asked the Minister of Fuel and Power to make a statement on the coal situation and the prospects for the next few months.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power to state the amount of coal stocks held at 31st December, 1954, or at the latest convenient date; and how this figure compares with the amount held 12 months ago.

In the first four weeks of this year output has again been below expectations, but imports were 607,000 tons compared with 72,000 in 1954. Stocks were 14·3 million on 29th January compared with 17·5 million a year ago, but my right hon. Friend expects imports between now and the end of April to show an increase of more than two million tons compared with last year. Consumption in the first three weeks this year was 14·4 million tons, which was an increase of 527,000 tons over last year. While there is no immediate danger, my right hon. Friend cannot stress too greatly the urgent need for the largest possible recovery of output.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will set up, in each fuel overseer's area, an emergency coal pool which can be drawn on, above the ration allocation, in cases of emergency, such as sickness or disaster through bad weather.

No, because under present arrangements local fuel overseers have powers which, in effect, enable them to draw upon any resources in their area to meet such emergencies.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware that the oil industry in this country bases its prices on an index of Gulf prices; and whether, since the bulk of the oil is obtained elsewhere, he will institute price control on petrol and oil so as to protect the motorist and public transport services against excessive prices.

Oil is largely an international trade and it is unavoidable that United Kingdom prices should be influenced by the Western Hemisphere market; with regard to the second part of the Question, competition provides the protection against excessive prices.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when the Committee of Inquiry into the Working of the Electricity Supply Industry under the Chairmanship of Sir Edwin Herbert is expected to report.

I understand that the Committee is making satisfactory progress but it is too early to say when it will report.

asked the Minister of Food whether he has now considered representations from the Fish Friers Association of North Staffordshire and other parts of Britain; whether he is aware that landings of cod fish decreased in the first six months of 1954 by 400,000 cwt. as compared with 1953, and the price increased by 1s. 9d. per stone; and whether, in view of the fact that the increase in price is due, in part at least, to restrictive practices by the trawling interests, he will now reimpose price control on the sale of fish.

asked the Minister of Food what action, by price control or otherwise, he proposes to take on the representations that have been made to him by the National Association of Fish Friers, about the causes of the high price of fish, particularly cod, throughout the summer months; and whether he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply given by my hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. McKay) on 31st January and to the reply I gave to the hon. Members for Gateshead, West (Mr. J. T. Hall) and Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) on 3rd February.

asked the Minister of Food what representations he has had from the Housewives' League and the London Housewives' Association concerning the increased and increasing price of tea and requesting the reimposition of price control; and what reply he has sent.

No such representations have reached me.

asked the Minister of Food if he will consult with the Prime Minister of New Zealand regarding the means being taken by the New Zealand Government to prevent a rise in the price of tea without at the same time controlling supplies, with a view to initiating similar action in the United Kingdom.

I am aware of the action taken in New Zealand. In the circumstances in this country price control without control of supplies and of consumption would be largely ineffective.

asked the Minister of Food what action he proposes to take to implement the recommendations of the Food Standards Sub-Committee concerning the undesirability of allowing coal-tar colouring substances to be used in food for human consumption.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Tradeston (Mr. Rankin) on 31st January.

asked the Minister of Food what profit or loss his Department has made during the present financial year on the sale of butter.

It would be contrary to sound commercial practice to disclose details of my Department's current trading position.

asked the Minister of Health in which maternity hospitals in Worcestershire and Birmingham, mothers living in Redditch were confined during 1953 and 1954, respectively; and how many were confined in each hospital.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to restrict the conduct of clinical experiments in hospitals under Section 16 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, to cases where the patients involved have volunteered for the purpose.

I entirely agree that the consent of the patient or of the parents of children should be obtained before clinical research is undertaken; and I have no reason to suppose that this is not the usual practice.

asked the Minister of Health if he will prohibit the conduct of clinical experiments on infants in hospitals under the regional hospital boards.

Clinical investigations of infants under the authority of the clinician in charge of the case, and with the consent of the parents or guardians, are essential to an improved knowledge of infantile diseases, and I should not be justified in adopting the hon. Member's suggestion.

asked the Minister of Health what regulations are laid down by his Department governing the attendance of the midwife after a confinement; how many visits per day this involves; and what other arrangements are made.

There are no Departmental regulations on this subject, which is governed by the National Health Service Act, 1946, Section 23, the Midwives Act, 1951, and the rules of the Central Midwives Board. While none of these specifies the number of visits per day to be paid by midwives under the rules of the Central Midwives Board, a record is required to be kept by the midwife which provides for a daily report for the first nine days after the birth and then after the 11th and 14th days. Moreover, the code of practice advises midwives to pay morning and evening visits for the first few days after delivery.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he is aware that a Grangetown, Cardiff, disabled person, whose name has been supplied to him, has been waiting several weeks for the repair of his car; that this man has to leave his home two hours earlier than usual in order to hobble to work on crutches; and whether he will make a statement;(2) the number of disabled persons in Cardiff who have been waiting for more than four weeks for the repair of their Ministry of Pensions cars; and whether he will make a statement;

I assume the hon. Member has in mind the repair of motor-propelled tricycles. Two disabled persons in Cardiff have been waiting more than four weeks, and in each case a major overhaul is involved. One firm undertakes the work and a certain number of complaints of delay have been received, particularly where difficulty has arisen in obtaining spare parts from the manufacturers. This was the cause of the delay in the individual case mentioned by the hon. Member, but I am informed that the parts needed were obtained on 29th January and the machine was returned to the patient on 1st February.

asked the Minister of Health what facilities exist for the provision of chiropody services to old-age pensioners.

Services are available at hospitals for hospital patients, at foot clinics provided by some local health authorities and a number of voluntary organisations, and at many homes for old people for the residents.

asked the Minister of Health if he will now give his approval to the plan to install radio-telephone equipment in the ambulances operated by the local health authority in Staffordshire.

Following discussions with the authority my right hon. Friend is now awaiting its further proposals.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that some doctors have no telephone in their home, and, in view of the need for this instrument when desired for urgent cases, if he will make it a condition of accepting a doctor for employment in the National Health Service that he should have a telephone and express his willingness to use it for National Health Service work.

My right hon. Friend is aware of the case which has, he thinks, given rise to the hon. Member's Question. The time within which the complainant in that case may give notice of appeal has not yet expired, and in view of the possibility that he may have to determine an appeal he does not think that he ought now to comment on the principle involved.

asked the Minister of Health the gross total expenditure on the health services during 1953–54; and how much of this was for hospital capital works.

The gross total expenditure charged to the National Health Service Vote for England and Wales in 1953–54 was £432,660,597; after allowing for appropriations-in-aid and receipts of other classes, the net charge to the Exchequer was £366,731,753. Included in the gross total was £7,952,284 in respect of advances to hospital boards on capital account, £1,337,974 for the acquisition of premises and land, £932,763 for purchase of X-ray and similar equipment, and £129,467 for capital works at the State institutions.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will make a further statement on the extension of the legal aid scheme to county court proceedings.

I have nothing to add at this stage to the answers I gave by hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, Central (Sir F. Medlicott) on 6th December last and my hon. and learned Friend, the Member for Bolton, East (Mr. Philip Bell), on 31st January.

asked the Attorney-General if he will consider amending the existing law in breach of promise to make it necessary for petitioners to prove material damage.

No. I recognise the force of the arguments in favour of the right hon. Member's suggestion, but there does not at present appear to be sufficient evidence of a general demand for a change in the law.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he is aware of the many cases of hardship caused in crowded areas where accommodation is scarce and dear by decisions of the National Assistance Board that too much is being paid in rent; and whether he will advise the Board that the fact of being on the local housing authority's waiting list should be sufficient evidence of willingness to seek cheaper accommodation.

No. I have consulted the Board, which tells me that while it is aware that high rents in some parts of London do give rise to difficult problems, it does not think that the hon. Member's suggestion would solve any of these problems in the kind of case which presents most difficulty.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when the results of the non-statutory review of the National Insurance Scheme will be available.

Good progress is being made but until I receive reports from the National Insurance Advisory Committee on a number of questions which have been referred to it I cannot say when I shall be in a position to make a statement on this matter.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what significant changes are revealed by the statistics, over the last 10 years, relating to victims of silicosis and pneumoconiosis of life expectancy on the part of those persons certified with the disease.

I am advised that it is much too early to draw any conclusions about mortality from the figures so far available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade under what regulations consumers of domestic fuel are safeguarded against the sale of bags of coal which are underweight; and what steps he intends to take to tighten up the application of such regulations.

Part II of the Weights and Measures Act, 1889, contains provisions designed to protect the consumer against the giving of short weight in the sale of coal. These provisions were applied to Scotland by the Weights and Measures, Sale of Coal (Scotland) Act, 1936, in so far as other provisions regulating the sale of coal were not in force already in any burgh or county.Apart from any powers they may have under their local Acts, local authorities have powers under the Weights and Measures Act, 1889, to make byelaws regulating the sale of coal in quantities not exceeding 2 cwt. Information available to the Board of Trade shows that many checks on deliveries of coal are being made by the inspectors of weights and measures of local authorities.

asked the President of the Board of Trade under what conditions, and in which cases, he is prepared to consider providing Government-financed new factories in the county borough of Birkenhead on land which is already available to him for that purpose.

As long as there continues to be a particular need for new industry in Birkenhead, I shall be prepared to consider on its merits any application by a firm which is prepared to come into the Development Area from elsewhere and would provide suitable employment commensurate with the capital cost of the factory.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number and value of greyhounds exported from Eire to England in 1954.

The trade returns of the Irish Republic do not distinguish exports to England separately, but record 3,947 greyhounds, valued at £429,298, as having been permanently exported to Great Britain from January to November, 1954. Figures for 1954 are not yet available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many reports have, so far, been received by him from the Monopolies Commission; and to make a statement giving details showing what action he has taken designed to reduce prices or improve quality resulting from the reports.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to publish a complete list of all subjects referred to the Monopolies Commission, showing the date submitted and, where appropriate, the date reported to him, together with the main recommendations in each case and the action taken on these recommendations.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 3rd February, 1955; Vol. 536, c. 1246], supplied the following information:

asked the hon. Member for Woolwich, West, as Chairman of the Kitchen Committee, whether he will arrange for Cyprus wine, including Commandaria, to be added to the list of wines available in the House of Commons.

The hon. Member's suggestion will be submitted to the Wine Sub-Committee at its next meeting.

asked the Minister of Works why he consented to the dumping of atomic waste into the sea south-west of Land's End; exactly where it was deposited and what is the depth of the ocean at that spot; how much further it would be necessary to go to reach substantially greater depths; and what precautions have been taken to ensure that the waste will be harmless when it is dispersed in the seas.

The containers holding atomic waste have been deposited more than 1,000 miles from Land's End in over 2,000 fathoms of water. The waste thus disposed of will be harmless.

asked the Minister of Works what area he expects to be affected by the dumping of radio-active waste into the sea; and whether a general warning is to be issued concerning the use of these waters.

No harmful effect will result from the recent disposal of radio-active waste in the sea. The question of issuing a general warning does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Minister of Supply how many of his officers were present at the trials of the new United States mine-laying flying-boat, powered by four jet engines, and capable of a speed of over 600 miles per hour.

My hon. and gallant Friend is presumably referring to the Sea Master, photographs of which appeared in the Press recently. The staff of the Ministry of Supply Mission in Washington are in touch with progress on this aircraft, but no flight trials have yet taken place.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General the latest times for posting letters in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Seahouses, Northumberland, respectively, for delivery in Radlett, Hertfordshire, by first post on the following weekday; and how these times compare with those of pre-war days.

The times today are 6.0 p.m. at Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 2.30 p.m. at Seahouses as compared with 6.45 p.m. and 3.50 p.m. respectively before the war.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General the practice of his Department when applicants for a renewal for a car licence refrain from answering the question whether the car is fitted with a wireless set.

Our standing instructions are that the form should be handed back to the applicant for completion and that a licence should not be issued until the question has been answered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what consultations he had with the First Lord of the Admiralty about the dumping of atomic waste into the sea south-west of Land's End; and whether he is satisfied that no harmful result can ensue, either to fishermen or the fisheries.

The Atomic Energy Authority discussed arrangements for the disposal of the waste with the Admiralty before seeking my authorisation, and I fully satisfied myself that no harmful result could ensue to fishermen or the fisheries.