asked the Postmaster-General how many new telephones have been installed in Crawley since 1st January, 1954; and how many applicants are still on the waiting list.

Nine hundred and twenty-five telephones between 1st January, 1954, and the 31st March, 1955. Two hundred and fifty applications were outstanding at 31st March, 1955, including 150 in the course of being met or under inquiry.

asked the Postmaster-General when it is expected to complete the new underground cable from Aberdeen to Alford; and how many additional subscribers will be provided for by this new cable.

The cable should be ready by November and will enable us to join up about 90 applicants in and around Alford shortly afterwards.

asked the Postmaster-General what further consultations he has had with the Independent Television Authority regarding the types of advertisement that will be banned; and what proposals he has had from the Authority regarding the methods of advertising.

In accordance with Section 8 (2) (b) of the Television Act, the I.T.A.'s Advertising Advisory Committee presented to the Authority a code of standards of advertising—the "Principles" are based on this code. I considered the "Principles" in draft and with some minor amendments, approved them, in so far as they relate to matters falling within my jurisdiction under Section 4 (5) of the Act.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now introduce regulations defining an advertisement period in terms of minutes per hour under his agreement with the Independent Television Authority.

No.

asked the Postmaster-General what frequencies have been allocated to the Independent Television Authority for provincial stations.

Channel 8 (186 to 191 Mc/s) has been allocated to the Midland station, and channel 9 (191 to 196 Mc/s) to the Lancashire station. I am now considering the allocation of another channel for a proposed station in Yorkshire.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware of the disturbance caused to residents in Huyton-with-Roby from low-flying heavy United States aircraft late at night and in the early morning, including four-engined jet machines; and whether he will take steps to reduce this disturbance, particularly during the night hours.

The United States Air Force authorities have undertaken to do their utmost to reduce night traffic at Burtonwood. Two recent instances of landings by forces of heavy jet aircraft late at night and in the early morning were emergency diversions caused by bad weather.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will make a statement giving details of the performance of the Bristol Sycamore helicopter in Kenya.

Yes. The Bristol Sycamore helicopter in Kenya has carried out eleven missions to evacuate casualties, of which two were inside the forest area. Tests have been made to find out the maximum height from which casualties can be lifted and one trial has been completed successfully at a height of ten thousand feet.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he has yet completed his discussions regarding the repair and maintenance of roads passing over railway bridges.

No, but the seven associations representing the local authorities concerned are now considering firm proposals for a settlement made by the British Transport Commission which I recently sent them.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the amount allocated this year in the road programme specifically to the removal of black spots.

I have made no separate allocation for black spots. But, as I said in my statement of 2nd February, the elimination of these black spots is one of the major considerations determining my approval of particular road schemes. As a result, some hundreds of these will be eliminated this year.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what lessons have been learned about traffic congestion in greater London during the recent strike; and what steps he proposes to take as a result of information obtained.

I think we have learnt a lot about London traffic from what happened during the strike. The most conspicuous lessons are the value of more police, of restraint by motorists on parking on the streets in Central London, and of more consideration by road users for each other. The technical lessons in respect of traffic control are being studied by my Department in conjunction with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and the Metropolitan Police.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will introduce legislation to limit fares for children below 16 years of age to half the rate for adults.

No.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what recommendations he has now received from the British Transport Commission in regard to the utilisation of canals and waterways; and what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government thereon.

I have received no specific proposals, but I understand that the Commission has already approved certain schemes for the improvement of particular waterways and that a further scheme is in course of preparation. On principle, I welcome such proposals.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will now make a statement concerning question H on the application form for a Road Fund Licence.

This question will be withdrawn from the application forms, and a note added reminding the applicant that he requires a separate radio licence for a car radio.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware of the noise from the running-up of aeroplane engines at night at London Airport and that it has again become an annoyance to local residents; and if he will report on the latest steps taken by his Department to mitigate this nuisance.

Noise at airports is a perpetual problem. Under arrangements which I have previously announced, the airline operators at London Airport continue to keep night running of engines to a minimum. Where this cannot be avoided B.E.A. use the apron to the West of their new Maintenance Base, thereby making the most effective use of the shielding properties of the building. B.O.A.C. aircraft maintained at their new base and requiring to be run-up at night will make use of the acoustic screen wall.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware that the use of No. 1 runway at London Airport is causing distress and annoyance to residents in Heston and Isleworth by reason of very low flying; and if he will give immediately instructions for discontinuance of the use of No. 1 runway.

I am doing all I can to avoid low flying over Heston and Isleworth. To this end, No. 1 Runway is normally used only for take-offs towards and landings from the West. Installation of navigational aids on this runway is however not yet finally completed, and recent periods of easterly winds combined with bad weather have necessitated occasional departures from these arrangements. I regret that these have caused disturbance but I hope this will be infrequent. The answer to the second part of the Question is "No."

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when Heston Airport is to be sold.

The land owned by my Department at the former Heston Airport is being sold as rapidly as is practicable in accordance with the Government's policy on the disposal of surplus land, but the process will necessarily take some time.

asked the Minister of Defence how many service personnel travelled back from camp or other duties to their homes at public expense in order to vote in person at the General Election; and what was the approximate cost thereof.

It is not possible to give a precise figure, but it is estimated that not more than 50 men applied for leave to vote in person under Paragraph 302 of the Regulations for the Territorial Army. The total cost is estimated at under £100.

asked the Minister of Defence, in view of the delays of weeks and sometimes months, in many cases, between the medical examination and call-up of National Service men resulting in a period of disturbance and uncertainty in their industrial, social and home life, if he will consider taking steps to see that that period counts towards the man's National Service.

All men registered under the National Service Act are informed, at the time of registration, that an interval of between six and eight weeks will occur between their medical examination and the date of call-up to the Forces. This interval is necessary for administrative reasons. It also enables the man to make any necessary domestic arrangements, and the employer to arrange a replacement. I could not accept the suggestion in the last part of the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps he has taken to establish contact with repatriated Austrians until recently in Soviet or satellite hands; and whether he will now give an assurance that the lists of British citizens in Russians hands previously drawn up by his Department are unaffected by this new evidence.

Her Majesty's Embassy in Vienna have requested the Austrian authorities for permission to question the repatriated Austrians about British subjects who are alleged to be detained in the Soviet Union. The Austrian authorities are prepared to give full facilities, but not before the returned prisoners have had time to settle down. Some of the names so far mentioned in the most recent Press reports had been included in the previous list of alleged British subjects reported to be in Russian hands, but there are other names which have not been mentioned previously. These reports are receiving careful investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what specific books and newspapers are prohibited from importation into Kenya.

The following is the list:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the danger to the liberty of the subject in Kenya caused by the present operation there of emergency legislation; and if he will institute an inquiry into the past, present and future operation of such legislation there.

This special legislation will be required until the emergency is at an end, but its operation is kept under continuous review by the Kenya Government, who ensure that it is adapted to the minimum required in the changing character of the emergency. I do not consider that any separate inquiry is warranted or required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the Nairobi City Council have refused to accept the findings of the Board of Inquiry under Justice R. Windham advising the recognition of the Local Government Officers Union; and what representations he will make in the matter.

No. I understand that the Nairobi City Council are still considering the matter. The second part of the Question does not therefore arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to state the subjects discussed and conclusions reached at his conversations in June, 1955, in London, with the Governor of Uganda.

I have asked the Governor to be available in London while I am having discussions with the Lukiko delegations on the new constitutional arrangements for Buganda. I hope to make a statement as soon as these discussions are complete.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies for an assurance that systems of collective punishment will be abolished in all our Colonies or Protectorates.

No. Provision for collective punishment only exists in a few territories and is seldom used. It is based on the need to penalise communities who have sheltered offenders or have refused to act in aid of the authorities. The few Colonial Governments which retain this provision consider that since there is no practicable and satisfactory alternative it would be unwise to relinquish this power, and I accept their judgment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if the Government of Nigeria has now carried out its intention of abolishing the means test for pensioners; and which other Governments in British West Africa have similar proposals.

The Government of the Federation of Nigeria abolished as from 1st April last the income limits which formerly governed the award of increases to pensions paid under the Pensions Ordinance. The Gold Coast and Sierra Leone Governments had already done so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the advances made in, and the present position of, the constitutional developments in Nigeria, to date.

The present Constitution came into operation on 1st October, 1954, in accordance with Orders in Council (S.I. Nos. 1146 and 1147) made on 30th August and laid before Parliament on 3rd September. It embodies the outcome of the discussions at the London and Lagos conferences of 1953 and 1954, the reports of which were also laid before Parliament in Command Papers Nos. 8934 and 9059.Major changes introduced under the new Constitution include the following: A federal form of Government in which residual powers rest with the Regions; the establishment of a separate Government for the Southern Cameroons; the reduction in the number of official members in the Federal Council of Ministers and the Executive Council of the Northern Region, and their elimination (except for the Governor who continues to preside) from the Executive Councils of the Eastern and Western Regions; and the establishment of Federal and Regional Public Services in place of the former unitary Nigerian Service.The Constitution is to be reviewed at a further conference due to be held not later than August, 1956.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies for what reason it is not yet considered advisable by his Department to restore the Constitution to British Guiana.

I am not satisfied that representative Government could be re-introduced as yet without risk of a further breakdown.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will end the Selection Trust monopoly of diamond mining in Sierra Leone and issue licences to individual miners.

The Chief Minister of Sierra Leone and two of his colleagues are arriving shortly to discuss the whole future of diamond mining policy in Sierra Leone and I am not in a position in the meantime to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what effect the development of illicit diamond mining in Sierra Leone is having on the economic and social life of that country.

It is unfortunately the case that illicit diamond mining in Sierra Leone has caused a substantial loss of potential revenue from taxation, a decline in agricultural production, inflated prices for foodstuffs, and disrespect for the law in those areas where it is prevalent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he proposes to take following the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into the Freetown riots which took place in Sierra Leone during February last.

The Sierra Leone Government, in a statement published on 6th June, accepted the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry. Copies of that statement and of the Commission's Report are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is being taken to increase the size of the police force in Sierra Leone.

As indicated in their recent statement on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the recent disturbances, the Sierra Leone Government are now considering an increase in the police force, but no definite proposals have yet been formulated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many official strikes have taken place in Singapore during the past three months, and in what industries; how many workpeople were involved; and what is the average hourly wage paid to these men.

There have been 12 strikes over industrial disputes since the beginning of March. They have taken place in a public transport service, a saw mill, a soft drink and soap factory, the Singapore Turf Club, a shoe manufacturing company, two engineering factories, a rubber company a brick works and the Harbour Board, the last on two occasions. About 4,700 workers have been involved. It is customary to pay wages on a daily and not an hourly basis. The daily wage of those involved varies from $3 to $10.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies into which of the main East African languages it is proposed to translate the full unabridged text of the East Africa Royal Commission Report.

So far as I am aware, the question of translation of the Report has not yet been considered by the East African Governments. I imagine that it would be a formidable task to translate a Report of such length and technical complexity into even a few of the more widely used vernaculars in East Africa. But I am consulting the East African Governments and will write to the hon. Member when I have received and considered their views.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps he is taking to ensure that Portuguese Africans illegally crossing the Mozambique border into Nyasaland are not allowed to settle as squatters in the colony.

In the Southern Province of Nyasaland all Native Authorities and District Councils have made rules under the Native Authority Ordinance prohibiting any alien African from settling in their area without the written permission of the District Commissioner. In addition, rules made under the Native Tax Ordinance last November make immigrant Africans liable for tax and require them to register their names with the District Commissioner or Native Authority in whose area they are living. As the jurisdiction of Native Authorities does not extend to private estates, the Government hopes to effect some measure of control on these by amending the Africans on Private Estates Ordinance to prevent immigrant Africans from acquiring status as resident Africans. The effectiveness of any control measures must of course depend on the active co-operation of the African population itself.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty to what extent recruitment is falling short of requirement.

The actual number of naval ratings and Royal Marine other ranks recruited during the financial year 1954–55 was 7,722 compared with the estimate of 8,100 which was given in the statement on this year's Navy Estimates.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty on what terms the Royal Navy has the use of the Simonstown Naval Base; what is its annual cost; and what is the Government's policy about its future.

The freehold of the greater part of the Simonstown base is held by the Union of South Africa Government, which has given the Admiralty the use of it so long as required for the purposes of the Royal Navy. The United Kingdom has no territorial jurisdiction at Simonstown or over any of the outlying properties which together comprise the base. The annual cost of the base is of the order of £500,000. Naval defence in the South Atlantic area, including the continued use by both the Royal Navy and the South African Navy of the naval facilities at Simonstown, is among the matters now under discussion in London with the Minister of Defence of the Union Government.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that the men employed at the Naval Base at Singapore do not come under the labour laws of the Colony; that this is causing resentment among the employees; and if he will take steps to see that the labour laws of the Colony apply equally to all workers irrespective of who the employer may be.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes," but on the whole the locally entered employees derive greater benefits from present Admiralty practice than they would under the Straits Labour Ordinance of 1923 and the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance of 1933 which are at present in force, and I have no evidence of resentment among employees. There have, however, been consultations with the Singapore Government to ensure that the conditions of service of locally entered employees conform with those prescribed in the draft Labour Bill which is shortly to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what increase or decrease there was in the volume of crime in 1954 as compared with 1953.

I am glad to say that the provisional figures for 1954 show that there was a decrease of 8·2 per cent. in the number of indictable offences known to the police in England and Wales compared with the previous year. The provisional total for 1954 was 434,327 compared with 472,989 in 1953—a decrease of 38,662. These offences may be divided into groups as shown in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date the sum of £350,000 was made available for the maintenance and improvement of fishing harbours in Scotland; and how much has been expended to date.

Offers of assistance for the construction, improvement and repair of fishery harbours in Scotland made between October, 1951, and October, 1954, totalled £350,000 of which some £125,000 has so far been paid. Since October last, offers of a further £150,000 have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date the sum of £2 million was made available for the modernisation of the Scottish fishing fleet; and how much has been expended to date.

The White Fish and Herring Industries Act, 1953, provided for grants up to a total of £9,750,000 for the construction of new fishing vessels and engines in Great Britain during a period of ten years from the passing of the Act. No prescribed portion of this total is allocated to Scotland, and £2 million is only a rough estimate. Up to 1st June, 1955, grants approved in Scotland totalled £619,604.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications for grants and loans for Aberdeen trawlers have been received by the White Fish Authority during the last 12 months; how many have been granted; and how many are under consideration.

I am informed by the White Fish Authority that during the last 12 months they have received 14 applications from Aberdeen for grants towards the construction of new near and middle water vessels and have so far approved three. The remainder are under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date the sum of £500,000 was made available for the experimental peat-burning power station at Altnabreac; and how much has been expended to date.

I announced on 14th July, 1953, that the Government had approved the setting up of experimental peat-burning gas turbine plants at a capital cost of approximately £500,000. Expenditure during the financial years 1953–54 and 1954–55 amounted to approximately £129,000.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can yet say when the Report of the Monopolies Commission on exclusive dealing, collective boycotts and other discriminatory trade practices will be published.

This Report will be published at 9 a.m. on the 29th June, 1955. Copies will be available in the Vote Office and at Her Majesty's Stationery Office in London and at other Stationery Offices throughout the country.

asked the Minister of Education what proposals have been made to alter the name or status of the Elizabeth Countess of Berkeley Grammar School at Wotton-under-Edge.

I understand that discussions have been taking place locally which have a bearing on the future of Katherine, Lady Berkeley's Grammar School; but I do not know what suggestions have been considered, as no proposals have yet been made to me.

asked the Minister of Works how many building operatives were engaged in Scotland on school building, housing, industrial building, and hospitals, respectively, in the months of January and June in each year from January, 1953.

Information for the years 1953 and 1954 is given below. Later figures are not available.