asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many ships are being built in this country as a result of the orders negotiated by the Soviet Minister, Kabanov, in 1954, which listed 126 ships being wanted at an estimated value of £120 millions; and, since many of these ships were not on the strategic list, what steps he is taking to encourage British shipbuilders to undertake these Soviet orders in the interests of the export trade.

Mr. Kabanov, Soviet Minister of Foreign Trade, did not negotiate orders but presented a list of ships in which his Government were interested. Some British firms would be glad to build certain types and are still in touch with Moscow, but the Russian Government have not as yet placed orders. The attention of the shipbuilding industry has been drawn to the advantages of negotiating Russian orders.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty in view of the threat of redundancy to workers at the ship repairing and shipbuilding yards of Messrs. Hill, Bristol, because of the suspension of work on H.M.S. "Recruit" which has been undergoing refit, if he will offer other work to this yard.

The number of ships which can be refitted this year is limited, and I regret that we are unlikely to be able to place another ship with Messrs. Hill in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for Air when, since official records have been kept, there has been a shortage of rainfall similar to that experienced in the 18 months to June of this year.

Since 1870, there have been seven drier 18-month periods in England and Wales and nine in Scotland. If 18-month periods beginning in December only are considered, the figures are three and three.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what were the results of the Royal Air Force survey party which visited Coetivy Island in the Seychelles during November and December, 1955, to investigate the possibilities of an air strip; and whether he will consider favourably the establishment of an air base there, bearing in mind the unemployment of ex-Service men in the islands.

The report of the Survey Party is being studied.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if, in view of the rapid progress made by Nottingham City Corporation with the new bridge crossing the River Trent, near Clifton, to permit freer flow of traffic from London to the north, he will now sanction the approach road schemes, which will ensure effective results from this project.

I am unable at present to say when it will be possible to include this scheme in the roads programme.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is yet in a position to announce plans for improving the flow of traffic over Tower Bridge and London Bridge.

Schemes to improve traffic conditions at the approaches to both bridges are under consideration with the authorities concerned.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the present position with regard to the widening of the Sinderby Bridge and approaches in Yorkshire; and whether he will now give an approximate date by which the work should be completed.

Orders required under the Special Roads Act, 1949, and the Trunk Roads Act, 1946, have now been made, and negotiations for land acquisition are proceeding satisfactorily. It is expected that work on the scheme will start in the next few months and it is estimated that it will be completed towards the end of 1958.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many applicants for driving tests are on the waiting list at the Middlesbrough Centre; what is the average waiting time; and what action is being taken to improve the position.

About 1,600 people are waiting to be tested and the waiting period is 10 to 11 weeks. Pending the recruitment of additional staff, examiners are working overtime to keep the delay as short as possible.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to give instructions for a special notice to be given to recipients of provisional driving licences pointing out the dangers and responsibilities of L-drivers using vehicles without being accompanied and thus invalidating insurance cover.

The conditions under which the holder of a provisional licence is entitled to drive are very clearly set out on the back of his driving licence, and are, I think, universally known. I understand that insurance cover is not necessarily invalidated in the situation described by my hon. Friend, and in the circumstances I do not think the issue of a warning notice is necessary.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many cases of suspected discharge of oil by vessels at sea have been spotted and reported by Royal Air Force and Royal Naval aircraft; and what action has been taken on such reports.

One hundred and eighty-eight in a little over four years. Most of these have been followed up with the Chamber of Shipping or direct with the owners, or in the case of foreign ships through the International Chamber of Shipping.

asked the Minister of Defence whether he will now state when he proposes to implement the recommendations of the Waverley Forces Medical and Dental Services Committee's Report, together with the supplementary note dated 1st February, 1956.

The Government's decisions on the proposals relating to the rates of pay of non-specialist medical and dental officers, as revised in the Supplementary Note of 1st February, appended to the Report, were announced in the White Paper on Service Pay and Pensions (Command 9692). I regret that it was not found possible to agree that in future the rates of pay of dental officers should be the same as those of medical officers. Many of the other recommendations in the First Report have already been put into effect. The few outstanding ones are still being examined.

asked the Minister of Defence what evidence he has regarding atomic devices exploded by other Powers and not detected by this country's instruments at the approximate time of explosion.

As I have indicated on several occasions, I have nothing to add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 28th February to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Warbey).

asked the Minister of Defence if he will make a statement on the future strategic rôle of Malta in the event of a nuclear war.

My hon. and gallant Friend will not expect me to go into detail about our war plans. I can, however, say that Malta will continue to be of importance as a U.K. and N.A.T.O. naval base and maritime headquarters.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether a reply has been received to the protest made by Her Majesty's Ambassador in Athens concerning the interception of a British European Airways Viscount aircraft by two Greek fighters on Monday, 18th June.

Yes. A reply from the Greek Government was received by Her Majesty's Ambassador in Athens on 28th June. A summary of its contents is given below. Her Majesty's Ambassador in Athens, in replying today to the Greek Note, welcomed the fact that disciplinary measures are to be taken against the pilot responsible for flying too close to the British European Airways airliner, since, regardless of his skill, he in fact endangered the lives of the crew and passengers of the aircraft concerned. In addition, Her Majesty's Ambassador's reply rebutted certain of the allegations made in the Greek Note and pointed out that it is contrary to international practice for an aircraft which has unwittingly left the air corridor to be treated as if it had flown in a prohibited area. The reply further suggested certain action by the Greek authorities which, in the opinion of Her Majesty's Ambassador and the representative of British European Airways would assist in avoiding such incidents in future.

A reply from the Greek Government was received by Her Majesty's Ambassador in Athens on 28th June. In its Note the Greek Government stated that military aircraft had been dispatched by the Greek authorities to intercept the British European Airways aircraft in accordance with a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation regulation providing for such investigations of aircraft flying outside the air corridors, in cases where the flight is not expected or announced and the nationality of the aircraft is unknown. The Note recognised, however, that one of the two Greek aircraft involved had passed unnecessarily close to the British European Airways aircraft and stated that disciplinary measures would be taken against the pilot responsible. The Note also claimed that the detention of the crew of the aircraft and the inspection of the aircraft and of the crew's baggage was justified by international regulations and Greek laws on this subject. The Commandant of the airport had nevertheless been requested to inquire into the conduct of the staff of the airport and to take action against any one responsible for causing unnecessary delay to the aircraft. In reply to the question raised in Her Majesty's Ambassador's Note on why the British European Airways aircraft concerned was not advised by the control post at the airport that it was outside the corridor, the Greek Note claimed that until the moment of identification, radio contact was impracticable and that once the identity of the aircraft had been established, it was so near to the airport that communication would have been superfluous.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now make proposals for a further relaxation of strategic controls on trade with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and countries of the Soviet bloc.

No. I have nothing to add to the reply given on 14th May by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State to the hon. Member for Shoreditch and Finsbury (Mr. Collins).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now make a statement on the Icelandic fisheries dispute.

As my right hon. and learned Friend told the House on 20th June, the discussions are in suspense. The new Icelandic Government has not yet been formed.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement about the Government's negotiations with Turkey on the question of Cyprus.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no statement to make on this subject at present.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of acres in England and Wales at the present time planted with oak, larch and the other recognised types of timber, respectively, and also the corresponding figures at some convenient pre-war date.

Up to date statistics are not available; the areas planted with each species since the last census of woodlands taken in 1947–49 are known only in respect of planting by the Forestry Commission. The area by species of wood- lands of five acres or over in England and Wales at the last census was:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, as an increase in the salary of Members of Parliament has been refused, he will take the necessary action to enable them to have free postal, trunk telephone and telegraph services from the House of Commons.

No. I could not recommend a return to the franking system.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amounts of blocked sterling balances owing to various countries on the nearest convenient date, and 12 months previously.

It would not be proper for my right hon. Friend to reveal information about the balances of individual countries. But by the end of last year only about one-twentieth of the United Kingdom's sterling liabilities consisted of blocked balances.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of allowing spinsters and bachelors to claim the housekeeper allowance at the same rate and on the same conditions as widows and widowers.

No such estimate has been made, nor is there sufficient information about the employment of housekeepers by spinsters and bachelors to enable a reliable figure to be calculated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the existence of abuses of power in prisons and detention camps in Kenya; what representations have been made, and my whom, to his Department regarding this matter: and what action he proposes to take.

My right hon. Friend is always ready to investigate allegations of abuse of power or any other alleged defects in the administration of prisons and detention camps in Kenya. If the hon. Member has any specific instances of abuse of power in mind, perhaps he would submit them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what representations have been made, and by whom, to his Department regarding the conditions of imprisonment at Manda Island; and whether he will arrange for a delegation of Members of Parliament and/or other responsible persons from Great Britain to investigate conditions there and in other prison camps in Kenya.

The only recent representations made to my Department have been by the hon. Lady the Member for Flint, East (Mrs. White), following complaints sent to her by letter by a detainee on the island; the answer to the second part of the Question is "No".

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he has taken following the protest made to him by Colonel Young that prosecutions against certain white people in Kenya were not proceeded with on the grounds that it would not be politically expedient to prosecute.

My right hon. Friend has received no representations from Colonel Young since his resignation from the post of Commissioner of Police in Kenya, the reasons for which were given in my right hon. Friend's statement of 2nd February, 1955, in terms agreed with the Kenya Government and with Colonel Young.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action has been taken by the Tanganyika Government towards providing railway facilities in the territory which would enable the Mchuchuma, Mbalawala, and Mbuyura coalfields to be developed.

The Tanganyika Government are at present engaged in examining the various factors which affect the economic possibility of exploiting the coalfield area. As regards the cost of rail facilities, it was estimated in 1952 that a direct line to the coast would cost £10 million and a less direct line £20 million—figures which will no doubt prove to require revision today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the estimated housing requirements in Singapore; the average number of houses built during the past five years by the Singapore Improvement Trust; and the estimate for the current year.

The Singapore Master Plan, published last year, estimates that 10,000 housing units a year need to be built in Singapore to provide for slum clearance and the increase in population over the next 20 years. The Singapore Improvement Trust built an annual average of 2,016 units during the years 1951–1955 and expect to build 2,272 this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the police have banned the holding of public meetings organised by the People's Action Party in Singapore; and, in view of the fact that this will create antagonism, if he will take steps to re-establish freedom of speech.

Permission to hold these meetings was withheld because the Singapore Government considered that they might at the present juncture arouse mass emotions which could lead to disorders. These are matters on which Singapore Ministers are best able to judge and in which I would not wish to intervene.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he now proposes to invite Lord Radcliffe to draft a constitution for the island of Cyprus.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the negotiations on the future of Cyprus.

I have nothing to add to my right hon. Friend's reply to Questions by the hon. Lady and other hon. Members on 27th June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in what provinces of Uganda direct election of members of the Legislative Council is to be introduced next year.

I have nothing to add to the statement about elections which the Governor made with my right hon. Friend's full authority on 24th April and of which copies have been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies under what ordinances Mr. J. F. Sangala, President General, and Mr. T. D. T. Banda, Secretary General, of the Nyasaland African Congress were prosecuted in April; and whether he will put a transcript of the proceedings in the Library.

The Penal Code. I shall place a transcript of the proceedings in the Library as soon as it is received from the Governor.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of acres in Scotland at the present time planted with oak, larch and other recognised types of timber, respectively, and also the corresponding figures at some convenient pre-war date.

The areas planted with each species since the last census of woodlands, taken in 1947–49, are known only in respect of planting by the Forestry Commission. The area by species of woodlands of five acres or over in Scotland at the last census was:

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the continual wastage of ancillary staffs of hospitals in Woolwich and elsewhere; and what steps he is taking to enable hospital management committees to compete effectively with local government and industry.

I am aware that hospitals, in common with other public services, are experiencing difficulties in recruiting and retaining ancillary workers. Wages are fixed by the Ancillary Staffs Council and a general increase of 11s. 6d. per week for men and 8s. 6d. per week for women was given in February.

asked the Minister of Health (1) if he will make British B.C.G. vaccine available for five-year-old children, and also for newly-born infants of tuberculous parents, now that there is evidence of this vaccine producing a high degree of immunity against tuberculosis without causing ill effects:(2) whether, in view of the recent favourable report of the Medical Research Council on the efficiency of a British B.C.G. vaccine, he will extend the scheme for the vaccination of 14-year-old children to cover all children of that age.

Local health authorities are already able to offer B.C.G. vaccination to any person known to have been in contact with tuberculous infection and to all 13-year-old children. I am about to ask authorities to consider making fuller use of their powers in relation to 13-year-old children, but I do not consider it advisable to go further than this at the moment.

asked the Minister of Health the average cost of prescriptions filled by the dispensaries of general hospitals and of similar prescriptions filled by chemists.

The cost of drugs and dressings supplied by hospital dispensaries is not divided as between in-patients and out-patients, and therefore there is no basis for this statistical comparison.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the total annual cost to the Exchequer of drugs and appliances supplied under the National Health Service, including all the items listed in Statement C of the 1954–55 Accounts of the National Health Service Acts in each full financial year since the first full year of working, based on constant prices in the first year but excluding, and showing separately, charges to patients under the National Health Service Act, 1949.

I am advised that, on present information, owing to substantial changes in the pattern of prescribing, no measurement of the variation in cost in terms of constant prices is possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to enumerate the officials who, in connection with the responsibilities of his Department, whether direct or by delegation to local authority, are empowered to visit homes and advise parents and, either by court action or otherwise, to separate children from parents.

No officers of my Department have these powers, nor can I confer them on local authorities by delegation. Parliament has given the council of every county and county borough in England and Wales, acting through its children committee and children's officer and staff, powers and duties under the Children and Young Persons Acts and the Children Act, 1948,

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will give a list of the pensions for which he is responsible, showing their current purchasing power as compared with their purchasing power in 1950.

The following table shows in the first two columns the rates now and in 1950 of the main pensions for which my right hon. Friend is responsible, and in the third column the sums which would now be needed to give the purchasing power of the rates in payment in 1950.