asked the Secretary of State for War how often the Army Council has met during his period of office.

There have been 26 meetings.

asked the Secretary of State for War how far a record of meetings of the Executive Committee of the Army Council is kept; and to what extent he sees them regularly.

Records are kept and I see them regularly. The Army Council also formally take note of the minutes at their next meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for War in what circumstances a National Service man may be retained in the Army beyond the normal maximum period of two years; and in what proportion of all National Service men called up these circumstances have been held to apply.

Every effort is made to get a man off to his home before his two-year period ends. A man may, however, be held longer if he is awaiting trial or sentence or is completing a punishment.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will make a statement on the kidnapping of Gunner A. S. Harrison and Gunner Joe Harrison by the Egyptians.

These two men have been missing from their unit in the Canal Zone since 5th June last year. On 10th December, Gunner A. S. Harrison, and, two days later, Gunner L. Harrison, reported to Her Majesty's consulates in other countries. It has been established that both men had been placed on a ship at Alexandria by the Egyptian authorities, in whose hands they had been during the previous months.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many free warrants are made available to National Service, men in each 12 months of service.

:Two a year, although, exceptionally, a man may be granted a fifth free warrant during his two-year period.

asked the Secretary of State for War the percentage of British troops who are at present in this country.

:It has never been our practice, since the war, to disclose the number of troops serving in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will give the acreage and percentage of land held by the War Office in Wales, Scotland and England at the present time; and what are the figures of land held under Defence Regulations in each country.

The land held by my Department is about 388,000 acres in England, 40,500 acres in Scotland and 47,000 acres in Wales. These holdings represent 1·2 per cent, in England, 0.21 per cent, in Scotland and 0·92 per cent. in Wales of the acreage of the country. Of this land, 74,000 acres in England, 2,000 acres in Scotland and 1,700 acres in Wales are held under Defence Regulation 51.

asked the President of the Board of Trade which countries in the sterling area impose restrictions on the free import of British tools, cutlery and silverware; and what undertakings have been given as to relaxation of such restrictions as a result of the recent Conference of Ministers at Sydney.

All Commonwealth countries in the sterling area, except Ceylon, the Central African Federation and the Colonies, operate trade or exchange restrictions which to some extent limit imports of these goods from this country. As regards the second part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the Conference communiqué in which the Commonwealth Finance Ministers at Sydney repeated their intention to ease restrictions on intra-sterling area trade as the external financial position of the various countries improved.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress has now been made regarding furniture performance standards.

:The British Standards Institution has published standards embodying performance tests for four types of furniture—cabinet goods, dining-type chairs, tables and bedstead ends. A standard for upholstered furniture will, I understand, be published soon.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to make a statement on orders recently placed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics with industrialists in this country; what are the amounts involved; and how far the Government have assisted with credits.

We are not necessarily informed when manufacturers receive export orders. But there has undoubtedly been an increase in Russian orders recently and we shall be interested to learn what emerges from the present visit of a number of industrialists to Moscow.Orders outstanding on 31st December last for which the Export Credits Guarantee Department had issued cover were valued at £1·3 million.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement about further references to the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission.

:A new reference was made to the Commission on 1st February. The subject referred is the supply of certain industrial and medical gases. The full text is as follows:

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will review the regulations for registering designs in order to assist manufacturers to protect themselves against imported imitations of their products.

The Registered Designs Act, 1949, which was passed after a full inquiry by a Departmental Committee gives the proprietor of a registered design the right to stop others from importing into the United Kingdom, for sale or for purposes of trade or business, articles to which the design or an imitation of it has been applied. My right hon. Friend has no evidence that a review of the Act and the Rules made under it is necessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue he expects to collect for the year ending April. 1955, by imposing a tax on floor tiles.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue he estimates that he will receive in the financial year 1954–55 from the newly-imposed Purchase Tax on those floor coverings hitherto exempt.

I estimate that the receipts will be of the order of £1 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has had from local authorities about the increase of tax on tiles; and what action he has taken.

:I have received representations from five local authorities. I shall be dealing with the whole matter today in the debate on the Purchase Tax (No. 1) Order, 1954.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the value of remittances made to the United States of America in the year 1953 in respect of royalties, patent and proprietary rights and dividends, showing each separately; and whether he will give similar figures for remittances from drug-manufacturing firms in this country.

