asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in view of the recent increase in the price of flour, he will reintroduce price control.

No, Sir.

Is the Minister not aware that the price of flour has jumped twice in the past six weeks, despite the fact that millers are already making enormous profits out of the British farmer, both in the price of flour and in the prices of the by-products which they sell back to him at more than they originally pay him for the wheat? Does he not think it is time he broke the stranglehold of Spillers and Ranks on the British housewife and farmer?

The hon. Lady has forgotten that there is competition between imported flour and home-produced flour, That is a great safeguard which helps to ensure that the price of flour is reasonable.

In view of the fact that we must all do everything we can to hold the cost of living, and in view of the fact that the price of bread has increased since we last debated that subject not very long ago, will the right hon. Gentleman at least carefully review the topic of price control and keep it in mind and exercise it if he thinks it would be helpful?

I am quite clear on all the evidence I have at present that it would be far from helpful if I were to introduce it at the present time.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the method by which the cut in the supply of diesel oil for the farming industry will be applied.

The procedure for applying this is not finally decided, but will be announced very shortly.

Will my right hon. Friend impress upon his colleagues that in a near-siege economy it is a very good safeguard to have increasing home food production? Will he see that there is no saving of oil which will have the effect of reducing home production of food?

I can assure my hon. Friend that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Fuel and Power is very sympathetic towards the importance of home food production.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now make a full report upon the effect of industrial fluorosis on the animals at the Fenton Manor Farm; what mineral supplement deposits have been found on the vegetation there; what clinical symptoms of fluorosis have affected the teeth, bones, and weight of animals, the milk production, and the development of calves on that farm; and what is the effect of these mineral deposits on human beings.

This is a complex problem. I am having a detailed note prepared for the hon. Gentleman and will send it to him in a day or two.

Will the Minister convey to his staff, especially the medical and scientific people, both men and women, that we greatly appreciate the work which they are doing, but that this is now becoming an urgent matter?

I agree about the importance of the matter. The hon. Member knows that for various reasons these experiments are taking longer than we originally intended. I think that it will be a year or two yet before we get a final report, but I will give the hon. Member all the interim information which is available.

As these experiments have been continuing for a long time, almost four years, is it not possible for the right hon. Gentleman to come to some conclusion about them? The results at Fenton Manor Farm are very evident. Will he give us some information about the effects on human beings, because the danger is increasing and nothing is being done about it?

The hon. Lady will agree that it is very difficult to hurry scientific research if one is to get full advantage from the result. I can assure her that those conducting the experiments realise the need to produce final results at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what have been the total numbers of poultry destroyed this year as a result of fowl pest disease; and what is the amount of compensation that has been paid.

Outbreaks of fowl pest this year, to 30th November, have involved the slaughter of about 890,000 birds, including 186,000 day-old chicks, and the destruction of 830,000 hatching eggs. Compensation is estimated to amount to £1 million.

In view of the fact that this disease has now been prevalent in this country for nine years and does not seem to be diminishing in any way, is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that the methods of tackling it are the best? Had not we better inquire into those methods and, rather than chase outbreaks of the disease, try to discover the places where the disease originates?

This is a very important question, and every possible consideration and weight is being attached to its solution. On present evidence, I am quite certain that our present policy of slaughter and compensation is the right one. The only alternative that I know of at present, which would be to rely upon vaccination, would be far more expensive to the industry and, on present evidence, very much less effective.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in how many cases the owner of a large farm has been able to buy up a small farm in the neighbourhood and dispossess the tenant in similar circumstances to the Caythorpe Farm in Lincolnshire.

My records of consents given and refused to the operation of notices to quit do not show whether or not the landlords had larger farms than the tenants, or the circumstances in which they acquired their land.

Is not this a case of the old type, of Ahab trying to acquire Naboth's vineyard? Is it a good policy to allow the big ones to buy up the smaller ones, particularly in the case mentioned here, where the tenant came back during the war, took on the farm in very bad condition and worked it up to the satisfaction of all the Minister's officers in the district?

The other case to which the hon. Member referred was not under my supervision. I am not sure whether it is an exact analogy, therefore. I would remind the hon. Member that one of the grounds for approving notices to quit is inefficient farming. As he knows, this, matter has gone before the tribunal, and it would not be proper for me to comment upon the decision of the tribunal.

Will the Minister be good enough to look at the case of this farm, to see whether it throws up some weak spots in the 1947 Act?

I have looked at this case very carefully. It has gone fully through all the proper procedure. While it is true that different views will inevitably be held about the final decisions in these cases—as the right hon. Gentleman will agree—this case has been most fully and properly considered.

Is it not remarkable that the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. T. Williams) thinks that he might have spotted a weakness in the 1947 Act?

I invited the Minister to see whether there was a weak spot in the Act, and the right hon. Gentleman has not found one.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that his graders in bacon factories measure the length of pig carcases while the carcases are hanging; that for progeny testing the length of the carcase is measured while the carcases are lying flat on a table; that there is often a difference of one inch between the hanging and lying lengths of the same carcase; and whether, in the interests of simplicity and of the pig industry generally, he will introduce one standard system of measuring.

Yes, Sir; we are consulting with the National Pig Progeny Testing Board to ensure that when, national testing starts comparable length measurements are obtained from both sources.

The Minister refers to "comparable length measurements." Will he not ask the progeny testers to conform to the hanging standard?

The question under consideration at present is what will be the best ultimate method. I agree with the hon. Member that, as things are at present, there is a risk of confusion.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has considered the protest from the National Union of Small Shopkeepers concerning the threatened increase in the price of jams and jellies affecting 300 brands; and what reply he has sent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has taken in response to the appeal of the National Union of Small Shopkeepers urging him, on their behalf, to make representations to food manufacturers about the frequent increases in the prices of their products.

The union has been informed that I do not consider that the course it suggests is warranted.

Am I to take it from that reply that the right hon. Gentleman intends to take no steps at all to control these prices? Does he now admit that there is going to be a great increase in all prices, in complete distinction to what he said last week, when he told the nation that there would be no increases of price?

If the hon. Lady looks at what I said last week, she will see that that was not precisely what I said. I said that I saw no reason why the Suez crisis should give grounds for any general and serious increase in food prices. I have no reason to change the opinion I expressed last week.

Does not my right hon. Friend think that the way to satisfy the housewife is to point out to her how cheap fruit has been and that if she wants cheaper jams she should buy the fruit and make the jam herself?

I have always expressed the opinion that the housewife can influence these results very considerably if she determines to do so.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that the prices of sugar and tea are to be increased as a result of the Suez crisis; and if he will now take steps, by price control or otherwise, to avoid such increases taking place in the immediate future.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member and others on 29th November.

Is the Minister aware that his replies are disastrous to the nation? His replies indicate that we will probably have strikes because of his failure to control these prices. Sugar will be decontrolled in January and it is, therefore, going up in price, not because of the Suez crisis, but merely because of some people seeking extra profit at a time of national emergency.

As regards the first part of the hon. Lady's question, it is just because I realise how very important it is that the nation should get its food at the most reasonable prices possible that I am sure that the methods I am pursuing are right. As regards the second part of her question, I do not know why she assumes that the price of sugar will necessarily go up on 1st January.

It will.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that shortage of petrol or increase in price of petrol will cause increases in prices of vegetables and other food; and if he will take steps, by price control or otherwise, to avoid such increases for a period of at least six months.

No, Sir.

Am I to take it that the Minister is so blind that he cannot see what a blind man would feel with his stick? Will he define for us what are the duties of a Minister of Food during a national emergency?

The duties of a Minister of Food, as I understand it, are to do what he can to ensure that the nation is well-fed, and fed at reasonable prices. That is my objective.

In view of the fact that the price of petrol is going up as a result of direct Government action, will the right hon. Gentleman accept, as one of his responsibilities, a careful review of price changes, in order to see that wherever necessary the Government intervene to see that those price changes are no higher than is absolutely necessary?

I agree with the hon. Member that the increased price of fuel will be one factor in the cost of food, which will temporarily go up, but there are very many other factors in the cost of food. The hon. Lady's Question deals particularly with vegetables. I do not think that supplies of vegetables have been better or more ample for a long time—certainly not during the last two or three years—and the prices are reasonable.

Why is it that the right hon. Gentleman and his right hon. Friends continue to say that there is no increase in the cost of living, when there is not a housewife in the country who will not tell him that every week when she gets her grocery bill there is a halfpenny on this and a penny on that? Why do Ministers say that there has been no increase in the price of food?

The hon. Member will no doubt keep his eye on the cost of living index.

Ask my wife.

asked the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food what proportion of the fat cows and heavy bullocks sold for shipment to the Continent in the past six months have carried subsidy under the fatstock guarantee scheme; what was the total sum so paid; and if he has made an estimate of the steadying effect on fat cattle prices generally of relieving the home market of such heavyweight beasts with the consequent saving in the general payment of fatstock guarantees.

I regret I have not the information to give precise figures, but it is estimated that in the six months April to September, 1956, some 20,000 head of cattle were exported, of which perhaps one-third were eligible for guarantee payments, totalling roughly £100,000. There is no means of knowing what the market price would have been without these purchases for export and, therefore, of estimating any overall saving of subsidy, but they undoubtedly had a steadying effect on the markets in which the stock was bought.

Has my right hon. Friend formed his own estimate whether our country has gained or lost by the development of this trade in fat cattle with the Continent?

I am satisfied that, to date, the export of these fat cattle has been a benefit to the country.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that if these cattle had been in the Argentine they would have been slaughtered, cooked, put into tins and sent to Great Britain to be consumed? Why should not we do that kind of thing here instead of importing from the Argentine?

That is a wider question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by how much the average of market prices for fat cattle fell in the twelve months ended November, 1956; and to what extent his Department's food survey shows a corresponding reduction in retail beef prices.

In the year ended November, 1956, average auction prices of cattle eligible for the guarantee fell from 136s. to 92s. per live cwt. I regret that no comparable information of the retail prices of beef is available from the National Food Survey.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that it is highly desirable that some comparable information should be published for every housewife to know so that we can all be quite sure that the fall in the price of fat cattle is being adequately reflected in the price of beef in the butchers' shops?

I would remind my hon. Friend that he is giving the National Food Survey only six days to produce the information, because he is asking for comparable figures up to 30th November last. But the National Food Survey figures available do not differentiate between home-produced beef and imported beef.

Since the fall has been, shall we say, about 33 per cent. between April and November, will the right hon. Gentleman try from now on to get some sort of survey of what fluctuation there has been in prices in the butchers' shops?

I do not want to make the National Food Survey too complicated, and it is difficult to know how far to carry the analysis. The figures for the retail price of beef will be available shortly but not at present separately for home-produced and imported beef.

The right hon. Gentleman says he has had only a few days to get the figures, but surely these facts have been known to the public and the farmers for a very long time? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is rare nowadays to find a butcher putting price tickets on individual pieces of meat in his shop?

My reference to six days was to the period for which my hon. Friend asked for information. I hope and believe that the practice of using price tickets is steadly extending among retailers. I should certainly wish it to do so.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that for several weeks English hindquarters have been cheaper in the London Meat Market than Argentine hindquarters?

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many vacant Crown properties there are in Regent's Park, in either undivided Nash terrace houses, mews flats or other premises.

The Crown properties in Regent's Park at present vacant and in hand are 50 Nash terrace houses and 27 mews flats.

Will the Minister do all that he can to ensure that these 77 properties are made fit for people to live in as quickly as possible in view of the serious housing shortage in Central London?

Yes, I agree with the hon. Lady that it is desirable. There are particular difficulties in this case. There were negotiations for the majority of these houses in Cumberland Terrace to be made available as a hostel for London University, but the University decided finally that it did not want them for that purpose. That has caused the present position. As the hon. Lady knows, it is not a question merely of conversion but of long-term reconstruction of these Nash terrace houses, which is a very big project indeed.

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker, May we know what this has to do with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food?

As a Commissioner of Crown Lands.

In view of the fact that many Members of Parliament living in London will be given notice to quit in about nine months' time under the provisions of the Rent Bill, will the right hon. Gentleman open a waiting list so that those M.P.s can apply for the Nash terrace houses in Regent's Park?

If the hon. Gentleman would care to put in an application for one of these houses, I would use my best influence to see that he is accommodated.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many houses in Regent's Park under his control are being used for offices or other non-residential purposes; and what plans he has for converting them to flats as a contribution to London's housing problem.

One hundred and seventy-eight houses in Regent's Park are at present held for use as offices or for other non-residential purposes. The future of these houses will be considered by the Board of Crown Estate Commissioners which is about to be appointed.

Will the Minister take the best possible advice on this question of the conversion of these houses back TO residential use? Is he aware that in many parts of London big houses have been converted in a practical way for family living and that this could make a contribution not only to the housing problem but, by reducing the number of people employed in offices in the central area, it would help to solve the travelling problem as well?

I agree with the hon. Lady, and I believe that the solution which she has indicated is the kind of long-term solution which ought to be adopted. But as I say, unfortunately it cannot be done piecemeal. The whole project is an enormous one.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has taken following the increase by India of the export duty on tea by over 30 per cent. from 1st December.

None, Sir. The price of tea in the auctions here is governed by supply and demand.

Can my right hon. Friend say what effect he expects this to have on the price of tea? Is the answer to that question also, "None"?

Yes, Sir, I think it is. As an indication of that, the prices in the Calcutta auction on Monday fell by precisely the amount by which the export duty had been increased.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food approximately how many gilts and sows in commercial herds were artificially inseminated during the last twelve months.

I am informed that the number of sows and gilts in commercial herds inseminated during the past year by the four cattle breeding centres that have been conducting pilot schemes for pigs was 1,800.

Is the Minister aware that those who have used artificial insemination in pig breeding feel much encouraged about the future of this improvement in the pig industry? But is he also aware that expansion of the practice appears to be very slow? Is the Ministry taking enough interest in this matter?

I hope so, because I agree with the hon. Gentleman that, in the long-term, this will probably be as important in the case of pigs as for cattle. But, in the short-term, it has not reached the commercial stage yet, and I am advised that there are many problems still to be solved. I hope that the institution of the Pig Industry Development Authority which we are proposing, and which, among other things, will have responsibility for the supervision of the policy of A.I. in the pig industry, will hasten the solution of some of the outstanding problems.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to improve the deficiency payments scheme for barley.

I am considering the possibility of simplifying the method of calculating the rate of deficiency payment for barley.

Would the right hon. Gentleman agree that at the moment there is a major need to encourage the production of home-grown feeding stuffs. In the light of that, will he consider altering the present system of payment to see that special encouragement is given to the production of feeding barley?

I agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is part of the Government's policy to encourage the efficient production of home-grown feeding stuffs. My anxiety is not to change the method until I am sure that we have found a still better one. Undoubtedly a defect of the present system is that it is complicated.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in assessing the 33⅓ per cent. grant for permanent fixed equipment on farms and the making of long-term improvements, he will allow the farmers' own labour to count in the total cost.

I regret that this would not be practicable, even if it were acceptable in principle.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many of these improvements, especially on small farms, will be done with the excellent prefabricated buildings now on sale, in the putting up of which the farmer's own labour can play a large part?

I agree with my hon. Friend. I have looked at this problem twice, very sympathetically, hoping to be able to find the kind of solution which I know he would welcome. But I have to admit that I have been unsuccesful. The difficulties in adopting the kind of solution which he would like are, unfortunately, not confined to agriculture.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what method of assessment he has now devised to ensure that all possible economies are achieved at the branches of the National Egg Distributors' Association (1954) Limited.

A variety of methods are used by my Department and the board of the company to ensure all possible economies. These include regular reviews of the staff position and of comprehensive statements of branch costs, as well as frequent inspection of branches by the general manager of the company.

Has not the right hon. Gentleman considered that he has again been stigmatised by the Public Accounts Committee in this matter; that it has declared that there is no satisfactory procedure at present in operation? In view of the importance of eggs in the light of the scheme we are shortly to consider, will the right hon. Gentleman tackle this problem seriously? Will he say he is prepared to do something about it?

I am trying to indicate that we are doing something about it, and we believe that it is something which will be effective. But I think I can say that we do not believe that there is a simple index of efficiency which, by itself, would provide the solution. I cannot anticipate otherwise the conclusions which will be addressed in a minute to the Public Accounts Committee. By a "minute" I do not mean a moment of time—I mean the minute I have in mind.

Is not the best solution for the Government to get out of trading in eggs?

I think before very long the House may have an opportunity to discuss that very important question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what inquiries he is now making to find out the actual return to producers on fatstock sales by private treaty and comparable sales.

Representative samples are being obtained from such records of private treaty or grade and deadweight sales as are available or can be obtained with the co-operation of the trade.

As this covers about one-quarter of the sales, will the right hon. Gentleman see whether he can satisfy himself that he does get adequate information?

Yes, I believe that we shall do that. I can tell the hon. Gentleman that so far the partial returns which I have had indicate that for cattle the prices are not materially different from those at the auctions; but that is only an interim report. The final conclusion may be different.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the appointment of a committee to advise on the acquisition and disposal of bloodstock by the National Stud.

Yes, Sir. As recommended by the Committee on National Stud policy and methods of operation, I have appointed a standing Committee to advise me on all proposals for the acquisition and disposal of bloodstock—other than sales of yearlings and foals—by the National Stud. I am glad to say that the Duke of Norfolk has consented to act as Chairman of the Committee. The other members will be Mr. M. W. Wickham-Boynton and Mr. Jack Jarvis. I should like to make it clear that the members of the Committee will have no responsibility for the general policy of the Stud or for its day-to-day operations.

Can my right hon. Friend say whether this Committee will be operational forthwith?

I hope so.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) what is his estimate of the effect that petrol restrictions will have on employment;

asked the Minister of Labour what information has been made available to him by manufacturers about short-time working and unemployment in the motor industry, following the introduction of petrol rationing; and, in view of the possibility of disputes arising from this cause, whether he will forthwith offer the services of his Department towards the securing of a satisfactory settlement between both sides of the industry.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) whether he is taking note of the large-scale redundancies likely to arise in the motor industry following the closing of the Suez Canal; and what action he is taking-to re-allocate the labour force usefully;

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the unemployment and redundancy position in Coventry is now serious as a result of petrol rationing; and what steps he proposes to take to provide alternative employment for those put out of work.

asked the Minister of Labour which sections of industry have shown the greatest increase in unemployment and short-time working since the imposition of cuts in oil supplies.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that a Salford engineering firm making motor car accessories is having to go over to a four-day week; and, as the fuel shortage is likely to cause unemployment and short time in the motor-car industry, road haulage undertakings and factories using oil power, what steps he proposes to take to meet this situation.

Reports have been received that about 40,000 workers are at present on short time and about 1,500 have been declared redundant as a result of the restrictions on oil and petrol supplies. Most of those workers are in the motor vehicle and accessories industries.

While thanking the Minister for his statement—[HON. MEMBERS "Why?"]—may I ask whether he is aware that there is a growing fear among the people that there is a likelihood that the bad old days of unemployment may return? Can the Minister, facing up to the realities of the situation with deep conviction, get up at the Dispatch Box and state that there is no cause for that very grave apprehension?

I should not like to minimise the anxiety which one feels at present, nor would any member of the Government, but of this I am quite certain, that the sure and only guarantee of full employment is to have a sound economy. The measures that we have heard of in the last day or two from the Chancellor of the Exchequer are expressly designed to that end.

Is the Minister aware that in fact there is nothing to be thankful for in the statement we have just heard? Is he aware that there is growing perturbation in industrial centres, especially those like Birmingham, about unemployment, particularly in the ancillary industries apart from the motor manufacturers themselves? The Minister said that he hoped for consultations. What action does he intend to take, seeing that these matters arise from Government policy, to ensure that there is consultation before trouble arises? Cannot the Minister be much more positive in avoiding industrial disputes than he was on a previous occasion?

