asked the Minister of Labour how many disabled persons were employed by Remploy, Limited, during each of the last four years; and how many of these left this employment to return to normal industry during each of these years.

The average numbers of severely disabled workers employed by Remploy, Limited, for the years ending in March, 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1955 were 5,830, 6,002, 6,314 and 6,513 respectively. The numbers who left Remploy employment for normal industrial employment during these years were 200, 345, 236 and 286 respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of Section II disabled persons registered at the Hackney Employment Exchange; and how many are employed or being trained by Remploy, Limited.

On 7th July, 1955, nine disabled persons classified as being unlikely to obtain employment except under sheltered conditions (Section II) were registered as unemployed at the Hackney Employment Exchange. At the present time no severely disabled persons previously registered at this office are in employment with Remploy.

asked the Minister of Labour the basis upon which Exchequer contribution is made to Remploy, Limited.

Exchequer contributions are made to Remploy, Limited, in two ways: by interest-free loans to cover the cost of capital expenditure; and by grants to provide working capital and meet the company's annual deficits in running expenses. Estimates of the annual amounts expected to be required are included in the Ministry's Parliamentary Estimates after discussion with the company as to its probable requirements for that year, having regard to its expected trading position.

asked the Minister of Labour the numbers of fatal and nonfatal accidents which occurred during building operations in 1954, the numbers of factory inspectors solely engaged in the inspection of building operations, to secure that the Building (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations are complied with, and the number of such inspectors with professional qualifications in building construction and civil engineering; and how many had considerable experience of building construction before becoming factory inspectors.

172 fatal and 13,731 non-fatal. It is not the practice of the inspectorate to specialise in the inspection of particular classes of premises subject to the Factories Acts and no inspector is solely engaged in the inspection of building operations. The number of inspectors with professional qualifications in building construction and/or civil engineering is eleven, including eight who had considerable experience of building construction before becoming factory inspectors.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the machinery in his Department for periodic review of the means available for training and re-employing disabled persons.

All local offices of my Department have a disablement resettlement officer responsible for continuously reviewing the opportunities for training and employment of individual disabled persons needing such services. My regional and headquarters officers have the training and employment situation under regular review at regional and national level respectively. I am also advised by the National Advisory Council on the employment of the disabled and nearly 300 local disablement advisory committees.

asked the Minister of Labour how many Section II disabled persons are registered at Edgware Road Employment Exchange; how many have been offered training or employment with Remploy; and what steps he proposes to take to assist the remainder.

On 12th July, 1955, there were ten persons classified as being unlikely to obtain employment except under sheltered conditions (Section II) at the Edgware Road Employment Exchange. It has not been possible to offer these persons employment with Remploy, but my local officers will continue their endeavours to find them suitable employment; one of them is due to start in ordinary employment on 25th July.

asked the Minister of Labour what endeavours have been made by his Department to place Mr. A. Holloway, 13, Chippenham Road, London, W.9, for training and employment with Remploy.

As a result of efforts made by my Department since Mr. Holloway became unemployed in March, 1955, I am glad to say he has now been found suitable employment in ordinary industry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign husbands of British women subjects resident in this country have been refused permission to live with their wives here during the past twelve months; and in how many cases this ban applied to Italian husbands.

The immigration statistics are not kept in a form which enables me to give these figures. I can, however, assure the hon. Member that each case is dealt with on its merits irrespective of the husband's nationality.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now introduce the necessary legislation for the abolition of the death penalty.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will ensure that those surface air-raid shelters which are not to be demolished shall be gated and locked to prevent their use as public conveniences.

Where there is any persistent misuse of a shelter the local authority is, on application to my Department, authorised to seal up the shelter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. Geoffrey C. Taylor, 226, Ditchling Road, Brighton, now serving a sentence in Leyhill Prison, near Bristol, has been forbidden to communicate with his Member of Parliament by the prison Governor until he has first petitioned the Home Secretary; and, in view of the fact that it is the custom that all prisoners may contact their Members of Parliament, what instructions on this subject are issued to prison governors.

I am afraid that a mistake was made in this case and I am sorry if my hon. Friend has been inconvenienced. Prisoners must first make any complaints they have about prison treatment through one of the channels appointed for the consideration and redress of prisoners' gievances, but the representations which this prisoner wished to put to my hon. Friend were not in this category and he should have been allowed to write. I am taking steps to prevent any repetition of this mistake.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the statement made by Mr. Friend-Smith shortly before his death in 1928 is still in existence; and whether he will allow the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion, to see it.

