asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will now make a statement on the recommendations of the Turner Committee on mining subsidence.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will now make a statement on mining subsidence and on the review of the full application of the recommendations of the Turner Committee and the result of the inter-Departmental consultations and the consultations with the National Coal Board; and if he will reply to the representations made to him by the deputation which was representative of the National Standing Committee on Mining Subsidence.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if, in his consideration of proposals in connection with compensation for damage caused by mining subsidence, he will give full weight to the financial burden at present being borne for repair of such damage by river boards.

The Government have reviewed the recommendations of the Turner Committee on coal mining subsidence in the light of developments since the Committee's Report was published in 1949. The Government have concluded that where, as the law now stands, surface interests have no right to compensation when coal mining subsidence occurs, the National Coal Board should be obliged to make good physical damage to land, buildings, service lines and pipes—or make a reasonable payment. The surface interests concerned would include owners of agricultural land and also local authorities. Provision will be made to deal with the problems of drainage authorities, including river boards. Since subsidence damage is part of the cost of winning coal, the Government consider that this cost should be fully reflected in the price of coal.

While welcoming the fact that the Government have at last decided to implement in principle the main recommendation of the Turner Committee to have a comprehensive scheme, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is saying that the whole cost of such a comprehensive scheme is to be put on the price of coal? Is he not aware that the recommendation of the Turner Committee was in favour of an Exchequer grant towards the payment for this damage? Will it not have a very serious effect on the economy of the country if the whole cost of this damage, which, after all, is a national responsibility, is put on the price of coal?

The hon. Gentleman has understood rightly. The suggestion is that the cost should be borne in the price of coal. The position is that legal rights differ at the moment as between one person and another. Those legal rights are not at the moment reflected in current property values or in the capital assets of the Coal Board. That is the case for starting afresh, and since mining subsidence is part of the cost of winning coal, then it is clear, in the absence of a Government subsidy, that the cost should be borne by the price. Nor, as the hon. Gentleman suggests, is this cost a serious one. Sixpence on the price of coal is one-third of 1 per cent.

As most of the mining subsidence occurred during the period of private ownership, ought not some of the cost to be deducted from the compensation paid to the private owners?

I went into that question most carefully before coming to this conclusion, and I am satisfied that were a deduction to be made as the right hon. Gentleman suggests it would be infinitesimal.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the statement he has made, that the Government have looked at this problem afresh, will be welcome in all areas where subsidence has been such a bane to the community? Will he also be aware that on this side of the House we will support any proposal which puts the weight on to those who are responsible for it, namely, the coalmining industry itself?

Does not the Minister consider it is a matter of regret that in getting rid of this long standing injustice his only remedy is to add further to the inflationary spiral, which is bound to reflect itself in the costs of industry?

No, I cannot accept that this would add to the inflationary spiral. This will be a permanent charge and, on the basis of the solution, which I have described, the charge ought to be strictly limited. No one can complain about 6d. when the price of coal is about £7 10s. a ton.

Is the Minister aware that we shall want a much better explanation than that given so far as to why compensation paid should not bear part of this cost? May I ask him whether we can expect to see the Bill this Session? Is it the intention of the Government to pass this into law before the end of this Session?

Legislation will be introduced as soon as practicable, as I said in my statement, but the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that practicability does not necessarily relate to the present Session.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the average number of shifts worked by mine workers for the years 1931, 1935, 1938, 1950, and 1955, based on his Statistical Digest.

On a comparable basis of calculation, 4·53, 4·78, 4·84, 4·69, and 4·68 per week, respectively.

Does the Minister agree that the effort put forward by the mine workers of Great Britain at the present time is a meritorious one?

The hon. Gentleman should be aware that one method of raising coal output would be to raise the number of man shifts, and man shifts are lower than they need be for various causes, as the hon. Gentleman knows quite as well as I do.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when he expects the Committee of Inquiry into the Costs of Coal Distribution to report on their inquiry.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 26th March to the hon. Member for Morpeth (Mr. Owen).

Taking into consideration the reply given by the Minister previously, does he intend to have that report debated in this Chamber?

That would be to anticipate the findings of the Committee. I think it only reasonable to await the findings first.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the difference between the maximum quantity of coal a householder in East Anglia may buy and that of a householder in the North of England.

A householder may buy 34 cwt. in East Anglia and 50 cwt. in the North.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that East Anglia is every bit as cold in winter as the North, and could he take steps to see that supplies are not held up, as they have been in the last two successive winters, to the Harwich area in particular, because of the climate?

I am certainly aware of the climate of East Anglia because I happen to live there, but my hon. Friend will recollect that although it is often cold in East Anglia, the cold periods tend to last longer in the North. Moreover, the climate in the North is wetter. As to supplies for East Anglia, that is another matter and perhaps by hon. Friend will put down a Question.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power (1) if he is aware of the scarcity and high price of coal in the city of Aberdeen; and what steps he is taking to satisfy and solve the inconvenience and losses which are thereby imposed on the citizens of that city;

My right hon. Friend has had no recent complaints from this area. The price of coal in Aberdeen and the North of Scotland is determined on the same principles as in the rest of Great Britain and, in fact, house coal there is cheaper than in London. As to the supply position in Aberdeen, I am making further inquiries and will write to the hon. and learned Member.

Does the Minister remember that in answer to the previous Question he said that the climate in the North is wetter than it is here? Does he also realise that the geographical conditions make it necessary to have a full supply of coal there? What steps are being taken to see that Aberdeen gets it?

Aberdeen, of course, comes within the Northern region of the country for the purpose of house coal allocations and has an appreciably higher allocation than the South for that reason. On the question of price, the hon. and learned Gentleman cannot overlook the hard facts of geography.

Can the Minister explain why it is that the price of coal in Aberdeen is less than in London? Is it due to the representations of my hon. and learned Friend?

No, Sir.

I am disappointed.

This is a matter which cannot be answered easily at Question Time because so many factors have to be taken into consideration. The house coal prices and grades are determined by the Coal Board in the light of consultation with the distributive trade, and so far as Aberdeen is concerned I understand that the system has worked well for some time.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the calorific value as measured in thermal units for each of the seven grades of domestic coal; and what is the average sulphur content of each and ash residue on complete combustion.

The National Coal Board advises me that this information is not available and in any event would not correctly indicate the value of each grade. House coals are graded by the Board, in consultation with the distributive trade, on a commercial assessment of their value in the domestic grate. This takes into account many factors such as size, rate of radiation and ease of lighting besides those factors mentioned by the hon. Member.

Does not the Parliamentary Secretary realise the importance of the sulphur content of coal in relation to atmospheric pollution and that the person who buys the coal ought to have some idea about this? May I ask him how the purchaser of first-quality coal can be quite sure that he is not getting number seven quality coal?

The question of atmospheric pollution is being rightly dealt with under the Clean Air Bill and has no relation to the question of the grading of coal. Coal is graded in the light of consumer preference, and is a commercial matter for the National Coal Board.

May I ask the Parliamentary Secretary—

May I have an answer to the second part of my Question, namely, how the consumer can be sure that he is not being cheated when he orders and pays for first-quality coal?

As I have stated already, coal is graded in accordance with consumer preference—[HON. MEMBERS: "No."] Yes, and if there should be a change in the attitude of the consumer towards the various grades of coal, an alteration in the grading would accordingly be considered.

May I ask who is responsible for grading? Is it the National Coal Board? What is the insuperable difficulty of those who carry out the grading, whoever they are, giving the calorific value?

The responsibility for grading rests, as I have said, upon the National Coal Board, but naturally the Board consults the distributive trade, which is in touch with the consumer.

As the consumer buys the coal in these separate grades, who is responsible for that grading? Is it the distributor? That was the question I asked the Parliamentary Secretary.

As I say, it is the National Coal Board, in consultation with the distributive trade. That is perfectly plain.

Has my hon. and learned Friend expressed surprise that this elementary information was not available from the National Coal Board?

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what evidence he obtained from the National Coal Board that there is no subsidy on the part of the domestic consumer in favour of the industrial consumer before authorising the recent increase in domestic coal prices.

There have been no recent increases in house coal prices, but the hon. Member may have in mind some estimates which I quoted in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Kidderminster (Mr. Nabarro) on 26th March to show what would be the effect, in certain towns, of a railway freight increase of 5 per cent. Increases arising from this cause do not affect the revenue of the National Coal Board, and apply uniformly to both domestic and industrial consumers.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is great public interest and concern about the prices paid by industrial users of coal? Do not the House and the country deserve from him a full statement as to the facts?

If the hon. Gentleman will put an appropriate Question on the Order Paper, I shall be only too delighted to spread enlightenment in dark places, but the hon. Member's Question is not particularly appropriate in that connection. I can only repeat that there is no discrimination between industrial and domestic consumers.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what representations he has received concerning the need for an assisted wiring scheme for consumers of electricity in Metropolitan boroughs; and what action he is taking in view of his responsibilities under Section 60 of the Electricity Act, 1947.

I have received representations that the London Electricity Board should introduce an assisted wiring scheme to help tenants in Metropolitan boroughs whose houses had faulty electrical wiring, but the Board, with the full agreement of the London Electricity Consultative Council, has decided that it would not be justified in doing so in present circumstances. Section 60 of the 1947 Act gives me no powers to make any board introduce an assisted wiring scheme.

Does not Section 60 give the right hon. Gentleman power to make such regulations as he sees fit for the purposes of safety, and since the object of an assisted wiring scheme is to promote safety, why could he not make regulations dealing with such a scheme?

This is very largely a matter of legal interpretation, but I assure the hon. Gentleman that Section 60 gives me no powers to make regulations with regard to wiring, and that is the point in question.

Will the Minister say why the London Electricity Board cannot do what the various Metropolitan boroughs, who used to own these undertakings, were able to do?

As I understand it, the London Electricity Board is actuated, and is proud to be actuated, by commercial considerations. It has concluded that these considerations would not justify its introducing such a scheme no matter how many schemes may be introduced by other boards. For my part, it is not for me to question or interfere with the commercial judgment of any individual board.

Ought not public enterprises to be run in accordance with social as well as commercial considerations as was done by the excellent public enterprises which used to run these undertakings?

I should be the last to dissent from that admirable proposition.

Does the Minister assent to the first part of the proposition, that these enterprises should be run having regard to social obligations as well as to their commercial profitability?

I would say that nationalised undertakings should have an eye to commercial considerations, but, being public undertakings, they ought to display slightly greater latitude than private undertakings having regard to social considerations. As I understand, it is the conclusion of the London Electricity Board, rightly or wrongly, that it ought not to introduce any scheme of this nature. It is not for me to interfere with its judgment.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when he intends to give his decision about the proposed extension of the North Western Electricity Board's main, known as the Deepdale Spur, near Ullswater.

The National Parks Commission has made representations about part of the Board's proposals; and discussions have been proceeding in the hope that agreement might be reached. This, however, has not proved possible, and my right hon. Friend is therefore reexamining the problem.

Is my hon. and learned Friend aware that, after long consideration, the Lake District Planning Board and the North-Western Electricity Board came to agreement about the route of this short spur and that since the middle of January the National Parks Commission has been displaying discreditable delaying tactics? Is he aware that local patience is just about running out and that some member of the National Parks Commission, perhaps the chairman himself, may soon be thrown into the lake?

I am aware that the Lake District Planning Board approved of the line being erected. I cannot accept what my hon. Friend says about the National Parks Commission. It has its duty to do. It has now decided that it cannot agree to part of the line being put overhead. Therefore, it is now for my right hon. Friend, who has only recently heard about this decision, to re-examine the matter in the light of it.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will arrange to make available to the House the report of the delegation of British electrical experts visiting the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in return for the recent visit of Mr. Malenkov, Russian Minister of Power Stations, and his experts to the United Kingdom.

As this is a technical mission for which the Central Electricity Authority is entirely responsible, it will be for the Authority to decide in due course what information about the visit can usefully be published.

In view of the jolly but instructive time had by Mr. Malenkov and his friends when they were here, cannot we know what happens to Lord Citrine and his followers when they go to the Soviet Union?

The hon. Gentleman had better await Lord Citrine's own account of his visit.

asked the Minister of Supply, in view of the fact that the Board of Trade Journal does not give the full information of Government surplus stock offered at each public auction, if he will now arrange, for the information of Members, to place copies of his Department's catalogues for all forthcoming sales in the House of Commons Library.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Supply what complaints he has received from the public in respect of the disposal of Government surplus stocks; and what action he proposes to take to deal with them.

I have myself received no complaints from members of the public direct, but hon. Members have been good enough to refer to me a few letters from their constituents, which have generally been based on Press reports of sales and to which I have replied.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware of the letters which have been sent to his Department making serious allegations against some of his officials? If he has received those letters, will he not take legal action to clear their names? If he has not received the letters, will he accept copies of them from me?

I should be glad at any time to receive copies of correspondence from the hon. Gentleman. The Question asks about complaints in respect of the disposal of Government surplus stocks. I have not received any complaints from the general public.

asked the Minister of Supply, in regard to the Press statement issued from his Department on 23rd January, 1956, concerning the disposal of surplus war materials, if he will give the date from which his Department has refused to have any dealings with the person referred to in the last paragraph of the statement.

August, 1941.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not surprised to find, when we are referring to a person whom we both know as Mr. X, that I have here a contract offered by his Department to Mr. X on 10th March, 1953? How does he explain the reference to 1941 when this was an offer of a contract in 1953?

I am not the least surprised. That offer was made by one of the contract officers of my Department who did not take the precaution of referring to the black list before he did so.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I shall attempt to raise the subject on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that in 1902 Great Britain, with Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Holland, Sweden and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were founder members of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea; what countries are now members of that Council; and what steps Her Majesty's Government have since taken and are now taking to extend the membership, scope and usefulness of that Council.

Yes, Sir. The present members are Belgium, France, Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain in addition to the eight founder countries. These are all the principal fishing nations within the Council's area. Her Majesty's Government have supported the admission of new members and have always taken a prominent part in the Council's activities.

Does the Minister realise that this is one of the most important and instructive international bodies at present operating, and will he take steps to make available a full account of its work?

If there are any aspects of the Council's work that the hon. and learned Gentleman wishes to have, I shall be very pleased to supply them to him.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the heavy increase in the retail prices of potatoes, which are likely to reach 6d. per lb. in some districts, whether he will take steps to lower the present prices either by variation of the import control or by imposition of price control.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to control the price of potatoes.

Imports of potatoes have been freely licensed since last November subject only to plant health regulations. With regard to price control, I do not consider it would help in present circumstances.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that, resulting from his Department's policy, we have the biggest shortage and the highest price of potatoes known in this country for over 25 years? Is he also aware that when there was price control there was no shortage of potatoes and that the present policy is causing distress to many families? Will he take steps to remedy the situation?

As my right hon. Friend said to the House last week, the shortage is due to the exceptionally dry conditions in the growing period of last year, both in this country and throughout Europe. If price control were established, the effect would be to limit the amount of imports we should attract into the country. [HON. MEMBERS: "Why?"]When we had price control and rationing together in the past, the ration was very tight indeed.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that his answer simply will not wash? Is it not a fact that his Department cannot avoid responsibility for this shortage, which is as much due to a drop in acreage as it is to a drop in the tonnage per acre, and arises, therefore, from this Government's failure to plan agricultural production properly? [HON. MEMBERS: "Speech."] Will the hon. Gentleman, therefore, reconsider the policy of support prices, under which the consumer pays so heavily for any shortages, and return to the policy of planned production on the basis of guaranteed prices?

No, Sir. I think that the present system will answer well. The reason for the shortage was not the acreage last year but the yield, which was exceptionally low. Due to the working of the price system now, the higher price is attracting into the country all the supplies of potatoes that are available in Europe or elsewhere. That is borne out by the fact that whereas imports last December were 3,000 to 5,000 tons a week, in the first week of April they were up to 28,000 tons.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken to ascertain how much of last year's potato crop is now held by home-growers and wholesalers.

The Potato Marketing Board carries out periodic censuses of stocks of potatoes on farms and in the hands of merchants; these figures are made immediately available to my Department.

If the home stocks are equal to four to five weeks' supply, why the shortage and high prices? If there is any difficulty in moving clamps where substantial quantities of potatoes are being stored, will the Minister not ask the Service Department to lend a few troops to get the potatoes moving and so bring prices down?

There is, in fact, more than four to five weeks' supply remaining in stock, but we do not get the next main crop until next autumn. Therefore, we want to be sure that we have a smooth delivery of what is available, to ensure that the supply, combined with the import of potatoes, is kept going.

Is the Minister aware that even if we can get hold of some of these potatoes they are not worth having because the consumer has to cut away half of them before there is anything worthwhile left?

In the main, ware potatoes this year have had good keeping qualities, but at this time of year potatoes run to a good deal of waste inevitably.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tons of potatoes have been imported since 29th March last.

Returns of imports of main crop potatoes are collected weekly by my Department. The latest available figures are:

• Week ended 31st March—24,000 tons.
• Week ended 7th April—28,000 tons.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that 150,000 tons of Dutch potatoes were ordered weeks ago at a price well below the current level and they are now coming into the country? Why are they being sold at the same inflated prices of 6d. a lb.?

The rate of import of potatoes has progressively increased week after week as prices have risen here. It is because of the higher price here that we have had increased supplies from abroad.

Has not a very satisfactory situation been established whereby imports, prices and allocation are no longer the responsibility of the Government but of market economy in private enterprise? In view of that, Mr. Speaker, are any of these Questions admissible?

Yes, they are.

Is the Minister aware that new potatoes were selling in Liverpool this weekend at 15 for 3s.? Does the hon. Gentleman consider that that price is one which reflects any sort of credit on the present Government? Is he aware that there were 44,000 fewer acres under potatoes this year and that that is responsible to a very large extent for the shortage and high prices?

I cannot accept the hon. Lady's supplementary question. As I have already said, the main cause of our shortage was the exceptionally low yield per acre last year. Whether or not the price which the hon. Lady quoted is exceptionally high I cannot say without knowing the size of the potatoes.

I apologise for raising the matter again, Mr. Speaker, but I do desire to put a serious point of order to you. I think that there is something in it and I would be most grateful if you would give a ruling on the matter. Are these Questions to be admissible at the Table when they are Questions to Ministers which do not affect those Ministers at all?

The purpose of a Question normally is either to ask for information or to press for action. These are two admissible lines for Questions within the Minister's responsibility. If the noble Lord will look at the Questions he will find that most of them ask for statistics, which the Minister presumably has, because he has given the answers. I see nothing out of order in that. Any suggestion that price control ought to be established is within the limits of order, as it is pressing for action. I see nothing wrong in that.

Further to that point of order. As you have been good enough, Mr. Speaker, to confirm that the Questions are in order, is it in order for the noble Lord the Member for Dorset, South (Viscount Hinchingbrooke), when hon. Members are asking supplementary questions, to keep up a barrage of noise so as to make the questions inaudible?

I did not hear any interruption in the course of supplementary questions.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the principal other business interests of the directors of the Cold Storage Company, charged with the responsibility of managing the Government-owned Cold Store, Cardiff.

Four directors, representing the cold storage industry, have been appointed to the Board of the National Coal Stores (Management) Limited, in addition to those mentioned in reply to a Question by the hon. Member on 27th July last year. They are:

• Mr. J. Greenwood of Oldham and District Ice Manufacturing and Cold Air Stores Company Limited.
• Mr. F. H. Hunt of the Western Ice and Cold Storage Company Limited.
• Mr. R. H. R. Lloyd of the Cardiff Pure Ice and Cold Storage Company Limited.
• Mr. W. A. P. Milne, M.B.E., of William Milne, Limited.

Is there any rational reason for appointing the principal competitors of this Government-owned stores to its management committee? Why appoint a poacher to keep the game?

The people selected to serve on the board are experts in the business of cold storage and, as the hon. Member knows, there are two Government-appointed directors who have overriding powers on matters affecting national policy.

Can the Minister give an assurance that some of these people are not interested in keeping the public cold store in Cardiff closed?

The general policy in connection with the operation of this cold store is well known to the right hon. Member and his hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, South-East (Mr. Callaghan). The National Government gave a pledge in 1940 that this store should not be used in competition with commercial interests, and that pledge we intend to carry out. Within that limit the store will be used in the national interest.

Is not the proper answer to this problem—

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. The hon. Member for Kidderminster (Mr. Nabarro) was not called.

He was.

Mr. Nabarro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rose—

Order. This question is getting beyond bounds.

asked the Minister of Health the estimated cost of the proposed new maternity wing at Wokingham Hospital; and what he estimates would be the cost of erecting and equipping in Bracknell a building to provide similar services.

About £80,000, excluding the cost of furniture and equipment. No precise estimate is available of the cost of building at Bracknell, but my right hon. Friend is satisfied that it would be higher.

Can my hon. Friend give some assurance that this is not for the convenience of the regional hospital board at the expense of the convenience of people in the new town? To put a maternity wing at one side of the new town and an out patients' wing at the other end, about three miles away, does not seem to me to be convenient to the people of the new town.

This new unit will be of thirty-two beds which will be shared roughly equally between the two areas. I am sure the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that to provide two 16-bed units, with all the equipment and overheads, would be uneconomic and extremely costly. In a case of this kind, where only a 32-bed unit is required, the practical arrangement is to provide one unit for both areas.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he is aware that there were 35 doctors in receipt of unemployment benefit on 19th March, 1956; and what steps he is taking to find opportunities for employment for them in the National Health Service;

It is estimated that there are 53,000 doctors in active employment in Great Britain; the proportion receiving unemployment benefit is therefore extremely small. Every effort is made to bring vacant posts to notice. My right hon. Friend the present Minister of Labour and National Service appointed a committee to inquire into future requirements for doctors and medical students.

Does my hon. Friend appreciate that this small number of 35 is, in fact, only symptomatic of a considerably larger number, many of them young and competent doctors, who are unable to find places in the National Health Service? Is she aware that for every vacancy there are 80 to 100 applicants?

It was to meet these problems that the committee was appointed.

Can the hon. Lady say whether the supply of doctors and potential doctors today is greater than the estimated future needs?

I should like notice of that question.

Can the hon. Lady throw any further light on this problem by giving any comparable figures for the situation as it existed before 1948?

Not without notice.

asked the Minister of Health what information he will now publish on the connection between smoking and lung cancer.

I am afraid I am not yet ready to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Northfield (Mr. Chapman), the hon. and gallant Member for Brixton (Lieut.-Colonel Lipton) and the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Dr. Stross) on 26th March.

Why is the Minister so hesitant about following the advice of his own Medical Advisory Committee and the Central Health Service Council, given over a month ago, that the public should be informed of the known facts? Will he give an assurance that this inexplicable delay on the part of the Government is not prompted by financial consideration?

It is necessary for me first to see exactly what are the known facts compared with what they were when my predecessor, the present Minister of Labour and National Service, made a statement to the House in February, 1954.

Did the right hon. Gentleman listen last Friday to the Radio Doctor who, as a responsible and eminent member of the medical profession, told the British public that the facts presented two years ago were sufficiently conclusive for him to give up cigarettes? In view of that, will the right hon. Gentleman, in the public interest, see that his statements at the Dispatch Box are synchronised with those of doctors which are supported by the medical profession?

If what was stated two years ago was sufficiently conclusive, there would be no necessity for me to make further statements. I have to see exactly what developments have taken place since two years ago.

asked the Minister of Health what representations he has received in consequence of his decision not to make funds available for the provision of a television microscope for biological research into cancer.

No request has been made to my right hon. Friend to provide such an instrument and the question of funds has therefore not arisen.

Is the hon. Lady aware that Professor J. D. McGee of the Imperial College of Science and Technology said recently that it was a thousand pities that money was not available for such a microscope? The Profesor went on to say:

"One cannot watch continuously a living cell or organism as it changes and evolves and get the best picture by ad hoc adjustments. These severe limitations can be removed by the adoption of the television technique."

I think that the hon. Member is regarding this instrument as something far more advanced than, in fact, it is. Experiments have been carried out into the possibility of evolving an instrument of this kind, but at the moment no instrument exists. The laboratory prototypes which were constructed have been dismantled. No representations have been made to my right hon. Friend for such a development.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will make a statement regarding legislation for the registration of opticians.

While the principle is fully accepted, I cannot add to previous statements that legislation must wait until Parliamentary time is available.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is five or six years since the Crook Committee reported and that the matter is now getting quite urgent? There are a number of professional problems awaiting solution, as well as the question of registration.

I am aware of this, but there are a number of competing claims for legislation, and I am unable to say at the moment when this Bill will find a place in the legislative programme.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that this will almost certainly be an agreed Measure? It has been under consideration for a long time and is urgent. Would he consider consulting the Lord Privy Seal about the possibility of bringing it in within the foreseeable future as an agreed Measure?

I am grateful for that intimation from my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health what provision is made in his estimate of National Health Service expenditure for 1956–57 for increases in salaries and wages already agreed or still under negotiation.

About £2½ million was included to meet the estimated extra cost in 1956–57 of such awards for England and Wales.

Will the recently announced new award for nursing staff, amounting to about £6 million, be added to the £2½ million referred to, or will it come out of the existing Estimates?

It will have to be added. It was a direct recommendation by the Public Accounts Committee that Estimates should include only those awards already agreed or those so far advanced that the awards were clearly foreseen. The last two awards have not come into that category and will require Supplementary Estimates.

As I understand it, the Parliamentary Secretary has said that further Supplementary Estimates will be presented to the House. Is it correct that this will not be squeezed out of the existing Estimates?

indicated assent.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now in a position to make a statement about the Guillebaud Committee's recommendations on Whitley Council machinery.

I apologise for the length of this reply.

I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his generosity and accept the recommendation, but may I ask whether the Government are prepared to give a day to debate the other very important matters which arise on the Guillebaud Report?

The right hon. Lady should address her question to the Lord Privy Seal.