asked the Minister of Education the difficulties she has in mind which have delayed her action in bringing into force Part III of the Education Act, 1944, in respect to private schools.

asked the Minister of Education when she proposes to bring into effect Part III of the Education Act, 1944.

:I would refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Ham, North (Mr. Lewis) on 28th January.

:While I am trying to recollect the answer to which the right hon. Lady has referred me, may I ask whether she will continue to review this question? There is very real disquiet about it, and we should be comforted to know she was taking effective action as soon as possible.

:Yes, certainly.

:Will the right hon. Lady explain why she refers to a date in January when, last week, she said that she was hoping to make a statement soon?

:I think the hon. Gentleman will remember that the Question in January was about bringing in the whole of Part III. The Question last week dealt with a particular problem.

asked the Minister of Education what representations have been made by local education authorities concerning the implementation of Part III of the Education Act, 1944.

:A deputation from the County Councils' Association and the Association of Education Committees, which I received on 20th January, urged that Part III of the Education Act, 1944, should be introduced as soon as possible. Similar representations have been made by the Surrey local education authority.

:Does that not confirm the view that there should be immediate action in this matter? Hundreds of parents are being fleeced even though, foolishly, for snobbish reasons, they are sending their children to private schools. Will she not take action quickly?

:On the subject of Part III, I think I have replied very fully. I agree with what was said by my predecessor, that it would be a pity to bring in Part III until we can implement it fully and have the standards we should like for the children in the schools to be registered.

asked the Minister of Education the distribution of the estimated 180,000 new school places between now and January, 1955, for each local education authority.

:No, Sir. The estimate of 180,000 places is based on a general appreciation of the progress of the school building programme as a whole. The only worth while information I can give for individual areas relates to approved building programmes and the amount of work under construction.

:Is the Minister aware that even where new places are provided there is now increasing overcrowding, and that the position in South-West London is becoming rather desperate even in some new schools?

:It is better than it was.

:Yes, I agree that the situation is better than it was. In the last two years about 500,000 children have come into school.

:Do I take it, then, that the figure of 180,000 which the right hon. Lady gave me a few weeks ago is not much more than a guess?

:The hon. Lady need not take it like that unless she wishes to. Looking at the plans, we considered that 180,000 places extra would be ready in January. The difficulty is to be quite certain what schools, whether secondary schools or primary schools, will actually be completed at that time.

asked the Minister of Education how many new schools have been built in Staffordshire since 1945; how many are at present under construction; and to what extent she will permit an increase in the number under construction in the coming financial year.

:Twenty-five new schools have been built in Staffordshire since 1945. At the end of January, there were 13 new schools under construction. Thirteen more new schools and three other major school projects are due to be started during the next 12 months.

:Is the Minister aware that these figures are not large enough? Is she aware of the ardent desire of all forward-looking people in Staffordshire, of whom there are many, for a much bigger school building programme, which will enable the size of classes to be reduced? Can she say when we shall have this programme?

:I quite agree that people would like a larger programme, but these ardent people, who are looking into the future and who are interested in education, are very satisfied that progress is so much more rapid than it used to be.

:Is the Minister aware that Staffordshire has an increasing population, particularly in a growing coalfield, and that on every line of public policy there is a special case for saying that school building there should be speedier than it is now?

:We certainly want to speed it up as much as possible. The new projects which the Authority is due to start between now and the end of March next year will provide 4,815 secondary places and 1,640 primary places. At present, they have 2,100 secondary places under construction in major projects.

:Could my right hon. Friend tell me why so few schools were built between 1945 and 1951?

:I think the reason was that in the first year the plans were being made and the authorities were getting to work. Unfortunately, when the first schools were planned they were on lines which meant that they took a very long time to build. Those concerned did not arrange for the materials to be ready at the right time. Now we are using more compact designs and reducing manpower and material requirements by about 50 per cent. For that reason, we are able to build quicker.

asked the Minister of Education the amount and proportion of the total value of the school-building programme which is at present being spent in Staffordshire, in relation to the ratio between the number of school children in Staffordshire, and the total number of school children in England and Wales.

:Major primary and secondary school projects in the Staffordshire Local Education Authority's current building programme are estimated to cost about £907,000, which is about 2 per cent, of the total for England and Wales. The number of children in maintained and assisted schools, other than nursery and special schools, in Staffordshire in January, 1953, was 2·1 per cent. of the total.

:The Minister will no doubt realise that this shows that Staffordshire is not receiving its fair share of the school building programme. In view of the growing importance of Staffordshire in the national economy, and the powerful discontent there about this situation, what action does the right hon. Lady propose to take to deal with the situation?

:I am sure the hon. Member will be interested to know that the figure allocated to Staffordshire in its 1954–55 programme is 2·6 per cent. of the national programme. That will be above the average. I have lately been in Staffordshire, and I found great satisfaction in the improvement which is taking place.

asked the Minister of Education how many local authority areas have percentages of grammar to total secondary school places of less than 20, and more than 50, respectively; and if she will publish in HANSARD a list of the areas concerned.

:In January, 1953, there were 13 education authorities in whose areas less than 20 per cent. of the total secondary places in the maintained and assisted schools were secondary grammar places, and 13 where the percentage was more than 50. This takes no account of children for whose grammar school education each authority provides in schools outside its own jurisdiction, but includes places available to children from other areas.

I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the authorities concerned.

:In view of the Minister's notorious bias against comprehensive schools, which are, of course, the only solution to this problem of unequal opportunities, will she say what action she is taking to see that children are given more equal opportunities of this type of education?

:I tried to point out in my answer that, for the reason I have given, these figures do not measure accurately what I think the hon. Member wants to know. I think he wants to know the exact opportunity for children in each area. As I have pointed out, the children in some areas receive their secondary education in neighbouring areas. I am trying to obtain statistics which will show exactly the number of children in each area who are receiving these facilities.

:Can the Minister tell the House what she thinks is the maximum percentage for secondary grammar school places so that perhaps we might, in the future, see not so many of such incidents as that which happened to the Cheshire County Council, who were told that they had too many secondary grammar school places?

:I do not think I could give the hon. Gentleman a figure for what I think the exact number of grammar school places, according to the population, ought to be. I think it must vary. If I say to any particular area that it has too many grammar school places, it probably means that there is a lack of other secondary places and that the new schools should, in the first place, be used for those other secondary children.

asked the Minister of Education whether she has now completed her discussions with the governors of the Educational Foundation for Visual Aids regarding the production of educational films; and whether she will make a statement.

:I had a discussion with the governors of the Foundation on Tuesday. There is nothing more I can say at present.

:Is the right hon. Lady aware that this matter has been in abeyance for many months, that, in the meantime, the production of educational films continues to decline and that we are lagging far behind other countries in this matter? When will she be able to make a statement?

:I had a very useful discussion with the governors and we are now looking into the various points which were raised.

asked the Minister of Education whether she is yet able to make a statement concerning the projected schools television service.

:I cannot add anything to what I told the hon. Member on 11th March.

:Why is the right hon. Lady dilly-dallying about this matter, too? Is she aware that the School Broadcasting Council reported over a year ago in favour of going on with the schools television service and that it is more than six weeks since she was made aware that a large number of local education authorities are in favour of getting on with the main experiment? What is holding it up? Is the Postmaster-General anxious that commercial television should get well into the field before the B.B.C. has a chance to deal with education?

:A date is now being fixed for a discussion with representatives of the B.B.C. and the School Broadcasting Council. I think it will take place very shortly.

asked the Minister of Education what provision is made by her Department for grants for students engaged in post-graduate research and advanced study at universities.

:It is my normal practice to extend the awards of students holding grants from my Department where the university authorities concerned satisfy me that they possess exceptional abilities. I am also prepared to give grants to supplement a number of open awards made by universities themselves specifically for post-graduate study or research.

:Is the right hon. Lady aware that the plans for the Imperial College of Science and Technology, which is supported by the Government, are very largely for post-graduate work and that at present the majority of students undertaking post-graduate work, particularly in engineering, come from overseas because British students cannot afford to undertake it?

:During the present academic year my Department is assisting 770 students to follow post-graduate courses. These include 340 whose State scholarships were extended in 1953 and 174 who were elected to supplemental post-graduate awards in 1953. The remaining 256 hold extended State scholarships and are in the second or third year of their post-graduate courses.

asked the Minister of Education what is her policy with regard to the restriction of comprehensive school developments.

