asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware of the difficulties of the growers of drying grass owing to the absence of a guaranteed price; and what measures he is proposing for their relief.

I know that some producers of dried grass for sale are finding difficulty in disposing of their produce at a remunerative price. As regards the second part of the Question, I am at present considering representations about the marketing problems that were recently made to my Department by the Association of Green Crop Driers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what information he has on the efficacy of the vaccine prepared in the United States of America, details of which have been sent to him, in immunising dogs against hardpad; and what steps are being taken to manufacture vaccine of similar properties in England.

None, but a vaccine prepared on similar lines is available to veterinary surgeons in this country. I am advised that if it is used in accordance with the maker's instructions, this vaccine gives a high degree of protection against hardpad.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the use that is being made of the Manor Farm, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent; how many are employed; and what is the proposed expenditure.

Fenton Manor farm is being used by my Department for investigations into the practicability of alleviating the adverse effects of fluorine contamination on cattle, and to determine whether pigs and poultry can be run profitably on a contaminated farm. Three workers are regularly employed, one of whom is in day-to-day charge of the farm, and a farm manager and research staff visit the farm as necessary. The net expenditure during the current financial year is estimated at about £4,000.

asked the Minister of of Agriculture the results of the research and investigations made at the Fenton Farm on the effect of air pollution; and when he expects to be able to give a full report.

My Department has been in occupation of this farm for less than six months and preliminary results of the experimental work will not be available for at least a year. It will be about three years before a full report can be compiled.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, in view of the recent White Paper, what arrangements he has now made for reconstituting the consumers' committees provided for under the Agricultural Marketing Acts.

I have reconstituted the consumers' committee for England and Wales and also, in conjunction with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, the consumers' committee for Great Britain, as follows:

asked the Secretary of State or Scotland, in view of the recent White Paper on agricultural marketing, what arrangements he has made for reviving the consumers' committees provided for under the Agricultural Marketing Acts.

I have reconstituted the consumers committee for Scotland and as my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture is also announcing today, he and I in conjunction are reconstituting the consumers' committee for Great Britain. The following is a list of the names of the members appointed to the Scottish Committee:

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if his attention has been called to the case of Justin Lincoln Asquith Wickramaratne, a national Service man, who, having completed his whole-time service in the Royal Air Force, declined to report for training in the H Reserve on 6th June, 1953, on the ground of conscientious objection, was arrested on 4th August, held in close arrest until 15th September, court-martialled at West Drayton on 15th September and sentenced to 112 days' imprisonment, and was discharged by recommendation of the advisory tribunal on 26th October; and if he will give instructions that such offenders shall not be kept under close arrest for so long a period and shall be released on parole after being charged.

Every effort is made to bring an accused airman to trial as quickly as possible. I regret the delay in this case, but it was unavoidable. It is already laid down that commanding officers should only keep an accused airman under close arrest in exceptional circumstances. The hon. Member will appreciate that Mr. Wickramaratne had no permanent address at the time in question and had already refused to obey orders.

asked the Attorney-General what fees were paid to counsel for the Crown in the case of the Crown v. Christie.

£387 7s., of which £282 10s. was paid out of local funds.

asked the Attorney-General (1) if he is now in a position to state when it is proposed to introduce a Bill providing for the payment of pensions to the clerks of Her Majesty's judges;(2) if he will consider introducing legislation to improve the pension terms of the official referees.

The Government intend to introduce legislation for this purpose during the present session.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is now able to make a statement on the outcome of negotiations with the Government of Sierra Leone on the question of taxation of the diamond mining corporation in that country.

The Sierra Leone Government have accepted the conclusions agreed at the negotiations subject to their approval by the Sierra Leone Legislative Council and by the Board of the Sierra Leone Selection Trust. The broad lines of these conclusions are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what specific purposes the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund is devoted in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda; and what amounts are devoted, respectively, to measures affecting Europeans, Asians and Africans.

Details will be found in the returns of Colonial Development and Welfare schemes which are published annually as House of Commons papers. As regards the second part of the Question, Colonial Development and Welfare money is not divided up on a racial basis but is devoted as a rule to schemes for the benefit of the people of the territories as a whole, of whom, as the hon. Member well knows, the African population forms the great majority. There are however important cases in which Colonial Development and Welfare assistance has been applied to schemes designed specifically for the African population, for example: two hospitals in Kenya, a hospital in Dar-as-Salaam and a housing scheme in Tanganyika.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many applications have been made within the last two years for the registration of co-operative societies in Uganda; and how many of these applications have been granted.

During 1952 180 applications for registration were received and 180 societieswere registered. In 1953 239 applications for registration have so far been received, 208 societies have been registered, and 31 applications are pending.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, what new publicity, by post or other printed notice, has been undertaken in British Guiana in the last four years to give workers information about their rights to make claims and to proceed to arbitration in cases of industrial accident.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 26th November, 1953; Vol. 521, c. 92], supplied the following information:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence how many complaints have been brought to the notice of his Department to the effect respectively, that there is misunderstanding with regard to the number of officers retired from the Armed Forces drawing pension under the 1919 code; that there is misunderstanding as to the amount of pension paid to those in receipt of such pensions; and that the present scale of pensions to such officers should be reconsidered.

Since the Prime Minister's statement in the House on 24th November, 1953, about 110 letters of complaint have been brought to the notice of the Ministry of Defence regard- ing the retired pay of Service officers. Some of these letters deal with more than one ground of complaint. In any event, it would not be possible to divide them into categories according to the precise ground of complaint.

asked the Minister of Food what developments there have been affecting the working of the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement; and whether he will make a statement.

I am informed that the Cuban Government have decided not to seek a renewal of their present arrangements for the sale of sugar to Canada.

asked the Minister of Food (1) what estimate he has formed of the surplus of potatoes arising from the 1953 crop after meeting all human demands from the United Kingdom population; and how the surplus is to be disposed of, other than for animal feed;(2) what estimate he has formed of the sums that he will recover in respect of the sale of potatoes from the 1953 crop after providing for all human consumption in the United Kingdom; and what is the anticipated loss, per ton, of surplus potatoes sold for animal feed or for purposes other than for human consumption.

There will be a substantial surplus of potatoes from the 1953 crop, but it is not possible to form a reliable estimate until the trend of human consumption, seed requirements, and the extent of deterioration due to the abnormally warm weather can be seen more clearly. Nor is it yet possible to say what will be the loss per ton incurred in the disposal of surplus potatoes but owing to the large crop £5 million more is provided for in the Supplementary Estimates of my Department on account of the potato subsidy. Apart from sales of surplus potatoes for stock-feed, efforts are being made to stimulate exports. Surplus potatoes are also being processed for animal feed.

asked the Minister of Food (1) whether, in view of the surplus of potatoes arising from the 1953 crops, he will permit sales to processors, after meeting human and animal demands;(2) what plans he is making, in view of the intention of Her Majesty's Government to re-establish a Potatoes Marketing Board, to enable food processors to participate in supplies arising from the surplus of potatoes from the 1953 and 1954 crops.

Food processors regularly use substantial quantities of potatoes, and their needs are met from

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether, in the public interest, he will give a direction to the Gas Board and the British Electricity Authority to publish the tender prices of all contractors competing for contracts.

I do not think such a direction would be justified.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will furnish a detailed statement in the Official Report of the distribution costs and profit margins allowed to the coal merchants since 1945 in each regional area of England and Wales.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the figures of the stops made by the Metropolitan Police under Section 24 of the Metropolitan Police Courts Act 1839, in each of the years from 1949 to 1952 inclusive; and whether he will give the number of persons stopped, the num- ber of persons subsequently charged, and the number convicted separately.

I am obtaining the figures asked for and will send them on to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fee was paid to Mr. Scott Henderson, Q.C., for his report on the case of Timothy John Evans.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which local authority instituted proceedings against six men for poaching at the Grindleton, West Riding, magistrate's court, when fines and penalties totalling £139 12s. were imposed; and under what authority this prosecution was taken.

I understand that proceedings were instituted by the West Riding of Yorkshire County Council under Section 4 of the Game Licences Act, 1860, in the exercise of powers conferred by Section 6 of the Finance Act, 1908, and the Order in Council of 19th October, 1908 (S.R. & O. 1908. No. 844).

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware that the document printed by his Department for the Advisory Council of Wales and Monmouthshire was distributed in envelopes bearing the name of his Department in Wales; and whether he will ensure that in future his Department's official envelopes will not be used for the circulation of literature critical of the Minister for Welsh Affairs, in particular, and the Government in general.

I am obliged to my hon. Friend for calling my attention to this point. Since, as I have already explained, secretarial facilities are provided by my Department, it has been the custom for the Department also to provide paper and envelopes. A slip stating that it came from the Council was attached to the document in question. But I agree that it would be better that the Council's communications should not bear the name of my Department, and arrangements will be made accordingly.

asked the Minister of Health what information he has on the extent to which a positive reaction to one of the tuberculin tests indicates tuberculous infection or only skin sensitivity to tuberculin.

I am advised that the evidence shows that a positive tuberculin skin test almost invariably denotes the presence of a tuberculous infection at some time in the patient's life, but does not throw any light on its activity

asked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the analysis made by the Staffordshire medical officials of the Coseley diphtheria outbreak in 1951, which states that only those inoculated against diphtheria within the preceding three years should be regarded as completely immunised; and whether he will make a statement on the report.

I cannot find any such statement in the report published in the medical press. The period during which immunisation remains fully effective varies in individuals.

asked the Minister of Health what were the number of deaths, and deaths per 100,000 living, from respiratory tuberculosis and tuberculous meningitis at ages 0–4, 5–14, 15–20, 21–24, 25–34, 35, 44, 45–54 and 55–64 in males and females for the periods 1931–35, 1936–40, 1941–45, 1946–50 and for 1951 and 1952.

I regret that separate figures for the age groups 15–20 and 21–24 are not available. Figures for age groups 15–19 and 20–24 are not immediately available but can be supplied to the hon. Member if he particularly wishes to have them. Apart from these age groups, the figures requested are as follows:—

asked the Minister of Health the official policy in regard to the ages at which inoculation against diphtheria is suggested.

My policy is to advise inoculation against diphtheria towards the end of the first year of life with reinforcement at school entry.

asked the Minister of Health when he expects to receive the Birmingham Regional Hospital Board's programme of capital works for 1954–55.

Boards have been asked to submit their programmes not later than the 15th January next.

asked the Minister of Health if he will arrange for the publishing of annual statistics and information in greater detail and in readily available form relating to tuberculosis in Wales, so as to allay the concern of tuberculosis campaign committees at the lack of such information.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 17th December to my hon. Friend the Member for Barry (Mr. Gower).

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that Raymond Kafton, of Cinderford, who claims to be a conscientious objector to military service, was prosecuted at Gloucester on 16th September, 1952, for refusing to submit to medical examination and was fined £20 with £5 15s. costs, was prosecuted a second time on 30th May, 1953, and fined £20 with £6 6s. costs, was again prosecuted on 22nd September and fined £40 and £6 6s. costs with the alternative of three months' imprisonment, which he served; and if he will instruct that these repeated prosecutions for the same offence shall now stop.

These prosecutions were in accordance with the practice which was announced to the House by the then Parliamentary Secretary in May, 1947. Under that practice no man is prosecuted after he has served a prison sentence or sentences amounting to three months or more, and accordingly no further action will be taken in this case.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the number of houses in Wales, in each year since 1947, for which the higher scale of subsidy under the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1946, has been paid covering the housing of agricultural and non-agricultural workers.

The numbers of houses in Wales and Monmouthshire for which the higher rates of subsidy under Section 3 of the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1946, were first payable in the financial years named are:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what steps he has taken to ensure that the extension to the St. Swithin's power station, Lincoln, will not increase the annoyance caused to the citizens of Lincoln by the smoke, grit and spray from the cooling towers.

I will write to the hon. Member as soon as I have obtained some further information.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the number of persons in receipt of National Assistance to the latest date available, in each of the categories of old age pensioners, and of persons in receipt of sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, widows' pensions and Industrial Injuries or disablement benefit, respectively.

On 29th September, 1953, the numbers of regular weekly grants of National Assistance that were being paid to persons receiving the following kinds of pensions or benefits were:

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether, in the light of evidence given at the inquest on the late Mr. Joseph Dearden, 67, Shaw Lane, Prescot, and death certificates of other persons, which have been handed to him by the right hon. Member for Huyton, he will order an inquiry into the incidence of cadmium poisoning in the copper refining industry in Prescot, Lancashire, with a view to the scheduling of cadmium poisoning as an industrial disease.

Benefit can be claimed for acute cadmium poisoning as an industrial accident. The question whether the continued absorption of cadmium in industry can cause a chronic form of cadmium poisoning is under investigation by the Medical Research Council and I am sending them copies of the documents which the right hon. Member has supplied.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what reply he has given to the letter from the Air League of the British Empire asking that consultations will take place with the other interests concerned before any decision is taken to alter the present system of very high frequency amplitude modulated equipment, in view of the concern that is felt that a change in the system will prevent ship to aircraft communication.

I have advised theAir League of the British Empire that we have decided to reopen discussions with certain other countries on the question of frequency modulation for the V.H.F. maritime international radio services. I have added that the effect of introducing frequency modulation on the possibility of providing direct communication between ships and aircraft will certainly not be overlooked.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now make a further statement on the subject of the payment of retired teachers' pensions monthly.

I am giving this matter further consideration along with the other' recommendations of the Report of the Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Working Party, which was submitted to me on 2nd November.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has now completed his consideration of the representations made to him by the magistrates of Glasgow about rowdyism at football matches in that city; and whether he will make a statement.

On 30th October I met representatives of the magistrates of Glasgow at their request about rowdyism at football matches. The magistrates urged that legislation should be introduced empowering them to license football grounds. I undertook to discuss the position with the Scottish Football Association, and I had a meeting for that purpose with representatives of the Association on the 4th December.Article 114 of the Scottish Football Association provides that"Each club in membership shall be responsible for the conduct of its spectators on any ground, and misbehaviour by spectators during or at close of matches shall render a member liable to fine, or closure of ground, or suspension, or all of those penalties."The duty of maintaining order among its spectators is thus placed on the club; and the home club must take special responsibility for the arrangements in its own ground.The Scottish Football Association have assured me that they will see that clubs, in addition to normal safety precautions, will—

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that a Glasgow property company have received over 2,000 applications to purchase houses which they are willing to sell; that they are being prevented from doing so; and if he will consider how the present embargo on house ownership can be removed.

After considering all the circumstances of this case, I decided that on the facts before me I would not be justified in giving consent to the sale of the houses. I told the company however that if after experience of the working of the proposals in the Housing (Repairs and Rents) (Scotland) Bill they desired to make further representations to me I would reconsider the matter in the light of the circumstances of the time. I have no precise knowledge of the number of applications to purchase received by the company.

asked the Minister of Supply if he is now in a position to make a statement on the recommendation of the Monopolies Commission with regard to the supply of insulated electric wires and cables, that exclusive dealing provisions in agreements with wholesalers should be brought to an end.

I hope to be in a position to announce the Government's conclusions very shortly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the closure of the Queenborough, Kent, glass factory; and whether, in view of the consequent loss to our export trade, he will endeavour to secure a resumption of production.

I have been asked to reply.Yes. The factory was closed to make more efficient use of the resources of the firm. There has been no loss to the export trade.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many new industries have been established in Scotland during 1952–53; where they are located; and what numbers are employed.

New industrial projects (i.e., new factories and extensions exceeding 5,000 square feet) completed in Scotland in the period 1st January, 1952, to 30th September, 1953

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, in connection with his recent circular to highway authorities asking them to submit figures showing the cost of the works which they could undertake having regard to their financial resources and the cost of the works which, in their opinion, should be carried out if the roads in their area are not only maintained but improved to the proper standard, what was the total amount of the estimates submitted in each category.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to an inquiry made through my Divisional Road Engineers in regard to maintenance and minor improvement of classified roads. The total amounts of the estimates are £48 million and £100 million, respectively.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the estimated Government expenditure for each year of the years 1954–55 to 1956–57 inclusive, on the road development schemes announced by the Government on 8th December.

The estimated Government expenditure on major improvements and new construction in the years mentioned is as follows: 1954–55 about £5 million, 1955–56 about £7½ million and 1956–57 about £12 million.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Watford, dated 16th October, on the subject of road safety on the Watford by-pass.

My Department sent the hon. Member a letter on the 18th November saying that our inquiries were taking longer than we had expected and that a report had been called for from the Divisional Road Engineer. This has now been received and I am about to reply to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether his attention has been called to the fact that travelling shops are subject to the transport levy provided for in Section12 of the Transport Act, 1953; and if he will consider taking steps to exempt these vehicles, having regard to the fact that they are made so much heavier by the weight of shop fittings which form part of them.

Travelling shops are subject to the transport levy since they are classified for Excise duty purposes as goods vehicles and do not fall within any of the categories which are exempt from the levy. I have no power to alter the incidence of the levy which is governed by the TransportAct, 1953.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer is he is aware that the imposition of uplift on merchandise subject to Purchase Tax is not only inflationary, but adds to price and thereby increases the cost of living; and if he will, as a prelude to the abolition of Purchase Tax, withdraw uplift entirely.

I cannot accept the assumption made in the first part of the Question. The object of uplift is to equalise assessments of value as between different methods of trading. The basis of the valuations is under consideration in connection with the recommendations of the Grant Committee.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he will take to assist the British shipbuilding industry in view of the resurgence of German and Japanese shipbuilding.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend's reply of 17th December to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. F. Willey).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is now in a position to make a further statement on credit facilities for the building of new ships in the United Kingdom.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 17th December, 1953; Vol. 522, c. 93–94] circulated his letter to Lord Kennet as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that 22507083 Private Frank Morrell, Black Watch, when released from a prisoner-of-war camp in Korea in August was medically examined by the Army authorities, and again examined on his return by sea at the Black Watch depot in Perth, who failed to find anything seriously wrong with him; that he was then examined by a civilian doctor who diagnosed spinal tuberculosis, with the result that he is now in a civilian hospital; why no Army doctor diagnosed this condition; and what pension is to be paid to him in view of the fact that his present condition is attributable to Army service.

Private Morrell was carefully examined both in the Korean theatre and later in this country, but no evidence of serious illness was detected. I am informed, however, that this condition is often difficult to detect in the early stages. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance is at present considering the question of a disability pension.

asked the Minister of Works the amount and number, respectively, of building licences granted in Scotland, excluding State, municipal and nationalised industry, for the most convenient and recent period; and the corresponding figures for the county and City of London.

Figures are available for Scotland and for London Region, which covers an area larger than the City and County of London. In the first 10 months of 1953, 2,534 licences for new work to a value of nearly £41 million were issued in the London Region by the Ministry of Works and in the same period 2,449 licences to a value of nearly £13 million were issued in Scotland. These figures exclude direct Government work, authorised work and licences for nationalised industries. During the same period there was a great increase in Scottish new house construction, the output of which was over £46 million, an increase of 39 per cent. on the corresponding period of 1952.

asked the Minister of Works what steps he is taking to ensure that the clocks in the Chamber of the House of Commons are at all times synchronised.

Both clocks are "slaves" to a master clock. They are worked by an electric impulse received every half minute, and as they are on the same circuit, each is bound to receive the same impulse. They cannot be altered separately from outside the Chamber. All clocks are checked daily. No discrepancy has ever been detected in the time shown by these clocks; they have not been altered recently.