asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what plans he has for repairing the gates of the dry dock at Londonderry.

The matter is under consideration in the light of naval requirements for the dock.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of square feet of office accommodation occupied by his Department on the 1st January, 1939, and 1956, respectively.

On 1st January, 1939, the Admiralty occupied about 360,000 square feet and on 1st January, 1956, about 1,065,000.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will make a further statement on the supply of steel to the shipbuilding industry.

I am glad to say that deliveries of steel to the shipbuilding industry as a whole during the first quarter of this year were considerably greater than in the same period last year, though some firms are still having difficulty in obtaining what they require.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware of the continuing anxiety in shipbuilding circles about deliveries of steel and what action he has taken to prevent any consequent delays in the shipbuilding programme.

I am aware that there is still some anxiety about the supplies of steel for shipbuilders. As regards steps to help the shipbuilders, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. P. Williams) on 16th April. Discussions between my noble Friend and the President of the Board of Trade continue on the question of the shortage of angles and sections.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what progress has been made in the application of atomic energy to the propulsion of shipping.

Good progress is being made with the investigations and design studies which must precede the detailed design of a nuclear vessel, but ships powered in this way are not to be expected for some years.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what matters are at present under consideration by the Shipbuilding Advisory Committee.

The Committee keeps under review statistics about manpower and production in the shipyards. The Committee considers particular questions as they arise, such as steel supplies, foreign competition and the volume of overseas orders.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) if he is aware that letters are being transmitted from London to Glasgow carrying stake money for betting; and, as this is an illegal practice, whether he will take such action as will prevent this in the future;

(2) on what authority his Department open mail thought to contain money for, and/or, Irish sweepstake tickets; on how many occasions his Department has taken such action during the last 12 months; and why similar action is not taken in respect of bookmaking firms who break the law in a like manner.

There is some evidence that letters containing stake money for betting are sent through the post from London to Glasgow. Sealed mail cannot be opened or detained except on the authority of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Home Affairs.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give details of the 73 additional staff employed by his Department between 1st April, 1955, and 1st April, 1956; the work undertaken by these 73 employees; and the salary or wage scale in each instance.

The net increase of 73 staff in Post Office regional offices covered additions and reductions over many grades of staff; details of all the changes made are not available centrally and a disproportionate amount of time and effort would be required to obtain them.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what measures are being introduced to ensure greater accuracy in the accounting system used by the Royal Air Force; and if he will make a statement.

The difficulties which caused inaccuracies in the past have been largely overcome. The different types of stores have each been concentrated in not more than two depots; more checks are being made; and discrepancies are being investigated more promptly.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is aware that new employees, entering his Department during the war as potential skilled workers from Government training centres were told that throughout their training and after their acceptance into the full craftsman grade they would be serving the country in its war effort, but were not given any information indicating that they would be registered as dilutee labour; and whether he will remove from the list of registered dilutees under the Relaxation of Customs Agreement those men whose employment by the Department was in strict conformity with the Department's pre-war custom and on whose behalf no existing custom needed to be relaxed.

The answer to both parts of the Question is "No"

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what additional road space will become available following the building alterations on the site of the Holborn Restaurant.

The new building will be set back approximately 10 feet over a length of about 40 yards in High Holborn.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many accidents, involving injury to persons, have occurred on the A2 road during the 12 months ended 30th April, 1956, between Cobham and Brenley Corner.

I regret that figures for April, 1956, are not yet available. The number of accidents involving personal injury reported to the police in the year ended 31st March, 1956, was 482.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when he expects to give a decision regarding the installation of traffic signals at the juncture of Chalkwell Road and A2 at Sittingbourne.

After careful consideration of the traffic conditions at this junction, my right hon. Friend has decided not to install signals at present, but we are looking into the possibility of improving the lay-out of the junction so as to get greater safety.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether the traffic lights recently installed at the cross roads on A5 in Elstree are vehicle-operated.

No. A short trial is being made with a traffic light installation of the fixed time type. This is designed to determine whether control of this difficult intersection can best be effected by a policeman or by a traffic light installation, whether of the fixed time or vehicle-actuated type.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether his attention has been drawn to schemes for the rapid construction of new motorways in Italy at capital expenditure considerably exceeding that contemplated in this country; and whether he will seek information about the methods of financing such work, with a view to their application to schemes of road development in this country.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave him on 21st March about West German road plans.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress has been made on the Ryton-on-Dunsmore to Coventry (Second Carriageway) Road Scheme for which authorisation was given in September last year.

A contract has been let for this scheme and work started on 26th March. Site clearance and the main part of the drainage work have been completed and excavation for the road works is about to start.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what effect the Government's policy of restricting the capital development of the nationalised industries has had on the capital to be provided for the construction of new houses and the improvement of sub-standard houses for railway workers.

The detailed application of the reductions in the capital expenditure of the British Transport Commission falls to be decided by the Commission, but I am informed that they will have no effect on housing. The Commission has in fact no statutory or other responsibility for providing houses for railway workers, but when it does provide them it is its policy wherever possible to improve them.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will give a general direction to the British Transport Commission to increase the provision of new housing accommodation and the improvement of existing substandard housing for railway workers in conformity with the general policy of clearance of sub-standard houses.

No, but I am informed that the Commission has under review the effect of housing difficulties upon the shortage of staff in certain areas.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will now state when he intends to terminate the Road Haulage Disposal Board.

I cannot yet give a date but I do not think the Board need be kept in being for more than a short time after the Transport (Disposal of Road Haulage Property) Bill becomes law.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what is the number of road haulage vehicles still operated by the British Road Services.

The number of vehicles owned by British Road Services on 24th March, 1956, was 17,695.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will now make a statement about the negotiations with the West German Government regarding the cost of British forces stationed in Germany.

As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs explained on Monday in answer to the hon. Members for West Ham, North (Mr. Lewis) and South Ayrshire (Mr. Emrys Hughes), negotiations are continuing in Bonn. I have nothing further to add at present.

asked the Minister of Defence by how much per cent. the pensions of widows of officers of the rank of captain, major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel have been increased, including the proposed 5 per cent. rise, compared with the basic pension of these widows when widows' pensions were first introduced; and by what percentage over the same period the cost of living has risen.

Pensions were first paid by Royal Warrant to the widows of officers in the early eighteenth century. If the proposed 5 per cent. In crease is taken into account, the basic rates of pensions in the ranks stated will have been increased by 342 per cent., 390 per cent., 372 per cent., and 362 per cent. respectively.

There is no reliable information on which to base an estimate of the cost of living before 1914, and I regret therefore that I am unable to answer the second part of the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the average price per ton paid for copra in the Seychelles during the last five years; and the copra export tax paid on copra over the same period.

The average f.o.b. prices per long ton for the years 1951 to 1955, inclusive, were £84 9s., £60 9s., £75 0s., £76 4s. and £60 10s., respectively. Seychelles export tax was at 23½ per cent. of the f.o.b. price in 1951 and 1952, 5 per cent. in 1953 and 3 per cent. in 1954 and 1955.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement concerning the constitutional proposals for Gold Coast independence published in a White Paper by the Gold Coast Government on 19th April, 1956.

I hope to make a statement in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what communication he has had from the Mauritius Labour Party regarding the integration of this Colony with the United Kingdom; and whether he will make a statement.

I have received no such communication; and I have no statement to make.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the usual conditions attached to the grant of colonial development and welfare funds for higher education.

They are the general conditions attaching to all colonial development and welfare assistance as laid down in Section 1 of the Colonial Development and Welfare Act, 1940 (3 and 4 Geo. VI Ch. 40), supplemented as necessary by detailed accounting instructions. It is also an invariable condition that Her Majesty's Government should be satisfied about the constitution and degree of autonomy of the administering body.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken by the Government to bring about a settlement of the rubber workers' dispute in Malaya before the go-slow policy is put into operation on 10th May; and if arbitration has been offered by either side.

A meeting on 7th May between the Malayan Planting Industries Employers' Association and the National Union of Plantation Workers failed to reach a settlement to this dispute. The Commissioner of Labour is in contact with both sides as a conciliator. The employers have offered arbitration, which has been rejected by the union.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the war damage compensation claim in respect of produce companies in Malaya has yet been completed; what proportion of the losses suffered in the occupation is expected to be regained by those concerned as a result of this payment; and why, if these losses are capital losses, taxation has been exacted in respect of the compensation payments.

Payment has been made on all war damage claims by produce companies in Malaya, except where it is conditional upon restoration which is not yet finished.

War damage claims were divided into a number of categories, namely, rubber, tin, private chattels and other claims, and within the total of £50·75 million available in the War Damage Fund maxima were fixed of the payments to be made in each of these categories. Awards were assessed on the post-war cost of making good war damage losses of essential capital items only (less depreciation) and the payments made on each award represented the proportion which the total sum available for that category of claim bore to the total of awards.

The claims of rubber companies amounted to £46·5 million and those of tin mining concerns to £32·4 million. These were assessed at £11·5 million and £10·7 million, respectively, and payments of £9·72 million and £9·7 million have been authorised. Figures are not available of the total value of claims made by other producers, e.g., oil palm, tea, coconut, pineapples, but payments of £3·3 million have been authorised to them on assessments of £4·7 million.

War damage payments are not in themselves subject to income tax, and all rehabilitation expenditure incurred by the mining and planting industries is granted relief from income tax by special deductions spread over a number of years. In order to determine the amount of relief to be given, however, the amount of any war damage payments is deducted from total expenditure upon rehabilitation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many members of the United States consular staff are now in Hong Kong.

United States consular establishments in Hong Kong employ 149 persons of whom 35 have diplomatic or consular status.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether all the main political parties in British Guiana have agreed to accept the terms offered by Her Majesty's Government for limited elections at some time in the future; whether the date for such an election has yet been fixed; and whether it can now be announced, approximately.

Mr. John carter, Mr. Burnham and Dr. Jagan have all criticised the limited scope of the advance and their parties have not yet declared formally whether they will participate in the elections. The date for elections has not yet been fixed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will amend his proposals not to allow a Communist Government to hold office in British Guiana so as to keep alive the electorate's freedom of choice.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what facilities for medical attention and for social and educational amenities are being provided for the workers in the Zambesi-Kariba Gorge Dam area; how many have now been recruited; and what will be the total labour force required when the work is in full operation.

As the Kariba hydro-electric project is a Federal undertaking, and all the workers are accommodated and administered on the Southern Rhodesia side of the river, these matters do not fall within my responsibility.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is now in a position to make a statement on constitutional reform in Gibraltar.

Yes. After studying the memorandum on constitutional reform in Gibraltar submitted to me by Mr. Hassan on behalf of the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights, 1 have informed the Governor that the proposals as a whole offer a reasonable basis for the commencement of local dicussions; and I have invited him to seek the views of other members of the Legislative Council, and of such other individuals and bodies as he thinks proper. I have suggested that these discussions should concentrate first on proposals relating to the composition of the Legislative Council and the City Council. The Governor will report to me on the discussions, and I hope that it will be possible to effect any changes on which there is agreement before the next Council elections, which are due to take place later this year.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement regarding the discharge of radioactive waste into the River Thames, both directly and indirectly, stating, in particular, whether the amount has been increasing or decreasing during the last few years; and what evidence he has of accumulation of radioactive substances in marine animals and plants in the Thames estuary.

The principal discharges of radioactive waste into the Thames come from establishments of the Atomic Energy Authority. Safe limits for the radioactivity in these discharges are defined in authorisations which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and I have issued under the Atomic Energy Authority Act, 1954. The total radioactivity in waste discharged has increased during the last few years but is still a long way below the total permitted. A number of other concerns discharge radioactive wastes which reach the Thames. These discharges have also increased during recent years but the total radioactivity in them is small. I have no evidence of any accumulation of radioactive substances in marine animals and plants in the Thames estuary.

asked the Minister of Health what was the annual cost of repairs to invalid tricycles during each of the last five financial years and how many such vehicles were on loan from his Department in each year.

The amount spent on repairs to invalid tricycles during the last five financial years was:

—	Hand Propelled*	Power Propelled
	£	£
Year to 31.3.52	19,000 (est.)	136,000 (est.)
31.3.53	19,000 (est.)	136,000 (est.)
31.3.54	30,000 (est.)	220,500 (est.)
31.3.55	33,400	256,900
31.3.56	46,500	319,300
*Tricycles and chairs.

and the number of such vehicles on loan at the 31st December was:

—	Hand Propelled*	Power Propelled
1951	15,941	6,238
1952	22,409	8,011
1953.	26,622	9,192
1954	31,505	9,975
>1955.	36,778	10,479
* Tricycles and chairs.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what decision he has taken in respect of the policy for slaughterhouses.

The Government have decided to adopt with some modification the recommendations of the Interdepartmental Committee on Slaughterhouses as being, in the circumstances prevailing in England and Wales, the most practical means of securing the provision of ade- quate slaughtering facilities that are satisfactory from the standpoint of humane slaughter, hygiene and working conditions. Subject to slaughterhouses conforming to prescribed standards, to planning consent being given and to provisions for safeguarding public slaughterhouses, there will be a limited period during which meat traders will be free to build slaughterhouses of the size, design and in the places which best suit the requirements of their trade.

The details of this policy are set out in a White Paper which is now available at the Vote Office.