asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what measures the Government are taking to assist the fulfilment of the provisions of the Geneva Conference about the general elections in Vietnam; and whether he can now report what progress has been made in regard to consultations between representatives of the South and the North in preparation for the elections.

As my right hon. Friend said in reply to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Warbey) on 13th June, Her Majesty's Government hope that the consultations about general elections in Vietnam specified by the Geneva Agreements will take place as scheduled. It is for the authorities of the two zones to reach agreement about the time and place and exact form of these consultations, but we are of course prepared to help in any way open to us.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the imminent danger of further armed conflict between North and South Vietnam, if he will give an assurance that Her Majesty's Government will support any action by the co-guarantors of the Geneva Agreement which is required to prevent such conflict.

I have no reason to believe that armed conflict between North and South Vietnam is imminent, but Her Majesty's Government stand by their obligations under paragraph 13 of the Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference and under Article IV of the Manila Treaty.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many widows in Midlothian are in receipt of 10s. per week pension.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will now consider taking steps to alter the earnings rule so as to permit persons in receipt of retirement pensions to earn up to £3 per week before any deduction is made from their pension.

My right hon. Friend has no such proposal in mind at present but I must point out that the Phillips Committee has recommended against any change in the earnings limit.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the results of the National Coal Board's prospecting in the Rivelin Valley, Sheffield; and what decisions he has made regarding opencast mining operations.

I have nothing yet to add to the reply given by my hon. Friend to the hon. Member on 25th October, 1954.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the public expenditure, to date, under the Coal Mining Subsidence Act, 1950; and the expenditure of the National Coal Board under the Act.

Up to 31st December, 1954, expenditure incurred by the National Coal Board as a result of the Coal Mining Subsidence Act, 1950, was approximately £2,300,000 to which the Exchequer contributed £1,110,000.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the £14,000 scheme which he has approved for much-needed reconstruction of the Mount Vernon Hospital, Barnsley, is being held up because the Sheffield firm of architects, who have been invited by the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board to prepare the plans is engaged on other matters; and, in view of this and of the long waiting list for admission to the hospital, whether he will instruct the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board to approach a Barnsley firm.

I am informed by the Regional Hospital Board that there has been no undue delay on the part of the firm handling this work, which was allocated to it at the request of the Barnsley Hospital Management Committee, and that working drawings are expected to be completed by the end of the present month.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to prevent the closure of 100 beds at Sully Tuberculosis Sanatorium, South Wales, where there is a long waiting list of patients.

The Hospital Management Committee is investigating the circumstances of the staffing of this hospital as a matter of urgency, and I shall keep in touch with the situation.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to attract more nurses to serve at the Sully Hospital, Glamorganshire.

Vacancies are widely advertised, and periodic intensive recruitment campaigns are undertaken, including mobile exhibitions and the opening of the hospital for inspection by possible recruits. The appointments facilities of the Ministry of Labour and National Service are freely used. Special transport and additional staff amenities are being considered. The living and working conditions are good.

asked the Minister of Health the total number of people in South Wales who are registered as awaiting admission to a tuberclosis sanatorium; how many have been waiting six months or over; and the average number admitted each month this year.

311, of whom 105 have been waiting six months or more. The numbers of admissions during the first five months of this year were 286, 258, 320, 285 and 332. Six months ago the comparable figures to the 311 and 105 quoted above were 524 and 258.

asked the Minister of Health how many men and women died in the area dealt with by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages at Dursley, at an age of 65 years or over, during each of the five years preceding 31st December, 1954.

This information is not at present available. Unless there is some very special reason I should not feel justified in asking the Registrar General to go to the considerable trouble of producing it.

asked the Minister of Health if, in his plans for combating poliomyelitis in this country, he will seek the co-operation of voluntary bodies, such as the National Fund for Poliomyelitis Research and the Infantile Paralysis Fellowship.

In my view there will always be a part to be played in our social services by bodies such as these. The assistance they have given to research and to the welfare of those suffering from poliomyelitis has been most valuable and I hope it will be continued.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will make a further statement on the position regarding the use in this country of anti-poliomyelitis vaccine.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Huddersfield, West (Mr. Wade) on 17th June.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that an increasing number of cotton mills in Oldham are working short-time and these mills normally close on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and that a count taken on Monday gives a misleading picture; and whether he will arrange for a special count to be taken in the second half of the week.

I am aware that short-time working in cotton mills in Oldham has been increasing. My information, however, is that the majority of the mills affected close down on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. There is no reason, therefore, to suppose that a count of the temporarily stopped on another day than Monday would give a more accurate picture of the extent of short-time working.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give an assurance that the call-up of agricultural

Yes.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what numbers of houses have been returned, respectively, by the Borough Council of Kettering, the urban district councils of Burton Latimer, Corby, Desborough and Rothwell and the rural district councils of Brixworth and Kettering in reply to Questions (1) in Part A (1) (a), (1) (b), (4), (5), (6) (a) and (6) (b) in Part B of Circular No. 9/55.

I assume that the hon. Member intended to refer to Circular 8/55. A return from the Corby Urban District Council has not yet been received. The following table gives the information required in respect of the other authorities named:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware of the concern at the new conditions relating to the rating assessments of shops; and what the present position is in this respect.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the House on this subject on 17th June.

asked the Postmaster-General when the extension to the Morley Telephone Exchange will be completed and the waiting applicants will be able to have telephones installed.

The exchange extension was completed in April. Since then fifty applicants have been given service, and another seventy are being joined up this week. We hope to connect all remaining applicants during the next three weeks except for fourteen, for whom there are no spare wires at present.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the position of the proposal to construct a by-pass at Atherstone, in the County of Warwick; and whether he is aware of the urgency for this project to be completed.

I am aware of the desirability of providing a by-pass at Atherstone and at my request the Warwickshire County Council included such a proposal in the County Development Plan. I have agreed that the agent authority, which in this case is the Warwickshire County Council, should proceed with the preliminary survey work so that I can in due course establish the by-pass as a trunk road by order under Section 1 (2) of the Trunk Roads Act, 1946. It is not possible at present to say when this work can be put in hand.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made by the Reorganisation Commission on Pigs and Bacon.

I hope that the final appointments will be completed, and the Commission will start its work, very shortly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the value of exports and re-exports to and imports from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for each of the calendar years 1949 to 1954 and the first quarter of 1955.

Following are the figures:

asked the President of the Board of Trade the value of exports from the United Kingdom to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the calendar years 1952, 1953 and 1954, and the first quarter of 1955, for machine tools, electrical equipment and machinery, cables, textile machinery, and transport equipment, respectively; and, where avail- able, the figures of quantities of each of these classes of goods.

asked the Minister of Education his estimate of the increase in the secondary school population in the excepted district of Newcastle-under-Lyme in the next five years and of the numbers of new grammar, secondary

Following are the figures:modern, and junior technical places which will be required.

The Staffordshire local education authority estimates that the secondary school population in Newcastle-under-Lyme will increase by about 1,200 in the next five years, and that in addition to the new places already included in building programmes, about 400 more secondary modern school places will be needed.