:I am prepared to sanction the building of some comprehensive schools and I have already done so, but because I regard them as experimental I prefer that, if possible, they should be constructed so that they could be organised later as separate schools if this should prove to be desirable.

:May we have a firm assurance that the Minister will not show a disgraceful bias against local authorities when they have prepared comprehensive schools and will she adhere to the principles which she stated in February last year in Committee upstairs?

:I have stated—and I stated it again in my answer—that I agree that there should be experiments in education and with comprehensive schools. I have only pointed out here that it would be as well, when possible, so to build the school that it is in blocks so that it could be divided, if that were thought advisable in the years to come.

:Does not the Minister think that local authorities ought to be able to make their own experiments without too much interference from the Minister?

:Yes, of course, but responsibility is placed by the Act of 1944 on the Minister to decide on the building of new schools or the closing of old schools.

:Will my right hon. Friend say what choice parents have about their children undertaking this experimental education?

:I am anxious that there should be different types of schools so that parents may have a choice. At the same time, we all realise that, unfortunately, while the schools are so crowded, parents are not getting the choice that we should like them to have. That is why we are building more schools and different types of schools in the future.

asked the Minister of Education what answer she has made to the complaints sent to her concerning the general intelligence tests set by the Wallasey education authority to children applying for transfer from primary to secondary schools; if she will explain what national education body prepared these tests; and what experience or sense of perception the examiners expected children of 11 years of age to possess in order to enable them to identify claret, sherry, port, champagne and beer.

:I explained that the tests concerned were compiled after extensive testing of the general knowledge possessed by 11-year-old children, and that they had been widely used without previous complaint. They were prepared by the National Foundation for Educational Research. The candidates were not asked to identify particular beverages, as the hon. Member implies, but to say which one of the five words included all the rest.

:Does not the right hon. Lady agree that a local education authority is open to grave criticism when it assumes that children under 11 have knowledge about commodities which, according to the law, are not to be purchased by children? Moreover, has not a Royal Commission advised that children should be taught about the commodities mentioned in the Question in such a way that they will be seriously warned against their use?

:Yes, but I would point out that there is a mistake in the hon. Member's Question. He has asked about children identifying claret, sherry, port, champagne and beer. The word "beer" was not included in the test. The other word which was included was "wine" The children were asked to identify which word included the others. The hon. Member might like to know that this is only one of many sets of words. Another test names silver, copper, gold, metal and iron, and the children have to identify "metal" as covering the others. Another test is" aspirin, cough mixture, liver salts, medicine and magnesia"

:Ought not children aged 11 to be able to read a label on a bottle?

:Is the right hon. Lady aware that many of these so-called intelligence test questions are a lot of nonsense? This is clearly not an intelligence test worthy of one's mettle. Since neither my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. J. Hudson) nor I would have passed the test, will the right hon. Lady urge the educational research people to apply a little more intelligence to their preparation of such tests?

:As the hon. Gentleman knows, it is the local education authority which decides what test it shall apply, and it is for it to decide whether certain words shall be used or not. I would point out that the Wallasey education authority's selection arrangements for schools includes tests in English and arithmetic and that this is an extra test.

:Is the right hon. Lady aware that in the application of an intelligence test of this sort, intending to find a common element among a number of articles, the articles themselves ought to be reasonably familiar before a child can be expected to identify them?

:I am not responsible in any way for these tests. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh!"] No, I am not responsible for them. It is entirely the responsibility of the local education authority. I am sure that if I said that such tests were not suitable, it would then be said that I, as the Minister, was interfering with the local education authorities.

asked the Minister of Education if she is aware that the Church of England Primary School, Alsager, Cheshire, is unable to accommodate the children requiring education in the area; that two classes have to travel to the old vicarage one mile away, and Crewe Road Methodist school room half a mile away; and in view of the fact that a school building completed and furnished has been standing empty for two years, what action she intends to take, and when.

:The answer to the first two parts of the Question is, "Yes, Sir." I have been in correspondence with my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Knutsford (Lieut.-Colonel Bromley-Davenport) about this case since November, 1952. As I have told him, the Cheshire education authority has now decided to act on my suggestion that the premises of the Excalibur Camp, to which the hon. Member refers, should be used to relieve the overcrowding at Alsager Church of England School.

