asked the Minister of Education if she is aware of the hardship caused to parents who have to pay the full price of school meals for the tiny-tots of children; and if she will take steps to reduce the charge for children under a specified age.

Local education authorities may reduce the charge for school meals for all pupils in nursery schools or nursery classes, and within approved income scales may reduce or remit the charge for school dinners for other children where payment of the full charge would cause hardship to parents.

asked the Minister of Education how many pupils in Monmouthshire now attending county primary schools will be unable to receive county secondary school education because of lack of premises.

None, so far as I am aware.

asked the Minister of Education at what rate the number of teachers has increased in primary and secondary schools during the past year; and to what extent the number recruited has affected the size of school classes.

During 1952 the number of teachers in maintained primary and secondary schools increased by 5,000 There was during that year an abnormally large increase in the number of children at school, a larger increase than any that has occurred in recent years or is likely to occur in any future year for which calculations are possible. For this reason I estimate that when full particulars are available they will show that there has been some increase in the size of classes during 1952.

asked the Minister of Education why she has advised local education authorities to impose fees for day continuation classes.

I have recommended that fees should be charged for part-time courses of further education because part-time students are usually in employment and should therefore be able to afford a modest fee. I have made this recommendation only to those local education authorities who charge no fee of any kind to students under the age of 18.

asked the Minister of Education to what extent her regulations enable local education authorities to provide financial and other assistance for adult education; and what proportion of authorities make use of their full powers.

The Education Acts empower local education authorities to provide and to assist other bodies to provide adult education to meet the needs of their areas. The schemes of further education made by local education authorities show that they are prepared to make use of their full powers, and I am satisfied that in general they are doing so.

asked the Minister of Education the total value of educational building work carried out during 1951 and 1952, respectively, in England and Wales.

The total value of work done on new educational building projects in England and Wales was £46.9 million in 1951 and £50 million in 1952.

asked the Minister of Education if she has considered the resolution sent to her by the Newcastle-under-Lyme Excepted District Education Committee about economies in educational expenditure; and what reply she has made to the committee.

I cannot trace receipt of the resolution to which the hon. Member refers.

asked the Minister of Education whether she will impress upon local education authorities the desirability of increasing the consumption of English fruit in schools.

No. Local education authorities are aware of the value of fresh fruit as part of the school dinner, and I feel sure that most of the fruit they buy is home-grown.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what representations he intends to make to the Nigerian Government about the increase in import duties on cotton piece goods announced in Nigeria on 7th March.

The increases in duty apply to imports from all sources and have, I understand, been imposed for revenue reasons. In the circumstances, whilst I regret that the Nigerian authorities have found this step necessary, I do not consider that there are any grounds on which I could effectively make representations.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to give separately the value of import duties imposed on Classes I, II and III imports into the United Kingdom during 1952 chargeable on a specific basis and on an ad valorem basis; and the respective values of imports so charged.

I am advised that the values of imported goods included in Classes I, II and III of the Import List which were entered for home consumption on payment of duty at ad valorem rates during the calendar year 1952 and the net amounts of duty charged upon them were as follows:

			£ Million
			Value	Amount of duty
Class I	…	…	166.04	18.58
Class II	…	…	61.64	6.78
Class III	…	…	274.62	52.60

Information is not available regarding the value of goods entered at specific rates of duty; the amounts of duty charged upon such goods were, however, as follows:

				Amount of duty (£ Million)
Class I	…	…	…	876.46
Class II	…	…	…	0.25
Class III	…	…	…	260.63

asked the President of the Board of Trade to give an estimate of the amount by which the £84 million import duties charged on imports into the United Kingdom during 1952 would have been reduced if there had been no duties chargeable on imports from the Commonwealth, and assuming the pattern and quantity of trade not to have been thereby altered.

Nearly all goods of Commonwealth origin are admitted into the United Kingdom free of protective duties. Of the figure of about £84 million, only about £60,000 represents duties charged on goods of Commonwealth origin.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to give an estimate of the amount by which the £84 million import duties charged on imports into the United Kingdom in 1952 would have been reduced if there had been no duties on imports from the Commonwealth, and duties on imports from the rest of the world had been reduced to a level which was only sufficient to provide for the appropriate Imperial Preference, and assuming the pattern and quantity of trade not to have been thereby altered.

