asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is aware that many old-age pensioners are unable to purchase coal; and whether he will introduce a system of coal supplies at a cheaper rate to old-age pensioners on production of their pension books.

No. It is not the intention of the Government to extend benefits in kind.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will make a statement on the domestic coal position in the County of Glamorgan and in the Borough of Barry, respectively.

I am informed that the domestic coal position in both Glamorgan and Barry is satisfactory. I am writing to my hon. Friend in more detail.

asked the Minister of Supply what Government expenditure has been incurred on the development of the Vickers 1000.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr. Fernyhough) and the hon. and gallant Member for Macclesfield (Air Commodore Harvey) last Monday.

asked the Minister of Supply what compensation will be paid to Messrs. Vickers Armstrong for the cancellation of orders respecting the Vickers 1000.

It is not the practice of my Department to pay compensation in cases of this kind. It is too early to say what the total payment to the firm will be for work done.

asked the Minister of Supply for how long the Short Shetland, the Armstrong Whitworth Apollo, the Bristol Brabazon, the Saunders-Roe Princess, the Short Sandringham and Solent, the Avro Tudor, the Handley Page Hermes, the de Havilland Comet, the Saunders-Roe Air Horse, and the Vickers 1000 were in service with the British Overseas Airways Corporation.

Only four of these aircraft have been in service with the British Overseas Airways Corporation, the Sandringham for two and a half years, the Solent for two and a half years, the Hermes for four years and the Comet I for two years. In addition, the Tudor IV was in service with the British South American Airways Corporation for 15 months and the Tudor V for a year.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that his policy of encouraging, by awards and otherwise, the destruction of squirrels, rabbits and wood pigeons has resulted in an increase of other pests, to the detriment of the supply of human food; and whether he will discontinue the offer of such awards.

I have no evidence to suggest that the destruction of these creatures has resulted in an increase of other pests.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many provincial conferences of the National Agriculture Advisory Service are planned to take place over the next six months; what will be the respective cost of each; how many will attend each, respectively; what their subsistence and travelling allowances will cost; how many hours of advisory work will be lost; how many officials from his Department in London will attend; the cost of their doing so; and what representations he has received with regard to the holding of these conferences, and why they are to be held.

Provincial conferences of the N.A.A.S. are held on the average every two or three months at the provincial centres. They are attended by senior provincial officers and county agricultural officers but not as a rule by headquarters officers. The proceedings normally last for a day and the average cost is in the neighbourhood of £30. These conferences are necessary for the efficient running of the Service and I have received no representations about them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many hours of excess duty allowance are claimed monthly by officers of his Department; the annual cost; if he is aware that the more senior members of his Department are prompting those more junior to submit the maximum possible claims for such allowances; and what steps are taken to ensure that each claim is fully justified.

I assume that my hon. and gallant Friend refers to overtime worked beyond the regular hours. The section concerned must seek authority for this in advance and their applications, as well as the subsequent records of attendance, are carefully scrutinised. For the month of October a total of 33,803 hours of such overtime were worked at an approximate cost of £8,450.I am not aware of any practice among the more senior officers such as my hon. and gallant Friend suggests. I shall be glad to look into any individual case which he may have in mind if he will let me have particulars.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the estimated production of dried grass and lucerne for 1955 and the comparable figures for 1954 and 1953.

No estimate has yet been made for 1955. 162,000 tons were produced in 1954 and 246,000 tons in 1953.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the firsthand prices of Danish bacon at the latest available date.

The first-hand prices of Danish bacon are 310, 306 and 296 shillings per cwt. according to selection.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give an assurance that the undertaking previously given that spare parts for certain United States-type sprayer pumps purchased from his Department would be available, has been and will continue to be fully implemented.

I am investigating this matter, about which my hon. Friend has written to me, and I shall get in touch with him as soon as my inquiries are complete.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to complaints regarding the decision of the Milk Marketing Board to close the grass-drying plant at Whalley, Lancashire; and, in view of the difficulties which this would cause to farmers in the area, whether he will consult with the Board with a view to having this decision reconsidered.

I am aware that some local farmers are concerned about the Milk Marketing Board's decision to close this plant. This is however a matter within the discretion of the Milk Marketing Board and I have informed the Board of the hon. Member's Question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that the ban on the importation of poultry from France is likely to raise materially the price of turkeys for the Christmas market; and the reason for imposing the ban at this time.

In recent years imports from France have provided an extremely small proportion of total supplies of Christmas poultry and I should not expect prices to be significantly affected. I have suspended the special arrangements which allowed the import of poultry carcases from part of France because of the increased risk of introducing fowl pest.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will now state what action he is taking on the Inter-departmental Committee's Report on slaughterhouses.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) on 24th November.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of the staff of the kennels where dogs coming into Great Britain are quarantined contracted rabies when cases of that disease were diagnosed amongst the dogs.

I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health that the answer is "None."

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the last year in which it was reported that one or more dogs brought into Britain had developed rabies during or after quarantine.

1949.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the circumstances in which the United Kingdom was not elected by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organisation to a seat on the Council.

The F.A.O. is a democratic organisation in which each member Government has one vote. The United Kingdom has no prescriptive right to a seat on the Council or on any particular committee.

asked the Minister of Health when he expects to receive the Report of the Royal Commission on the Law relating to Mental Illness and Mental Deficiency.

I am not at present able to say when the Royal Commission will be reporting but expect that it will be some time next year.

asked the Minister of Health the tuberculosis incidence in England and Wales during the last three completed periods.

The notifications of cases of tuberculosis in England and Wales in 1952, 1953 and 1954 were:

asked the Minister of Health his estimate of the increased cost to the National Health Service of the proposed increased taxation.

Very roughly about £1 million a year.

asked the Minister of Health if he can now say when the Guillebaud Report will be published.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member for Wembley, North (Wing Commander Bullus) on 24th November, 1955. I am not yet in a position to give the precise date of publication.

asked the Minister of Health the various items of expenditure comprising the estimated additional maintenance cost of £10 a year of a two-seater vehicle for disabled persons compared with the present one-seater vehicle.

The estimated additional cost of maintenance is about £40 a year. This includes road tax, additional cost of insurance and extra cost of repairs (including collection and delivery) and servicing charges.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that many deaf persons who are engaged in industry find it impossible to make full use of the Medresco hearing aid; what progress has been made in the development of the mono-pack type; and when such aid is likely to be available for suitable cases.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 21st November to the hon. Member for Bristol, Central (Mr. Awbery).

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of rabies and deaths from that disease have been recorded in Britain each year since 1900.

Deaths from rabies were recorded as shown in the years included in the following table. I understand that the disease is invariably fatal.

asked the Minister of Health what reciprocal arrangements exist for medical treatment within the Commonwealth.

Under Australian legislation free medical treatment is available to various classes of pensioners and their dependants. A reciprocal agreement with the Australian Government enables citizens coming from the United Kingdom to Australia to qualify for such pensions, and hence for free medical treatment, by virtue of their United Kingdom insurance.United Kingdom citizens in New Zealand receive medical treatment on the same terms as New Zealand citizens, although there is no formal reciprocal agreement to that effect.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a specially adapted chair for Miss E. Pridmore, Church Street, Wilbarston, Northamptonshire, was ordered from the manufacturers in or about February, 1955, and that delivery was promised first in June, then in September, at an early date, and lastly, in October, in ten days' time, but that the chair has not yet been delivered; and what steps he proposes to take to expedite delivery.

I regret the delay in this case, due to circumstances beyond my control. The special chair was delivered on 22nd November.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he will inquire into the decision of the South-West Metropolitan Regional Board to prevent the acceptance of a tender for work to be done at the Fulham Hospital solely on the ground that the tender is made by a company which is not a member of the Association of Boiler Setters and Constructors;(2) if he will instruct regional hospital boards that in seeking tenders for work to be done on hospitals within their respective regions, no firm is to be excluded from having their tenders accepted solely by reason of the fact that they are not members of a particular trade association.

I understand that the Regional Hospital Board specified membership of this Association on technical advice that it might help in obtaining a satisfactory standard of work, but that it has now decided against including such a clause in future contracts. I agree with this decision and I will see that my views are made known to hospital boards.

asked the Minister of Health how many beds are reserved for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in hospitals and sanatoria under the control of his Department and approximately how many of these are now unoccupied; and for how many patients with pulmonary tuberculosis contractual arrangments exist with disclaimed institutions.

At 31st December, 1954, the latest date for which information is available, 32,593 beds were reserved for patients with respiratory tuberculosis. The number of beds unoccupied at the same date is not available, but 28,227 beds were occupied on average during 1954. In addition 989 such beds were occupied on average under contractual arrangements during 1954.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will institute a system of travel warrants for use by nurses similar to the travel warrants used by Service personnel.

No. I do not think this would be justified.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he has taken to ensure the efficiency of the ambulance service in Swindon; and whether he has yet called for an investigation into the delay in attending the victim of an accident on the night of 11th November.

The duty to provide an ambulance service is placed by statute upon the local health authority, which appears to be carrying out its obligations with a proper sense of responsibility. I am informed that there was no unreasonable delay in dispatching an ambulance in this case.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the fact that the urgent waiting list of cases awaiting admission into institutions for mental defectives in Derbyshire has increased from 126 at the end of 1952, to 177 at the end of 1954 and that some of the urgent cases which were on the waiting list in 1948 are still on that list in 1955; and what he proposes to do to increase the accommodation for such cases.

Yes Additional beds are being provided principally at Aston Hall and the Ridgeway Hospital, Belper. 157 of these should be available early next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the strength of Her Majesty's Embassy and military mission in Libya.

The strength of Her Majesty's Embassy in Libya, apart from locally-engaged staff, is thirty officers appointed from the United Kingdom, of whom twenty are resident in Tripoli and ten in Benghazi The Military Mission at Benghazi, which is administered by the War Office, consists of seven officers and twelve other ranks.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will state the exact sums paid out of public funds by the Foreign Office, in the one case in the form of a financial settlement and in the other as a gratuity, to the two Foreign Office/Service officials who were asked and permitted to resign, respectively, from Her Majesty's Service as a result of the inquiries instituted following the escape of Messrs. Maclean and Burgess.

As I stated on 21st November, in answer to another Question by my hon. and gallant Friend, the Foreign Service officer who was permitted to resign did so not as a result of the inquiries but only because of his relationship to one of the persons involved.It is not customary to reveal the amount paid to individual officers upon the termination of their services and I am not prepared to do so in these two cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will cause to be printed in the OFFICIAL REPORT the exact terms of engagement under which a Foreign Office/Service officer, who was asked to resign from Her Majesty's Service in consequence of inquiries into the Maclean-Burgess affair, was enabled, and in accordance with the terms of this engagement, to receive from the Foreign Office a financial settlement out of public funds; and how many Foreign Office service officers are at present serving on similar terms of engagement which, in the event of their being asked to resign from Her Majesty's Service, would entitle them to financial settlements out of public funds.

I am not prepared to meet either of these requests.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the dates on which the members of the Foreign Service who have been transferred to other positions in the service for security reasons entered the service.

I am not prepared to give this information.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress was made at Geneva on the question of the reunification of Germany.

In accordance with the Directive issued by the Heads of Government in July, the Western Foreign Ministers put forward proposals for the reunification of Germany by free elections in 1956. The Soviet Foreign Minister rejected these proposals and put forward counter-proposals which would have involved the continued division of Germany for an indefinite period. In these circumstances no progress could be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will instruct Her Majesty's Government's representative on the Security Council to support the proposal of the Government of India for the establishment of an international commission to study and report on the effects of nuclear radiation; and whether he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom Delegation co-sponsored a Resolution in the Political Committee of the United Nations General Assembly calling for the establishment of a Scientific Committee to receive, collate, evaluate and publish information on radiation levels and on the effect of radiation on man and his environment. This Resolution was unanimously adopted on 7th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will instruct Her Majesty's Government's representative on the Security Council to support the admission to membership of the United Nations of all States not yet members which accept the obligations contained in the Charter.

Her Majesty's Government are ready to accept as members of the United Nations all States that fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 4 of the Charter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the amount of the British contribution to the United Nations Children's Fund for 1956.

The amount is still under consideration. An announcement will be made shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that Israeli forces are crossing the Jordan frontier as escorts to Arabs being deported; and if he will bring this violation of the Armistice Agreement to the attention of General Burns.

I have no information to indicate that Israeli forces are crossing the Jordan frontier while escorting Arabs being deported. No such complaint has been made by the Jordanian delegate to the Mixed Armistice Commission. The second part of the Question does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs over what parts of the English Channel lying more than three miles from British territory does Her Majesty's Government claim sovereignty.

Her Majesty's Government claim no sovereignty over the waters of the Channel beyond the three-mile limit.International law permits a State to lay claim to the sea-bed and subsoil around its coastline covered by a depth of water up to one hundred metres. The English Channel is nowhere deeper than one hundred metres and the division of the sea-bed outside normal territorial waters would therefore be a matter for agreement between Her Majesty's Government and other interested Governments.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it was with his authority that the official statement was issued by his Department on 22nd November on the reported remarks of Marshal Bulganin in India.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the recent statement made by a Foreign Office spokesman attacking the Prime Minister of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was made with his authority; and why such a statement was not made in the House of Commons.

The statement in question was made by a member of the Foreign Office in answer to a question put at the daily Foreign Office Press conference. It could therefore not have been made in the House of Commons.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement about the seizure by Chinese troops of members of the Welsh Himalayan Expedition; and what representa- tions have been made to the Chinese Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what news he has of the two members of the Welsh mountaineering expedition to the Himalayas who have been seized by Chinese troops on the Tibetan border and taken to Taklakot, inside Tibet; and whether he will make urgent representations to the Chinese Government to secure the immediate release of these men.

According to a report received in New Delhi on 22nd November, Mr. Wignall (the leader of the Welsh Himalayan Expedition) and Mr. Harrop, together with an official Nepalese liaison officer attached to the expedition, were arrested on 22nd October, by Chinese frontier guards, who presumably thought that they had crossed the Tibetan border. According to an unofficial report the three men were taken to Taklakot and are being well treated.Her Majesty's Ambassador at Katmandu and Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Peking have been instructed to ask the respective authorities for information about the party.

asked the Attorney-General whether, in view of the terms of Section 7 (1) of the Law Reform (Limitation of Actions, etc.) Act, 1954, and the practice of the Crown not to rely on the one-year limitation period provided by the Public Authorities Protection Act, 1893, as amended by the Limitations Act, 1939, unless the delay has caused real prejudice to the Department concerned, he will state the policy which Government Departments now propose to follow.

In the case of claims in respect of personal injury or death where the cause of action arose after 4th June, 1953, Government Departments will adhere to the three-year limitation period laid down by the Act of 1954. Where the cause of action arose before that date and the claim is still pending Government Departments will not rely upon their rights under the Pubic Authorities Protection Act, 1893, as amended, until three years have elapsed from the date on which the cause of action arose.I am asked by the Lord Advocate to say that the same practice will be followed in Scotland.

asked the Attorney-General how many prosecutions have been instigated by his Department under the Auctions (Bidding Agreements) Act, 1927, since its enactment; how many such prosecutions there have been in the last five years; and how many have been successful.

My predecessor gave his consent to the institution of proceedings in one case, involving three persons; all three were convicted.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance on how many occasions he has attended the Old-Age Pensioners' Rally during the past four years; and whether he attended their recent meeting in London.

None. I am, however, familiar with the views of the organisation responsible for the meetings which I assume the hon. Member has in mind, since I have received several deputations from it during my term of office.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what proportion of old-age pensioners have other sources of income besides their pension; and in what way are such other sources of income estimated.

Less than a quarter of the retirement pensioners are in receipt of National Assistance; most of the remainder and many of those receiving Assistance have other resources.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance why, in April last, he proposed to cut the war pension, No. B4/D3/2735, of Mrs. A. Peart, 330 Alwold Road, Birmingham, 29; why in May last he abandoned this projected cut; and why he has now ordered an exactly similar reduction of 5s. even though the pensioner's income has not changed.

Mrs. Peart's war pension is based on need. The question of a reduction arose last April as a result of the increase in retirement pension, but in accordance with my hon. Friend's statement in the House on 2nd May the original rate of war pension was continued. The reduction in October was on account of a declaration of earnings which was an entirely new factor.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what steps he is taking to secure reciprocal arrangements with Canada for payment of family allowances; and what main difficulties are preventing an agreement.

In 1949, my predecessor asked the Canadian Government to consider the possibility of a reciprocal agreement on family allowances. The Canadian Government were then unable to accept that proposal, but I will raise the question again.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will have Schedule 1, Part II, paragraph 7, of the National Assistance Board (Determination of Needs) Regulations revised, with a view to increasing the amount of earnings to be disregarded.

No. I would point out that the National Assistance Act leaves the responsibility for initiating changes in the Regulations with the National Assistance Board.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will ask the National Assistance Board to submit through him to Parliament amended National Assistance Board (Determination of Needs) Regulations, providing for the disregards of certain forms of income to be increased to at least compensate for loss of money value since 1948.

No. The rules about disregarding certain forms of income are laid down in the National Assistance Act, 1948, and any amendment would require legislation, which I am not prepared to introduce for the reason given in reply to a similar question by the hon. Member for Mansfield (Mr. B. Taylor) on 21st November.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when the general level of rents in localities under the National Assistance Board (Determination of Needs) Regulations was last fixed; and whether he will arrange for those rent allowances to be increased to meet rent increases since that date.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the recommendations made to the Board by its local advisory committees in 1950. The Board informs me that its officers have discretion to meet rents in excess of the figures recommended by the committees and that increases in rents are in fact being provided for in full in all but a small minority of cases, in most of which the household includes at least one earning member able to take responsibility for part of a relatively high rent.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance on what date the subject of the earnings rule was referred by him to the National Insurance Advisory Committee.

on 19th November.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many local authorities have made representations to him on the subject of legislation on mining subsidence since October, 1951.

At least ten local authorities have approached me directly on this subject, and I have also received representations from three of the associations of local authorities.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the following particulars regarding Members of the House of Commons who have made appearances on any home radio or television programme, including regional broadcasts, in each of the years 1948 to 1954 inclusive and up to the latest convenient date in 1955; the total number of broadcasts by Members; the total number of Members concerned; and the number of Members who have made more than five appearances in any one year.

Yes. The figures are as follows:—

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is satisfied that there are enough public telephone kiosks in East Kilbride to meet the growing needs of the new town.

Yes. There are now 17 kiosks, and 10 more are to be installed by next summer.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury why, in Form 7854/1,500/ EP/c/95/55, issued by the Civil Service Commission, hon. Members are specifically referred to on page 3 thereof.

It is common for the Civil Service Commissioners to include in the Regulations for their competitions a warning to candidates that any evidence of solicitation of recommendations from Members of Parliament or other persons of influence will disqualify the candidate. This practice was adopted following the Report in 1918 of a Committee (under Viscount Gladstone) appointed by the Government to consider certain aspects of Civil Service recruitment.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he has yet received detailed plans of a new bridge over the Clyde and other road improvements at Kirkfieldbank, Lanarkshire; and when he expects work to begin.

Yes; an application for grant and detailed plans for a new bridge and road approaches at Kirkfieldbank were received on 26th October, 1955. These are being examined in my Department and if they are in order a grant will be issued to Lanark County Council in the near future. I expect the work to start next spring.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware of the congestion on the lists of those awaiting driving tests in Skegness and Lincoln; if he is also aware of the strain and extra burden placed on the agricultural industry and other industries because of this congestion; and what action he proposes to remedy this state of affairs.

I am aware of, and regret, the inconvenience of the long waiting period for driving tests in these places. I am confident that the recruitment of additional driving examiners now proceeding will alleviate the position.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why, after refusing for eighteen months to register certain small wholesalers for Purchase Tax, the officers of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise visited these firms on Budget Day with a certificate of registration; and why uniform treatment has not been meted out in this respect, in that the wholesaling branches of certain multiple concerns dealing largely in taxable goods have still not been compelled to register.

If the hon. Member will send me particulars of the cases he has in mind I will have inquiries made.