asked the Minister of Health whether he will take action to implement the recommendations contained in the Guillebaud Committee's Report to reduce the charges now made for the supply of spectacles under the National Health Service.

I would refer the hon. Member to my Answer to the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, East (Mr. Blenkinsop) on 27th February.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the confusion caused in Cardiff by the distribution of forms concerning immunisation of children against poliomyelitis without medical advice being available for parents; and whether he will make a statement.

No; parents can seek advice from their family doctors or at child welfare centres, where they can get full information.

asked the Minister of Health the basis on which selection of children for immunisation against poliomyelitis is to be made at Cardiff; and whether he will make a statement.

The selection of children in Cardiff will be the same as elsewhere. Parents of children born between 1947 and 1954 are being invited to register their children for vaccination. If more children register than can be vaccinated with the amount of vaccine available in May and June, a selection will be made on a central plan according to months of birth of children in each of the years. Children registered but not so selected will have priority when vaccination is resumed later in the year.

asked the Minister of Health how many medical officers of health in England and Wales have informed him that they are opposed to the use of poliomyelitis vaccine in the areas for which they are responsible.

None.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will arrange for an Inva-car to be allocated to Mr Douglas Jones, 39a Severn Grove, Cardiff, in view of his anxiety to be available for work later in the year.

No, because he already has a machine more suited to his physical capabilities.

asked the Minister of Health (1) if he is aware that the difficulty of obtaining nurses in our mental hospitals arises mainly out of the unsatisfactory conditions of service in this profession; and what steps he now proposes to stimulate recruitment by improving these conditions, as a result of his recent inquiries;(2) if he is aware of the feeling of dissatisfaction among the staffs of our mental hospitals over the conditions of service and the need for raising the status of this profession; and if he will take steps to have an inquiry made into these complaints before any drastic measures are taken.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for St. Pancras, North (Mr. K. Robinson) on 27th February, to which at present I have nothing to add.

asked the Minister of Health (1) what steps are being taken to increase recruitment of mental nurses and generally to improve the staff position in mental hospitals, as a result of the discussions with professional organisations:(2) if he will state his plans for increasing recruitment of mental nurses in Wales and for improving the staff position in Welsh mental hospitals.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Ire-monger) on 31st October last. The measures there detailed apply to Wales as elsewhere. The General Nursing Council is now undertaking a thorough review of the syllabus of training for mental and mental deficiency nurses. Meetings to discuss the secondment of general student nurses to mental and mental deficiency hospitals have been attended by my officers in nearly all the regions and a number of schemes are already in being or planned.

asked the Minister of Health the latest available figures of the numbers of trained mental nurses in Welsh hospitals; and how these figures compare with those for five years ago.

Nine hundred and nine at 30th September, 1955; 804 at 30th September, 1950.

asked the Minister of Health how many beds were closed in hospitals under the control of each of the regional hospital boards, separately, by reason of a shortage of nursing staff at the latest convenient date.

The position at 30th September, 1955, was as follows:

Regional Hospital Board.	Beds closed through lack of staff.
Newcastle	142
Leeds	687
Sheffield	990
East Anglian	360
North West Metropolitan	1,293
North East Metropolitan	1,592
South East Metropolitan	4,529
South West Metropolitan	1,693
Oxford	403
South Western	696
Welsh	470
Birmingham	2,025
Manchester	1,576
Liverpool	209

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of cataract are awaiting operation at Moorfields and Westminster ophthalmic hospitals; and what is the average waiting period at each of these hospitals for such operations.

282 at Moorfields and 220 at the Westminster Eye Hospital; the average waiting period is 14½ weeks at both hospitals.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what consultations he has with the British Broadcasting Corporation concerning the subject matter and timing of British broadcasts to countries behind the Iron Curtain.

There is regular and mutual consultation between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Foreign Office about the subject matter and timing of these broadcasts, in accordance with the Licence and Agreement of 1952 between the Postmaster-General and the British Broadcasting Corporation.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what protest he has made to local authorities in the southern zone of Vietnam regarding the holding of a general election in a part of Vietnam, contrary to the Geneva Agreements.

The recent election in South Vietnam was in no way contrary to the Geneva Agreements and Her Majesty's Government have naturally made no protest.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why he agreed to the discussion of the Kashmir question at the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation conference in Karachi.

The United Kingdom is only one of the Members of the South East Asia Treaty Organisation, and Her Majesty's Government have neither the power nor the desire to prevent any delegation from raising any matter which may seem to them relevant. My right hon. Friend maintained however that the South East Asia Treaty Organisation was an unsuitable forum for discussing the merits of the Kashmir disputes and there was in fact no discussion of them during the meeting. In affirming with his colleagues the need for an early settlement, my right hon. Friend was restating the attitude which we have consistently taken in the United Nations.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the difficulties which are now being experienced by the motor industry, whether he will end the ban on export of commercial vehicles to China.

I have nothing to add yet to the statement on the Washington talks made by the Prime Minister on 13th February.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is satisfied with the manner in which compensation is being paid to persons, now stateless, who were persecuted by the Nazi régime by reason of nationality; and whether the assurance to Her Majesty's Government given on this subject by the German Federal Government in correspondence exchanged in October, 1954, is proving sufficient to cover the cases envisaged at that time.

The answer to the first part of the Question is, "No." I am not satisfied at present with the way in which, for a given percentage of disability, a Stateless person who was persecuted by reason of nationality is awarded less compensation than a person persecuted for other reasons. Representations on this subject have recently been made to the Federal Government by Her Majesty's Embassy in Bonn.The answer to the second part of he Question is, "Yes."

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many days he has spent in this country and how many abroad since he took up his office.

Up to and including 11th March, my right hon. Friend had been in office eighty-one days, of which he had spent fifty-four in the United Kingdom and twenty-seven elsewhere.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if it was with his authority that his Department's official statement was issued after the dismissal of General Glubb.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the Lord Mayor of Manchester has issued an invitation to Marshal Bulganin and Mr. Krushchev to visit Manchester during their stay in Britain; and whether he will arrange the Government programme so that such a visit may be included in their itinerary.

Yes. The Town Clerk of Manchester was informed on 28th February that it had unfortunately not proved possible to include a visit to Manchester in the programme under preparation for the visit by the Soviet leaders.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made in the discussions concerning better provisions for obtaining visas for Japan by British subjects; and what Colonial Territories the Japanese authorities desire to include in any arrangements that are made.

Further progress is not possible until we have received the considered views of the Colonial Territories concerned. These are Hong Kong, Singapore and the Federation of Malaya.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what weekly increase could be made in the retirement pension by the application for this purpose of £38 million per annum, being the amount which will be saved by reducing the bread and milk subsidies; and whether he will so apply this sum.

An expenditure of £38 million a year on retirement pensions is at present equivalent to 3s. 4d. a week for each pensioner. This would diminish as the number of pensioners increases. In reply to the second part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 27th February to the hon. Member for Accrington (Mr. H. Hynd).

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what official arrangements are being made to enable the visiting party of Soviet engineering experts, headed by Mr. Malenkov, Soviet Minister of Power Station Construction, to study the latest developments in British electrical power technology.

I shall be meeting members of this delegation myself, but the actual arrangements for the visit are in the hands of the Central Electricity Authority, the Scottish Electricity Boards and the Atomic Energy Authority. I understand that the Soviet enginering experts will be able to see a number of the more modern generating stations and the works of some of the principal manufacturers of plant, and they will also visit Harwell and Calder Hall.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether, in view of consumer criticism, he will institute an inquiry into the cost of distributing coal.

Yes. I have decided to appoint a Departmental Committee with the following terms of reference:

To ascertain what are the various items which make up the difference between the prices received by producers of coal, coke and manufactured fuels in Great Britain and those paid by inland consumers; to investigate the merchants' distribution costs and profit margins in respect of these supplies and to make recommendations.

Sir Thomas Robson, a past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, has kindly agreed to Chair the Committee and the other members will be:Mr. C. T. Brunner, Professor A. D. Campbell, Mrs. F. H. Cantwell, Sir Graham Larmor and Mr. W. J. P. Webber.I understand that the Minister of Commerce, Northern Ireland, intends to appoint the same Committee to carry out a similar inquiry in respect of Northern Ireland.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will give an estimate, based on table 18 of his Department's Digest of Statistics, of the amount of coal which has been lost, in the most recent convenient year, through absenteeism above its pre-war level.

Between 1937 and 1943 the absence percentage rose by about 5 per cent. and has since remained nearly constant at about 12 per cent. The figures are not, however, precisely comparable and no reliable estimate can be given of the effect on output.

asked the Minister of Supply the total sum realised in disposing of 50,840 tyres, 23,310 inner tubes and 344 tons of tyre and tube scrap at auction sales since 1st January, 1955; and how this compares with the total purchase price of the tyres and tubes.

The total realised was £190,948. It is not practicable at this length of time to trace the original cost.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will give a list of the Departments to which circulars were sent, giving details of the surplus stocks of paint as well as tyres and inner tubes offered for sale at public auction sales since 1st January, 1956; and what business was transacted with other Government Departments as the result of this method of notification.

The Ministry of Works took 1,500 gallons of paint from a recent sale and there is a possibility that the General Post Office may take a small quantity. No other Department said that it needed any of the surpluses.The Ministry of Supply, as the provisioning Department for tyres, uses surpluses from one Department to satisfy demands from other Departments wherever possible. Only when there is no known requirement at all is a surplus offered for sale.Following is a list of Civil Departments which were sent auction catalogues:

asked the Minister of Supply to give a list of public auctions of Government surplus stocks held so far this year, together with those contemplated, up to 1st July, 1956, giving date and place of each auction.

The auctions by the Ministry of Supply held or at present planned are:

• January 17th-18th—Ruddington.
• January 25th-26th—Yeadon.
• January 31st—Manchester.
• February 7th-10th—Ruddington.
• February 8th—Bicester.
• February 14th-16th—Woolwich.
• February 14th—Glasgow.
• February 23rd—Rotherwas.
• March 8th-9th—Melton Mowbray.
• March 20th—Manchester.
• March 27th-29th—Ruddington.
• April 13th—Highbridge.
• April 17th—Glasgow.
• April 20th—Rotherwas.
• April 24th-25th—Woolwich.
• May 1st—Ruddington.
• May 8th-9th—Bicester.
• May 16th—Barlow.
• May 25th—Colohester.
• May 28th to June 1st—Ruddington.
• June 12th—Manchester.
• June 26th-27th—Woolwich.

asked the Minister of Supply at what public auction was the 4,800 gallons of dark brown bituminous paint, which was declared surplus consequent upon the cessation of hostilities in Korea, offered for sale.

The paint in question was part of that offered for sale at Woolwich on the 16th February, 1956, and at Melton Mowbray on 9th March, 1956.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will improve the present methods of implementing the overall guarantees for fat cattle so as to ensure that the rise and fall in deficiency payments is more closely related to prevailing market trends.

My right hon. Friend hopes shortly to be in a position to announce the arrangements for the next twelve months following the Annual Review and Determination of Guarantees.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the request by Her Majesty's Government that the British Trawlers Federation should engage in direct negotiation with the Icelandic fishing industry to help in settling the longstanding Icelandic fishing dispute, what assistance Her Majesty's Government are giving the British Trawlers Federation with that end in view.

As part of the arrangements proposed for resolving the dispute, the British and Icelandic fishing industries are considering together the question of the orderly resumption of supplies of Icelandic-caught fish to the United Kingdom market. This is a matter for the industries themselves and the only assistance the Government could give is by way of facilitating meetings, which has been done already through O.E.E.C.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he yet has any statement to make on future policy for egg marketing.

The draft Egg Marketing Scheme submitted by the three farmers' unions is now subject to the procedure laid down in the Agricultural Marketing Acts, and a public inquiry into objections is being held. It would not, therefore, be appropriate for me to make any statement at this stage.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the figures for the City of Stoke-on-Trent of the consumption of milk per head, per household, showing how income affects milk consumption, and the effect of family size upon the use of milk; and similar figures for Bournemouth, Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells, Harrogate. and Beckenham, as shown by the results of his food surveys.

The National Food Survey is based on a representative sample of areas, but the number of informants in any one district is too small to support an analysis for that district by income or family size. During 1955, the Survey was not operating in any of the towns mentioned by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will have a survey made on the consumption of milk, the effect of income, and the size of the household, on the same basis as that contained in the Milk Marketing Board's Report on Sales of Milk in Nine British Towns, a copy of which is in his possession; and if he will see to it that the survey shall include the large industrial towns.

My Department was consulted about the survey described in the Milk Marketing Board's Report. This inquiry covered several large industrial towns, and I doubt whether it would serve a useful purpose to repeat it. The National Food Survey, which is based on a sample representative of the country as a whole, provides continuing information on differences in milk consumption associated wth income and household size.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the powers of deportation exercised by the Uganda Government will be incorporated into permanent legislation.

All the powers of deportation at present exercisable by the Government of Uganda are conferred by permanent legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what decisions have been reached regarding the continued registration under the Societies' Ordinance of the Kenya Federation of Labour.

I understand that the Registrar of Societies has sought certain assurances. Pending a further communication from the Kenya Federation of Labour no decision has been reached regarding the continued registration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) what steps he is taking to increase the water supplies of the Somaliland Protectorate;(2) how many towns in the Somaliland Protectorate possess a piped water supply; and what action he is taking to improve this situation.

The Governor of the Somaliland Protectorate and I attach very great importance to the improvement of water supplies, and extensive plans for improving both rural and urban supplies are at present under consideration. I have asked the Governor for a full and detailed report on these plans and developments, including those for piped water supplies in towns, and I will send a copy of that report to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the total sum of money in the African Farming Improvement Fund in Northern Rhodesia; and how the Fund is being spent.

The audited accounts at 31st May, 1955, showed that the total sum in the Fund was £278,837. The Fund is used for such beneficial arrangements as the building of dams, weirs and wells, soil conservation works in African areas, subsidising the cost of carts to Africans for transporting maize from rural buying depots to railway line depots, subsidising the cost of fertiliser, and paying bonuses and loans to improved farmers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade in view of the necessity of increasing our commercial prestige abroad, what are his plans for assisting British exhibitors at trade fairs and exhibitions abroad by grants from public funds.

The Government arrange exhibits and information stands at a number of overseas trade fairs, but they do not assist exhibitors by grants from public funds. It must remain the responsibility of the individual firms to show their goods in a manner that will increase their prestige, but as I said in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Mr. Smithers) on 31st January, we are considering whether any special action should be taken in certain cases.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the total cost to the naval Vote of the Royal Marine Corps.

The direct cost of the personnel of the Royal Marine Corps, including pay and allowances, victualling, clothing, medical attention and travel, is estimated at approximately £6 million per annum on the basis of provision made in Navy Estimates, 1956–57.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (1) how the price received for stocks of surplus paint in Malta compares with the current market price for new paint of similar quality;(2) what stocks of surplus paint have been disposed of in Malta in recent months; and at what price.

About 9 tons sold by weight and about 500 gallons have been disposed of in the last three months for a sum of £188. The estimated price in the United Kingdom for new paint of similar quality would be £1,100. These paints consisted of miscellaneous batches returned from ships and establishments and had been condemned as unfit for Service use. A small quantity of surplus or unserviceable aircraft paint has also been disposed of; the sums realised cannot be ascertained as the paint was auctioned in small lots which included other stores.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have become naturalised British citizens since the war; and how many of these came originally from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Roumania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, respectively.

From 1st January, 1946, to 31st December, 1955, the nearest convenient dates for which figures are available, 75,010 certificates of naturalisation were granted in the United Kingdom to aliens and 22 to British protected persons. The corresponding numbers of certificates granted in British possessions were 8,204 and 3,302. These figures include the following:

Country of origin	Certificates granted in		Total
	United Kingdom	British Possessions
Poland	17,933	458	18,391
Czechoslovakia	5,571	175	5,746
Hungary	2,143	68	2,211
Roumania	819	83	902
Bulgaria	36	4	40
Lithuania	383	75	458
Latvia	777	37	814
Estonia	602	5	607

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will permit the sale of medicated wines in chemists' or grocers' premises in the City of Carlisle.

If an application were made for my permission—which would be required in addition to the consent of the licensing authorities—I would, in accordance with my usual practice in such matters, consult the local advisory committee before reaching a decision. I cannot say in advance what my attitude would be towards any particular application that might be made.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress is being made in regard to the scheme for Route 11 in the City of London, authorisation for part of which was given on 20th February, 1955; and when he will be able to make a further announcement.

On the section authorised, extending from Aldersgate Street to Moorgate, the preliminary work of site clearance and re-location of sewers is in hand. I understand that the road works on this section should start towards the end of 1956. On the section west of Aldersgate Street the question of location and design is still under consideration by the City Corporation.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress has been made with preliminary work connected with the Whiteinch Tunnel, Glasgow, scheme, which was authorised in March, 1955.

Preparation of design drawings and contract documents prior to inviting tenders is progressing and discussions are proceeding between the consulting engineers, the Glasgow Corporation and my Department.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware that the almost continuous stream of traffic along the Watford by-pass makes it difficult for drivers of vehicles on the Aldenham—Bushey road to cross the bypass in peak hours and on Sundays; and if he will take steps to have a traffic light installed at this junction.

I am aware of conditions at this junction and the Hertfordshire County Council, as my agents, has been asked to prepare a scheme for the provision of a roundabout. It is hoped to put the works in hand in the coming financial year.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress has been made with the Browney Bridge—Farewell Hall widening scheme, work on which was started in August, 1955; and if he will give an estimated date for its completion.

The new eastern carriageway is nearly completed, and work will commence shortly on the western carriageway. It is estimated that the whole scheme will be completed by the spring of 1957, although it is hoped that both carriageways will be open to traffic towards the end of this year.