asked the Minister of Supply what progress has been made in the development under the auspices of his Department of the combined airliner and helicopter, the Fairey Rotodyne ; and what are its chief characteristics.

The Rotodyne is propelled in forward cruising flight by two Napier Eland turbo prop engines which are mounted in short fixed wings. Lift for vertical flight and hovering is provided by a rotor which is powered by tip jet units drawing compressed air from the main engines. In cruising flight the rotor free wheels and the lift is shared with the fixed wings. The Rotodyne, when developed, is expected to carry about forty passengers over stage lengths of 350–400 miles, at a cruising speed of about 170 miles an hour.

Can the Minister give any information as to when it is anticipated that the Rotodyne will be available for use in inter-city travel?

It would be unwise to predict when it will appear actually in operation on routes, but I hope that the first prototype will fly reasonably early next year.

asked the Minister of Supply how many times recent test explosions in Australia were postponed on account of meteorological reports; and what was the total period of delay.

Two of the four test explosions had to be postponed on account of unfavourable meteorological conditions. In one case the delay amounted to sixteen days and in the other three days.

Have any calculations been made as to what delay might be necessary in more thickly populated areas, such as Europe, before it would be safe to the users to launch such weapons? Is it not possible that these weapons may be the last to be used instead of the first and thus give Field Marshal Montgomery plenty of time to ask questions before letting them off?

The Question refers to test explosions. I cannot conceive of anyone carrying out test explosions in thickly populated areas of Western Europe.

asked the Minister of Supply how many aircraft, civil and military, it is anticipated will be exported from this country during 1956.

It is expected that a total of 727 aircraft will be exported during 1956. Inclusive of aircraft engines, and aircraft parts and equipment, this will represent a value of some £105 million, or an increase of 64 per cent. over the corresponding figure for last year. I am sure my hon. Friend will agree this is a most creditable achievement on the part of the aircraft industry.

Can my right hon. Friend say how this compares with our Continental competitors?

The best calculation I can make is that our industry exports rather more in a fortnight than any Continental country does in a whole year.

asked the Minister of Supply what proportion of the total exports of the aircraft industry relates to military aircraft supplied under the United States Foreign Aid Programme.

During 1956 the aircraft industry has not exported and is unlikely to export any military aircraft procured by the United States Government under their Foreign Aid Programme.

Although what the Minister has said is technically correct, is it not also true to say that many of the exports to foreign countries have been paid for by the Americans directly to the importing countries? When one subtracts this quantity, does it not put a very different light on the export figures about which the right hon. Gentleman is rather boastful?

I know that the hon. Member delights in minimising the achievements of British industry, but the fact is that none of the exports this year is based on offshore purchases. It may be, of course, that the Americans have helped financially some of the countries ordering some British aircraft, but if that is so, those countries are perfectly entitled to order from elsewhere, as the help is in no way tied to British machines.

May I put the question this way : is the Minister satisfied that the quantity of aircraft which has been exported and paid for, directly or indirectly, by the United States Government is not one reason why the industry has been overloaded, with the consequent result of so many delays and disappointments to British operators?

The size of export orders has contributed to the load on the industry which, I recognise, has been excessive. But we are all delighted that the load of export orders has been so large.

asked the Minister of Supply how many Royal Air Force officers are attached to his Department and establishments.

Six hundred and forty-one, including 456 at establishments.

In view of the shortage of officers of this experience in the Royal Air Force, will the Minister look carefully to see whether it is not a fact that some of these experienced officers are being used on projects which merely duplicate work done by our N.A.T.O. Allies, and especially the United States?

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air for making these very valuable officers available to me. I have very much in mind the point raised by the hon. Member about duplication with our Allies and can assure him that we are making every effort we can to avoid duplication of weapon development with our Allies. It is, however, a fairly wide question which the hon. Member has raised.

asked the Minister of Supply what extra expenditure he has incurred as a result of military, naval and aerial preparations taken as a result of the Suez dispute.

None, apart from expenditure on stores procured for the Service Departments on repayment.

asked the Minister of Supply how many workers have been made redundant in the last three months, and how many workers it is proposed to make redundant in the next three months, at the Royal Ordnance factories at Radway Green and Swynnerton ; and what steps he is taking to prevent unemployment in these areas.

No workers have been made redundant at Radway Green during the past three months. I expect that there will be a redundancy of 380 in total in the months of November and January and of 190 in February. At Swynnerton 15 part-time employees have been discharged in the past three months. I expect that there will be none in the next three. Every effort will be made locally, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and National Service, to help those who have been discharged to find other employment.

Has there been full consultation with the union at Radway Green about this fairly large-scale redundancy which is proposed in the next three months? Will the Minister give an assurance that in all such cases, before large numbers of men are thrown on to the labour market in this way, there will be consultation with the unions to provide alternative employment for the men?

Our relations with the trade unions are good. This redundancy has been notified to the trade union side of the Ministry of Supply Joint Industrial Council, and I understand it is to be discussed at the next Council meeting on 31st October.

asked the Minister of Supply the total amount of money that has been spent by his Department on the development of the airliner Britannia, and the Proteus engine.

Expenditure by the Ministry of Supply to date on the development of the Britannia series of aircraft, including the cost of installation engines, is about £6·5 million, and on the Proteus engine, about £11·5 million. Recoveries are made on account of this expenditure by levies imposed on the sales of production aircraft, engines and spares to customers other than Her Majesty's Government.

When is the country likely to get some value for the millions of pounds which have been spent by the aircraft manufacturers on the Britannia? Is the Minister aware that the Britannia is not yet in service and that B.O.A.C. has been forced to spend millions of pounds on American jet airliners in order to maintain the Corporation's services?

The recently announced decision to purchase American jet airliners has, of course, no relation to the question whether the Britannia is in service. The levies on non-Government sales to date on the Britannia amount to £3½ million, which is over half the expenditure.

In view of the recently announced decision that B.O.A.C. should be allowed to buy American aircraft, and in view of the public money going into this industry, does not the Minister think it is high time that we had an inquiry into it to find out why there is no long-range British aircraft in sight twelve years after the war, which B.O.A.C. can buy for their world airways?

I think that any suggestion for an inquiry into an industry exporting at the rate of £100 million a year in the most competitive market in the world is wide of the mark.

Can my right hon. Friend tell, the House when he expects the aircraft to be in service, or at any rate what progress is being made with the modifications?

I have learned from experience that it is unwise to make exact prophecies about technical details which no one can predict. A great deal of effort is being put into solving the difficulty of the icing of the engines, which I think no one could reasonably have been expected to predict would occur.

Would the Minister please address himself to my question? No one is complaining of the medium-range aeroplanes being exported. They have been a great success. We on this side of the House are anxious because there is no long-range aircraft that British industry has yet produced. After the hundreds of millions of pounds spent, is it not time that we saw some result?

I have no doubt that the long-range Britannia will be operating across the Atlantic before the Americans' long-range jet.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what instructions he has issued to the river boards following the flooding of agricultural land as a result of the heavy rainfall of recent months.

My Department keeps in very close touch with the river boards and no special guidance was necessary.

Does not the Minister agree that the river boards can do a great deal to improve the position regarding agricultural drainage and avoid the possibility of widespread floods? Could he not prevail upon his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has imposed the credit squeeze upon these river boards, to realise that their work is coming to a standstill and release some funds to them?

I agree with what the hon. Gentleman says about the importance of this work, but I cannot agree with his statement about the work having nearly come to a stop. It has only been partially reduced and is proceeding now at a high rate. I am afraid that so long as the credit restrictions go on we are bound to look at each application pretty sternly. I do allow any scheme required on the ground of public health or safety, and I also look sympathetically at schemes which it is likely would avoid considerable damage to crops.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now put the recommendations of the Heneage Committee into operation.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Kimball) on 30th April last.

Has not this report been in the hands of the Minister since 1951? Has he not now had enough time to consider it and decide whether he will implement it in whole or in part? Is it not a fact that if these recommendations of the Committee were implemented they would do a good deal to improve the agricultural drainage of this country, and a good deal to mitigate the sort of loss which was suffered during the recent flooding?

I think the short answer is "Yes." I believe it would, but unfortunately I have not yet succeeded in getting general agreement upon the main recommendation which would enable me to feel justified in proceeding to legislation. But I am seeing whether there is some limited progress which I can make in the fields where there is most agreement.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take to improve land drainage arising from his inspection of flooded land in Yorkshire.

Responsibility for land drainage improvement work rests with the drainage authorities for the area. My Department is in touch with the Yorkshire Ouse River Board, which is proposing to convene a meeting of all concerned in the Goole area to discuss possible ways of effecting improvements in the drainage system.

Will the Minister give his full co-operation and encouragement, financially as well as in every other way, to an improvement of the land drainage in that area?

I came away from my visit to that area impressed with the need for progress there. I shall look sympathetically at any proposals which are made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to give an estimate of the effect upon agricultural production of the heavy rainfall of recent months.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to make a statement on the harvest; and what proposals he has for compensating farmers for the damage to crops by rain and floods.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will now make a full statement on the effects of the weather on this year's harvest.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the loss resulting from the bad harvest.

The corn harvest in England and Wales has now been completed. There has been considerable damage as a result of the very wet weather, and the moisture content of grain has been high. But though the harvest has been exceptionally difficult and expensive to farmers, the final position is not so serious as seemed likely early in September. A number of individual farmers will, however, have suffered severe losses.

Did not the Minister say when he visited Lancashire that the results of the harvest would be much better if agricultural drainage were improved and extended? Does he not agree that if the river boards were given greater funds in order to do this work, it would improve the agricultural drainage and therefore avoid this sort of loss in future?

I agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I look forward very much to the time when these restrictions on capital expenditure on drainage improvement can be removed.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for his statement, may I ask whether he is aware that his recent statement outside this House, that only a fraction of 1 per cent. of the harvest has not been gathered in, gave quite a wrong impression of the state of the farming industry, as many farmers have suffered severely? Will my right hon. Friend not make misleading statements outside this House, because farmers have been through a most difficult harvest period?

I must correct my hon. and gallant Friend. That was not a statement made by me outside this House but a factual statement of the position as best it might be estimated by my Department, which periodically makes these factual statements. To the best of my knowledge, the statement is perfectly accurate, and I have nothing to withdraw from it. My own public statements made outside this House, which have covered the whole of the estimated results of the harvest and not only yields, have, I think, been extremely sympathetic and have covered exactly the line of the statement I have made this afternoon.

Does the Minister appreciate the very hard work which has been put in by the farmers and farm-workers in order to get in the harvest? In his statement about the position of the potato crop, has he taken into account the very bad quality of potatoes now being lifted—not so much the quantity, but the quality?

Yes, I have done that. If the hon. Member will look at my statement, he will see that I referred to blight, which, unfortunately, is quite widespread. If it had not been for that, the potato crop would have been an exceptionally good one this year. As regards the hardships suffered by the farmers, I have on several occasions called the attention of the country at large to that fact, and during the Recess I tried to visit as many different parts of the country as I possibly could during the course of the harvest.

From his earlier remarks, do I understand the right hon. Gentleman to imply that there are two kinds of statement issuing from himself and his Department—statements from his Department which are factual and are to be relied upon, and statements by himself for which he accepts responsibility but which are not to be relied upon?

No, I think the only difference is that perhaps my Department's estimates of the harvest were purely factual while my own orations upon this subject have contained a little more colour than would have been appropriate in Departmental statements.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has to make provision for easier credit for farmers.

I have satisfied myself by recent inquiries that the banks are continuing to consider sympathetically the credit needs of farmers, particularly of those who have suffered from the weather. I have also arranged for county agricultural executive committees to give what help they can to those in need for that reason by supplying essential goods on as favourable credit terms as possible under the Agriculture Goods and Services Scheme. I have no fresh proposals to make at the present time.

Will the Minister remember in this connection that what is really required is cheaper credit, particularly at this time, when it is quite obvious that many farmers will have to transfer their production from milk to some other commodity which will require credit?

I would agree with the hon. Member that we all like borrowing our money as cheaply as possible and that it is an important item in our costs. But, whatever the borrowed money costs, it is an item which is taken into consideration at the Annual Price Review.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the cause of death of a foal sent by the National Stud to the Doncaster sales.

A post mortem examination proved inconclusive on the cause of death, but there was no trace of infectious disease or poisoning.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied with the management of this Stud? Was not it a fact that two or three years ago some yearlings died mysteriously at Doncaster sales? In view of the fact that there are some very valuable animals in this Stud, can the Minister say whether proper care and attention is being paid, at the top, to the animals which the Stud has in its charge?

I can assure my hon. Friend that I am completely satisfied with the management of the National Stud.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will consider the adoption of inoculation against rabies in place of the present method of quarantine for dogs, etc.

Inoculation would not be a safe substitute for quarantine since it cannot be relied upon to confer complete immunity against rabies.

Does not my right hon. Friend think that he and his Department are being very old-fashioned about this? Do not many countries rely, with virtual security, upon inoculation?

No; I am afraid that I could not agree with my hon. Friend there. Vaccinated dogs have contracted rabies on a number of occasions, and I think it is significant that the World Health Organisation quite recently recommended that those countries which are at present free of rabies should not rely solely upon vaccination but should go in for the policy which we follow, namely, of quarantine.

Will my right hon. Friend undertake never to relinquish these regulations about quarantine until much greater strides have been made with inoculation? Will he also remember that there is too much of a tendency for the dog to be regarded as a "sacred cow"?

Without following my hon. Friend too far with the analogy he made at the end of his supplementary question, I would say that I agree that this is a matter upon which it would be really silly to take risks. The amount of suffering which could result from a single outbreak of rabies in a dog is very considerable indeed, and I do not intend to take the smallest risks in this matter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consider taking steps to have vibrio coli classified as a notifiable disease.

I am advised that this particular form of diarrhoea in pigs cannot readily be distinguished from others, and, indeed, it is only after elaborate tests that a clear positive diagnosis can be established. In the circumstances, no useful purpose would be served by making it notifiable.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that the experts know very little about this disease? Will he bear in mind the experience of one of my constituents who, not long ago, suffered a catastrophic financial loss owing to the advice given by my right hon. Friend's technical friends to slaughter the whole of his herd because they knew nothing about vibrio coli?

As far as the first part of my hon. Friend's question is concerned, I agree that there is still a lack of detailed information about this disease, but as regards the second part, I could not acknowledge for a minute that the serious loss caused to my hon. Friend's constituent—and I agree that it was a serious loss, and I am very sorry for it—was in any way due to advice received from my Department.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that this may be a new and terribly serious disease which has come into this country? Will not he at least tell the House that his officials are giving it the fullest possible consideration?

I gladly do that. A great deal of work is being done upon this disease in several of our institutes in this country.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement regarding his refusal of Sir James Turner's request for a special farm price review.

In accordance with the provisions of the Agriculture Act, 1947, the Government had to consider whether the effect of the cost change arising from the recent wage award in England and Wales was not only sudden and substantial but also of sufficient importance to justify a special review of farm prices. If a special review had been held and full recoupment given for the amount of the wage increase, a sum of about £5 million would have been involved, which would have given an increase of about ½ per cent. in the guaranteed price level of all the review commodities. This would have affected livestock products for the six months to the end of March, 1957, and all crops of the 1957 harvest.

Is not my right hon. Friend aware of the discontent which exists among the farming community because of that refusal? I understand that it will be taken into consideration at the February Review. Would not it have been much wiser not to have had another outburst by the farmers who, taking them by and large, are our friends?

As my hon. Friend knows, it is never very easy to satisfy the whole of the farming community. In this case, it really would not have been a sensible way of trying to help the losses arising from the bad harvest this year because, apart from the other reasons I have given, it would have been spread so very thinly. I can confirm that an increase in wages, like any other increase in costs, is certainly a factor to be taken into consideration at the next price review, and will be so taken into consideration.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has yet considered the Report of the Reorganisation Commission for Pigs and Bacon ; and if he accepts the Commission's recommendations for the setting up of a pig industry development authority and for changes in the marketing arrangements for bacon pigs.

The Report has now been discussed with the many interests concerned and the Commission's recommendations are being studied in the light of the views which have been expressed before a final decision is taken on future policy for pig production and marketing.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say when he hopes to make his decision known, and will he give an assurance that in any case there will be adequate notice of any changes he proposes to make and an opportunity of debating them in this House?

My consideration is taking place now. I would hope that within the next two or three months we shall have reached some views on this matter—[Laughter.]—we shall have reached a stage where we shall be ready to take some decisions in this matter. I am quite certain there will be opportunities of discussing this very difficult, controversial, but important matter before anything is put in hand.

In view of the fact that the National Farmers' Union has definitely condemned the recommendations contained in this Report, will my right hon. Friend give an assurance that he will ask the N.F.U. to put forward alternative proposals before he himself comes to a decision?

There have been so very many different proposals made in the matter, most of which cancel themselves out, that I would be very glad of any considered proposals. Of course, I should attach great weight to the proposals and views put forward by the leaders of the industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will reconsider his decision to remove the bread subsidy in view of the hardship caused by the recent increase in bread prices.

No, Sir. In current conditions of full employment and high earnings, these general subsidies cannot be justified.

Will the right hon. Gentleman take note of the elementary fact that it is the poorest people who have to spend the highest percentage of their income on bread? In these circumstances, and with milk and sugar going up as well, is it not quite unreasonable to expect old-age pensioners and people earning low wages to refrain from pressing for higher pensions and wages?

I agree with what the hon. and gallant Gentleman says about the price of bread falling heaviest on the poorest section of the community. That is true, but that does not justify a general food subsidy to everyone in the country at the present time. The Government have shown by their actions that they are very sensible of their responsibilities to the old-age pensioners, to those on National Assistance, to war pensioners and to other handicapped sections of the nation.

Will the right hon. Gentleman try to be a little more responsible? Will he explain to the Chancellor that this is a pure redistribution of income, that we really cannot hold the cost of living by putting up the price of bread and that this is an aggravation of what we all accept as a very difficult situation facing the country?

I think that the best service which can be rendered to everyone in the country, and most particularly to those who have to live on small fixed incomes, is to end inflation and to stabilise the general price level. We are not dissatisfied with the progress being made in that direction.

Could the right hon. Gentleman explain how one ends inflation by putting up the price of bread?

A contribution towards ending inflation is surely to get rid of any item of Government expenditure which cannot be fully justified in prevailing circumstances.

Can the Minister say by how much a week a wage would have to be raised to compensate for this proposed rise in the price of bread and milk?

As regards bread, I am informed that the 10d. loaf is now available to about 70 per cent. of the population. The increase, on the basis of a 10d. loaf, would represent about 8½d. for an average household. On the basis of a 10½d. loaf, it would be about 11½d. for an average household. For an old-age pensioner household, the increases would be 3¾d. and 5d. respectively.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) the average return received by producers of fat cattle accepted for slaughter and at grading centres during the 27th and 28th weeks in this financial year; and what total payments would be required on the basis of present prices to bring up their returns to the average guaranteed price of £7 11s. per live cwt. for the second half of this financial year;

The average return on certified cattle during the first 26 weeks of the present fatstock year was 132s. 11d. per live cwt. In both weeks 27 and 28 it was 128s. per cwt. Under the present method of calculating guarantee payments there may in any twelve months period be over or under payments of the standard price, which is an average price and is not relevant to particular periods within the year.

Does the fact that the Minister has had to make an alteration in the payment system indicate that there is something wrong with the system which has been in operation in the past or something radically wrong in the marketing system where the price of fat cattle has fallen so low without having any effect on the retail price of beef?

I think we shall have an opportunity of discussing this topic in the House tomorrow evening.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Report of the Watson Committee on timber marketing is to be published.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the Committee set up by him to examine and report on the position as regards the conversion and marketing of home-grown timber has yet reported; and when the report will be published.

The Report, which is dated May, 1956, was sent to the Ministers jointly responsible for forestry matters early in July last. I hope that it will be published early in December.

Is that not really a long time between the reception of the Report and its publication, because this is now becoming a very urgent matter? Could my right hon. Friend give some assurance that the matter is receiving the urgent attention which it really deserves, not only from the point of view of the Forestry Commission, where vast sums of public money are invested, but also from the point of view of the private forester?

I agree that it is an important Report. I sent it on for printing very shortly after I received it. There has been no avoidable delay.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his attention had been drawn to a shortage of softwood plants required by woodland owners for the current planting season ; and what action he proposes to meet this situation and to prevent it arising in following years.

Yes, Sir. It is too early in the season to determine the extent of the shortage or to state precisely what plants the Commission can make available from their own nurseries. The Forestry Commission is doing all that is possible to help and last season, in addition to the normal surplus, released to private woodland owners several million plants by reducing their own planting programme. Additional sowings were also made by the Commission to provide more seedlings for lining out this season and next season by the nursery trade and private estates.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask whether he is satisfied that this shortage will be met next season?

The Forestry Commission is doing what it can to plant more seedlings, and over the last few years it has been urging the nursery trades to expand their output.

asked the Minister of Health what further discussions have taken place with the shrimp fishing and potting industry; and what further amendments he will make in the Food Hygiene Regulations before 31st December, 1956.

Proposals for amending this Regulation were sent at the beginning of September for comment to the fishermen's associations, the local authorities and other interested bodies and persons. The replies received are being considered. It is not possible yet to say what the details of the amendment will be.

They will be published well before the end of the year, will they not?

I cannot give an estimate until we receive all the replies, but, so far, the replies received to date are fairly favourable to the recommendations.

Does the hon. Lady realise that if they are not dealt with before the end of the year, then the old penal regulations will come into force?

I fully appreciate my hon. Friend's concern, but I am sure that he is as desirous as we are of consulting all the bodies interested in this piece of legislation. The delay at the moment is with some of those bodies.

asked the Minister of Health when the Royal Commission on mental health will present its Report.

asked the Minister of Health when he expects to receive the Report of the Royal Commission on Mental Illness and Mental Deficiency ; and when it will be published.

I would refer to the reply given to the hon. Member for Erith and Cray-ford (Mr. Dodds) on 25th October.

Has the Royal Commission finished taking evidence, and do its terms of reference allow it to make recommendations about accommodation?

The Royal Commission, as I told the hon. Member for Erith and Crayford (Mr. Dodds), finished taking evidence on 27th July, 1955. I should like to see the question about the scope of its remit on the Order Paper before I gave a reply.

In view of the most disturbing conditions in our mental hospitals and the fact that the evidence was finished eighteen months ago, can the Minister say when he thinks that the Report will be made?

No, I cannot do that. It is a matter entirely for the Royal Commission. The right hon. Lady knows that the topic is very important and that this will be a vital Report. I understand that at the moment the Commission is collecting further information and pursuing certain inquiries preparatory to writing its Report. It would not be proper for me to intervene to hasten it.

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of tuberculosis patients undergoing treatment in this country are immigrants.

I regret that this information is not available.

Is it not a fact that this is the only country in the Commonwealth that does not demand a certificate of good health from immigrants? Would it not be helpful, possibly for both the medical services and the health of this country, if we adopted a similar regulation?

As my hon. Friend is aware, there was an investigation in 1954 when the present Minister of Labour and National Service announced that the Standing Tuberculosis Advisory Committee had advised that the position did not indicate a serious menace to the health of the country. There is no evidence that the incidence of tuberculosis is particularly high among the latest groups of immigrants who have been arriving, mainly from the West Indies, whose services we very much need.

In view of the fact that we attach great importance to mass radiography for the detection of tuberculosis, why does the Ministry refuse to X-ray these immigrants who live in overcrowded conditions in this country when they arrive?

The whole of this problem, including the very point raised by the right hon. Lady, was investigated by the Standing Advisory Committee, which advised against such a procedure as recently as 1954.

Is the hon. Lady aware of the terrible hopelessness in displaced persons camps of people with a tuberculosis scar whom nobody will accept? Is it not something of which to be rather proud that we in this country have given homes to some of these people?

asked the Minister of Health whether he will supply safety-glass spectacles to all industrial workers who have only one eye under the National Health Service without extra charge.

These and other special glasses are available without extra charge through the hospital eye service where there is a special medical reason for providing them. My right hon. Friend has no evidence of increased risk of injury to the eye solely from lens splinters which would justify provision of these lenses on occupational grounds.

Is the hon. Lady not aware that many of these workers are partially disabled through the loss of one eye and, consequently, earn less than the normal wage and are not able to afford this more expensive type of spectacles at the normal charge? If they are able to get them only with a medical certificate and the remaining eye is quite good, they will not get a medical certificate and will have to pay the full price for these safety spectacles.

Unsplinterable or plastic lenses are also available at the patient's choice under the Supplementary Ophthalmic Service at a charge of about 12s. a lens in addition to the normal charge of 10s. Cases in which damage to the eye arises from splintering of the spectacle lens alone are practically unknown.

As one who has only one eye, may I assure the hon. Lady that although industrial earnings may not suffer, the industrial worker feels bound to give considerably more protection to the one eye remaining than a man would normally give to both his eyes?

asked the Minister of Health the reason for the delay in the supply of the Medresco hearing aid from the time of recommendation for the provision of the aid and its receipt by the applicant ; and what are the prospects for an early issue of the transistor type.

Over the country as a whole there is little delay, but a few centres cannot offer immediate appointments in all cases. This may be due to the volume of work and inability to increase staff or accommodation. I hope the clinical trials of the transistor aid, which must precede the ordering of larger quantities, will take place about the end of the year.

In view of the long time that this service has been in operation, is it not rather surprising that in some areas the period of waiting from the date of application for the aid and the examination of the patient to delivery is as much as six months? Is the Minister also aware that only recently I sent him a case in which the period of waiting was even longer than that? Can he give us some sort of indication about how far it is possible to speed up the service? Will these transistor aids be reserved first of all for children of school age?

With regard to the first supplementary question, the position is very satisfactory when compared with that of a few years ago. Tremendous progress has been made. Out of 66 centres, at 58 the delay from the date of application is four months or less. It is true that the hon. Member has referred to me a case dealing with King's College Hospital, where there are peculiar difficulties owing to lack of staff and accommodation and a great volume of work. We are doing our best to improve the service even more.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he will make a statement on the future of the Radiological Protection Service for industrial workers ;

As far as I am aware, the service is operating satisfactorily, but I am discussing its future with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour.

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the need to give preferential treatment to the return of films showing an unusually high exposure in such cases?

Yes, Sir. Normally the film comes back within four or five days, unless the developed film shows exceptional exposure. In those cases we give preferential treatment to the films so that correspondence ensues immediately and, if necessary, the matter is taken up in an interview.

asked the Minister of Health if he is ready to propose amendments to the National Assistance Act, 1948, to make it possible for him to pay a grant to voluntary associations who, having acquired premises for housing elderly people, wish to extend them at a later date.

Legislation to amend Part III of the National Assistance Act, 1948, is not at present contemplated.

Does not the Minister think it is anomalous that he should have power to grant money to acquire premises to house elderly people but no power to give a grant to extend the premises once acquired? Is it not a power he might very well seek?

The whole basis of Exchequer assistance to the finances of local authorities is under review at the present time, and it would be most untimely to make this amendment now.

asked the Minister of Health how many children in the area of the East Suffolk local authority are awaiting admission to suitable institutions for mental disability; how many names are on the waiting list; what is the yearly rate of clearance from the list; and whether he is satisfied that there is sufficient accommodation available now or in the near future.

There are eighteen children in the area who are on the list for admission to a hospital for mental defectives, the list containing 23 names of persons of all ages. Since 1951, the average annual rate of clearance from the list has been ten. There is a shortage of accommodation of this type, but additional beds have been and are being provided.

Is the hon. Lady aware of the very poignant cases which I have remitted to her? Is she satisfied that in a reasonable time there will be some alleviation of the distress of people who are very often elderly and who, in looking after growing lads approaching manhood, undergo a terrible strain?

During recent years additional beds in this area have become available at the rate of approximately 50 a year, and work of adaptation is at present proceeding at Lothingland, which will bring another 60 beds when completed.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state what decision has been reached in the case of Mrs. Harriet Thornton, who was certified and sent to Cane Hill Mental Hospital, Coulsdon, three and a half years ago.

On the application of her uncle, this lady was discharged to his care by order of the hospital management committee on 25th October, 1956, under Section 79 of the Lunacy Act, 1890. Under that Section a patient may be discharged upon the undertaking of a relative or friend that he or she will be properly taken care of.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that that wonderful news is the end of a three and a half year nightmare? Does he also appreciate that while the highest praise is due to him for the care and attention he has given to this case, it still has unsatisfactory aspects to be cleared up?

On the same day as the lady was discharged, I wrote to the hon. Member a letter in which I dealt with a number of points which remained outstanding.

asked the Minister of Health (1) if he is aware that in many hospitals the new scale in emolument charges will result in a substantial reduction in the net salaries of resident doctors; and if he will give instructions that these charges shall not be implemented in retrospect or until the negotiations in regard to the standard of accommodation, which are now in progress, have been completed ;

While the charges payable by house officers, who are the most numerous class of resident doctors, are not altered, I am aware that for many doctors in the more senior grades the new charges are higher than those previously paid. They took effect on 1st August in accordance with a Whitley agreement, and I see no justification for suspending the operation of that agreement, much less for abolishing charges altogether. In reply to my hon. Friend's other points, I am sending him a copy of a circular on residential accommodation which was issued to hospital authorities in December, 1954.

Is the Minister aware that resident doctors have to sign a contract which does not state the amount of the emoluments charged and that they have no redress if the emoluments are increased? Furthermore, is he aware that resident doctors have to pay Income Tax on their gross salaries before the charge is deducted? My second question is whether the Minister is aware that the standard of accommodation in some hospitals is still extremely poor? Is it not wrong that doctors, who may be called upon in the middle of the night to perform a difficult operation, should have a bedroom only and no sitting room at their disposal even after six or seven years' service?

The answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's question is that these charges were agreed by the Whitley Committee and the matter must be left there. With regard to the second part, I am sure that the hospital authorities are as anxious as I am to see that the accommodation provided for resident staff should be as satisfactory as possible. That is the reason for the circular which was put out by my predecessor.

Is the Minister able to give any special consideration to the case of married doctors who are required to be resident by virtue of their jobs and have to maintain a home for their wives and families away from the hospital? They are particularly hard-hit by the increased accommodation charges.

All these factors were taken into account by the Whitley Committee.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that junior hospital medical staff have no direct access to, nor negotiating powers with, his Department ; and if he will arrange for them to be represented on the Joint Negotiating Committee.

There is a joint negotiating body for all grades of hospital medical staff. The composition of the Staff Side of this body is a matter for the profession itself.

Would not the Minister agree that it is grossly unfair that these doctors, Who are more than 50 per cent. of the hospital service and practically do the bulk of the work, are not represented on the committee and, therefore, cannot be heard?

It would be improper if I were to interfere with the composition of the Staff Side.

Is not the Minister taking legal advice at the highest level about the way to concede a £50 million wage claim for hospital and family doctors? What is happening about this legal advice?

That is another question.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that, amongst correspondence received by the hon. Member for Carlisle in recent weeks from patients and ex-patients of mental hospitals, there are letters from 29 apparently sane people now at liberty, and whose names and addresses have been supplied to him, alleging that they have been unjustifiably detained in mental hospitals under various sections of the Lunacy Act; and whether he will appoint a general inquiry to consider these allegations.

My hon. Friend has written to me about his correspondence. Any question of illegal detention is a matter for the courts. As my hon. Friend knows, a Royal Commission is at present examining the law relating to mental health. I do not consider that an additional general inquiry would serve a useful purpose.

Is the Minister not aware that, despite what he says, there is a fear among these people that their point of view has been overlooked by the Royal Commission? Will he give an assurance that, in any further consideration that may take place as a result of the Royal Commission's Report, this point of view will be fully considered? Next, pending these wider considerations which, we hope, will take place, can my right hon. Friend take such steps as he may to curb the hasty and sometimes ill-considered removals to hospital that are taking place, which not only deprive patients of their liberty, but also fail in many cases to benefit their mental health?

With regard to the first part of that supplementary question, I think it would be wise for us to await the Report of the Royal Commission to see whether it covers these cases or not. On the second part, if any hon. Member has a constituent with a complaint, I hope he will always bring the complaint to me or to the Parliamentary Secretary. On the third point, it would be wrong for me to interfere with the giving of certificates by justices. That is a matter of law with which the Minister of Health quite properly cannot interfere.

Is the Minister aware that there is very strong feeling on this issue, especially on the fact that it needs only one doctor's certificate to send a person to a lunatic asylum? This is a very serious matter. I have cases of this kind in my constituency at the present time.

That will be one of the matters to be looked at by the Royal Commission.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the increasing growth of the town of Redditch, he will reconsider his decision not to provide maternity facilities within the borough; and if he will state the size to which the borough must grow before it will be allowed to have its own maternity facilities.

The decision is that of the Birmingham Regional Hospital Board, and my right hon. Friend sees no reason to intervene; the size of the borough is not the only factor to be considered.

As there is a point of principle involved in this Question, will the Parliamentary Secretary tell the House what maternity services have been refused to this town?

To have a maternity hospital solely for Redditch would not justify more than a 10–12 bed unit, which would be quite uneconomical to run. As it is, between 1st July and 20th October, 92 Redditch mothers have had their confinements in Bromsgrove and three have gone to Evesham. There are additional beds at Bromsgrove which we would like to open if we have the staff. The major problem of a small unit at Redditch would be trying to staff it.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent the financial restrictions placed upon management committees of mental hospitals is preventing them from recruiting nursing and medical staff.

My right hon. Friend has no precise evidence that financial restrictions are preventing mental hospital management committees from recruiting essential nursing and medical staff. He will, however, be glad to look into any particular case the hon. Member has in mind if he will give him the details.

Could not the Minister give a definite guarantee that, if evidence can be provided of cases where hospitals are not able to recruit the staff that is available in the area, he will not let finance stand in the way?

My right hon. Friend and I have been round the country on many of these mental-health recruiting campaigns during this year, and there has never been any suggestion that if the staff could be obtained the hospitals would be unable to take them on for the reasons outlined by the hon. Gentleman. We have done all we can to encourage recruiting.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will make a statement concerning our casualty services and in particular, whether any improvement can be made on the provision of buildings at Newcastle General Hospital.

Although there is room for further improvement here as in other hospital services, the casualty services have been widely improved in recent years by re-organisation, additional staffing, and adaptation or new building. Special steps have also been taken to deal with major accidents. With regard to the second part of the question, work on the casualty department at Newcastle General Hospital is included in the regional hospital board's programme for 1958–59.

Is the Minister aware that there are very important articles in the medical Press on the subject of our casualty service and about its urgent needs? Secondly, does his reference to the Newcastle provision mean anything more than the adaptation of an existing tin hut? That really is not good enough.

With regard to the first part of the supplementary question, I have read the article in the Medical World. It under-estimates the improvements that have taken place in recent years. With regard to the second part, I have visited the casualty Department in Newcastle. Included in the programme for 1958–59 is a scheme of improvements costing about £15,000, of which two-thirds will be spent in that year.