:The people in the area will be very pleased about the statement which the Minister has made, but is the right hon. Lady aware that the Alsagar council has been drawing attention to the matter for some time and a councillor asked me to do something about it because he thought that, as the "mamma" of the hon. and gallant Member for Knutsford (Lieut.-Colonel Bromley-Davonport) is chairman of the Cheshire education authority, the hon. and gallant Gentleman was unable to deal with the situation adequately?

:I am glad that the hon. Lady will now be able to inform the people who asked her to take up the matter that it was being dealt with, and had been dealt with since 1952. It might have been better if she had addressed her Question to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Knutsford (Lieut-Colonel Bromley-Davenport).

:Is my right hon. Friend aware that the Alsager Parent-Teachers' Association and I are very grateful to her for all the help and assistance that she has given and is giving? Might I ask her two further questions? First, what would happen if every hon. Member asked Questions concerning the constituencies of other hon. Members? Secondly, when my right hon. Friend replies, will she tell the hon. Lady for Liverpool, Exchange (Mrs. Braddock) to mind her own business?

:Is the Minister aware, and, if so, will she please inform the hon. and gallant Member for Knutsford accordingly, that one of the members of the Alsager council is my brother-in-law, so that it is my business?

:I do not think it would be any help if I added anything to the very clear explanations which have been made in forthright language.

:Will my right hon. Friend, like I do, extend the fullest sympathy to the hon. Lady's brother-in law?

asked the Minister of Education whether she is prepared to treat as an exceptional case, within the terms of Circular 242, the provision of free omnibus transport for children living at New Brinsley, Nottinghamshire, who attend the Matthew Holland County Secondary School, Selston, and who, in the absence of such transport, will have to walk or cycle a distance of nearly three miles each way.

:No special circumstances of the kind indicated in paragraph 5 of Circular 242 have been brought to my attention by the local education authority to justify exceptional treatment in this case.

:Does the right hon. Lady thing it right that children of 11 and 12 should have to walk nearly six miles each day along a lonely country lane to get to school? Is she aware that no suitable public transport is available except one bus, which is a quarter of an hour's walk away and is generally full of workpeople? Will she undertake to give the matter sympathetic consideration if representations are made to her?

:If the local education authority puts the matter to me as a special case, I will certainly do so.

asked the Minister of Education whether her Department was represented at the conference on industry and National Service at Leamington on 17th March, 1954; and whether she will make a statement concerning the evidence she submitted.

:Yes, my Department was represented, but no evidence was submitted.

:Has the Minister had a report of what was said at this conference? Is she aware that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence said that recruits were not ineducable but uneducated, and, if so, would she accept that as the standard of the schools?

:If the hon. Gentleman wants to question what my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence said, I think it would be better to put a Question to him. The aim of our education is to see that boys and girls are properly educated. In the present, as in the past, we have not always succeeded.

asked the Minister of Education what survey she has made since October last of the percentage of children now taking school meals; and what is the latest figure available.

:None, Sir. I am asking local education authorities to furnish me with returns showing the number of children taking meals on a day in June. I expect to receive these returns in July. The percentage of children in attendance in maintained and assisted schools having school meals on a day in October, 1953, was 45·1 per cent.

:I recognise that the Minister can do very little to offset the general effect of Government policy in this matter, but will she do what she can by administrative action to see that whatever free services can be obtained are widely known and universally understood, as far as that is possible?

:I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the conditions under which the children get free meals or meals at a lower cost than the actual cost are widely known.

asked the Minister of Education if her attention has been drawn to the need for further provision for the education of epileptic children, as shown by the continued failure of the Director of Education for Coventry to find a place for an epileptic child, for which he had been searching since September, 1952.

:I hope that additional provision now being made for epileptic children will be sufficient to meet all needs. The case mentioned by the hon. Member presents special difficulties, and I am in correspondence with the local education authority about it.

:Can the right hon. Lady say how many children are now waiting for places in educational establishments for epileptic children?

:No, not without notice.

asked the Minister of Education the number of teachers in grammar schools, showing men and women separately in each year since 1945.

:As the answer contains a table of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

:Can the right hon. Lady say whether the trend shows that there are fewer women entering the profession than before, and whether she is satisfied that enough women are being attracted into the teaching profession today?

:If the hon. Gentleman will look at the information which I am sending him, he will see that there are more teachers, both men and women, and that there is a bigger increase in men teachers, whom we shall need when we come to the secondary schools.

Following are the figures:

asked the Minister of Education how many graduate teachers are in full-time service in primary schools, secondary modern schools, secondary technical schools, and secondary grammar schools, respectively.

:The number of graduate teachers in full-time service on 31st March, 1953, in the maintained and assisted schools in question was as follows:

asked the Minister of Education how many supplementary and other unqualified teachers, respectively, were employed in primary and secondary schools on the latest dates for which figures are available.

:On 31st March, 1953—the latest date for which figures are available—1,540 supplementary teachers and 3,195 other unqualified teachers were in regular full-time employment in maintained and assisted primary and secondary schools.

:Can the right hon. Lady say whether the number is increasing or decreasing?

:Unqualified teachers are decreasing.

asked the Minister of Education in view of the fact that the pupil-teacher ratio in maintained and assisted schools has risen since 1951, what special steps she contemplates to improve the supply of teachers.

:There are now more recruits being admitted to training for teaching than in 1951. As a result, if wastage does not greatly exceed the present level, the pupil-teacher ratio for primary and secondary schools together should start to improve from this year onwards. To secure the greatest possible improvement over the next few years, every effort is again being made to fill the training colleges this autumn, and to diminish wastage by encouraging teachers, particularly married women, to remain in, or to return to, teaching service.

:As there is a greater shortage of women teachers than men, would the right hon. Lady indicate that if the Burnham Committee came forward with proposals for implementing equal pay such proposals would be acceptable to her?

:I shall always consider sympathetically any proposals made by the Burnham Committee.

asked the Minister of Education what number of schools, giving figures for primary and secondary schools, respectively, will begin building in the year 1954.

:As the school building programme is related to the financial year, I cannot forecast the number of schools which will be started in the calendar year. The programme of work to be started during the 12 months ending on 31st March, 1954, however, includes 271 primary and 200 secondary schools, and the programme for the ensuing 12 months, 181 primary and 211 secondary schools.

:Can the Minister confirm that there will be over 200,000 additional children coming up into the secondary schools beginning September, 1955, when the post-war bulge will reach the secondary stage, and can she sincerely assure parents that she will be able to find places for them at that time by building schools in the next 12 or 18 months?

:The hon. Gentleman should realise that it will not be in 1955 when the real pressure will come. It will be after 1957. The pressure has reached the primary schools now, and it will be going on until 1957, affecting first the infant and then the junior schools. The real pressure will be after that time. We are, therefore, building a larger proportion of secondary schools now in order to be ready for that 200,000.

:Although this 1954–55 programme is bigger than any which the right hon. Lady has previously permitted, is she not aware that there is not a local education authority in the country which could not do with more schools and which is not desperately anxious about the future of secondary education?

:I know, but the amount of school building now is much increased. Our building programme for primary and secondary schools for last year and this year is up to£45 million.

asked the Minister of Education why the amount of educational building under construction at the latest available date was nearly£2,500,000 less than in the previous year and£9,500,000 less than in 1951.

:Because the value of contracts completed in 1953 was almost£8 million greater than in 1952, and nearly£21 million greater than in 1951.

:Does not the right hon. Lady realise we are tired of figures like this, which merely indicate that we are not devoting sufficient of our resources to capital development in education?

:I do not think that the figures can mean that. The hon. Gentleman has asked me about the number of schools under construction. We all want to get as many schools completed as possible. There are fewer under construction now, because we have completed£8 million worth more in 1953 than in 1952, and£21 million worth more than in 1951. The hon. Gentleman seems to want me to leave the schools uncompleted.

:In the interests of equality of opportunity, and to give the right hon. Lady a rest, might not the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education be allowed to answer just one Question?

asked the Minister of Education the acreage of playing fields laid down as necessary per 1,000 of the school population; how many school children there are in Bristol; the acreage of playing fields available to them; and what steps she is taking to provide more open spaces for the children in the city.

:There are about 60,000 children in the maintained and assisted schools in Bristol. I do not know the total amount of playing fields available to them, which include public open spaces. My own requirements for school playing fields are expressed in terms of the needs of schools of varying sizes. I am prepared to consider proposals for additional provision on their merits.

:Could the Minister tell me what acreage of playing field there should be for a city the size of Bristol?

:I do not know. I have to do only with school playing fields, but I imagine that the hon. Gentleman is speaking about playing fields as a whole. If he would like the figures for school playing fields, and will put a Question down on the Order Paper, I shall be glad to answer it.

asked the Minister of Education what advice she has given to local education authorities concerning the appointment of governors and managers of schools; and with what result.

:I have given no advice to local education authorities on this subject.

:Is the right hon. Lady satisfied that local education authorities are making full use of the services of people in their area who are qualified to do this work and that they are giving the schools the opportunity to develop sufficient independence and individuality?

:That is the responsibility of the local education authority. The Minister is responsible for the instruments of management and government for voluntary schools, 60 per cent, of which are now complete. I certainly would be looked upon as interfering if I suggested to local education authorities whom they were to appoint as managers and governors of county schools.

:Is not this a matter upon which the right hon. Lady might usefully inform herself of the way in which local education authorities are now making use of their powers?

:The power of a local education authority is to appoint managers and governors for county schools, while the Minister makes the instruments for appointing managers or governors for voluntary schools, and in 60 per cent, of the voluntary schools these instruments are now complete.

asked the Minister of Education how many children of statutory school age in England and Wales are not attending either a local education authority maintained school, a direct-grant school or an independent school recognised as efficient.

:About 250,000.

:Are most of these children being educated in small, unrecognised private schools, or is there a substantial number not attending any school at all?

:I cannot give exact figures, but we think that about 90 per cent, of these children will be attending independent schools that are not in the list of those recognised as efficient. The remaining 10 per cent, includes children being educated at home or ineducable.

asked the Minister of Education if she will make a statement regarding the principles which govern the payments of travelling expenses in respect of secondary modern and grammar school pupils between school and home.

:As I indicated in Circular 242, I do not consider that, save where some special justification exists, local education authorities should, in present circumstances, provide transport for secondary school pupils over shorter distances than "walking distance" as defined in Section 39 (5) of the Education Act, 1944, for children over the age of eight.

:While I appreciate the fine distinction which the Minister has clothed in such vague language, may I ask whether she realises that, in some country areas, the test which is applied to the payment of these expenses for the regulated distance which she has laid down is purely a question of which is the cheapest service? What is the use of deciding it in this narrow way if the bus services are not there, and hardship is inflicted on school children by having to wait long periods, or on parents by making them pay the fares for an alternative method of transport? Will the Minister look into the matter?

:The distance is laid down in Section 39 (5) of the Act. Where there are special difficulties, the local authority can make special arrangements.

asked the Minister of Education the additional cost to her Estimates, of employing a minimum of one inspector in each local education authority area to classify the independent schools in its area as efficient and inefficient teaching institutions.

:Including the necessary additional typing and secretarial staff, about£200,000.

:Can the Minister tell us what action she has taken to get inspectors, how many have been appointed, and whether they have actually inspected their areas and have found independent schools which are efficient; and how many of those schools have actually been closed?

:If we were starting out on this scheme we should never seek to have one inspector for each locality. We would do very much better with our organisation than that. I presume that the hon. Gentleman wants to know whether the majority of independent schools have been inspected. My answer to that is "Yes." If he wants to know how many have been closed since inspection, I do not know. I could not give him exact figures because a school may have been closed since we inspected it, but not for the reasons that the report on it was bad.

asked the Minister of Education how many grammar schools are under construction at the present time; and how many are included in next year's building programme.

:On 31st January last there were 40 grammar schools under construction in England and Wales, together with 11 bilateral schools having grammar streams. When completed these projects will provide 23,620 grammar places. The programme of work to be started up to the end of March, 1955, includes 49 grammar schools and seven bilateral schools with grammar streams, which together will provide 27,030 grammar places. These figures exclude accommodation for academic courses in multilateral and comprehensive schools.

:Although I believe that the comprehensive school is the only solution to the grammar school question, can the right hon. Lady assure us that when girls move into secondary schools the same overcrowding will not take place in the modern schools, and that the percentage of children going to grammar schools will not decrease?

:We certainly hope that that will be the case.

asked the Minister of Education what answer she gave to the letter she received expressing the discontent among Goole grammar school teachers at their salary scales.

:I informed the teachers concerned that I had noted their views.

:Does not the Minister think that was an act of gross discourtesy to a hard-working body of teachers? Will she not send a detailed reply to their letter, which contained a number of specific questions? If she is incapable of doing so, will she allow the Parliamentary Secretary to do so?

:I do not think it was in any way discourteous to tell the signatories of this letter that I had noted their views. There were no definite questions put in that letter, as far as I can remember, but if there had been I should have answered them, as I have answered others, by saying that I will make a full statement in the House on the Second Reading of the Teachers (Superannuation) Bill?

rose —

:Order. Mr. Johnson.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will make a statement regarding pass laws in the Rhodesias and Nyasaland; and what freedom of movement exists between the three territories for Africans.

:Pass laws in Southern Rhodesia are a matter for the Government of that territory. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies tells me that there are no pass laws in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, though, under the regulations of certain townships in both territories, Africans require passes in some areas at night, and in some Northern Rhodesian townships unemployed Africans need a visitor's pass.

As regards the movement of Africans between the three territories comprising the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, I understand that the position remains unaltered at present, with territorial laws continuing in operation.

:Until these pass laws are finally abolished does not the Minister think that it is a mockery to talk about co-partnership in the Central African Federation? Will he use his good offices with Sir Godfrey Huggins and others to bring about an amelioration of these conditions?

:These pass laws have been found necessary in certain cases, the details of which are a matter for the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

:Why are they necessary in Southern Rhodesia and not in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland?

:That is a matter for the Southern Rhodesia Government, who are independent in these matters.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what further developments have taken place in respect of the government and administration of Bechuanaland, particularly in respect of the Bamangwato.

:The most recent development is that Her Majesty's Government have agreed to the grant of additional financial assistance to the Bechuanaland Protectorate to enable a general improvement in the standard of services. This will be in addition to the assistance already provided from CD. and W. Funds. The Bamangwato Reserve will benefit together with the rest of the Protectorate.

:Has any development taken place regarding the administration of this area, and particularly of the Bamangwato tribe?

:That supplementary question will be partly answered on the next Question, if it is asked.

:Why was the announcement about financial aid made in Johannesburg and not in this House?

:I cannot say why. That matter does not arise on this Question.

:The hon. and learned Gentleman should be able to say why. Is he aware that hon. Members had to learn of this Government aid by reading a report from "The Times" correspondent in Johannesburg, and not by information given in this House?

:That is another question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what progress has been made with the establishment of local councils in Bechuanaland.

:With the development of more representative instruments of local government in mind, the Bechuanaland Administration arranged last year for a party of Bechuana chiefs to tour Uganda and Tanganyika and study the pattern there. The chiefs' views are now being examined by the Administration.

:What proposals can the Administration put before the chiefs? They went on a tour for general information. Surely the Administration have some proposals to make in this matter.

:The first thing the Administration are doing is to consider the views of the chiefs, who were impressed by what they saw in local government, but who insisted on the value of the function of the chiefs. Their views are being studied.

:Have any further developments taken place recently in regard to the administration of the Bamangwato tribe?

:The first consideration there is consolidation of the Native Authority, and that is progressing.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what restrictions he imposes on the import of machinery designed to ensure a 64 and/or 66 gauge in the manufacture of nylon stockings.

:The only restriction is that total imports from dollar sources are limited to what we can afford in the light of the needs of the United Kingdom hosiery industry and the state of our dollar balance of payments.

:Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a great deal of dissatisfaction in the country about stockings laddering so easily, and that if we can get more of this machinery we shall also get more satisfactory stockings?

:I share the hon. Lady's wish that we could import more. Fortunately, it is on open general licence from Europe and is becoming increasingly available from home production.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is satisfied that manufacturers of British nylon stockings are receiving sufficient supplies of nylon yarn; how many implement their supply by importing; and from what countries they import.

:Demand for nylon yarn from the stocking and other industries is still not fully met, though liveries have increased slightly in recent months and should be greatly improved later in the year when new plant is due to come into operation.

During the 12 months ended 31st January, 1954, imported yarn amounting to about 8 per cent, of total supplies was taken by about 100 manufacturers out of a total of 187 who made returns to the Board of Trade. These imports came mainly from Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Holland.

:Is the Minister aware that most of the complaints regarding the laddering of nylon stockings fasten suspicion on imported yarn, and will he quickly see to it that British supplies are sufficient for manufacturers?

:The British supplies, I am glad to say, are now increasing.

:Will my right hon. Friend use his influence, so far as he can, to see that the limited supplies of nylon yarn go to the export sections rather than to those producing merely for the home market?

:I do not exercise a detailed control over the allocation of nylon yarn.

:Is my right hon. Friend aware that statements about new machinery coming into operation have been made over the past five years, and that it seems to be rather a myth?

:I think I have already answered that fairly fully on the previous Question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that worthless products claimed, respectively, to be a cosmetic lotion, a slimming aid, an eyelash grower and a bust improver, have been exposed for sale in Birmingham shops, and that their true contents have been described in a report of the Birmingham city analyst; and whether he will institute proceedings against the manufacturers under the Merchandise Marks Act of 1953.

:If I can obtain satisfactory evidence of the offer of these goods for sale, I shall certainly consider instituting proceedings.

:But is the Minister not aware that in the case of the slimming aid, for example, women were advised to bath in it, but that when the analyst found that it was composed of one-third Epsom salts, one-third Glauber salts and one-third common salt he thought they had better drink it? Does not that sort of thing constitute a real breach of the Merchandise Marks Act, and could not he summon up his courage and prosecute some of the people who are perpetrating this kind of fraud?

:On a point of order. Can the House be told what exactly is a bust improver which is exposed for sale in Birmingham?

:That is not a point of order, and not a question which I can answer.

:May I have an answer to my supplementary?

:If I can find anybody who has either bathed in it or drunk it, I will certainly consider instituting proceedings.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the use made of the facilities of the port of Barry and other South Wales ports and the skill of those employed in these ports in time of war and emergency; and if he will announce his plans to encourage our external trade so that industry may make fuller use of these ports now.

:While it is the policy of the Government to promote the expansion of our export trade by all possible means, I cannot undertake to-direct our trade to particular ports.

:Does my right hon. Friend appreciate that these ports may be regarded as strategic assets, and will he confer with the First Lord of the Admiralty on this issue?

:Will my right hon. Friend also bear in mind the full importance of the North-East and the fact that the importance of a single area does not necessarily bear any relation to the number of Questions asked about it?

:I do not propose to take responsibility for directing traffic to them.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many claims have been made for grants under Section 3 (1) of the Distribution of Industry Act, 1950, and, of this number, how many have been refused; how many have been agreed; and how many are outstanding.

:I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 19th November, 1953. The position is unchanged.

:My right hon. Friend has not given the information for which I am asking, which is:

"how many have been refused; how many have been agreed; and how many are outstanding."

:If my hon. Friend looks at the previous answer, he will see that this point is fully dealt with. However, if he has any doubts on the matter and has a further talk with me, I will give him the information he desires.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that considerable expenditure and loss, of which full details have been given to his Department, have been incurred by Super Oil Seals and Gaskets, Limited, as a result of the company's move to South Wales, consequent upon Government action; and, in view of this fact, why he does not consider such expenditure and loss to constitute exceptional circum stances for payments, as envisaged by Section 3 (1) of the Distribution of Industry Act, 1950.

:I have nothing to add to my answer to my hon. Friend's Question on this subject on 4th February last.

:Does my right hon. Friend realise that the firm in question feel that this matter has not been dealt with satisfactorily and that it has a real grievance? If I come to him with information, will he look into the matter further so that it may be satisfied that there is no grievance.

:I will certainly undertake to consider any representations which my hon. Friend cares to make to me, but this case has been very fully and thoroughly discussed already, and I can see no reason to alter my decision in the matter.

:Can the right hon. Gentleman say when we may expect the report on the whole of the Distribution of Industry Act?

:That is a rather wider question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has now decided to appoint an inspector under Section 165 ( b ) of the Companies Act, 1948, to inquire into the affairs of the Savoy Hotel Company and the Worcester Buildings Company.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish the observations he has received from the directors of the Savoy Hotel Limited with regard to the proposed transfer of the Berkeley Hotel to the Worcester Buildings Company (London) Limited.