asked the Minister of National Insurance if the inquiry that was to be made through his local offices regarding the reasons which lead people to retire or to continue at work, after reaching minimum pension age, has commenced; and when he expects to report on the matter.

A small scale trial inquiry has been completed, and the inquiry proper, covering all parts of the country, will take place during September. I am unable at this date to say when the results will be available.

asked the Minister of National Insurance if he will take steps to enable old age pensioners to commute their pensions in cases where they are going abroad to settle down for life with a son or daughter.

No.

asked the Minister of National Insurance the amount standing to the credit of the National Insurance Fund at the most recent convenient date.

The balance of the National Insurance Fund and the National Insurance (Reserve) Fund amounted to £577 million and £783 million, respectively, on 31st March, 1952, which is the latest date covered by the published accounts.

asked the Minister of Materials the results of his talks with the Newsprint Rationing Committee regarding the ban upon the return of unsold newspapers.

I have had no such discussions.

asked the Minister of Materials when the report of the Committee on Consumption Licensing of Softwood will be completed.

I hope to be able to give next week the result of the fresh assessment, upon which officials have been working with the assistance of the Timber Development Association, of the possible increase in softwood consumption which might result if the softwood licensing system were abolished.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of specific statements by Mr. Syngman Rhee that appear clearly to indicate his intention of frustrating the endeavours of the United Nations to secure a truce in Korea, if Her Majesty's Government will consider requesting an early recall of the United Nations Assembly to consider the present position.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to Questions Nos. 45. 49 and 50 to the Prime Minister.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the latest information he has received from the authorities in Korea about the measures of land reform undertaken in the area occupied by the United Nations.

The only territory in Korea which is occupied by the United Nations and administered by the United Nations Command is the narrow area between the 38th Parallel and the present battle-line. I am accordingly asking the United States Government to seek from the United Nations Command any information that may be available about land reform in that area.

asked the Minister of Food if he will make an extra allocation of sugar for jam-making now in view of the exceptionally large sugar harvest this year.

asked the Minister of Food whether, pending the derationing of sugar, he will issue further sugar bonuses after July so that full advantage can be taken of this season's home-grown fruit.

Pending derationing, which as I have already announced I hope will be possible in September, the extra pound of sugar will continue to be provided every month while rationing remains, and the Order has been amended accordingly.

asked the Minister of Food whether eggs which are now being put into gas storage will eventually be sold to the public as fresh eggs or as marked store eggs.

Gas is not used in cold stores holding eggs. Home-produced eggs which have been in cold store must be marked "chilled" before sale.

asked the Minister of Food what arrangements he has made for the future supply of grain from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

None.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will make a further statement about branded margarine.

Not at present. Discussions with the trade are still going on.

asked the Minister of Food what further progress has been made with the plan to create a world food reserve

In November last the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organisation considered the report of a working party it had set up to examine the practical problems involved in the creation of an emergency famine reserve. The Council decided to appoint a "Group of Experts" to examine these problems further. This Group has now presented its report, which will be considered by the Conference of the Organisation in November this year.

asked the Minister of Food what steps he will take against those butchers who have refused to operate the new meat rationing scheme.

I prefer at the moment to make no comment.

asked the Minister of Food if he has considered the proposals submitted by the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders as alternatives to the new proposals of his Department for 5th July, in view of the fact that meat rationing has completely broken down; and if he will accept the proposals of the federation.

asked the Minister of Food what action he proposes to take on the representations made to him by the Scottish Meat Traders Association.

Meat rationing is still necessary, and while it remains I must share out fairly the meat we have. The proposals referred to do not offer a workable alternative.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the interest taken by children in television programmes, he will invite the co-operation of the British Broadcasting Corporation in making further use of television for encouraging and helping children to take the utmost care when using the roads.

I am sure that the B.B.C., who already devote much programme time both on sound radio and television to road safety, will continue to bear in mind the point made by my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Minister of Transport if, in view of the high fatal road accident rates, he will recommend the setting up of a Royal Commission to examine this matter.

The problem of road accidents has been studied over a long period and the Departmental Committee on Road Safety keep it under constant review. I am by no means convinced that a Royal Commission would add materially to existing knowledge of the problem or be able to suggest novel and effective means for its solution.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in the interest of road safety, he will introduce a regulation making it illegal for any person to throw anything out of a motor coach, omnibus or car, when in motion, with severe penalties for breaking this regulation, especially where lighted cigarettes are disposed of in this manner.

