asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when his Department last discussed with the Icelandic Government the fishing dispute between the two countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made in the settlement of the dispute with Iceland concerning the extent of Icelandic territorial waters.

The confidential discussion under a chairman appointed by the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation is continuing; the most recent meeting was on 10th March. There are also frequent contacts with the Icelandic Government through the diplomatic channel. In view of these facts, I cannot make a statement at the present time.

Since Iceland is a very proud and very friendly nation, and since the only people who benefit by the deadlock are fishermen of both countries, on the one hand, and enemies of freedom, on the other, will the right hon. Gentleman not use his influence with the British fishermen to withdraw the ban so that we may negotiate an honourable settlement?

We have tried to get a settlement by every kind of method. We thought that our initiative in proposing O.E.E.C. as a means was a quite sensible move, and we are grateful to the Swiss delegates for their assistance. I think that we must leave it to O.E.E.C. to go on trying to find a solution, which I desire as keenly as does the hon. Member. This business has gone on too long already.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made in discussions with the Chinese Government relating to the blocked pension funds of retired employees of the Shanghai Waterworks Company Limited; and if he will make a statement.

On 29th November last Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Peking addressed a Note to the Chinese Government asking them to take steps to arrange for the payment of pensions to the former pensioners of the Shanghai Waterworks Company. No reply has been received to this Note.

Will Her Majesty's Government impress upon the Chinese Government that the withholding of this comparatively small sum of money is causing a very grave hardship to a small number of elderly and ageing people who, in their time, have given very great service to the Chinese people?

Yes, Sir. We made it clear to the Chinese Government that we hold them responsible for the meeting of this and all other outstanding obligations of the company, and we shall continue to press that on the Chinese Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the offer by Israel to Egypt to abandon all frontier incidents between the two States if Egypt will give a similar undertaking; whether he will use his endeavours to persuade Egypt to give such similar undertaking; and whether he will make a statement.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the speech of the Israeli delegate in the Security Council's debate on 23rd March. While the matter is under discussion in the Security Council I should prefer not to comment further, except to say that under the Egypt-Israel Armistice Agreement of 23rd February, 1949, Egypt and Israel are already both bound to refrain from hostile acts against each other.

In view of his statement, is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Egypt continues to declare that it is in a state of war with Israel and, in consequence of that, is inciting people on the border to commit acts of violence against Israel? Is he also aware that as recently as the 24th of this month an attack was made on a wedding party in the West Negeb, in the village of Patish, where a woman was killed and 19 people were wounded? Will he do something about enforcing the armistice arrangements on the Egyptians?

I am also aware, as I think is the hon. Member, that the account which he has given gives the wrongs on the one side only and not the wrongs on the other. I am only too aware that they exist on both sides. We are doing what we can to improve the situation.

Would the right hon. Gentleman agree that the responsibility for this situation must rest with those who refuse to negotiate to make a permanent peace?

The responsibility, without any equivocation, can well be divided on this matter. General Burns, to whose efforts I should like to pay a very warm tribute, has certain proposals of his own which we shall do all we can to support. This matter can be handled provided both sides are prepared to handle it reasonably, but I hope that the hon. and learned Member will not press me to say whether I regard it as being so handled at the moment by either side.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why he will not give instructions to the British Government's representative on the Commission of Human Rights to promote the inclusion of a clause in the Covenants giving human beings the right to decide the method of the disposal of their bodies after death, including that of cremation.

The Human Rights Commission has already completed its work on the draft Covenants. Her Majesty's Government do not consider the matter suitable for inclusion in an international agreement, since it would conflict with various religious practices as well as climatic and other local circumstances.

Is not the hon. Gentleman aware that there are certain Articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which similarly conflict with religious or national views and that the idea of the Covenants is to widen the area of freedom. Surely the British Government are interested in that proposition?

Yes, Sir, but I am very doubtful whether the question of the disposal of one's body after death can be strictly regarded as a universal, fundamental right.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress he can report in respect of the present sittings of the Sub-Committee of the Disarmament Commission; and when the proceedings are likely to be concluded.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of State will be making a statement on this subject at the end of Questions.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will give an assurance that it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that the four-Power talks which they are proposing, after ratification of the Paris Agreements, shall be at the highest Ministerial level.