If the hon. Member has in mind the preservation of the existing margins of preference, I am advised that the figure of about £84 million would have been reduced by less than £4 million.

asked the President of the Board of Trade under what circumstances an Import Licence No. 43850/7/52, dated 28th March, 1952, was issued for an amount of £152,000 of piping jelly and the balance of this licence, amounting to £50,000, was subsequently changed to sugar mixture of the same composition as fondant, which was on strict import quota; what was the basis of the contracts on which the first licence was issued; what steps were taken at the time of the issue of the licence to check the genuineness of the contract; and what were the imports of piping jelly of the beneficiary of this licence from 7th November, 1951, to 17th March, 1952.

Licences for the import of piping jelly were issued when my Import Licensing Branch were satisfied that applicants had entered into firm contracts with overseas suppliers before piping jelly was removed from the open general licence on 11th March, 1952. Applicants were asked to submit copies of contracts. The description of the piping jelly on one licence, although not the licence referred to by the hon. Member, was changed at a subsequent date at the request of the trader. This amendment—which allowed a higher sugar content—was in my view an error, although understandable in view of the great difficulty of definition.Imports of piping jelly were on open general licence between 7th November, 1951, and 11th March, 1952, and only goods in transit on 11th March were admitted in the following six days. I have no information about the imports made by individual traders in that period. No new licences permitting the import of piping jelly from countries outside the sterling area have been issued since the first week of April, 1952.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why the United Kingdom Mission to the Caribbean countries did not visit the republic of Haiti.

It was not possible for the Mission to visit all the 14 countries of the Latin-American dollar account area in the time they had available. For that reason, while we are anxious to increase our exports to all the countries in the area, the Mission went to those which seemed to offer the greatest opportunities for expanding United Kingdom exports.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the reasons for the long delay in publishing the Report of the Monopolies Commission on the match-manufacturing and match-machinery industries, which has been in his hands since October last.

The Board of Trade have had to consider under the first proviso to Section 9 of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948, whether certain passages should be deleted from the Report on grounds of the public interest.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the total volume of imports from Spain, in sterling, for 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1952, respectively.

The answer is as follows:

Imports from Spain
					£ million (c.i.f.)
1945	…	…	…	…	13.4
1946	…	…	…	…	12.8
1947	…	…	…	…	14.9
1948	…	…	…	…	17.5
1949	…	…	…	…	18.7
1950	…	…	…	…	24.9
1951	…	…	…	…	39.1
1952	…	…	…	…	30.6

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of licences for export to Spain of British goods which have been refused.

The information is not readily available and could not be obtained without an undue expenditure of staff time.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what facilities will be available to interested parties and the public to make representations to the Committee under Sir H. Wilson Smith which is to examine the duty-free entry into the United Kingdom of machinery.

It is for the Committee, which is an independent Committee, to decide what facilities it makes available for the submission of representations. No doubt this is one matter that will engage the attention of the Committee at its first meeting which, I understand, will take place shortly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent the lifting of certain restrictions upon imports from Europe will affect the import of horticultural produce; what changes there will be in the system of quotas for fruit and vegetable imports; and whether he is in a position to announce the amounts of fruit pulp which it is intended to import in 1953.

Following my announcement on 23rd March of relaxations of restrictions on imports from Western Europe, open general licences have been restored for imports of Clementines, mandarins, tangerines, pineapples, apricots and non-hothouse

(a) QUOTAS FOR THE PERIOD JULY/DECEMBER, 1953
Commodity	Quota for July/December, 1953	Quota for July/December, 1952	Increase over quota for previous comparable period
	£'000 c.i.f.	£'000 c.i.f.	£'000 c.i.f.
Apples	450	300	150
Pears	1,025	750	275
Hothouse Grapes and Hothouse Peaches	182	140	42
Fresh fruit other than apples, apricots, bananas, cherries, Clementines, currants, damsons, gooseberries, grapes, grapefruit, greengages, lemons, mandarins, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, rhubarb, strawberries and tangerines	185	140	45

(b) QUOTAS FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY/DECEMBER, 1953
						Quota previously Announced	Additional Quota now Announced
						£'000 c.i.f.	£'000 c.i.f.
Grapes other than hothouse	…	…	…	…	…	645	700

Licences under these quotas will be issued during the next few weeks and will be valid as from the date of issue. No change has been made in the current global quotas for cucumbers, cherries, plums, strawberries, gooseberries, currants and rhubarb, which cover the period January-December, 1953.The new quotas for fruit pulp which cover the period July, 1953, to June, 1954, are the same as those for the previous licensing period, namely, £500,000 for apricot, peach, pear, pineapple and grapefruit pulps and £750,000 for the other varieties. Imports of fruit pulp from the Sterling Area may be made under open general licence and small additional quantities may also be imported during this period under trading arrangements made with countries not covered by the global quota. I cannot say how much fruit pulp traders will import under the licensing arrangements during 1953.The recent relaxations do not affect the import arrangements for those horticultural products to which the restrictions imposed in November, 1951, and March, 1952, did not apply; and in particular, the open general licences for certain fresh

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has considered the possibility of the adoption by the United Kingdom of the Standard International Trade Classification which has been drawn up by the Statistical Commission of the United Nations and which was recommended to Governments in July, 1950, by the Economic and Social Council; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The Government propose to change the commodity classification for recording United Kingdom trade to one based closely on the Standard International Trade Classification, with effect from January, 1954.The following is a description of the changes:It has been decided as a result of recommendations made by the United Nations that certain changes should be made in the classification of commodities used for the United Kingdom overseas trade statistics. These changes, which will take effect from 1st January, 1954, affect primarily the order and grouping of commodities; and the content of the individual headings in the Import and Export Lists will not in general be changed for this purpose.The Economic and Social Council, of the United Nations in July, 1950, approved the Standard International Trade Classification (S.I.T.C.)

asked the President of the Board of Trade the approximate annual consumption of wood flour; the capacity of the wood flour producing plant in the United Kingdom; how much wood flour was imported during 1952; and which were the main countries of origin.

In 1952, consumption in the United Kingdom of home produced wood flour amounted to about 22,500 tons, and imports, principally from Sweden and Norway, to 10,189 tons. It is difficult to estimate precisely the capacity of the industry, but production in 1951, which was the highest in recent years, amounted to about 34,000 tons.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the present position regarding debts owed by Brazilian importers to British exporters.

As I have already explained in replies to previous Questions, Her Majesty's Government have the problem of these debts, and of Anglo-Brazilian trade in general, under close examination, and I shall make a statement as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what possibility there is of early implementation being given to the recommendations in the recent report of the Weights and Measures Legislation Committee suggesting penalties for the fraudulent damping of solid fuel.

This is one of the Committee's proposals on which consultations are now taking place. I cannot at present forecast what my decision will be on this point; and, as I explained in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for the Cities of London and Westminster (Sir H. Webbe) on 11th November, 1952, I cannot propose any legislation on weights and measures for some time.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware that, while the Minister of Transport accepts the fact that the increases in freight rates are partly due to increases in the price of coal and the Minister of Fuel and Power similarly accepts the fact that the increases in the delivered price of coal is affected by the increase of freight rates, neither Minister is able to make any constructive proposals for breaking this inflationary spiral; and what steps he proposes to meet this position.

Coal represents only about one-tenth of railway operating costs. The upward trend of prices can only be reversed by the level of productivity being raised in coal, as in other industries. We are trying our best, with the aid and through the joint efforts of the National Coal Board and the National Union of Mineworkers. to bring about such developments.

asked the Prime Minister, in view of the fact that the Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel and Power is not a Member of this House, to whom Questions on the co-ordination of these matters should be addressed.

As I informed the House on 12th of May last year, I will answer Questions on matters which cannot conveniently be answered by the Departmental Ministers concerned.

asked the Prime Minister if he will appoint a senior Minister in the House of Commons with the main responsibility of encouraging scientific research and its application in industry.

No. Ministerial responsibility for promoting scientific and industrial research in the civilian field is vested in the Lord President of the Council.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why foreign diplomats stationed in Britain are not permitted to buy British cars free from Purchase Tax, in view of the fact that they are able to import foreign cars free from Purchase Tax and import duty.

Because diplomatic privilege does not extend to indirect taxation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what figure taxable income of £10,000 and £5,000 per annum, respectively, would have to be increased in order to produce an increase of such incomes, after deduction of tax at the full rate, of £1,000 per annum in each case.

The increases necessary would be £31,000 and £5,500, respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in framing his forthcoming Budget, he will give further consideration to the resolution of this House made on 16th May, 1952, in favour of the granting of equal pay to women in the public services.

I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the first part of my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Miss Ward) on 19th February.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in framing his Budget proposals, he will take into consideration the fact that materials and equipment used in photography attract Purchase Tax at the rate of 66⅔ per cent., while playing cards pay only 33T per cent.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, East (Mr. Blenkinsop) on 3rd March.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of the financial grant from the Exchequer to the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London, respectively; and to all universities.

