asked the Minister of Labour what effect the restrictions imposed by the Middle East situation and the shortage of shipping have had on the cost-of-living index; and what are future prospects in this connection.

The Retail Prices Index has shown no effects up to the present. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has already stated what will be the probable effects of the increases in the prices of petrol and other oils. As to the future, I cannot predict the course of events and how these may affect prices.

asked the Minister of Labour by how much he estimates the cost-of-living index will be increased by the additional price of oil.

I would refer the hon. Member to the estimate given on Monday by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the Minister of Labour by how much the cost of living rises when petrol is increased in price by 1d. per gallon.

The direct effect would be equivalent to about one-eightieth part of a point.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) if he is aware that the method of calculation and construction of the Index of Retail Prices does not assess changes in weight of packet foods, tinned milk, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, sweets, jams, and marmalade; and, as weight changes can, and do, materially affect the cost-of-living index figure, if he will take steps to have weight fluctuations calculated;(2) if he is aware that the Report, Method of Construction and Calculation of the Index of Retail Prices, states that prices of household soap, soap powder, detergents, polishes, cleaning powders, and matches, are obtained by postal inquiry; if he is aware that no allowance is made for weight fluctuations of these materials or reductions in contents of boxes or stationery in packets and if he will take such factors into account so as to obtain a more accurate estimate of the price index to be achieved.

Fluctuations in the weight or contents of packages are already taken into account in calculating the Index of Retail Prices.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will issue a directive to all employment exchanges that before redundant factory workers are discharged an officer of the local employment exchange shall attend at the factory to inform both management and workers of the vacancies existing in the area and elsewhere.

There is a well known and long-standing instruction to all employment exchanges to do this, by arrangement with the employer, as soon as they learn that workers are likely to be discharged.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Aliens Department has not acknowledged or replied to letters dated 7th November and 23rd November, 1956, from Mr. R. K. Jablonski, of Solihull, who applied in July for a visa to be given for his mother to visit him from Poland before he himself takes up an appointment in South Africa.

The visa application was received in the Home Office from Warsaw only two days ago and a visa has now been authorised. I am sorry that owing to the heavy pressure of work on the section of the Aliens Department that deals with Central and Eastern Europe, Mr. Jablonski's letters had not been answered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the maximum sum per week a prisoner is allowed to earn in prison; when this rate was fixed; and, having regard to the change in money values, if he will consider increasing the amount earnable.

A prisoner on flat rates can earn up to 4s. a week; there is no maximum fixed for piece rates. The rates were fixed in 1951. I hope to make some improvements as soon as financial considerations permit, but I cannot at present say when or to what ext. t this will be possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that 1s. 5d. a gallon on petrol will necessitate an increase in taxi fares in London; whether he will discuss this matter with interested parties and make an announcement to the House of any proposed changes.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave today to the hon. and gallant Member for Brixton (Lieut.-Colonel Lipton).

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that there are many British subjects, including those from the United Kingdom, who have been expelled from Egypt without their possessions; and if he will appoint a Minister or Ministers whose responsibilities would include the co-ordination, administration and publication of the facilities which exist for such expelled citizens, in order to avoid approaches to the officers of various Ministries who disclaim responsibility.

I have been asked to reply.As has already been announced, my right hon. and gallant Friend the Home Secretary has undertaken responsibility for co-ordinating the arrangements for the reception of British subjects returning to this country from Egypt.At the moment, emergency arrangements are in operation for meeting their immediate needs through the National Assistance Board. Many of them have friends or relatives who can receive them, and, where necessary, these refugees are being provided with funds for their immediate needs. Accommodation in hostels is also available for those who require it.As regards the future, Her Majesty's Government have made an immediate grant of £100,000 to the Anglo-Egyptian Aid Society to enable them to give prompt relief to those in need. Refugees requiring assistance—for example, towards the cost of their maintenance by friends or relatives—should make application to the Society, or in case of urgent necessity to the local office of the National Assistance Board. The Society has also made a public appeal for funds and, as trustees of any funds so subscribed, will use them as it thinks fit for the benefit of the refugees.The Anglo-Egyptian Aid Society is working in close co-operation with other voluntary organisations and has the active support of all the Government Departments concerned.

asked the Minister of Education (1) when it will be possible to abolish all-age schools in the urban district of Mablethorpe and Sutton; and if he is aware of the extreme congestion of the accommodation in both schools;(2) what action he proposes to take to improve secondary education facilities in Mablethorpe and Sutton.

Conditions in these schools cannot be satisfactory until reorganisation is complete. I cannot give a date for this. In the meantime, improvements to existing buildings will be discussed with the local education authority.

asked the Minister of Education to authorise the addition of a dining room to Mablethorpe County School which could also be used for teaching purposes; and whether he is aware that the arrangements for school meals at this school are extremely unsatisfactory.

I told the Lindsey Local Education Authority last month that I could agree to work starling in 1957–58 on two of the four school meals building projects which they had proposed. I have not yet heard whether they consider that the project at Mablethorpe should be one of these.

asked the Minister of Education what effect he estimates his circular 307, dealing with fees, has had upon adult education; how many adults are now participating in further education as compared with previous years; and if he will restore to local education authorities the power to determine what adult students' fees should be for further education.

There are variations between one area and another, but taking the figures as a whole there has been a fall of about 3 per cent. in enrolments for all evening classes as compared with the corresponding period last year. I see no reason to modify the terms of the circular.

asked the Minister of Education whether he has now received the figures of enrolments in Sheffield evening classes; and whether, in the light of these figures, he will now agree to an abatement of the fees required by Circular 307, for all classes for age groups over 21 years or for first-aid classes in particular.

Enrolments in Sheffield evening classes this session are 20,064 compared with 19,585 in 1954–55 and 20,420 last year. I see no reason to modify the terms of Circular 307 which already contains provision for the abatement of fees in cases of hardship.

asked the Minister of Education approximately how many children have been officially recorded as ineducable and excluded from school; how many parents annually appeal against this decision; how many of those appeals are granted; and how many mentally retarded or subnormal children are now receiving appropriate education in schools.

About 3,000 children annually are reported by L.E.A.s as ineducable. In the year ending September, 1954, the last period for which complete figures are available, there were 373 appeals, of which 22 were successful. In 107 other cases appeals were withdrawn by parents or the authorities withdrew or postponed their proposals to report. Over 24,000 educationally subnormal children are attending special schools, and many others receive special educational treatment in ordinary schools.

asked the Minister of Education what are his present proposals to meet the shortage of teachers in the Midland area; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer which I gave on 6th December to my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr. Pitman). The scheme which I outlined for improving the distribution of teachers is designed to help hard-pressed areas in the Midlands and elsewhere to improve their staffing standards.

asked the Minister of Education what estimate he has formed of the proportion of university students emigrating each year within three years of qualification; and whether he is prepared to consider stipulating that a student who receives a grant towards his university education should contract to remain in Britain for at least three years after qualification.

This information is not available. I do not like the hon. Member's suggestion to limit the freedom of these graduates.

asked the Minister of Education what representations he has received from organisations proposing that, in order to ease travelling congestion during the morning peak period, attendance of pupils at grammar and technical schools in the London area should commence at 9.30 a.m. instead of 9 a.m.; and what steps he has taken to recommend this to local education authorities.

None. The London County Council has already reviewed, in consultation with the London Transport Executive, the times of opening of a number of its large secondary schools. In consultation with the Committee on the Staggering of Working Hours in Central London my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation and I are arranging further discussions between the Executive and the education authorities concerned.

asked the Minister of Education to ensure that advantage is taken of the decreasing number of children in primary schools to reduce the size of classes in those schools.

My policy on this matter is set out in paragraph 6 of Circular 318, of which I am sending the hon. Lady a copy.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if Her Majesty's Government will propose that the prospective self-governing country of Ghana shall be recognised as a member of the Commonwealth.

asked the Minister of Education to state the percentage of school leavers from secondary grammar, secondary technical, and secondary modern schools, respectively, who are 15 years of age, or under, and who are 16 years of age, or under, giving figures for boys and girls together and for boys and girls separately.

The information is as follows:

As I said in my speech in the debate on the Second Reading of the Ghana Independence Bill, the United Kingdom Government will be glad to seek the concurrence of other Members of the Commonwealth in according membership to Ghana on the attainment of independence.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations how many information officers are employed in his Department in London; and how many of these have had practical training in journalism or advertising.

Of the seven information officers employed in my Department in London, the two senior officers have had practical experience, one in journalism and the other in advertising.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the numbers of information officers employed by his Department in each Commonwealth country, together with the numbers of them who have had practical journalistic or advertising experience.

The numbers are as follows:

asked the President of the Board of Trade what has his estimates of the annual cost of administering, and the numbers of staff required to administer, the proposed statutory levy for film production; and how the costs involved will be covered.

The cost of administration will not be significant in relation to the size of the levy out of which it will be met. But I should not like at this moment to make any precise estimate of cost nor to say how many staff will be involved.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what staff is at present employed to administer the British Film Production Fund.

Most of the people engaged on this work do not devote to it more than a part, and often only a small part, of their time. This is particularly true of Customs officers. It would therefore be misleading to give any figure in reply to this Question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what has been the average annual administrative cost of maintaining the British Film Production Fund in the last five years; and how this cost has been covered.

The collection of the greater part of the levy has been carried out by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise without charge to the British Film Production Fund Ltd. The value of these services is estimated at £6,000 per annum. The remaining cost of administration has average £23,500 per annum for the last five years and has been paid out of the levy collected from exhibitors.

asked the Chancelor of the Exchequer if he is aware of the unfairness of the present arrangements whereby a large part of the cost of the upkeep of the roads throughout the country is borne by local ratepayers; and if he will take steps to provide, either by revival of the Road Fund or by other appropriate means, that the whole cost of the construction and maintenance of the public roads throughout the country shall be a first charge on the taxation collected by the Treasury from motorists through Excise licences.

The present arrangements are not unfair. Public funds meet the full cost of trunk roads, three-quarters of the cost of Class I roads, 60 per cent. of the cost of Class II roads, and 50 per cent. of the cost of Class III roads. This holds good both for construction and maintenance, except that Metropolitan boroughs, county boroughs in England and Wales and large burghs in Scotland get no grant for maintenance. Only in the case of unclassified roads do local authorities have to meet the full cost.These arrangements are designed to secure a proper balance, reflecting the use made of the roads by local and through traffic.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will authorise the Customs authorities to waive Purchase Tax on single articles such as cameras brought back by British subjects expelled from Egypt, more particularly as many arrive penniless; and if he will have refunded sums already paid.

Cameras and other personal effects are admitted free of Purchase Tax and Customs Duty, if they have been owned and used abroad by the importers for a considerable period. The Customs are giving all possible consideration to refugees from Egypt and elsewhere who arrive in distressed circumstances, but I do not think it could be accepted that Customs charges should automatically be waived on such articles as valuable cameras recently acquired abroad.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the approval given by the Treasury for the raising of funds by the British member of Consafrique, the consortium for promoting the development of natural resources in Africa.

No such approval has been sought or given.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the cost of producing the magazines Today and Commonwealth Today, respectively, by the Central Office of Information; how many copies of each issue are printed; and what would be the additional cost of doubling the circulation of each.

The annual cost in the United Kingdom of producing eight issues of each of these magazines is £41,450 for Today and £31,900 for Commonwealth Today. 152,000 copies are printed of each issue of Today and 102,000 of Commonwealth Today. The additional cost of doubling these numbers would be £25,000 and £17,100, respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in his review of the film industry; whether he will give an assurance that the additional burdens which are likely to be placed upon the exhibitors under the provisions of the legislation foreshadowed in the Gracious Speech will be taken into consideration when revising the entertainments tax; and whether he will make a statement.

The provisions of the Cinematograph Films Bill are amongst the various factors which are being taken into consideration in the review of the Entertainments Duty. Any alteration in the duty would, however, be a matter for a Budget, and I could not make a statement at the present time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in HANSARD a table showing the estimated rise in costs of the various Government Departments which will result from the increase by 1s. 5d. a gallon on petrol.

No. It is not possible to make such an estimate.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that an accounts book of the King's Works at the Palace of Westminster and elsewhere, in the reign of Edward II, has come to light in private hands; and whether, in view of the importance of the document for the Official History of the King's Works, be will take steps to acquire it for the Public Record Office.

This valuable document belongs to an important series in the Public Record Office. The Pilgrim Trust has very generously agreed to contribute £1,800 towards its acquisition, and an Exchequer contribution of £1,700, to make up the purchase price of £3,500, will be advanced from the Civil Contingencies Fund. A Supplementary Estimate will be laid before the House in due course.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make provision for minimum butter fat contents of milk.

My right hon. Friend has no reason to believe that there is any need to depart from the existing presumptive standards for milk.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to provide for the compulsory labelling of the meat content of sausages.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Report of the Food Standards Committee, which my right hon. Friend is at present considering. The Committee does not favour compulsory labelling.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made regarding the provision of standards for meat pies.

The matter is now before the Food Standards Committee.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (1) on what date in late October the Fleet Auxiliary H.M.S. "Retainer" sailed from Malta; what orders she had on sailing; where she proceeded to from there; and under what fresh orders;(2) on what date in late October the Headquarters Ship H.M.S. "Tyne" sailed from Malta, what orders she had on sailing; where she proceeded to from there; and under what fresh orders.