Mr. Friend-Smith made no written statement but I have in my possession a report by a police officer who interviewed him and recorded certain statements which he made in reply to questions. I am getting in touch with my hon. Friend in regard to the second part of his Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that his immigration officers are demanding to see the passports of British subjects entering and leaving the country; and, in view of the fact that British subjects have a right to enter and leave this country at any time without a passport provided some adequate form of identification is carried, whether he will now waive the demand for passports to be shown.

It is necessary for British subjects entering or leaving this country to produce adequate evidence of identity and nationality. In these circumstances the most readily available evidence is a valid passport and I see no reason for altering the present practice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his regulations are with regard to the clearing of streets by the Metropolitan Police for important persons; and to what categories of persons these regulations apply.

Police motor cycle escorts are provided by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, at his discretion, to secure a speedy passage for members of the Royal Family, foreign Royalty, and heads of foreign Governments, and for Cabinet Ministers and distinguished visitors when there are special reasons of urgency.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement upon the future work of the Council for Wales.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on 7th July to a Question by the hon. Member for Anglesey (Mr. C. Hughes).

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware that awards by local education authorities to students at adult residential colleges vary widely; and if he will circularise all local education authorities recommending them to make uniform and adequate awards.

I understand that the colleges concerned have taken this question up themselves with the local education authorities, and that their efforts have met with a fair measure of success.

asked the Minister of Education his policy regarding students who are not successful with their application to enter college this year; and what assistance his Department gives in having such pupils placed.

I encourage authorities to select the best candidates available to them. I am glad that they are able this year to choose from a wider field and that there will also be more students in the colleges than ever before.

asked the Minister of Education on what date he will make a statement regarding payment of the cost of extra allowances to certain teachers in grammar schools.

After considering the effect on the direct-grant grammar schools of the additional allowances for advanced work recommended by the Burnham Committee and introduced last April, I wrote to the governors of all these schools a week ago telling them that I had raised the capitation grant from £28 5s. to £30 and the sixth form grant from £20 to £40, both with effect from 1st April.

asked the Minister of Education what immediate steps he proposes to take to arrest the growing number of over-large classes.

The steady increase in the number of teachers and the school building programme will gradually reduce the number of over-size classes, although there may be no improvement this year in the secondary schools.

asked the Minister of Education the total value of minor projects included in the 1954–55 and 1955–56 school building programmes, respectively.

The value of minor projects on primary and secondary schools approved during the financial year 1954–55 was £6,264,000. I cannot forecast the corresponding figure for the current year, since I do not now impose a limit on the total amount of this type of work which local education authorities may undertake.

asked the Minister of Education how many projects or instalments of projects designed to expand the facilities for technical education were submitted to him as a result of Circular 283; how many were added to the 1955–56 programme; how many are to be included in the 1956–57 programme; and how many deferred beyond 1956–57.

Of 220 projects submitted, forty-six to the value of £2.5 million were added to the 1955–56 programme, about sixty estimated to cost about £9 million are to be included in the 1956–57 programme and the rest are to be deferred.

asked the Minister of Education if he will make a statement giving details of the national women's organisation sponsored by his Department designed to create a force for use in an emergency under the name of "Enterprise Unlimited."

"Enterprise Unlimited" is the name given by the Girls' Training Corps to an experiment it has started recently in Kent designed to prepare tough girls over 16 to help in emergencies such as floods, heavy snow and accidents. The Corps is a constituent body of the National Association of Training Corps for Girls, to which my department have for many years made grants.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will refer the proposed increases in shipping freight rates to Australia to the Commonwealth Shipping Committee.

No. It has long been the established policy of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom not to intervene in questions of freight rates.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the continued existence 4 restrictive practices in the motor-tyre industry; when he will make the Report of the Monopolies Commission on this matter available to the House; and what action he intends to take to end these practices.

My right hon. Friend will lay this Report before Parliament in accordance with the provisions of Section 9 of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948, as soon as he can. I can make no announcement on action to be taken on the Report in advance of publication.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when the administrators of Roumanian, Hungarian and Bulgarian property propose to pay a dividend to claimants in the distribution of Roumanian, Hungarian and Bulgarian assets.

The Administrator of Roumanian Property will start the payment later this month of an interim dividend of 5s. in the £ to applicants whose claims are established in the distribution of Roumanian property. This dividend will use up the major portion of the assets available but the Administrator hopes to pay a second and final dividend in 1956.

The Administrator of Hungarian Property and the Administrator of Bulgarian Property have received an unexpectedly large number of applications, the examination of which cannot be completed for some months. The large number of claims and the small amount of property available in either case for distribution do not justify the payment of anything but a first and final dividend. The Administrators hope to start payment of this at the end of the year but it would be misleading the House to suggest that either the Hungarian or the Bulgarian dividend is likely to be more than a very few pence in the £.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made this year in the campaign against the warble fly; and how far the results of the pilot experiment in the Isle of Wight indicate that the examination of all beasts in an area so that none affected escape dressing would be justified elsewhere.

It is too early as yet to assess the results of this year's dressing campaign. The experiment being carried out in the Isle of Wight shows clearly that the regular annual dressing of cattle under exceptionally favourable conditions greatly reduces the incidence of warble fly infestation. The lesson learnt from the experiment is that if cattle everywhere were given efficient and regular dressings at the proper time, infestation would be quickly reduced if not eliminated. To ensure that the requirements of the Order are fully observed throughout the country would involve the inspection of all cattle during a period of three and a half months, the cost of which would be prohibitive. I am writing more fully to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent temporary assistance for orderly and other duties in hospitals is being secured from students on vacation; and whether notification has been given to student unions that this type of work is available for their members.

Students on vacation are often temporarily employed at hospitals, but I regret that no figures are available. It is entirely at the discretion of hospital authorities whether to employ students, and no central arrangements have been made with the student unions.

asked the Minister of Health how the salaries of pharmacists under the National Health Service compare with the salaries paid to pharmacists outside the Health Service.

I regret that my information about the salaries of pharmacists outside the National Health Service is not sufficiently comprehensive to enable this comparison to be made. Higher salaries for hospital pharmacists have recently been agreed by the Pharmaceutical Whitley Council and I am sending details of the new salaries to my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of the total beds were allocated for Section 5 paying patients in teaching and other hospitals, respectively, during each of the last five years.

The following table expresses the number of beds designated under Section 5 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, as a percentage of the total bed complement in each case (excluding beds shut owing to lack of staff): — 31st Dec., 1950 31st Dec., 1951 31st Dec., 1952 31st Dec., 1953 31st Dec., 1954 Teaching hospitals 7.29 6.56 6.19 6.12 6.06 Non-teaching hospitals 1.10 1.02 0.99 0.97 0.96

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how many domestic solid-fuel appliances of the standard room efficiency of 40 per cent. recommended by the Ridley Commission have been supplied to householders in the United Kingdom since the Commission reported in 1952.

It is not yet possible to define standards based on room efficiency but up to May, 1955, about 3¾ million appliances of the highest minimum standard of efficiency considered practicable by my Ministry have been delivered to the home market.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the saving to the North Rhodesian Government in withdrawing their subsidy from African housing; what proportion of this will be used to help Africans to build their own houses; and what number of houses approximately of this kind will be built in the coming fiscal year.

About £60,000 will be saved in the present financial year; as the subsidy has at present only been halved, the saving for future years will be greater. The Government have provided £20,000 for a pilot scheme to enable Africans to build their own homes with the help of loans from local authorities; and they are also lending large sums to local authorities to build permanent houses for renting to employers. About 3,500 are to be built in the present financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many houses in Ross and Cromarty are at present without water and indoor sanitation.

Precise figures are not available but it is estimated that roughly 6,000 houses in the landward area of the county are without indoor water supplies and 7,000 are without water closets.

asked the Minister of Works if he will make a statement about access to Westminster Hall during the opening Session of the Commonwealth and Empire Law Conference on Wednesday, 20th July.

The Hall will be closed to the general public on 18th, 19th and 20th July. Hon. Members will, however, be able to show visitors through the Hall except on the morning of 20th July, when the opening session is held.

asked the Minister of Defence, in view of the representations made that Her Majesty's Government should honour the undertaking given to officers of the Armed Services who retired under the 1919 Code that their retired pay would be varied with the cost of living not only downwards but also upwards to an extent not exceeding 20 per cent., what steps he is taking in order to bring this about.

The circumstances in which officers' pensions were stabilised in 1935 are set out in Cmd. 9092. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer indicated in reply to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for New Forest (Colonel Crosthwaite-Eyre) on 12th July, Her Majesty's Government are keeping the whole question of pensions increase under review.