asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will take steps to ensure that when next the Governor of Kenya has talks with unofficial members of the Legislature on constitutional matters the African unofficial members will also be consulted.

I can assure the hon. Member that before any decision is taken on constitutional changes the African unofficial members will be consulted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a further statement on the document entitled "Kenya Report of 1953."

I have the matter under urgent consideration but I can as yet add nothing to my previous reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, while exonerating British Forces in Kenya of responsibility for irregular acts against Kikuyu suspects, what further disciplinary action has been taken against the police reserve or others involved in such irregularities.

Disciplinary action, or prosecution in the courts, is always undertaken whenever the circumstances require it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent, other than by leaflets, Mau Mau members are offered future freedom if they voluntarily surrender to the authorities.

They are not offered freedom if they voluntarily surrender. The only offer made is that they will not be executed for carrying arms or consorting with armed terrorists. The offer has been published by all means available including broadcasting and loudspeaker vans.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how much money the ex-Kabaka of Buganda has accepted from public funds since 30th November; and whether he is aware that collections for him are being taken among Baganda who believe His Highness to be in impoverished circumstances in London; and if he will make a statement.

He has received £1,333 6s. 8d., and in addition £ 1,392 18s. 3d. has been paid from Uganda Government funds to meet his hotel bill in December. I have seen reports that such collections were being made. Any doubts should now have been removed by the announcement made by the Uganda Government on 14th February that an allowance of £ 8,000 a year was being made to him from Protectorate Government funds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what grounds Joseph William Kiwanuka, Vice-President of the National Congress, has been detained under the emergency laws in Uganda; why he is subjected to solitary confinement in the Central Prison at Kampala; and whether an advisory committee to hear appeals has been appointed under the emergency laws.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave him on 19th February. The terms of the detention order provide that Mr. Kiwanuka shall not communicate with any person except with the written consent of the Resident, Buganda. No advisory committee has yet been appointed, but it is intended to do so if the state of emergency cannot be terminated shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what provision is made In Uganda for hearing the cases of persons detained without trial under Emergency Regulations.

No provision has yet been made but should the state of emergency continue it is intended to set up an advisory committee.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what financial saving he anticipates in the financial year ending April, 1955, by closing Her Majesty's dockyards for two weeks in August, 1954.

As I informed the House on the 20th January, the total saving cannot be assessed in precise financial terms. The best estimate that can be made is that, compared with closing the dockyards for two weeks, the granting of leave on a staggered basis as in 1953 would involve the loss of about one week's production spread over the year. The date of the closed period is decided locally for each establishment through Whitley channels.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many cases of tuberculosis have been diagnosed in the Royal Navy during the past two years.

In 1952 the number was 395; in 1953 it was 341.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the circumstances in which Mr. Ronald John Chesney was given a commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

He was granted a commission as a probationary temporary sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in January, 1940. He satisfied a selection board that he had qualifications for handling yachts and small craft, and inquiries which were made at the time did not disclose anything to his detriment.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many major strikes have taken place in Singapore naval base since the war; if he will state the causes of the prevailing industrial unrest; and what steps are being taken by the Admiralty to establish a more amicable understanding with its employees at this base.

The answer to the first part of the Question is two, one in 1946 and one in 1952. As to the second part, I do not accept the implication that there is industrial unrest in the naval base. On the third part, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to him on 3rd February.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will move for a Select Committee to review the Naval Discipline Act, with a view to re commending modifications.

The House will be aware that its Select Committee on the Army and Air Force Acts has not yet completed its task, and that some of its recommendations may affect the naval disciplinary code. In these circumstances, it would not be appropriate for me now to suggest how the House might, in due course, consider the Naval Discipline Act.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General the average time of waiting for installation of a telephone in the North London telephone district, and on the Tottenham and Edmonton exchanges.

Where cables and equipment are available, service in the North London telephone area, including the Tottenham and Edmonton exchange areas, is generally provided within one month for priority applicants and two to three months for others. I would, however, emphasise, as I informed the hon. Member for West Ham, North (Mr. Lewis) on 27th January, that such averages apply only where cables and equipment are readily available; the average waiting time for all applicants, including those for whom cables and equipment are not immediately available, cannot be assessed. We supplied 12,000 telephones in the North London area last year.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he is aware of the congestion at the existing post office at 110, Baker Street, W.1, since the sub-office at 235, Baker Street was closed in April, 1952; and what steps he is taking to improve the Post Office facilities for the public in the Baker Street area.

Congestion at the post office at 110, Baker Street has become worse since the sub-office at 235, Baker Street was closed, because of the resignation of the sub-postmistress. Our efforts to obtain more spacious accommodation, or to open a relief office, have so far been unsuccessful, but the matter is being pursued with all possible vigour.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the need for a post office in the rapidly-growing housing estate at Kirkby, near Liverpool; and whether he will take steps to provide one.

Yes. A post office will be opened on the estate as soon as premises are available.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what representations he has made to the Government of the United States of America with a view to achieving world standardisation on the form of modulation to be used for marine very high frequency radio communication.

No representations have been made to the U.S. Government as the Atlantic City Radio Regulations, an agreement between Governments, provide that frequency modulation shall be used by all countries in the Western Hemisphere, and strongly recommend its use in other parts of the world. We subsequently made reservations on this latter point but, as indicated in my reply of the 16th December last to the hon. Member for Cardiff, South-East (Mr. Callaghan), we have now re-opened discussions with Commonwealth and European countries on the adoption of frequency modulation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how long men of the United States Air Force are to be stationed at Prestwick.

For so long as necessary in the interest of world peace and security.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what staff is at present employed by the Meteorological Office on the possibilities of improving the weather of this country; what expenditure is involved; and what priority is given to this work as opposed to the other activities of that office.

No staff are employed exclusively on investigating weather modification. Experiments are carried out as part of high priority research into the physics of cloud and precipitation. It is not possible to isolate the expenditure involved in any particular aspect of this research.

asked the Under. Secretary of State for Air whether a decision has yet been reached on the proposal to include a Welsh emblem in the design of future standards for Royal Air Force squadrons; and whether he is now in a position to supplement his reply to the hon. Member for Barry on 20th May, 1953.

Yes. Her Majesty has now approved a new design, incorporating the leek as a Welsh emblem, which will be used for all Squadron Standards made in future.

asked the Under secretary of State for Air what part of the £ 125 million United States air base construction programme arises out of arrangements made with the United States Government prior to October, 1951.

About £ 80 million.

asked the Under secretary of State for Air how many United States air bases in this country were approved prior to October, 1951; and how many since that date.

Eleven air bases for the peace-time use of the United States Air Force were approved before October, 1951, and six more have been approved since.

asked the Under secretary of State for Air whether he will now make a statement in regard to the use by the Royal Air Force of the practice bombing range at Saltfleet.

Yes. My hon. Friend will recall that it was decided on 1st December, 1953, to suspend all bombing practice on this range in view of the accidental releases of bombs which had occurred over the land.The Air Ministry is now working upon an experimental method of bomb plotting by radar which, if successful, will enable practice bombing to be done well out to sea. After careful consideration it has been decided to use the Theddle-thorpe (Saltfleet) range for a fortnight's trial of this device. The trial, which will begin early next month, will be made with the most stringent safety precautions designed to eliminate any risk of a bomb falling on land. I shall make a further statement in due course about the future of this important range.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many lorries previously owned by the Road Haulage Executive have so far been sold to private owners; and what percentage these sales represent of the total number of lorries peviously owned by the Road Haulage Executive.

1,281 in the first two lists, or about 55 per cent, of those offered without premises and some 10 per cent, of those offered with premises. This is about 3½ per cent, of the vehicles previously owned by the Road Haulage Executive the greater part of which of course have not yet been offered for sale.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the total capacity of road tankers suitable for the carriage of light petroleum products on any convenient date in 1939 and 1953, respectively.

This information is not available in my Department.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will detail the projects and the total expenditure which will be authorised for the counties of Durham and Northumberland and the North Riding in his £ 50 million three-year road plan.

I regret that I cannot yet say. Trunk and classified road schemes to be included in the coming year's programme are still being selected in consultation, where necessary, with local highway authorities.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will arrange for an investigation of the lighting arrangements at the cross roads on the Boulevard between the Glasgow boundary up to and including Milton Corner, near Duntocher, with a view to eliminating the blinding effect they have to the drivers of motor vehicles.

I understand that the local lighting authority propose to improve these lighting arrangements by installing lighting to traffic route standard and I intend to assist them from the Road Fund as rapidly as the funds available to me permit. I do not expect to be able to make contributions for this work to be extended beyond Kilbowie Road up to Milton Corner until after 1954–55.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the cause of the delay in the starting of the new by-pass round north Bristol; and when he anticipates work will begin.

Work cannot start until the line of this diversion has been settled by an order under the Civil Aviation Act, 1949. Such an order is subject to special Parliamentary procedure and requires due notice and a period for objections, which may necessitate a public inquiry. I cannot forecast exactly how long this procedure will take.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation on what authority the term "Confidential" is applied to the report of the Italian Government on the Hermes air crash off Sicily in August, 1952; and the practice of his Department in regard to the limitations imposed by such a classification upon the distribution and use of such confidential reports.

The marking "Confidential" was made on my authority in accordance with the normal procedure applied to reports which are not published and is intended to indicate to recipients that the report has been sent to them solely for their personal use. Distribution is limited to operators and to interested parties who may apply.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what proposals were made by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics at the Berlin Conference for a joint committee to establish the facts about police forces and armed forces held in East and West Germany; and why he supported the rejection of these proposals.

A translation of the Soviet proposal will be found on page 130 of the White Paper (Command 9080). Mr. Molotov did not propose an inquiry such as the hon. Gentleman suggests, but referred to the desirability of an agreement concerning police forces in East and West Germany. I and my two Western colleagues informed the Soviet Delegation that we felt that this proposal, put forward at the last moment, required more careful study.The Federal Government are directly responsible for police matters in the Federal Republic. For the reasons which I gave on more than one occasion during our Berlin meeting, it would be unrealistic to suppose that the Federal Government and the authorities in the East Zone could reach agreement on these matters.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will state in detail the effect which the decisions made at recent conferences in London on the Constitution of Northern Rhodesia will have upon the arrangements for implementation of the Constitution of Central African Federation.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for War what steps have been taken in connection with the request officially made in 1947 that the Army authorities should find another site for the Army Training School in Beachley.

My right hon. Friend has arranged with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation that the necessary notice will be given when the site will be required.