No, Sir. These and other connected questions are matters for consultation with our allies, but, now that the French Parliament have voted in favour of ratification, I would remind the right hon. Gentleman of the procedure I outlined to the House during the debate on 14th March. That procedure we shall now be able to follow.

In view of the statements made both by President Eisenhower and Marshal Bulganin supporting the holding of such a conference, can we take it that it is the view of Her Majesty's Government that there is no obstacle now to the holding of a four-Power conference? Are Her Majesty's Government going to take the initiative in proposing that it should be held as soon as arrangements can be made for it?

We are already in consultation with our allies as to the methods by which we can now go ahead. Perhaps the right hon. and learned Gentleman will be kind enough to look at what I said. It gives in full the procedure which we propose to follow and the methods of consultation which we think desirable. Certainly they will include meetings, it may be in the first instance at official level, then at the Foreign Ministers level, and possibly at other levels also if all goes well; but the plans are set out in that statement.

In view of the probability that the West German Federal Government may wish to have diplomatic representation in Moscow, now that West Germany has regained her sovereignty, will that Government be entitled to take part in any quadripartite negotiations with Russia?

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, that poses a certain number of questions of representation, not only on the one side but also on the other. There is the question: if one part of Germany were represented, what is the position of the other part of Germany? Nobody understands that better than the German Federal Republic, but we fully recognise the need of keeping the German Federal Government fully informed and consulted at every stage.

Are we to understand that arrangements are now being made for meetings at official level with a view to preparing a conference?

We are in discussion with our allies on that very point. Perhaps I can best satisfy the right hon. and learned Gentleman by saying that nothing is excluded from our minds in the way of machinery to bring about the results we all require.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is aware of the confusion that still exists as to the rôle of fuel overseers in regard to the supply of low-grade coal for domestic allocations; and if he will define the circumstances in which he has instructed the fuel overseers to remind merchants of their duty in this matter.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Iremonger) on 15th November. I have no reason to think that local fuel overseers are in any doubt about their responsibilities.

Can my right hon. Friend give an assurance that all complaints about bad coal, whether from large or small consumers, are thoroughly investigated and that if slate and other unburnable material is returned it is replaced by proper coal? If not, is not that an awful swindle on the wretched housewife who has paid for solid fuel?

There are arrangements, which have been made between the National Coal Board and the merchants, for doing that very thing.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say what positive steps are being taken by local fuel overseers to protect the customers and the housewives from paying for Grade 3 coal when in fact Grade 5 is going into their cellars?

That is a different question.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board to make greater endeavour to improve the quality of household coal.

The Board are making strenuous efforts to solve this problem: methods of hand-cleaning are being improved; some 140 washeries have already been built or extended, another 65 are under construction and some 82 per cent. of deep-mined coal output is now cleaned.

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the present general dissatisfaction with the quality of household coal and its very high price, not least in my own constituency of Solihull, and can he not give us an indication of when there is likely to be a substantial improvement in this matter?

I think the House knows that the difficulty arises from the fact that geological conditions in the mines are more difficult than they were in the past. However, the 65 new washeries now under construction, when finished, will account for the cleaning of an additional 40 million tons of coal.

Is it not still the cheapest coal in Europe?

That is the fact.

Is it not the fact that in Western Europe there is at present a large surplus of coal suitable for domestic purposes, and as that is a soft currency source and our policy is the liberalisation of West European trade, why should we not import unlimited quantities of coal from Western Europe in order to get rid of house-coal rationing in this country?

That is a very interesting suggestion.

Is it acceptable?

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board requiring them to take steps to prevent the burning of soil tips.

No, Sir.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this is a great problem to the people in the coalmining areas, and that to the housewife it presents a continual fight against dirt, and to other people a fight against pollution of the atmosphere, so that the windows of houses and schools in the vicinity cannot be opened, and would not the right hon. Gentleman reconsider the matter?

I know that it is a serious problem, but it would not be proper for me to try to deal with this by a general direction to the National Coal Board, because Parliament has already dealt with it in a series of statutes and the initiative is with the local authority.