The value of remittances made to the U.S.A. during 1953 on account of royalties and payments in respect of proprietary rights, patents and technical and administrative assistance, including outright purchase of copyright, but excluding oil and film royalties, was about £13 million. Figures for the different items are not available separately.Separate figures for remittances on account of dividends and by drug manufacturing firms in this country are not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the net annual average of financial assistance in all forms received from the United States of America and the Commonwealth by the United Kingdom during the periods July, 1945, to October, 1951, and November, 1951, to the latest convenient date, respectively, allowing for interest payments and capital repayments by the United Kingdom to the countries from whom such assistance has been received.

:£293 million in the first period and £28 million in the second to the end of 1953 for such assistance received by Her Majesty's Government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many men and women separately were in receipt of pensions in 1933; how many there are at the last known date; how many it is estimated there will be in 1973; what proportion they bear to the total population; and, in view of the probable increase, whether he will arrange for an official inquiry to be made as to any change that may be necessary in work, pensions, taxation or other directions to deal with the changing situation.

:Comprehensive figures of pensions payable under national, public service and private pension schemes are not available. The Government have appointed an independent committee, under the Chairmanship of Sir Thomas Phillips, to consider the economic and financial problems involved in providing for old age and the National Advisory Committee on the Employment of Older Workers has been set up to advise and assist my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service in promoting the employment of older men and women.The question of pension taxation falls within the terms of reference of the Committee on Taxation Treatment of Provision for Retirement, whose report is expected shortly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take to ensure that the proportion of profits which were previously subject to the Excess Profits Levy is not distributed to shareholders.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered a petition signed by many thousands of citizens asking for a reduction in the entertainment tax on cinemas; and what action he proposes to take.

I have received no such petition.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in framing his Budget, he will take into consideration the fact that the aggregate net deficit for 1953, shown in Government Trading Accounts and Balance Sheets, Volumes 1 and 2, is £352,373,586.

All relevant facts will be taken into consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why two cases of patent leather for which an import licence had been obtained, consigned to, and needed by, Messrs. Davies, of Bristol, particulars of which have been sent to him, were held up by his officers for a month after arrival at Liverpool; and what he is doing to prevent a repetition of delays of this kind.

:The first part of the Question appears to be based on a misunderstanding about which I am writing to the hon. Member, in reply to the letter he was courteous enough to send before putting down this Question.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order to ensure full employment in the Lancashire textile industry in the face of intensified Japanese competition resulting from the Anglo-Japanese Trade Agreement, he will reduce purchase tax on cotton textiles for sale on the home market.

I cannot accept the assumption, on which this Question is based, as to the effect of the Anglo-Japanese Agreement on the Lancashire textile industry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will invite the Phillips Committee on the aged to make a general survey of superannuation and insurance schemes in the public service and private industry.

The terms of reference of the Committee on the Economic and Financial Problems of the Provision for Old Age are widely drawn and do not preclude consideration of superannuation and insurance schemes in the public service and private industry if the Committee so desire. However, I do not think it would be proper for me to direct the attention of the Committee to specific points of this kind.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the recommendation made by the Organisation and Methods Division of the Treasury concerning the rôle of a town clerk as an administrative officer represents the general policy of Her Majesty's Government in regard to this aspect of local government administration.

The rôle of the Treasury Organisation and Methods Division is advisory only, and the organisation of local government administration is a matter for the local authorities themselves. The recommendation to which I assume the hon. Member refers forms part of a series of proposals made by the Division to one particular corporation by whom their advice had been sought in a private and confidential capacity. While this recommendation is not addressed to local authorities generally, it may well be found worthy of serious consideration by them.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to what figure the number of houses completed in 1953 would have been reduced had the number of two-bedroomed houses that were completed been the same as the number of such houses completed in 1951; and how this figure compares with the total number of houses completed in 1951.

:Figures of bedroom types are available only for houses built by local authorities and new town corporations. For these the figures asked for are 168,633 and 141,554 respectively, in England and Wales.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the number of houses in England and Wales which are rent restricted.

About 6 million: houses and flats.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many one-, two-, three- and four-bedroomed houses were completed by local authorities in each of the years 1951, 1952 and 1953.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, East (Mr. Blenkinsop) on 26th January, and to the December Housing Return.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what he estimates will be the increased cost per house resulting from the imposition of Purchase Tax on floor coverings hitherto exempt.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Dorset, North (Mr. Crouch) on 28th January.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he proposes to call the attention of all the local government authorities to the results of the investigations of the Treasury's Organisation and Methods Department of the administration of the Coventry City Council.

:My right hon. Friend does not think it is necessary to do so by formal circular at this stage. This report has received wide publicity, and he understands that the city council has made copies available to interested local authorities.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many schemes have been admitted to grants under Section 3 of the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945, in the South Wales Development Area since the issue of Circular 54/52.

None.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether any application for grants for water or sewerage schemes under Section 3 of the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945, made since the issue of Circular 54/52, have yet been approved by his Department.

:No, but 14 Welsh schemes and two English schemes for which application had been previously made have been approved since the Circular, because commitments had already been entered into; and in one English scheme which is about to be undertaken and is regarded as of exceptional industrial importance, the authority concerned has been informed that grant has been approved in principle towards any deficit that may be involved.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will give the names of the local authorities in Wales who have qualified for the extra help of increased Exchequer contribution towards housing and which reduced the local authority's contribution, as stated in paragraph 49 of Command Paper No. 9014 on Rural Wales.

The information is as follows:

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.

Bangor Borough Council.

Caernarvon Borough Council.

Pontardawe Rural District Council and the Urban District Councils of Aberdare, Bedwas and Machen, Bedwellty, Brynmawr, Caerphilly, Cwmbran, Llwchwr, Mynyddislwyn and Tredegar.

asked the Minister of Labour how much higher the 1952 index of his Department has lifted the general index of 1947 during the two years of its operation, due to its changed weighting of goods and its wider survey of commodities, above the figure which would

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will publish in the Official Report a list stating the commodities included on the food section of the cost-of-living index; and what increases or decreases in price have taken place since November, 1951, with regard to each separate item.

No. A list of the items for which prices are collected is already available in the publication "Interim Index of Retail Prices: Method have resulted from the sole application of the 1947 index, which had a different method of weights and was based on the 1937–38 survey of working-class consumption, during the past two years.

The changes in the method of computing the Retail Prices Index introduced early in 1952 were designed to improve the accuracy and reliability of the Index, and I could not undertake the task of calculating what the current Index figure would have been if a less accurate basis had been used.

asked the Minister of Labour to state, using his cost-of-living index figures, the percentage rise or fall in the price of food, rents and rates, fuel and light, fares, entertainment, laundry, and miscellaneous goods at January, June and December, 1951, 1952 and 1953, taking January, 1951, as 100.

:The information asked for is given in the following table but the figures must be regarded as approximations, since direct comparison with January, 1951, is not possible owing to the changes which were made in the basis of the index as from February, 1952.of Construction and Calculation." This list consists of over 250 items, including about 90 food items. Indices with prices in November, 1951, represented by 100 are not available and I could not justify the work involved in computing such figures. Each month's issue of the Ministry of Labour Gazette gives information about any appreciable changes in prices during the month under review and each January issue includes a detailed review of price changes during the preceding year.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will establish a cost-of-living index based on the budget of an old-age pensioner as distinct from the present index based on the budgets of wage earners.

No. The Cost of Living Advisory Committee, in their Interim Report of 26th June, 1951, expressed the opinion that there would be serious objections to the regular publication at monthly intervals of two or more official indices of retail prices covering different social, economic or regional groups, and they recommended that only one official index should be published monthly, to relate to all wage earners and moderate salary earners.

asked the Minister of Labour to state for a given date in January, June and December, for each of the years 1951, 1952 and 1953, the price of bacon, canned hams, imported mutton, rabbits, eggs, potatoes, cabbages, onions, cooking apples, condensed milk, eggs, bacon, cheese, meat, margarine, cooking fat, bread, tea, coffee, fish, sugar and flour, as used on those dates in computing his Index of Retail Prices.

:As is stated in the published account of the method of calculating the index, average prices are not computed. The purpose of the index is to give a representative measure of price changes in percentage form and information in this form for different groups of commodities and for all items combined is regularly published in the Ministry of Labour Gazette.

asked the Minister of Works what changes he has made in the general security arrangements covering atomic energy; and whether the present right of appeal to the tribunal of anyone working in this sphere, who may be adversely affected, is to be maintained.

No change has been made in the atomic energy security arrangements, and, in particular, the position as to the Tribunal remains unaltered.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will consider holding Son et Lumière displays at the Tower of London, as tried successfully last year at Versailles and various Loire chateaux, on suitable evenings this summer.

I am making inquiries into the hon. Member's suggestion and will let him know the outcome in due course.

asked the Minister of Works to what extent he is using, in the buildings being erected by his Department, a new material made from rice husks, which is fireproof and thermite proof and has special insulating qualities.

:The only material of this kind of which my Department has any knowledge is not yet on the market in this country. Until it is available and has been tested I cannot say whether it will be used in the erection of new Government buildings.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons of each sex over 50 years of age were registered as unemployed at the Falmouth, Camborne and Redruth employment exchanges, re spectively, at the latest convenient date.

:At 7th December, 1953, the latest date for which figures are available, the numbers were 50 men and nine women at Falmouth, 70 men and 13 women at Camborne and 123 men and 16 women at Redruth. The figures relate to persons who were registered as wholly unemployed.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons of each sex were registered as unemployed at the Falmouth, Camborne and Redruth employment exchanges, respectively, at the latest convenient date and at the comparable dates in 1951, 1952 and 1953.

The table below gives the information desired.

asked the Minister of Labour how many in the engineering industry have been registering in recent weeks at the Camborne and Redruth employment exchanges, respectively, because of short-time working.

The numbers vary slightly from week to week. At the beginning of last week the numbers were about 230 at Camborne and 40 at Redruth.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he has taken to assist the agricultural industry in finding men with agricultural experience to replace those agricultural workers who are called up for National Service.

The services of my local offices are available to farmers requiring agricultural workers. During the twelve months ended 13th January, 1954, my local offices placed 9,070 workers in regular and 24,067 workers in seasonal agricultural employment.

asked the Minister of Labour how many people are registered as disabled workers at Accrington employment exchange; how many of them are now out of work; and how many were placed in work during 1953.

On 18th January, 1954, there were 1,135 people registered as disabled at Accrington employment exchange, of whom 43 were unemployed. Eighty-nine were placed in employment during the twelve months ended 31st January, 1954.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men subject to the provisions of the National Service Acts have not been called upon to serve with the Forces, giving the figures separately for each year since 1947.

An analysis of the National Service registers is published twice annually in the Ministry of Labour Gazette. This analysis shows the numbers of men in each age class registered since 1946, whose call-up was, at the date of the count, for one reason or another, deferred or suspended. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the Ministry of Labour Gazette for November, 1953, which contains information relating to the latest count on 12th October, 1953.

asked die Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the "Daily Herald" and "Tribune" are excluded from the daily and weekly journals supplied to our embassies abroad.

Foreign Service posts make their own choice of newspapers and periodicals within allocations that vary with the size of the post. The "Daily Herald" and "Tribune" are not excluded from the publications supplied, and at present 108 copies of the former are sent to 41 Foreign Service posts and 77 copies of the latter to 31 posts.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps are taken to ensure that the non-party character of the British Council is maintained, especially in its work among foreign and colonial students studying in this country.

:The Executive Committee, which is the governing body of the British Council, includes two Conservative and two Labour Members of Parliament, and the President of the Liberal Party. Programmes for overseas students at British Council centres do not deal with matters of current political controversy. In discussing British political or social institutions, officials of the Council are careful to give equal attention to the views of the main political parties.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the value of the 3½ acre site of Carlton House Terrace; and the site

asked the Minister of Agriculture the approximate area of the land surface of Wales and Monmouthshire which falls into the category of mountain, moorland or heath capable of being used for grazing; the organisation for seeing that the greatest use is made of this land for agricultural production; and what special research is in being for this hill type of farming.

The total area of rough grazings (including land grazed in common) in Wales and Monmouthshire is estimated at 1,794,000 acres, most of which is mountain or hill grazing. The value of the ½ acre covered by Nos. 17, 10 and 11, the leaseholds of which were acquired in 1948 and 1950 at a cost of £114,500 as part of the future Foreign Office.

:I regret the information is not available. There has been no proposal to sell the site of the Terrace and, consequently, the Commissioners of Crown Lands have had no occasion to value the whole or any part of it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many individual schemes had been approved, how many had been approved in principle, and how many were under consideration under the Hill Farming Act and the Livestock Rearing Act in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at 31st December, 1953; and the total acreage involved.

Following is the reply:area capable of being used for grazing, but not at present so used, is not known.The county agricultural executive committees, working in conjunction with the Ministry's advisory services, are responsible for advising and assisting farmers to increase the use of rough grazings for food production. The Welsh Sub-Committee of the Hill Farming Advisory Committee advises me on the application to Wales of the Hill Farming and Livestock Rearing Acts under which assistance may be given for the improvement of such land.Research on hill farming problems is undertaken by the Welsh Plant Breeding Station attached to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, by the Hill Farming Research Organisation appointed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, and by the Animal Breeding Research Organisation of the Agricultural Research Council.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will make a statement on the recommendations in the second report of the Working Party, under the chairmanship of Professor Zuckerman, on the use of toxic chemicals in agriculture.

:This report deals with residues in food and possible risks to the consumer arising from the use of toxic substances on agricultural products and in the storage of food. Copies are available in the Vote Office. The use of these substances plays an important part in food production, and it is encouraging that there is no evidence of adverse effects resulting from current practices: but the position must clearly be kept under close review and the Government broadly accepts the proposals of the Working Party.In particular, since many Departments are concerned with different aspects of this problem, an Inter-Departmental Advisory Committee is to be set up to keep under constant review all risks that may arise from the use of toxic substances in food production and storage and to make recommendations to the Ministers concerned. This Committee will have an independent chairman and I am glad to inform the House that Professor Zuckerman has agreed to accept this appointment for an initial period. The Committee will be assisted by such expert sub-committees as may be considered necessary to ascertain the facts regarding particular preparations and to arrange with the interests concerned for necessary experimental work and investigations.Preliminary discussions with the Association of British Insecticide Manufacturers suggest that, subject to safeguards to avoid premature disclosure, it should be possible to arrange for their members to notify proposals for new toxic substances or for new uses of existing substances which involve toxic hazards. It is hoped and expected that these and similar voluntary arrangements will obviate the need for any statutory requirement of notification.The Government are considering, in consultation with the interests concerned, the suggestion that the use of bacterial rodenticides should be discontinued in view of possible risks to public health. These preparations, which are not on sale to the general public, have been in use on a considerable scale for many years. The companies using them have agreed to adopt, with minor modifications, the precautions recommended in the Report, the chief of which are already part of their current practice. They have also offered to collaborate with the appropriate Departments, who will keep the matter, under close review.I would take this opportunity of thanking Professor Zuckerman and his colleagues for the valuable contribution they have made to the study of this important subject.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the locations for houses built for miners by the Coal Board Housing Association in Wales; how many houses are contemplated; and the number occupied.

:As this is a matter for the National Coal Board, who set up the Coal Industry Housing Association and who decide the number and location of the houses to be built, I am asking the Chairman of the Board to let the hon. Member have the information he wants.

asked the Minister of Education whether she will publish a table showing the distribution by counties of primary schools condemned as structurally inadequate before 1930 and still in use.

pursuant to her reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 28th January, 1954; c. 1954] circulated the following answer:The table below shows the distribution, by administrative areas, of schools in England and Wales which, in 1925, were condemned as unsuitable for continued recognition, but which have not subsequently been removed from the list and are still in use:

asked the Minister of Education whether, in view of the rise in the figures of traffic accidents involving children during 1953, she will arrange to make playing fields or playgrounds available to keep the children off the streets, at times when they would normally be closed.

Experience shows that if the use by children of playgrounds and playing fields outside school hours is to be fully satisfactory adequate supervision is necessary. Local education authorities have power, under the Education Act, 1944, to make such arrangements with my approval where they are necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement on the proposals to improve the means of communication and transport in the area of the north coast of Applecross and the additional problem of the people of Applecross village and vicinity.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation has informed the County Council of Ross and Cromarty, in reply to representations made to him, that in present financial circumstances expenditure on the construction of the North Applecross road at an estimated cost of about £300,000 could not be justified. Consideration is being given to the provision of a ferry service between Toscaig and Kyle of Lochalsh for the benefit of the people of Applecross village and its vicinity.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications for houses were before the county councils of Midlothian and Peebles and before the town councils of Dalkeith, Bonnyrigg and Lasswade, Loanhead, Penicuik, Peebles and Innerleithen at 30th September, 1953.

I am informed that the figures desired by the hon. Member are as follow:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of men teachers and the number of women teachers in receipt of retirement pensions on grounds of age and ill-health, respectively, on 31st March, 1953.

The figures are given in the following table:

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will give details of the programme for widening Hendon Way and Watford Way, Middlesex, to provide a dual carriageway.

Work is now being carried out between Mill Hill Circus and Apex Corner. I hope to authorise further lengths from time to time when funds can be provided, and the next length to be undertaken will probably be the continuation of the present work southwards to Page Street. I am unable to say, at present, when this continuation can be put in hand.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many road accidents there were in Great Britain in 1951 and 1952; and how many of these occurred at road junctions.

The required particulars are as follow: