asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is satisfied the new increase in the price of domestic coal will enable the National Coal Board to operate at a profit; and if he will make a statement.

Recent statements by the National Coal Board indicate that it expects to lose about £15 million this year and considers it unlikely that the whole of that will be made good in 1956.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how many applications for sinking new coal mines in Lanarkshire he has received from the National Coal Board in the past four years; and for how many he has given permission.

No permission is required from me in this matter but since 1st January, 1951, three such applications have been made to the local planning authority for sites and all of them granted.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what experiments are at present being carried out by his Department into improving the present methods of cutting and using peat as a domestic fuel.

The experiments being carried out by my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture for Scotland, are aimed at generating electric power from peat by open-cycle gas turbines. But the peat-cutting and dewatering processes developed as part of this project might be applied in the preparation of a domestic fuel and this possibility is being borne in mind.

asked the Minister of Supply to what extent the delivery of aircraft to his Department is hindered by the shortage of skilled technicians in the aircraft industry.

Whilst most firms have vacancies for skilled men, these vacancies are few in relation to the numbers employed. Some local problems are inevitable, but the delivery of aircraft is not being seriously hindered on this account.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the fact that agreement has been reached in Wales for the holding of post-graduate refresher courses for dentists, when he proposes that these courses should be instituted.

My right hon. Friend understands that the Welsh National School of Medicine has agreed to provide post-graduate refresher courses for dentists and that the courses will commence when questions of finance, now under consideration, are settled.

asked the Minister of Health how many regional hospital boards have submitted to him the special reports upon farming activities at hospitals as asked for in Circular H.M. (54) 23, issued on 15th March, 1954; and whether he will publish such reports.

I have now received reports from every board, covering nearly all the hospital farms. The reports are documents for my consideration and I do not propose to publish them.

asked the Minister of Health the number of people waiting for beds in the Durham County Hospital and Dryburn Hospital, Durham.

106 and 329 respectively, at 31st May, 1955.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the amount of compensation and damages received from the Egyptian Government in respect of the detention of the "Empire Roash" on 1st July, 1951.

A claim for £1,553 was presented to the Egyptian Government on 8th March, 1952, but in view of the waiver of claims under the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement on the Suez Canal Base of October last, this claim was not pressed.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the British fishing industry advocated settlement of the long-standing dispute between Britain and Iceland concerning territorial fishing limits; that this dispute hurts two nations which have been longtime friends; and what steps he is taking to bring this dispute to an end.

As the hon. and learned Member knows, Her Majesty's Government have been doing their best to bring about a settlement of this regrettable dispute. The present position is that the discussions within the framework of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation are continuing.

asked the Attorney-General why Section 7 of the Legal Aid and Advice Act, 1949, has not yet been brought into force; and when it is proposed to bring it into force.

The economic situation has not so far permitted the introduction of the legal advice scheme for which provision is made by Section 7 of the Legal Aid and Advice Act, 1949. I cannot yet say when the Section will be brought into force, but it will not in any event be possible to introduce the scheme before legal aid is made available in the county courts.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1) to state, in tabular form, the number of claims made, the number of claims allowed, and the number of claims disallowed for disablement benefit; the number of claims made for death benefits, the number disallowed, the number allowed and the amount of money paid out to each class of case during the period from 10th March, 1952, up to and including 30th June, 1955, under the Pneumoconiosis and Byssinosis Scheme which came into operation on 10th March, 1952, and the total amount of benefits paid out;

(2) to state the number of claims made, the number of claims allowed, and the number of claims disallowed under the Pneumoconiosis and Byssinosis Scheme, 1954, which became operative on 8th November, 1954, up to and including 30th June, 1955, and the total amount of benefits paid out.

The figures are as follows:

PNEUMOCONIOSIS AND BYSSINOSIS BENEFIT SCHEME NUMBER OF CLAIMS ANALYSED BY RESULT DISABLEMENT CLAIMS Up to 7th November, 1954, when the Scheme was extended to include cases of partial disablement, 11,361 claims to disablement allowance were made; as a result 3,808 awards had been made, 7,006 claims had been disallowed and 547 claims were outstanding on 7th November, 1954. The figures for each year were: — 1952 (from 10th March) 1953 1954 (up to 7th November) Total Claims received 5,586 ( a ) 3,587 2,188 11,361 ( a ) Claims allowed 2,179 ( a ) 1,148 481 3,808 ( a ) Claims disallowed 2,153 2,850 2,003 7,006 Claims outstanding at end of period 1,254 843 547 547

( a ) Includes 803 existing beneficiaries taken over from the former benefit schemes.

Between 8th November, 1954, and 2nd July, 1955, 8,076 claims were made on top of the 547 claims which were outstanding on 8th November. As a result of these 8,623 claims, 3,239 awards had been made for partial disablement and 270 for total disablement; 3,343 claims had been disallowed and 1,771 claims were outstanding on 2nd July.

DEATH CLAIMS — 1952 (from 10th March) 1953 1954 1955 (up to 2nd July) Total Claims received 860 582 587 473 2,502 Claims allowed 458 399 367 195 1,419 Claims disallowed 237 239 230 176 882 Claims outstanding at end of period 165 109 99 201 201 AMOUNTS PAID TO THE LATEST AVAILABLE DATE Class of case 10th March, 1952 to 31st March, 1952 Financial year 1952–53 Financial year 1953–54 Period 10th March, 1952 to 31st March, 1954 £ £ £ £ Disablement allowance … 5,000 275,034 300,364 580,398 Death benefit … — 114,966 94,636 209,602 Total … 5,000 390,000 395,000 790,000

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1) why the issue of clothing grants by the National Assistance Board is being discontinued;

(2) what recommendations he has received from the National Assistance Board that the scales be increased, in view of the fact that persons in receipt of National Assistance are now expected to meet the cost of their clothing without additional grants.

The Board has never discontinued the exercise of its power to make grants for clothing over and above the normal weekly allowance in cases of exceptional need. The circumstances in which these grants may be made were fully explained in the Board's Annual Report for 1949 (Cmd. 8030, pages 14–15).

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the total sum paid by the National Assistance Board to cover charges for dental treatment and the provision of dentures in each of the years 1953 and 1954 and in the first quarter of 1955.

The approximate sums are: for 1953 £236,000; for 1954 £234,000; and for the first quarter of 1955, £56,000.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance in what circumstances advances made to members of the public from National Assistance funds are required to be refunded; and to what extent such regulations apply to strikers who have received funds from National Assistance for their families during the period of a strike.

The powers of the National Assistance Board to require a person to refund assistance granted to him are limited to those provided by the National Assistance Act, 1948, and relate mainly to grants made in case of urgent need to persons in full-time work and grants made in error where there has been misrepresentation or non-disclosure of material facts. The Board is not empowered to recover Assistance granted in the circumstances described in the last part of my hon. and gallant Friend's Question.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when it is expected that a new file of explanatory leaflets showing the change in the rates of National Insurance and other benefits will be available.

Two special leaflets giving the new rates of benefits were published in the middle of January last. The explanatory leaflets to which the hon. Member refers have been revised to include the changed rates of benefit and have been available in local offices of my Ministry since the dates on which the new rates came into force. I am sending the hon. Member an up-to-date set of these leaflets.

A booklet "Everybody's Guide to National Insurance," which includes the changed rates, was published last April, and a copy was sent to every hon. Member at the time.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what complaints he has received from the British Legion in Scotland about the restrictions on war pensioners' earning powers; what these restrictions are; and if he will now take steps to ensure that these restrictions are relaxed.

I assume that the hon. Member has in mind the unemployability supplement which can be paid to a pensioner with earnings provided they do not average more than £52 a year. I am aware that this figure has been questioned, but I do not think it would be right to pay an allowance for unemployability in cases where there are appreciable earnings.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what complaints he has received from the British Legion in Scotland uring him to take steps to alter the regulations governing the payment of pensions to widows whose husbands' deaths were due to service in the First World War but who were denied pensions because they did not marry the late pensioner until after he had received his disability and the husband died prior to 3rd September, 1939; the number of widows affected by this; if he is aware that such regulations impose hardship on such widows; and what steps he intends to take to alter the regulations to ensure that hardship is obviated and that justice is done to these widows.

I am aware of the views of the British Legion in Scotland, but I would refer the hon. and learned Member to what I said in reply to his Question on 4th July. I regret that there are too many unknown factors to enable me to give an estimate of the number of widows affected.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what progress is being made in the experiments, conducted under the control of his Department, to reduce the time of kipper curing by oak-chip fires and to give them a fresher and better taste.

Experiments on a small scale at the Torry Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research on an electrostatic method for curing kippers have shown promise of a substantial saving in time compared with the process now in use. It is hoped to try the new method on a factory scale next year, and that the result will be more palatable kippers.

TABLE 1 CONCENTRATION OF SULPHUR DIOXIDE (MEASURED BY VOLUMETRIC METHOD) (Volumes per 100 million volumes of air) Site Pre-war 1934–9 Post-war 1945–55 1950–1 1951–2 1952–3 1953–4 1954–5 Annual average Number of years available Annual average Number of years available BIRMINGHAM St. Martin's Street … — — 7 (3) 7 — — — — GLASGOW Glasgow Cross … 9 (4) 9 (10) 10 8 9 9 9 MANCHESTER Rusholme … — — 11 (7) 9 9 12 10 9 SALFORD Regent Road … 8 (5) 14 (10) 16 15 15 15 14 WARRINGTON Sankey Street … — — 10 (4) 10 8 — 10 13

Notes

1. The annual figures in this and succeeding tables relate to years ended March 31st.

2. Owing to variations between one part of a town and another, the figures quoted above do not necessarily represent the average pollution in the town named.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, to set out in tabular form the percentage of concentration of smoke and sulphur dioxide, as shown by the volumetric method and by any convenient standard of measurement, and the forms of air pollution, including chemical and fluorine, giving the results for each year since 1950, and the pre-war average and post-war average in St. Eval, Wadebridge, Stornoway, Squires Gate, Bournemouth, Eastbourne, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Salford, Warrington, and Trafford Park, respectively.

The figures are set out in the following tables. No pollution data are available for Bournemouth and Eastbourne and no figures are available of pollution emitted by chemical works or of the fluorine concentration in the air of the places named.

TABLE 2 CONCENTRATION OF SULPHUR DIOXIDE (Measured in empirical units*) Site Pre-war 1934–9 Post-war 1945–55 1950–1 1951–2 1952–3 1953–4 1954–5 Annual average Number of years available Annual average Number of years available GLASGOW Glasgow Cross 2.2 (4) 2.3 (10) 2.3 2.0 1.9 2.2 2.5 Charles Street — — 2.5 (10) 2.5 2.3 2.6 2.7 2.4 MANCHESTER Rusholme 2.4 (3) 2.3 (10) 2.6 2.3 2.6 2.1 2.0 Withington 1.7 (3) 1.5 (10) 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.4 1.4 Monsall — — 3.7 (10) 4.0 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.6 SALFORD Ladywell Hospital 3.3 (4) 2.5 (10) 2.8 2.3 2.1 3.0 3.1 Regent Road 3.4 (4) 31 (10) 4.0 3.6 3.0 4.1 4.6 STOKE-ON-TRENT Leek Road 2.4 (4) 1.8 (10) 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.5 2.1 STRETFORD Trafford Park M.V. Mosley Road Works — — 6.7 (5) 6.9 5.4 3.6 8.8 9.0 Trafford Park M.V. West Works — — 5.0 (5) 4.4 4.0 2.6 6.8 7.0 WARRINGTON Bank Park — — 2.0 (5) 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.0 2.0 Cemetery — — 1.4 (5) 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.5 Orford Park — — 1.8 (4) 1.8 1.7 1.9 1.9 — Dallam Farm — — 1.5 (5) 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.5 Victoria Park — — 1.7 (5) 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.9 St. Elphin's Park — — 1.8 (5) 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.9 Bewsey School — — 1.9 (5) 1.8 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.9 * The units are the milligrams of sulphur compounds, counted as sulphur trioxide, fixed per day per 100 sq. cm. of standard lead peroxide exposed in a standard louvered box.

TABLE 3 CONCENTRATION OF SMOKE (Measured as milligrams per 100 cubic metres of air) Site Pre-war 1934–9 Post-war 1945–55 1950–1 1951–2 1952–3 1953–4 1954–5 Annual average Number of years available Annual average Number of years available BIRMINGHAM St. Martins Street — — 27 (3) 23 — — — — GLASGOW Glasgow Cross — — 39 (10) 32 23 45 70 72 Shieldhall S/Works — — 22 (8) 22 21 24 38 13 Westthorn S/Works — — 33 (1) — — — — — Dalmarnock S/Works — — 24 (6) 20 17 21 37 33 MANCHESTER Rusholme — — 26 (7) 29 25 31 24 24 SALFORD St. Paul's School — — 28 (2) 23 — — — — Buile Hill Park — — 33 (2) 30 — — — — Ladywell Hospital — — 33 (2) 29 — — — — Regent Road — — 53 (7) 50 45 60 48 44 Summerville D/Nursery — — 37 (2) 31 — — — — Lower Kersal School — — 34 (2) 30 — — — — SQUIRES GATE Airport — — 6 (6) 6 6 7 6 6 STOKE-ON-TRENT Leek Road 73 (5) 43 (4) — — — — — STORNOWAY Airport — — * (6) * * * * * WADEBRIDGE R.A.F. Station, St. Eval — — * (6) * * * * * WARRINGTON Sankey Street — — 21 (4) 27 27 — 19 11 * Less than 1 milligram. TABLE 4 TOTAL INSOLUBLE DEPOSITED MATTER (Measured in grams per 100 square metres per month) Site Pre-war 1934–9 Post-war 1945–55 1950–1 1951–2 1952–3 1953–4 1954–5 Annual average Number of years available Annual average Number of years available BIRMINGHAM Great Charles Street 1,054 (4) 801 (9) 1,096 1,006 739 856 867 West Heath Sanatorium 364 (5) 228 (9) 212 242 222 230 225 GLASGOW Belvidere Hospital — — 730 (10) 677 764 661 608 625 Glasgow Cross 700 (5) 634 (10) 747 700 632 570 507 Ruchill Hospital 394 (2) 370 (10) 512 367 352 301 312 Queen's Park 297 (5) 347 (10) 464 342 246 371 263 Scotstoun House — — 417 (10) 319 468 755 426 451 MANCHESTER Baguley Sanatorium 141 (3) 197 (9) 220 200 315 212 — Booth Hall 269 (3) 325 (10) 346 341 368 361 359 Heaton Park 213 (3) 362 (10) 404 468 419 223 242 Knowle House — — 146 (6) 150 141 140 148 — Monsall — — 499 (10) 546 632 639 410 398 Phillip's Park 1,156 (3) 1,156 (10) 1,468 1,347 861 746 912 Rusholme 687 (3) 482 (10) 495 538 667 459 462 Withington 226 (3) 378 (10) 412 521 505 412 437 SALFORD Broughton Modern School — — 559 (10) 684 650 615 522 506 Drinkwater Park Hospital 367 (5) 558 (8) 553 898 1,139 — — Ladywell Hospital 474 (5) 744 (8) 932 798 866 861 — Park Lane — — — — — — — — 397 Vine Street, Kersal — — 740 (4) 759 743 882 — — STOKE-ON-TRENT Leek Road 470 (5) 410 (10) 398 416 405 420 384 Longton 693 (5) 451 (1) — — — — — Brownhills High School 442 (4) 388 (7) — 370 362 360 374 WARRINGTON Bank Park — — 636 (5) 685 658 626 580 633 Dallam Farm — — 380 (5) 406 388 326 370 409 Orford Park — — 467 (5) 486 510 458 416 463 Cemetery — — 435 (5) 387 618 367 378 423 TABLE 5 TOTAL SOLUBLE DEPOSITED MATTER (Measured in grams per 100 square metres per month) Site Pre-war 1934–9 Post-war 1945–55 1950–1 1951–2 1952–3 1953–5 1954–5 Annual average Number of years available Annual average Number of years available BIRMINGHAM Great Charles Street 374 (4) 383 (9) 416 443 405 399 449 West Heath Sanatorium 233 (5) 259 (9) 284 228 241 287 310 GLASGOW Belvidere Hospital — — 313 (10) 352 356 247 299 310 Glasgow Cross 437 (5) 328 (10) 370 329 241 292 311 Ruchill Hospital 440 (2) 240 (10) 227 222 183 243 226 Queen's Park 338 (5) 263 (10) 275 240 188 277 238 Scotstoun House — — 220 (10) 204 231 199 228 201 MANCHESTER Baguley Sanatorium 264 (3) 241 (9) 227 209 320 254 — Booth Hall 322 (3) 260 (10) 262 239 281 276 285 Heaton Park 269 (3) 263 (10) 240 273 316 216 289 Knowle House — — 188 (6) 180 183 222 177 — Monsall — — 329 (10) 341 315 326 304 365 Phillip's Park 473 (3) 441 (10) 497 430 434 440 463 Rusholme 341 (3) 314 (10) 269 322 416 277 361 Withington 286 (3) 244 (10) 225 239 286 221 291 SALFORD Broughton Modern School — — 275 (10) 304 284 310 213 272 Drinkwater Park Hospital 372 (5) 408 (8) 410 646 755 — — Ladywell Hospital 408 (5) 328 (8) 345 357 382 308 — Park Lane — — — — — — — — 247 Vine Street, Kersal — — 321 (4) 332 319 342 — — STOKE-ON-TRENT Leek Road 268 (5) 268 (10) 257 279 273 261 292 Longton 285 (5) 295 (1) — — — — — Brownhills High School 340 (4) 251 (7) — 239 248 210 220 WARRINGTON Bank Park — — 377 (5) 360 315 391 366 453 Dallam Farm — — 353 (5) 321 373 322 308 443 Orford Park — — 310 (5) 271 318 332 244 387 Cemetery — — 286 (5) 232 285 293 249 373

asked the Minister of Labour what provision he makes to enable blind persons to obtain financial assistance in obtaining guide dogs, where the possession of a guide dog is necessary to enable them to follow their occupation.

I can give financial assistance towards the cost of a guide dog only if a blind person is unlikely to get employment without one. While I recognise that some blind persons have benefited from having guide dogs I am informed that experience does not show that they are essential to enable blind persons to undertake training or employment.

asked the Postmaster-General how many applications for a telephone were still outstanding in Brent-ford and Chiswick to the latest convenient date; and how this figure compares with similar totals in each of the last four years.

Four hundred and seventy-six applications are at present outstanding, excluding 107 in course of being met, making a total of 583. The corresponding totals for the past four years are: Year ended 30th June Total 1951 … … … 603 1952 … … … 531 1953 … … … 510 1954 … … … 628

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air in view of the foot trouble of 2713920 Aircraftman, Second Class, N. L. Mayall, necessitating a sitting-down job, how this aircraftman has been employed during his eighteen months' service; what medical attention has been given during this period; his present state of health and medical grade; and if he is aware that, prior to call-up, he held a Ministry of Labour disablement card issued by his local employment exchange.

This man was called up in December, 1953, with a medical category of grade II. In civil life he had been employed in erecting television aerials and he was posted for training in the Royal Air Force trade of aerial erector. He was withdrawn from this training in April, 1954, because of his disability, and since then has been employed on light duties in a carpentry shop. He saw a chiropodist in May this year and has been given special shoes. He went before a medical board on 2nd July but I have not yet been able to study their findings with care. As soon as I have reached a decision I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many accidents have taken place in the area of Corbett's Bridge, Penarth, in each of the last five years.

Accidents occurring within 200 yards of the bridge were as follows: — Fatal Involving personal injury Not involving personal injury Total 1950 — 1 1 2 1951 — 3 — 3 1952 — 3 1 4 1953 — 6 1 7 1954 — 3 3 6

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the plight of that section of the population who are existing on small fixed incomes in retirement, the product of their life savings; and whether he will take action to alleviate their lot.

As I said in my last Budget speech, I regard those living on small investment incomes as a class very deserving of help, and I have in fact included in my 1952, 1953 and 1955 Budgets measures designed specifically to help them.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what progress he has made in discussions with local authorities about introducing legislation to advance land drainage;

(2) which local authority associations have made representations to him asking for a survey of land drainage needs.

There were preliminary discussions some time ago with local authority associations but difficulties arose over financial questions. Since then I have not received any representations on this subject from any of the local authority associations, but I am actively considering the practicability of measures to deal with certain aspects of the matter.