asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the internal value of the £ sterling at the latest convenient date; and how this compares with similar dates in 1952, 1953 and 1954 taking the £ at 20s. in October, 1951.

It is estimated that the internal purchasing power of the £ was about 18s. 5d. in May, 1955, as compared with 20s. in October, 1951, and that the corresponding figures for May, 1952, 1953 and 1954 were 19s. 7d., 19s. 2d. and 19s. 1d. respectively. This estimate is based on the consumer price index between 1951 and 1954, and the Interim Index of Retail Prices thereafter.

Does the Economic Secretary not appreciate how important it is for peace in the industrial world that the £ should be worth more and buy more? What are the Government doing to see that the £ is brought nearer to its 1951 value?

On that subject I can only refer the hon. Gentleman to the very full speech made on 16th June by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer during the debate on the Address.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the hardship caused by the continued delay in repayment of post-war credits ten years after the cessation of hostilities; and whether he is prepared to introduce measures for more speedy repayment.

My right hon. Friend is well aware of this problem and will review it again at the appropriate time. The hon. Member's suggestion would, of course, require legislation.

Can the Financial Secretary tell us what the appropriate time is likely to be and when it is likely to arrive? It is a matter of great public concern. Unless we watch the debates continuously, we never know whether we are in an economic crisis or not, because the Chancellor varies so much on this subject.

This is a Budget matter, but I think that it is a little early for me to use the phrase: "I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement."

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the treatment of postwar credits by all Chancellors of the Exchequer since the end of the war has been economically sound and morally indefensible?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, when he takes further steps to effect the speedier repayment of post-war credits, he will favourably consider the needs of those who, on account of illness, have had to retire from active work considerably earlier than the present repayment age.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider the earlier payment of post-war credits in the cases of people suffering serious illness, before they reach the age of 65 years.

The difficulties of repaying post-war credits earlier on special hardship grounds have often been explained to the House, but my right hon. Friend will again consider these and other suggestions concerning post-war credits at the appropriate time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have an income of over £2,000 per annum after paying Income Tax and Surtax; their combined annual net income above that figure; and how much per person per week this amount represents when spread over the remaining 23,852,000 total working population.

It is provisionally estimated that in 1955–56 about 155,000 people will have net incomes of £2,000 or more after deduction of Income Tax and Surtax, and that their aggregate net incomes in excess of £2,000 will be about £110 million. This amount, if spread over the remainder of the total working population, is equivalent to about ls. 9d. per head per week.

So that there is not a great deal more that can be done by redistribution of the national income to increase the standard of the people of the country. Does not that confirm the statement made by Sir Stafford Cripps when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer?

On the basis of the assumption that my hon. Friend has asked me to make, it is clear that there is not much available if spread over the whole of the population.

Can the Financial Secretary say how much of the £5,000 million of capital profits made in the last eighteen months would be available to each individual if it was equally spread?

That is a long way from the Question on the Paper.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will introduce separate legislation, apart from the usual Finance Bill procedure, to give effect to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Taxation of Profits and Income on administration and evasion, and other matters having no direct effect upon the charge made upon the taxpayer.

My right hon. Friend has taken note of the hon. Member's suggestion.

Does that mean that the right hon. Gentleman will act on it? Cannot he express a little more appreciation of a perfectly helpful suggestion?

My reply was not intended to be unsympathetic, but the Commission's Report was published only three weeks ago, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer is entitled to a little time to think.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to receive the Report of the Royal Commission on the pay and conditions of civil servants.

I understand that the Royal Commission, though it cannot yet name a definite date, is hoping to be able to present its Report in the autumn.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent higher gross annual values for rating purposes will result in higher gross assessments for Income Tax, Schedule A; and if he will make a statement on this matter.

The new rating valuation will not automatically result in a revision of assessments for Income Tax, Schedule A. No such revision could be made without fresh legislation. The Royal Commission on the Taxation of Profits and Income made certain recommendations in its final Report, but my right hon. Friend has not yet completed his consideration of the matter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assistance the Inland Revenue is prepared to offer to firms which introduce profit-sharing schemes; and what conditions will be laid down for firms to qualify for such assistance.

The Department is prepared to advise on the taxation consequences of the firm's proposals, and the advice is available to any firm that wishes to bring in a scheme to help its workers.

So the Government will, in fact, give approval to schemes, even in cases where the employers are not observing industrial agreements; and the Treasury does not intend to lay down any conditions or definitions whatever in respect of these schemes?

I am simply speaking of the assistance that the Inland Revenue will be prepared to give, on my right hon. Friend's instructions, to people who ask them about the taxation implications of their schemes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider amending the Finance Act so that bonus shares given to workpeople are free of Income Tax in the same way as they are to shareholders, and so encourage schemes to make workers into shareholders.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislation which will permit employees to buy shares in their employer's firm below the current market price without their being liable to a tax assessment for the difference between the market price and the purchase price.

It would, I think, be unfair to single out for preferential treatment benefits of this kind from other forms of incentive payment, such as cash bonuses. Indeed, such a concession might discourage other valuable profit-sharing, co-partnership or incentive schemes.

But is not my right hon. Friend aware that, if bonuses are given to employees, they have to pay Income Tax on them? If we are really to make our workers shareholders in our concerns, that hindrance ought to be taken away. Will my right hon. Friend try to do something about it?

I have pointed out in my answer the difficulty that my hon. Friend's suggestion would raise in distinguishing these from other forms of incentive payments.

Is not there discrimination here against employees as compared with shareholders? Is the Minister aware of a recent announcement of a new issue by Bowaters, in which the rights of profit on the new £1 stock are 12s. 6d.? Why cannot he give the same kind of concession if Bowaters wishes to let its employees buy some of this new issue?

I think that the hon. Member is apt to have overlooked the fact that a bonus issue of shares to shareholders tends to affect the value of the existing shares which those people hold.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order to ensure that there is opportunity for suitable financial provision for old age, he will consider the establishment of a national contributory superannuation scheme, on a voluntary basis, and the removal of any obstacles inherent in the operations of the Board of Inland Revenue to assist in the establishment of genuine employee share-holding schemes.

There is already in existence a wide range of facilities for people desiring to make provision for their old age, and I doubt the need to supplement them in the way suggested.

In answer to the second part of the Question, I would refer my hon. Friend to my supplementary answer to the hon. Member for Huddersfield, West (Mr. Wade) on 23rd June.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind—if he does not even like the suggestion put forward—that many of us are expecting a comprehensive scheme from the Government to deal with provisions for old age, a debate on the Phillips Report, and some action to be taken to implement the pledge in the party manifesto about the fixed income groups? When can we expect a statement of policy? That is all I want.

The Government will give careful attention to any concrete proposal which the hon. Lady makes, but is not for me to arrange the business of the House.

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider favourably recommending or suggesting to the Prime Minister that the hon. Lady should be put on the Front Bench? She would certainly liven it up somewhat.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what factors he attributes the recent weakness in the sterling-dollar exchange rate.

Day-to-day fluctuations in the sterling-dollar exchange rates are bound to occur, and often cannot be readily explained. My right hon. Friend sees no reason to change the assessment of our position, or of the fundamental strength of our economy, which he gave to the House on 16th June. It must, however, be borne in mind that sentiment plays an important part in the movement of the sterling-dollar rates; and that recent strikes, especially the dock strike, with their effect upon our exports have adversely affected sterling in the exchange markets.

Surely the hon. Gentleman is aware that something more than day-to-day fluctuation has been going on, and that everybody has been commenting on the weakness of the official rate—not the transferable rate. Does the hon. Member think that this could be attributed to some extent to rumours of early convertibility, perhaps to a rate below that of 2 dollars 80 cents to the £?

Pinning down rumours is extremely difficult, but I will say that there have been certain rumours recently about the possibility of some kind of devaluation; and I can only say quite categorically that there is no such intention.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that persistent rumours of this kind on the Continent lately have done damage to the £? Could not the Chancellor of the Exchequer give an assurance that, as long as the gold reserve is as low as it is at present, no drastic step in the direction of convertibility will be taken?

My right hon. Friend has, in this House, before now laid down certain pre-conditions with regard to convertibility, and, so far as the Government are concerned, those conditions still stand quite firmly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the dollar earnings in May and the first three weeks of June, 1954, earned by the shipping industry; and the comparable figures for the same periods in 1955.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he estimates will be secured from motor-car taxation in 1955.

The yield from motor vehicle Excise duties for 1955–56 was put at £80 million in the Budget Financial Statement of 19th April last. Of this total, about one half would relate to private motor cars as distinct from goods and passenger vehicles.

In view of this huge figure, will the Minister try to see whether he cannot get a far greater proportion allocated to road improvement?

The Government, in the last Parliament, made a very favourable statement about their future road intentions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates has been the effect of recent United States purchases of shares in British companies upon our dollar balances; and to what extent these purchases have been made out of security sterling.

In my view the effect on our dollar balances has been negligible. Virtually all of the purchases have been made with security sterling.

Is the Minister aware of the very large volume of these purchases recently, especially in certain important chemical firms, and does he disregard as of no importance the possibility of transfer of ownership, on a large scale, of shares in the British chemical industry? Does he prefer that to the idea of the public ownership of British industry?

The electors, at the last Election, certainly showed no enthusiasm for the public ownership of the British chemical industry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the grants in aid to schools of music and drama, what steps are taken to ensure that the flow of students does not exceed the number who may reasonably expect to obtain professional employment.

The flow of students through these institutions is a matter which is properly left to the governing bodies.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind, in relation to the spending of public money, that too many students flitting about at Covent Garden are a detriment to our musical prestige and a deterrent to those people who, with proper training assistance, could do well for our musical attainments in this country? Is not this a matter in which he should be interested, even if he does not feel like it?

That is as may be, but I am certain that it would be wrong for the Government, in making financial grants to these institutions which operate under Royal Charter, to seek to interfere with the way in which they carry on their work.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make sure that he resists any attempt to interfere with the work done at Covent Garden and ensure that the work there is fully supported?

The Question actually relates to schools of music and drama.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in the costings investigations into the price of fish.

The necessary consultations with the fish trade organisations are now in hand and the Authority has assured me that it intends completing this investigation this year. I have asked the Authority to give it priority.

As this investigation started as long ago as 1952, will the Minister explain how it is that the Government have always been so quick off the mark to help the interests of large firms, and why they always trail their feet when asked to give a fair deal to consumers?

The Authority has made several investigations in the last year or two. This investigation, which it intends to carry out by a new sampling technique, covers the activities of wholesaling, fishmongering and fish frying. It is a complicated business, and I quite understand that it is bound to take some time.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken in the County of Gloucester to secure tubercular-free areas among cattle.

My Department is encouraging farmers to join the voluntary Attested Herds Scheme, and I hope very much that farmers in Gloucestershire will press on with voluntary attestation in readiness for inclusion in a tuberculosis eradication area in due course.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say approximately what proportion of our herds are now tubercle-free?

I am tempted to chance my arm, but I would rather the hon. Gentleman put down a Question to me about that in case I should not be accurate. I am, however, much encouraged by the general progress.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he can now report in the progeny-testing and food conversion rate recording of pigs.

My Department and the Department of Agriculture for Scotland are engaged in negotiations for the acquisition of sites for five progeny-testing stations for boars. I hope that the first station will be in operation in about a year's time.

In view of the very great importance of this matter for the purpose of lowering the cost of production of pork and bacon and of production of pork and bacon and of meeting Danish competition, will the Minister regard it as a matter of great urgency, and hurry it on?

Yes I will, because I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman about the importance of the project.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what compensation is payable under his regulations to a tenant farmer who has to vacate his farm upon his land being compulsorily acquired.

If land subject to an annual tenancy is compulsorily acquired, and immediate possession is wanted, the tenant is compensated not under agricultural legislation but under the Lands Clauses Acts. He is compensated, broadly, for his unexpired interest in the land, tenant-right and any damage he suffers.

In the matter of compensation, where a local authority is concerned, as it usually is in these cases, is it still a fact that there is no obligation on the part of the local authority to advise the tenant farmer, and that the advice may go only to the landlord?

The hon. Gentleman should put down a Question to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on that matter because I have no direct responsibility for compulsory purchase under that heading.

Apart from the compensation now given, are there not many cases in which farmers suffer great loss through having to sell all their stock while they are looking for another holding? Will my right hon. Friend say whether some amendment could be introduced in favour of more compensation being given to cover that?

I am sure that attention will be given to what my hon. and gallant Friend has said, but I have no Departmental responsibility in these matters.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us in how many cases land is compulsorily purchased in the manner suggested in the Question, without the tenant having been given any notice at all that it was likely to take place?

I am sorry, but I cannot give the right hon. Gentleman the information for which he asks.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he proposes to take, now that the rabbit population is the lowest in living memory, to prevent an increase again in its numbers and to prevent the introduction of rabbits from abroad.

It is most important that the present favourable position should be fully exploited, and I feel sure that all concerned will co-operate to this end. County agricultural executive committees are actively engaged in organising concerted action against surviving rabbits, and extensive rabbit clearance areas are being designated under the Pests Act. The importation of non-indigenous rabbits is prohibited by the Non-Indigenous Rabbits (Prohibition of Importation and Keeping) Order, 1954.

Can the Minister say whether any rabbits have been imported in spite of the order?

I have no information that indigenous rabbits have been imported, which I think is what the hon. Gentleman has in mind.

Can my right hon. Friend say how many clearance areas have already been designated, and whether the importation of non-indigenous rabbits should not be the business of the Secretary of State for "Non-Indigenous" Affairs?

I will, if I may, confine my answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. So far, twenty-four Orders have been made designating rabbit clearance areas in eighteen counties covering over 1 million acres. A further number of Orders now under consideration also cover a very substantial area.

Are these imports of indigenous rabbits what are known as invisible imports?

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware of the increasing number of young wild rabbits that are appearing in the countryside; and what estimate he has formed of the present numbers and distribution.

Small numbers of young wild rabbits are appearing here and there in the south of England and in Wales. There are more in the north, where myxomatosis has not yet run its full course.

Will the Minister say whether, if he judges from what has happened in other countries, he expects the whole rabbit population to return in due course? Will he also tell us whether, should the rabbits return, he thinks they will be immune from myxomatosis or not?

I think it is too soon for us to make any forecasts about immunity, but I should like to repeat what I said earlier, that we really must make every possible use of the present opportunity, take no chances, and do everything we possibly can to keep down the number of rabbits.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what has happened in France since the outbreak began? Have the rabbits returned there?

I think that the lesson from the Continent is that we must be very vigilant, prosecute our efforts with very great intensity, and take no chances.

Can my right hon. Friend say whether it is an offence to import into a locality already freed from rabbits a strain of rabbits which is claimed to be immune to myxomatosis? Should it not be made, on both agricultural and humane grounds, a criminal offence to reinfest the countryside with this pest?

I have certain powers which I intend to exercise against anyone who introduces rabbits into an area which has been cleared.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will permit, with the necessary veterinary safeguards, the importation of naturally polled Hereford, Shorthorn and Ayrshire bulls from North America for use at artificial insemination centres.

I will certainly consider on its merits any specific proposal of this kind that may be put to me.

Will my right hon. Friend say whether any approaches have been made to him by either the Scottish or the English Milk Marketing Boards, whose members have asked for these facilities?

I cannot answer the question specifically, but I will look into the matter and let my hon. Friend have a reply.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us whether it is really necessary to import Ayrshire bulls from North America?

I hesitate to lay down the law about anything that concerns Scotland.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the total number of employees in pest departments of county agricultural executive committees on 1st January, 1954, and 1st May, 1955.

The dates nearest to those mentioned in the Question on which precise returns were made were 1st April, 1954, and 1st April, 1955, when the totals were 753 and 674 respectively.

Is the reduction in the number of pest officers due to the fact that, owing to myxomatosis, there are not so many rabbits to be killed as there used to be?

It is due to a number of causes. We are anxious to ensure that there is no avoidable overlapping or duplication of work, and have tried to keep the staff down to the minimum. However, the work is being done, and, I am very glad to say, it is in general on a self-supporting basis.

Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that in the final analysis the reduction in the number of pest officers will be good for the country? Is not the rat population far too large? Are we to take it from the Minister's reply that the Government have lost sight of the effects of the millions of rats which exist?

No, Sir; very much the reverse. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that for that reason it would be very false economy to cut down the staff. We have, however, endeavoured to make the very best use of the manpower available.

Are there not also other serious pests which require attention—[ interruption. ]—I mean four-legged pests, and not human pests? I refer particularly to the grey squirrel.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the Government have yet reached any conclusions on the Report of the Heneage Committee; and when legislation is likely to be introduced to give effect to the recommendations.

No, Sir. I will make a statement as soon as I can.

I do not want to hurry the right hon. Gentleman because I know that it is only five years since this Committee reported, but has he any idea when, perhaps, the Government will have made up their minds?

I know that the right hon. Gentleman realises what a very complicated and very controversial question this is, and I think that even he found it impossible to reach a snap decision on this matter.

While I agree with the right hon. Gentleman as to the complexity of the problem, may I ask if he is aware that there are thousands of tenants in small cottage properties paying many shillings a week for drainage rates when they are deriving no benefit at all under the existing drainage law?

I know, and I also know that there are many what one might call intermediate water courses in this country which are at present unprovided for.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of farmers under supervision for the latest date for which figures are available, and the figures on a comparable date in 1952.

On 31st May, 1955, 432 farmers were under supervision for failing to comply with the rules of good husbandry. The comparable figure for 1952 is 1,518.

Does not the very large diminution imply that county executive committees are not carrying out Part II of the Act in the way that we hoped they would?

I do not think that the number of cases under supervision is really a fair criterion of the effectiveness of the administration of Part II of the Agriculture Act. I think, perhaps, that in some cases the reduced numbers may be a welcome indication of the improvement in efficiency which has taken place.

While we all hope that the inference in the right hon. Gentleman's reply is the correct one, is it not possible that the large diminution is due to loss of confidence among county executive committees, as well as among individual farmers?

I am very much encouraged by the amount of evidence there is as to the improvements that are now the result of persuasion and technical advice without going to the length of supervision.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why the Forestry Commission has arranged with the Powell Duffryn Company Limited, South Wales, that that company should act as the Commission's agent in buying timber which it will market as pit props for the National Coal Board; and if he will make a statement upon the recent deal made.

The Commission has not entered into any arrangement of this sort with the company.

I am very glad to have that reply, and I hope that the "Western Mail" will take note of it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food his policy regarding the sale direct to the National Coal Board or other nationalised undertakings of timber from the Forestry Commission.

It is for the Commission to make such arrangements as it thinks fit for the sale of its timber. Its normal policy is to sell standing timber to merchants. Prepared produce is sold to undertakings such as the National Coal Board either through merchants or direct.

Am I to understand from the right hon. Gentleman's reply that the sales department of the Forestry Commission in South Wales will still continue to sell timber to the National Coal Board, and will not be acting through interested agents?

I tried to indicate that it is really a matter for the Forestry Commission itself to decide its precise methods of sale, but, as regards its prepared produce, it sells it either through merchants or direct, whichever it finds convenient.

There is a suggestion in South Wales that a monopoly has been given to this company. Will the right hon. Gentleman keep his eye on this matter?

I do not think that there is any question of a monopoly.

asked the Minister of Labour if the Notification of Vacancies Order, 1952, can now be withdrawn.

No, Sir. For the reasons given in the reply to a similar Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, Central (Mr. Bishop) on 15th March last, it is still considered inexpedient to revoke this Order.

Do the advantages of this Order outweigh the vast amount of clerical work that must necessarily be imposed upon industry in carrying out the terms of the Order?

In the opinion of the Government, they do at present.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he proposes to take in view of the threatened dispute among salaried staffs of the private bus companies.

The only dispute affecting the salaried staffs of private omnibus companies which has been reported to me is one affecting members of the National and Local Government Officers Association employed by the Rhondda Transport Co. Ltd. This is at present receiving consideration by my Department in accordance with the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Order, 1951.

Is it not an extraordinary thing that private bus companies, not merely the Rhondda Transport Company, but others as well—the British Electric Traction Company and other big private passenger undertakings—refuse to do for the salaried staffs what has long since been done by the local government services and local authorities generally, and, indeed, by the British Transport Commission, which is to agree to meet the unions concerned with salaried staffs in order to negotiate rates of pay and conditions of service, and have refused to set up any negotiating machinery at all?

I am aware of the difficulties there have been in setting up negotiating machinery in this matter, but, in fact, the matter has now come to me in the form of a dispute, and it will be dealt with through the appropriate method.

asked the Minister of Labour the approximate number of retired officers from Her Majesty's Forces who have sought resettlement in civil life through his Department since the end of the war.

I regret that this information is not available. A quarterly count is, however, made of the number of Regular officers who are unemployed and in need of resettlement, and who retired from the Services within two years before their current period of unemployment began. Since October, 1950, when these counts were first made, the number so registered has declined fairly steadily from 1,972 to 985 in April, 1955, when the latest count was taken.

Can my right hon. and learned Friend tell me what proportion of these people have found resettlement through his Department? Will he see what he can do to improve still further the service rendered by his Department for these men, who re-enter the civilian labour market at an age when it is difficult for them to find employment?

We constantly try to improve the facilities we can give for resettling these officers, and are very anxious to do so. I cannot give the proportion without notice.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that information supplied by the Merchant Navy Establishment Administration to his Department on who are, and who are not, engaged on service with the Merchant Navy, to enable him to decide as to their call-up, has not invariably been accurate and whether he will now take steps to obtain this information directly through his own officers.

The Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen informs me if a man is, or has ceased to be, a merchant seaman, and I have no reason to question the accuracy of his information.

is the Minister aware that his statement last Thursday showed that he is dependent for his information in this matter on a body over which he has no control whatever? is he further aware that when an enormously important principle of this kind is at stake it is that body which determines whether the law can or cannot be invoked? In these circumstances, does he not consider it essential that he should either say that he agrees with what that body has done or should set up some sort of agency over which he can have complete control on this very important principle?

I have no reason to suppose that the information which I have had in the past has been wrong, but if the hon. Gentleman knows of inaccuracies, such as his Question suggests, I should be glad to hear about them.

In his reply last week, the right hon. and learned Gentleman made it quite clear that people were being removed from this pool whereas we all know that they are still really employed within the industry. They were being removed because of an industrial dispute. That removal took place within a few hours of the dispute beginning. In these circumstances, is it not true to say that the information to the effect that these people have, in fact, left the industry is grossly inaccurate?

The information upon which I acted was that these men had left the industry. They had, in fact, left their ship and had broken the articles under which they served.

May I ask the right hon. and learned Gentleman whether it is not unusual for a Government Department to act so promptly?

That has not been my experience in my Department.

asked the Minister of Labour how many young Southampton merchant seamen have been called by his Department to National Service while they have been engaged in strike action.

None, Sir.

That reply will give local satisfaction, but is the Minister aware that the exemption of Merchant Navy men from military service is a tribute to the vital nature of the work of those men in peace and war and that, while we deplore unofficial strikes, we deplore even more the use of military service as a punishment of merchant seamen for engaging in these strikes?

I am no party to using military service as a punishment of any sort or kind. Deferment for merchant seamen is given because it would be absurd to call up men from the Merchant Service who will be wanted in that Service if war takes place.

asked the Minister of Labour the provisions of his regulations with regard to the call-up of trade apprentices whose call-up has been deferred and who cease work in an industrial dispute.

The deferment of craft and trade apprentices who are following a period of training generally recognised by agreement or custom is subject to the apprentices making satisfactory progress. No cases have arisen where deferment has been withdrawn because an apprentice has been dismissed, or an adverse report received on his progress, as a result of a trade dispute. Apprentices are, of course, eventually required to do their National Service.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that we are conversant with the fact that they will ultimately be required to do it, but the point which now arises is that if engineering employers follow the same technique as that followed by the Merchant Navy pool, such boys will be deemed to have permanently left the industry? In those circumstances, may we take it that they will be called to the Colours?

I do not accept the assumption that they would be taken to have left the industry. I must wait until an instance arises before I try to determine it.

asked the Minister of Labour the dates during which the call-up of agricultural workers for the Forces will be suspended in order to help with the harvest.

After consultation with my right hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, I have arranged for the call-up of agricultural workers to be suspended for a period of fourteen weeks during this year's harvest time. The dates will vary according to the needs of different areas and I will circulate a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

The suspension will not, however, operate in the few cases where there are special reasons why call-up should no longer be delayed.

Following is the table: Area and Period Wales-11th July to 15th October. Southern Region—25th July to 29th October. London and South Eastern and South Western Regions—1St August to 5th November. Northern and North Western Regions—8th August to 12th November. Scotland, Midland, North Midland and East and West Ridings Regions—15th August to 19th November. Eastern Region—22nd August to 26th November.

asked the Minister of Labour what categories of workers, students and others are granted indefinite deferment from National Service.

Extended deferment from National Service is granted in the national interest to men employed in certain coal mining occupations, to merchant seamen, to sea-going fishermen who are members of the Royal Naval Reserve (Patrol Service), to regular whole-time agricultural workers born before 1933, to a comparatively small number of highly-qualified scientists and engineers engaged on urgent work of high priority or on fundamental research, to a small number of shale oil underground workers, and to a small number of police cadets.

Such men are protected from call-up only while satisfactorily engaged on the work in question, and if they leave it before reaching the age of 26 they become available for call-up.

Have the Government considered inviting people who have the privilege of indefinite deferment from call-up to contribute something towards national defence, perhaps by doing a little spare time Civil Defence training?

They are encouraged to do what they can in the way of Civil Defence training, and so forth, but it has not been thought right, at present. to make it a compulsory matter.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement on the steps taken by his Department to keep track of all National Service men discharged on medical grounds to ensure that they are recalled if there has been sufficient recovery from the original physical disability.

No such steps are taken, as, in accordance with the policy laid down during the war years by the then Minister of Labour, it has not been the practice to recall for further service those National Service men who are discharged on medical grounds.

Would it not be reasonable to consider recalling men whose condition, they having been discharged on medical grounds and having had a subsequent operation, has been found to have improved? Is the Minister aware that the impression created in my mind and in the minds of many people is that there has been preferential treatment of a certain person? The only way to remove these doubts is to have this man medically re-examined after the operation which he is to have and, if his condition is found to have sufficiently improved, to recall him.

I do not think that it would be very wise just because of one case—even if the hon. Gentleman's assumptions were accepted—to alter a practice which has stood for fifteen years.

asked the Prime Minister the details of the Government's proposals for the reform of the other House mentioned in the Gracious Speech.

I am not at present in a position to go beyond the reference to this subject in the Gracious Speech.

Will the Prime Minister bear in mind that any constitutional changes contemplated in regard to the rights of another place to exclude Peers who do not attend very regularly are matters of interest to Parliament as a whole? Will he see that this House is kept informed of the Government's intentions in that respect?

I do not think that there is anything to which I need take exception in what the hon. Gentleman has just said.

asked the Prime Minister to which Minister Questions about the Government's general policy with regard to emigration from the United Kingdom should be addressed.

Questions relating to emigration from the United Kingdom to other Commonwealth and Empire countries should be addressed to my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, or my right hon. Friend the Colonial Secretary, as the case may be.

As in the past, Her Majesty's Government continue to take a close interest in migration matters. A large proportion of the emigration from the United Kingdom is to the independent countries of the Commonwealth. Her Majesty's Government will always be ready to consider with Commonwealth Governments any particular proposals which may seem mutually desirable.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Can he assure the House that the Government regard this matter as vital for the further development of the Commonwealth? Will he take a personal interest in it?

I think there is agreement in all parts of the House as to the importance of this question to the Commonwealth. Though there may be different shades of view, it has always been my view that migration within the Commonwealth family strengthens that family rather than weakens it.

Will the Prime Minister arrange for this country to join the Inter-Governmental Committee on European Migration in Geneva, to which Commonwealth Governments belong and to which they attach great importance?

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, that is a different question from the one which I have answered.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has considered the letter from the hon. Member for West Ham, North, concerning the severe medical disability of an aircraftman whose civilian residence is in Forest Gate; and what action he proposes to take in connection with this matter.

Yes, Sir. I have also studied an account of this airman's medical history while in the Royal Air Force. His disability is one that has often been treated successfully, and I am satisfied that it is right to keep him in the Service until it is known whether he responds to the treatment he is now being given. As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Air said on 22nd June, he will review the case if the disability does not respond within a reasonable time.

The Prime Minister has admitted in that reply—as has the Under-Secretary of State for Air—that this man is not fit, and that he—the Prime Minister —hopes that by experimentation the man may eventually be made fit for service. Is he aware that this man has already undergone great pain and suffering because of these experiments, and that the experts and medical authorities admit that this is making his condition worse? Will the Prime Minister at least see that the man is discharged, because he is not fit —as the Prime Minister and the Under-Secretary of State for Air have admitted?

This is a medical matter, and I do not profess to be an expert upon the details, but I have gone into it and I understand that there have been previous cases of this kind in which the man concerned has been cured whilst carrying out his National Service. I am told that since April this man has been under training as an instrument mechanic, which is a trade in respect of which the Royal Air Force is short of men, and in which the man can use his civilian skill. I am also informed that since then he has not had any sick leave.

Will the Prime Minister give an assurance that where a man is in need of medical treatment, even if it means an operation, that treatment and operation will be carried out while the man remains in the forces, and that if his condition then improves he will not be discharged?

One must treat those cases as one is advised on medical grounds by one's medical advisers. If in one case it is thought that continuance of service will result in a deterioration of the man's condition there is reason for his discharge. If, on the other hand, it is thought that he can be treated, as others have been treated, there is no case for discharge.

On a point of order. In view of the fact that both the Under-Secretary of State for Air and the Prime Minister have been misinformed, I beg to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Adjournment.

I think that what the hon. Member means is, "Owing to the unsatisfactory nature of the reply" he will raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that legislation to increase the salaries of junior Ministers has the general approval of the House; and when he intends to introduce such legislation.

Her Majesty's Government have the question of junior Ministers' salaries before them, but I am not yet in a position to make a statement.

Will the Prime Minister bear in mind that some junior Ministers offered strenuous opposition to the recent small increase awarded to other hon. Members of the House? Will he see that they do not get the benefit of any increase?

I do not think that that is the kind of basis upon which the House would like to determine the question.

I approve the reconsideration or revision of junior Ministers' salaries, but will the Prime Minister bear in mind that this is only one part of the whole working of the House of Commons? Will he, therefore, keep in close touch with the leaders of the Opposition, through the usual channels, in order to consider other matters which may be relevant, at the same time as he introduces legislation for junior Ministers?

I should not like to be committed beyond what I have said, which really does not commit me at all.

asked the Prime Minister what further progress has been made by Her Majesty's Government in their efforts to assist the Government of Northern Ireland to reduce unemployment.

My right hon. and gallant Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, gave a general review of this subject on 5th May. Since that date consultations have been proceeding between the United Kingdom Government and the Government of Northern Ireland on the setting up of the Advisory Development Council which my right hon. and gallant Friend foreshadowed. The appointment of the chairman of this Council will, I hope, be announced in the near future. Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom have made it clear that they will be ready to support this initiative in whatever way seems most appropriate, not excluding the provision of such supplementary finance as may be needed.

Can the Prime Minister say whether, in addition to this new body, the Board of Trade will continue in future to give assistance to the Northern Ireland Government in attacking this serious problem, as it has done in the past?

Yes, Sir. A number of steps have been taken, of which I could give details if the hon. Gentleman would like to put on the Order Paper a Question for Written Answer on this matter.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that one of the difficulties in the Northern Ireland economic situation is the very high cost of both industrial and domestic coal? Will he draw the attention of the Leader of the House to our desire to have a debate on the Report of the National Coal Board in the near future?