asked the Minister of Supply what rents his Department is charging in leases granted to Standard Motors for factory space.

Rents of Ministry factories are based on open market value assessed by the Government's valuers. But it is not the practice to publish the rents paid by individual lessees of Government-owned properties.

asked the Minister of Supply how much public money has been spent on the supply of military aircraft in the eight years since 1948.

The total spent in the eight years ended 31st March, 1956, on the production of military aircraft, including spares, was about £1,177 millions.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the comments in paragraph 267 of the Medical Research Council's Report on the hazards to man of nuclear and allied radiations concerning the risks of exposure to X-rays through effects of radiation, he will order a review into the present practice of diagnostic radiology.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 12th June to my right hon. Friend the Member for Kelvingrove (Mr. Elliot).

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that due to the continued depreciation in the purchasing value of the £, the National Health Service has made in effect a financial cut in its annual budget; and if he will arrange for increased finance to be made available so as to increase the income of the service by 1s. 6d. in the £.

The amount provided from the Exchequer for the National Health Service in the Estimates for the current financial year is substantially more than in the previous year. Moreover, an assurance has been given to hospital authorities that, if necessary, Parliament will be asked to provide additional sums to meet the cost of wage awards and price changes for which provision has not already been made.

asked the Minister of Health what was the number of motor invalid tricycles withdrawn from loan and scrapped during each of the last five years; and what was the average age of the vehicles when scrapped.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health what was the cost of insuring motor invalid tricycles during each of the last five years.

The amounts for Great Britain and Northern Ireland were respectively £21,150; £29,100; £27,950; £29,600 and £28,650.

asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to withdraw the recommendation given to the public to burn tablets and pills when the need for taking them is over, as the adoption of this advice has led to an explosion, details of which have been sent to him.

No general recommendation has been made to the public, but advice about the disposal of surplus drugs has been given to professional and other organisations on request. In view of the information given by the hon. Lady I am arranging for this advice to be reviewed, and I am grateful to her for raising the matter.

asked the Minister of Health what supplies of anti-polio vaccine he has in stock; whether it is sufficient to vaccinate all the children who desire it; how many children have been vaccinated; how many are on the waiting list; whether all health authorities are participating in the scheme; and what steps are being taken to increase the supply of vaccine.

Two litres; approximately 200,000 children in Great Britain will have been vaccinated by the end of June; a further 1,700,000 children have been registered for vaccination and will be given priority when vaccination is resumed in the autumn; all but two local authorities have participated; I understand that several manufacturers have plans for starting or increasing production of the vaccine.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make a statement in respect of the case of Mrs. Thornton who has been detained in a mental home for the past three years, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Erith and Crayford; and if a decision has yet been reached in regard to the request for an independent medical investigation.

This lady was received into Cane Hill Hospital on 1st April, 1953, under the authority of a summary reception order made by a justice of the peace for the County of London. The documents relating to her case conformed with statutory requirements and showed that she was clearly in need of care and treatment in a mental hospital. She has recently been sent upon trial to an aftercare hostel with a view to testing her fitness for discharge. The relative who has applied for an independent medical examination has been advised of the statutory procedure.

asked the Minister of Health how many domiciliary births were recorded in the Urban District Council of Rugeley, Staffordshire, for 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, and 1955.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health what was the number of dental students entering the profession in each of the last three years.

The numbers of students entering English dental schools in the academic years 1953–54, 1954–55 and 1955–56 were 322, 406 and 501 respectively.

asked the Minister of Health how many revaccinations were performed by public vaccinators in each of the years 1898 to 1946.

The following is the information asked for, as far as it is available:1. Figures included in the first Annual Report of the Ministry of Health (Cmd. 923):

Year ended in September	…	…	…	…	Number of successful revaccinations by public vaccinators
1898	…	…	…	…	22,858
1899	…	…	…	…	7,745
1900	…	…	…	…	31,290
1901	…	…	…	…	19,869
1902	…	…	…	…	1,024,213
1903	…	…	…	…	318,528
1904	…	…	…	…	95,613
1905	…	…	…	…	64,176
1906	…	…	…	…	21,670
1907	…	…	…	…	18,107
1908	…	…	…	…	18,198
1909	…	…	…	…	20,263
1910	…	…	…	…	17,556
1911	…	…	…	…	27,427
1912	…	…	…	…	14,286
1913	…	…	…	…	14,608
1914	…	…	…	…	13,651
1915	No figures available.
1916	No figures available.
1917	No figures available.
1918	…	…	…	…	33,635
1919	…	…	…	…	16,052

2. Figures included in Annual Reports of the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry:

Year ended December					Number of revaccinations reported by public vaccinators
1919	(December quarter)				1,910
1920	…	…	…	…	16,896
1921	…	…	…	…	22,595
1922	…	…	…	…	170,921
1923	…	…	…	…	195,266
1924	…	…	…	…	43,158
1925	…	…	…	…	35,377
1926	…	…	…	…	58,897
1927	…	…	…	…	103,977
1928	…	…	…	…	150,227
1929	…	…	…	…	101,912
1930	…	…	…	…	45,359
1931	…	…	…	…	16,534
1932	…	…	…	…	17,775
1933	…	…	…	…	10,152
1934	…	…	…	…	15,889
1935	…	…	…	…	11,021
1936	…	…	…	…	12,572
1937	…	…	…	…	11,622

This information is not available for the years 1938 to 1946.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will make a statement on the recommendation of the Committee on the Medical Care of Epileptics that the epileptic colonies should become part of the National Health Service.

I do not propose to promote legislation for this purpose. I am, however, commending to regional hospital boards the Committee's alternative proposal that they should make contractual arrangements with the colonies for rehabilitation services.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in the special circumstances of Mr. J. S. Mitchell, 2, Saint Peters Avenue, Lincoln, he can be provided urgently with a motor-propelled invalid vehicle which he was told on 16th May could not be obtained for two or three months.

I understand that it is hoped to deliver Mr. Mitchell's machine within the next two weeks.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent redundant beds in chest hospitals in the south-west region, due to the decline in tuberculosis, are being filled by patients suffering from non-tuberculous respiratory disease.

The Regional Hospital Board has increased facilities for surgical treatment of non-tuberculous patients in the chest hospitals. Whilst no redundant beds have yet been specifically allotted for the medical treatment of such patients, the matter is at present under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations he has made to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations regarding the expulsion of the desert locust team from Jiddah by the Saudi-Arabian Government.

On 7th April Her Majesty's representative in Jedda was asked by the Saudi Arabian Government to withdraw the British Desert Locust Team. On 12th April Her Majesty's Ambassador in Rome was instructed to ask the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to represent to the Saudi Arabian Government that the British team was a unit in an international campaign, and that its withdrawal might seriously affect the continuity and effectiveness of this campaign.I understand that the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations did communicate to this effect with the Saudi Arabian Government, but I have no information that it received any reply to this representation.The Acting Director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has also expressed to Her Majesty's Government his appreciation of the major part played in the past by the British team and his regret that the Saudi Arabian Government has asked for its withdrawal.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the deliberations in May, 1956, of the International Law Commission at Geneva on the traditional conception of the freedom of the seas; on the right to fish them; on the proposals relating to compulsory arbitration in international fisheries disputes; on the views expressed and action taken there by the British Government representative on that Commission; and on the decisions arrived at by that Commission.

As I pointed out in reply to a Question by the hon. and learned Member on 18th June, there is no British Government representative on the International Law Commission. Members of the Commission are elected by the General Assembly of the United Nations, and sit in an individual capacity.The deliberations of the Commission have not yet ended, but in due course the results will be published by the Commission in the form of a series of draft articles on the régime of territorial and high seas. It is hoped that these draft articles will be considered by the General Assembly in November.The views of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom on the matters referred to in the hon. and learned Member's Question are contained in the documents referred to in my answer of 18th June and in a further document which I have placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement about the future status and treatment of non-Germans who suffered Nazi persecution, in view of the recent decision by the German Parliament and Her Majesty's Government's obligations in this respect.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what further representations have been made to the Federal Government of Germany by Her Majesty's Government about the refusal of the German Parliament to implement the obligation voluntarily undertaken by the Federal Government in the Bonn Agreements so to amend the law for the compensation of victims of Nazism as to include people persecuted on account of their nationality or national resistance.

Her Majesty's Government have these matters very much in mind. Her Majesty's Government have made their views known to the Federal German Government at various times in the past. Since the passage of the new legislation, Her Majesty's Government have drawn the attention of the Federal Government to the fact that the problem of compensation of persons of Allied nationality who were victims of National Socialism has not been settled. Her Majesty's Government are now considering, in conjunction with other Governments, what further steps might be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what further discussions have taken place with France on the proposal to form an atomic energy authority, known as Euratom, within the last week; and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent discussions with the French Government on Euratom and related matters.

During an informal discussion on 15th June between my right hon. Friend the Minister of State and Monsieur Maurice Faure, representing the French Government, the respective views of Her Majesty's Government and of the French Government were set out. Monsieur Faure explained the proposed scope of Euratom, and was informed of our readiness to consider association with it within the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation framework.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what negotiations are now proceeding for the payment of compensation, as promised at the time of the 1954 Agreement with Egypt, to those British subjects dismissed from their employment without proper termination of contract by the Egyptian Government.

In accordance with the Exchange of Letters annexed to the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement, the Egyptian Government set up a Commission to assess the amount of reparation which the British officials who were dismissed from Egyptian Government employment in 1951 could have obtained in a court of law. I understand that the Commission has recently completed its task and that its recommendations have been submitted to the Egyptian Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why he will not invite a Parliamentary delegation from China to visit this country as guests of Her Majesty's Government.

I am advised that a full programme of Parliamentary visits has already been arranged.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what has been the decrease in the purchasing power of the basic retirement pension since the introduction of the legislation granting the last increase and since the date of the first payment of that increase.

On the basis of the Retail Prices Index, 3s. 0d., and 2s. 8d., from December, 1954, and April, 1955, respectively.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what reply he has sent to the resolution of the Old Age Pensioners Association, which has been forwarded to him, calling for a pension of £3 per week plus a bonus based on the rise in prices since 1951.

No such communication has yet reached me.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the present position of the distribution of Japenese assets among former British prisoners-of-war in Japanese hands.

The closing date for applications for a share of the assets realised in the United Kingdom under Article 14 of the Peace Treaty with Japan was 31st March last. Over 58,000 payments have been made to former prisoners of war and civilian internees, or their widows, orphans or parents.As regards the distribution of assets under Article 16 of the Treaty, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Norwood (Sir J. Smyth) on 15th June.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance why the National Assistance Board at Cardiff refused to assist a person, whose full name has been supplied to him, despite the fact that he was unemployed.

The National Assistance Board informs me that the person in question was not considered to be in need of assistance at the time he applied for it. I am writing to the hon. Member giving him the details of the case.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is aware of the continuing incidence of accidental burns from gas and electric fires purchased before October, 1954; and whether he will issue a general direction to the gas and electricity boards to display and sell guards at their premises.

It is true that accidents continue to occur where old and unguarded gas and electric fires are in use. My right hon. Friend is informed that all gas boards hold for sale stocks of guards suitable for most of the unguarded fires in use and that their showrooms and other staffs are instructed to draw the attention of users to the importance of fixing guards. My right hon. Friend is informed that electricity boards also hold guards for sale and bring these arrangements to the notice of users. He therefore does not consider that a general direction of the kind suggested is necessary.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if the proposed legislation to compensate for loss of playing fields and other social amenities destroyed by opencast coal mining will be retrospective; and if he can now state when this legislation will be introduced.

Compensation is already payable to owners and occupiers of playing fields and other social amenities requisitioned for opencast coal mining in accordance with the Compensation (Defence) Act, 1939, and amending legislation, and my right hon. Friend does not think that there is any present need for new legislation on this point.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken on the resolution passed by the Conference of the Prison Officers' Association and referred to the Whitley Council calling upon the Prison Commissioners to review the conditions of service for prison officers with a view to attracting more recruits into the service.

The Whitley Council has not yet been asked to consider any of the resolutions passed at this year's Conference of the Prison Officers' Association. If any representations are made about conditions of service the Official Side of the Council will of course consider them very carefully.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the increase in the number of convictions for drunkenness of girls under the age of 21 years; and whether he will introduce legislation to require them to be put on probation unless the court is satisfied that there are good reasons for not doing so.

The provisional figure for convictions of drunkenness of girls under the age of twenty-one years in England and Wales in 1955 is 234. This is thirteen more than in 1954. I have no reason to think that courts do not use probation wherever it is desirable in these cases, and there are strong objections to the wholly exceptional course of fettering the discretion of courts in the manner proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to enable magistrates' courts, even when they are sitting as examining magistrates, to disqualify, automatically, persons brought before them on charges of dangerous driving whilst under the influence of drink, pending their trial by a higher court, since no question of prejudging a case would arise if such disqualification were automatic pending a higher hearing on this charge, and such automatic disqualification would serve as a further deterrent.

It would be objectionable to compel examining justices to impose what would amount to a penalty in advance of the trial, and I know of no grounds for thinking that an amendment of the law in this sense is required.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will now give a general direction to the British Transport Commission not to raise transport charges for the next 12 months, in view of the action taken by other nationalised industries.

No. The British Transport Commission is at the moment holding its charges steady and has done so since March. Any future decisions must depend on the plans now being worked out to improve the financial position of the Commission.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will ask the Road Research Laboratory to investigate the possibilities of further one-way operation in Central London.

I am proposing to undertake a full technical investigation of this question within my Department, in the course of which I shall hope to profit from the advice and experience amongst others of the Road Research Laboratory.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will make it obligatory for all owners of cars examined at vehicle testing stations to have a suppressor fitted in their cars before receiving a certificate of road worthiness.

No. The scheme requiring ten year old vehicles to undergo a compulsory test is for the sole purpose of promoting road safety, and it would be undesirable to extend its scope as suggested by my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what date juvenile prisoners and detainees in Kenya were transferred from hard labour duties in stonebreaking and brick-making, including the carrying of pise blocks and supplies of mud, to lighter gardening duties.

There has been no such transfer. As I said during the debate on 6th June, in practice the hardest work for young persons sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour is cultivating vegetables. The estimated maximum weight of pise blocks and loads of earth they carry is 15 lb., a weight considerably less than they are accustomed to carrying. Building work with such materials is not in fact heavier than breaking ground for cultivation. Young persons have not been employed on stone breaking or chipping for gravel. Detainees are not sentenced to hard labour.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the minimum age at which unaccompanied children can be kept in detention camps in Kenya.

There is no minimum age established by law. One boy aged 12 and thirty boys aged 13 are in two camps for youthful detainees run on the lines of approved schools.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many persons were employed, and at what cost to public funds, in the county agricultural committees in 1955 and 1938, respectively.

The War Agricultural Executive Committees only existed in skeleton form in 1938 and had no staff.The paid staff of County Agricultural Executive Committees in 1955–56 averaged 4,500, and the cost of their wages and salaries was £2,363,605.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the amount of home-produced beef sold each month last year and so far this year.

The following table shows the estimated production of beef from animals slaughtered in the United Kingdom each month from January, 1955, to April, 1956, the latest date for which figures are available:—

			'000 tons
——		1955	1956
*January	…	79·6	70·7
February	…	60·5	58·4
March	…	51·8	55·7
*April	…	57·2	70·1
May	…	43·4
June	…	42·6
*July	…	48·5
August	…	46·1
September	…	52·7
*October	…	72·1
November	…	60·1
December	…	53·0
* Five-week period.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many persons were employed in the Education and Advisory Services Division of his Department in 1955; at what cost; and how many farmers sought the advice of this division during 1955.

The number of persons employed in the Education and Advisory Services of my Department during 1955–56 averaged 2,440 (including 64 industrial workers and approximately 470 farm workers at experimental farms and horticulture stations). The cost of their salaries and wages was £2,054,607.No record is kept of the number of farmers who seek advice, but in 1954–55, the latest year for which figures are available, over 370,000 advisory visits to farms and holdings and nearly 120,000 visits for other purposes, when advice was also given, were made by officers of the National Agricultural Advisory Service. In addition many farmers visit the experimental stations and attend demonstrations, lectures and other similar activities.

asked the Secretary of State for Air, since the crash of the Valetta aircraft at Tom's Hill on 6th January, 1954, and the interview which his predecessor had with the parents of the late Pilot Officer Anthony Purcell, what changes have been made in the giving of information to next of kin, the facilities for next of kin to attend hospitals, funerals or inquests, the facilities for members of the public to attend inquests which are held on Royal Air Force stations, and the conduct of official inquiries and the information which is given to the public.

The matters referred to by the hon. Member have been carefully reviewed but no changes have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Air, whether a decision has yet been reached regarding the specification for an initial jet trainer for the Royal Air Force; and whether he will make a statement.

I regret that I am not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the total sum given to the Basildon Development Corporation since its inception by way of grants for expenditure not properly chargeable to the capital account.

Approximately £272,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to issue a circular to local authorities about implementing the Agriculture (Improvement of Roads) Act, 1955.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 19th June to a Question on this subject by the hon. and gallant Member for Berwick and East Lothian (Sir W. Anstruther-Gray.)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of electors voted at local government elections in Scotland in the years 1900 to 1955 inclusive.

I regret that information about the proportion of electors voting at local government elections in Scotland before 1945 is not available. The percentages of the electorate voting in contested ordinary local government elections between 1945 and 1955 are as follows:

Nov., 1945	…	…	50·9
Nov., 1946	…	…	44·8
Nov., 1947	…	…	55·1
May, 1949	…	…	52·1
May, 1950	…	…	44·2
May, 1951	…	…	42·2
May, 1952	…	…	49·6
May, 1953	…	…	41·6
May, 1954	…	…	41·9
May, 1955	…	…	43·7

The figures for 1945, 1949, 1952 and 1955, relate to town and county council elections, those for the other years to town council elections only.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total expenditure of local authorities in Scotland for the years 1900 to 1955, inclusive, and the amount of Government grants paid in each of those years.

The total expenditure of local authorities in Scotland, other than out of loans for capital works, for each of the years 1900–01 to 1954–55, and the amount of Government grants paid in each of those years, is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why a London firm rather than a Scottish firm was awarded the first contract by the Development Corporation for developing the new town centre at East Kilbride.

Inquiries made by the Corporation showed that no Scottish firm was prepared to undertake development of the scale and type required in this particular case.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware of a fatal accident which occurred at Harelaw Crossroads, Lanark, on 16th June; and whether he has yet received an application from the Lanark County Council indicating when they wish to begin the construction of a roundabout at this crossroads.

Yes. On 8th June Lanarkshire County Council applied to my Department for a grant towards expenditure in connection with the provision of a roundabout at Harelaw crossroads. The grant was authorised on 18th June.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that some companies are years behind in filing their annual returns at the Companies' Registry, thus causing much inconvenience to persons and organisations having an interest in the returns; and whether he will adopt the pre-war practice of sending out reminders to companies which fail to comply with their legal obligations in this regard.

Because of staff shortages and accommodation difficulties and the great increase since the war in the number of companies on the register, the Registrar of Companies has not been able fully to restore the pre-war practice. Reminders are sent promptly to all public and recently-formed private companies which are in arrear with their annual returns. Long arrears exist only in a small proportion of the remaining, cases and these are being overtaken.

asked the Secretary of State for War the number of persons in the Regular Army, the Regular Army Reserve, and the Territorial Army who are qualified as first- and second-class interpreters in Russian; and the number who have passed their preliminary interpretership examinations, respectively.

I regret that it would not be in the public interest to give this information.

asked the Secretary of State for War the average period during which British Regular officers are at present seconded for service with the Trucial Oman Levies or Oman Scouts; and if he will consider extending such seconded service to three or four years, especially in the case of officers who have qualified as interpreters in Arabic.

For health and other reasons, the initial tour is eighteen months, but applications to remain with this force for a further tour can be made.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) to make a statement on the forest fire in Cyprus this week as a result of which a large number of British soldiers, including Gordon Highlanders, were killed and injured, giving the names of the killed and injured and the units to which they belonged;(2) to make a statement indicating how the forest fire, this week, in Cyprus started and spread; what steps were taken to limit and extinguish it; and what steps are being taken to prevent a recurrence of this kind of occurrence which exposes British soldiers to unexpected risks.

This is the season of forest fires in Cyprus and there have been several during the last few weeks. The fire which caused this tragedy had been burning for 24 hours and was being fought both by soldiers and by civilian fire fighters. An inquiry is being held into the accident and I cannot say more at present.I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my deep sympathy with the relatives of all those who were killed or injured in the fire.Details of the casualties are: