asked the Minister of Education what arrangements now exist for the provision of grants for graduates in pure or applied science from this country to study technological subjects in United States universities.

Many students follow post-graduate courses in a great variety of subjects in the United States, thanks to grants generously made by American universities or by the United States Government under the Smith-Mundt Act. In

AVERAGE COST PER PLACE—SECONDARY SCHOOL MAJOR PROJECTS
Year			Average nett cost per place of school buildings		Average additional cost per place†	Average cost per place—furniture and equipment
			At December, 1952 prices	At prices actually incurred	At prices actually incurred
			(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
1938*	…	…	415	150	Not known	Not known
1950	…	…	350	276	25	Approximately 10 per cent. of nett cost per place (Col. (2)).
1955	…	…	220	244	29
* Costs shown are those estimated for a typical senior elementary school for children aged 11–14 years.
† This covers, in the main, the cost of all items external to the school building proper, such as playing fields, roads on the site and the introduction of main services to the buildings.

asked the Minister of Education why the new £1,000,000 plus, technical college in Leeds is not among those named in the White Paper as one which is to deal with advanced technical training.

The list in paragraph 68 of the White Paper is restricted to colleges with courses for which I already pay 75 per cent. grant. I propose to discuss with the authority the future status of this new college, which is still being built.

asked the Minister of Education the estimated cost of a secondary school place, including buildings and equipment, in 1938, 1950 and 1955, respectively.

Following is the information:

asked the Minister of Education the costs per student per year at the twenty-four teacher training colleges recently listed by him, when loan charges are included; and what is the comparable expenditure in grants to voluntary teacher training colleges by name for the six receiving the greatest such grants and those six receiving the smallest.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Education the present population in England and Wales of full-time students taking courses of at least two years' duration in universities, training colleges and other similar institutions; and what percentage this constitutes of the relevant age groups.

The answer to the first part of the Question, in so far as it relates to colleges for which I have some responsibility, and to universities, is about 109,000 students during 1953–54. These students were of a wide variety of ages and their numbers cannot usefully be related to a particular age group.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he expects supplies of iron and steel required by country blacksmiths and agricultural engineers to be readily available for these essential services to agriculture.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State on 6th March to the hon. Member for Hillsborough (Mr. G. Darling).

asked the President of the Board of Trade the percentage fall of Danish bacon imports into the United Kingdom which will qualify as causing substantial injury to the Danish producers and entitled the Danish Government, under the recent agreement, to ask for further consultations.

No such qualifying percentage is named or indicated in the agreement. The understanding is that such matters would be determined empirically as and when they might arise.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that while carpets imported from the Irish Republic are duty free, subject to Purchase Tax, the Irish Republican Government levy a duty of 40 per cent. on carpets exported from the United Kingdom; and what representations he has made to the Eireann Government on the subject.

Under these arrangements the United Kingdom exports of carpets and rugs to the Republic last year were to the value of £260,000 as against imports from the Republic of only £33,000. The 40 per cent. duty charged by the Irish Republic is a preferential one for the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. An inquiry into the level of this duty arranged recently by the Irish Republic Government at my request resulted in the recommendation to retain the duty at its present level.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that while leather merchants in Eire are permitted to send hides into the United Kingdom free of duty, United Kingdom merchants are prohibited from selling hides to Eire; and what discussions on the matter he has had with the Eireann authorities.

I am advised that there is no prohibition on the sale of hides from the United Kingdom in the Irish Republic, nor is there any duty thereon.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Eireann Government charge a duty of 3½d. per 1b. on weight of biscuits exported from the United Kingdom, together with a package tax of 2d. on each package under seven pounds; that the United Kingdom duty on biscuits imported from Eire is charged only on sugar content and averages one tenth of one penny per lb; and what representations he has made towards achieving reciprocity in this matter.

I am aware of these facts. No representations have been made to the Irish Republic since 1938 when these duties on our exports were reduced to their present level in pursuance of the trade agreement concluded in that year. As regards the last part of the Question, this trade agreement, like our other trade agreements, provides reciprocal advantages, but is not intended to establish reciprocity in the tariff treatment of individual articles.

asked the President of the Board of Trade from what date passenger cars have been freely exportable to China.

Since October, 1953. I should like to take this opportunity of correcting a mistake in part of the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 1st March. Licences are required for the export of passenger cars to China, but they are issued freely. In this context a passenger car means a car designed or constructed to carry not more than six persons.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from small farmers and horticulturalists over the credit squeeze, and what action he proposes to take.

My right hon. Friend has had very few representations, and he does not think that the position calls for any action on his part.

—	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955
	£	£	£	£	£
Pool betting duty receipts—
at 10 per cent. on dog track totalisators	6,665,349	6,471,269	6,169,550	5,793,535	5,910,147
at 30 per cent. on football and similar pools	17,218,288	19,772,642	21,078,137	22,306,520	20,359,526
TOTAL £	23,883,637	26,243,911	27,247,687	28,100,055	26,269,673
Stake money in respect of which duty paid—
on dog track totalisators	66,653,490	64,712,690	61,695,500	57,935,350	59,101,470
on football and similar pools	57,394,293	65,908,807	70,260,457	74,355,067	67,865,087

The receipts of licence duty paid by bookmakers on greyhound racecourses from 1950 to 1955 were as follows:

	£
1950	2,235,624
1951	1,939,646
1952	1,882,473
1953	1,797,787
1954	1,691,934
1955	1,656,395

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make a statement on the recent meeting of the Organisation for

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to issue small licences, such as gun and dog licences, for a period longer than for one year at a time, thereby saving in the cost of their administration and in the inconvenience caused to the public by annual renewal.

Such a proposal would require legislation, and I do not think legislation would be justified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) to state, for the years 1951 to 1955, the total amount staked on dog-track totalisators and football pools, and the amount of pool betting duty received for each of these years;(2) whether he will give details of the amounts received from the bookmakers' licence duty for the years 1950 to 1955, inclusive.

The amounts of pool betting duty paid, and of the stake money in respect of which duty was paid, in the years 1951 to 1955 are as follows:European Economic Co-operation, with particular reference to future developments in the field of nuclear energy.

The most important topic dealt with at the O.E.E.C. Ministerial Council Meetings on 27th and 28th February was nuclear energy, and my right hon. Friend has placed in the Library copies of our resolution on this and related subjects. The meeting gives good hope that European nations will act together in exploring the possibilities of this new form of power.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the last grant was authorised for the general improvement of rural transport under Section 1 (1) (d) of the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909.

The powers under Section 1 (1) (d) of the Act were, in general, transferred to the Minister of Transport by Section 17 (1) of the Ministry of Transport Act, 1919, but have not been exercised. Records are not available to show whether any advances from the Development Fund were made between 1909 and 1919.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent, under his regulations, miners who receive coal at less than market price have this privilege taken into account when being assessed for Income Tax.Mr. H. Macmillan: Not at all.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury to publish the further letter he has received from the Fine Art Commission about the Imperial Institute.

A letter dated 25th February, the text of which follows, has been received from the Secretary of the Royal Fine Art Commission. In reply, members of the Commission have been invited to a meeting at which the considerations which influenced Her Majesty's Government in arriving at their decision in this matter can be explained in more detail than is possible in a letter, and at which the proposals of Imperial College can be discussed with representatives of that body and of the University of London.Letter dated 25th February, 1956 from the Secretary, Royal Fine Art CommissionI am directed to refer to the Financial Secretary's letter of the 20th January, addressed to the Chairman of the Commission.On the 11th June, 1955, the Commission told the Treasury that in its opinion the Imperial Institute building was one of "outstanding significance" and "should be preserved."It is profoundly disturbed to learn that it is now proposed to demolish the building. The Commission's opinion of its great architectural quality has been confirmed by authorities of widely different points of view in recent correspondence in the Press. It is moreover an historical monument commemorating Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and paid for by public subscription. To destroy a building of this quality and importance would be an act of vandalism. To do so could only be justified if it were proved beyond any doubt that the public interest demanded it, and that there was no possible alternative.The Commission does not believe that this is the case. On the contrary, it sees in the evidence submitted no justification for such an action.In its letter of the 11th June, published in Hansard of the 9th February, 1956, the Commission suggested that the main block of the Imperial Institute building might be adapted internally for use by the Imperial College, for example, as a Science Library. The building, which does not include the galleries, is shallow and occupies only a fraction of the site.The Commission believes that this suggestion has not received full consideration, and it urges once more that it should be the subject of an impartial enquiry before a final decision is reached.The Minister has stated that additional land would be required for the Imperial College if the Imperial Institute building were retained, and that this would be difficult to find in the neighbourhood.If, after further inquiry, this proves to be the case, the Commission suggests that the London County Council, as Planning Authority, should be consulted on alternative neighbouring sites and on their zoning.Until these enquiries have been made, the Commission cannot accept the contention that the necessary expansion of the Imperial College is only possible if the main building of the Imperial Institute is destroyed.It has been made clear that this view of the Commission is shared by a large body of responsible public opinion.The Commission wishes once again to stress the great importance of this building and urges the Government to reconsider the matter in the light of its recommendations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent the results of the researches of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea are made available in easily accessible form to those persons whose tasks are to catch and distribute fish.

The Council's Reports, which are primarily for scientists, are published from Council Headquarters at Copenhagen and may freely be bought.We receive copies as a participating Government, and for the general information of the fishing industry, Sea Fisheries Research Notes, giving clearly and simply the results of recent researches are issued free of charge, and have a wide circulation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has considered the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Myxomatosis that, in the event of the present virus becoming less virulent, it might be more humane to introduce in selected, areas a more virulent strain of the disease to exterminate rabbits altogether; and whether he will give an assurance that he will refrain from taking action in the light of that recommendation.

The Committee made no such recommendation—its comment upon this point was:

"At this stage in the development of the disease we prefer to reserve judgment on this suggestion. Effect could not be given to it without express statutory sanction."

The second part of the Question, therefore, does not arise.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that the rural district council of St. Faiths and Aylsham, Norfolk, and other rural district councils similarly placed, continued to incur additional expense in the inspection of slaughterhouses, although a large proportion of the meat is for consumption in London and other cities and towns; and if he will now take steps to ensure an early alleviation of this burden which now inappropriately rests on the district councils concerned.

My right hon. Friend is aware of the situation to which my hon. Friend refers, and he hopes to make a statement about the matter shortly.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that cases of food poisoning have occurred as a result of eating hens' eggs; that these eggs became infected as a result of being packed in filthy crates at packing stations; and if he will take steps to prevent the occurrence of such cases in future.

I assume the hon. Member is referring to a recently published article in the Monthly Bulletin of the Ministry of Health.This article was not categorical when it suggested that the outbreak of food poisoning in 1950 had any connection with the condition of crates at egg packing stations. It suggested that contamination could have occurred at this point, but it was not the only possible source of infection.Clause (9) of the licence issued to packers under the Eggs Order, 1953, states:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to give an up-to-date estimate of the cost of the pig subsidies in the financial year now ending in relation to the total sum of the farm price guarantees, with comparable figures for 1954–55.

The latest available estimate of the pig subsidy for the current financial year is £49·1 million. The total cost of agricultural support in the United Kingdom, including production grants, is estimated to be £213·6 million.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is yet in a position to make a statement about the Report of the Welsh Agricultural Land Sub-Commission on the Monmouthshire Moors.

I am greatly indebted to the Welsh Sub-Commission for its Report on the Monmouthshire Moors, and I accept its conclusion that it is not necessary for me to exercise my powers of compulsory purchase, or hiring under Section 84 of the Agriculture Act. I agree with the general body of its recommendations which will be followed up with the authorities concerned, but I cannot see my way to accepting those relating to the green lanes in present circumstances.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed in the radio industry in the Middlesex area, at the latest convenient date.

The manufacture of radio and television sets is included in a classification which also covers gramophones, radar equipment, etc., and the manufacture of valves is included in the classification entitled "Wireless Valves and Electric Lamps." For these two classifications the numbers of persons registered as unemployed at Employment Exchanges in Middlesex at 13th February were eighty-nine and twenty-three respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men employed in iron foundries in the Falkirk-Bonnybridge area are now on short time; how many have become redundant since the beginning of the year; how far he estimates that this number will increase in the near future; and what plans he has to meet the situation.

About 620 men in the iron foundries at Falkirk and Bonnybridge are working short time and 137 have been discharged since the 1st January. I understand that, so far as can at present be foreseen, no considerable reduction in employment is expected. Over half of the redundant workers have obtained other jobs and 52 men are still unemployed. The employment exchanges will continue their efforts to assist them to find work.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps are being taken to bring about a satisfactory settlement to the dispute of the channel pilots in the port of Bristol.

I understand that the Bristol pilots resumed normal working this morning and that officials of their union are discussing the matter with the pilotage authority today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male prisoners, other than those in the condemned cell, sleep in a cell to themselves.

On 7th February, 1956, the latest date for which this information is available, of 13,463 male prisoners located in ordinary cells, 10,982 were alone in a cell and 2,481 were three to a cell. Another 3,527 male prisoners were located in other types of accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the average period of imprisonment which has been served by persons who, during the last fifty years, have been released after being reprieved from sentence of hanging.

Nine years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give details of the amount staked on horse-racecourse totalisators for the years 1951 to 1955.

The total amounts were:

	£	s.	d.
1951	25,556,496	9	0
1952	24,934,644	19	0
1953	25,606,951	10	0
1954	24,822,498	4	0
1955	23,862,716	3	0

asked the Minister of Supply what was the total quantity of surplus paint offered for sale at public auction sales from 1st January, 1955, up to and including the sale at Melton Mowbray on 8th and 9th March.

About 300,000 gallons of liquid paint and 26½ tons of dry paint.

asked the Minister of Works what was the quantity of paint acquired by his Department since 1st January, 1955, from the surplus stocks of the War Department or Ministry of Supply; when the transaction took place; and how much paint was acquired by his Department from other sources during the same period.

Since 1st January, 1955, 31,870 gallons of paint have been bought from manufacturers by my Department. In addition, 1,500 gallons from War Department surpluses have been acquired through the Ministry of Supply within the last few days.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the quantity of paint acquired by his Department since 1st January, 1955, from surplus stocks held by the War Department or Ministry of Supply; when the transactions took place; and how much paint his Department purchased from other sources during this period.

The answer to the first part of the Question is—none; to the last part—about 255,600 gallons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what proportion of tobacco grown by Africans in Northern Rhodesia in the last year for which figures are available was flue-cured as opposed to Burley tobacco.

Flue-cured tobacco is not grown by Africans in Northern Rhodesia.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many African members there are on the Maize Control Board, the Cotton Marketing Board, and the Tobacco Board, respectively, in Northern Rhodesia.

I am in communication with the Governor, and will circulate the information in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons have been deported from Uganda under the present ordinance in each of the last ten years, for which figures are available; and what legal processes were opened to them before deportation.

Since 1946, the number of persons deported from Uganda is as follows:

1946	Nil
1947	One
1948–51	Nil
1952	One
1953	12
1954	7
1955	12

Of these only one was a person belonging to Uganda. Apart from one undesirable alien, the rest were persons who had entered the Protectorate illegally under the immigration laws and were mostly Kikuyu from Kenya.A person found in Uganda who is to be deported as a prohibited immigrant may, appeal to a magistrate and from him to the High Court before the order is carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what grounds "The Listener" has been placed on the list of publications excluded from detention camps in Kenya.

There is no list of publications excluded from detention camps in Kenya. Under the regulations governing the administration of detention camps, the officer-in-charge of a camp may allow a detained person the use of books and papers, provided that all such articles are received or procured through the officer-in-charge, who may detain any book or paper which, in his opinion, con- tains any objectionable matter. Any person aggrieved by the exercise of this power may appeal to the Commissioner of Prisons. I am not aware of any case in which this power has been used to withhold a copy of "The Listener" from a detainee, but if the hon. Member has any information which suggests the contrary and will place that at my disposal I shall be prepared to have it fully investigated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why there is no lady doctor in the whole of the British Somaliland Protectorate, particularly in view of the fact that this is a Moslem community; and whether he will take action in the matter.

The Somaliland Government have in the past employed women doctors on a temporary basis, and are at present considering the permanent appointment of women medical officers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that there is no dentist in the British Somaliland Protectorate and that people must leave the territory to go to Aden or Djibuti for treatment; and whether he will take steps to alter this unsatisfactory state of affairs.

I am aware of the position described by the hon. Member; the Somaliland Government are at present considering appointing a dentist on a permanent basis.

asked the Postmaster-General to give an estimate of the cost of providing a new Crown Post Office at Morley, Yorkshire.

About £45,000.

asked the Postmaster-General when he expects a new Crown Post Office at Morley, Yorkshire, to be constructed and ready for use.

By 1959 on present plans.