asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the provisions of Army Order 18/49, prescribing a deduction from gratuity in respect of short-service commissions in cases of voluntary retirement, imposes hardship on those officers who, their service on the active list having been extended under ACI 841/50, retired before the expiration of the three-year period prescribed therein; and what action is proposed to remedy their position.

I am looking into this regulation.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that National Service men training at Malvern, Worcester, have black floors which they have to keep bright by using black boot polish at their own expense, which is costing them Is. per week; and if he will investigate this matter and have the polish necessary for the floors provided free of charge.

I find that the men in one barrack room of the unit concerned recently used their own boot polish on the black surround of their fire-place: the practice has now been forbidden. Sufficient polishes are provided at public expense for all normal uses.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what proposals Her Majesty's Government have for reopening discussions with the Brazilian Government with a view to facilitating the recovery of British-Brazilian trade and the progressive clearance of existing arrears of payments.

I am not clear what sort of proposals the hon. Member has in mind. The arrears of commercial debts, which have been a major impediment to Anglo-Brazilian trade, will be progressively cleared under the debt agreement of October last. Confidence should now revive, and there has already been some improvement in current trade.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the extensive development projects which the Government of the Union of Burma are considering, he will propose a visit by an industrial delegation to Burma to examine what contribution British industry can make to this development.

Yes. I have decided to send a small delegation of prominent industrialists to Burma in March. The Government of the Union of Burma have said that they would welcome such a delegation and I am glad to say that Lord Burghley has accepted my invitation to lead it. The delegation's main concern will be with the Burmese Government's long-term plans for developing the resources of the country.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what percentage the 180 per cent, increase that is shown in respect of wages for the year 1953 over that of 1938 would be further increased if all social service benefits granted in that period were taken into account for the single, married, and married man with two children, respectively.

The only cash benefits payable to people in receipt of wages are family allowances, which began in 1946. A married man with two children would normally receive a family allowance of 8s. a week. It would be difficult to quantify the amount of other social service benefits in respect of individuals. The average weekly earnings of men have risen from 69s. in October, 1938, to 185s. 11d. in April, 1953.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement with regard to the Report of the Committee on the Taxation Treatment of Provisions for Retirement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will incorporate the recommendations of the Tucker Committee in this year's Budget and subsequent Finance Bill.

I regret that I cannot anticipate my Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer his estimate of the gross salary which, in 1938, would have given a married man with two children the same purchasing value, after tax, as he receives from a gross income of £2.000 today.

About £730.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why Mr. Christian Dior, a French citizen, was allowed to take £10 in English currency out of this country after a recent visit.

As far as I have been able to ascertain, no such occurrence took place. If the hon. Member desires to pursue that matter, I can only ask him to let me have fuller details and I will follow them up.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will allow any old-age pensioner who does not use his tobacco voucher to secure sweets at reduced rates in place of cigarettes.

The tobacco token scheme relieves old-age pensioners from some part of the post-war increases in tobacco duty. As there is no duty on sweets, tobacco coupons could not be used for the purchase of sweets.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the advantages to the British and Common- wealth economy which may accrue from the issue of colonial savings certificates; if he will consult with the Secretary of State for the Colonies; and if he will make a statement.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to an issue of savings certificates by H.M. Government in the United Kingdom. The Government recognise that if we are to make our full contribution to Commonwealth development it is necessary to sustain a high level of internal savings. I do not think that any special issue of savings certificates is needed for this purpose. Adequate facilities for National Savings already exist, and I commend this form of saving to all small investors who wish to help the cause of development in the Colonies.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, when considering permission for the Ceylon Government to raise a loan in this country, he will take into consideration the un-co-operative attitude of the Minister of Commerce and Trade towards the shipment of teas to the London auctions and the whole question of the admission of citizens of the United Kingdom to work on tea gardens as managers and assistants.

The question of an approach to the London market has been under discussion with the Government of Ceylon since Sir Oliver Goonetilleke's visit last November. The shipment of Ceylon tea to the London auctions and the admission of U.K. citizens to Ceylon have also formed the subject of discussions with the Ceylon Government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the charge against Ricardo Ernest Soto, a member of the Panama Consular Service, of the attempted smuggling into Northern Ireland of 1,670 watches of the approximate value of £21,000, was recently withdrawn; and whether he will make a statement.

The charge was withdrawn because the name of Mr. Ricardo Ernesto Soto was included in the list of persons officially regarded as entitled to diplomatic immunity in the United Kingdom. All that I can add to the Foreign Secretary's reply of yesterday is that now his immunity has been withdrawn every possible step is being taken to bring Mr. Soto to justice.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of established civil servants, and what are the Departments or offices employing them, and what are the posts and grades they occupy, who, because of overlapping scales and the Starting Pay on Promotion Agreement, set out in Establishments Circular No. 6/49, receive, or have received, since 1st September, 1949, less pay at London, Intermediate or Provincial scales, whichever applies, than those junior to them promoted to the same grade after 1st September, 1949.

This information is not available and cannot be collected without an undue expenditure of time and labour. The hon. Member will see from paragraph 17 of the Circular to which he refers, and of which I am sending him a copy, that differences of this kind were foreseen and accepted by both parties to the Agreement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue he expects to receive in the current financial year from Purchase Tax on domestic furniture.

It is not possible to say precisely, because many articles of furniture, such as chairs and writing-desks, are capable either of domestic or of office use; but I estimate that the receipts of tax during the current financial year from furniture of the domestic type will be a little more than £2 million.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware of the difficulties caused to housing authorities in the London region by his Department's letter of 6th January, 1954, concerning expenditure on repair of requisitioned properties; and whether he will modify the instructions contained in that letter.

My right hon. Friend's officers have recently received a deputation from the Metropolitan Boroughs Standing Joint Committee. An agreed note of the meeting is being circulated to the Metropolitan town clerks, and my right hon. Friend feels sure that the difficulties have now been reduced if not overcome.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will circularise local authorities asking that consideration should be given to young childless married couples on their housing lists who are anxious to have children but feel they cannot do so in their existing unsatisfactory accommodation and who lose points because they have no children.

My right hon. Friend thinks that local authorities generally are giving effect to the recommendation made in 1945, and endorsed in 1949, by the Housing Management Sub-Committee of the Central Housing Advisory Committee that a proportion of council house tenancies should be allotted to recently married couples without children.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware of the hardship caused in cases where families are separated when housing authorities are unable to provide them with housing accommodation, and individual members of such families are offered separate temporary accommodation by welfare authorities; if he will consult with such welfare authorities and assist them to provide temporary accommodation for whole families; and if he will make a statement.

In 1950 the four associations of local authorities concerned jointly recommended housing and welfare authorities to consult together to devise arrangements for accommodating homeless families without breaking them up. If my hon. Friend has a particular case in mind and will let me have particulars, I will have it looked into.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) if he will give his decision on that section of the Overstrand, Norfolk, sea defence scheme, providing for the reconstruction of the council wall, grading and drainage of cliffs, submitted to him by the Erpingham Rural District Council, on 9th December, 1953;(2) if he is aware of the urgency of the scheme to provide new groynes and the reconstruction of Cliff Side and Sea Marge walls, being part of the Overstrand, Norfolk, sea defence plan, submitted to him on 16th October last, and considered by his senior engineering inspector; and if he will give his consent to the scheme.

My right hon. Friend has decided to approve both these schemes and the local authority have been so informed.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is yet in a position to make a further statement of his intentions regarding the distribution of an Exchequer Equalisation Grant to certain local authorities, on whose behalf representations have been made to him.

No. My right hon. Friend has not yet received the final observation of all the associations of local authorities on the proposals contained in the Report of the Committee.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will consider taking steps to amend the law under which boroughs and urban district councils promoting Private Bills are subject to the procedures of town meetings and town polls.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will take steps to amend Part XIII of the Local Government Act, 1933, in order to avoid the need to hold town's meetings and town's polls.

This matter raises important issues which cannot readily be dealt with by question and answer.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will now issue regulations to increase maxi mum daily payment for financial loss allowances for members of local authorities to 30s.

My right hon. Friend hopes to make these regulations very soon.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether, in view of the unemployment situation in Brighton during the early months of each year, he will allow the Brighton Corporation's plan for the resiting of the bandstand West of the West Pier to be completed either in one financial year or over a period so that not more than £5,000 shall be expended in any one year.

My right hon. Friend is prepared to consider this sympathetically.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what representations he has received from the Cardiff City Council concerning the increase in the price of land in Cardiff due to 1952 amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act, 1947.

None.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what appointments he has recently made to the National Parks Commission; and why he has failed to maintain proper representation of open-air interests.

Mr. Clyde Higgs, a farmer; Mr. Alan Lubbock, vice-chairman of the Hampshire County Council; Mr. D. Francis Morgan, a member of the Council of the Boy Scout Association; Mr. W. H. Vaughan, a member of the Forestry Commission. My right hon. Friend does not agree that he has failed to maintain proper representation of open-air interests; though he would add that people are not appointed to the Commission as representatives of any interests or bodies, but for the general contribution they can make to the problems with which the Commission has to deal.

asked the Minister of Works why it has been found necessary to remove the doors from the small interview rooms under the Chamber.

This experiment is being made at the request of the Select Committee on House of Commons Accommodation. It is hoped that working conditions in the rooms will be improved by the removal of the doors.

asked the Minister of Works if he will arrange for the showing of the German film "Five Minutes after Twelve," which is a documentary of the Hitler period, to Members of the House of Commons in the near future.

The responsibility for film shows rests with the Authorities of the House, to whom the hon. Member's request has been referred.

asked the Minister of Works the value of the monthly amount of work during 1954 to be permitted under the licensing system in the reconstruction areas of all bombed cities together, excluding the City of London: and what is the value of the amount of monthly work to be permitted in the City of Plymouth.

There are now no financial limits to the amount of work licensed in the bombed cities. New projects are licensed as they come forward up to the capacity of the building industry in the area. In many of the cities I shall be able to grant more applications than I have received so far this year. In Plymouth about £1 million will be spent this year on work already licensed or about to be licensed. This is more than twice as much as in 1953. I shall give more licenses as the state of the building industry allows.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men and women, respectively, were employed in Lancashire on the last convenient date in the cotton, chemical, coal, iron and steel, and engineering, including electrical engineering and radio industries, respectively.

Statistics for Lancashire are not readily available. For the North-Western Region, which includes Cheshire and the High Peak District of Derbyshire as well as Lancashire, the latest available figures are given in the following table:

asked the Minister of Labour the number of disabled persons now attending the rehabilitation centre in Cardiff; the number waiting for admission to the course; and the prospects of obtaining subsequent satisfactory employment for these people.

At the end of last week there were 92 disabled persons attending the Cardiff Industrial Rehabilitation Unit and 28 awaiting admission. It is expected that satisfactory employment will be found for most of them.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many protests he has received to date from individuals and from organisations, respectively, against the proposed increase in the rate of superannuation contributions by teachers; and what is the nature of the reply which he has sent to such individuals and organisations.

Protests have been received from the Educational Institute of Scotland and seven other national or local teachers' organisations, two trade union branches, 24 groups of teachers in particular schools and 18 individual teachers. The protests were acknowledged and the reasons why it is necessary to increase the rate of contributions were given in a letter of 21st January to the Educational Institute of Scotland, which has been published.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many protests he has received from individuals and from organisations, respectively, against the inadequacy of the recent salary increases to teachers; and what is the nature of the reply which he is sending to such individuals and organisations.

24 national or local teachers' organisations, eight education authorities or governing bodies of schools, the chairman of the Council of Parent-teachers Associations, one local branch of a trade union, 37 groups of teachers, and 315 individual teachers, 270 of whom have sent in printed postcards, have represented that the scales proposed in the draft Teachers' Salaries (Scotland) Regulations are inadequate in whole or in part. These representations have been acknowledged and will be discussed with the National Joint Council. They will be taken into full consideration before I make regulations and lay them before Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many offences of larceny of sheep, horses and cattle were known to the police in Scotland in 1938 and 1952.

I regret that these figures are not available. As I informed my hon. and gallant Friend on 16th February, I am trying to ascertain the number of offences of sheep stealing made known to the police in these years.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now state the figure to which he proposes to restrict the importation of Landrace pigs; and whether this figure will allow all outstanding applications to be granted, subject to proper veterinary precautions.

I have arranged with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture for the importation of 41 Landrace pigs into Scotland. This will enable all present applicants to receive a quota but will not be sufficient to satisfy all these applications in full.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of houses in the city of Edinburgh which have been condemned as unfit for human habitation by the local authority; and whether the tenants have been notified either by the proprietors, landlords, factors or the local authority of the condemning of such property.

Between 1923 and 1939 a total of 7,759 houses were condemned as unfit and the great majority have been demolished or closed. Because of the shortage of accommodation no house has been formally condemned since 1939. Under Section 157 of the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1950, a local authority must serve a notice on the occupier after a clearance, demolition or closing order has become operative.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of one-apartment, two-apartment, three-apartment, four-apartment, five-apartment, six-apartment, seven-apartment and over houses, unoccupied in the city of Edinburgh; and why such houses are still unoccupied in view of the large waiting list on the corporation's registers.

According to the latest valuation roll, there are 3,174 unoccupied houses in the city, but I have no information about their size. I am informed that the majority of them are closed because they are unfit, and that the remainder are temporarily vacant pending reletting, reconstruction or sale.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of houses abandoned by owners in the city of Edinburgh; and how many such abandoned houses have been requisitioned by the local authority for housing homeless people on the local authority registers.

I am informed that 64 houses in Edinburgh have been abandoned by their owners. As these houses are occupied, the second part of the Question does not arise.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if, in view of the further increase announced in freight charges, he will take steps to ensure the implementation of the recommendation of the Cameron Committee on tapering of rail charges.

As I indicated on 10th February in reply to a supplementary question by my noble Friend the Member for Inverness (Lord Douglas Malcolm-Hamilton), this is a matter for settlement by the Transport Tribunal after considering the submissions of the British Transport Commission and any representations made by bodies representing classes of users. An opportunity to make such representations should arise in connection with the heads of proposals for a merchandise charges scheme, which, I understand, the Commission hope to be able to submit to the Tribunal at an early date.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what sum Scottish Aviation has claimed from the Treasury in respect of the compulsory purchase of Prestwick Airport.

Scottish Aviation Limited submitted to arbitration a claim in respect of the compulsory purchase of Prestwick Airport totalling £2,688,523, made up of £523,080 for land and buildings and £2,165,443 for disturbance of the company's business, loss of profits etc. Subsequently, the company withdrew the latter part of the claim with a view to re-submitting an amended figure. An agreed settlement was, however, reached on this part of the claim without its formal resubmission.

asked the Minister of Supply what financial support he has agreed to give Scottish Aviation Limited in connection with the arrangement for the building of the Twin Pioneer aircraft at Prestwick.

It would be contrary to established practice to disclose details of contracts placed by Government Departments.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the investigations undertaken by his Department into a French preparation called "Corbidor" for doping crows and pigeons are yet completed; and whether he will make a statement.

No investigations have yet been undertaken by my Department with the French preparation "Corbidor." Its use is at present illegal in this country.

asked the Minister of Food what percentages of cattle were graded as maiden heifers and steers, young cows, cows, and bulls, respectively; what percentage of sheep were graded as fat sheep and lambs, ewes, and rams, respectively; and what percentage of pigs were graded as bacon pigs, pork, sows, and boars, respectively, out of these three classes of home-produced fatstock which his

asked the Minister of Food if he will now give details of the future marketing arrangements for milk and the safeguards provided for the various interests concerned when the milk marketing boards resume their powers on 1st April.

The Government will cease to trade in milk from 1st April. Marketing powers will be restored to the milk marketing boards on that date. There have been joint discussions with the various parties about the safeguards for trade and other interests. The leaders of both sides of the industry have shown understanding and goodwill in these discussions, and general agreement has now been reached. There will be joint committees of the boards and the milk distributive and processing trades to deal with problems of mutual concern. So long as an element of consumer subsidy continues, the Government will retain responsibility for approving both prices and distributive margins of milk sold for liquid consumption. Revised arrangements for implementing the price

The following statement gives an analysis by classes of the fatstock purchased toy the Ministry of Food in the United Kingdom in 1953.guarantees for milk have been agreed with the boards and National Farmers' Unions and the details will be announced as soon as possible. Special arrangements will apply to Northern Ireland where there is no milk marketing board.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to give the latest statement of contributions paid by governments of Treaty countries to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

The contribution of Her Majesty's Government to the civilian budget of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for the year 1st January— 31st December, 1954, is approximately £290,000. This represents 225 per cent, of the total civilian budget. Other member governments of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation retain authority for the publication of their own contributions. I regret therefore that I am unable to give these figures.