asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by how much the strength of the city police in Sheffield is under-manned; and, in view of the increase in Service pay, what proposals he has for increase in police pay to remedy this shortage.

On 31st January the authorised establishment of the Sheffield city police force was 764 men and 36 women; the deficiency in actual strength was 131 men and 5 women. The federated ranks of the police received substantial increases in pay in December last as a result of an arbitration award; and I am hopeful that this will lead to a steady improvement in the manpower position, especially in those forces where the shortage is at present most serious.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that in none of the four countries in which the police were unarmed at the time of the abolition of capital punishment was it found necessary to arm the police because of the abolition of capital punishment; and whether he will give an assurance that he will restrict the carrying of arms by the police in this country to the rare cases in which it has been the practice for many years.

Firearms are available for use by police officers when engaged on specially dangerous duty. The police are averse from the carrying of arms in other circumstances and I share their aversion, but I cannot say what it may be necessary to do should the carrying and use of arms by professional criminals become prevalent in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers are conferred on the Inter-Departmental Committee on Accidents in the Home; when the Committee last met; how often they meet; and what Departments are represented at the meetings.

The terms of reference of the Committee are:

"To co-ordinate departmental action in connection with the prevention of accidents in the home, and to maintain contact with unofficial organisations interested in the subject."

The Committee last met on 5th January; it meets roughly four times a year. I will send the hon. Lady a list of the thirteen Departments represented at the meetings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mentally-defective juvenile delinquents have been summoned before magistrates courts in the past three years; how many have been placed on probation; and what guidance he has given to magistrates as to the appropriate methods of dealing with such juveniles.

The only statistical information available in answer to the first part of the Question is the number of cases where a juvenile court was satisfied that an offender was mentally defective and directed action to be taken under Section 8 of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913. The number was 220 during 1952, 1953 and 1954, the last three years for which figures are available.

The information asked for in the second part of the Question is not available, but few such cases have come to my notice. There has been no occasion for me to remind juvenile courts of their longstanding powers under the Mental Deficiency Acts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the traffic lights at the junction of Savoy Street and the Embankment are manually operated at the cost of eighty-four police man-hours weekly; and whether he will arrange for the transfer of these lights to an automatic system.

Experiments are at present in progress preparatory to the installation of automatic signals. The actual installation is a matter for the Westminster City Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is now prepared to grant similar no-passport day facilities to air travellers as are already enjoyed by sea excursionists to the Continent.

A passport is the usual and appropriate document for the purpose of travel overseas. The recent concession of no passport facilities to certain holiday resorts was a restoration of pre-war facilities granted in respect of day excursions to the Continent by sea and I do not think that this concession ought to be treated as a precedent for the abolition of passports or for its extension to excursions by air which are not so easily controllable.

asked the Minister of Education how many primary schools are still on the black list as unsuitable buildings; and how such figure compares with that of 1950.

564 compared with 636 in January, 1950.

asked the Minister of Education what percentage of the Budgets of 1938 and 1955, respectively, were spent on education; and what was the number of schoolchildren in each of these years.

Exchequer expenditure on education including universities in 1955–56 is estimated to be 7·11 per cent. of all Government ordinary expenditure, compared with 5·95 per cent. in 1938–39. The number of pupils at grant-aided primary and secondary schols, excluding special schools, was 7,460,000 in 1955 compared with 6,322,000 in 1938. The figures for educational expenditure and the numbers of children relate to England, Wales and Scotland. Capital expenditure has increased very substantially in comparison with pre-war.

asked the Minister of Education what negotiations are at present taking place between his Department and the local authorities with the object of obtaining agreement for the introduction of a teachers' widows', orphans' and dependants' pension scheme at an early date.

None at present.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware that the 5 per cent. cut in the educational grant has deprived many swimming teachers of employment; that as a consequence many swimming teachers have been obliged to seek other and different employment; that they are thus lost to the teaching of swimming, thereby inflicting damage on children who need tuition in swimming; and if he will state his plans to solve the relevant problems.

There has been no 5 per cent. cut in the grant paid to local education authorities and I am not aware that the teaching of swimming has been suffering in the way suggested in the Question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether he will request the Government of the Republic of Ireland to pay compensation for the malicious damage to persons and property in County Fermanagh, the cost of which will otherwise fall on the people of that county, arising out of the armed raid on Rosslea Police Barracks by persons who came from and returned to the Republic of Ireland.

While I appreciate the feelings of those on whom this burden will fall, I understand that there is insufficient evidence on which to base a claim for compensation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what discussions he has had with member nations of the Commonwealth about the possibility of a joint project for the production of nuclear materials and energy, along the lines of Euratom.

Co-operation with Members of the Commonwealth in atomic matters is close and continuous and has we believe been of great benefit to all concerned. The wide dispersion of the Commonwealth, however, would preclude any scheme on the lines referred to by the hon. Member.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of imports are subject to import licensing from dollar sources and from other sources, respectively; what categories of goods are involved in each case; and what were the amounts imported separately and in each case during 1955.

It is estimated that in 1955 about one half of our imports from the dollar area and about one sixth of those from other sources were subject to quantitative control.For the second part of the Question. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on 20th February to the hon. Member for Northfield (Mr. Chapman). Detailed statistics in the form asked for in the last part of the Question are not readily available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to which countries there is a ban on the export of passenger motor vehicles and commercial vehicles, respectively; in respect of which countries export licences for motor cars have been refused in recent years and what were the total numbers involved; what other impediments exist in the free flow of trade in motor cars with the Soviet bloc; and if he will make a statement of the Government's general policy in regard to East-West trade in motor cars.

Licences are not required for the export of ordinary passenger cars to China or to the Soviet bloc countries. The export of commercial vehicles to China is prohibited. In the case of exports to the Soviet bloc, the only vehicles of civilian type subject to strategic controls are four-wheel drive vehicles. During the past three years licences have been refused for the export to China of six estate cars worth £3,110.Exports of motor cars to China and the Soviet

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether Her Majesty's Government have yet signed the Agreement on the Organisation for Trade Co-operation.

Yes. The Agreement was signed yesterday on behalf of Her Majesty's Government. The three Protocols of Amendment to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade were signed in September, and we have now completed signature of all the instruments emerging from last year's Review of the General Agreement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent British travellers going abroad are allowed to pay in sterling in this country for passages on railways, ships, and airlines owned in countries outside the sterling area; what is the total annual cost in foreign exchange; whether the cost is included in his annual estimate of the amount of foreign exchange required by travellers and tourists; and how far it is offset by reciprocal arrangements available to foreigners in their own countries.

Payment in sterling in this country is allowed except for travel to the dollar area where special authorisation is needed for journeys other than by a direct route. Separate figures are not available of the cost of these payments or of the corresponding receipts from other countries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider relating reductions in Purchase Tax on mass-produced consumer goods to the manufacturers' increases of exports over defined periods in order to provide an incentive to exports combined with the high utilisation of capacity necessary to keep costs down.

No. I do not think it would be possible to frame a workable scheme on the lines suggested by the hon. Member, and I fear that it might well have ultimate effects the reverse of that intended.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount wagered, in respect of which duty was payable in the financial year 1954–55, on totalisators on dog racecourses and on football pools, respectively; what amount was received in duty in each case; what amount was received from bookmakers' licence duty on dog racecourses; and the amount wagered on totalisators on horse racecourses.

The figures of pool betting duty for the financial year 1954–55 are:—

—	Net receipts of pool betting duty	Total stakes in respect of which pool betting duty was paid
	£	£
Totalisators operating on dog race-courses	5,804,167	58,041,670
Football and similar pools	21,454,615	71,515,383

Net receipts of bookmakers' licence duty during 1954–55 were £1,684,538.I understand that the amount wagered through totalisators operated by the Racecourse Betting Control Board during this period was £24,233,301.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his attention has been drawn to the shortage of vegetables and potatoes on Teesside, particularly the County Borough of West Hartlepool; and what action he is taking to meet the needs of the districts concerned.

My right hon. Friend is aware that as a direct result of the prolonged spell of severe weather, there has been a general shortage of vegetables and potatoes, both home-produced and imported. But this has not been especially marked on Tees-side.I am afraid it will be some time before green vegetable crops recover or before vegetable and potato supplies are normal again. However, my latest information is that there is already an improvement in the movement of potatoes.

asked the Minister of Labour the latest total of registered unemployed in the Reading and Newbury districts; what is the number of vacant jobs registered at the local employment exchanges; and how many of these are in Government establishments.

The number of unemployed persons aged eighteen and over on the registers of the Reading Employment Exchange at 13th February was 275 and the number of vacancies notified to this office and remaining unfilled at 8th February was 960. The corresponding figures for Newbury Employment Exchange were 92 and 380, respectively. About seventy of the unfilled vacancies at Reading and about eighty at Newbury were at Government establishments.

asked the Secretary of State for War, in connection with the proposal to rebuild Woolwich Barracks, when it is anticipated that the whole operation will be completed.

We plan to begin replacing the living accommodation in 1958. The scheme, which is a large one, may take as long as 10 years. This depends on such factors as the money available and possible changes in our requirements. But I can assure the hon. Member that we shall complete the rebuilding as quickly as the circumstances permit.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether in view of the increasing urgency of Manchester's need for land for house-building, he will now say what sites he has approved for this purpose.

Following a conference which my right hon. Friend held last week with representatives of the Manchester Corporation and the Cheshire, Derbyshire and Lancashire County Councils, he is considering the representations made to him on this subject; but he is not yet ready to make any statement.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the cost of the notional house in 1951 and at the nearest convenient date; the total repayments on such a house by a local authority, assuming a loan period of sixty years' duration; and how much of such repayment is for interest charges at the rate prevailing in 1951 and in January, 1956.

In respect of the average cost of a three-bedroom house the answer to the first part of the Question is £1,396 and £1,442, respectively, to the second part £3,520 and £4,754; and to the third part £2,124 and £3,312.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the nature of the representations which he has received from aeroplane companies in the United States of America that the existing runways at London Airport will be inadequate to accommodate the new United States jet airliners when they are working at full load; and what reply he has given.

I have received no such representations, and the second half of the Question therefore does not arise.

asked the Minister of Supply if he is aware that electrical equipment and machine tools, of a kind urgently required by universities and training colleges, are to be disposed of at a public auction sale at Melton Mowbray on 8th and 9th March; and, in view of the need for more trained technicians, what action has been taken to ensure that universities and colleges were given an opportunity to acquire this surplus stock before a decision was taken to dispose of it by public auction.

Under long-standing arrangements, if universities and technical colleges consider that their needs might be met from Government surpluses they may send details of their requirements to the Ministry of Supply and, if suitable surpluses are available, sales are made by direct negotiation.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power how the reduction in the capital investment programme of the Central Electricity Authority will affect provision for new consumers and hiring of electrical appliances.

As my right hon. Friend has already told the House, only half the total reduction will fall on distribution. In turn, only a part of this amount will affect new supplies. There may, however, be some slight delay in connecting prospective consumers.The Boards have agreed not to buy additional apparatus for hiring, and the programme therefore makes no provision for new expenditure under this head; but apparatus at present on hire is not affected and when given up by its present users can be rehired.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what steps he is taking to deal with the shortage of coal supplies in Tipton, Staffordshire.

I am making inquiries about coal supplies at Tipton and will write to the right hon. and learned Gentleman as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Africans in Kenya hold a degree or diploma of an approved institution of university or university college standing or an approved professional qualification.

Approximately ninety-four Kenya Africans hold degrees or diplomas of an approved institution of university or university college standing. No figures are available of those holding approved professional qualifications.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, under Annexure II, Appendix VA, paragraph 11 of the Kenya Government's Sessional Paper No. 39 of 1955–56, the term "proved income" includes the value of rations and/or housing where such are part of special emoluments which would entitle the African holder to the franchise.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies by what percentage the market price of citrus fruit has increased in British Honduras since 1951, showing each year separately.

The information is being sought from the Government of the Colony and will be circulated with the record in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the cause of the strike of workers in the citrus growing industry of British Honduras; and what steps are being taken by him to effect a settlement.

It is understood that the strike was the result of a three months' old dispute over wages, "closed shop" and other claims. The strike was called off by the General Workers Union on 9th February. Any intervention by Government to effect a settlement would, of course, be a matter for the Government of British Honduras, not for my right hon. Friend. I am, however, asking the Governor for a report on the dispute and will communicate with the hon. Member when this is received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on his visit to Cyprus.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I made to the right hon. Member for Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths) and the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras, South (Mrs. L. Jeger) yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that there is anxiety in Mauritius over the delay in announcing any decision of the constitutional talks of 1955 in London; and whether he will give an assurance that the system of a single non-transferable vote will be used in future elections as is the practice in the United Kingdom and Colonial Territories.

I would refer to the hon. Member the reply given to the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Fenner Brockway) on 28th February. He will not expect me to anticipate the statement foreshadowed therein.

asked the Minister of Health the total sum paid to the National Health Service by aliens who entered the United Kingdom during 1955 specifically for medical and surgical treatment under the Service, and who must provide satisfactory evidence, on entering this country, that they will pay the full costs of such treatment.

This information is not separately available.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give the exact cost to the National Health Service of the free medical and surgical facilities granted under the Service during 1955 to visitors from abroad who fall ill whilst they are in the United Kingdom.

This information is not separately available.

asked the hon. Member for Woolwich, West, as Chairman of the Kitchen Committee, whether he will arrange to publish in HANSARD a selection of the menus in the House of Commons Members' Dining Room showing the rise in prices of the various items during the last four years.

The following is the information. It is taken from the menus on 19th February in each year:

—	1953		1954		1955		1956
	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
Table d'Hote lunch	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	0
Table d'Hote dinner	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	0
Thick or clear soup		9		9		9		9
Fried cod and chips	1	10	1	9	1	9	2	0
Roast beef	2	6	2	9	3	0	3	6
Roast lamb	2	6	2	9	3	3	3	6
Roast chicken leg	4	6	4	6	4	6	5	0
Roast chicken wing	5	6	6	6	6	6	7	0
Roast turkey	5	6	5	6	5	6	6	0
Ice cream		6		6		6		6
Apple tart		6		8		8		9

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware of the general Ministerial practice in refusing to supply information to the House regarding details of sums of money expended by Government Departments in the form of payments to individual firms; and if he will give instructions that such details should in future be disclosed.

Ministers must retain discretion to withhold information when they consider that it is in the public interest to do so. It would not be desirable to limit that discretion by general instructions of the kind suggested by my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to state the profit or loss results of the farming activities of the Department of Agriculture for Scotland on the holdings of Craignell, Roundfell, and Kitterick, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, for the years 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, and 1955, respectively.

The financial results of the Department's farming activities on the holdings of Craignell, Roundfell, and Kitterick during each of the five years 1951 to 1955 were as follows:

	£
1950–51, Profit	520
1951–52, Profit	596
1952–53, Profit	644
1953–54, Profit	1,253
1954–55, Loss	161

These figures allow for interest on capital, but not for administration. The latter may be roughly estimated at £150 per annum.The explanation for the relatively high profit in 1953–54 is that regular sheep stocks, sold off because of resumptions for planting, realised higher prices than the previous valuation figures: the consequent reduction in turn-over led to the unfavourable result of the following year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has yet given approval to the construction of houses at East Kilbride for owner-occupiers; and what number of applications for such houses has been received by the Development Corporation.

No such proposals have been approved meantime, but it is understood that at least one firm of private builders has approached the Corporation with tentative proposals for building houses for owner-occupation. I am informed that the number of individual applications received by the Corporation for houses for owner-occupation is thirty-seven.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the number of hours per week worked normally by male mental nurses in Scotland; what additional payment is made for overtime, week-end and night duty; what provision is made where injury results from an attack by a patient; and what alterations in conditions of employment of male mental nurses are contemplated.

The normal working hours of mental nurses are ninety-six per fortnight. Nursing staff, up to and including ward sisters and charge nurses, receive overtime payments at plain time rates. Weekend and night duties, an essential feature of nursing, do not attract additional payments. Injury arising out of employment is covered by the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Acts and by nurses' sick pay conditions. The conditions of service of mental nurses are matters for the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council, which at present has them under review.

asked the Prime Minister how many Departments are it present concerned with anti-litter campaigns; and whether he will make one Minister primarily responsible for coordinating the Government effort in this respect.

If Scotland is included in the Question, seven in all. I am considering the suggestion in the second part of the Question.