asked the Minister of Food to permit the purchase of welfare foods for one period in arrear.

:It is intended to make this change on the next occasion for revising the relevant statutory order.

asked the Minister of Food to publish in the Official Report a table showing the quantities and prices of all food available each week on one ration book on 1st October, 1951; and the prices of the same quantities of these foods on the latest convenient date.

The following is the information:

TABLE OF QUANTITIES AND COST OF ALL FOOD AVAILABLE EACH WEEK ON ONE ADULT RATION BOOK AT 1ST OCTOBER, 1951, AND THE COST OF THE SAME QUANTITIES OF THESE FOODS AT 1ST FEBRUARY, 1954.
Commodity	Ration	1st October, 1951 Cost		1st February, 1954 Cost
		s.	d.	s.	d.
Meat (carcase)	—	2	0	2	4·80
Bacon	3oz.		5·81		8·34
Butter	3 oz.		5·63		7·50
Margarine	4oz.		3·50		4·50
Cooking fat and lard	2oz.		2·00		2·50
Cheese	1½ oz.		1·31		2·44
Sugar	10 oz		3·75		5·00
Tea	2 oz.		5·50		7·56
		4	3·50	5	6·64

asked the Minister of Food the increase in price at the latest convenient date in food of comparable quantity and quality to that obtainable as one personal weekly ration in October, 1951; how much of this increase was due to the fact that food subsidies were running above the permitted level in October, 1951; and how much was due to the partial removal of food subsidies since that date.

:The weekly cost of food obtainable on one adult ration book in October, 1951, had, at 1st February, 1954, risen by about 1s. 3d. Of this amount, about 3d. was needed to keep total food subsidies within the 1951–52 ceiling of £410 million fixed by the late Administration; and about 10d. arose from reduction of the level of subsidies, including the necessary elimination of the tea and sugar subsidies prior to derationing.

asked the Minister of Food to state approximately the tonnage of fish lost to this country by the boycott against Icelandic landings; and to what extent this has been counterbalanced by landings from German trawlers.

:Landings of fresh white fish from Icelandic vessels fell from 48,700 tons in the 16 months preceding 1st September, 1952, to 2,000 tons in the 16 months that followed. In the same period, landings from German trawlers increased from 14,500 tons to 23,500 tons.

asked the Minister of Food to state the losses through overgrading of livestock and condemnation after slaughter and subsequent regrading of meat incurred by his Department for the latest available quarter.

:The latest quarter for which this information is available is that ended 30th September, 1953. The losses in that quarter from overgrading of livestock, condemnations after slaughter and regrading of meat are, respectively, £1,126,218, £569,670 and £751,023. These losses vary with the season and the prices paid for fatstock.

asked the Minister of Food to make a statement on the Interim Report of the Committee on Slaughtering.

:The Government have accepted the recommendations of the Committee except that relating to the compulsory leasing of slaughterhouses by local authorities. But the Government will seek to ensure that slaughterhouses now in Ministry occupation will be made available as public slaughterhouses for such local authorities as are willing to operate them. I am arranging for an early meeting with representatives of local authorities who I am sure will fully co operate in taking whatever measures are necessary by licensing private slaughterhouses or by providing public facilities to ensure that there is no interruption to meat supplies on decontrol next July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to acquire part of the Australian food surplus for those parts of the Colonial Territories which are suffering from lack of food.

None. The only food of which Australia has a surplus is wheat and the Colonial Territories are already importing all the wheat they need.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the offer by the British Government to the Government of Malta to transfer its responsibilities from his Department to the Home Office and on the other constitutional changes involved in this.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any further communications have been received from the Government of Malta in regard to the offer made last year to transfer responsibility for the island's affairs from the Colonial Office to the Home Office.

I have no further statement to make yet. My right hon. Friend described in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mr. Braine) on 2nd December the offer which had been made to the Prime Minister of Malta. There has since been a General Election in Malta, and a new Government has been formed under Dr. Borg Olivier. No further communication has yet been received from him on this matter, and I cannot usefully add anything until I know how the present Maltese Government view the proposal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has yet received a report from the Parliamentary Delegation to Kenya; and if he will issue it as a White Paper.

Not yet. I will consider the matter of publication when I have received the report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement on the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Kenya Police Force.

This report was presented to the Governor and is at present being considered by the Kenya Government. I am not therefore in a position to make a statement about it at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether his attention has been drawn to a document, entitled "Kenya Report, 1953,"being circulated by the Kenya Committee for Democratic Rights for Kenya Africans, details of which have been sent to him, which is inflaming racial animosity by its inaccurate and incorrect reporting; and whether he will take legal action against this body in view of the subversive nature of its activities.

:I have only recently seen this document. It contains a great deal of mischievous and misleading propaganda. I am considering the point raised in the second part of the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of Africans who have surrendered carrying a copy of General Erskine's surrender leaflet; and the number of these people who have subsequently been sentenced by a civil court.

:Up to 10th February, 90 terrorists had surrendered in response to the surrender offer and none of these have been sentenced by a civil court.

asked the Secretary of Stale for the Colonies what action is being taken to avoid false impressions being conveyed to Mau Mau adherents by leaflets circulated by the Kenya Military Command assuring immunity to those who surrender, when in fact the civil courts nullify this by inflicting punishment on those who have surrendered because of those leaflets.

:The surrender offer of 24th August, 1953, was made on the authority of the Governor of Kenya and of the Commander-in-Chief, East Africa. A copy of the surrender leaflet has been put in the Library, together with a copy of the statement issued by the Governor at the time. This statement explains the nature of the offer and was given the widest publicity. The Kenya Government are carrying out the undertaking given in the offer, and I do not accept the suggestion that there has been any breach of it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) in which Colonial Territories there exist arrangements to protect growers of cotton from severe fluctuations in the price of this product;(2) what plans the Governments of Colonial Territories in which cotton is grown are preparing for the orderly marketing of cotton after long-term con tracts made with the Raw Cotton Commission come to an end;(3) whether he has asked the Governors of cotton-growing Colonial Territories to report to him the effect upon the economic of their territories which they expect will follow from the dissolution of the Raw Cotton Commission.

:Marketing boards with funds for price stabilisation exist in all cotton-producing Colonial Territories except the West Indies. The Colonial Governments concerned were consulted before the decision to wind up the Raw Cotton Commission was taken, and I do not expect any serious effect on their economies to result from that decision. I have asked the governments and marketing boards in territories which have long-term contracts with the Raw Cotton Commission to consider what alternative marketing arrangements should be made when these contracts expire in two to four years' time. The marketing boards concerned will no doubt wish to gain experience in the intervening period before taking final decisions as to their future marketing policy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what verdicts have been secured up to date on the charges of corruption against public men in the Gold Coast; what was proved against them; and how many others have been similarly charged.

:Atta Mensah, formerly Ministerial Secretary to the Minister of Communications and Works, and Ohene Djan, formerly Ministerial Secretary to the Minister of Finance, were sentenced on 9th February to two years imprisonment concurrently on each of two counts of corruption. No other public men have been charged with corruption.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the total child population of Singapore and Malaya; bow many are of school age; how many cannot attend school because of lack of school accommodation; and when he anticipates that there will be schools for all the children.

There are some 2½ million children under 13 years in the Federation of Malaya and Singapore. Rather more than half are of primary school age and some 500,000 of these are not attending school. I cannot say how many of those not attending are prevented solely by lack of school accommodation, since there are other limiting factors such as shortage of teachers.The Governments of both territories intend to provide education for all children of primary school age as soon as possible. Although progress has been made and sound programmes of building and teacher-training are being carried out, I could not at present forecast when the aim will be achieved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken to introduce into Malaya and Singapore a comprehensive social insurance scheme.

In these and other territories it is not realistic to think in terms of introducing a single comprehensive scheme. Measures to provide social security must evolve against local needs, conditions and resources and this is the approach that is being followed by the two Governments.

asked the Secretary of StMate for the Colonies what progress is being made by the Committee set up under the chairmanship of the Commissioner-General for South-East Asia for the purpose of co-ordinating policy and administrative action between Malaya and Singapore; and what recommendations have been made.

The Committee have so far discussed the co-ordination of policy and administration in such matters as income tax, immigration and the Civil Service, and I understand that they have made good progress but no recommendations have yet been published.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how much land has been purchased by the Government of Nyasaland from private companies for distribution to African farmers.

The position is still as it was when I replied to the hon. Member on 2nd December. My discussions with the Governor are continuing, and I should prefer not to say more at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when, and why, it was decided to close down the Seychelles fisheries project.

:The reasons which led the Colonial Development Corporation to abandon this project in July, 1952, were stated by the Corporation in their Annual Reports for 1951 and 1952.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken by the Governments of Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia, in conjunction with the Government of Southern Rhodesia, to co-ordinate their Native Affairs policy under the new Federation of Central Africa.

The furtherance of this admittedly desirable aim is not a process which can be hurried. I would refer the hon. Member to the functions conferred on the African Affairs Board by Article 70 (b) of the Federal Constitution. This Board was set up earlier this month.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty to replace the substandard kit lockers in ships of the Reserve Fleet by more substantial lockers, to prevent serious outbreaks of pilfering in the Royal Navy.

No. It would not be possible to incur the heavy expense of replacing the present kit lockers in ships of the Reserve Fleet. Improved lockers are being fitted in ships under construction and in ships of the Active Fleet.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty to make it a practice to obtain the consent of parents before accepting recruits into the Royal Navy under 18 years of age; and if he will review his decision to refuse discharge to Kenneth Shaw who joined the Royal Navy at the age of 17 years and two months without his parents' consent.

It has long been the practice to seek the consent of parents for the entry of any boy under the age of 17, but I am considering whether the scope of the rule should be extended in future to apply to entries just over this age. I will write to the hon. Member when a decision has been reached. As regards Kenneth Shaw, discharge before completion of engagement is at present permissible only where there are strong compassionate reasons. If Shaw has a compassionate case, it is open to him to put it forward through his commanding officer when it will be carefully considered.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what representations have been made to him by the Portsmouth City Council regarding the two weeks enforced holiday by Her Majesty's Dockyard, Portsmouth, at the height of the Portsmouth holiday season.

The council have written supporting a protest passed by the Portsmouth Trades Council. The grounds given by the city council were that the release of so many dockyard employees in the height of the season might be prejudicial to the popularity of Southsea as a holiday resort. Though regretting any inconvenience to other local interests that may be caused by the decision to return to the pre-war practice of closing the dockyard, I must point out that the choice of the date for the holiday period, which does not begin until 16th August, was at the wish of the men's representatives, and I could not agree to change this date.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty when he intends to bring forward his proposals for reforming the Naval Discipline Act and bringing it into line with modern conditions.

When a place can be found for them in the legislative programme. I recognise that the Naval Discipline Act requires modernising in some respects, but it is working satisfactorily for practical purposes for the time being.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty to what extent disciplinary powers are exercised by engineer officers in the Royal Navy.

Engineer officers in the Royal Navy may award the punishment of one day's extra work or drill to stoker mechanics or stokers for offences connected with work in the engineering department: this power is delegated by the captain, at his discretion, to the appropriate officer of the engineering department, of the rank of lieutenant or above. Air engineer officers at naval air stations may be given similar powers of punishmentin relation to air maintenance ratings. These disciplinary powers are identical with those which may be exercised by other officers not of the executive branch.Offences which call for more severe punishment and all offences connected with the general duties of the ship, are dealt with by the officer of the watch or day, the executive officer, or the captain, according to their gravity. A small number of shore establishments containing a high proportion of personnel of the engineer branch are commanded by engineer officers. These officers exercise the full disciplinary powers of a commanding officer (except the power to award dismissal from the Service as a summary punishment). In these establishments, engineer officers may carry out the duties of executive officer and officer of the day, and the full disciplinary powers appropriate to those duties may be delegated to them.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty why three workmen who had committed no offence were threatened with eviction from their homes at the naval base, Singapore, in November last; why the naval police intervened in what was a civil question regarding the occupation of a dwelling; and on what grounds the civil law is not applied to civilian employees at the naval base as in other parts of the island of Singapore.

The hon. Member appears to have been misinformed. It was proposed to move three motor transport drivers and their families from official quarters in the Torpedo Depot Lines, required for Torpedo Depot workmen, to other official quarters in the naval base. After the men had represented that the now accommodation was of a lower standard, further investigation took place and it was decided to move only one family. There was no question of eviction and members of the naval police force, which is a civilian force, were present not to enforce the move but only to prevent pilfering and to keep the peace. The civil law applies in the naval base as elsewhere in Singapore.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General to give the number of telephone applications outstanding in the Sedgefield, Darlington, and Stockton rural areas; and how many of these applications are from farmers.

:During the last 12 months, 80 subscribers have been connected up in Sedgefield, 87 in Darlington and 320 in Stockton; but 99, 78 and 221 applications are still outstanding, nearly a third of which are in course of provision. Of the total outstanding applications, 54 are from farmers, of whom 22 should be joined up within a month or two.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many applications for telephones are at present outstanding in the Colchester area; and how many have been outstanding for more than one year, two years and three years, respectively.

:Six hundred and ninety-one applications are outstanding; of these, 174 have been waiting for one year, 114 for two years and 145 for three years. New equipment and cables are being provided, and we hope to instal about 400 telephones this year.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General to state the estimated population television coverage for England, Wales and Scotland, respectively; and the number of licences taken out in each of the countries.

The estimated population coverage of television at the present time is 35·4 million for England, 2·1 million for Wales, including Mouthshire, and 4 million for Scotland. The corresponding licence figures are, approximately, 2·7 million. 107,000, and 125,000.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if any estimate is available of the number of television sets sold to the public; and what it is in relation to the number of licences issued at the latest convenient date.

:We receive regular returns of television sets manufactured and estimates of the number in dealers'stocks, but the difference between these figures at a given date does not necessarily represent the number of sets actually sold up to that date; and we cannot therefore establish a direct statistical relationship as suggested by the right hon. Gentleman. The number of licences at 31st December was 2,957,000, an increase of 342,000 since 30th September last.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he will instruct the proposed commercial television corporation to ban the televising of give-away programmes.

I would ask the hon. Member to await the Television Bill.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if the new television station in the Highlands will cover Orkney or Shetland.

:I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of 27th January to my hon. Friend the Member for Caithness and Sutherland (Sir D. Robertson) and my hon. Friend the Member for Inverness (Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton). It is extremely unlikely that the coverage of the new station will extend as far as Orkney or Shetland.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the inconvenience caused to residents at Sweldon, Ely, Cardiff, due to the absence of postal facilities; and whether he will provide a letter pillar box for this new housing estate.

A letter box will be provided on the estate very shortly. I am not aware that the postal facilities in the district are deficient in any other way, but if the hon. Member will let me know of any particular difficulty he has in mind, I shall be glad to have inquiry made.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he will establish a sub-post office at Knuzden, near Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, in view of the growing population of that area and the fact that old people have, at present, to walk a long distance to draw their pensions.

I am looking into the matter, and will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Under-secretary of State for Air to state the terms of the recent agreement with the United States of America for the extension of United States air bases in the United Kingdom.

I think the hon. Member probably has in mind an exchange of letters which took place on 9th September, 1953, between the American Ambassador and myself, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Air. These letters set out revised financial arrangements to govern the construction programme for the United States Air Force in this country. It is estimated that the capital expenditure on these projects for the period 1951–55 will be £125 million, of which this country's direct financial contribution is limited to £22½ million. In addition, however, the Air Ministry is providing free of charge accommodation and facilities surplus to the needs of the Royal Air Force.With effect from 1st July, 1951, the entire cost of maintaining all the bases and facilities, including the cost of minor new works services, will be borne by the United States Air Force, with the exception of the maintenance costs incurred at four particular airfields while they were being constructed.

asked the Under-secretary of State for Air if he is aware that Aircraftman 2nd Class Colin Senior entered the Royal Air Force on 17th September, 1953, that his father, a war pensioner, died on 23rd September, that his mother has a nine year old daughter to look after, that her eldest son is a Regular in the Royal Air Force, and that Aircraftman 2nd Class Senior was sent to the Middle East at the end of December; and, in view of the fact that he was one of four chosen out of 165 for overseas service, why the request of the hon. Lady the Member for Leeds, North-East made in November for a compassionate discharge or posting was refused.

I have reviewed the facts of this case with great care. A.C.2 Senior was one of the only four cook assistants in his entry and all of them were needed overseas. I should only be justified in altering my decision if, for example, there was serious illness at the airman's home, and his presence was certified to be indispensable.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will instruct the Road Research Laboratory to investigate modern road surfaces incorporating rubber as a matter of urgency with a view to affording Malayan rubber producers an additional outlet for their produce.

The Road Research Laboratory is already engaged on a programme of research into the use of rubber in road surfaces, in collaboration with the British Rubber Development Board.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he has considered the proposals of the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board to modify the existing bridge scheme so as to reduce the estimated cost of the Forth Road Bridge scheme by approximately £3 million; and if he will make a statement thereon.

Examination of these proposals is proceeding, but will take some time.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will approve the Kent County Council's proposal for a new bridge over the Swale at King's Ferry.

:I regret that I shall be unable to fit this expensive scheme into an early stage of the road programme.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation for an assurance that any expenditure approved for improving the Forth Ferry Service or constructing a Forth road bridge will not be incurred at the cost of delaying work on county road improvement schemes submitted to him from many parts of Scotland including the county of Lanark.

The hon. Member can be assured that before selecting schemes of road improvement for expenditure from the Road Fund I will continue to give the most careful consideration on their merits to other competing claims. Improvement of the Forth Ferry would be paid for by the British Transport Commission and would not affect progress with county road improvement schemes.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when he expects work to be started on the Loughton, Buckinghamshire, A5 by-pass; and when he anticipates this project will be completed.

I cannot at this stage be certain, but I expect work to start on this scheme next June and be finished about 18 months later.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many appeals have been made to him relating to refusals by the licensing authority to grant additional motor omnibus services in the areas concerned since the closing of the railway stations at Barrow and Sanghall, near Chester.

None.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the number of accidents in 1953 in which London Transport omnibuses were involved; and what were the comparable figures for 1951 and 1947.

The desired information is as follows:

		Number of Accidents
Central Buses	1947	29,800
	1951	32,101
	1953	29,742
Trolleybuses	1947	12,052
	1951	11,975
	1953	10,831
Country Buses	1947	3,575
	1951	3,307
	1953	2,964
Total of above forms of transport.	1947	45,427
	1951	47,383
	1953	43,537

The above figures comprise all forms of operational and passenger accidents reported to London Transport Executive, who state that the great majority of them were trivial.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what steps he has taken to satisfy himself, in accordance with the undertaking he gave in November, 1952, that the prices obtained for British Road Services lorries, when sold without capital assets other than the haulage business, are not less than the list prices for secondhand vehicles on the ordinary market, sold without the advantage of business connections such as accrue to the British Road Services vehicles.

The duty of seeing that the prices obtained for transport units are reasonable, having regard to the value of the property and the rights to be acquired, is placed by the Transport Act, 1953, on the Road Haulage Disposal Board.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if the British Transport Commission have yet submitted a scheme for reorganisation and for the appointment of an authority for the railway undertaking in Scotland in accordance with Section 16 (9) of the Transport Act, 1953.

No.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to give a list of the places in which are situated the seamen's canteens to which he proposes that the Licensing (Seamen's Canteens) Bill should apply; and the number of canteens in each place.

After consulting the Merchant Navy Welfare Board I have certified the need for Seamen's Canteens at the following places for the purposes of the Licensing (Seamen's Canteens) Act, 1954:

England and Wales Place	No. of Canteens
Avonmouth	1
Barrow-in-Furness	1
Cardiff	3
Heysham	1
Hull	2
Liverpool	4
London	4
Middlesbrough	2
Newcastle-on-Tyne	1
Southampton	1
South Shields	2
Scotland
Glasgow	3

Two other canteens at present authorised under Defence Regulation 60AA at Limpsfield and Kendal are still under consideration.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he is prepared to help Scottish Aviation Ltd. to develop the aircraft known as the Twin Pioneer.

In view of the exceptional take-off and landing performance offered by the Twin Pioneer, I have decided to provide some technical assistance and a measure of financial support for its development to Scottish Aviation Ltd.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now say what his proposals are to meet the case put forward repeatedly during the last two years on behalf of the Ulster linen industry for a special D rating for linen products.

This matter will be borne in mind when my right hon. Friend next reviews the D levels for textiles.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will consider increasing from one to two the number of representatives on the Bull Licensing Advisory Committee of the major breed societies.

This Committee is of a representative character, and I should prefer not to increase the number of members. I will, however, consider any representations that the breed societies may make to me on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantity of coarse grains imported in this country in the last six months of 1952 and 1953, respectively.

955,000 tons in the second half of 1952 and 1,749,000 tons in the corresponding period of 1953.