asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is estimated to be the total annual cost of operating the present cheap cartridge scheme for the destruction of pests.

About £60,000.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the repercussions which the shortage of main crop potatoes is likely to have on the supply of fish and chips during future weeks; and what steps are being taken by him, in conjunction with the Potato Marketing Board, to ensure that sufficient potatoes will be planted this spring to make Great Britain self-supplying in potatoes next year.

I am aware that fish fryers are concerned about supplies of potatoes for the remainder of the season, though I do not think they are experiencing any difficulty in obtaining supplies at the present time. The extent to which farmers plant potatoes this year will, of course, be determined by the farmers themselves; they will no doubt take into account this year's experience and the minimum price guaranteed by the Government.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that on Saturday potatoes were being sold retail at 1s. 4d. and 8d. a lb. for new and old, respectively; what stocks were in hand on this date and the corresponding date last year; and if, in view of this further rise in price, he will now reimpose price control.

According to my information, the most usual prices at the end of last week were 1s. per lb. for new and 5d.-6d. for old potatoes. Stocks of potatoes on hand at this date are considerably less than at the corresponding date last year, owing to the light yield of the 1955 crop, but any estimate might be misleading. The Answer to the last part of the Question is, "No, Sir."

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware of the shortage of nitrogen, sulphate of ammonia, nitro chalk and other dressings in Lincolnshire; and what action he proposes to increase the supply of these essential substances without which efficiency and production must suffer.

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Maldon (Mr. B. Harrison) on 12th April. The plans made by the industry to meet the growing demand for nitrogenous fertilisers include projects which will result in an appreciable increase in production.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now announce the name of the Chairman and the terms of reference of the Committee to look into the problems of the meat and livestock industries.

Yes. I am glad to be able to inform the House that Sir George Wilson, who is the Chairman of the governing body of the West of Scotland Agricultural College, has agreed to act as Chairman of this Committee.The Committee's terms of reference will be:

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the death on 3rd February, 1956, of Ernest Edward Knapton, following upon injections of penicillin at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford; and what guidance he proposes to give to regional hospital boards concerning the use of penicillin.

Yes: and I heard of this with great regret and sympathy. The circumstances were, however, extremely rare and my right hon. Friend does not think there would be any point in giving new general guidance to hospital authorities.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give the medical evidence he has in regard to the safety of the new vaccine against poliomyelitis.

Evidence of the safety of vaccine submitted to tests of the kind described in my right hon. Friend's Answer to the hon. Member on 10th April is provided by the fact that a vaccine similarly prepared and submitted to similar but less stringent tests has been safely used in many millions of injections in other countries.

asked the Minister of Health (1) how many acres of farm land held by the Bristol Council for hospital purposes were compulsorily transferred to the Ministry of Health without compensation under the National Health Service Act, 1946; if he now contemplates disposing of those parts which are not required for the operational functions of the hospital units; and if he will offer to return at nominal charges such of the lands as are required by their former owners for statutory purposes;(2) in view of the advice that he has received that farming activities other than of a therapeutic nature cannot form part of the functions of our hospital system, what is his policy regarding the future use of the farms and land appropriated from local authorities by the National Health Service Act, 1946; and if he will consult the Association of Municipal Corporations again before deciding finally on the method of disposing of this property which may be required by the authorities from whom it was taken.

634 acres of farm land were transferred from the council under the terms of the Act. It is my right hon. Friend's policy in general to dispose of farm land which is not required for hospital purposes. Surplus land is normally first offered to other Government Departments. My right hon. Friend recognises the special claims of local authorities from whom land was transferred under the Act but any sale to a local authority must be in accordance with the prescribed arrangements governing the disposal to them of Government property, the terms being settled by the district valuer. He therefore sees no reason for consulting the Association of Municipal Corporations about this.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, following the representations of Her Majesty's Government to the Egyptian Government, the anti-British broadcasts over the Cairo radio have now ceased.

I am glad to say that there has been an improvement in the tone of Cairo broadcasts, so far as this country is concerned, since 4th April.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to make a statement on the recently announced association of the United States of America with the Bagdad Pact.

As a result of the recent meeting of the Bagdad Pact Council, the United States is now a member of the Economic Committee and of the Counter-Subversion Committee. She has also offered to establish a military liaison group at the permanent headquarters of the Pact, and has undertaken to contribute both money and men to the international secretariat. This is in addition to the economic, technical and military assistance which the United States is already giving to members of the Pact.All this has been warmly welcomed by Her Majesty's Government and by other members of the Bagdad Pact. It demonstrates in a practical and striking manner United States support for the Pact which threatens no one and is designed simply to give stability and security to this area of the world.

asked the Attorney-General why proceedings are not being instituted by himself or the Director of Public Prosecutions against bookmakers for the offences, details of which are in his possession.

There is no restriction on the right to prosecute for offences against the Betting Acts. My right hon. and learned Friend does not consider that the public interest requires that either he or the Director of Public Prosecutions should initiate proceedings.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what organised suggestion scheme is in operation in his Department; how many suggestions are received from employees through that organisation annually; how many are adopted; what awards are made for such suggestions; and what he estimates to be the savings made by the adoption of employees' suggestions.

Staff may submit suggestions through the staff suggestions scheme on the Department's work, other than policy questions. Suggestions are considered by committees on which both the Official and Staff Sides of the Departmental Whitley Council are represented. Some 2,300 suggestions are received annually, of which about 9 per cent. are adopted. Awards have ranged from £1 to £50. I regret that it is not possible to give a precise estimate of the financial savings resulting from the adopted suggestions, but it is certainly appreciable.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many cases of pneumoconiosis and of pneumoconiosis complicated by tuberculosis among pottery workers were diagnosed by the pneumoconiosis panels, in 1950 and 1955.

Complete figures are not available for 1950 but in the nine months ended 31st December, 1950, pneumoconiosis was diagnosed in 128 pottery workers following initial claims for benefit under the Industrial Injuries Act. In 1955 pneumoconiosis was diagnosed in 382 pottery workers following claims under the Industrial Injuries Act. These figures include cases where pneumoconiosis was accompanied by tuberculosis.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1) if he will give the number of pneumoconiosis cases, or suspected pneumoconiosis cases, which have been examined by the pneumoconiosis medical panels set up in the British coal fields since 8th November, 1954, setting out the number, separately, for each medical panel, who have been found to be suffering from emphysema;(2) if he will give the number of pneumoconiosis cases, or suspected pneumoconiosis cases, which have been examined by the pneumoconiosis medical panels set up in the British coal fields since 10th March, 1952, setting out the number, separately, for each medical panel, who have been found to be suffering from emphysema.

Not all the information asked for is available but some information was recently obtained by a special inquiry about cases examined under the Industrial Injuries Act during 1954. The information is as follows:

PNEUMOCONIOSIS MEDICAL PANELS
Cases examined under the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act in 1954 in which pneumoconiosis was not diagnosed but it was noted that emphysema was present
Panel
Cardiff	111
Swansea	17
Stoke-on-Trent	74
Sheffield	208
Edinburgh	154
Manchester	48
Newcastle	9
London	13
Bristol	13

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what has been the decline in the purchasing power of the basic retirement pension for a single person since the date of the last increase.

On the basis of the Retail Prices Index 2s. 1d.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what arrangements he has made to ensure co-ordination between the National Coal Board, the Central Electricity Authority and the Gas Council for the development of schemes for the underground gasification of coal.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to him on 19th March. Discussions are still proceeding.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power on what grounds Her Majesty's Government have rejected the arguments used in paragraphs 83 to 86 of the Turner Report.

As indicated in my right hon. Friend's replies to the hon. Member on 16th April, the Government consider that since subsidence damage is part of the cost of winning coal, that cost should be fully reflected in the price of coal

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power on what calculations he bases his estimate that the cost of a comprehensive compensation scheme for mining subsidence damage will be £5 million annually.

The estimate given has been made in the light of the experience and judgment of the National Coal Board.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when he expects to be in a position to introduce legislation on compensation for mining subsidence damage.

I cannot add to the statement which my right hon. Friend made in reply to the hon. Member on 16th April.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power, in view of his announcement of summer coal prices, what steps he is taking to ensure that the position is protected for those living on small fixed incomes and old-age pensioners who buy in limited quantities and have no storage accommodation available.

The object of the summer price arrangements is to encourage merchants and domestic consumers to build up reserve stocks during the summer months and thus enable the distribution system to meet more readily the winter needs of those who have no storage space. It would not be practicable to make special price arrangements for the benefit of the latter type of consumer.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power on what basis compensation is assessed and paid to sports organisations that lose their playing fields, wholly or partly, and other amenities owing to opencast coal mining.

Compensation is paid to the owners and occupiers of playing fields requisitioned for opencast coal mining in accordance with the Compensation (Defence) Act, 1939, and amending legislation.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what progress has been made with the gas and electricity boards with regard to the improvement of their pensions schemes; and if he will give appropriate details.

My right hon. Friend has approved the proposals submitted to him by the Gas Council and area gas boards and has approved in principle those submitted by the Central Electricity Authority and area electricity boards, for increasing the pensions of ex-company pensioners in these two industries; and he has written to my hon. Friend outlining these proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which Colonies, Protectorates and Trusteeship Territories have sterling balances; and the amounts in each case.

All territories for whose administration my right hon. Friend is responsible have sterling balances of one sort or another. A summary of these is published regularly in the Digest of Colonial Statistics, the latest copy of which, No. 25, appeared on 17th April, 1956. Detailed figures for each territory, however, are not published.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how far the regulations for the use of captured terrorists to assist the security forces in Kenya are applicable to those who surrender; and if their wish to serve in this manner must be stated before a magistrate before they can be detained in police custody for the thirty days laid down in the regulations.

My right hon. Friend is consulting the Governor and will circulate the information in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Education the average annual value of a local authority grant, awarded in the session 1954–55, to a full-time student enrolled at a university or other institute of higher education in England and Wales.

The average annual value of awards given by local education authorities to university students in the session 1954–55 was £209. The corresponding figure for students at establishments of further education was £118. This second figure is not comparable with the first, because there is often no charge for tuition at institutions maintained by local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) the annual average values of a local authority grant awarded to full-time students at the Scottish universities, central institutions, and training colleges in the Counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire and in the City of Glasgow, respectively, in the session 1954–55;(2) the numbers of local authority bursaries awarded to full-time students at Scottish universities, central institutions, and training colleges in the Counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire and in the City of Glasgow, respectively, in the session 1954–55.

In session 1954–55 the numbers of bursaries awarded to full-time students at Scottish universities, central institutions, and training colleges by the education authorities of Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Glasgow were respectively 603, 861 and 1,700. The average values were £98, £127 and £110 respectively.

asked the Minister of Defence to make a statement showing the number of recruits for each of the Services since the introduction of the new rates of pay; and give the recruiting figures for each Service in the corresponding period of 1955.

I have been asked to reply.Following is the Answer:

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many "Halt", "Go Slow" and "Major Road Ahead" signs have been erected within the grounds of the No. 4 Maintenance Unit, Ruislip, during the past three months; how much steel was used in their manufacture; how many man-hours were involved in the manufacture and erection; what was the total cost; and if he is satisfied that the cost was justified.

The thirty road signs which have been erected at Ruislip were made in the unit workshops. Manufacture took about £60 worth of steel and 745 man-hours. Erection was by contract and it would be contrary to established Government practice to disclose the cost. I am satisfied that road signs are necessary at large units in the interests of safety but I am looking further into the man-hours employed in this case.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether a decision has yet been reached regarding the specification for a basic jet trainer for the Royal Air Force; what conclusions have been drawn from the evaluation trials of the Jet Provost; and whether he will make a statement on the policy to be followed for providing ab initio and intermediate training aircraft for the Service.

I am not at present in a position to add to what I said on this matter during the Committee stage of the Air Estimates on 15th March.

asked the Postmaster-General what experiments have been undertaken by his Department with regard to stereophonic sound being transmitted from existing television and sound transmitters at small cost.

None. The Transmission of stereophonic sound would involve using two separate sound channels, with corresponding redesign of the radio and television sets. The cost would be great.

asked the Postmaster-General the income and expenditure now expected on postal, telephone, and telegraph accounts, respectively, for the years 1956–57 and 1957–58, on the basis used in Table IV of the Report on Post Office Development and Finance, Command Paper No. 9576.

The estimated income and expenditure, on a commercial basis, for 1956–57 is as follows:

—	Postal	Telegraph	Telephone	Total
	£m.	£m.	£m.	£m.
Income	169	18	166½	353½
Expenditure	170	21½	159	350½
Surplus (+) or Deficit (-)	-1	-3½	+7½	+3

Estimates in equivalent detail for 1957–58 have not yet been completed. On present indications, however, the trading results for that year might be roughly similar to those for 1956–57.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will now consider revising Section 20 of the Superannuation Act, 1834, so far as it affects the staff of the Post Office to bring it up to date with modern conditions.

My right hon. Friend is not prepared to make any fundamental change in this Section. The Royal Commission on the Civil Service considered a minor change, and its recommendation—in favour of the status quo—will be considered along with the Commission's other recommendations on Civil Service pensions. As recently as 1949 the Superannuation Acts were brought up to date with an amendment which allowed a re-employed pensioner to gain the advantage of earning up to five extra years of pensionable service by reason of his re-employment.