asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many coloured persons from Colonial Territories have settled in the United Kingdom in each of the years since 1945.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a boy convicted of stealing an apple is classified in Home Office returns as a juvenile delinquent.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the diminishing wild duck population, he will take powers to limit the operating season to say 10 weeks in any one year for any decoy on which say over 500 ducks are annually taken in nets or traps.

This would require legislation. It is open to my hon. Friend to propose a suitable amendment to the Protection of Birds Bill which is now before the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how far instructions are given to the Metropolitan Police to co-operate with the police in other districts to find the addresses of husbands who are separated from their wives and who are not making the payments ordered by the court, so that proceedings can be taken against such men.

Where a maintenance order has been made, the police do their best to serve a summons or to execute a warrant issued by the court, but, if they have no clue to the man's whereabouts, they cannot undertake such extensive inquiries as they would in relation to a person suspected of a serious criminal offence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pending the formulation of legislation to give more control over the opening of licensed clubs, he will consider the introduction of a regulation to replace Regulation 55 (c) which was allowed to lapse.

I have no power to make a regulation such as my hon. and gallant Friend suggests.

asked the Minister of Labour what vacancies there are on the Aycliffe Trading Estate; and how many people have been made redundant within the last three months by firms operating on the Aycliffe Trading Estate.

The answer to the first part of the Question, at 20th November, 1953, the latest date for which information is available, is 38, and to the second, during the three months ended on the same date, 79.

asked the Minister of Labour the figures of men and women employed by firms on the Aycliffe Trading Estate; and how such figures com pare with the years of 1951 and 1952.

The latest figures available, for the end of October, 1953, are 1,892 males and 1,004 females. The corresponding figures for October, 1951 are 1,844 males and 1,159 females and for October, 1952, 1,760 males and 1,068 females respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were registered as unemployed in the county of Yorkshire on the last date for which figures are available; how many of these are women; how many are over the age of 50 years; and what are the comparable figures at the same date last year.

14,936 males and 8,638 females were registered as unemployed in the county of Yorkshire at16th November, 1953, compared with 17,732 males and 13,461 females at 10th November, 1952. An age-analysis is available only for the wholly unemployed and only for June and December of each year. At 15th June, 1953, the numbers aged 50 and over registered as wholly unemployed in Yorkshire were 5,390 males and 1,594 females, compared with 4,882 males and 2,277 females at 16th June, 1952.

asked the Minister of Labour what action has been taken by his Department in connection with the dismissal of 67 workers from the Winfray Engineering Company Limited, The Butts, Coventry, of which he has been informed.

At a meeting under the auspices of my Department a settlement was reached and work was resumed this morning.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will take the necessary steps to discontinue the Notification of Vacancies Order.

No. I keep the need for this Order under constant review, and am satisfied that we cannot at present dispense with it.

asked the Minister of Labour how far earnings and wage-rates in the engineering industry have kept pace over the last two years with increases in production and distributed profits.

Only very broad comparisons are possible and one should hesitate to draw any very precise conclusions from such comparisons: The available information suggests that whereas the average earnings of adult males on the one hand and distributed profits (that is, interest or dividends on debentures, preference or ordinary shares) on the other in the engineering and related industries showed, in the period in question, approximately the same percentage increases, the volume of production showed a substantially smaller percentage increase.

asked the Minister of Labour which categories and grades within the engineering industry are worse off as regards earnings and wage-rates, respectively, since 1951, taking into account changes in the cost of living.

The varying dates to which the available information relates, as well as other factors, make a strict comparison extremely difficult, but so far as I can judge from an examination of the figures the answer to the hon. Member's question is "None."

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed, male and female, respectively, registered in the county borough of Stockport at November, 1952 and 1953, respectively.

728 males and 1,105 females at 10th November, 1952, and 495 males and 265 females at 16th November, 1953.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been drawn to threats by members of the National Union of Railway men to stage token strikes if their demands for improved rates of wages and conditions of service are not met: and whether he will make a statement.

I understand that the unions concerned are meeting today to consider the Award of the Railway Staffs National Tribunal on their claim for increased wages, and in the circumstances I have no statement to make.

asked the Minister of Labour whether the Technical Committee has examined the effect on the retail index of the removal of food subsidies from a number of items.

No. I am not aware of any reasons for asking the Technical Committee to make such an examination.

asked the Minister of Labour when he expects to receive the report on the family budget in connection with a new retail index.

The household expenditure inquiry is being conducted over a period of 12 months and the work of interviewing householders and collecting budgets will not finish until February or March of next year. Thereafter some considerable time must elapse before the large mass of detail collected can be summarised, and I regret that I am unable to give a date by which a report on the inquiry will become available.

asked the Minister of Health which firm has been given approval to produce B.C.G. in this country; and what negotiations are now taking place.

The manufacture of B.C.G. vaccine would require a licence under the Therapeutic Substances Act, 1925. No licence has yet been granted, but one firm has had preliminary consultation with my right hon. Friend's officers.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he proposes to take, notwithstanding the good work performed by doctors, nurses and other staffs, to improve the circumstances and treatment of those compelled to spend much of their lives in mental hospitals.

As far as resources permit, regional hospital boards and hospital management committees are continually improving conditions at mental hospitals, and I am hoping next year to make an additional special allowance available for capital works for this purpose. Measures to deal with the shortage of nursing staff were given in a memorandum issued last June, a copy of which I will send to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has yet received the findings of the Industrial Court in regard to the Amalgamated Engineering Union allegations against the Medical Supply Association Limited.

Yes. The court found that, in the execution of my Department's contracts, the company were not—at any time material to the reference—in breach of the requirements of the Fair Wages Resolution of the House.

asked the Minister of Health how many families were, at the latest date for which information is available, in temporary accommodation provided by local authorities under Section 21 (1) (b) of the National Assistance Act, 1948; and what were the total number of adults and the total number of children in such temporary accommodation.

On 1st January, 1953, there were 1,977 adults, of whom 1,528 were women; and 3,325 children under 16 in accommodation provided by local authorities in England and Wales under Section 21 (1) (b) of the National Assistance Act. All children were accompanied by one or both parents. Information is not available of the number of families.

asked the Minister of Health (1) how many families, which were in temporary accommodation provided by local authorities under Section 21 (1) (b) of the National Assistance Act, 1948, during the period of 12 months ending on the latest date for which such information is available, have been rehoused by a local authority; and how many such families have been accepted by local authorities for re-housing;(2) how many families, which were in temporary accommodation provided by local authorities under Section 21 (1) (

The information desired by the hon. Member is not available. My right hon. Friend and the Home Secretary are in consultation on the general question of the reception of children into care because their parents are homeless.

asked the Minister of Health how many beds are allocated for

—			Beds allocated		Waiting Lists
			Mental Deficiency	Mental Illness	Mental Deficiency	Mental Illness
N. W. Metropolitan Region		…	4,677	11,767	547	218
N.E. Metropolitan Region	…	…	2,970	9,138	728	64
S.E. Metropolitan Region	…	…	4,531	11,074	423	150
S.W. Metropolitan Region	…	…	7,895	31,009	589	143

asked the Minister of Health how many places have been provided by local authorities in hostels for sufferers from open tuberculosis of the lung who have ceased to benefit by hospital treatment; and how many such cases are still accommodated in common lodging-houses.

Sixty-six places are available in London and Middlesex for homeless tuberculous people who have ceased to benefit from hospital treatment. This is apart from hostels for the training and rehabilitation of the tuberculous. I regret that the information asked for in the last part of the Question is not available.

asked the Minister of Health if he will consult with the Birmingham Regional Hospitals Board about the need to appoint an additional consultant physician to the staff of the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary, in view of the fact that the waiting period for outpatients at this hospital is now three months or more.

The numbers at 31st December, 1952, were as given below. The figures for each region include those for teaching hospitals situated in the regional area and those for mental illness include those for patients treated in neurosis units outside the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts.

I am informed that the board have arranged for three additional out-patient clinics to be held weekly: one is starting now, the other two on the 1st January.

asked the Minister of Health when the constituent, whose name has been forwarded to him, will be admitted to Burton Infirmary for an operation; and if he will bear in mind that this constituent, who is employed by British Railways, can lose his employment if the period before the operation and the convalescent period exceed 12 months.

I am informed that admission may be expected in about three months, but that a prolonged period of treatment will be necessary, about which I am writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has approved the proposal of the Lancashire County Council to erect a new occupational centre in Stretford for mental defectives.

Revised plans were received on 7th December and are now under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health what subvention is made to doctors who, having passed a qualifying medical degree, decide to complete a further two years' training in order to qualify for appointments as medical officers of health; and how such subventions compare with salaries received by newly-qualified doctors who work as house surgeons in hospitals for a similar period.

None. The second part of the Question does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Minister of Health in how many cases local health authorities have themselves provided temporary accommodation for mental defectives under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, as advised by circular 5/52;and in how many they have arranged for the pro vision of such accommodation.

Up to date, 258 defectives have been accommodated under arrangements made by local health authorities and 1,839 have been admitted to hospitals for short periods.

asked the Minister of Health the average time taken, from the first application, for the supply of individual ear moulds for use with Medresco hearing aids to children attending schools for the deaf; and how the figure for the city of Birmingham com pares with that for the country as a whole.

Information is not available for calculating an average time. I understand that a few children from a school for the deaf in Birmingham have been waiting about six months, though others for a very much shorter time. Arrangements are being made to give high priority to these children at all stages.

asked the Minister of Health (1) in view of the inability of the Whitley Council to make any progress in setting up Whitley machinery to deal with disciplinary cases, what steps he is prepared to take to bring about an agreement and thereby give justice to the employees within the National Health Service;(2) whether he is aware that dissatisfaction prevails amongst employees in the National Health Service that more than five years after the inception of the service, there is no satisfactory machinery to deal with disciplinary cases within the service; and what action he proposes to take to deal with this matter.

While it is true that there is as yet no Whitley agreement on this matter, full guidance was issued to employing authorities over two years ago. I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make available capital resources to provide an early treatment centre and convalescent villas at Garlands Hospital, Carlisle, as a matter of urgency, thus to facilitate modern methods of treatment and relieve the increasing overcrowding.

I have already made an additional capital allocation for the mental health service in this and all other regions, and I regret that I cannot at present add to that.

asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to ensure that the restrictive practice proposals of the Health Executive Council, which has ruled that male doctors only can take over male practices and female doctors female practices, will not be permitted under the National Health Service.

My hon. Friend may have been misled by a report of the advice said to have been given by the London Local Medical Committee to the London Executive Council. I have ascertained that in fact this advice was broadly in the sense she desires.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been drawn to the decision of the North-West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board to close Colinswood Maternity Home at Farnham Common, Slough; and if he will ask for a reconsideration of this decision, in view of the domestic overcrowding in Slough and the need to provide further maternity institutions to meet the needs of the in creased population on the proposed London County Council estates.

I am aware of this proposal, and in view of the unsatisfactory nature of the accommodation at this home and of the number of beds available at other hospitals in the area, I am not disposed to question the Regional Hospital Board's decision.

asked the Minister of Health whether, before fluoride is added to the water supplies of selected communities, baseline information on the incidence of dental caries in those communities will be obtained and any comparable communities that can be used as controls; whether a survey of fluoride excretion in the urine of representative children and adults of all age groups throughout the country will be made in order to assess the required dose of fluoride to be added to water supplies; how adequate supplies of fluorides in the most suitable form will be obtained; and what safeguards there will be against errors in dosage and undue exposure of the operating personnel to the materials handled.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes." The matters raised in the remainder of the Question are receiving consideration.

asked the Minister of Health what further advice he has received from the Central Health Services Council regarding the problem of tuberculosis among persons entering this country from abroad.

The Council has advised that appropriate action be taken to ensure that those seeking work in this country from abroad shall be free from infectious tuberculosis. The advice is at present being considered with the Departments concerned.

asked the Minister of Health why voluntary contributions to the capital amenities of hospitals are deducted from the capital allocation of Regional Hospital Boards.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by the Parliamentary Secretary to my Department in replying to the Adjournment debate on 16th November.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make a statement as to any plans that are under consideration to improve the conditions of service of doctors, male and female nurses and other workers in mental hospitals.

I am most anxious that there should be every reasonable incentive for staff to work in the mental hospitals. In some respects the conditions of service in these hospitals are already better than in other hospitals, and improvements of one sort and another are constantly being made. For example, an increase in the rates of pay for the nursing staff has just been referred for settlement by arbitration, and a memorandum of guidance on other aspects of the nursing services was circulated to hospital authorities a few months ago. I am sending my hon. and gallant Friend a copy of it.

asked the Minister of Education the intake of new scholars into primary schools in Hammer smith in 1951–52 and 1952–53, respectively; and what is the estimated intake in 1953–54 and 1954–55.

The figures asked for are not available. The net increase in the number of juniors and infants on the registers of the maintained primary schools in Hammersmith was 482 during 1951, and 401 during 1952, and is expected to be about 100 during 1953 and 50 during 1954.

asked the Minister of Education how many new school buildings were begun in Hammersmith between 1945 and 1951; how many were completed in those years; how many of these schools have been completed since 1951; and how many begun since that date.

Between the end of the war and the end of 1951, five new schools were started in Hammersmith. During this period three of these schools were completed. Since the beginning of 1952, the other two schools have been finished and work has started on two more.

asked the Minister of Education the number of classes in primary schools in Hammersmith with over 40 and 50 pupils, respectively, on the register for each of the years 1951 and 1952, and at the most recent convenient date.

The numbers of classes with over 40 pupils on the registers of these schools in January, 1951, 1952 and 1953 respectively were 78, 83 and 109. There were no classes with over 50 pupils in these years.

asked the Minister of Education the number of students in training colleges for teachers this year, in 1952 and in 1951, respectively.

The following are the numbers of students taking two and three-year courses of initial training in teacher training colleges in the years mentioned:

1951	22,595
1952	22.796
1953	23,048

These figures do not include postgraduate students taking courses in University Departments of Education, etc.

asked the Minister of Education how many grand pianos, upright grands and uprights, respectively, have been purchased by the local education authorities since 1st January, 1952; and what was the cost.

This information is not available in my Department.

asked the Minister of Education the total provision for the training of teachers for technical college work; and what proposals she has in mind for increasing such provision, in view of its vital part in the struggle for economic survival.

The average number of teachers admitted annually to the technical teacher training colleges in the past three years has been 260. I would be ready to consider an increase in admissions should the demand justify it, but these colleges are by no means the only source of recruitment for technical college staff.

asked the Minister of Education if she is aware of the lack of playing fields for the 4,800 children in the Burslem and Tunstall schools; and what steps she proposes to remedy this.

Yes, but I regret that, as I explained to the hon. Member in my letter of 10th August last, I cannot at present approve the local education authority's plans for the development of playing fields in this area.

asked the Minister of Education when she proposes to relax the general ban on the development of playing fields imposed in Circular 245.

Under the policy set out in Circular 245, playing fields may be provided with, the aid of grant from my Department where they are associated with new schools but not otherwise. I cannot say when I shall be able to relax this policy.

asked the Minister of Education the total cost of the salaries of grammar school teachers and primary school teachers, respectively, in England and Wales during the last convenient year; and the proportions paid by local education authorities.

On the basis of the revised estimates of authorities for the current financial year, the total estimated expenditure on the salaries of teachers in maintained primary (including nursery) schools and in maintained and assisted secondary schools is £81,637,000 and £56,504,000, respectively. I am unable to say how much of the £56,504,000 relates to the salaries of teachers in secondary grammar schools as distinct from other types of secondary schools.Expenditure on teachers' salaries forms part of expenditure falling under the main grant formula of which, for the country as a whole, about 40 per cent. is met from the rates.

asked the Minister of Education what steps she will take to stimulate the recruitment of science graduates to meet future needs in the grammar schools; and what special steps she will take with reference to this problem in Wales.

The National Advisory Council on the Training and Supply of Teachers have recently submitted to me a report on graduate teachers of mathematics and science of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy. It contains a number of suggestions for stimulating recruitment, most of which require consultation with other interests. I am starting these consultations at once. The needs of Wales will be borne in mind throughout.

asked the Minister of Education whether she is aware of the continued concern felt by graduate teachers at the failure of the existing machinery for negotiation to provide reasonable salary incentives and thereby to ensure that sufficient fully qualified graduate teachers are available for appointments in the national education service; and what action she proposes to take to remedy this.

I am aware that many teachers, both graduates and non-graduates, would like to see their salaries increased; but, as I said in the reply which I gave to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Ilford, North (Sir G. Hutchinson) on 14th July, 1953. I have no reason to believe that in framing their salary recommendations the Burnham Committee fail to take fully into account the position of graduate teachers, or that the interests of such teachers are not adequately represented on that committee.

asked the Minister of Education how far it is in accordance with the policy of her Department to rely upon the report of the school psychologist during the final stage of a child's primary school education in order to decide the form in which he or she should be placed on transfer to a secondary modern school.

This is a matter for local education authorities rather than my Department. So far as I am aware, the procedure which my hon. Friend describes is limited to a small-scale experiment in the Colchester area which is being carried out at the request of the heads of several secondary modern schools. Children are placed in the appropriate form of the secondary modern school to which they are due to go, with the help of tests conducted by the psychologist attached to the child guidance clinic.

asked the Minister of Education the number of children taking school meals in Cardiff on a convenient date in October. 1951, 1952 and 1953, respectively.

The number of children in maintained and assisted schools in Cardiff having a school dinner on a day in October, 1951, was 9,285, in October, 1952. 9,762 and in October. 1953, 8,369.

asked the Minister of Education what total cuts she made in the estimated expenditure by Welsh local education authorities for the year 1953–54.

Local education authorities in Wales as in England are expected to exercise economy in expenditure in accordance with Circulars 242 and 245. They have not been required to submit estimates of their expenditure for 1953–54 for my approval and there has, therefore, been no question of my making cuts in their estimates.

asked the Minister of Education if she is aware that there is no non-denominational infants school in Cowley; that the church school is un able to accept the infants awaiting entry from this greatly developed area because of lack of accommodation; that the local church hall which is the only possible temporary accommodation is not to be made available; and what special steps she will authorise to enable these infants to receive education.

The answer to the first and third parts of the Question is Yes. I am informed that any children who cannot be accommodated next term in the voluntary school will be admitted to the Yiewsley County Primary School.

asked the Minister of Education what plans have been submitted to her for a new infants school at Cowley; when these plans were first submitted; and what decision she made about them.

A proposal to build the first instalment of a new primary school at Cowley is part of the building programme I have approved for the Middlesex local education authority for 1953–54. Plans for it have not yet been submitted for my approval, though sketch plans have been discussed informally with officers of the local education authority. I understand that final plans are to be submitted shortly.

asked the Minister of Education if she has now received a report of the food poisoning of over 250 pupils and teachers of five Halesowen schools who are supplied with meals from the central schools meals kitchen in Stourbridge Road; and if she will make a statement.

I am aware of this outbreak of food poisoning and have called for a full report.

asked the Minister of Education if she will make a statement upon the resolution regarding the extension of half-fare travel rate for children of school age, which was sent her by the National Association of Divisional Executives for Education; and what action she is taking in the matter.

I have not received a copy of this resolution. Arrangements already exist for children of compulsory school age to travel to and from school at half fares on the British Transport Commission's railways and London road services, and on the majority of other road transport undertakings. I am not concerned with arrangements for children's travel otherwise than for school purposes.

asked the Under secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he is aware that since the new Federal Immigration Regulations of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland have come into force, all Indian immigrants to Northern Rhodesia have been detained; and whether he will make a statement.

No. My information is that five such immigrants were detained, and were subsequently released.

asked the Undersecretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will give a detailed statement upon the division of constituencies in Southern Rhodesia for the forthcoming federal elections; the number of electors for the European members representing African interests in the Federal Assembly; and for the two African candidates for each of the two seats for specially elected African members.

Southern Rhodesia has, for the purpose of the elections of "elected members" of the Federal Assembly, been divided into fourteen Federal electoral districts as follows:

Border; Bulawayo; Bulawayo Suburbs; Darwin; Midlands; Mrewa; Salisbury; Salisbury South; Salisbury Suburbs; Salisbury West; Sebakwe; Umguza; Umniati; Western.

The full description of the boundaries of these electoral districts is much too lengthy for reproduction in the Official Report; but if the hon. Member wishes to consult the Regulations I will gladly give him the opportunity to do so.The number of electors for the single European member from Southern Rhodesia charged with special responsibilities for African interests is 50,474. The number of electors for the two seats for "specially elected African members," i.e. Matabeleland and Mashonaland, is 24,425 and 26,049 respectively.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what is the position of persons of mixed racial origin as electors and candidates in the federal elections in Central Africa.

Persons of mixed racial origin are subject to the same qualifications and disqualifications both as electors and as candidates as are persons of any other racial origin; except that they are not eligible for the six seats which the Constitution provides shall be filled by Africans, or for the three seats to be filled by Europeans representing African interests.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will remit or reduce Purchase Tax on radio and television sets purchased by, or for, old-age pensioners and by old-age pensioners' associations and community centres, respectively.

I am afraid not.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that restrictions on credit facilities are hampering acceptance of export orders for the shipbuilding industry; and what action he proposes to take, in view of the decline in new orders for the shipyards.

I am not yet in a position to add anything to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Dunbartonshire, East (Mr. Bence) on 26th November.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has been paid, either through the Government Hospitality Fund or by Treasury payment, to the Green Park Hotel Limited, during the past year; and for what purposes was such payment made.

No such payment has been made either through the Government Hospitality Fund or by the Treasury.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are taken to ensure that Customs duty has been paid on motor vehicles imported into this country before they are licensed.

The ordinary machinery for ensuring the payment of Customs duty upon chargeable goods at the time of their importation applies to motor cars as to other goods. The issue of motor vehicle licences is the responsibility of local registration and licensing authorities, and I am afraid that I have no information as to the steps they take before issuing a licence.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give an estimate of the cost in money and manpower of separating Welsh statistics from statistics for England and Wales over the whole fixed field where they are not already separated.

I regret that I am unable to provide a precise figure of the cost in terms of manpower and money of producing separate fiscal statistics for Wales where these are not already available, without the expenditure of an unjustifiable amount of time and money.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury why the Revenue Act, 1889, is not included in the index to Volume XI of the Statutes Revised nor in the index to the Statutes in Force.

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. Seventeen Sections of this Act appear in the subject index at the end of Volume XI of the Statutes Revised and the Title of the Act in the chronological table at the beginning. The Act also appears in the Table of Statutes at the beginning of the Index to the Statutes in Force.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to what extent men who served in the 1914–1918 war and who are employed in Inland Revenue offices are to be dismissed owing to the age limit of 65 while temporary clerks, including married women, are being retained.

There is no compulsory age of retirement as suggested in the Question. It is the policy of the Board of Inland Revenue to retain in their service irrespective of age any temporary clerk who is fit and fully efficient in the performance of his duties. I am looking into the case which the right hon. Gentleman has been good enough to bring to my attention and will write to him as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the average products, in lb. per acre per annum, obtained from hill farmers in England and Wales, separately; and what is the total acreage in each case indicating any additional acreage for winter grazing.

I regret that there are no acreage statistics available apart from the estimate of the De La Warr Committee on Hill Sheep Farming that the area of hill farming land in England and Wales is about five million acres. Data on output per acre are not precise enough to permit comparisons between England and Wales but in both countries it might be of the order of £3 10s.-£4 per acre per annum on hill farms, averaged over both cultivated and uncultivated land.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what information he has to account for the slow response on the part of farmers to the loan fund scheme initiated by him on 17th September.

The slow response may be due to the time of the year since one of the main purposes of the Revolving Loan Fund for Agriculture is to assist small farmers to install grain-drying equipment and storage.Further publicity will be given to this scheme in the New Year, but I welcome this opportunity of reminding farmers of these arrangements and of the importance of making their applications for loans in good time for the next grain harvest.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how long it is intended to continue the present policy of slaughter in the case of outbreaks of fowl pest; and whether he will consider changing that policy to one of vaccination.

I am satisfied that in present circumstances it would not be in the public interest for me to discontinue the slaughter policy in favour of vaccination.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the reason for the 50 to 60 per cent. increase in the number of clerical, typing, etc., staff employed by the Agricultural Land Commission.

The increase in clerical and typing staff from nine to 14 was necessary to deal with work arising from increases in the area of land managed by the Commission, and of the rental value, of 77 per cent. and 121 per cent. respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps the Government of the United States of America have now taken to grant rights to this country reciprocal to those granted to her by the Visiting Forces Act. 1952.

As I informed the hon. Member for Islington, East (Mr. E. Fletcher) on 7th December, the United States ratified the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Status of Forces Agreement on 15th July. Once the Visiting Forces Act has been brought into force in this country, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Status of Forces Agreement can be ratified by the United Kingdom. Thereafter full reciprocity will be given as regards treatment as between the armed forces of the two countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how far, in the negotiations in connection with the proposed association between the United Kingdom and the European Defence Community, discussion has taken place on the period of compulsory military ser vice for the forces comprised in the European Defence Community; and if he will give an assurance that he will press for a uniform period of service.

The European Defence Community Treaty provides for a uniform period of service for European Defence Community forces and for the way in which agreement is to be reached among the six countries on what this period should be. The matter has not been raised in the discussions about British association with the European Defence Community, and the second part of the Question does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a comprehensive statement on incidents which have taken place in the Canal Zone since his statement on 15th July.

Yes. There has been a considerable increase in the number of incidents in the Canal Zone in the latter half of this year. As I indicated to my hon. Friend the Member for Lanark (Mr. Patrick Maitland) on 2nd December, many of these involve the use of fire-arms or explosives. Her Majesty's Government have drawn the attention of the Egyptian Government to these incidents, and have made a strong protest. It is now up to the Egyptian Government to take the necessary measures to restore law and order in the Canal Zone. If they should fail to do so, our forces are fully capable of protecting themselves.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how much merchant shipping is at present under construction in United Kingdom shipyards and destined for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; and to what extent he anticipates that such construction will expand within the next 12 months.

No ships are under construction in British shipyards for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics but, as I informed the hon. and learned Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hector Hughes) yesterday, negotiations are taking place about the possible building of trawlers and fish factory ships. I am not in a position to forecast what construction there will be next year.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, if he will initiate research into the cause and cure of multiple sclerosis.

A substantial amount of research on the cause and treatment of multiple sclerosis is already being undertaken in a number of centres. Some of this research work is supported by the Medical Research Council. While no major advance in our knowledge of this disease has been made in recent years, I am informed that new approaches to the problem are constantly being sought.

asked the Minister of Food what proposals he has received from the White Fish Authority regarding increased facilities for the production of fish meal; and if he will make a statement.

The White Fish Authority have decided, subject to satisfactory negotiations for a site, to erect a factory at Plymouth.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if, in consequence of the discomfort and injury to health caused to the residents and business people in the area of the Bank-side power station in Southwark, due to the discharge of smoke and grit from the old plant which is coal fired and has 17 chimneys, he will take such action as may be open to him to minimise the nuisance during the period that has to elapse before the new oil-fuelled station is in operation.

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

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government his intentions about the future of the regional housing production boards.

In view of the success attending the efforts of all concerned in the housing drive, I do not feel justified in continuing to call upon the time of the members of the boards, which they have so freely and generously given ever since their appointment. They have done their task so thoroughly that I have been able to agree that they should be dissolved as from the 31st December next.I am sure the House will wish to join me in thanking the chairmen and members for their great contribution and the excellent way in which they have worked with the local authorities and the building industry. My right hon. friends, the Minister of Works and the Minister of Labour and National Service, wish to be associated with what I have said.

asked the Secretary of State for War why Captain Gerald Selby Lewis Griffiths, of the Durham Light Infantry, was regranted a commission in 1940 despite the fact that when he was previously serving as an officer in the Royal Tank Corps he was, in January, 1935, convicted at Lewes of a serious offence for which he served a term of imprisonment.

This officer was granted a commission in the Supplementary Reserve of Officers on 24th February, 1931. He resigned his commission in January, 1935. on purely military grounds. At the time when he was granted an emergency commission from the ranks on 26th October, 1940, the machinery for selecting candidates for commissions was working under heavy pressure. This no doubt led to his previous record being overlooked.

asked the Undersecretary of State for Air to give figures showing the number of Air Training Corps cadets who join the Royal Air Force on a regular engagement, either when they are due to do their National Service or after completing their two years' service.

The following is the information*:

—	1951	1952	1953
Ex-A.T.C. cadets entering the R.A.F. on regular engagements before starting National Service	3,250	3,123	1,816
Ex-A.T.C. cadets transferring to regular R.A.F. engagements during their whole time National Service	219	259	124
* Figures are not available to show how many ex-A.T.C. cadets joined the R.A.F. on regular engagements after completing their whole time National Service.
† To 30th September.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what increase in standard weekly benefits would be required, using the Interim Index of Retail Prices, to restore the real value of the benefits to that obtaining in July, 1948, when the National Insurance Act came into operation, and in October, 1946, when the increased pensions became payable, respectively; what these increases would cost in total and for retirement pensions, respectively; and what savings would be achieved in National Assistance as a result of these increases.

On the basis of the Interim Index of Retail Prices, and the earlier cost of living index which it superseded, the figures are:able, respectively; what these increases would cost in total and for retirement pensions, respectively; and what savings would be achieved in National Assistance as a result of these increases.

This is an unofficial index. It has always been the practice to use the official cost-of-living or retail price index when considering National Insurance benefits.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he can now give further information about the present position of persons who were receiving extended benefit under Section 62 of the National Insurance Act, 1946, when that Section expired on 4th July, 1953.

Position at 18th November						Men	Single women	Married women	All persons
Known to have obtained employment					…	6,360	1,055	1,021	8,436
Receiving insurance unemployment benefit					…	17,776	2,420	2,387	22,583
Receiving sickness benefit or unemployability supplement	…	…	…	…	…	2,067	231	214	2,512
Receiving retirement pension			…	…	…	840	113	68	1,021
Not receiving one of the above benefits but receiving National Assistance:
Total income unchanged			…	…	…	3,247	268	51	3,566
Total income increased			…	…	…	1,549	239	24	1,812
Total income reduced			…	…	…	l,674	185	25	1,884
Not receiving unemployment benefit or National Assistance, but still registering for employment		…	…	…	…	1,702	132	151	1,985
Ceased to register for employment—reasons unknown	…	…	…	…	…	1,760	501	1,319	3,580*
Total	…	…	…	…	…	36,975	5,144	5,260	47,379
* Included in this figure are 148 people who have died since 4th July, 1953.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many agricultural advisers are now at work in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika; and how many are Africans.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the staffs of the

When Section 62 of the National Insurance Act, 1946, expired on 4th July, 1953, there were, according to the latest figures, 47,379 persons receiving extended benefit, of whom about one-third were receiving supplementation from the National Assistance Board. The position of these persons on 18th November, the latest date for which such information is available, was as follows: Agricultural Departments of the Territories concerned. These total for Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika approximately 2,240, 1,000 and 1,840 respectively. Details of the racial distribution of employees are not available. I am consulting the Governors on this point and will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as I have received their replies.