So far as passengers in motor coaches and omnibuses are concerned regulations are already in force which make it an offence for a passenger to throw out of the vehicle any article or thing likely to annoy persons or to cause danger or injury to any person or property. I do not know of any evidence which would justify me in extending this prohibition.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps have been taken to meet the danger of accidents in Bath Road and at the Salt Hill-Three Tuns crossroads, Slough, during the rush hours when a heavy stream of traffic, mostly cyclists, enters and leaves the trading estate.

Arrangements have been made to improve the lay-out of the crossroads and the traffic signal system. This work will start in two or three weeks. Conditions on the length of the Bath Road to which the hon. Member refers cannot be effectively improved until the Slough-Maidenhead by-pass can be constructed.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the economically wasteful congestion on the Staffordshire trunk-road system; whether he has considered the recent statement of the chairman of the county council on the subject, of which a copy has been sent to him; and whether he will now issue permission and increase his grants for the maintenance and improvement of the main route North running through the county, especially between Stafford and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

I am aware of the needs for road improvement in Staffordshire, as in other parts of the country, and have considered the statement to which my hon. Friend refers. A fair share of the money available has been allocated to the county. We are already acquiring some land on the road referred to by my hon. Friend so as to be able to improve it as soon as funds are available for the purpose.

asked the Minister of Transport when the decision was first made to erect a screen along the Western Avenue frontage of Northolt Airport; and when he expects work to start.

My right hon. Friend has now decided that a screen should be erected. Until the details have been settled I cannot say when the work will start, but I hope it will be soon.

asked the Minister of Transport what progress has been made by the Committee to investigate the pollution of our coastal waters by oil; whether he is aware of the renewed fouling of Southsea beach in recent weeks, and the steady flow of oily effluent from the mud-creek immediately north-west of the Fawley oil jetty, an effluent which throughout the week-end of the Royal Naval Review was sufficient to cover the whole breadth of Southampton Water with a film of oil of considerably more than molecular thickness; and whether he will refer these cases to the committee.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has now received a report from his Committee on the prevention of pollution of the sea by oil; and whether he will make a statement.

I have now received the Committee's report. It is being printed and will be published as soon as possible. I should like to take this opportunity of thanking the members of the Committee for the time and thought they have devoted to the examination of this troublesome problem. I know that there has been some pollution at the places to which my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport and Fareham refers, though I am informed that Southampton Water was not polluted to the extent he suggests.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that 18 vessels registered in Panama and flying the Panamanian flag have been captured by Chinese Communists, and that the majority of these vessels were owned by British companies; and what steps he is taking to prevent the use of the Panamanian flag in these circumstances.

I have seen Press reports of a statement made by the Panamanian Consul-General in Hong Kong as to a number of Panamanian ships having had their registry cancelled because they were trading with China. None of these ships are on our register and I have no information which would lead me to think that the ownership of any of them was such as to entitle them to be registered under the Merchant Shipping Acts as British ships and to fly the British flag. The last part of the Question does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will take steps to restart the Burntisland and Granton ferry service to meet the immediate need for heavy road transport and relieve congestion at the Queensferry Passage; or what alternative solution he has in mind.

Following my right hon. Friend's statement in Edinburgh recently that the Forth Bridge scheme could not be authorised in the near future, the British Transport Commission have been asked to prepare final estimates for the improvement of the Queensferry. M right hon. Friend has no powers in the matter of restarting the Burntisland and Granton Ferry.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is now in a position to make a full statement on his acceptance of the scheme of pensions for the wages grades in the railway service; and what instructions he has given to the British Transport Commission on this urgent matter.

As the House knows, I told the Commission and the T.U.C. in March that I agreed in principle to the establishment of a pension scheme for wages grades. I have asked the Commission to consider certain observations I have made upon their proposals for a pension scheme for wages grades, and I have no doubt that they will be arranging to discuss the matter with the trade unions at an early date. Until then, I cannot make the full statement asked for by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has considered the report of his inspector on the double collision at Harrow and Wealdstone Station, with particular reference to the section on automatic train control; and if he will make a statement.

I have considered the Report of the Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways on this accident and would like to take this opportunity of congratulating him upon it. I have referred it to the British Transport Commission for their observations. I am, however, able to say that as soon as the present trials have been brought to a successful conclusion and the Chief Inspecting Officer has expressed himself satisfied with the reliability of the equipment, the Commission will authorise the Railway Executive to make an immediate start on the extension of Warning Control on the general lines recommended in the Report. from district to district.

asked the Minister of Transport what progress is being made with the electrification of the Chingford line.

This work cannot be undertaken until the new Tube to improve the distribution of traffic entering the Central London zone from Tottenham and Walthamstow has been carried out.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to receive the report of the Committee set up under the chairmanship of Mr. G. Thesiger; and when he expects to make it available to hon. Members.

I cannot yet say how soon the Committee will be able to complete their work and submit their report.

asked the Minister of Transport the members of the Committee which he proposes to appoint to inquire into London transport.

I hope to announce the names in a few days.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will make available to the British Transport Commission an adequate supply of steel for the purposes of the installation of automatic train control on its railway system.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made today by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport. I have no reason to anticipate that there will be any difficulties in the supply of the steel required for such a scheme.

asked the Minister of Supply how far deliveries of imported steel plate are to be subtracted from the allocations of home-produced plate.

Supplies of steel plate imported centrally by the British Iron and Steel Federation are used to supplement home production and are distributed within the voluntary steel plate distribution scheme which I announced on 20th April. Steel plate imports arranged by an individual consumer are outside this scheme and do not in any way affect the supplies he obtains from the home steel industry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the relative purchasing power of a Member of Parliament's salary for each month from April, 1946, taking the £ as being worth 20s. in April, 1946, and basing the calculations on the Interim Index of Retail Prices of the Ministry of Labour.

The following are the figures for each month from June, 1947, the base month of the Interim Index of Retail Prices. I regret that there is no comparable monthly index for the period between April, 1946, and June, 1947:other paid office-holders in the House is 66, that the amount of Parliamentary salary payable to Ministers and others on salaries of less than £5,000 would remain at £500, and that all Members entitled to draw full Parliamentary salary would do so, the gross annual cost would be £254,345.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of each class of hydrocarbon oils retained for home consumption during the year ended 31st March, 1953; and the net amount received in respect of duty thereon, showing, in particular, the amounts received in respect of motor spirit and heavy oils used as fuel in road vehicles.

The desired particulars are provisionally as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the £8 million pledged by Britain and other Commonwealth countries for the financing of technical assistance to countries participating in the Colombo Plan has actually been spent; and how much of the remainder has been committed to specific projects.

On 31st December, 1952, £572,000 had been spent and a further sum of £765,000 had been committed to specific projects. Later figures for the Commonwealth as a whole are not yet available, but in the first six months of 1953 U.K. expenditure rose from £137,000 to £280,000 and U.K. forward commitments from £530,000 to £951,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total of Canadian dollars made available by the Treasury to British firms for the purpose of capital development in Canada since the end of the war, and the total of Canadian dollars remitted to the Treasury as dividends for these investments in Canada.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 18th June, 1953; Vol. 516, cols. 1174–5], supplied the following information:The total of Canadian dollars made available by the Treasury to British firms for the purpose of capital development in Canada since the war is estimated at £35 million approximately. This figure covers direct remittances only. It does not include the value of goods exported without payment, funds borrowed locally under U.K. guarantee, or profits reinvested, all of which contribute to capital development by British firms.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air why No. 4036361 S.A.C. Bird, G. A., now at Royal Air Force, Changi, Singapore, has now been retained overseas for three months beyond the prescribed tour of duty of 2½ years; and when he will be returned to this country.

I understand that S.A.C. Bird is now on his way home. I will write further to my hon. and learned Friend as soon as I have been able to complete inquiries in the overseas Command concerned.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether his attention has been called to the nuisance and annoyance which has been caused to residents in the New North Road district of Ilford by low-flying aircraft of the Royal Air Force, notably on the evening of 25th June, 1953; and whether he will give the necessary instructions for this nuisance to cease.

I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to my reply of 3rd July to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Sorensen).

asked the Minister of Agriculture to what extent the rat and rabbit pest controls are amalgamated or are two separate services; how they are administered; and what other duties are included for the officials responsible besides the elimination of rats and rabbits.

In all counties the Ministry's rat and rabbit control services are provided by a single pests department directed by the county pests officer. In addition to the destruction of rats and rabbits county pests officers deal with other matters relating to the control of animal and bird pests. They have no responsibility for the enforcement of control of rats and mice which is the function of local authorities. County pests operators are usually employed solely on the destruction service.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number of people employed in agricultural marketing schemes; the cost of these services; and to what extent the numbers are to be reduced.

The Agricultural Marketing Boards established under the Agricultural Marketing Acts are independent bodies responsible for their own staffs and costs and I do not therefore have the information requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will now make a statement about the Exchequer contributions payable for new houses completed by local authorities in Scotland.

After considering all the circumstances, I have decided that the Exchequer contributions should remain as at present for houses completed up to the 30th June, 1954.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has yet completed his consultations with his colleagues about the Cairncross Report; and with what result.

Yes. My right hon. Friends the President of the Board of Trade, the Minister of Labour and I have considered the Report very carefully. We have come to the conclusion that the Government's Distribution of Industry policy should not be changed meantime on the lines recommended in the Report, and I have written in this sense to Lord Bilsland.