H.M.S. "Tyne" left Malta on 27th October and Royal Fleet Auxiliary "Retainer" on 30th October. They were both under orders to take part in a combined communications exercise planned for the Cyprus area. H.M.S. "Tyne" sailed for Limassol, Cyprus, where she arrived on 30th October, Royal Fleet Auxiliary "Retainer" sailed as part of the Replenishment Group for this exercise. The exercise was subsequently postponed because of the political situation, but the "Retainer" continued on passage to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide logistic support for the Naval Forces in that area.

asked the Minister of Defence on what date the combined task force, assembled at Malta, was ordered to sail for Port Said.

I have been asked to reply. Part of the force assembled at Malta sailed on the night of 30th/31st October and part on 3rd November.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will print as a White Paper the full text of the ultimata presented by Her Majesty's Government to the Governments of Israel and Egypt on Tuesday, 30th October.

The full substance of the ultimata was contained in the Prime Minister's statement to the House on 30th October, and it would serve no purpose to publish the documents as a White Paper. But I have arranged to make copies of the actual texts available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs who are the delegates and substitute delegates at present representing Her Majesty's Government in the General Assembly of the United Nations.

I would refer the right hon. Member to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. and gallant Friend to the right hon. Member for Grimsby (Mr. Younger).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what provision is being made for Britons, such as judges and their dependants, pensioned by the Egyptian Government, who are now receiving nothing, bearing in mind the fact that in the last war British judges in Siam, who had to leave, were given a temporary allowance of £800 per annum from Siamese assets held in this country pending a final settlement.

As the House will be aware, the Egyptian Government have sequestrated British property, including, presumably, any money paid into Egyptian accounts to the credit of British subjects such as these pensioners. Her Majesty's Government hope that this sequestration will only be temporary. I do not think the analogy with pensioners of the Thai Government is an exact one. Thai assets were taken under control during the last war, and agreement was subsequently reached with the Thai Government to devote a portion of these assets to the satisfaction of claims by British subjects. I understand that nothing was paid to British subjects until the Thai Government consented to the use of their assets for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power to make a further statement about the transfer of underground gasification work to the National Coal Board.

Yes. I told the House on 4th June, in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend that the National Coal Board and the Central Electricity Authority had accepted responsibility, within their respective spheres, for the planning and construction of a pilot plant and for exploring the possibility of exploiting underground gasification on a commercial scale. In accordance with these arrangements, the existing experimental work, together with most of the staff engaged on it, was transferred on 1st July and the Board became responsible for the payment of salaries and other contractual liabilities. Equipment and stores at the two existing sites were also transferred at the same time, in consideration of a payment by the Board of £10,000. It is not possible to estimate the market value of this equipment, but the Board had contributed towards the cost of much of it at an earlier stage, and my Ministry's interest in the transferred items, taken at book value, was approximately £20,000. The Board has today issued a public announcement about the progress of its activities, and I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.

asked the Postmaster-General what arrangements he is making for Post Office savings facilities other than premium bonds to be available at the Members' Post Office.

For the added convenience of hon. Members I am arranging for the full range of Post Office savings facilities to be available at the Members' Post Office from Monday, 17th December.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to make a further statement about his proposals for experiments in road markings.

Yes. With the support of the Automobile Association and Royal Automobile Club, I have decided to experiment with a form of road marking, which has been successfully used abroad, to help drivers at points where they cannot see a safe distance ahead. The continuous single white line now used at bends, humps, dips and junctions will be replaced on two trunk roads (London-Folkstone-Dover and London-Portsmouth) by a system of double white lines, partly continuous and partly broken. The rule will be that, if the white line nearer to the driver, when he is driving on his proper side of the road, is continuous, the wheels of his car must not cross that line; but, if the white line nearer to him is a broken line, he may use his judgment and cross if he can see that the road is clear.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he applies the same criteria in determining grants to be made towards village hall schemes as are applied South of the Border; and how the scale of such grants both as to their number and their worth compares with the scale of those given in England and Wales.

In Scotland grants under the Physical Training and Recreation Act for village hall schemes are at present, as in the case of all other schemes involving capital expenditure, being offered only where the need is specially urgent. In the present financial year one such grant has been made, but other applications are now under consideration. For particulars regarding England and Wales, my hon. Friend will perhaps address his Question to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education.