asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the present strength of the Metropolitan police force; and what steps are being taken to stimulate recruitment.

:The strength of the Metropolitan police force on 20th February, 1955, was 15,641 men and 504 women. Every effort has been and is being made to encourage recruitment. The conditions of service of the Metropolitan police force cannot be considered in isolation, but must depend on conclusions reached by the Police Council for Great Britain, which at present has before it certain proposals relating to hours of duty and police pensions. So far as the Metropolitan police force itself is concerned, advertising is continuing on a substantial scale; lectures about the police service are given by police officers at schools and military depots and to young people's societies; and the building of new houses and flats for police officers is being pressed forward on a considerable scale.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that five persons have been appointed as members of the Advisory Committee on the Protection of Birds on the grounds that they are ornithologists, what qualifications a person must possess to satisfy his Department that he can be described as an ornithologist.

:The ornithologists on the Advisory Committee on the Protection of Birds for England and Wales were selected from persons nominated by the Nature Conservancy and the principal scientific bodies concerned with ornithology.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now completed his consideration of the Report of the Bateson Committee; and whether he will introduce legislation in this Session to amend the law with regard to children.

:Preparations for fresh legislation on the employment of children have reached an advanced stage, but I regret that I can hold out no prospect that time can be found for it this Session.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been recruited for Civil Defence in Kent.

The strength of the Civil Defence Corps in Kent at the end of January was 11,250.

asked the Minister of Education what his plans are for increasing swimming instruction and for increasing the number of swimming baths in schools under the jurisdiction of his Department.

Swimming instruction is usually given where facilities and staff are available. I am willing to consider proposals for building swimming baths where the bath can be provided either as part of a new school within the normal cost limits or in substitution for playing fields which would otherwise be required under the regulations.

asked the Minister of Education the respective percentages of pupils aged 17 and 18 years in full-time secondary education for the years 1938, 1948, and 1953.

:I am glad to say that compared with pre-war figures there has been a steady and satisfactory increase in the proportion of these children who stay on at school. This increase is continuing. The following are the figures. They are expressed as percentages of all the children in England and Wales aged 17 and 18, respectively:

GRANT-AIDED SCHOOLS
—		March, 1938	January, 1948	January, 1953
17 year olds	…	2·5	4·8	5·5
18 year olds	…	1·1	1·1	1·7

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS RECOGNISED AS EFFICIENT
—		March, 1938	1948	1953
17 year olds	…	Not	1·4	1·8
18 year olds	…	available	0·3	0·5

asked the Minister of Education if he is now in a position to make a statement on the 1955–56 school-building programme; and how it will compare with the 1954–55 programme.

The total value of major projects in the 1955–56 school building programme is now about £60 million, compared with £48 million for the current year.

asked the Minister of Education whether he has yet completed his review of the grants made to students in training colleges; and if he will make a statement.

I have at the moment nothing to add to the answer which I gave last week to the hon. Member for Leeds. North-East (Miss Bacon).

asked the Minister of Education whether he will make a statement on grants to university students.

I am not yet ready to make this statement.

asked the Minister of Education what special financial help is given to exchange teachers who go from the United Kingdom to the Dominions.

Teachers going to Canada under the approved interchange scheme receive a grant of £225 in view of the high cost of living.

asked the Minister of Education the average ratio of children per teacher in the primary and secondary schools, respectively, of each of the Welsh education authorities.

The following is the answer:

MAINTAINED AND ASSISTED PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS (OTHER THAN NURSERY OR SPECIAL SCHOOLS) IN JANUARY, 1954
——		Junior Pupil Teacher ratio	Senior Pupil Teacher ratio
Anglesey	…	24·5	21·5
Brecknockshire	…	22·6	16·3
Caernarvonshire	…	22·7	16·7
Cardiganshire	…	18·5	19·2
Carmarthenshire	…	21·5	17·7.
Denbighshire	…	26·7	19·9
Flintshire	…	28·1	25·8
Glamorganshire	…	27·7	19·3
Merionethshire	…	19·2	17·5
Monmouthshire	…	25·0	20·2
Montgomeryshire	…	20·6	15·5
Pembrokeshire	…	22·0	17·5
Radnorshire	…	18·9	16·5
Cardiff C.B.	…	32·3	20·7
Merthyr Tydfil C.B.	…	26·3	17·7
Newport (Mon.) C.B.	…	32·6	19·4
Swansea C.B.	…	29·1	18·2

These ratios take account of the full-time equivalent of part-time teachers.

asked the Minister of Education what provision is being made for additional technical education in Northumberland, Durham and Cumberland.

Twelve projects are under construction or have been approved to start before the 31st March, 1956. Twelve more are being considered for starting in 1956–57.

asked the Minister of Education what he proposes to do following consideration of the report of the committee set up by the Federation of British Industries in January, 1954, on the shortage of science teachers.

I will make a statement on the subject of science teachers as soon as I can.

asked the Minister of Education whether his attention has been called to a recent case in which a teacher caned all the children in a class for the alleged misdemeanour of one child; and whether he will issue instructions to local education committees prohibiting such action by any teacher at any time.

I am not sure to which incident the hon. Member refers, but the answer to the second part of his Question is, "No."

asked the Minister of Education whether he will seek from the Cardiff Education Committee the statistics concerning the number of classes in primary schools in Cardiff which had more than 40 children and 50 children, respectively, in November, 1954, and November, 1951.

No.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that United States film groups are pro viding financial aid to independent cinema undertakings in order to equip their cinemas with CinemaScope and to guarantee them against financial loss for a period of two years, in return for under takings to show United States Cinema Scope and other films; what effect this will have upon the Government's quota policy; and what steps he is taking in the matter.

:Yes. I have informed the exhibitors' association, after consultation with the Cinematograph Films Council, that the terms of an agreement relating to films designed for showing by new types of equipment will not be regarded by the Board of Trade as absolving an exhibitor from the statutory requirement to show his prescribed quotas of British films.

asked the President of the Board of Trade his policy on the growth of cinema circuits in this country in relation to his powers and duties under the Cinematograph Films Act, 1948.

:My power to limit the growth of cinema circuits is derived from subsection (5) of Section 5 of the Cinematograph Films Act, 1948. As my hon. and learned Friend told the House on 15th February, the Rank Organisation and the Associated British Picture Corporation have been told that the Board of Trade will not refuse exhibitors' licences under this Section so long as either organisation does not control more than 607 cinemas. The two organisations in 1943 and 1944 agreed to secure the consent of the Board of Trade before exceeding this figure.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent the terms of trade have changed to the United Kingdom's disadvantage in the last 12 months; and what developments he anticipates in the coming year.

:By about 6 per cent. I cannot forecast future developments.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that United Kingdom exports to Canada in 1954 fell by 16 per cent., as compared with 1953, whereas those from Western Germany increased by 30 per cent.; and if he will make a statement on the representations he proposes to make to the Canadian Government to lower its tariffs on British goods.

Yes, but Germany's exports to Canada are only about one-ninth of ours. While we, like all other exporting countries, would welcome lower tariffs, I see no occasion for any representations to the Canadian Government since the Canadian tariff is not the cause of the fall in our exports to Canada last year; this was due, as I said in the House last week, to the shrinkage of Canadian demand.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the main reasons for the recent weakness of the sterling-dollar rate of exchange; and what new steps he is proposing to take to rectify this.

I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's statement of 24th February.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent it remains the policy of the Government to make changes in Purchase Tax at times other than the Budget.

It is our policy to make such changes as are necessary in this tax at the best time having regard to all the circumstances.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied that there was no prior leakage to the Stock Exchange of his intention to raise the Bank Rate on 24th February; and if he will make a statement.

:There is no occasion for a statement, since I know of no such leakage.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he is taking to improve the marketing of fruit and vegetables.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what arrangements are being discussed with the representatives of the horticultural industry to improve the arrangements for the grading, packing and marketing of horticultural produce.

:My Department publishes Marketing Guides and "Recommended" grades for horticultural produce and my officers advise individual producers on their particular problems. In addition, investigations into specific marketing problems are undertaken, including the examination of produce in the wholesale markets, and the results of such inquiries are passed on to interested trade organisations and growers. In all these activities close contact is maintained with the horticultural industry. My right hon. Friend has already announced the setting up of a Committee to investigate the whole question of horticultural marketing.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what plans he has to help horticulturists to cover the cost of increased labour.

:It is our constant aim to develop the research, investigation, advisory and other services rendered by my Department to horticulturists so as to enable them to increase their efficiency and productivity and put them in a position to meet such higher costs.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the estimated value of output of pigs during the years 1954, 1953 and 1952; and of this, what was the value of pigs used for bacon.

The following is the reply:

ESTIMATED VALUE OF OUTPUT OF PIGMEAT— UNITED KINGDOM
£ million
Year ending 31st May			Pork	Bacon	Total
1952	…	…	28	110	138
1953	…	…	49	129	178
1954	…	…	79	106	185

NOTE: Output is valued at farm gate prices current at the time of sale, and includes output from small pig keepers and backyard producers, together with output for consumption on the farm or holding.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will arrange to visit Durham County to see areas in which agricultural land and buildings have been damaged by coal-mining subsidence with a view to the implementation of the Turner Committee's recommendations in regard to agricultural land.

:Full information of this difficult problem is already available in my Department, and I do not think that a special visit would add to it. The implementing of the Turner Committee's recommendations is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Fuel and Power.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will draw the attention of all farmers to the need for protecting newly born lambs; and whether he is satisfied that full assistance is given by his Department to enable farmers to provide adequate shelter, food, and warmth during inclement weather.

I am sure that farmers can be relied upon to take all practical measures to protect newly born lambs. I do not think that special measures of assistance for this purpose are needed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many domestic animals, of each variety separately, were slaughtered for food last year; how many were killed for other reasons, such as disease or injury; how many died from other causes, such as starvation or cold; and what was the total population of each at the most recent date.

The available figures are as follows:

Estimated Number of Domestic Animals Slaughtered for Human Consumption
United Kingdom, June-May, 1953–54
			(million head)
Cattle and calves	…	…	3·2
Sheep and lambs	…	…	8·0
Pigs	…	…	9·4
Poultry	…	…	71·5

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will refer the official report entitled "Treatment of British Prisoners of War in Korea" to the United Nations, together with the names and military numbers of those who gave the evidence on which it is based for publication as an official United Nations document.

Copies of this report have already been handed to the 16 nations who fought under the United Nations Command in Korea. I do not consider that further action is required.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will publish a further paper giving the reasons why he refrained from quoting the names of the prisoners of war on whose evidence the report on the treatment of British prisoners of war in Korea was based.

Her Majesty's Government gave careful consideration before publishing the booklet on the treatment of British prisoners of war in Korea to the question of giving the names of the officers and non-commissioned officers and other ranks concerned. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that the majority of these no doubt wish to forget their experiences and not be subjected to the fierce light of publicity upon their individual stories. There is, of course, no objection at all to any of those concerned giving their stories to the Press, should they wish to do so. I observe that in a number of cases this has already happened, but I am reluctant to press the individuals concerned should it be contrary to their wishes.

asked the Minister of Food the total amount paid for fatstock deficiency payments to Northern Ireland during the years 1953 and 1954, respectively.

:The system of deficiency payments for fatstock was not introduced until 3rd July, 1954. From that date to 31st December, 1954, guarantee payments to producers in Northern Ireland amounted to £4,056,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has considered the further representations made to him by the town council of the Royal Burgh of Lanark about the insanitary conditions in the children's toilets of the Lanark Grammar Secondary School; and what action he has now taken to remedy these conditions.

I have received no representations from Lanark Town Council, but I understand that they recently asked Lanarkshire Education Authority to install new lavatories for the infant department. The authority refused this request because the lavatories have recently been improved and should serve for the short period until anew primary school to which the primary department is being is being transferred is ready for occupation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland at what intervals inventories are taken in hospitals under his charge; and if he is satisfied with the method employed.

Inventories at Scottish hospitals are checked at least once a year and in some hospital departments checks take place more frequently. During the past year certain weaknesses were found at a number of hospitals and have been brought to the notice of the boards of management concerned. For the most part, however, the inventory systems are now satisfactory, steady improvement having been made in the past two or three years.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the value of articles lost in hospitals in Scotland for each of the years 1951 to 1953.

The value of articles recorded as lost in Scottish hospitals in each of the three years was as follows:

				£
1951–52	…	…	…	18,479
1952–53	…	…	…	25,933
1953–54	…	…	…	16,068

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the extent of the inventories carried out in hospitals under his charge; and to what extent they are limited to classes of articles most liable to loss.

:The inventory control at most hospitals covers all items of equipment and is not limited to classes of articles most liable to loss.