asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement on the initial effect of the Housing Repairs and Rents Act in connection with the aim to check the decay of older houses.

I propose to review the position in about two months' time, after which I shall be quite ready to make a statement.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why he has restricted the Huyton-with-Roby Urban District Council to 150 houses in 1955, in view of their ability and desire to build up to a total of 400 houses during the year; and whether he will now agree to increase this allocation.

I can find no record of the council having expressed a desire to build 400 council houses this year, which would be nearly 2½ times as many as they built last year.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will circularise local authorities reminding them of their powers under the Housing Acts to serve notices on landlords of unfit houses requiring repairs to be carried out; and whether he will recommend such action especially where the tenant is an old-age pensioner in receipt of a rent allowance from the National Assistance Board.

No. This would be unnecessary.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will introduce legislation to prevent a local authority from ceasing to purchase land for housing purposes when in fact, more houses for rent are required within the authorities' area.

A law to stop people from stopping doing something would be most unusual. I can hold out no prospect of legislation on those lines.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that a strike has arisen concerning the duties of guards on the Liverpool—Southport Railway; and what action is being taken by his conciliation officers.

I understand that an unofficial stoppage of work by guards took place because a porter-guard refused to perform duties as a guard in consequence of a ban by the guards at Southport on the working of up-graded duties and overtime. This ban was imposed in connection with the refusal of the guards to help with the collection of tickets. The stoppage has terminated and, as there is adequate machinery within the industry for dealing with the remaining ticket collecting difficulty, there is no question of intervention by officers of my Department.

asked the Minister of Labour what has been the sequel to the consideration of labour restrictive practices which was referred to the National Advisory Council in 1948.

:The National Joint Advisory Council agreed in 1951 that a positive approach should be made to this problem and that each industry should examine for itself the measures it could take to increase productivity and remove obstacles to full production.

asked the Minister of Labour whether the National Association of Port Employers has now accepted his invitation to discuss with his officers the desirability of instituting an inquiry into the workings of the National Dock Labour Scheme; which of the various interested trade unions have accepted the invitation; and when he expects the discussions to begin.

I do not think it would help to get these discussions going in an amicable spirit to draw distinctions of this kind. Some of the bodies concerned have accepted the invitation and others have promised a reply at an early date. The discussions will start within the next two weeks.

ESTIMATED NUMBERS OF EMPLOYEES IN EMPLOYMENT IN EACH DEVELOPMENT AREA AT END-MAY, 1951, AND END-MAY, 1954
(Thousands)
Development Area	End-May, 1951			End-May, 1954
	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total
North-Eastern	713·3	272·7	986·0	721·8	278·2	1,000·0
West Cumberland	38·2	12·8	51·0	37·7	13·6	51·3
Scottish (including Highlands)	740·2	403·8	1,144·0	752·8	411·2	1,164·0
South Wales and Monmouth-shire	487·5	165·4	652·9	490·8	174·9	665·7
Wrexham	26·4	8·4	34·8	27·0	8·6	35·6
South Lancashire	97·8	45·9	143·7	97·4	46·8	144·2
North-East Lancashire	53·6	41·7	95·3	52·0	41·1	93·1
Merseyside	374·5	216·7	591·2	377·3	222·7	600·0
TOTAL	2,531·5	1,167·4	3,698·9	2,556·8	1,197·1	3,753·9

asked the Minister of Labour what requests for assistance in the provision of skilled labour he has received as a result of resumption of work on the Comet series.

Information on the dealings of an individual firm with my Ministry is confidential, and I could not with propriety disclose it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the decision of the two Appeal Commissioners whom he appointed to sit as an appeal court at St. Andrew's House on 13th December on a medical case has not been announced to the appellant by his Department.

These gentlemen were appointed to hear the appeal and report on it to me. I hope to intimate my decision very shortly.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons employed in each of the Development Areas on 1st January, 1951, and 1st January, 1955.

:The available figures relate to the end of May in each year. The following table gives the figures for end-May, 1951, and end-May, 1954.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to introduce legislation to remove the rate limitation on expenditure on public libraries.

I regret that it has not been possible to include the necessary legislation in the programme for the current session.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has now received from the District Councils' Association asking to be given powers to repair, maintain, strengthen or protect any river bank to which the public has access to prevent erosion or flooding; what steps he proposes to take; and which area authorities have notified him of their continued opposition to legislation in regard to drainage and flood-prevention schemes.

Representations to the effect that district councils should be empowered to protect river banks to which the public has access have been received and have been noted. Even if new legislation were necessary for this purpose, however, such powers would not in themselves provide a satisfactory solution of the problem of flood prevention. With regard to the last part of the Question, no notification of the kind mentioned has been made to me; but discussions have revealed the difficulty of securing the measure of agreement that would be necessary for comprehensive land drainage legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will indicate the steps to be taken by farmers and crofters who have suffered serious sheep losses in the recent snowstorms and who are unable to sustain losses of such magnitude to bring their losses to his notice in connection with the consideration which he is giving to Government measures for relief and the procedure which should be followed so that losses can be verified.

Under the Livestock Replacement Scheme, I can make loans to farmers to assist them to replace livestock lost through abnormal weather conditions. Applications should be made to the Department of Agriculture for Scotland. They, in consultation with the agricultural executive committee, will verify losses and satisfy themselves that a loan is justified. Advances made will be repayable over a period of up to five years with interest at 3½ per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the difficulty of raising the volume of exports appreciably above the levels achieved in 1950 and 1951, he will reconstitute the Committee on Import Substitution.

No. In 1950 the previous Administration reconstituted the Imports Substitution Panel as the Natural Resources (Technical) Committee. This Committee has the duty of advising on the technical aspects of the development, use and conservation of natural resources generally. It is still in existence, and I am satisfied that no change in its constitution is required.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Taxation of Profits and Income in its Second Report.

I must ask the hon. Lady to await my Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that in paragraph 26 of Command Paper No. 9092, relating to the retired pay and pensions of Forces officers, there is a mis-statement to the effect that the Report of the May Committee, Command Paper No. 3920, recommended the abandonment of the system under which the retired pay of Forces officers, retired under the 1919 arrangements, varied with the cost of living; and, in view of the May Committee's recommendation that the bringing into line of retired pay with the cost of living should be accelerated, whether he will publish an amending document.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury's replies yesterday to Questions by my hon. Friends the Members for Devon, North (Brigadier Peto) and Wycombe (Mr. John Hall).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why inspectors of taxes are issuing Pay as You Earn Notices of Coding for 1955–56 with the allowance for National Insurance contributions at the old rate of £7; and whether he will instruct the Board of Inland Revenue to increase this allowance in view of the recently authorised increased contributions.

The necessary adjustments will be made as soon as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what official representations have been made to the Chinese Government for compensation to British prisoners of war ill-treated in the North Korean campaign.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when he expects to issue a report on the work of the Sub-Committee of the Disarmament Commission.

A report will be made when the Sub-Committee's proceedings have been concluded.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the conclusions of the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation Conference at Bangkok.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which my right hon. Friend made this afternoon.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will introduce legislation to enable local authorities with passenger transport systems to provide free travel for aged persons if they so desire.

No. I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the speech of my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary on 18th February last.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how much was spent on road improvements on classified roads in Brentford and Chiswick in each of the last five years; and how much is expected to be spent in aggregate during the next five years.

I understand from the Middlesex County Council that the total expenditure on classified road improvements was as follows:

			£
1950–51	…	…	185
1951–52	…	…	1,499
1952–53	…	…	nil
1953–54	…	…	951
1954–55 (estimated)	…	…	29,740

I cannot say at this stage what the expenditure will be during the next five years.

asked the Minister of Defence how far it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in the event of war to restrict the use of bacteriological and chemical weapons, including their use for the purpose of deterrence or retaliation.

Subject to the proviso that they have reserved the right to retaliate in kind against any Power which should first use bacteriological and chemical weapons, Her Majesty's Government are bound by the Geneva Protocol of 1925 which forbids the use of such weapons in war.

asked the Minister of Defence if, in order to protect British prisoners of war back from Korea from interference, he will give instructions that the names of such prisoners shall not be disclosed.

That is my intention.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air when the training of airmen in Civil Defence duties will commence; who will be responsible for the instruction; and how many hours of training time, per week, will be devoted to the subject.

:All airmen are already given some instruction in civil defence, but we are examining what further arrangements may be necessary to implement the policy announced in paragraph 106 of the Defence White Paper.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the present average cost of training, equipping, and maintaining a National Service man in the Royal Air Force during his two years' service.

About £730, including training.

asked the Minister of Works on what grounds, and when, Queen's Gate was closed to traffic.

Queen's Gate was closed to traffic in the winter of 1944–45 when the nearby Coalbrookdale Gate was damaged by a flying bomb. As was stated in reply to the hon. Member for Lichfield and Tamworth (Mr. Snow) on 3rd March, 1953, the Ministry was advised that the reopening of Queen's Gate to motor traffic would worsen traffic conditions in that area.

asked the Minister of Works to state in detail the new trading arrangements adopted by manufacturers and merchants of cast-iron rainwater goods to bring their arrangements into conformity with the Report of the Monopolies Commission.

The "Rainwater Agreements" entered into by the British Iron-founders Association and associations of merchants were cancelled as from 1st January, 1952, when new trading arrangements conforming with the recommendations of the Monopolies Commission came into operation. These arrangements make merchant terms available to all genuine distributors of rainwater goods, whether members of merchant associations or not, and whether or not they purchase only from members of the British Ironfounders' Association.

asked the Minister of Works the estimated number of men employed on repair and maintenance to existing houses, including conversions, adaptations, extensions, etc., and the number employed in new house building in England and Wales at 31st December, 1954, or the latest available date.

The provisional figures of men employed by building and civil engineering contractors on housing work in England and Wales in January, 1955, were:

	Thousands
New Housing	264
Housing Repair and Maintenance	142

In addition, about 80,000 men were directly employed last year by local authorities and public utilities on housing work: of these about 30,000 were on new work.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what tests have been made by the National Physical Laboratory on flushing valves for use in water closets; and with what results.

The only tests at the National Physical Laboratory on flushing valves for water closets were carried out at the request of private applicants on a repayment basis. The results are confidential to the applicants.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what action has been taken to implement the recommendations of the Report of the Committee on Chemical Engineering Research.

:As stated in the reply given by my predecessor to the hon. Member for Edmonton (Mr. Albu) on 3rd February, 1953, representative industrial bodies have been consulted and have made a detailed survey of the information and resources available in industry This survey has now been completed and it is hoped that the trade associations concerned will soon put forward definite proposals.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what specific chemical engineering research is at present being carried out by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Several Stations of the D.S.I.R. carry out work in the field of chemical engineering in developing processes and operations which have been studied in the laboratory. For example, the Fuel Research Station are studying the removal of sulphur from flue gases, and the Food Investigation Organisation are working on the application of refrigeration in the preservation of foodstuffs. Further details of such work will be found in the forthcoming Annual Report of the Department, a copy of which I will send to the hon. Member.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, whether he will arrange to publish, as a White Paper or otherwise, the information available concerning the genetic effects of the increased radioactivity due to the explosion of nuclear weapons.

:I should make it clear that, except for an area in the vicinity of the explosion, the increase in the radioactivity of the atmosphere resulting from the explosions of nuclear weapons which have so far taken place is negligible in comparison with the amount already present from natural causes. Investigations are continuing, but my noble Friend is advised that these have not reached the stage where any firm conclusions can be drawn from them with regard to the possible genetic effects of radioactivity on human beings.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, the nature of the duties of the eight scientific staff employed at the National Physical Laboratory on the application of electronic computers to clerical and industrial work.

The duties of this staff are to carry out research on the use of electronic computers in clerical work, especially large-scale accountancy and the processing of information; the use of computers for solving mathematical problems arising in industrial work, especially in the aircraft industry; and the control of machine tools by methods involving the use of electronic computers.

asked the Secretary of State for War the total extent, in money, area, and personnel, in Cyprus of the plans now in preparation and being implemented for accommodation of British troops there.

For the Army we plan to spend something of the order of £30 million on buildings and land in the next ten years, and we occupy over 7,000 acres of land. The Joint Headquarters of the Middle East Command and certain Army and Royal Air Force units forming part of the British Garrison to be kept in the Middle East are among the troops to be stationed in Cyprus. It is not our practice to give actual numbers.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will now make a further statement about the future of units in Anti-Aircraft Command.

The plan for the reduction of Anti-Aircraft Command involves the amalgamation of 95 existing Territorial Army Anti-Aircraft regiments to form our new anti-aircraft ground defences. Of the remaining Territorial Army Anti-Aircraft regiments, 34 are to be amalgamated, generally to form other types of artillery, 15 are to be disbanded, and nine are to be placed in suspended animation.Throughout the planning, Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Associations have been consulted. An operation of this kind cannot be carried out without affecting the interests of units and individuals, but I believe that the plan that has been evolved in consultation with Anti-Aircraft and Home Commands and the Associations is the fairest that could have been devised.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will make a statement about the future role of 645 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Buckinghamshire, Territorial Army.

Two batteries of this famous regiment are being retained in Buckinghamshire as part of a new Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. There will be other parts of this unit in Berkshire, Surrey and Oxford.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is now able to make a statement on the events leading to the death of Private Foden of the Infantry Boys' Battalion.

My right hon. Friend has now received and had an opportunity to consider both the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry and the Report on the running of boys' units in the Army. There are a number of steps which my right hon. Friend intends to take with regard to the more general questions of boys' units, but he is not proposing to take any further steps in respect of the Boys' Battalion at Plymouth.

asked the Secretary of State for War what compensation will be paid to British prisoners of war ill-treated by Chinese and North Korean troops during the North Korean campaign.

Those prisoners who, after discharge, are still disabled as the result of ill-treatment during captivity are eligible for disability awards under the pension provisions.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he has any information regarding the escape, from the Military Detention Camp, Colchester, of 11 Service men; why they had arranged to try to communicate with the hon. Member for Exchange Division, Liverpool, if free long enough; and what opportunities the men detained at Colchester have to communicate with their Member of Parliament.

:These men escaped during a snowstorm when they were marching back to their billets from the dining hall. Four were recaptured immediately; six were subsequently recaptured by the civil police and one is still at large. My right hon. Friend was not aware that these men had arranged to communicate with the hon. Member, nor have any of them now back in military custody asked to be allowed to do so. No obstacle is put in the way of men detained in the Military Corrective Establishment at Colchester who wish to write to their Members of Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many Service men under the age of 20 years are now serving in Kenya.

About 3,100.

asked the Secretary of State for War how long the present tour of duty is for National Service men in Kenya.

A Regular soldier may serve up to three years in Kenya. National Service men may spend the balance of their unexpired service there after completing their training. This varies according to trade, etc.

asked the Secretary of State for War when the training of soldiers in Civil Defence duties will commence; who will be responsible for the instruction; and how many hours of training time, per week, will be devoted to the subject.

:Men in the Regular and Reserve Armies already receive from unit instructors some training in Civil Defence subjects. My right hon. Friend is now examining what further arrangements may be necessary to implement the policy announced in paragraph 106 of the Defence White Paper.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantities of knitted gloves, fabric gloves and leather gloves imported into this country from Hong Kong in the years 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954.

The following are the figures:

Thousand dozen pairs
—	1951	1952	1953	1954
Knitted, etc. (including mittens)	29	60	237	500
Fabric	—	—	9	145
Leather	—	—	—	1½
TOTAL	29	60	246	646

asked the President of the Board of Trade the imports of cotton yarns into this country from Egypt, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Southern Ireland for the years 1953 and 1954.

The quantity of cotton yarns imported from these countries totalled 2·2 million lb. in 1953 and 8·6 million lb. in 1954. The following are the figures for the individual countries:

IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM OF COTTON YARNS
—	Thousand lbs.		£'000
	1953	1954	1953	1954
Egypt	33	1,539	5	279
Portugal	—	1,753	—	361
Italy	1,404	2,080	287	383
Belgium	377	1,679	98	382
Netherlands	319	1,205	67	268
Irish Republic	84	328	24	63
Total (to nearest thousand)	2,217	8,584	482	1,736

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement about the outcome of the discussions for the revision of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is now in a position to make a statement about the conference on the revision of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade which has recently been concluded at Geneva.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on the outcome of the negotiations on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade at Geneva.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether in view of the recent conversations at Geneva regarding the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, he will make a statement.

:Discussions on these detailed and complex matters have just been concluded. Texts of the proposed amendments to the Agreement will not be available until 22nd March, when they will be issued as a White Paper. My right hon. Friend proposes, for the convenience of hon. Members, to present at the same time or as soon as possible thereafter a White Paper giving in full the text of the proposed revised Agreement showing where amendments have been made. These White Papers will also contain the texts of all the important related documents.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the total area of agricultural land, including grazings, in England and Wales in 1954; and if he will state the acreage of forests in the same year.

Twenty-nine million seven hundred and sixty-one thousand acres of agricultural land and 2,455,000 acres of forest land.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the total area of agricultural land, including grazings, in Scotland in 1954, and the area of forest land in the same year.

The total area of agricultural land, including grazings, in Scotland in 1954 was 15,308,635 acres: the area of forest land in the same year was 1,420,000 acres.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General how many new telephones have been installed within the borough of Morley during January and February, 1955.

Twenty-one.

asked the Minister of Food the proportions of total supplies provided by the United Kingdom production in 1938, 1945, 1951 and 1954 of wheat and flour, oils and fat, sugar, potatoes, carcase meat and offal, bacon and ham, shell eggs, milk for liquid consumption, butter, cheese condensed milk, and dried milk.

:The following table shows the percentage by weight of the total supplies of these foods provided by home-production in the years 1954, 1951, 1945, compared with the pre-war average: