asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will arrange payment of the subsidy so as to ensure a steady flow of home-grown barley to the markets, paying special attention to the difficulties of small farmers who have no storage space, and so have to sell their barley when the prices may be at their lowest.

The present acreage payment arrangements which are appropriate for barley, where a substantial part of the crop is retained by growers, preclude the use of a standard price with a seasonal scale.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in view of the large amount of grain grown in the Gainsborough area, he will consider including the Ropley Road silo in the lists of those open for competitive tender.

I am afraid the Gainsborough silo is one of a number required for the storage of Government stocks.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is aware that one of the most closely-guarded secrets of the last war is published in a book entitled "Escape", written by Mr. Aidan Crawley, namely, the actual figures of escapers who escaped to freedom from enemy prison camps; that these figures could only have been obtained from secret War Office intelligence sources; under what circumstances the book was passed for publication by the requisite Services committee and given security clearance; and if special permission was given to the author to publish the book under his own name and to disclose the figures in regard to escapers.

The manuscript of Mr. Crawley's book was referred to the Air Ministry before publication. It contained no classified information, nor was there any security objection to the disclosure of the author's identity.

asked the Minister of Defence if he is aware that the call-up of agricultural workers for 15 days' reserve training is giving rise to difficulties; and if he will consider granting exemption to such workers.

The substantial reductions in part-time training requirements announced in the White Paper on National Service (Command 9608) will mean that the demands made by the Services on agricultural workers are considerably less than in previous years. The Service Departments are willing to consider sympathetically any application to change dates of training on the ground of serious hardship to a reservist or his employer. I regret, however, that exemption cannot be granted to all agricultural workers called up for their National Service part-time training.

asked the Minister of Education if he is now able to make a statement on his intentions with regard to the recommendations of the Report of the Committee on Maladjusted Children.

I should like to thank the Committee for its Report and to express my appreciation of its balanced approach to the task it was set. I particularly welcome its remarks on the normal development of children, the responsibilities of parents and the importance of prevention. I shall consider carefully with my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and the Minister of Health how the services for which we are responsible can best work together to promote the sound development of children within the family and prevent maladjustment from arising.I agree in general with the Committee's proposals on child guidance and special educational treatment. The rate at which these proposals can be carried out will depend on the availability of trained staff and on the extent to which we find it possible to finance developments of this kind. I am, however, considering at once with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health the possibility of issuing some guidance on the organisation of the Child Guidance Service and on the training of staff for it.Advice will be given to local education authorities on the provision of special educational treatment for maladjusted children. I agree with the Committee that more use should be made of day special schools and classes, and that residential treatment should be provided only if there is no prospect of treating the child successfully if he stays at home.I hope to issue shortly a circular about the training of teachers of the handicapped. I shall also examine further, with my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and Minister of Health, the recommendations about training of house staff, and about after-care; some of these would need legislation.The Committee has also recommended that, as from a given date, maladjusted pupils should be maintained by authorities in independent schools only if they are recognised by me as efficient. I wish to consider this further, but application for such recognition can already be made.

asked the Minister of Education (1) what facilities are to be made available to the Students Union Council in the extensions to the Cardiff College of Technology and Commerce;(2) what extensions he has authorised, or is considering, to the Cardiff College of Technology and Commerce.

I have agreed with the Cardiff local education authority that the Civic Centre site should be developed for advanced studies in pharmacy, chemistry and biology, and for communal facilities. The authority is considering what these facilities should be.

asked the Minister of Education how many unfilled posts are expected in secondary schools in England and Wales in September, 1956; and what evidence he has to show that the Burnham Committee recommendations which, with the higher superannuation contributions, will increase the basic starting salary by only 4·4 per cent. and the graduate's starting salary by only 8·4 per cent., will prove adequate in recruiting the necessary numbers of properly qualified men teachers.

I do not have the information asked for in the first part of the Question. All the places in teacher training colleges are filled for next September and it remains to be seen whether applications from men for places for September, 1957, will increase. It is also impossible to say whether more men graduates will take up teaching as a result of the new Burnham scales if they are approved.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Members of Parliament have not drawn the salaries to which they were entitled as Members during each of the last five financial years; and how many are not drawing such salaries now.

The information is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Members of Parliament entitled to the sessional allowance have failed to draw it in each financial year since it was instituted; and how many are not drawing it now.

The number of Members entitled to the sessional allowance who drew no allowance during the financial years 1954-55 and 1955-56 was 117 and 45 respectively. The number drawing no allowance on 20th June, 1956, was 31.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement about the rates of interest chargeable to local authorities borrowing from the Local Loans Fund.

A Treasury Minute made today provides that loans advanced to local authorities from the Local Loans Fund on and after 23rd June, 1956, shall carry the following rates of interest:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the decision to return to the Federal Government the German Foreign Office documents at present held in this country, if he will give an assurance that so long as the official publication of these documents is continued in this country it will continue to be conducted on the same principles of accuracy and impartiality as has hitherto been the case.

I am glad to give the assurance required. The publication of the German Foreign Office documents was initiated under an Inter-Governmental Agreement which provides that the editors, all of them distinguished historians in whom we have great confidence, should have complete independence in the selection and editing of the documents.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when microfilms of the principal captured German Admiralty and army documents will be available to historians in this country.

This question concerns not only Her Majesty's Government but also the United States Government, which is joint custodian of the captured German archives and holds the German Army documents. It is the intention of the two Governments that the principal documents should be microfilmed and that microfilms should ultimately be made available to historians. I can however give no assurance about the date by which this process will be completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will contribute towards the expenses of the Continuing Committee of Members of Parliament from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries.

Subject to the approval of Parliament, Her Majesty's Government propose to make a grant-In-aid of £2,000 towards the expenses of the Continuing Committee for the period ending 30th June, 1957. This amount will be included in the Supplementary Estimate to be laid before Parliament in July. In anticipation of the Supplementary Estimate advances will be made from the Civil Contingencies Fund.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction which exists in the County Hospital, Lincoln, and in hospitals generally because foreign-trained physiotherapists are paid only £425 per annum while British trained physiotherapists are receiving £462 10s. 0d. per annum; and whether he will make a statement.

Yes. Guidance will shortly be issued to hospital authorities that foreign-trained physiotherapists employed as assistants in physiotherapy departments who are now paid at the rate of £425 a year should receive an increase of £37 10s. a year.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of tuberculosis cases in Wales requiring sheltered employment; and what provision is made for them.

In the most recent analysis by disability of unemployed disabled persons taken in April, 1955, there were nineteen tuberculous persons in Wales registered at local offices of the Ministry as unlikely to get employment except under sheltered conditions.Local authorities have power under the National Health Service Act, 1946, and the National Assistance Act, 1948, to provide sheltered employment for the tuberculous and Remploy Ltd. has similar powers under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, 1944.Provision of sheltered employment specifically for tuberculous persons in Wales consists of one workshop run by a voluntary organisation, employing nineteen tuberculous persons. This receives grants from the local authority and the Ministry of Labour.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of applications from Kent for deferment of National Service for agricultural reasons during 1955 and the number granted; and what proportion the successful applications over the whole of England and Wales bear to the total number of applications made.

The number of valid applications for the deferment of agricultural workers dealt with by the National Service Deferment Board at Maidstone during 1955 was 105 of which 81 (77 per cent.) were allowed. The corresponding figures for England and Wales are 8,826 and 8,213 (93 per cent.) respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans have been submitted to him regarding a nuclear power station being built in Scotland by the South of Scotland Electricity Board.

I understand that the Board is giving preliminary consideration to the possibility of building a station but no formal proposal has yet been submitted.

asked the Minister of Supply if the Hunting-Percival research helicopter, the contract for the construction of which was placed by his Department with this firm in 1951, has yet started flying; when its ground-running trials were commenced and completed; and if he will discontinue use of public funds to finance further research into the possibilities of this new form of helicopter propulsion.

The helicopter has not flown yet; ground running trials commenced on 29th April and are not yet complete. There will be no further Government support for the project, beyond the limited programme of which I informed my hon. and gallant Friend in reply to his Question of 2nd March.