asked the President of the Board of Trade what representations his Department has had about the introduction of light industries to Knighton, Llandrindod Wells, Presteigne and Rhayader, situated within the survey area of the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire; andwhat efforts have been made to set up suitable light industries in these places.

:My Department has received several representations from the local authorities asking for help in finding new industries. We have been doing our best, and in one case we have found a suitable enterprise for vacant premises. As the hon. Member knows, industry is not easily attracted to the area, and the Second Memorandum of the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire did not envisage factory development there, except in some sort of ancillary relationship with agriculture and forestry.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what further consideration has been given to the grant to the Welsh Tourist Board in the light of the survey of the tourist industry in Wales.

I received the survey from the Welsh Tourist Board on 13th January and am considering it in consultation with my right hon. and learned Friend, the Home Secretary and Minister for Welsh Affairs.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many licences for the import of performing animals have been issued during each of the last six years.

I regret that this information is not available because import licences do not distinguish between performing and other animals.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from manufacturers and traders about the decline in orders and sales at present because of uncertainties about Purchase Tax; and what steps he proposes to take to alleviate the position.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which my right hon. Friend gave to the House today.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, as a means of assisting local authorities, trade and commerce in general and the poorer sections of the population in particular, he will now take steps to reduce the Bank interest rates to those in operation in the time of his predecessor.

I cannot give undertakings as to the future course of interest rates. The whole community, including those sections mentioned by the hon. Member, has benefited from the strengthening of the economy to which monetary policy has largely contributed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Pool Betting Duty is levied on totalisator bets placed on greyhound racecourses and not on totalisator bets placed on horse racecourses.

:The duty was introduced in this form in1947 because of differences in the conditions of betting on horse and dog racing, and past experience has shown that while these continue, the taxation of horse race betting whether on the totalisator or otherwise is not practicable, and I do not think that it would be appropriate for me to comment in advance of the Budget on considerations bearing on proposals for its amendment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will make a statement on the spread of the disease myxomatosis among rabbits since December; and what further action he has taken and contemplates taking.

Since the beginning of this year two more outbreaks of myxomatosis have been confirmed in Kent and one in Essex. Further action in connection with outbreaks of the disease in this country will be considered in the light of the report of the Committee under Lord Carrington's chairmanship which I expect to receive before the end of March.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has been able to formulate a scheme to augment the supply of top spit soil for use in glasshouse cultivation; and whether he will make a statement.

I am not aware that growers are experiencing difficulty in obtaining top soil for glasshouse cultivation, or that there is a need to augment the supply. In advising local planning authorities on applications for planning permission for the removal of top soil from agricultural land, my Department has full regard to the needs of the horticultural industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he will take to deal with the position which has arisen in Wales, where, although large numbers of people are anxious to obtain smallholdings, the total number of smallholders has recently decreased.

:The councils of counties and county boroughs are responsible for initiating schemes for providing smallholdings and in Wales, as in England, they have been concentrating on bringing their smallholdings up to the standard envisaged by Part IV of the Agriculture Act, 1947, so that they may provide a reasonable livelihood for the tenant and his family. The effect has been a steady increase in the number of such holdings, a policy which has my full approval. I am prepared to approve schemes for new holdings where the cost is not excessive or where the expected increase in food production would be relatively high. Since the end of 1951 I have approved schemes for 12 new smallholdings in Wales.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has reached a decision with regard to the re-introduction of the hill sheep subsidy.

Yes. After full consideration of all the relevant circumstances and consultation with the interests concerned, the Government have decided that they would not be justified in authorising payment of a subsidy in the current year. The question of the subsidy will, of course, be reconsidered next year, in the light of prevailing economic conditions in the hill sheep industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why his Department is not represented at public inquiries whenever they have made a recommendation either to the planning authority or the local authority as to land use.

It is not the normal practice for the officials of one Minister to give evidence at public inquiries held on the instructions of another Minister.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the present position in regard to finding an alternative to the gin trap.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will now state what progress has been made in the researches and experiments aimed at evolving a suitable alternative to the gin trap for the destruction of rabbits.

:Certain alternative traps have been designed and are being tried out, but none so far has been shown in practice to compare with the gin trap as regards weight, efficiency and price.

asked the Minister of Agriculture when he proposes to introduce legislation, promised in Command Paper No. 9104, Second Memorandum of the Council for Wales, enabling additional grants to be given to local authorities in Wales towards the repair and maintenance of unclassified roads.

asked the Minister of Agriculture when proposals are to be made to Parliament to enable his Department to contribute towards the cost of improving unclassified and unadopted roads in livestock-rearing areas.

I cannot at present add anything to the Government's White Paper on Rural Wales.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the fact that the costs of the county agricultural executive committees show a net deficit of £375,544 for 1953, he will now dispense with their services.

:The figure quoted by my hon. Friend is not the cost of the county agricultural executive committees but the combined deficit on the trading services which they operate. These services have been substantially reduced in scale and in cost in recent years, and I am now within sight of making the remaining services financially self-supporting. Apart from their trading activities, the county committees have many other important functions and as an integral part of the system of administration of the Agriculture Act, 1947, they must be maintained.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many district offices of the agricultural executive committees and the national agricultural advisory service have in the past year been closed in the interests of economy; what savings have been effected; and to what extent this centralisation is to be carried further.

:The local review started in May, 1952, and so far it has been decided to close 139 offices, 88 of which have been closed during the past year. In 56 cases the reorganisation has been completed and shows a net saving of 111 staff and £37,780 per annum in salaries, rents and other outgoings. I hope to secure comparable net savings in respect of the other offices. My aim is to close at least 150 offices.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, in view of the need to reduce further the cost of bacon pig production in this country and the avail ability of Landrace pigs standardised for economical bacon production, he will, while keeping all due health safeguards, now use his powers under the Diseases of Animals Act to permit further importations of selected breeding pigs direct from Scandinavia; and to what extent his regulations allow the entry of Landrace pigs by way of the Channel Islands.

:As I explained in my reply to my hon. Friend on 4th February, the health safeguards include limiting imports of live pigs to what is necessary to meet essential needs. I am considering whether a further import of Landrace pigs is essential. Current regulations permit the importation of pigs from the Channel Islands subject to certain safeguards, but I am sure that, as in the past, I should have the full co-operation of the authorities in seeing that animals whose direct importation into Great Britain was prohibited were not allowed to be imported through the Channel Islands.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease from 1st October, 1953, to date; and the number during the same period of the previous year.

:Fourteen outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease were confirmed between 1st October, 1953, and 8th February, 1954, and there were the same number in the corresponding period of 1952–53.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number of outbreaks of fowl pest from 1st October, 1953, to date; the number during the same period of the previous year; and how many birds were involved in each period.

There were 453 outbreaks of fowl pest between 1st October.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what progress has been made with the building of a further sugar-beet factory in Southern England.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will issue a list of all staple foods showing the average

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr. Hurd) on 19th November, 1953.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the acreages in Cornwall devoted to spring cabbage, broccoli, early potatoes, and flowers, respectively, during each of the post-war years.

:The following is the information: yield in pounds weight and value per acre per annum of each and indicate which of these are subsidised and to what extent.

:The estimated figures are as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has now reached a decision about the future of Lakenheath Fen.

Yes. I have now decided not to proceed with the proposal of the Agricultural Land Commission for the purchase of some 2,050 acres of Lakenheath Fen. The 1,750 acres still held under requisition will be derequisitioned in December this year after the present tenancies have expired.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will state the site value of that part of Carlton House Terrace on which it is proposed to construct the new Foreign Office; and what steps he took to satisfy himself that this was comparable to the amount per acre paid for the nearest piece of land to it in recent years.

As I said in reply to a Question by the right hon. Gentleman on 9th February, it is not possible to give the site value of any part of the Terrace. Her Majesty's Government have taken no steps to acquire the freehold from the Commissioners of Crown Lands and the second part of the Question does not therefore arise.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what considerations led his Department to the conclusion that the redevelopment of Carlton House Terrace as a Foreign Office rather than as an area for hotels, flats and other commercial enterprises would be to the national advantage, especially having regard to the high site value and the dollars it might earn.

:The alternative uses of the site were considered in 1951 by the previous Government. I understand the conclusion reached was that use as high-class offices would be the most remunerative and give the best security. It was also felt that the property would be particularly suitable as a Foreign Office. No final plans have yet been submitted to the Commissioners of Crown Lands.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reply he has made to the letter he has received from the Howard League for Penal Reform suggesting an inquiry into the law regarding homosexuality.

I am not yet in a position to send a considered reply to the Howard League for Penal Reform, but I shall keep their views in mind in examining the general question of the law relating to sexual offences and the treatment of sexual offenders.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Dr. Oestreich, a German national, who was granted a visa to visit the United Kingdom was refused admission on arrival at London Airport.

Dr. Oestreich was refused leave to land when the immigration officer at London Airport ascertained that his intention was to attend the conference organised by Teachers for Peace. He obtained his visa in Berlin by representing that he was coming to this country on a private visit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visitors to this country were temporarily detained by immigration officials on suspicion of being delegates to a Teachers for Peace Conference; and how many of these were subsequently allowed to land.

Three persons as to whose intentions doubt arose were temporarily detained but were subsequently allowed to land.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Report of the Committee on Discharged Prisoners Aid Societies; and what action he proposes to take.

I have decided to implement, in the coming financial year, those of the Committee's recommendations which deal with the payment to aid societies of an Exchequer grant equal to half their approved expenditure on administration and on the provision of necessary clothing for prisoners on discharge. Iam also arranging, as the Committee recommends, for any immediate subsistence needs of prisoners on discharge to be met from public funds and for prison governors to have discretion to pay a prisoner's fare to any place within the British Isles to which it seems desirable in his best interests for him to go.On the other recommendations of the Committee which turn on the appointment of prison welfare officers in local prisons, I propose to reserve my decision until I have been able fully to explore their financial and administrative implications and to take account of the considered views of the local aid societies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consult with the Minister of Labour on the problem of finding employment for the older ex-prisoner discharged after a single conviction.

I am not at present aware of any special problem in the finding of employment for this class of ex-prisoner, but if the hon. Member will send me any evidence which he may have about it generally, or details of individual cases which he has in mind, I shall be glad to consider with my right hon. and learned Friend whether any adjustment in the existing arrangements might help.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons in the administrative county of Durham appeared before magistrates during the year ended 31st December, 1953, on a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm upon their wives in consequence of beating them.

Eight.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the probation officer's report regarding John James Cowan, a former Durhamminer, stated that he came from a district of Durham where it was a common thing for men to beat their wives and that it was generally expected and understood; and whether he will instruct probation officers not to make such general charges in future.

I understand that the defendant's solicitor's clerk asked for a report from the probation officer, who explained that he could make a report only to the court;the court did not ask for a report and none was made. The statement by counselfor the defence, as reported in the Press, appears to have been the result of an unfortunate misunderstanding in the conversation between the probation officer and the solicitor or his clerk.Probation officers outside London are not subject to my control but in any event I have no reason to think that they are in need of instruction of the kind suggested.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the dangers of mercury poisoning disclosed at recent inquests to which his attention has been drawn, he will now put calomel on Schedule 1 of the Poisons List.

:I am referring the hon. Member's suggestion to the Poisons Board.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the police forces of the United Kingdom have been convicted in the courts in the last year for which figures are available; and what are the comparable figures for 1938 and the years since the war.

:During the twelve months ended 30th September, 1953, 42 members of police forces in England and Wales were convicted of offences. For the 12 months ended 30th September, 1950, 1951 and 1952, the numbers were respectively 31, 33 and 38. I regret that figures for earlier years are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the cost of increasing the pension to widows of police officers who died before 5th July, 1948, to 19s. 2d.

The cost of such an increase would be about £4,700 a year. Most of the widows in question have already had increases under those parts of the Police Pensions Regulations which correspond to the provisions of the Pensions (Increase) Acts and the National Insurance Acts. Those who have not had such increases will either have other income or will not be handicapped by age, children or infirmity.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been drawn to the results which have followed in Liverpool from the appointment of specially chosen members of the police force as juvenile liaison officers; and if he will encourage other areas to adopt this successful experiment in reducing juvenile crime.

:The working of this scheme in Liverpool over the last three years has been examined. I believe it to be a sound method of coping with incipient juvenile delinquency, and would welcome its adoption in othersuitable areas. I am bringing details of the scheme to the notice of other chief constables, but it must be left to each force to decide whether the local circumstances are suitable for its introduction in that police district.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many boroughs and urban districts of England and Wales with populations exceeding 20,000 have fire cover by full-time firemen; how many by full-time firemen for part of the day; and how many wholly by retained men.

Out of 409 boroughs and urban districts which had a population exceeding 20,000 according to the Estimate Census of 1952, cover is provided by whole-time men continuously in 350 cases and for part of the day in 25 cases. In 34 cases cover is provided entirely by retained men.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been drawn to the fact that during 1953 there were over 3,000 malicious calls for the fire brigade in the London area alone;how this figure compares with the position in the provinces;and how the total of these malicious calls throughout the country compares with previous years for which records are available.

Figures for malicious calls are not among the fire brigade statistics which have been collected centrally, but such information as I have suggests that the proportion of calls that are malicious does not differ greatly between the County of London and the rest of the country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many fires during 1953–54 celluloid toys were an original inflammable factor.

The number of such fires attended by the local authority fire brigades in England and Wales during last year was five.

asked the Minister of Labour how many agricultural and horticultural workers, respectively, in the county of Lanark, registered for National Service during 1951, 1952 and 1953, respectively, under the National Service Acts; how many cases of either category were referred to the advisory panel; how many were granted deferment; and how many were called up.

:There are no separate figures available relating to horticultural workers who, if they are employed on food production, are treated in exactly the same way as agricultural workers.I regret that information is not available as to the number of agricultural

asked theMinister of Labour if he is aware of the number of unemployed painters in Edinburgh; and what steps he is taking in conjunction with the Secretary of State for Scotland and other Departments to provide work for these men.

Yes. There were 182 on 11th January, but after a rise during the recent cold spell, the number has fallen to 142 on 9th February. All Departments concerned have done their best to get more painting work done in the winter, so as to mitigate this seasonal unemployment, and there has been a substantial improvement compared with last winter.

asked the Minister of Labour the average increase in industrial wages since July, 1935.

Between July, 1935, and December, 1953, the average level of weekly wage-rates rose by 150 per cent. The average weekly actual earnings of manual workers in the industries covered by my Department's inquiries rose by 210 per cent. to 220 per cent. between October, 1935, and April, 1953. workers registered in a particular county nor is it possible to say, without expenditure of a disproportionate amount of time, how many agricultural workers in a particular county were called up.Information in reply to the remaining part of the Question is as follows:

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of the milk used in the Dartford group of hospitals at the last check was manufactured powdered milk; and what are the comparable figures for 1951.

Seven and a half per cent. of the milk used in the Dartford group of hospitals during 1953 was manufactured powdered milk; the corresponding figure for 1951 was 5·3 per cent.

asked the Minister of Health how many certified and voluntary patients, respectively, are discharged on an average annually from mental hospitals, homes and hostels under his control.

Over the five years 1947–51 (the latest year for which figures are available), the average annual number of discharges is:

asked the Minister of Health how many patients were detained, giving voluntary and certified patients separately, in mental hospitals, homes and hostels at any convenient date in December, 1953.

:Figures for 1953 are not available; the December, 1952, figures are:

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the unsatisfactory condition of the mortuary at Corsham Hospital, Bristol; and what he is doing to have it improved.

I am aware of the need for a new mortuary, and plans have been approved; but the decision how soon room can be found for it in the Regional Hospital Board's capital works programme must depend on the urgency of its need in comparison with capital works at other hospitals in the Region.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he proposes to take to relieve the overcrowding in the Bristol Mental Hospital at Stapleton.

:It is hoped to start work in April on a villa providing 86 additional beds for aged female patients. In addition, relief will be provided by the early reopening of a villa which has been adapted and decorated at Barrow Gurney for some 20 female patients.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to stop the rise in the cost of keeping and treating patients in hospitals, in view of the fact that the average weekly cost rose last year by 4½ per cent. in London and 8 per cent. in the provinces.

I think my hon. Friend has in mind the average weekly costs of maintaining an in-patient in London and provincial general teaching hospitals. The percentage increases in 1952–53 at these hospitals over the previous year were, in fact, respectively 5⅓ per cent. and 5 per cent. These were due mainly to increased salaries and wages and higher costs generally. I am constantly urging upon all concerned, in every way I can, the need for achieving maximum economy without detriment to the services provided.

asked the Minister of Health the total weekly cost of keeping and treating a patient in hospital.

The total weekly cost of keeping and treating a patient in hospital varies according to the type of hospital. National averages for the main types of hospitals for the year ended 31st March, 1953, are shown in the following table and represent the average net cost after adjustment for outpatient attendances.1. Hospitals administered by hospital management committees:—

asked the Minister of Health if he will now state which areas have been selected, for experimental purposes, for the fluoridation of their water supplies.

:This matter is still under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health how many haemophiliacs there are in the United Kingdom;to what extent the figures show an increase or a decrease over the last 10 years; and what medical research is being directed to finding a cure for this disease.

I regret that the information asked for in the first two parts of the Question is not available. Research is in progress in several centres in the United Kingdom and the problem is engaging the special attention of the Medical Research Council.

asked the Minister of Health the total number of available beds at the Graig Hospital, Pontypridd; and whether the buildings are now used exclusively for hospital purposes, or what are the obstacles in the way of their being so used.

Four hundred and seventy-nine, of which 309 are available for hospital purposes. Under the National Assistance Act, 1948, the remaining beds have to be available to the county council for non-hospital residents.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he has taken to encourage local authorities to establish half-way houses or convalescent homes for old people.

:My right hon. Friend is not clear precisely what type of home the hon. Member has in mind. Local authorities have a duty to provide homes for old people in need of care and attention not otherwise available to them and alllocal authorities have provided accommodation of this sort.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will now give further consideration to the request for domiciliary chiropody facilities for old-age pensioners.

:My right hon. Friend would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Coventry, South (Miss Burton) on 17th December last.

asked the Minister of Health how many children of school age are classified as ineducable; and how many of these were so classified without having entered a school.

:Local health authorities' returns for England and Wales show that at 31st December, 1952, 23,654 mentally defectivechildren under 16 were known to them. Of these, over 7,000 were in hospitals. No information is available as to how many of these children had not been to school, but of 6,230 children reported to local health authorities in 1952, 4,600 were ascertained to be defectives following reports from local education authorities while the children were liable to attend school or on leaving school. Perhaps the hon. Member would write to my right hon. Friend if he would like some further explanation of these figures.

asked the Minister of Health what body negotiated the agreement which included equal pay for the higher grades employed by the Joint Pricing Committee; when the agreement was ratified; on what grounds the lower age groups were not included having regard to the established practice in the Civil Service;and if he will take steps to rectify this departure from precedent.

:The scales which were applied to Insurance Committee (including pricing) staff on the 1st January, 1948, were those negotiated by the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Administrative, Professional, Technical and Clerical Services, which had been adopted by the National Joint Council for Insurance Committees' Administrative, Technical and Clerical Services on 19th December, 1946. The new scales, and those which subsequently replaced them by agreement on the appropriate Whitley Council, have been applied to all administrative and clerical staff in the National Health Service and there is therefore no departure from precedent in the case of pricing staff in the lower age groups.

asked the Minister of Education how many classes in primary schools on 1st January, 1954, or at the last convenient date, had over 40 and over 50 pupils, respectively.

I shall have no more recent figures than those which I circulated on 22nd October last in the Official Report until the returns for January, 1954, in respect of each school have been received and analysed. The new figures will be available next October.

asked the Minister of Education how many classes in secondary modern and secondary grammar schools, respectively, on 1st January, 1954, or at the last convenient date, had over 40 and 50 pupils, respectively.

In January, 1953, the number of classes in maintained secondary modern schools with over 40 pupils on roll was 2,438 of which 25 had over 50 pupils. The corresponding figures formaintained and assisted secondary grammar schools were 77 and 10. Some of these apparently large classes were assembled only for registration purposes.

asked the Minister of Education how many children attending grammar schools in Staffordshire left school at the age of 15 years in the last three years for which figures are available; and what was the number and proportion of children who completed the full grammar school course in these same years.

During the educational year 1952–53 258 children left grammar schools wholly maintained by the Staffordshire local education authority before reaching their 16th birthday. The comparable figures for 1951–52 and 1950–51 were 249 and 287 respectively.

asked the Minister of Education how many 13-year-old children in Staffordshire attend grammar schools, modern secondary schools, technical schools and comprehensive schools.

In January, 1953, of the 13-year-old children on the registers of secondary schools maintained by the Staffordshire local education authority 8,622 were in secondary modern, 1,635 in secondary grammar, 161 in secondary technical and none in comprehensive schools. These figures do not include Staffordshire childrenattending schools elsewhere.

asked the Minister of Education whether she will make the absence of a colour bar one of the conditions to be fulfilled before she accords recognition to a school as efficient.

I personally am opposed to any such bar, but governors or proprietors of independent schools should in my view be free to control admissions to their schools: I do not think it right that the process of recognition should be used to limitthis freedom. My concern is with the suitability of the education and facilities offered to the pupils who have been admitted.

asked the Minister of Education whether she will now give a list of local education authorities which have indicated their readiness to co-operate with the British Broadcasting Corporation in the next stage of its plans for a schools television service, stating how many schools each authority is willing to equip with receiving apparatus.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the list which the Association of Education Committees sent to the School Broadcasting Council and to my Department last week.

askedthe Minister of Education whether, in view of the abnormally cold weather this winter, she will now ask for reports from local authorities indicating in how many schools children were sent home during the cold spell through lack of proper heating facilities and burst pipes;what steps have been or are being taken to ensure that schools are properly heated during the winter months, in view of the difficulties of sending some children home during school hours; and if she will state the result of such reports.

:These are essentially matters for local action. I am sure that local education authorities appreciate their responsibilities in these respects and I do not think that anything would be gained by my asking for reports of the kind suggestedby the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Education the number of new school places necessary, in addition to those existing in 1945, to meet the increased child population, the raising of the school-leaving age, and a reductionin the size of all classes to not more than 30 pupils.

:There is nothing I can usefully add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Swingler) on 22nd October last.

asked the Minister of Education if she will give teachers an opportunity to represent their point of view to her before they are asked to contribute an additional 1 per cent. to the Superannuation Fund.

The teachers'associations were informed some 18 months ago of my proposals to raise the rate of contribution by 1 per cent. They made their views known to me both then and in the recent Report of the Joint Working Party with representatives of local authorities which was set up with my concurrence in order to consider possible changes in the superannuation scheme generally as well as the rate of contribution. It is, of course, open to them to make any further representations that they wish.

asked the Minister of Supply what action he proposes to take on the report of the Monopolies Commission on the Electric Lamp Industry.

:I would refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the hon. Member for West Ham, North (Mr. Lewis) on 19th May, 1952, and 7th July, 1952, in which my right hon. Friend informed the House of the Government's decisions on the Report and the action taken. I am sending him copies of these replies.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will now make a statement on the Government's conclusions with regard tothe Report of the Monopolies Commission concerning electric wires and cables.

My right hon. Friend hopes to be in a position to make a statement on this subject shortly.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will advise the cancellation of Circular 54/52 so that grants shall again become available for sewerage and water schemes in the South Wales Development Area under Section 3 of the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945.

:I cannot undertake to withdraw Circular 54/52 at the present time. Neither my right hon. Friend the Minister for Welsh Affairs nor I feel that it would be right to treat South Wales differently from other Development Areas in the matter of grants under Section 3 of the Distribution of Industry Act. I am, however, even while Circular 54/52 is in force, prepared to consider applications under Section 3 in cases which are of exceptional industrial urgency.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware that tenants of houses in new towns, where no local authority as yet exists, are unable to bring their complaints before elected representatives; and whether, in such circumstances, he will agree to intervene when tenants seek to have their grievances remedied.

:It is my experience that the new town corporations themselves are at all times ready to receive representations from tenants and to consider them carefully and sympathetically. I do not consider that it would be in the general interest for me to intervene further in the day to day work of the Corporations.

asked the Minister of Food what has been the average price paid by packing stations and the average retail price of eggs for each month of the years 1952 and 1953.

The following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has considered a communication from the Blackface Sheep Breeders Association to the effect that sheep stealing has increased and that heavier penalties are required;what action he proposes to take; and on what figures he bases the reply which he is sending to them.Commander Donaldson asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that there has been an increase in sheep stealing in recent years and that this is causing increasing concern among sheep breeders; and if he will take steps to introduce legislation to increase the penalties for sheep stealing.

Sheep stealing is a common law offence for which the penalties are limited only by the form of procedure adopted and the court in which the proceedings are brought. I am, however, making inquiries to ascertain the prevalence of this offence

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when he expects the Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights will be brought into force.

Article VI of the Protocol provides that it shall come into force after the deposit of 10 instruments of ratification. Instruments of ratification have been deposited by nine signatory Governments, of which the United Kingdom was the first. The Protocol will thus enter into force automatically when another signatory Government has ratified.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance why, in view of the official notification made by his Department to Mr. W. J.Dickinson, 9, Beaumont Street, Skerton, Lancaster, on 11th September last, that he would be granted a 100 per cent. disability pension for life, such a pension has not, in fact, been granted.

:Because the life assessment made by a medical board was subsequently varied by the medical appeal tribunal to which the case was referred under Section 39 (3) of the Act to an assessment for a limited period ending 11th December, 1954.