Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Friday, 11th March, 1955

British Prisoners Of War, Korea (Deaths)

asked the Minister of Defence how many British prisoners of war in Korea died as a result of malnutrition or torture either during their captivity or since release.

:According to Service records, 71 British prisoners of war are known to have died in captivity from various causes and 13 prisoners of war are missing, presumed to have died in captivity. Of these numbers there are grounds for believing that in about 60 cases general ill-treatment, i.e. malnutrition, unattended wounds, or untreated diseases were an important factor in the deaths of the men in question. In two cases, death can be attributed to brutal treatment. As far as is known, none of our prisoners of war has died since release as a result of ill-treatment endured during captivity.

School Site, Whitwell And Creswell

asked the Minister of Education whether a decision has yet been made regarding the site of the proposed new secondary modern school to serve the parishes of Whitwell and Creswell; and whether the local objections to the site have now been withdrawn.

My consideration of this case is not yet quite complete, but I hope to be able to write to the hon. Member very shortly.

Government Departments (Staff Reductions)

the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total reduction in the civil staffs of Government Departments which took place between 1st October, 1951, and 1st January, 1955: what percentage this is of the number employed at the earlier date; and to give an estimate of the saving in expenditure brought about by this reduction.

In this period the number of non-industrial civil servants was reduced by 52,067, a reduction of 7·6 per cent. I estimate that if this reduction had not been made the current annual cost of non-industrial Civil Service wages and salaries would be between £20 million and £25 million greater than it is.

Telephone Service (Court Shorthand Writers)

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will give priority to the installation of telephones at the houses of official shorthand writers at the Royal Courts of Justice, courts of assize, and quarter sessions who require to be in close touch with the courts in connection with their services.

:We give these official shorthand writers business priority for the installation of telephones at their offices, but I regret that they cannot be allowed priority for telephones at home.

Colonial Territories (Exports Of Animals)

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the numbers and values of animals of various kinds exported from British Colonies and Protectorates during each of the past five years, showing the Colony or Protectorate of origin and country of destination in each case; and the purpose for which these exports were made.

The following table gives the number and value of animals, under main types and showing principal destinations, exported from Colonial Territories, where the value of such exports exceeded £4,000 in 1953. The purposes for which the importing countries purchased these animals is not known.I think I should point out to the hon. Member that the examination of trade returns and the preparation of the table took one week of the time of a Clerical Officer in my Department.

EXPORTS OF ANIMALS (NOT FOR FOOD) FROM THE MAJOR EXPORTING COLONIAL TERRITORIES
Territory of origin	Species	Country of destination	1949		1950		1951		1952		1953
Territory of origin	Species	Country of destination	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£
NIGERIA	Horses	Gold Coast	26	9,000	18	4,730	63	14,635	89	44,900	98	42,700
	Other kinds	Total	800	1,720	200	966	1,042	1,279	6,027	16,352	4,970	12,251
		of which:—
		U.K	741	1,621	94	67	113	346	4,260	11,941	^*	^*
		Netherlands	—	—	12	85	295	788	1,529	4,102	^*	^*
SIERRA LEONE	All kinds	Total	702	2,150	832	3,096	2,296	4,273	1,211	4,538	874	4,793
		of which:—
		U.K	213	830	380	1,995	701	330	144	605	7	82
		Denmark	16	93	—	—	31	1,240	145	800	6	150
		USA	454	884	437	724	1,473	1,897	918	3,057	778	3,720
KENYA	Horses, asses and mules	Total	2	520	—	—	25	2,387	25	1,400	12	930
		of which:—
		Belgian Congo	—	—	—	—	22	2,172	22	1,025	11	730
	Cattle	Total	227	5,420	381	12,735	630	16,789	729	26,870	609	28,291
		of which:—
		Belgian Congo	113	2,355	14	1,180	455	11,363	625	23,007	541	25,237
	Other kinds	Total	210	12,898	621	25,033	256	11,412	397	28,823	314	28,240
		of which:—
		U.K.	99	6,542	112	6,498	53	2,264	75	2,647	47	3,780
		Germany	1	10	26	296	8	425	26	1,206	36	2,875
		U.S.A	6	303	38	3,550	16	1,431	96	10,695	15	2,575
		Japan	—	—	—	—	4	150	55	10,244	107	15,057
TANGANYIKA	Asses and mules	Zanzibar	33	85	93	267	80	265	5	28	23	85
	Cattle	Belgian Congo	99	1,485	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
^* = Not available in the U.K.

EXPORTS OF ANIMALS (NOT FOR FOOD) FROM THE MAJOR EXPORTING COLONIAL TERRITORIES
Territory of origin	Species	Country of destination	1949		1950		1951		1952		1953
			Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£
TANGANYIKA—contd.	Other kinds	Total	95	7,090	3,226	11,357	162	12,384	204	16,405	181	16,102
		of which:—
		Netherlands	37	1,935	2,964	6,908	64	5,212	57	1,748	66	1,634
		Germany	—	—	39	975	6	275	29	1,656	30	4,403
		Japan	—	—	—	—	2	160	4	600	59	6,106
MALAYA	Birds	Total	1,000	546	17,030	2,198	101,845	7,127	14,916	6,013	652	3,546
		of which:—
		U.K	2	96	844	267	341	121	1,303	2,168	106	268
		Netherlands	390	43	955	111	307	536	492	890	30	314
		U.S.A	26	66	4,868	966	27,628	4,346	667	1,154	124	1,756
		Thailand	—	—	8,178	194	71,545	1,653	10,488	509	12	319
	Horses and Ponies	Total	67	7,245	308	28,612	122	11,213	246	29,000	13	2,141
		of which:—
		Thailand	46	5,495	293	25,958	118	10,338	233	22,350	1	216
	Other kinds	Total	68,488	17,334	4,384	20,951	3,371	8,075	3,367	11,190	28,917	8,168
		of which:—
		U.K	67	1,434	184	3,573	238	887	217	638	83	2,804
		Sarawak	3	41	2	58	7	812	13	2,521	1,259	1,364
		Australia	3,028	3,313	7	1,697	31	97	79	2,180	25	1,260
		U.S.A	37,181	5,905	2,923	6,175	671	1,331	6	3,229	30	1,655
HONG KONG	All kinds	Total	48	336	13	1,469	16	493	37,959	6,947	^*	15,293
		of which:—
		Japan	—	—	—	—	2	36	400	28	^*	4,820
		Belgium	—	—	—	—.	—	—	17,023	3,243	^*	2,861
		Netherlands	—	—	1	24	—	—	12,459	2,539	^*	2,767
^* = Not available in the U.K.

EXPORTS OF ANIMALS (NOT FOR FOOD) FROM THE MAJOR EXPORTING COLONIAL TERRITORIES
Territory of origin	Species	Country of destination	1949		1950		1951		1952		1953
Territory of origin	Species	Country of destination	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£
CYPRUS	Horses, asses and mules	Total	3,450	127,121	3,315	133,325	5,217	154,438	3,960	179,585	566	41,328
		of which:—
		Greece	1,683	31,614	1,096	14,127	4,438	112,011	3,209	142,762	320	26,178
		Israel	940	50,280	1,028	60,023	122	2,440	290	9,400	69	6,830
		Egypt	7	122	633	41,535	335	23,147	224	13,835	59	3,490
	Camels	Syria	99	2,443	48	1,470	53	1,325	82	1,975	44	1,255
	Other kinds	Total	346	10,909	220	13,976	13	191	94	331	44	375
NORTH BORNEO	Pigs	Total	4,345	31,822	1,003	2,516	290	2,516	—	—	857	9,245
	Ponies	Total	9	242	15	911	15	911	5	344	16	2,257
	other kinds	Total	307	5,240	618	5,742	86	1,619	207	1,183	361	1,766
JAMAICA	Horses and asses	Total	27	8,322	49	17,418	20	9,087	^*	^*	^*	^*
		of which:—
		Other British West Indies	18	7,233	15	6,017	9	4,775	^*	^*	^*	^*
	Dogs	Total	8	29	1	5	25	340	^*	^*	^*	^*
		of which:—
		U.S.A	2	5	—	—	10	40	^*	^*	^*	^*
	Cattle	Total	72	4,730	207	17,327	429	31,304	^*	^*	^*	^*
		of which:—
		Panama	19	1,545	120	9,600	347	22,363	^*	^*	^*	^*
	Other kinds	Total	—	1,417	^*	938	14	1,086	^*	^*	^*	^*
		of which:—
		British West Indies	—	—	^*	843	14	1,086	^*	^*	^*	^*
^*= Not available in the U.K.

EXPORTS OF ANIMALS (NOT FOR FOOD) FROM THE MAJOR EXPORTING COLONIAL TERRITORIES
Territory of origin	Species	Country of destination	1949		1950		1951		1952		1953
Territory of origin	Species	Country of destination	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£	Nos.	£
BRITISH GUIANA	Dogs	Total	2	8	1	42	3	12	5	32	4	43
		of which:—
		U.K	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	20	2	26
	Other kinds	Total	^*	1,071	^*	3,295	^*	4,954	^*	10,582	^*	27,947
		of which:—
		British West Indies	^*	64	^*	46	^*	1,180	^*	2,193	^*	14 751
		U.S.A	—	837	^*	2,653	^*	3,032	^*	7,682	^*	12,252
Trinidad	Horses and asses	Total	—	—	4	721	15	5,208	65	28,349	98	40,495
		of which:—
		Other British West Indies	—	—	2	448	9	2,896	51	23,350	75	32,443
	Dogs	Total	18	182	12	209	12	195	18	172	11	124
		of which:—
		U.S.A	11	97	7	151	1	10	4	39	5	45
		British Guiana	3	54	—	—	1	42	4	73	3	19
	Other kinds	Total	^*	1,147	^*	7,296	^*	15,101	^*	25,550	^*	31,963
		of which:—
		U.S.A	^*	666	^*	5,865	^*	14,491	^*	24,691	—	30,972
^*= Not available in the U.K.

Scotland

Mathematics And Science Teachers (Salaries)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the present salaries of teachers of mathematics and science doing advanced work in senior secondary schools in Scotland; and what increase in these salaries are contemplated.

The basic scale for men honours graduates starts at £620 per annum and rises to £960 in 17 years. Most of these teachers may expect at some time in their career to become principal teachers of their subject and as such they receive allowances additional to their basic salary ranging from £90 up to £230. I expect to receive within a few days the Report of the Appleton Committee which has been investigating the problem of the supply of mathematics and science teachers in Scotland. I understand that the Report will contain certain recommendations relating to salaries which in accordance with normal practice I will forthwith refer to the National Joint Council on teachers' salaries in Scotland and will consider in the light of the Council's views.

Mental Health (Care)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many mental hospitals there are in Scotland; and how many of these employ social workers.

Psychiatric social workers are employed at 11 of the 34 mental hospitals in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local authorities in Scotland have so far provided care or after-care for mental cases; and how many of these are counties and burghs, respectively.

Provision of this kind in Scotland is undertaken for the most part by the Scottish Association for Mental Health and its local branches. In 1953…54, contributions to the funds of the Association were made by 41 of the 55 local health authorities, comprising the councils of 22 counties and 19 large burghs.

Research Associations (Finance)

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, why it is not expected to make any capital payments in this financial year to research associations.

No capital grants are expected to be made to research associations during the present financial year since no requests for payment of such grants are likely within that period.

Kenya (Dock Strike Mombasa)

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement about the strike of dock workers in Mombasa.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Mr. Alport) on 9th March. My latest information is that work in the docks is now practically back to normal

Volume 538: debated on Friday 11 March 1955