asked the Minister of Labour to what extent the records of furniture workers registered in the area of Leyton show an increase during the past six months in the number of unemployed or withdrawn from the industry; and approximately how many are now working part-time.

In the six months to 14th May the number of wholly unemployed furniture workers registered at the Leyton and Walthamstow employment exchange increased by twenty-nine. It is estimated that in the week ended 9th June 380 were on short time at furniture firms in the area.

asked the Minister of Labour how many Italians, Belgians, Poles and men of other nationality from overseas are working in the coal mines; and what is the present shortage of manpower in the coal mining industry generally.

On the first part of the Question I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Sir C. Taylor) on Monday, 11th June. On the second part, the present coal mining labour force is 705,000 and it has been estimated that by the end of the year 713,000 men could be usefully employed. In view of wastage very substantial recruitment would be necessary to achieve this figure.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of registered disabled persons in the County Borough of Birkenhead, giving the respective figures for men and women in each year since the scheme began, together with the numbers placed in employment each year, and the present numbers which are awaiting employment.

The number of registered disabled persons recorded at offices in the County Borough of Birkenhead are in Table 2 below. There are no records before April, 1947, of numbers placed in employment, and Table 3 gives the annual figures since that date.The number of disabled persons unemployed at 22nd May, 1956, was:

asked the Minister of Labour the percentage of the insured population now registered as unemployed in each of the six North Wales counties, together with the percentage for Wales and the United Kingdom, respectively.

At 14th May, 1956, the figures were 8·1 per cent. for Anglesey, 3·7 per cent. for Caernarvonshire, 1·9 per cent. for Denbighshire, 1·4 per cent. for Flintshire, 1·9 per cent. for Merionethshire and 1·4 per cent. for Montgomeryshire. Corresponding figures for Wales and the United Kingdom were 1·9 and 1·2 per cent., respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new Auxiliary Fire Service mobile pump appliances have been issued for training purposes and how many crews are available to man them; and if he will circularise fire authorities recommending that, in the event of future large outbreaks of moorland fires and flood emergencies, the Auxiliary Fire Service should be mobilised to assist the regular brigades and provide opportunities for experience in the use of the mobile equipment.

701 new self-propelled pumps have been issued for use in training regular and auxiliary members of fire brigades in emergency fire fighting and on 30th April, 1956, the strength of auxiliary firemen in England and Wales was 14,989. Where practicable fire authorities arrange for auxiliary firemen to attend fires with regular members of the brigade in order to gain experience in fire fighting, and I am informed that under such arrangements auxiliary firemen have rendered useful service in the recent heath and moorland fires. Most auxiliary firemen however are at work during the day and would not be available to assist in fire fighting. I do not consider that any further advice from the Home Office about this is necessary.

asked the Minister of Education (1) how many school children in the six North Wales counties have been ascertained by local education authorities as being in need of speech therapy;

There are about 570 school children in North Wales in need of speech therapy. Rather more than 200 of them are already receiving treatment from therapists employed by some of the local education authorities in the area.

asked the Minister of Education what have been the numbers of adequately qualified applicants for technical State scholarships in each of the last five years, respectively.

The numbers of candidates who satisfied the minimum conditions of entry to the competition in each of the last five years were as follows:

asked the Prime Minister whether the statement made on 16th May by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in relation to defence expenditure represents the policy of Her Majesty's Government.

My right hon. Friend, in his address to the Foreign Press Association on 16th May, pointed out some of the problems for the United Kingdom economy of our present defence expenditure: but he made no statement of policy on this subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) for which countries import licences are required in respect of imports of exposed films from abroad;(2) on what date he ceased to require importers of exposed films from Germany to apply for import licences.

Individual licences are still required for the import of exposed film, other than news films, from countries in the dollar area, Soviet bloc countries, Argentina, Japan and Korea; below is a full list of the countries concerned. Such licences ceased to be required for the import of exposed film from all other non-sterling countries, including Western Germany, on 2nd November, 1955.

The full list of countries for which import licences are still required for exposed film (other than news films) is as follows:

Albania, Argentina, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador. Germany (Russian Zone), Guatemala, Haiti, Republic of Honduras, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Liberia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Roumania, United States of America, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Venezuela.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has now received adequate information from all sections of the fishing industry upon which to base the new White Fish Subsidy Scheme, due to operate from 1st August.

Full consultation is taking place with representative organisations of the fishermen and in general a good deal of information is available upon which to base the new Scheme. I am disappointed, however, that in England and Wales only a small number of the inshore fishermen in receipt of subsidy have been able to furnish useful information about earnings and costs.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will be in a position to make a statement on the future status of persons holding university appointments in the Provincial Agricultural Economics Service.

Although I am closely concerned with the work done by the staff of the Provincial Agricultural Economics Service and with the financial arrangements made for this, they are university employees and their status is therefore primarily a matter for the universities themselves. A review of the existing arrangements is now proceeding with the aim of improving the status of many of the staff. I regret that I cannot forecast when it will be concluded.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make available to Parliament the Report of the Commissioner on the public inquiry into the Egg Marketing Scheme, 1956.

Reports of Commissioners appointed under the Agricultural Marketing Acts to hold public inquiries are made to Ministers and it has been the practice to treat them as confidential. My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary of State for Scotland, and I will, however, consider the question of publication of the Report of the public inquiry into objections to the egg marketing scheme after we have received it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the countries of origin from which the Navy rum ration is obtained; and what proportion of this comes from British Guiana.

The countries of origin from which Navy rum is obtained are British Guiana, Trinidad, Barbados, South Africa and Australia. The proportion obtained from British Guiana is 60 per cent.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will now introduce legislation to authorise unemployment pay for all men now working only three or four days weekly.

My right hon. Friend has at present no legislative proposals to bring forward on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion the expenditure on police and fire services bears to the total rate expenditure of local authorities in Scotland; and what he estimates the figure would be if street lighting were included.

For 1949–50, the latest year for which complete data are available, the proportion was 9 per cent. for police and fire services taken together, and 14 per cent. including street lighting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what United Kingdom delegates attended the South Pacific Conference at Suva; what instructions were given regarding the fighting of alcoholism in Colonial Territories; and what recommendations were made.

This Conference, was held under the Chairmanship of Sir Ronald Garvey, Governor of Fiji and Senior Commissioner for the United Kingdom on the South Pacific Commission. The delegates were appointed by the territories within the scope of the Commission.Those attending from the British Dependencies were:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Africans in Government employment in Tanganyika, Uganda and Kenya, respectively, have received training in Great Britain in the last five years; and what steps he is taking to extend these training facilities.

The figures which the hon. Member requests are not immediately available for Africans alone. I will send them to him as soon as they can be assembled.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will place in the Library a copy of the Mallam Said (Deportation and Detention) Ordinances (Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria) No. 18 of 1924, and also copies of the evidence upon which this special Ordinance was passed for the detention of a single untried individual, in view of the fact that this man is still detained.

I have placed in the Library copies of the Mallam Said (Deportation and Detention) Ordinance, 1924, and of the Mallam Said (Removal to Kano) Orders, 1945 and 1955.The Ordinance was passed because of evidence received that Mallam Said, the son of the leader in Nigeria of the Mandist movement, was planning in 1923 to lead with his followers a Mandist rising. A copy of the evidence is not available. Mallam Said has not been detained in physical custody since the Ordinance was made and is not detained now. Under the 1955 Order the only restriction on his movement is that he may not visit the Provinces of Adamawa, Bauchi and Bornu.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is his policy regarding internal marketing in Nyasaland, particularly with respect to the Cotton Board.

1 assume that the hon. Member is referring to the former Cotton Marketing Board, the functions of which have been taken over, since 1st March, 1956, by the Agricultural Production and Marketing Board. So long as internal marketing remains a territorial function, radical changes in the present arrangements are not contemplated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the reason for the delay in introducing the promised legislation to authorise the Colonial Development Corporation to undertake or finance certain categories of public works in Colonial Territories.

It is certainly th. hope of Her Majesty's Government to introduce legislation this Session-provided, as I hope it will, time permits.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board not to use road haulage for the transport of coal where facilities for transport by rail or waterway are available.

No. Collieries are in fact laid out to move the bulk of output by rail. Facilities for loading road vehicles are limited and, where they are available, their use is in the last resort for the buyer to determine.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what have been the amounts paid in lieu of rates in England and Wales by the British Transport Commission and the British Electricity Authority for each of the financial years since 1950–51.

The amounts paid or to be paid in lieu of rates by the British Transport Commission and the Central Electricity Authority for each of the financial years 1950–51 to 1956–57 were as follows: