asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will authorise the Export Credits Guarantee Department to modify, in respect of constructional projects in overseas countries, its stipulation regarding acceptance of the works and to treat periodical certificates as acceptance of the works to the full extent of the value shown in the certificates.

The Export Credits Guarantee Department issues standard guarantees to contractors which give cover from the date the contract is signed. The stipulation that constructional works must have been accepted by the overseas buyer only arises when Export

asked the President of the Board of Trade at what annual rate exports from Great Britain to the Union of South Africa are now running for this year; and how that rate compares with the exports to the Union during 1955.

£156 million, compared with £167 million in the year 1955.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what trade promotion

asked the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of the overseas trade of the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which figures are available was done with the Commonwealth and Colonies.

The following is the answer:activities are at present being undertaken by Government services in regard to exports from Great Britain to the Union of South Africa.

Government services for exporters to the Union are provided by the Export Services Branch and Regional Export Officers of the Board of Trade, by the Export Credits Guarantee Department, by the Trade Commissioner Offices at Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban and by the Overseas Information Services. In addition, we are considering with representatives of industry whether special activities might be undertaken next year in collaboration with the British Manufacturers and Representatives Association in the Union.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the increasing cost of petrol to the consumer, due to the Middle East situation, he will consider reducing by the same amount and for the same period the tax on petrol, and making up the loss by an increased cut in Government expenditure on the Civil Service.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the economic situation on 4th December.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what immediate steps he intends to take in view of the economic crisis, to reduce the burden of defence expenditure.

As the hon. Member will be aware, a review of the defence programme, and its cost, is in progress, and is regarded by the Government as a matter of urgency. I cannot anticipate the outcome of that review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an estimate, based on his existing experience of cinema closings, of the loss to the revenue from Entertainments Duty at current rates which will result on the assumption that, as has been predicted, 1,000 cinemas are closed in the next two years.

I really could not make so hypothetical an estimate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give figures showing the amount of cinema Entertainments Duty over a recent convenient period collected in respect of the cheaper prices of admission up to 2s.; and what percentage of the total this represents.

Precise figures of the amount of duty paid on the various admission prices are not available, but it is estimated that in the three months August to October, 1956, about £2¾ million was collected from cinema seats of 2s. and under, and that this was about 28 per cent. of the Entertainments Duty collected from cinemas in the same period.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made in remodelling the structure of Entertainments Duty in accordance with the undertaking given during the course of the Committee stage of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 1955.

My right hon. Friend has undertaken a comprehensive review of the whole structure of the Entertainments Duty. Progress has been made, but I cannot anticipate the outcome of the review: any alteration in the duty would, of course, be a matter for a Budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now give an estimate of the cost in dollars to replace our present oil shortage by oil and petrol from dollar markets.

No. My right hon. Friend is not yet able to add to the statement he made to the House on 4th December.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much he estimates the revenue from the current Income Tax would be increased if Surtax and tax in the higher income limits were replaced to the level in operation prior to the last three Budgets; and whether he will consider this in his forthcoming Budget in place of the present 1s. per gallon tax on petrol.

If the standard rate of Income Tax were restored to its 1954–55 level of 9s. in the £ and the subsequent changes in personal allowances were not reversed, the additional yield would be about £90 million in a full year, of which over £50 million would fall on the undistributed profits of companies. The level of Surtax has not changed in this time. In preparing his next Budget my right hon. Friend will take all relevant considerations into account.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he expects to announce Her Majesty's Government's conclusions following the review of local government finance.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will now make a statement on the reorganisation of local government finance, with particular reference to the rate burden falling upon occupiers of shops and offices and other premises to which industrial derating does not apply.

I hope to make a general statement on local government finance quite soon.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) how many of his Department's inspectors are engaged in inquiring into slum clearance schemes;(2) how many additional inspectors he estimates are required for slum clearance schemes.

There are engaged on inquiries into slum clearance orders the equivalent of 25 full-time inspectors. It is hoped to recruit at least 20 more housing and planning inspectors during the next few weeks, and a substantial proportion of these will be engaged on slum clearance inquiries.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many houses he estimates will become decontrolled and liable to rent increases in the parliamentary constituencies of Lewisham, North, and Carmarthen under the Government's new rent scheme.

I am afraid I am not able to give a separate estimate for each constituency.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the present employment position at Briggs and Fords in Dagenham.

About 16,000 workers began working a four-day week on 3rd December.

asked the Minister of Labour how many workers have been paid off in recent weeks from the distillery at Dumbarton; how many have been found other employment; and how many are still on the register.

It is not my usual policy to disclose confidential information about redundancies in a particular firm.

asked the Minister of Labour by how much the cost of living is expected to rise as a result of the additional charge of £2 a ton on the freightage of the oil supplies of 29 million tons in 1957, having to come round the Cape of Good Hope.

The hon. Member will be aware of the increases in wholesale prices which were announced by the oil companies last week. I understand that, of these increases, about 2¾d. per gallon is attributable to increased costs of oil supplies arising from the closure of the Suez Canal. The direct effect of this on the Index of Retail Prices is estimated at about one-tenth of a point.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to state the number and nature of accidents resulting in injury to or death of officers and crew which have occurred during each of the last five years in the Government's Fisheries Research vessels, stating which vessel in each case.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will introduce legislation giving effect to the principle of equal pay for men and women in the teaching profession.

This is unnecessary. Equal pay for all women teachers is already provided for in the salaries regulations which I have made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has considered the letter from the Haldane Community Association, Balloch, regarding the smoke nuisance at Shearer Quadrant; and what action he proposes to take.

I have not received any letter from the Haldane Community Association, Balloch, on this subject, but I shall be glad to look into the matter if the hon. Member will let me have full particulars.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when it is proposed to authorise the two major schemes on trunk road A74 in the county of Lanark.

The following is the answer:

Of the two schemes on A74 in Lanarkshire included in the announced programme for the four years ending on the 31st March, 1959, I hope to authorise one (Auldton Heights to 1·7 miles south of Millbank) in 1957–58 and the other (Abington and Crawford Diversions) in 1958–59.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the strength of the police force in Scotland; and what is the authorised complement.

At 30th November, 1956, the authorised establishment of Scottish police forces was 8,468 male and 244 female officers. The actual strengths were 7,810 and 234, respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect the shortage of technical staff is having on the new road programme.

The shortage of technical staff from which some authorities are suffering has affected the priority given to some schemes, but is causing no serious delay to the programme as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for War the number of reservists in Scottish units now serving abroad, indicating the units in which they are serving, and when they will be released.

There are reservists serving overseas in the following Scottish units: The Royal Scots, The Royal Scots Fusiliers, the King's Own Scottish Borderers, The Black Watch, The Sea-forth Highlanders, The Gordon Highlanders, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The Highland Light Infantry, and The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders.I can give no useful up-to-date figures because the number of reservists still serving is dwindling from day to day as the release scheme proceeds, but at the end of November, before they started coming back, the total number of reservists serving in Scottish units overseas was just over 300.

asked the Secretary of State for War when the National Service men, serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers in Malaya, who have completed their period of service, will be brought home and demobilised.

A number of National Service men of this battalion whose full-time service should have ended on 6th December are on their way home by sea and are due in this country on about 13th December. They will be released as quickly as possible after arrival. I regret this delay, which has been unavoidable because of the heavy strain placed on transport facilities from the Far East.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many National Service men, who have completed their term of service, are still being retained in the Army at home and abroad; and if he will make a statement.

No National Service men are being kept in the Army beyond their normal date for release from full-time service, except when transport difficulties have made delay unavoidable. Such cases have occurred almost exclusively in the Far East. Any figure quoted would be misleading because the position changes from day to day, but I can assure the House that the number of men involved is small and that the period of detention is in all cases short.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give an assurance that National Service men who were required to sign an undertaking to extend their period of service before they were allowed to proced to the Middle East with their units will now only be retained after the expiry of their two years' obligation if there are important military reasons for their retention, and then only for so long as such reasons exist, or until transport facilities permit their return to this country; and if he will make a statement.

No National Service men were required to sign such an undertaking, but some who wished to accompany their units to the Middle East were allowed to volunteer for short service Regular engagements of 6 or 12 months. These men will be required to complete their Regular engagements. I can assure my hon. Friend that the release of National Service men from full-time service has been delayed only in a few cases where transport has not been available to bring them home by the due date.

asked the Secretary of State for War why a restriction was recently imposed on Service men in Cyprus, for approximately three weeks, preventing them from corresponding with their relatives; and why parents of serving men were not informed.

No such restriction was imposed, and I know of no general delay of mail except for one of up to 48 hours when censorship was first imposed because of impending operations in Egypt

asked the Secretary of State for War if, in view of the increase in the price of petrol, he will increase the travelling allowances paid to all ranks of the Territorial Army when attending drills.

Members of the Territorial Army who travel by public transport receive a refund of their fares. The rates of motor mileage allowance are now under review.

asked the Secretary of State for War to what extent, in view of the psychological effect on people of seeing large lorries driven along roads for no purpose other than teaching men to drive, learner-driver courses have been curtailed in the Army.

As I have already announced, the Army's petrol consumption is being substantially cut. This has led to a reduction of driver training, and we are working out the maximum reduction that can be made in instruction of learner drivers without serious injury to the Army's future mobility.

asked the Secretary of State for War the units at present serving in the Gold Coast; the number of British officers and other ranks serving there; and the total size of the forces.

The only British unit is a Royal Signals unit of 2 officers and 31 other ranks. The Gold Coast military forces consist of 3 Infantry Battalions, a field battery Royal Artillery and supporting units. 184 British officers and 222 British other ranks are serving with them.

asked the Secretary of State for War, in view of the fact that the 1st Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment, now stationed in Hong Kong, will not be embarking for England on 9th December as previously planned, whether he will make provision for Christmas parcels to be sent by air either free or at a cheap rate.

This year a post-free airmail Christmas parcel is being allowed only for Service men in Korea. To extend the scheme to individual units in non-operational theatres such as Hong Kong, however strong the particular case, would cause unjustifiable anomalies, and I regret that I cannot meet the hon. Member's request.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what are the respective institutions for mutual help, economic, military and political co-operation in which we participate with European countries and those which enlist in addition the co-operation of non-European countries with the code initials with which they are, respectively, commonly known; and whether he will consider issuing an annual White Paper to enable the public to keep informed of news which is expressed in terms of initials.

Major European organisations with United Kingdom participation or association include the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (O.E.E.C.), Western European Union (W.E.U.), The Council of Europe (which is not usually abbreviated into initials) and the European Coal and Steel Community (E.C.S.C.). Organisations in which Her Majesty's Government participate with both European and non-European countries are numerous, the best known, perhaps, being the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (N.A.T.O.).As regards the second part of the Question I would invite the hon. Member's attention to the hand-book entitled "Western Co-operation" published by the Central Office of Information, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will collaborate with the French Government during the present crisis in negotiations with the Government of the United States of America in respect of an equitable allocation of oil supplies to both countries from the United States of America and of other economic and financial easement.

Yes, Sir. Since the closure of the Suez Canal, Her Majesty's Government have maintained through the channels of the Organisation for European Co-operation (O.E.E.C.) and its Oil Committee close contact with the French Government both in regard to oil supplies and also in matters affecting our economic and financial position generally.The United States has been represented at O.E.E.C. meetings and has in this way been kept fully informed of British and French needs and plans for meeting current economic problems, including that of the supply of oil, and has taken part in negotiations for remedying commodity shortages that may occur in France and Great Britain as in other member countries of O.E.E.C.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number of refugees who have crossed the Hungarian frontiers to the latest convenient date; and, of those so crossing, how many have asked Her Majesty's Government that they may be accepted as immigrants within the British Empire and Commonwealth.

Up to 10th December approximately 126,000 Hungarian refugees had arrived in Austria. On 7th December the Yugoslav Government announced that 859 Hungarian refugees had arrived in Yugoslavia. I understand that many of the refugees who have arrived in Austria, including those who have since come to the United Kingdom, wish to proceed to other Commonwealth countries, but no precise figures are yet available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will state the policy of the Government in regard to the Service bases in Ceylon.

Following the agreement in principle announced after talks with Mr. Bandaranaike last July, it has been agreed that the United Kingdom Government will hand over the bases of Trincomalee and Katunayake to Ceylon in 1957, on a date to be agreed between the two Governments. Regarding the facilities required by the United Kingdom Government, discussions are proceeding as to the extent and duration of, and conditions for, such facilities. The United Kingdom Government expect to make further detailed proposals on this during January, 1957.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (1) what consultations have taken place between Her Majesty's Government and countries within the British Empire and Commonwealth, in regard to the acceptance of Hungarian refugees; what replies have been received; and what is the total number of such refugees that can now be accepted by the countries concerned;(2) what joint arrangements have been made to move, either by sea or by air, those Hungarian refugees who wish to emigrate and are acceptable to the Empire and Commonwealth Governments concerned; and whether he will arrange to provide transport, free of cost, to the emigrants concerned.

The desire of many Hungarian refugees to emigrate overseas has evoked a most generous response from the Commonwealth countries concerned. The Governments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have announced their intentions as follows. Canada will accept refugees without any limit on their number, Australia will take up to 5,000, New Zealand up to 1,000 and South Africa up to 500. For those wishing to go to Canada free transport is being arranged by the Canadian Government; in other cases transport from Austria is being provided by the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration in conjunction with the authorities of the Commonwealth country concerned. There is thus no reason to believe that financial problems will prevent any Hungarian refugee acceptable to a Commonwealth Government from reaching the country of his choice.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Report of the Committee on marketing of woodland produce will be available.

This Report will be published tomorrow. Copies of the Report will be available in the Vote Office. The recommendations of the Committee will receive careful consideration by Ministers and by the Forestry Commissioners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Africans have been registered as electors in the different tribes, respectively, in Kenya.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 14th November, 1956; Vol. 560, c. 20], supplied the following information:—By the 31st October, 64,606 Africans had been registered as voters in Kenya. The breakdown of this total by tribes is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number and names of United States and British commercial firms and corporations, respectively, at present operating in each of the British Caribbean territories.

I am making inquiries and I will write to the hon. Member giving him the information as soon as it is available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that Smith Congregational Infant School, Georgetown, British Guiana, with an area of 1,500 square feet was, this summer, accommodating 400 children instead of the maximum of 150 permitted by the education code; and what is proposed in the way of repairs and extensions for this and other schools in British Guiana.

I am consulting the Governor of British Guiana and will write to the hon. Member when I have the Governor's reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which Colonies and Protectorates have a statutory minimum wage rate; and what is the amount of this wage rate in each case.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer given to the hon. Member for Bilston (Mr. R. Edwards) on 27th July, 1955, to which I have nothing to add.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the number of African, Asian, European, and Arab children, respectively, attending school in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika, respectively; what is the cost per child to the Government for each race and territory; how many children of each race and territory are at primary and secondary schools; what is the number of boys and girls in each of these categories; and what is the proportion in each category of the total number of children of school age in that category.

Since this information is not immediately available in the detail requested, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT after consultation with the Governors concerned.

asked the Minister of Health when the General Dental Council expect to bring out regulations for the proper professional employment of dental hygienists as laid down in Sections 18 and 19 of the Dentists Act.

I have been asked to reply as representing the Lord President of the Council. The General Dental Council has recently submitted draft regulations for the consideration of the Privy Council as required by Section 18 of the Dentists Act, 1956.

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of paralytic and non-paralytic poliomyelitis at ages two to nine years have been recorded since 30th June, 1956, to the latest date available, in children who had one or two doses of poliomyelitis vaccine, and in children who remained uninoculated, respectively, and in what towns or villages the cases were notified, with the number in each area.

In the September quarter the corrected numbers of cases of poliomyelitis notified at ages 2 to 9 inclusive were 262 paralytic and 390 non-paralytic. I am sending the hon. Member details of the administrative areas concerned.During the same period Medical Officers of Health reported to the Ministry no confirmed case of paralytic poliomyelitis among vaccinated children. 3 cases of non-paralytic poliomyelitis were reported, 2 in Manchester and I in Tottingdon Urban District.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now able to announce the changes arising out of the increase in the petrol duty in the allowances towards the running costs of motor cars and tricycles used by the disabled.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I have decided that, while the present increase in petrol duty remains in force, the allowances now made shall be increased as from 4th December as follows:—the allowance towards maintenance of war pensioners' cars by 36s. a quarter; the petrol duty allowance for war pensioners' motor tricycles by 20s. a quarter; and the allowance of free petrol for civilian patients' motor tricycles by 2½ gallons a quarter. There will be no change in the conditions for granting these additional allowances. It will take a little time to make the necessary arrangements for paying the allowances, but there is no need for the individuals concerned to apply for them.