asked the Secretary of State for War how many of the 213 guns which were stored in the open air at Bicester on 11th September, 1954, have now been disposed of; and what future is intended for the remainder.

Twenty-two are being disposed of and should leave Bicester next month. The other 191 are awaiting repair, after which they will be stored under cover.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will cause to be removed the temporary defence works erected in the garden of No. 42, The Mounts, Shrewsbury, which was requisitioned in 1940.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply to a Question on this subject on 30th January, 1953, by the Minister of Works at that time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to allow war-disabled pensioners to draw their post-war credits at an earlier age than 65 years.

I will consider this and other suggestions for payment of post-war credit at the appropriate time, but I cannot give any undertaking.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will name the areas where his Department assume that any premium on vacant possession of property has disappeared.

I am advised that at the present time the premium on vacant possession has virtually disappeared for all classes of houses over a considerable part of north-east, south-east and south-west England and North and South Wales. In most of England and Wales the value of the concession has disappeared for certain classes of houses and not for others.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to state the decline in the gold and dollar reserves that occurred between October, 1951, and June, 1952; and to what extent such a decline was due to commitments incurred before October, 1951.

The gold and dollar reserves fell by $1,268 million between 31st October, 1951, and 30th June, 1952. $176 million was drawn in this period to meet service of Government loans previously received. It is impossible to estimate how much of the fall was due to other commitments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total by which the gold and dollar reserves of this country were reduced in the period 1945 to 1951 as a result of debts incurred in the late war.

Payments from the reserves on Government debt amounted to $9 million.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware of the volume of objections made by crematoria authorities to the proposals of the Board of Inland Revenue to raise assessments in the rating year 1952–53 and that the Board failed to proceed with a test case which they and the crematoria authorities had agreed should determine the objections, and if, in view of this, he will arrange to withdraw the proposals issued in the year 1952–53.

Yes. The question of law involved is still to be tested in the courts, whose decision will enable the proposals made in 1952–53 to be settled. In these circumstances, I see no ground for withdrawing the proposals.

asked the Minister of Works how many late claims for war damage have been met in the years 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954, respectively; and what were the total amounts involved in each year.

I have been asked to reply.The War Damage Commission have accepted notifications of damage year by year, as follows:

All years up to and including
1949	3,563,190
1950	3,528
1951	2,051
1952	895
1953	470
1954 (January to October)	177

Claims arising out of these notifications would not necessarily fall into the same years, as they would not become payable until the repairs had been carried out. The total amounts paid by the Commission have been:

All years up to and including
	£
1949	856 million
1950	92 million
1951	72 million
1952	57 million
1953	38 million
1954 (January to October)	27 million

It is not possible to analyse these payments according to the dates of the notifications of damage. But nearly all the claims paid in recent years arose out of damage notified to the Commission several years before.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sum is now being paid to Lord Chancellors now in retirement.

Pensions totalling £8,750 a year are being paid to two former Lord Chancellors.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the estimated cost of the proposals for further security measures in the Civil Service.

The proposals will involve some small increase in the staff of investigators. The size of the increase has not been precisely determined and I cannot give any precise figure of cost, but it will be small.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why an official of his department called, without prior notice, on the widow who farms Isauld, Dounreay, Caithness, and said that the Atomic Energy Commission wanted to buy her farm; that he had compulsory powers; that he knew the amount her late husband paid for the farm; that it would not realise much if radio-activity occurred; that the Government did not want another s.s. "Princess Victoria" disaster; that similar statements were made to another farmer and to several landholders; and if he will tender an apology to the people who were subjected to such treatment.

The purpose of the visits to which I assume my hon. Friend refers was not to bring pressure on the owner but to give an explanation of the position. The Atomic Energy Authority has received no complaint from any of the owners, but if there was any inconvenience to them the Authority greatly regret that their informal approach should have had this result.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which representatives of foreign Powers may procure, for official purposes, the assistance of British public servants, other than police, by virtue of arrangements not made under formal international agreements or under statutory authority.

If the hon. Member will let me know more precisely what he has in mind, I will endeavour to see whether I can supply the information.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many prefabricated houses were built in England and Wales under the post-war programme; how many have since been demolished; and within what period he estimates the remainder will be replaced by permanent brick dwellings.

About 125,000 prefabricated temporary houses were built in England and Wales under the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act, 1944. I cannot say how long they will be retained. Up till now some 700 have been demolished or destroyed.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will take steps to give local authorities the power to take over privately-owned dwellinghouses which have been vacant for 12 months or more.

Local authorities have adequate powers to buy houses, either by agreement or compulsorily, if they are needed to meet the housing requirements of the district.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) the measurement of brickwork, in cubic yards, used in the building of a present-day traditional three-bedroom type of house;(2) what is the saving of brickwork, measured in cubic yards, as between a present-day three-bedroom type house and a similar type built in 1948.

The quantity of bricks needed varies very widely, according to the extent to which substitutes are used. It is, therefore, difficult to make any reliable comparisons.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the estimated saving in both workmen's time and money value of the curtailment of built-in cupboards and wardrobes in present-day houses compared with houses built in 1948.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has yet been able to give approval to the Ringwood Road, Fernside Road, Brailswood Road surface water drainage scheme in the Borough of Poole which his Department have been examining for some time.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what mileage of roads, excluding new housing estates, in the borough of Poole, have been made up in the years 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954, respectively.

Particulars of the mileage of these roads are not readily available. I could, however, provide my hon. Friend with figures of authorised expenditure, if that would serve his purpose.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when it is his intention to approve the Warwickshire County Council Development Plan for Binley Woods, near Coventry.

The plan submitted by the Warwickshire County Council contains no proposals relating to Binley Woods.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is now able to announce his decisions with regard to the London Development Plan.

No.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether any conclusion has yet been reached in his negotiations with the Southend Waterworks Company arising out of representations made to his Department last May by the hon. Member for Billericay.

No, but some progress has been made. I am writing to my hon. Friend about it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will make a statement on the reorganisation of local government.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when the Final Report of the Beaver Committee on Smoke Abatement will be published.

I have not yet received it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will give details of the Government Departments in which he carried out his inquiries for a Welsh civil servant to fill the vacancy of permanent undersecretary of his Welsh office at Cardiff.

With the aid of the Treasury, a survey was made of all Welsh-born civil servants in all Government Departments, but no one with the necessary qualifications could be found.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he is taking, or proposes to take, to settle the ship-repairers' strike, which has affected the London docks for many weeks.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the hon. Member for Gravesend (Sir R. Acland) on Thursday last. I understand that exchanges between the parties are continuing. In the circumstances, my right hon. and learned Friend does not think any action on his part is called for.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has yet decided which hostels of the National Service Hostels Corporation he intends to close during the next few months; and, in particular, if he will make a statement upon the future of the Overslade Hostel at Rugby.

The final selection of hostels for closure has not yet been completed. Where it is intended to close a hostel this will be made known locally and the residents informed.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will try to secure that the information contained in the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories will be published much earlier than 11 months after the ending of the year under review, as will be the case for the year 1953.

I hope we may maintain the improvement which this year's projected date of publication indicates.

asked the Minister of Labour if he has now considered the circumstances in which 23028324 Sapper D. W. G. Smith, 117, Clerks Party, C Squadron, 1st Training Regiment, Royal Engineers, Merebrook Camp, Great Malvern, Worcester, was called up; and if he will make a statement.

I have already written to the hon. Member explaining the circumstances in which this man was called up. During the period of compassionate leave granted to this soldier because of his mother's illness, he worked at the coalface at the colliery where he had been employed above ground at the time of his call-up. After his mother's death he reported for duty on 2nd September and has been serving since that date.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if an appointment has yet been made for the vacant position of manager to the new fish meal factory established at Peel, Isle of Man; and what steps were taken to advertise this vacancy.

The Herring Industry Board tell me that since this factory will only operate during the local summer herring fishing season of about 10 weeks, the duties of manager can be carried out by one of the Board's existing staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that the Scottish Universities Entrance Board has omitted geography and history from the list of subjects qualifying for entry to the universities; and what action he intends taking in the matter.

The new regulations of the Scottish Universities Entrance Board provide that a pass in history or geography on the higher grade in the Scottish Leaving Certificate may no longer be included as part of the minimum entrance qualification of three passes on the higher grade and two on the lower grade. I have informed the board that, in my view, there are grounds for believing that the change, through its effect on the planning of pupils' courses, may discourage the study of history and geography on the higher grade. The decision as to the conditions on which any subject should be accepted for university entrance is, however, a matter for the universities themselves.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what advance notice was given to schools by the Scottish Universities Entrance Board that history and geography were no longer to be qualifying subjects; how many students were rejected because of this change of rule; and if he is aware of the resentment the decision has caused among Scottish school teachers.

The new regulations appeared in the "Announcements" of the Scottish Universities Entrance Board issued on 1st February, 1953, and the normal two years' notice of intended changes was therefore given. No students have yet been rejected as the new regulations do not begin to operate until 1st February, 1955. I am aware that the view is held among teachers of history and geography that the new regulations may have the effect of lowering the status of these subjects in the schools, but the decision as to the requirements for entry is a matter for the universities themselves.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has yet received a communication from the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society regarding the new conditions for licensing bulls announced by his Department; and whether he will make a statement.

Yes, the society have asked me to receive a deputation on this subject. The revised definition of the standard to be adopted in regard to over-shot jaws, which has now been brought into operation, involves an appreciable relaxation of the standard which has been in use since June, 1953. I decided to make this revision after the fullest consideration of the views of the Licensing of Bulls Advisory Committee and I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by discussing the matter further until we have had experience of the working of the new definition.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will arrange for the purchase of one of the potato-lifting machines now on exhibition in Moscow in order to enable trials to be carried out to assess its suitability for lifting potatoes.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to arrange for the purchase out of public funds of one of the mechanical potato-lifters recently on exhibition in Moscow, in order to test its efficiency for use in Scotland, to avoid further employment of school children in lifting potatoes.

I am aware of the machine referred to, but my information is that it does not represent an advance on machines developed in this country. Purchase of this machine would not, therefore, be of advantage.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland by what authority education authorities offer girls of school-leaving age bursaries for courses in domestic service at Bridge of Allan without prior application by the girls or any evidence that they desire to become domestic servants.

Section 43 of the Education (Scotland) Act, 1946, empowers education authorities to grant bursaries to persons over school age to enable them to take advantage, without financial hardship to themselves or their parents, of any education facilities available to them. I consider that it is only right that education authorities should draw the attention of pupils leaving school to any further educational facilities from which they might be capable of benefiting and to this provision for financial assistance.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the intake of students for the last three terms in the dental schools of Glasgow and Dundee.

Following are the figures:

Session Commencing			Glasgow	Dundee
October, 1952	…	…	29	19
October, 1953	…	…	31	15
October, 1954	…	…	28	15

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what grant has been made for the assistance of those who have suffered in the recent floods in South-West Scotland.

None. While I sympathise with the people who have suffered from these floods, I have no evidence to suggest that special Government help is called for. I am writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Works if he will make a statement on the progress of talks between the Atomic Energy Authority and the Staff Side in regard to the transfer from the Civil Service, and conditions and future employment of workers in atomic energy establishments.

I am informed that the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is making progress, through the normal machinery of negotiation, with the Staff on the many aspects of this complicated subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to a resolution passed by the General Council of the United Nations Organisation asking for £3 million for the United Nations Technical Assistance Fund from Great Britain; and, in view of the poverty of many under-developed countries, what contribution has been made by Her Majesty's Government to this fund, and what further amounts have now been promised.

I presume the hon. Member has in mind a resolution by the United Nations Association, at its meeting at Harrogate in July. United Kingdom contributions to the Expanded Technical Assistance Programme have been as follows:

			£
1950–51	…	…	760,000
1952	…	…	450,000
1953	…	…	500,000
1954	…	…	650,000

As to the contribution proposed for 1955, I have nothing to add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State to the hon. Members for Dundee, East (Mr. G. M. Thomson), Accrington (Mr. H. Hynd) and The Hartlepools (Mr. D. Jones) on 1st November.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action he has recently taken to secure further consideration by the Additional Measures Committee of the United Nations of the need of again modifying the existing embargo on exports to China.

I have nothing to add to my right hon. Friend's reply to the right hon. Members for Huyton (Mr. H. Wilson) and Battersea, North (Mr. Jay) on 25th October.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what consultations he has had with the National Finance Corporation about the maintenance of film production in the light of the Corporation's decision to appoint a receiver for the British Lion Film Corporation.

As I told the House on 1st June, 1954, the National Film Finance Corporation has recommended, and the Government have agreed, that a new company should be set up, to come under the complete control of the National Film Finance Corporation or of the Receiver in order to continue the film distribution functions of the British Lion Film Corporation. I understand that the Corporation is formulating detailed

HOME-GROWN GRAIN
EXPORT LICENCES ISSUED DURING THE PERIOD 29TH JULY, 1954 TO 2ND NOVEMBER, 1954
Destination	Wheat		Barley		Oats		Rye		Total
	No.	Quantity	No.	Quantity	No.	Quantity	No.	Quantity	No.	Quantity
		Tons		Tons		Tons		Tons		Tons
Austria	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1,000	1	1,000
Belgium	—	—	22	13,480	2	1,000	8	3,440	32	17,920
British Guiana	—	—	—	—	2	70	—	—	2	70
British West Indies	—	—	—	—	14	351	—	—	14	351
Denmark	—	—	25	16,310	1	1,000	3	4,500	29	21,810
Eire	—	—	1	50	—	—	—	—	1	50
Germany	—	—	6	11,170	4	1,850	1	5,000	11	18,020
Holland	—	—	9	8,570	26	7,545	1	275	36	16,390
Iceland	2	35	2	20	2	15	—	—	6	70
Norway	—	—	2	900	—	—	—	—	2	900
Switzerland	—	—	1	2,000	—	—	—	—	1	2,000
Venezuela	—	—	—	—	1	10	—	—	1	10
General Licences	—	—	35	31,125	17	9,300	3	965	55	41,390
TOTAL	2	35	103	83,625	69	21,141	17	15,180	191	119,981

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will remove the privet shrubs from Carlton House Terrace Square Gardens, lay out the area in a suitable manner, and open the gardens to the public.

The Carlton House Terrace Gardens are managed by the Crown Estate Paving Commissioners who are the statutory authority responsible for their maintenance and upkeep. By statute, the gardens are maintained for the use and enjoyment of the residents in the adjoining Crown Property.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many export licences, with particulars of quantities and destinations, have been issued for the export of home-grown wheat, barley, oats and rye since 29th July.

The following is the answer:

asked the Minister of Food if he will ensure that in the arrangements for the future management of the 47 Government cold stores, provision will be made for producers' organisations to use them to hold seasonal surpluses of pork, beef, eggs and other produce that may arise.

The use of the Government cold stores is under consideration and the needs of the producers' organisations will certainly be borne in mind, subject to the undertakings given to the industry.