The total of recurrent grants to universities and university colleges in Great Britain for the academic year 1952–53 is £20 million. Of this sum, Oxford University will receive £1,215,000, Cambridge University £1,325,000 and London University £6,280,000. In addition, non-recurrent grants are made in response to specific applications. Non-recurrent grants paid in the academic year 1951–52 amounted to £7,002,095, of which Oxford University received £311,191, Cambridge University £297,005 and London University £1,821,221.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware of the hardship caused to many families who are left in poor circumstances when a holder of post-war credits dies before reaching the age of 65 and his widow is also below that age; and whether, when preparing his Budget, he will consider the introduction of a scheme to repay postwar credits to widows in such circumstances.

The question of paying post-war credits to either general or particular classes of taxpayers is one of the matters which my right hon. Friend will consider when framing his Budget proposals. In view of the terms of his Question, I ought to draw the hon. Member's attention to the fact that under the present law, if a woman is entitled to her late husband's credits, she can claim payment on reaching the age of 60.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a further statement about the fiduciary note issue.

Yes. To provide for the usual seasonal increase in the demand for notes the Treasury has authorised an increase of £50 million in the fiduciary note issue with effect from 24th March. This brings the total fiduciary issue up to £1,550 million. The Treasury Minute will be laid before Parliament.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken by the Custodian of Enemy Property to invite claims with a view to payment of the remaining creditors out of the proceeds of the Roumanian assets which he holds.

Consultations on this subject with organisations representing the interests of claimants against Roumania are still in progress.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many hundredweights of fish have been caught and landed by British trawlers fishing in Icelandic waters this year compared with a year ago; and what further progress has been made in respect of the Icelandic fisheries dispute.

The total quantity of white fish from Icelandic waters landed by British trawlers in January and February of this year was 320,610 cwt. For the same period last year the total was 86,725 cwt., an unusually low figure due largely to exceptionally bad weather. As to the second part of the Question, I cannot add to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Joint Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to my hon. Friend the Member for Louth (Mr. Osborne) on 11th March.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, in connection with his campaign to reduce the numbers of grey squirrels and to pay 1s. for every squirrel killed, what steps he proposes to take to ensure that those who participate in the campaign adopt only humane methods.

The importance of trapping squirrels in a humane manner has been stressed in the announcement of this campaign, and reference to humane killing of trapped squirrels is made in the published leaflets.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will now make a further statement about the introduction of a humane rabbit trap.

Supplies of the "Imbra" humane rabbit trap have been sent to county agricultural executive committees, but it will be some time before they are able to judge how the trap is standing up to work under everyday conditions.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why the licence for the importation of Swedish Landrace pigs, agreed to by his Department in January last, has not yet been granted.

There has been difficulty in completing the arrangements relating to pigs intended to be imported into England and Wales, but my right hon. Friend expects to be able to make the necessary order very soon now.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will publish or place a copy in the Library of the names and addresses of all the county and district members of the county agricultural executive committees.

The names and addresses of all members of county agricultural executive committees are notified to the Press when they are appointed, but my right hon. Friend will also place a complete list in the Library. The members of district committees are appointed by the executive committees themselves and no centeral register is maintained of their names and addresses. There are some 5,500 members of district committees and, since membership is primarily of local interest, my right hon. Friend does not consider that the time and labour involved in preparing and maintaining a list would be justified.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will make an appeal to retired people, holidaymakers, children and any others who are able to offer their services in helping farmers to gather in this year's harvest.

I am glad to have this opportunity of paying a tribute to the valuable work which these part-time helpers have done in previous years and of expressing the hope that they will come forward again this year. My right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Labour is arranging for seasonal labour needs to be reviewed area by area in consultation with representatives of county agricultural executive committees and of the industry, so that action can be concerted locally for getting supplies of labour from all sources to meet the expected demand, particularly for the potato harvest. Anyone who is able to help and is not already in touch with a fanner will be encouraged to offer his or her services to the local offices of the Ministry of Labour in the first place.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many apple and pear producers have so far registered under the Apple and Pear Marketing Scheme.

I am informed by the promoters that up to today 11,362 producers of apples and pears had registered under the Apple and Pear Marketing Scheme. This number is probably less than half of the number of producers believed to be affected by the scheme. Producers who have not registered by 31st March will be unable to vote on the question of whether the scheme is to continue, and it is very desirable that those producers who have not yet applied for registration, should do so in order to secure a fully representative poll.

ENGLAND AND WALES
	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1952
	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000
Horses used for agricultural purposes:—
Mares (including those kept for breeding)	925·0	980·6	788·9	682·8	541·4	170·2	125·0
Geldings						118·8	85·1
Unbroken horses 1 year old and over:—
Light	265·1	248·7(a)	228·6	84·8	107·4	16·6	12·9
Heavy						13·2	6·3
Horses under 1 year old:—
Light	115·4	112·6	97·3	37·9	13·4	6·3	5·2
Heavy					30·7	4·0	2·6
Stallions for service:—
Light	(b)	(c)	6·9	3·3	3·3	1·0	0·8
Heavy	(b)	(c)				0·6	0·4
All other horses	(b)	(b)	244·0	152·5	123·5	86·7	77·6
TOTAL	1,305·6	1,341·8	1,365·7	961·4	819·6	417·5	316·1
(a) Includes stallions.	(b)Not separately collected.			(c) Included under unbroken horses.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how it is proposed to use the extra £1,250,000 being made available

asked the Minister of Agriculture what final reply he has sent to the Independent Fruit Growers' Committee's request for particulars of producers whom they wish to circulate on the subject of the Apple and Pear Marketing Scheme.

The reply sent explained that the register of producers is now open to inspection, and that in all the circumstances and having regard to the provisions of the relevant legislation my right hon. Friend could not see his way to make available to this Committee the list of apple and pear growers which he was required by statute to supply to the promoters.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will state the horse population in 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, and at the latest known date.

The only returns collected concern horses kept on agricultural holdings at the date of the June census. The figures are as follows:under marginal production schemes; and how far the scope of such schemes will be widened to provide assistance towards the cost of making hard roads to outlying farms.

The extra £1¼ million is for the whole of the United Kingdom. Of the amount apportioned to England and Wales, some will be devoted to schemes of the kinds already eligible for which there is strong demand and which particularly help small livestock fanners to grow more feedingstuffs on their own land. The rest will be available for projects hitherto ruled out as too costly, such as claying and marling of blowing land, cattle shelters and repairing farm approach roads. Making new roads is beyond the scope of the scheme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will arrange that the changeover from control to de-control of feedingstuffs takes place at the beginning of the harvest period, that is approximately 1st August, to prevent interference with the marketing of home-grown cereals.

Yes; animal feedingstuffs will be freed from control on 1st August next.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that security arrangements at British ports are sufficient to prevent any Soviet agent being smuggled into the country as a member of a crew of a Soviet ship; and if he

—	Metropolitan Police District		County of London		City of London
	1951	1952	1951	1952	1951	1952
Proceedings for drunkenness	20,046	19,897	17,563	17,176	125	109
Convictions	19,485	19,320	17,077	16,694	125	107

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether advisory committees laid down by the

Reasonable precautions are taken for this purpose, and I have no information to suggest that any change in the present arrangements is needed. The crew lists of Soviet ships, as of other foreign ships, are carefully checked.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the unsatisfactory state of legislation dealing with the protection of wild birds and the report of the Government committee presided over by Lord Ilchester, he will take steps to introduce legislation to give wild birds the protection necessary for their survival.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 29th January to a Question by the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr. King).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of proceedings and convictions for drunkenness in the Metropolitan Police district and/or the County of London and in the City of London, respectively, during the calendar year 1952; and the comparable figures for 1951.

The following table gives the available information:Licensed Premises in New Towns Act have all been appointed.

I have made orders relating to the constitution of the committees, and have appointed their chairmen, for all the new towns in England and Wales except Crawley, where the matter has been deferred in view of the proposed alteration of licensing districts under the East Sussex and West Sussex (Alteration of Boundaries) Order which is now before Parliament.

asked the Minister of Labour how many fires occurred in factories throughout the country in each of the past five years; how many deaths and injuries were involved; and whether he is satisfied that the regulations for dealing with fires are satisfactory, in view of the fact that many factories were built many years ago.

Fires involving substantial damage to the structure are few and rarely involve death or personal injury as a result of inadequate means of escape. Figures as to such fires in recent years are not available at Headquarters, but I will ask the Chief Inspector to collect some information on the subject and will communicate with the hon. Member as to the result. There are, of course, numerous occurrences in factories involving risk of burning accidents to some particular individuals, and statistics as to such accidents and occurrences are published in the annual reports of the Chief Inspector.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the proposed closing of the Wolsingham Employment Exchange, in the county of Durham, is causing dissatisfaction among all workers in this area; if he is also aware of the anxiety of the directors of the large steel works at Wolsingham at this suggested closing; if he will now reconsider his decision; and if he is prepared to meet a deputation from the trade unions to discuss this matter.

I propose to close this branch office because of the extremely small amount of business being transacted there. As I have informed the hon. Member, reasonable alternative facilities are available. I am, however, prepared to receive a deputation.

asked the Minister of Labour to what extent the charges made by his Department for accommodation in industrial hostels fall short of the cost of providing such accommodaton; how much subsidy has been paid by the taxpayers to people accommodated in such hostels during the last period of 12 months for which figures are available; and whether he will make a statement.

During the financial year 1951–52, the latest year for which complete figures are available, the charges made fell short of the cost of providing the accommodation by 19s. 3d. per resident per week, the total subsidy paid being £1,269,000. Because of rising costs it is expected that the deficit for 1952–53, both per head and in total, will be much the same despite an increase in charges to residents of 5s. a week in February, 1952.Increases in fuel and maintenance and other costs will not come into full effect until 1953–54. In view of these further increases and in the light of the prevailing level of prices for comparable private lodgings, it has been decided to increase the charges in the industrial hostels run by the National Service Hostels Corporation on behalf of the Ministry of Labour and National Service by 7s. a week as from 13th April.The new charges will be 47s. a week for men and 42s. a week for women at standard hostels, and 42s. a week for men and 37s. a week for women at substandard hostels where the amenities fall somewhat short of the general standard.

asked the Minister of Labour the estimated percentage increase in retail prices between the date in 1919 when the basic rate of war pensions was fixed and the present time.

There is no official index which serves to measure the percentage increase in retail prices, on a comparable basis, between 1919 and the present time. I would, however, refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 3rd March by my hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions to my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lonsdale (Sir I. Fraser).

asked the Minister of Health whether he has now sanctioned plans for the establishing of a new hospital in the northern part of the industrial belt of Monmouthshire.

I have not received any proposals of this kind, but I understand they have been put to the Welsh Regional Hospital Board. It will be for the Board to decide what priority to give to them having regard to other urgent needs.

asked the Minis of Health why, and under what authority, Mrs. Connor of Fleetwood, details of whose case have been sent to him, was detained in Kirkham Hospital.

Mrs. Connor was detained under the authority of an order made by a Justice of the Peace under the provisions of Section 47 of the National Assistance Act, 1948, as amended by the National Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1951. The purpose of the order was to secure the necessary care and attention for Mrs. Connor as being an aged person living in insanitary conditions without proper care and attention. My right hon. Friend is satisfied that the action taken was in Mrs. Connor's own interest, and that a most distressing duty was properly carried out.

asked the Minister of Health the extent of war damage to hospitals in England and Wales which had not been made good by July, 1948; and what proportion of this was damage to mental hospitals and institutions for mental defectives.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health what proportion of total capital expenditure on hospitals during each of the years 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51 and 1951–52 was attributable, firstly, to making good war damage, and secondly, to maintenance or extension of mental hospitals or to the construction of new mental hospitals or institutions for mental defectives.

I regret that the information asked for in the first part of the Question is not available. The estimated capital expenditure on mental hospitals and mental deficiency institutions during the years referred to was respectively 13, 17, 15 and 21 per cent. of the total.

asked the Minister of Health whether a local authority or a hospital board is expected to pay for equipment which, if provided to a disabled person, can permit him to be discharged from hospital thus freeing a bed for another patient.

Local health authorities have power under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, to provide home nursing equipment and to make such charges, if any, as they consider reasonable having regard to the person's means. Individually fitted surgical and medical appliances for permanent or semi-permanent use are provided through the hospital and specialist service, and hospitals may lend certain other equipment for domiciliary treatment under specialist direction.

asked the Minister of Health why penalties of £500 and, on appeal, £100 on a doctor and a chemist, respectively, were imposed for certain alleged misdemeanours of which they had previously been acquitted when summoned on indictment before a high court.

The case of the doctor is still under consideration. A sum of £100 was withheld from the chemist's remuneration on account of irregularities which were in breach of the terms of his contract under the National Health Service. The acquittal in the courts was on charges of conspiracy to defraud.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the disservice rendered to the health service in Bristol by his refusal to authorise the purchase of a new duplicating machine by the Health Service Executive Council; and if he will reduce such delays to efficiency which are impairing the service.

My right hon. Friend does not agree that there has been any disservice and the second part of the Question does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Minister of Health how many foreign-trained doctors and dentists, now domiciled in this country, have applied for posts under the National Health Service, and for technical reasons have been prevented from following the occupation for which they were trained; and what action he is taking to utilise their skill and services.

No figures are available. I would refer the hon. Member to the answers given to a Question by him on 17th July, and to a Question on the Dentists Bill by the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Dr. Stross) on 12th March.

asked the Minister of Health the total number of staff employed in pricing offices in England and Wales on 1st January, 1952, and on 1st January, 1953; and the total number of prescriptions dispensed under the National Health Service for the year 1952 priced in those offices.

The total number of staff employed was 1,089 on 1st January, 1952, and 1,302 on 1st January, 1953. The total number of prescriptions dispensed during the year 1952 and priced to date is approximately 139 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to state in detail the steps which have been taken to ascertain the nature of African opinion in Nyasaland and the Rhodesias with regard to the proposals for closer co-operation in Central Africa; how many chieftains have been consulted; and with what result.

The proposals have been discussed with all the native authorities in the two Northern Territories. There are about 380 of these of which the chiefs are members. The proposals have also been discussed by Provincial Councils and by the Representative Council in Northern Rhodesia and the Protectorate Council in Nyasaland. I have nothing to add to what I said in last Tuesday's debate about the reception of these proposals by these bodies. The question of consultation with Africans in Southern Rhodesia is a matter for the Government of that territory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the duties and achievements of the Colonial Attache in Washington and the Colonial Office representative in New York.

The Colonial Attache at the British Embassy in Washington advises Her Majesty's Ambassador and the British Information Services in the United States on all matters affecting the Colonies, undertakes publicity work, especially lectures to institutions and academic bodies, and has supervisory responsibility for the welfare of some 1,500 colonial students in the United States. He is responsible for liasion between the Embassy and the Colonial Governments, whose interests in the United States the Embassy represents, and for assistance to British subjects from the Colonies, in particular as regards labour contracts for West Indians. He is also a member of the Caribbean Commission.The Counsellor (Colonial Affairs) in New York advises the permanent United Kingdom representative to the United Nations on colonial questions. He represents the United Kingdom as alternate delegate to the Trusteeship Council, as adviser to the United Kingdom representative in the Fourth (Trusteeship) Committee of the General Assembly, and as United Kingdom representative on certain inter-sessional committees and sub-committees of the Assembly. He also acts as a link between the Colonial Office and the Technical Assistance Administration of the United Nations.I consider both appointments most valuable. Without the specialised knowledge which these officers have provided, neither the Embassy nor our delegation in New York could have done so much to remove misunderstanding about our colonial policy and to present British colonial achievements in their proper light.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the urgent need for an immediate reorganisation of industry, education and employment in Kenya, pending the labours of the Royal Commission which has recently been appointed to consider the problems of that area; and if he will, accordingly, take immediate steps to meet these needs.

I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the reply I gave on 25th February to the hon. Member for Gravesend (Sir R. Acland). The Government of Kenya do not intend to suspend or delay their programme of social and economic development until the Royal Commission has reported. I have had placed in the Library two pamphlets, "African Development in Kenya, 1946–1955, Land, Livestock and Water," and "Some Aspects of the Development of Kenya Government Services for the benefit of Africans from 1946 onwards," which contain a useful account of what has been and is being done.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies his most recent plans to protect loyal Kikuyu in Kenya; and to provide each of them with sustenance, work and wages and a secure future.

Measures taken to protect loyal Kikuyu include the disposition of considerable military and police forces, the formation of African Home Guard units and resistance groups in the Kikuyu reserves, the opening of new police posts and stations, and the concentration in guarded villages of the labour forces on some farms and in forest areas. The only loyal Kikuyu who may at present need sustenance, work and wages are some of those who have been repatriated from the settled areas to their reserves or who have moved voluntarily but have no claim to land in the reserves. Many are being absorbed by their clan as squatters, and it is hoped that the bulk of those who are not so absorbed can be offered employment on various development projects, near which they will be able to live as complete families.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how many coal miners had to leave the industry because of contracting pneumoconiosis in the years 1950, 1951 and 1952.

Owing to the nature of the disease there is no record of the year in which an individual contracts pneumoconiosis, but about 80 coal miners in 1950, and 101 and 112 in the two following years, were advised to leave the industry or suspended on account of having pneumoconiosis with tuberculosis.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware of the coal shortage in Dagenham; what was its cause; and what steps are being taken to deal with the problem.

I am making inquiries and will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence the number of British officers of the equivalent rank of lieutenant-colonel and above, seconded to serve on General Ridgway's personal staff; and how the present number of such officers compares with that on General Eisenhower's staff a year ago.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "None": to the second part "One."

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures showing the general percentage rise or fall since October, 1951, in the price of articles and services for which his Department are responsible.

The best indication of the general rise in Post Office charges since October, 1951, is given by an estimate of the percentage increase in total Post Office revenue resulting from the tariff changes made in the period. This average increase is about 7½ per cent.

asked the Minister of Food if he will ensure this year that there will not be such large imports of fruit pulp as to cause the home-grown plums to be left on our own trees in Kent.

It does not follow that further restriction of imports of fruit pulp would cause jam manufacturers to buy any more plums from British growers. They are already producing as much plum jam as the public will buy and almost the whole of this is made with home-grown fruit.

asked the Minister of Food if he is now prepared to allow a larger allocation of sugar for jam-making this year to enable more of our homegrown fruit to be used than was the case last year.

Including the Coronation bonus already announced, I can now give the dates of four bonuses. They will be available in the ration periods commencing 19th April, 17th May, 14th June and 12th July.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty (1) the estimated cost of the Royal yacht under construction at Messrs. John Brown's Yard, Clydebank;(2) the estimated cost of the building and equipping of the Royal yacht; and what is the estimated annual cost of running and maintenance.

The estimated total cost of the Royal yacht and hospital ship is in the region of £1,800,000. The estimated average annual cost of running and maintenance, including periodical refits and docking is:

	£
(a) as a Royal yacht in commission	145,000
(b)as a Royal yacht in care and maintenance	100,000
(c) as a hospital ship in commission	110,000

In addition there will be fuel costs.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the estimated capital expenditure in his Department on Scotland in 1953–54; and what are the main projects.

The estimated capital expenditure by the Admiralty in Scotland in 1953–54 amounts to some £2,450,000. Among the major projects covered by this expenditure are married quarters, airfield runway construction and extension, improved facilities at oil fuel installations, machinery for Admiralty shore establishments and certain special storage facilities.

asked the Minister of National Insurance how many fishermen in the Girvan area have been refused unemployment benefit; and what are the reasons.

I presume the hon. Member is referring to disallowances under the Seasonal Workers Regulations. Thirty-four fishermen have been disallowed benefit this month in the Girvan area on the ground that they had not satisfied the condition requiring them to prove that they had had, or could reasonably expect to obtain, a substantial amount of employment in their current off-seasons. Decisions are awaited on a further 67 claims.

asked the Minister of National Insurance why 4s. a week is deducted from the sickness benefit of a married man under the National Health Insurance who is in receipt of a 40 per cent. disability pension; and if he will take steps to see that disabled men are not penalised in this way.

Personal sickness benefit is normally payable in full to a man receiving a war disability pension, but I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the adjustment that has to be made when a disability pensioner in receipt of a 4s. addition for his wife is also claiming an addition to sickness benefit in respect of her. The adjustment is made in accordance with the National Insurance (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1948, which gave effect to the recommendations on this point made by the National Insurance Advisory Committee. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of their report.

asked the Attorney-General if he will give early effect to the recommendations of the Lord Chancellor's Committee on civil liability for damage done by dogs to sheep and cattle, as existing regulations have not proved effectual in stopping this cruelty to animals and loss of valuable food, particularly in Kent.

The recommendations of the Committee are still under consideration.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government which of the water undertakings in the country at the present time are carrying out experiments or have carried out experiments in the use of a small amount of fluorine in their supplies; and what is the policy of his Department in that connection.

None. Reports of the experience gained abroad are being studied in consultation with the Ministry of Health.

asked the Minister of Works what steps he takes to ensure the maintenance of an adequate supply of fish of a reasonable size for angling in the Serpentine and other lakes under his charge; and if he is satisfied as to present standards.

Waters where fishing is allowed are re-stocked periodically from other waters in my charge, and from sources such as reservoirs. I doubt if fishermen are ever content with the size of fish they catch, but we do our best.

asked the Undersecretary of State for Air the estimated capital expenditure in his Department on Scotland in 1953–54; and what are the main projects.

About £4 million, to be spent mainly on married quarters, barrack and technical accommodation, and airfield development.