asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will make Regulations under Section 98 of the Transport Act, 1947, with a view to increasing the scales of benefits payable by the provident society for providing pensions for the widows and orphans of the salaried staff of the London and North Western Railway.

No. This is a matter for consideration by the Committee of Management and the General Meeting of the Society, who, under the Rules have power, with the sanction of the British Transport Commission, to vary the scales of benefits if the Actuary so recommends in his valuation report on the Fund.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation by how much the pavement in front of the office block now being built on the south side of Wigmore Street will be set back to accommodate cars of people visiting this building without impeding the flow of traffic in Wigmore Street.

The pavement will be set back by about 11 ft., but not to accommodate waiting vehicles. A service road and a private parking place for about 50 to 60 cars will be provided behind the new building.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what further experiments are being carried out by his Department in connection with the illumination of pedestrian crossings.

I have asked for trials to be carried out to see what can be done to make pedestrians approaching or stepping on to pedestrian crossings in poorly lit streets more easily seen by motorists.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress has been made in the preparatory proceedings for the relief roads at Newbury; and if he can now give a date when the work will begin.

An Order establishing the line of the East-West relief road has been made and contract details for the scheme will shortly be prepared. My right hon. Friend is considering objections to the draft Order for the North-South relief road. I cannot yet say when work will begin.

asked the Minister of Defence whether agreement has now been reached with the Federal German Government on the payment to be made for the cost of our Forces in Germany.

I have nothing further to add at present to the Answer which I gave on 9th May to the hon. Member for Islington, East (Mr. E. Fletcher).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action he is taking to bring about further joint consultations between the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, France and Great Britain on the international situation.

While Her Majesty's Government are always ready to play their part in four Power joint consultations on the international situation, they consider that in present conditions more is likely to be achieved by less formal consultations between Governments.The visit of the Prime Minister and my right hon. and learned Friend to Washington and Ottawa earlier this year, the discussions which the Prime Minister had with M. Mollet in March, and the recent conversations with the Soviet leaders, all make it clear that Her Majesty's Government have these matters very much in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that proper compensation is being received from the Cuban Government for the accidental shooting in the back by a harbour guard at Guayabel of Mr. John Topham on 28th February; and if he will make a statement on this case.

Mr. Topham was shot in the shoulder in a bar at Guayabal by a Cuban marine guard on 26th February.The Cuban authorities, who were asked for a report on the incident, maintained that, while attempting to clear the bar at the request of the landlord, the guard was attacked by a group of British seamen and drew his pistol in self-defence, and that in the ensuing struggle a shot was fired accidentally. They claim that this account is supported by the evidence of the landlord and local spectators.I am considering what further steps should be taken and I will write to the hon. Member when I have come to a decision. Meanwhile it is open to Mr. Topham to claim damages in a civil court.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what representations he has received urging the creation of a comprehensive overseas service based on the United Kingdom from which administrators and technicians could be seconded to Colonial and Self-Governing Territories within the British Commonwealth; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will consider a guarantee of basic pay and pensions to members of Her Majesty's Oversea Civil Service or of other services brought into being to provide on request advisers to newly self-governing territories within the Commonwealth.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a further statement about the future organisation of Her Majesty's Overseas Service.

I hope to make a statement tomorrow.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many of Her Majesty's Colonies use proportional representation in their elections; in which Colonies this has been suggested by his Department and in which only agreed at the request of the Colony in question; and what was his Department's reason in each case either for the suggestion or for the agreement.

The only Legislatures at present elected by proportional representation are those of Malta and Gibraltar. The re-adoption of that system in Malta was recommended in 1946 both by a National Assembly, constituted by the Maltese people themselves, and by the Constitutional Commissioner and the then Secretary of State saw no valid reason to reject it. In Gibraltar the initiative came from the Governor after local discussions, and here too the Secretary of State of the day saw no reason to object.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the secretary general of the United National Front in Aden has been deported.

Mohamed Adbuh Noman, the Secretary General of the United National Front, is an alien whose exclusion from Aden Colony was ordered by the Governor in the public interest.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will now publish a White Paper on the trade union position in Aden, together with the labour laws in the Colony, and incorporating the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the recent trade disputes.

No. I am, however, arranging for copies of the legislation and the Report of the Commission of Inquiry to be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the amount of colonial development and welfare moneys allocated to the Somaliland Protectorate in 1955; how much of this was actually spent; what is the amount allocated in 1956; and for what purposes.

Allocations are not made on an annual basis. In 1955 £1 million was allocated for five years, in addition to an existing balance of £250,000. Last year £110,000 was spent, so there is an average of £285,000 for spending in 1956 and the following three years. The provisional plan for spending this money was indicated in my reply to the hon. Member's Question on 9th March. The plan is still being revised to ensure the maximum practicable rate of development.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that there is a desire in West Africa, and particularly in West Nigeria, for a Colombo Plan to extend technical aid to that region; and whether he will initiate talks with interested and appropriate Governments for this purpose.

There is undoubtedly a keen desire in West Africa for technical assistance, and constant attention is being paid to ensure that arrangements for securing it are adequate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) the names of the members of the Commonwealth Commission which is to draft the constitution for the Federation of Malaya; what countries they represent; and when they will commence their deliberations;(2) what reasons have been given to him for the delay by Canada, Pakistan and India in nominating members of the commission for drafting the new constitution of Malaya.

The right hon. Lord Reid has accepted appointment as Chairman and the right hon. Sir William McKell as the Australian Member of the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Commission. The Commission will be independent and its Members will not represent the countries from which they are drawn. I should like to express the gratitude of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to the Governments of Canada, Australia, India and Pakistan who have readily agreed to nominate Members. It necessarily takes some time to find persons of the necessary eminence and calibre who are able and willing to divest themselves of their other commitments in order to take on this important work. I am hopeful that outstanding nominations will be made in time for the Commission to start work in Malaya about the beginning of June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the recent visits of the Governor of Cyprus to Maronite villages and the Maronite temporary Church in Nicosia, he will now make a statement about a future church for the Maronites.

The Governor has undertaken that the Cyprus Government will guarantee a bank loan of up to £50,000 to be raised by the Vicar-General of the Maronites. This will enable the Maronites community both to rebuild their church and to develop land which they own in Nicosia. It is doubtful whether building can begin until the present strain on building resources has eased, but the Governor has promised to review the position in six months when he will set a firm date for the start of work on the new church.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what developments are proposed for higher education in Tanganyika.

The Government of Tanganyika has recently established a Higher Education Trust Fund for the purpose of setting up a university college in the territory when this is justified by the number of students completing secondary education. Such a college would be planned so as to be complementary to other centres of higher education in East Africa. It is expected that, even when it is established, Tanganyika students will continue to go to the University College of East Africa at Makerere and the Royal Technical College of East Africa in Nairobi in cases where their facilities are suited to the course of study they wish to pursue. Students from other East African territories will, in similar circumstances, be welcome in Tanganyika.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the quantity of lime oil produced in the British West Indies in 1953, 1954 and 1955, together with the quantity exported in each of those years and the numbers employed in the industry.

I am asking the Governors of the territories concerned to supply certain of this information which is not at present available, and I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as the material is complete.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the policy which Her Majesty's Government intend to pursue and the recommendations they intend to make to the United Nations as a result of the plebiscite in Togoland last week.

I am not yet in a position to make a statement on this subject.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to state, under appropriate headings, the amount of Import Duty paid on animal feeding stuffs, including cereals used mainly for animal feeding, imported during 1955.

The figures for the main products used as animal feeding stuffs are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to list the fuel-saving plant which he proposes should qualify for investment allowance.

I have it in mind that when the Finance Bill becomes law, the following plant should be prescribed:1.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total number of women in the industrial grades of Government employment, the main branches of work in which these women are engaged and the numbers in each of the main branches.

On 1st April, 1956, there were 50,387 women employed in industrial grades by Government Departments, of whom 8,087 were part-time workers. No precise analysis is kept centrally in the form asked for by my hon. Friend, but the following is an approximate estimate, based on figures specially compiled in November, 1954.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what position Lieutenant-Commander Lionel Crabb held in his Department; where this officer was stationed; and whether he will make a statement on the circumstances in which he has been posted as missing.

None. I have nothing to add to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in reply to the right hon. Member for West Bromwich (Mr. Dugdale) on 9th May.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why, and when, he authorised the earmarking of H.M.S. "Vanguard" for service with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation; and whether he will make a statement.

Together with the majority of the ships of the Royal Navy, Her Majesty's Ship "Vanguard" has been earmarked since 1952 for assignment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in an emergency, in accordance with our Treaty obligations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Report of the Panel on Flour Composition is to be published.

The Report will he published on Thursday, 17th May.

asked the Minister of Education how far, under his regulations, vaccination is a condition of employment in schools in England and Wales.

Vaccination is not a condition of employment under my regulations.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will arrange a telephone service giving test match scores on the lines of the London weather forecast service.

Yes. With the co-operation of the Marylebone and Surrey Cricket Clubs, I am arranging, as an experiment, that, during the Test Matches at Lords and the Oval this year, London subscribers may hear a record of the score by calling WEBber 8811.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is now able to say where the central organisation to handle the proposed Premium Bonds will be set up.

It is proposed that the central organisation should be set up at Lytham St. Annes where suitable Government premises already exist and the necessary staff should readily be obtainable.