tired of the Government if they put up the charges and did not try first to make economies. It is in that spirit that I hope the hon. Gentleman will accept this.

Does the Minister's statement mean that we ordinary subscribers will get a new directory only if we ask for it? If so, how are we to know when new directories are available?

Business subscribers and new subscribers get a new directory automatically; private subscribers get one if they ask for it. This system has been in operation for the last year, we have had very great co-operation from the public and, as a result, this saving in money.

How are we to know when the directories are available?

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will take steps to expedite the provision of a telephone service to the Cippenham area of Slough.

New plant is needed to meet most of the outstanding applications in Cippenham. While this will be provided as soon as possible, the district is mainly residential, and since our resources are limited in total, we have to give preference at present to the needs of industrial and business areas.

Would the hon. Gentleman bear in mind certain special considerations? Is he aware that, because of drainage difficulties, this is the only area in Slough where we can build, that there are 141 on the local waiting list, and that the people have been informed that they may have to wait for four years? In view of all these facts, could the hon. Gentleman give special consideration to the position?

I was not aware that Cippenham was in the hon. Gentleman's constituency but I may be wrong there. I can say nothing more than I have said. I should like to meet these applications, but it is quite clear that commercial and industrial districts must have a preference.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many applications have been received for telephones for each region since January, 1952; how many have been supplied; and what percentage of the population awaiting telephones in each region this represents.

As the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Do those figures reflect that the North-East Coast has had a fair share of the new telephones?

I think that the hon. Lady had better read the figures first and then perhaps she can express an opinion on them.

But ought not my hon. Friend to know the answer?

I think that what is a fair share is probably a matter of opinion.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how much capital expenditure has been allocated to each region for the supply of telephones in 1951 and 1952; and what percentage of the population in each region this represents.

As the answer includes a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

May I ask my hon. Friend again whether on this occasion he happens to know whether the North-East Coast has had a fair share of the new telephones?

My hon. Friend has asked for a very complicated set of figures, and I am sure that I should be detaining the House unnecessarily if I read it out, but that would be the only way to give a satisfactory answer to her Question.

Is not this a case where capital expenditure was limited because of the ban that Her Majesty's Government put on the building of new telephone exchanges?

I am afraid that that is true of the country as a whole.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what facilities, in the absence of a public telephone kiosk, exist for emergency calls to police, doctors, etc., from the Bangham Pit Estate, Birmingham, 31.

As regards telephone facilities, I regret that I have nothing to add to the reply I gave the hon. Member on 4th March.

Did that reply mean—and there was nothing to indicate it—that in the whole area, which is very isolated, there is no public telephone service of any kind by which people can call doctors and police? If so, cannot the hon. Gentleman arrange for some telephones to be made publicly available, with a notice that people can telephone from those addresses?

As I told the hon. Gentleman, I hope that we can get telephones there before very long, but the position is not quite as bad as he suggests, because there are three kiosks only half a mile away.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the approximate average length of the tour of duty overseas for officers and other ranks, respectively, in the Royal Air Force, serving on a Regular engagement.

The length of an overseas tour varies from country to country, but it is normally two and a half years for Royal Air Force officers and airmen and two years for Women's Royal Air Force officers and airwomen.

Is the tour of duty tending to grow shorter or longer?

There is no variation, except in different climates.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction of, and in- convenience to, all ranks of the Royal Air Force stationed at Bridgnorth, Salop, arising from the decision of the West Midlands Licensing Authority to discontinue permits for J. T. Whittle and Sons Limited, of Kidderminster, to operate their motor coaches for conveyance of private parties of Royal Air Force personnel, proceeding on furlough and for other recreational purposes from and to the Royal Air Force station at Bridgnorth; and in view of the fact that the Royal Air Force personnel at this station cannot take full advantage of leave facilities in the absence of such coach facilities, and are denied freedom of choice in travelling arrangements and the most economic means of transport, whether he will make representations to the licensing authority for resumption of such motor coach services under licence or permit of the licensing authority.

As an appeal against the decision of the licensing authority has been lodged, this matter is sub judice.

This is preposterous. What are we, on this side of the House, doing——

We have been told that the matter is sub judice, and, therefore, it cannot be discussed here.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the policy of the Air Ministry regarding unit moves to overseas stations by air transport.

The need for Royal Air Force Squadrons to be moved as operational units from one theatre to another does not often arise in peace-time. When it does, the aircrew normally fly their own aircraft, while the ground staff and essential equipment are carried in transport aircraft.

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether a considerable number of personnel are being flown by aircraft and not transported by ship to distant stations?

I think that the right hon. Gentleman has a written Question down on that point, and he will be getting an answer in due course.

asked the Minister of Civil Aviation how many and what type of aircraft are employed in his Department's communications flight.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation Flying Unit is not a communications flight. It is almost entirely employed on the flight check of navigational aids and the flight testing of candidates for commercial pilots' licences and instrument rating certification.

• Four Avro 19's.
• One Chipmunk.
• Five Consuls.
• Three Doves.
• One Gemini.
• Three Princes.

asked the Minister of Civil Aviation to make a statement on the recent negotiations beween Mr. Hardingham of the Air Registration Board and United State officials concerning the recognition of British certificates of airworthiness in the United States of America.