Might not the Minister ask the National Coal Board to put its Research Department to finding out ways of dealing with this grave abuse which really ought to have been ended long ago?

I think that is definitely the case.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what steps he is taking to ensure an equitable and balanced distribution of such grades and qualities of coal as are not subject to the provisions of orders issued by his Department stipulating maximum allocations of coal to householders, annually.

The distribution of unrestricted types of solid fuel is at present settled by the producers and the coal merchants, and I do not think we should improve it by the introduction of new controls.

In the absence of national newspapers to report the exact circumstances, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he is aware that Worcester, Kidderminster, Stourport on Severn, and other Severnside towns, are now badly inundated, and as there are practically no supplies of house coal, either rationed or unrationed, available in merchants' yards in the area, will my right hon. Friend take emergency steps to rush supplies to these severely stricken flooded areas of Worcestershire?

Yes, Sir, but even before the advice of my hon. Friend I had the advantage of reading this news in the " Birmingham Post," and I have asked my Departmental representative to see that everything possible is done to help.

Will my right hon. Friend realise what seems to have escaped the notice of my hon. Friend the Member for Kidderminster (Mr. Nabarro), that the Severn also flows through Shropshire?

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power, in view of the Coal Distribution Orders now being 12 years old and inappropriate to current circumstances for supply and pricing of house coal, including maxima allocation provisions, whether he will withdraw the orders and substitute new orders based on revised maxima allocations, continued price control and seasonal price differentials of sufficient value to encourage such householders as have accommodation for summer stocking of house coal so to do on a larger scale, thereby helping deliveries in periods of snow, ice and fog, to those householders who have no such accommodation.

While I share my hon. Friend's anxiety that householders should stock coal during the summer on a larger scale than in the past, I do not think this purpose would be furthered by amending the orders in the way he has proposed, since I already have power under them to vary the maximum permitted quantities in any period and there have been differential summer prices for some years past.

rose —

May I ask a supplementary?

The hon. Member was rather slower in rising than usual.

With respect, Sir, I was preparing a very short supplementary question. [An HON. MEMBER: " That is unusual."] May I ask my right hon. Friend to bear in mind that the orders to which this Question refers are now 12 years old, they were designed for the great stringency of the war years and are not appropriate to present circumstances?

I quite appreciate that, but I hope that they will not last so far in the future as they have lasted in the past.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will speed up the delivery of coal, coke and anthracite in Slough and district.

I know that the coal merchants in Slough and district are making every effort to deliver coal and coke as quickly as possible, and in any case of serious delay the local fuel overseer will take speedy action.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I drew attention to this shortage before the end of last year, that there are cases in Slough now where the supply of anthracite ordered at the end of December has not yet been delivered, that it is expected there will still be a month's delay, that instead of buying coal people are buying logs, and that 81 chimneys have been on fire since the beginning of the year? In view of all these facts, will the Minister do something about it?

Anthracite is particularly short.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power to what causes he attributes the decline in the production of coal in Great Britain during the first 10 weeks of 1955 as compared with the corresponding period in 1954.

Nearly half the decline in production from the deep mines is due to the different incidence of the New Year holidays, and the other main reason is that output per man has been slightly lower. Bad weather has affected attendance at the pits and seriously interfered with opencast production.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the average cost of producing one ton of coal in Great Britain during the first 10 weeks of 1955; and how this compares with the cost for the corresponding period in 1954.

I regret that these figures are not yet available.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the average number of persons employed, and the average weekly wage paid, to surface and underground workers, respectively, in the coal-mining industry in Great Britain during the first 10 weeks of 1955 and for the corresponding period in 1954.

Five hundred and sixty thousand underground and 147,500 on the surface, compared with 558,800 and 149,700 in 1954. The wages figures are not yet available.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that these very disturbing figures about coal production, the falling off in supply and the diminishing quality of the coal, are having a serious effect on the cost of living, and are bad not only for industry but for all consumers? Is there no hope of any improvement in this respect?

I am glad to say that output has improved substantially in the last two weeks.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power to state the steps he is taking to encourage the use of oil as a substitute for coal in industry and else-where; and the approximate estimated saving in annual tons at the end of the next five-year period.

I am discussing with Government Departments, nationalised industries and other public authorities how they can save coal by using more oil; Government loans are available to industrialists who can make worth while savings by changing from coal to oil, and I am glad to say that the use of oil is increasing rapidly.

Is the right hon. Gentleman fully aware of the urgency of this matter, and is he really bringing pressure to bear, particularly on private industry?

It is not for me to bring pressure, but encouragement.

May I ask the Minister why, if he is encouraging the import of oil, he does not encourage still more imports of coal, so that coal rationing can be abolished?

There is a net balance of payments advantage in importing more oil.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if, in view of the increasing coal shortage and the urgent need for a positive inducement to conserve industrial coal supplies, he will now reconsider his previous decision against a levy on private industry for the funds of the Fuel Efficiency Company.

No, Sir.

Could not tremendous savings be made in industry by fuel conservation, and is there any hope of this being done unless the right hon. Gentleman is prepared either to impose some penalty or to give more positive inducements?

The National Industrial Fuel Efficiency Service is making good progress. Hon. Members may have noticed its more aggressive advertising campaign in all sorts of technical journals.

Are we to understand that, the coal industry now having been nationalised, we now have to pay a levy for using its products?

That was not my suggestion.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what estimate he has made of United Kingdom coal consumption for the year commencing 1st April, 1955, compared with the consumption figure for 12 months ending on that date of approximately 214 million tons; and, in view of increasing production and coal requirements of industry and the small increase in coal production over the last three years, what steps he proposes to meet the mounting coal deficiency by reduced exports of coal, or increased imports, or by promoting improved fuel efficiency and oil-for-coal substitution or otherwise.

Consumption may increase another four or five million tons in the next coal year, and the Government are taking action in all the various ways mentioned by my hon. Friend to bridge the likely gap between requirements and home supplies.

Might I return to the earlier Question? Is it not a fact that at the present time we are spending very large sums of money in importing, for example, fruit from Western Europe and elsewhere and paying for it in soft currency, and yet it is said that we cannot afford to import large quantities of coal which are surplus in Western Europe at the present time? Might I have an answer to that specific point?

It is necessary to import enough coal to ensure that the fuel supplies of the country are maintained during the winter so that industry, etc., can carry on. It is another matter to suggest that we should import that additional quantity at the cost of foreign exchange, even though not in dollars, to do away with coal rationing, which I should very much like to do.

With regard to the oil-for-coal substitution suggestion made in the Question, has the right hon. Gentleman considered extending the industrial loans scheme, in view of the heavy capital expenditure required, to domestic consumers who wish to change over to oil?

No, Sir, not to domestic users. The scheme has been extended so that it can be used by industrialists who wish to change over to oil in suitable circumstances.

I understand that, but does not the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that there may be many domestic consumers who would change over except for the heavy capital cost involved? Will he consider extending the industrial scheme to domestic users who would like to take advantage of it?

That is a useful suggestion.

Did the right hon. Gentleman notice his hon. Friend's conversion to selective import controls, in this case coal for fruit?

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is aware that, despite the emergency arrangements which he recently made, many London merchants have no stocks of coal and are unable to supply their customers; and if he will make a statement.

At this time of year merchants are accustomed to rely almost entirely on current supplies from the coalfields, and I am glad to say that these are now coming forward well.

Is the Minister aware that the statement he has just made and the statement that he made last week are, in the words of the Society of Coal Merchants, not in accordance with their experience? Is he further aware that in Shoreditch a depot which supplies 20,000 people has no coal and that the railway coal trucks are standing empty and idle? Will he, therefore, do something positive to help people who have to buy their coal every week and rely on it not only for heat but often for cooking?

The London Society of Coal Merchants announced only the other day that the idea that there was a serious coal famine in London was a silly misstatement.

Is not the coal shortage typical of any nationalised industry or State monopoly—worse service at increased cost?

Is the Minister aware that his answer is not in accordance with the facts within the knowledge of almost all hon. Members, and that people, particularly in London, are really suffering acute hardship because they just cannot get coal?

More coal has been delivered in London during the last three weeks than at almost any comparable time in the last eight years.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how many tons of coal he estimates will be exported in 1955.

The total will partly depend upon changes in United Kingdom coal output, but my present estimate is that we shall export between 12 and 12½ million tons in all.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that with imports of coal running at the present rate we shall be very much out of pocket? Have we not spent about £16 million on coal imports during 1954? Is it not stupid and crazy to go on exporting coal and then have to make up the gap by importing it?

I have previously told the hon. and gallant Gentleman that there is a need to keep a foothold in our traditional markets in the interests of the coal industry. It is usual for a coal-producing country like Germany both to import and export coal continually, which is not so foolish as it sounds, because there are different varieties.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will issue leaflets and small posters available for distribution or display by local authorities and others showing the respective thermal content, domestic value, financial economy and smoke diminution of various types of fuel and power, with a view to giving guidance to and encouraging discrimination by domestic and other users.

I doubt whether guidance given in this way would serve a useful purpose.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that housewives and others are sometimes misled and sometimes misinformed about different types of fuel in respect to economy, reduction in the amount of smoke and so forth? As there is widespread ignorance on the matter and a desire for illumination, will he reconsider the matter?

I agree with the hon. Gentleman in his desire but not in the method he proposes. I consider that much useful progress has been made by the new scheme of the Coal Utilisation Council, which has arranged with approved suppliers for advice to be given to housewives by people trained in these matters. It is better that housewives should have advice from trained men than be confused by a table of thermal statistics.

asked the Minister of Food what foodstuffs are at present being stored by his Department abroad; and in what countries these foodstuffs are so stored.

Meat is being stored in Germany and Belgium, bacon in Denmark, sugar in Holland and cheese in Belgium.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary give the House an assurance that no more food will be stored abroad?

No more food will be stored abroad than is absolutely essential.

asked the Minister of Food how much frozen meat held in Government account is in cold storage at home and on our behalf in other countries; what action is being taken to release shipping serving as floating warehouses; and what is the total cost per week for meat storage at the latest available date.

On 18th March, about 68,000 tons in United Kingdom stores, 5,000 tons in a refrigerated ship, and 19,000 tons in Continental stores. The refrigerated ship will be released on 24th May. The total weekly cost of Ministry storage is about £47,000.

Does not the hon. Gentleman appreciate that the cost of frozen meat in the shops is much too high? As the cost involved in his policy of paying £2,000 or £3,000 a week for ships is added to the cost of meat, housewives will, once again, have a very bad deal because of the muddle in the Ministry of Food.

The hon. Gentleman will realise that on 28th February there was a substantial cut in the price at which the Ministry sold its frozen meat and that the price is running at about half that for home-killed meat in the wholesale market. I appreciate that it is necessary to make available the present quantities of imported meat at reasonable retail prices.

asked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the inconvenience caused to Dominion producers by the suspension of meat shipments and in order to reduce accumulated stocks in the United Kingdom, he will make a further reduction in the price charged by his Department for imported meat, and so benefit the housewives and reduce the cost of living.

It would be contrary to sound commercial practice to forecast price changes.

If the Minister cannot accept this suggestion, will he say what are his Department's proposals for relieving the present congestion, as it may well mean that if the trouble continues a shortage of supplies will eventually arise from the situation?

I have already informed the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Dodds) what has been done. We shall, of course, watch the situation and make such price changes as seem desirable.

asked the Minister of Food how far the recent reduction by his Department in the price charged to merchants for imported meat involves selling at a loss; and what is the extent of the loss.

asked the Minister of Food the current rate of loss, expressed as a percentage, on the realisation of his Department's stocks of imported meat.

It is not the practice to disclose the day-by-day results of the Department's trading operations.

If the Minister cannot disclose the day-to-day results, can he at least say whether a loss is being made or not so that we shall then have a better opportunity of judging the wisdom or otherwise of his Department's action?

The hon. Member will realise, from what I said earlier, that the stocks are not being sold at a profit.

Does the Parliamentary Secretary realise that only last month his right hon. Friend said that these stocks were being sold at a profit? On the Supplementary Estimates he said that he thought that there would be a profit on the sale of imported meat. What has happened in the meantime to bring about the change?

I have already referred to the cut in prices made on 28th February. That is the relevant fact.

Do not the answers to these questions show that the sooner my hon. Friend speeds up his policy of getting out of the business altogether the better it will be?

No doubt my hon. Friend will be in attendance later in the day.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will control the excessive profit margin in the present retail price of imported meat.

No, Sir. My Department has, through the retail butchers' associations, circulated a letter drawing attention to the disadvantages of averaging out the prices of home-killed and imported meat. It now remains with the butchers to see that the public is enabled to take full advantage of the ample supplies of low-priced frozen meat now available.

What has the Ministry done to follow up this request to the butchers? Is the Parliamentary Secretary not aware that the profit on the import of meat is far higher than it should be, so that the butchers can reduce prices of fresh meat? Does he not agree that the only effect of this hampering of the law of supply and demand, which is one of the sacred cows of the Conservative Party, is to intensify the demand for fresh meat?

There has been some result from the letter which has already been issued, but I agree with the hon. and gallant Gentleman that it is necessary for butchers to drop this averaging out procedure in order that the public may purchase frozen meat at a reasonable price.

asked the Minister of Food how the general level of wholesale prices for home-killed and imported meat, respectively, has moved since decontrol.

Wholesale prices vary in different markets. But for the week ending 19th March, Smithfield prices for home-killed beef and lamb were from 10 to 35 per cent. higher than under control. Home-killed pork was from 35 per cent. lower to 10 per cent. higher. Ministry imported meat was about 20 per cent. lower on average than under control. Privately imported new season's frozen. meat was on average also below control prices.

Can my hon. Friend inform the House whether he is able to rely on adequate supplies of this meat until the flush season for home-killed meat comes along?

In the aggregate, there is an ample supply of meat to maintain the present level of consumption, but to some extent it does involve a switch to frozen beef in the early months of the year.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary send another letter to the meat trade pointing out that in the opinion of the Ministry the retail price of imported meat is far higher than it should be?

Of course, I will consider any suggestion of the hon. and gallant Gentleman.

asked the Minister of of Food if he is aware of the concern at the large stocks of condensed milk held by his Department when liquid milk is plentiful; and what action is being taken to ensure that stocks are disposed of before becoming unfit for human consumption.

My Department agreed in 1954 to dispose of the balance of its commercial stocks of condensed milk over a period, so as to avoid dislocating the home manufacturing and marketing programme. The greater part of the stock has already been sold and sales are continuing satisfactorily.

While I appreciate the point about " over a period," is it not a fact that much of the condensed milk was bought in 1953 with a guarantee of about six months in which it would be fit for human consumption? Are not the Dutch Government upset that the milk will be sold miscoloured, which will be a very bad advertisement for the product?

The stocks of condensed milk are regularly examined and the proportion found to be unsound is no greater than it was some years ago. The position is carefully watched all the time.

Is it not a fact that the guarantee given for it in 1953 was six months and that, like cheese, it will be kept too long and once against the taxpayers will have to pay for it?

asked the Minister of Food how the average retail prices paid for eggs in 1954 compare with the prices paid in 1953.

The average retail price for home-produced hen eggs for the financial year 1954–55 was about 4s. 2d. per dozen compared with about 4s. 6d. per dozen in the year 1953–54. Imported hen eggs were slightly cheaper than home-produced eggs in both years.

Does my hon. Friend realise that the housewife will consider that to be a very satisfactory position? Can he perhaps give us the figure for the last year under control and the numbers of eggs passing through the packing stations in the current year and in the previous year?

For the last year under control, the corresponding figure was 4s. 8d. The packing stations through-put in 195354 was 13·9 million boxes and in 1954–55, 16 million boxes.

Does the hon. Gentleman have figures available for the additional cost to the taxpayer arising from the difference in the prices?

Perhaps the hon. Member will put the Question down.

asked the Minister of Food, in view of the fact that the retail price of 7 lb. of potatoes is fixed for most brands at 1 s. 3½d., whether he will take steps to compel retailers to exhibit this price, since many of them charge their customers 2½d. per lb. whatever quantity they purchase.

Retailers are under a statutory obligation to display the maximum retail prices for quantities of 1 lb. and 7 lb. of potatoes. If the hon. Member knows of specific instances where this requirement is being ignored, I will inquire into them.

asked the Minister of Food when he expects to obtain more plentiful supplies of Danish butter.

No great improvement can be expected before the middle of April.

Will my hon. Friend take into account the fact that Danish butter is extremely popular in the north of England and that we look forward to larger supplies at an early date?

I do know that Danish butter is very popular in the north of England and some parts of the Midlands. The Danes have been finding profitable markets elsewhere, but we have reason to expect that the position will soon improve.

asked the Minister of Food how much wheat was grown in the United Kingdom, and what proportion was used for flour milling, in the years 1938–39 and 1953–54, respectively.

The figures for the 1938–39 season are not separately available. The average production of the seasons 1936–37 to 1938–39 was 1,651,000 tons. Of this, 44 per cent. was used for flour milling. The corresponding figures for the 1953–54 season are 2,664,000 tons and 63 per cent.

Would not my hon. Friend agree that it is very encouraging that there should be this large increase? Would he not also agree that it is very important from the point of view of balance of payments that we should maintain and, if possible. increase the acreage?

The figures are encouraging and are due in no small part to the co-operation of the millers in the last full year.

asked the Minister of Food the level of bacon consumption now, as compared with that during the last six months of control.

Consumption during the period January to June, 1954, averaged about 10,600 tons a week. Since decontrol the average weekly sales have been 10,700 tons.

Is my hon. Friend not very satisfied with this result of Conservative administration? Can he give some indication of how the price of bacon has moved during the past two years?

The average price of bacon since decontrol has fallen by 6d. a lb.

asked the Minister of Food the consumption of sugar in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and how this compares with consumption in the 12 months immediately before derationing.

About 2,580,000 tons (raw value) in the 12 months to the end of February, 1955, compared with 2,150,000 tons in the 12 months immediately before derationing.

Does not my hon. Friend agree that this is another example of where, when a commodity has been taken off control, it has not necessarily meant that there is less of it?

asked the Minister of Food the estimated value to the average family of the remaining subsidies on bread and milk, including welfare milk; and how this amount varies with families of different size.

The estimated value to all households is 3s. per week. As the reply to the second part of the Question contains a number of figures, I will with permission, circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the inspired Questions to him cover only a selected range of foodstuffs?

asked the Minister of Food what different foodstuffs are at present held in store by his Department, and in each case what is the amount so stored.

Commercial and residual stocks held by my Department include imported meat, bacon, raw sugar, butter and cheese, condensed milk and milk powder, frozen whole egg, Californian seedless raisins, concentrated orange juice, oilseeds and edible oils, and canned fruits. In general, my right hon. Friend is not prepared, on commercial grounds, to disclose the Department's holdings while it is still in business.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary do his best to see that these good foodstuffs get into consumption?

Yes, Sir.

asked the hon. Member for Finchley, as representing the Church Commissioners, the net percentage interest earned on the capital invested in Dibdin House, Paddington; and how this compares with other types of investment undertaken by the Commission.

Approximately 2·4 per cent. This cannot be compared with other types of investment undertaken by the Commissioners, since they regard it as part of their contribution towards the housing of families in the lower income groups.

asked the hon. Member for Finchley, as representing the Church Commissioners, how much liquid capital the Commission have at present awaiting investment; and what schemes are being considered for investing it.

None, Sir.

Will the Commissioners continue to bear in mind their obligation to house the lower income groups in view of the fact that they were very proud, in the first place, of their achievement in erecting Dibdin House? They seem to have lost that initiative and enthusiasm since the war.

Our enthusiasm is undimmed in doing what we can both to produce a fair income for the clergy and as regards the housing position of all our tenants.

asked the hon. Member for Finchley, as representing the Church Commissioners, how many times the lease of 39, Shirland Road, Paddington, has changed hands since the war; and what steps the Commissioners have taken to ensure that their interests are protected.

The lease of this property has not changed hands since the war.