The position in regard to industrial disputes—and I am grateful for it, as I am sure the House is—has been quite satisfactory for some time. But we cannot compel consultation in these sort of matters. I have no doubt at all that the unions and the manufacturers where short-time working becomes unavoidable will be in consultation from the beginning. I think that was one of the lessons that everybody learned from the events earlier this year.

While we agree that consultation will do much, is the Minister aware that this 25 per cent. gap in oil supplies cannot be bridged merely by consultation? Would he, therefore, appreciate the need for a differential allocation of oil as between certain industries which may well stop production altogether unless we do that? Unless the Government can now take an active part to try to get alternative oil supplies, we will speedily have defensive thinking by workers as they see their jobs in jeopardy, which will result in a run-down in production levels which will be detrimental to the nation as a whole.

I entirely agree that some industries, more dependent either as a whole or for particular processes on oil, find this restriction more difficult than do others. I know that that is very much in the mind of the Minister of Fuel and Power and I, for my part, through the network of my regional offices, am keeping the closest and most detailed watch on all firms, even the very small ones, to see if and when dislocation shows itself.

Whatever the feelings in Dartford, is the Minister aware that his thin and unsatisfactory Answer will certainly not be welcomed in Coventry, where there is grim anxiety in case the city becomes a new displaced area? Further, is he aware that the effects of the Suez crisis are likely to be felt for at least another year? Quite apart from consultation, should he not seek, in conjunction with his colleagues, to diversify industry in the Midlands in order that the men displaced may be put in useful and fruitful occupations?

In answer to the first part of the supplementary—

On a point of order. Will the Minister tell my hon. Friend that I have nothing to do with Dartford and that he might at least get the constituency right?

There are many other things he might get right as well. The position at the moment—and I do not want to under-estimate the seriousness with which I approach it—is not one, through the fuel restrictions, that has caused widespread unemployment in any way. It has substantially increased the number of people on short time. At that stage the services of my Department in finding new employment do not come into play unless the workers themselves on short time wish to move, which, on the whole, they have shown little sign of doing. If they do, of course all the resources of my Department are at their disposal, but for the moment it is in short-time working and not in unemployment that the restrictions have shown themselves.

Does the Minister realise that there is a great deal more than fear in Coventry; there is grim realisation? Is the Minister aware that the announcement of petrol rationing caused the cancellation of car orders on a very large scale? Further, is he aware that the trade unions expect 20,000 car workers to be on short time before Christmas? What can he do about that?

I should not like to comment on that figure of 20,000. I am prepared to agree that it is not impossible with the trends that there have been in the motor car industry. The hon. Lady referred to unemployment. The male unemployment rate in Coventry today is 1·3 per cent., which compares almost exactly with the figure of 1·2 per cent. for Great Britain. I think that we should exaggerate the present position if we accepted the proposition that she puts forward, but I am entirely with her that the difficulties there are very real and it would be optimistic to hope that they will not get worse.

What steps is the Minister taking to dispel the widespread fears of workers in oil-powered factories outside the motor car industry that many thousands of them will be out of work or on short time on 1st January, when oil supplies are to be cut by 20 per cent.? Secondly, although the blame for causing this unemployment does not lie upon the Minister but on his Cabinet colleagues, is it not his job to lessen the suffering involved?

I will do everything I can to lessen any difficulties and to make easier any dislocations that come from this or, indeed, from any other cause, whatever it may be. It is very difficult in many of these figures to isolate petrol or oil rationing as a cause of short-time working or of redundancy. As far as the future is concerned, it is difficult to prophesy, because so many of the factories are scattered all over the country and are such small firms. It is believed that the present restrictions will not have a very formidable effect on redundancy, apart from the special case of the motor car industry. It may be that the future ones to which the hon. Gentleman refers will have a more difficult effect.

Will my right hon. Friend use whatever power he has with the Minister of Fuel and Power to see that supplies of oil go to the exporting industries so that unemployment and redundancy there shall be at the very minimum, because it is upon the maintenance of the exporting industries that our future really lies in the next six months?

Yes, that is the point raised earlier by the hon. Member for Newton (Mr. Lee). It is a very important one, and we are most closely in touch with it.

What is the use of continually appealing to the workers so to conduct themselves as to produce a sound economic policy if, every time they do it, the Government throw away the fruits of it by some new act of folly?

asked the Minister of Labour what effect the shortage of shipping resulting from the hold-up in the Suez Canal is having on employment in the motor car industry; and what are the prospects in this respect for the immediate future.

It is not possible to estimate what effect shipping difficulties are now having, or may have in the immediate future, on employment in the motor car industry.

Is the Minister aware that there are many motor car workers in my constituency, and that many of them have been informed that there is a hold-up of exports owing to a shortage of shipping? Are any special steps being taken to get some of the laid-up shipping of America for this purpose?

As I said in one of my earlier answers, it is difficult to isolate particular causes for any dislocation in industry. All the information I have is that there is very little hold-up here and that the lack of shipping, although a factor, is a secondary one in short-time working.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) if he will make a statement on the action which has been taken on the 1955 Report on the Recruitment of Scientists and Engineers by the engineering industry and the 1956 Report on Scientific and Engineering Manpower;

The 1955 Report on the Recruitment of Scientists and Engineers by the engineering industry did not call for any action by Her Majesty's Government. As regards the 1956 Report on Scientific and Engineering Manpower, I cannot add to what has been said by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education in the White Paper on Technical Education and by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 21st November in his statement to the House on university expansion. As regards apprenticeship, the National Joint Advisory Council has instituted an inquiry into the whole question taking particular account of the fact that in the next few years there will be an increasing number of boys and girls leaving school and coming into industry.

I have those two excellent reports here. I cannot understand why a reply should be prepared saying that they do not call for any action. Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that secondary school facilities are satisfactory, for example, and that the possibility of going from elementary to secondary school and from secondary school to university is satisfactory? If so, will he read the evidence put in by large-scale employers which shows that they are very indignant at the slow way that the Government are moving upon reports of this kind?

Many of the points which the hon. Gentleman makes should be put to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education. It is a fact that the 1955 Report—I only said the 1955 Report—did not call for any action by the Government. The 1956 Report is a different matter.

Has the Minister any power to help in the production of laboratory equipment and that kind of thing, which I feel is now the bottleneck in the expansion of this sort of education?

That is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education and not for the Minister of Labour.

Is the Minister aware that large numbers of our best scientists and engineers are receiving most attractive inducements from America and elsewhere to go over there? As they are so urgently required in this country to deal with technical training establishments, what in the Ministry of Education trying to do about it?

I cannot speak for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education, but I think the hon. Gentleman knows, as the whole House knows, that the Government have during this year announced major plans for important extensions in these fields because they recognise that they are of vital importance to the country.

Did I understand the Minister to say that he admitted that the 1956 Report called for action? If so, what action is being taken?

I can only refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies which I have mentioned and which have already dealt with that point.

asked the Minister of Labour why there is a difference of as much as 12 per cent. between the regions in the rate of increase in numbers of employees over the period from mid-1948 to mid-1955; and what steps he proposes taking to foster a more even rate of development.

The rate of increase between regions depends on many factors, and particularly on the degree to which reserves of labour are drawn into employment to meet the varying demands. It is the policy of the Government to encourage the use of the available resources of manpower to the best advantage.

Does not the Minister agree that the variations in the rates of increase are surprisingly large, and that if the rate of increase in Scotland had been as great as that in the Midlands Scotland ought to have another 136,000 employees? Is the Minister not aware that if this drain of population to certain centres of the country is not to be stopped and other centres are to receive equitable development, there must be more decisive action on the part of the Government?

The hon. Gentleman will find from the answer to a Written Question which, I believe, he has down today that, as between Scotland and England and Wales, the growth of employment is surprisingly level. It is true that in different parts and regions of England it is rather uneven, but that is because many people, married women and others, are drawn into the labour field where the particular level of demand is highest.

asked the Minister of Labour how many building trades workers were registered as unemployed at the latest available date in Norfolk, Norwich, and Great Yarmouth.

At 12th November, 1956, the figures were 168 at Norwich, 56 at Great Yarmouth, and 114 at all other employment exchanges in Norfolk.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that building trade employers in all those areas are apprehensive that these figures of unemployment will increase in the next few months very considerably through the lack of projects coming forward to be carried out? Would he not convey to his right hon. Friends the Ministers of Health, Housing and Local Government, and Education the need to release work to be done in the near future?

There is, of course, always some seasonal unemployment at this time, but I take the point about public works which the hon. Member mentioned. The only one I actually know about which he has mentioned is the question of school building, which is important in that area. The number of people engaged on school building work has, in fact, increased this year.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will bear in mind the demand for labour in the principal agricultural areas of the country and see if any of the Hungarian refugees with agricultural skill could be employed in the Gainsborough, Isle of Aixholme or Market Rasen area of Lincolnshire.

Yes, Sir; and I should be glad if any farmer who can offer employment and arrange for accommodation of Hungarians would notify his nearest local employment exchange. Of those who have already arrived, however, only a few have had agricultural experience.

Would my right hon. Friend look very carefully at the skill and training of any further refugees who may come into this country, because there are many houses available on our farms for good skilled workers?

I think that is very important, but on the whole the people who came in first were students, engineers and so on, and there were comparatively few who were suitable for this sort of work.

asked the Minister of Labour how many unemployed people there are in the Lindsey area of Lincoln shire; and how many in the town of Gainsborough.

In mid-November there were 2,622 unemployed persons on the registers of Employment Exchanges in the Lindsey area of Lincolnshire, of whom 102 were on the register of the Gainsborough Employment Exchange.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will recommend the creation of a special European section of the International Labour Organisation for the purpose of dealing with the labour problems associated directly with the European common market.

It is as yet premature to decide how far the International Labour Organisation will be required to assist the countries concerned in dealing with labour problems associated with the European Common Market, or by what means such assistance would best be given.

The Minister will be aware that the International Labour Organisation generally deals on an international basis with labour standards but has special branches set up some time ago to deal with particular Asian problems? In view of the particular problems to be solved in regard to the common market area, will the right hon. Gentleman give oensideration to the possibility of a special section to deal with those problems?

I think it likely that a retlationship will develop between the I.L.O. and appropriate organisations of those countries associated with the common market, but I do not think it would be appropriate in that development for me to try to take the lead.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will make it possible for young men to opt for work in the coal mines instead of performing national service.

Under current arrangements, the call-up of men who take employment in underground and certain surface coalmining occupations is suspended while they continue to be satisfactorily employed on such work. This fact is specially mentioned in the leaflets issued to men when they register under the National Service Acts.

We have been discussing the great tragedy which could come to the country unless we get a sufficiency of fuel. Would not the Minister now widen the scope—I understand that it means legislation—to permit all young men, irrespective of the trade they have, to opt for the mines, as we did during the war, as an alternative to National Service, which would appear now to be somewhat obsolete?

I am not sure that it would be of very great help if the period there were the same and they did two years in the mines instead of two years' National Service, which I presume is what is being suggested. It is right to try every method we can. I agree that we should do more, and bring to the attention of young men that the period of suspension from National Service while they serve satisfactorily in the coal mines is normally up to the age of 26.

Has the Minister any special plans for recruiting for the mines now that coal production is of greater importance in view of the shortage of oil?

That is not in dispute. I dealt with the question of recruitment in the mines in an answer last week on the work of the National Coal Board.

Will my right hon. Friend be very careful to avoid the coal industry becoming a dumping ground for those who only want to get into it to avoid National Service?

asked the Minister of Labour what is his policy regarding the liability to National Service of Cypriots who come to this country after having served in the police force in Cyprus.

A Cypriot who takes up residence in this country normally becomes liable for National Service after he has been here for two years. This liability would not be affected by any previous service in the Cyprus Police Force, but the question whether such service may count towards the period of whole-time National Service is under consideration.