asked the Minister of Labour how many men and women are unemployed or on short working time in the pottery industry in north Staffordshire.

At 14th January, 505 males and 407 females were registered as wholly unemployed and 1,189 males and 2,377 females temporarily stopped. Statistics of the number on short time at the beginning of January in the Midland region, the great majority of whom were in north Staffordshire, will be available shortly, and I will let the hon. Member have them when they are ready.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that an increasing number of people in north Staffordshire are becoming unemployed, and that there are also an increasing number on short-time working, which figure is going up week by week? Is he also aware that one of the problems of short-time working is that large numbers of women do not benefit from unemployment insurance, and, with the rising cost of living, this is becoming a very severe problem? Would he not approach his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer about reconsideration of a reduction in Purchase Tax?

I think I would agree with most of the hon. Lady's analysis, particularly with the suggestion that some of the difficulties of this industry have been—not perhaps created, but at all events accentuated—since the increase in the Purchase Tax. I will certainly discuss that with my right hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Labour what advice or help is given to encourage employment of people suffering from tuberculosis.

My officers do all they can, in co-operation with chest physicians, to help the tuberculous to obtain employment. For this purpose, all the services provided under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, including industrial rehabilitation and training, are available to the tuberculous as they are to other disabled people. Special facilities for training and employment under sheltered conditions are provided by Remploy, and by some voluntary bodies and local authorities.

While thanking the hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask him if he is aware that it is important that these people should have employment, if it is possible? Would it be possible for the Minister to advise the local offices of the Ministry of Labour to have consultations with the employers and probably the trade unions to see how far sheltered occupations within industry might be found, in addition to the work of Remploy?

I will certainly do that, but I think that the hon. Lady should know that my officers have been doing a great work in this field for a number of years in breaking down some of the unnecessary prejudices and difficulties that did exist. We also published a special pamphlet on the subject last year.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that Government Departments do not make matters too easy for people who have had tuberculosis? Is he aware that, if a man applies for any unestablished post in a Department, he has to state specifically whether he has ever suffered from tuberculosis or not, and that, when most applicants read that, they are likely to jump to the conclusion that their case has been damned even before it is considered?

I will look into that. I do not think the right hon. Gentleman's conclusion is necessarily justified. It probably is right that employers should get this information. We must, of course, while providing opportunities for the tuberculous, protect the health of other people as well.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware of the danger of industrial upheaval and trade disputes in the engineering industry; and what action he proposes to take to prevent industrial unrest in this industry.

I am informed that the unions concerned have requested a further meeting with the employers' federation to discuss their wages claim. No action at this stage is called for on my part.

Is the Minister aware of the fact that engineering workers are under the impression that the Government have advised the engineering employers not to grant any wage increases? Can we have an assurance that no such advice has been or will be given by the right hon. Gentleman or by the Government?

Yes. Sir, I can give an absolute assurance on that. It is no part of the Government's duty to advise an organisation of employers either to accept or to reject wage claims.

Now that there is an ex-president of the engineering employers' federation in the Cabinet, will the right hon. Gentleman consult him to make sure that the federation does not in future give a blank negative to a wage application before hearing what it is about?

The hon. Member must realise that that supplementary question is at variance with the answer that I have just given. It is not the business of the Government to give the sort of advice that the hon. Member has suggested.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware of the disapproval of the Coventry District Committee of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions at the functioning of fee-charging employment agencies in the city at a time of serious redundancy: and what action he proposes to take following the further information supplied to him by the hon. Member for Coventry, South.

I have received no further information since I replied to the hon. Member on this subject on 22nd January.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the unions in Coventry are so disturbed at the position that at the February meeting of the Confederation a decision is to be taken whether or not to take militant action? Is he further aware that other employment agencies in the Midlands regard these fee-charging agencies as pirate agencies? If the L.C.C. has some power of control in this matter, is that not possible in Coventry?

It is true that some local authorities, including London but not including Coventry, have local legislation on this matter. I dare say that question can be pursued separately. In relation to the major question, I have studied all the representations that have been made. I have nothing to add about the position on the question of legislation as it was outlined by the former Home Secretary just before Christmas.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps his Department has taken to make available systems for transfer of labour to other districts during the present period of redundancy and unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

Under the normal working of the employment exchange service there is a regular system for the circulation of vacancies that cannot be filled locally and in selected cases where unemployed workers are prepared to consider transfer to another district particulars of their experience, etc., are sent for consideration by employers in other districts. At the latest available date the number of vacancies outside daily travelling distance notified to the Coventry Exchange was 2,486.

Does the Minister not realise that, whatever his intentions might be, these Answers do not seem to be couched in urgent phrasing, as is necessary in reference to Coventry? Does he realise that as recently as 15th January the Chairman of the Midland Regional Board of Industry said that no remedial measures for unemployment or redundancy had been discussed by the board? How much unemployment are we to have before such measures may be discussed?

I understand the natural anxiety of the hon. Lady about the place which she has the honour to represent in this House. I have to consider not only Coventry but all other cities and boroughs in the country. The unemployment rate in Coventry, although giving rise to anxiety—and I am watching it with great care—and although the figures have climbed in the last month, is under 2 per cent. The special facilities have never been made available by previous Governments in respect of unemployment under a figure of about 5 per cent., but I am having a special inquiry made to see whether the rule should be relaxed. I can assure the hon. Lady that I am watching the position literally from day to day.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state his plans for providing work and accommodation for refugees from Hungary and Egypt to Great Britain.

The full facilities of the employment exchange service are being used to place refugees from Hungary and Egypt in employment and special interviewing arrangements have been made and exchange managers are making special approaches, where necessary, to employers in many parts of the country. My officers co-operate closely with the Departments and organisations concerned with the important problem of accommodation.

Does the Minister realise that many of these refugees are British nationals expelled from Egypt in circumstances which have put them in dire need? What is he doing in particular for such people?

Of course I recognise that, and it is a matter of great concern to the Government. I think there is a Question to be asked of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on the general subject. I would not want to anticipate any statement which he may be able to make. I should like to assure the hon. and learned Member, the House and the country that there is no subject about which we are more anxious at present than to see that full justice is done to all these people who have been driven out of Egypt.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say what proportion of the refugees from Hungary belong to the professional classes and what proportion to the artisan classes?

I could not do so exactly without notice. One of the main difficulties between these great groups of refugees—the Hungarians on one side and those from Egypt on the other—is that on the whole the Hungarians are young, single and often skilled men who are comparatively easy to place in employment, whereas those coming from Egypt, many of Maltese origin, present a much more difficult problem because they have families and dependants, and some of their qualifications are not readily assimilated into industry in this country.

asked the Minister of Labour how many Hungarian refugees now staying at Plausworth, Durham, have been found employment.

Three Hungarian refugees at Plausworth Hostel have been placed in employment and a further 51 are being submitted for jobs.

asked the Minister of Labour when the Committee appointed to study the problems arising in connection with the employment of older workers will publish its next Report; and if he will make a statement in regard to its present activities.

The National Advisory Committee has published two Reports which make recommendations for promoting the employment of older workers. The Ministry takes active steps to encourage their implementation and there is evidence of a greater willingness by employers to consider older workers on their merits without regard to their age. A problem undoubtedly remains, but no useful purpose would be served in issuing yet a further report for the time being. For the present the Committee's efforts are concentrated on encouraging research into specific problems associated with the employment of older workers.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say whether any progress has been made with the very delicate problem—as realised by the Committee in its Report —of the transfer of superannuation or pension rights as between one employer and another which, as the Committee recognised, is one of the big problems connected with this issue?

I recognise that, but I should be glad, if the hon. Member has information on the subject, if he would put down a Question on it.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of workers registered as wholly unemployed in the Borough and Rural District of Newcastle-under-Lyme at the latest date for which figures are available; and how this compares with the figures for one year and two years ago, respectively.

Unemployed persons resident in the Borough and Rural District of Newcastle-under-Lyme register at the Newcastle-under-Lyme Employment Exchange and Youth Employment Office. The number registered as wholly unemployed at those offices at 14th January was 792, compared with 353 at 16th January, 1956, and 358 at 10th January, 1955.

Does that not indicate a serious increase in unemployment in that part of north Staffordshire? Is the Minister aware that the combination of Purchase Tax on pottery, the credit squeeze and redundancy is producing very serious effects in north Staffordshire? While noting with pleasure the Answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Mrs. Slater), may I ask whether the Minister will draw the attention of all his colleagues to these difficulties, which show the consequences of some of their policies?

I will do that. The Question asked by the hon. Member was, of course, linked to the earlier Question asked by his hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Mrs. Slater). I do not think we should ignore the effect on export markets which foreign competition is having in this industry, but I entirely agree that some of the difficulty which the industry is experiencing at present is due to Purchase Tax.

Will my right hon. Friend make clear that he is not this afternoon advocating a policy of unilateral Purchase Tax relief in favour of one particular class of consumer goods? Will he bear in mind that the symptoms described in relation to the pottery industry are still manifest in the carpet industry?

I am putting forward no undertaking of any sort in relation to Purchase Tax. All I am doing is recognising a simple fact in relation to this industry—that its difficulties have very much increased and that that is due in large measure to Purchase Tax.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of registered disabled persons unemployed in the Borough and Rural District of Newcastle-under-Lyme at the latest date for which figures are available; and how this compares with the figures one year and two years ago, respectively.

Two hundred and twenty-four at 21st January, 1957, compared with 123 twelve months ago and 120 two years ago.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware from those figures that there is a need for more work for disabled persons in north Staffordshire? Is he aware that this position is now affected by the serious cut in petrol consumption which appears to have been imposed on Remploy and is preventing the expansion of Remploy? Will he investigate that aspect of the matter, and also do everything possible to get an expansion of work for disabled persons?

I will certainly look into the particular matter raised by the hon. Member. I do not want to underestimate what is happening, but I wish to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the proportion of increase in disabled unemployment is less than that in able-bodied unemployment. I think we can draw some comfort from the responsibility shown by employers. This is an important point and shows that what we feared is not happening, namely, that employers are not putting off disabled people in order to employ others. We shall watch the position carefully.

asked the Minister of Labour how many workers employed at the Hawker Aircraft Company's factory at Langley are estimated to become redundant in consequence of the cancellation of the Ministry of Supply order for 100 Hunter jet fighters; and what steps are being taken to ensure alternative employment.

asked the Minister of Labour how many employees at Hawker's aircraft factory at Kingston-on-Thames are estimated to be about to become redundant in consequence of cancellation of Ministry of Supply orders; and what steps are being taken to ensure alternative employment.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of workers dismissed from or working part-time in the aircraft industry at the latest convenient date; and what effects on employment he estimates will follow the decision to cut production of the Hunter aircraft.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that employees at Hawker Aircraft Factory. Kingston-on-Thames, are to become redundant; and what steps are being taken to deal with this matter.

Some 1,200 workers in the aircraft industry were reported to be on short time last week. No large redundancies have been reported in recent months and the numbers unemployed on 10th December were 804 or 0·3 per cent. of the industry's labour force.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman regard that as a somewhat complacent reply? Is he aware that locally it is stated that between 700 and 800 employees of the Hawker Aircraft Company will lose their work in October?

I am bound to say that it seems difficult to read the hon. Member's supplementary question into the Answer which I gave the House. I am in touch with the Hawker Aircraft Company. I believe that the general manager is to issue some form of a statement to the employees and to the Press today. As for the possibilities of future employment, this company has, in the main, four factories. Three of them are in or near the Greater London area and, as the hon. Member knows very well, there is no great employment problem in that area. The other factory is in Lancashire, and that is a much more difficult problem.

Will the Minister consult the Minister of Supply with a view to finding alternative contracts for the Hawker Aircraft Company? I assure the Minister that there is great concern amongst employees of the company, who are threatened with redundancy to the number of many hundreds. Will he watch the position very carefully?

I recognise that there is anxiety, and I shall be very glad to consult my right hon. Friend.

Will not my right hon. Friend agree that in this case considerable notice has been given of the cuts but that the real danger is that further cuts may take place in the industry? Will he consult his right hon. Friend to see that adequate notice is given in order to enable the works to reorganise and turn to other types of manufacture, if necessary?

I will do everything I can to help in any long-term planning or redeployment which may be necessary, and I am sure that in their turn the company, and indeed all other companies, will recognise that they can help me a great deal by giving the maximum amount of notice.

Is the Minister aware that this is the type of thing to which I was trying to get the Prime Minister to reply a day or two ago when he made his statement on defence—that wherever this kind of running down of armaments orders takes place, there must be a compensating increase in other industrial activity? While I appreciate that this is outside the purview of the right hon. Gentleman's Department, will he, from the Cabinet angle, please try to expand the industrial base in that manner?

Will my right hon. Friend once more repeat, in order that it may be understood by right hon. and hon. Members opposite, that there is no shortage of vacancies in this area and no difficulty whatever in absorbing these men into the activities of other industries? Is it not altogether a strange Question to be put down by the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway), who is well known for his pacifist activities?

I think it is true that for workers in three out of the four factories there were, at any rate on the December figures, many more vacancies in the area than unemployed, but it is also true—which I must recognise—that the position has deteriorated to some extent in the last few weeks; and although I recognise the general truth of what my hon. Friend has said, it is a position which I must watch.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is yet in a position to state his intentions in respect of the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry on the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons.

I am not yet able to make a statement, but consideration of the Committee's recommendations is going on steadily.

Is it not a fact that of the 46 recommendations half concern the Ministry of Labour? There were the results of nearly four years' hard work in this Report. Will the Minister make representations that the House should be given an opportunity of discussing the Report? It seems a pity that four years' hard work is being brushed off with a Question and Answer.

I can assure the hon. Member that it is certainly not being brushed off, but the fact that there are four years' hard work in the Report means that there is a lot to consider. The consideration is going on urgently. The National Advisory Council on this subject met on 13th December. It referred specific recommendations to specialist committees and is meeting again in March to consider the comments of those committees.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that owing to the long hauls necessary in the north and north-east of Scotland the shortage of petrol has a prejudicial effect on industry and therefore on employment there; the numbers unemployed and on short-time working in each industry in Scotland as a result of the present petrol shortage; and what steps he is taking to prevent the frustration and to minimise unemployment in the north and northeast of Scotland.

I am aware that in remote areas, such as the north and north-east of Scotland, there are special difficulties as a result of the restrictions on petrol supplies. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation takes these into account in allocating supplementary allowances of petrol. My own officers are also keeping a close watch on the situation in these areas in order that the effect on employment may be minimised.

Do not the figures show that this is a very grave and urgent matter in which the Minister should act in collaboration not only with his right hon. Friend whom he mentioned but also with Lord Mills, Minister of Power? One way in which this operates to frustrate industry is by diminishing the journeys of Scottish commercial travellers, which is a very serious matter. Will the right hon. Gentleman attend to it?

I think that complaints, particularly from the north of Scotland, about the petrol allocation, are to some extent being met, and I believe that the position is becoming rather more satisfactory. I should not have thought that the figures which I gave were quite as alarming as the hon. and learned Member suggested in his supplementary question, but it is of course true that Scotland is, and has been for many years, a special problem in this respect.

Would my right hon. Friend point out to the Minister responsible that there are many small firms, such as joiners whose business is carried on in remote areas and where people have to travel long distances? Although the figures may be small, because not many people are employed in those industries, this matter is most important for those small firms.

I think that that is perfectly true, and it is those matters which I hope and believe are being taken carefully into account in the supplementary allocations.

asked the Minister of Labour over what periods during the past live years the number of registered unemployed in Scotland has exceeded the number of notified unfilled vacancies.

Throughout the period 1952–56—indeed, since these records started in 1945—the number of registered unemployed in Scotland has exceeded the number of notified unfilled vacancies.

Is the Minister aware that this position has prevailed in Scotland, despite the fact that every year we lose thousands of our workpeople? Is he further aware that in the December figures there were three unemployed persons for every unfilled vacancy? Will the right hon. Gentleman approach the President of the Board of Trade to see whether something can be done about resuming the building of factories in Scotland, in order that we may get a fair share of industrial development?

I am always closely in touch with my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on that matter. For some years now the relative position of Scotland has improved in that respect, and that is also true in relation to the ratio of vacancies to unemployed. It is true again that the deterioration in employment that took place generally over the country during the last year has not happened in Scotland. There are a number of helpful signs, although I recognise that it is essentially a long-term problem for us to solve.

asked the Minister of Labour how many employees at E.M.I. factories at Feltham and Hayes are estimated shortly to become redundant; and what steps are being taken to find them alternative employment.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that a number of employees at Electrical and Musical Industries at Hayes are to become redundant; and what steps are being taken to deal with this matter.

So far as I am aware no major redundancy is impending at the factories in question.

Will the Minister watch the position? A large number of my constituents are very nervous of the shadow of redundancy, and I should be obliged if he would watch the position. They are worried about the whole situation, for E.M.I. are very large employers in that area.

Yes, they are. The position is, I think, that some contracts are ending, and as a result some discussions are going on with the unions and some reduction in the hours worked weekly has been agreed in order to avoid redundancy. If those methods do not work, I suppose it is possible that there will be some redundancy, but the present position is not unhopeful, although it is one which I must watch.

asked the Minister of Labour the total of vacancies for skilled labour in the steel, chemical, engineering, shipbuilding, and clothing industries notified to the employment exchanges on Tees-side; and whether he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the numbers of vacancies in each of these industries separately.

The available statistics relate to all grades of labour in each industry, and separate figures for skilled labour are not compiled. The total number of vacancies in the steel, chemical, engineering, shipbuilding and clothing industries notified to employment exchanges on Tees-side and remaining unfilled at 9th January, 1957, was 848. I am circulating a detailed table in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Although the right hon. Gentleman's quotable figures do not include specific details about skilled labour, may I ask whether he is aware that there is a great shortage of skilled labour in these industries at a time when there is unemployment among similar types of labour elsewhere in the country? Is he further aware that it is the shortage of housing, caused by the Government's slowing down of the housing programme, which is causing the difficulty, and is he in touch with his right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government about the problem?

The hon. Member's supplementary question, of course, goes a long way. It is perfectly true that there is great pressure on skilled labour in that area, and that, indeed, is true—whatever pockets of difficulty there may be—of many other areas as well. I entirely agree that accommodation is one of the particular snags that one has to overcome in ensuring some reasonable amount of mobility of labour in the community. We do what we can and I have detailed, in response to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Belper (Mr. G. Brown), the particular measures available to ease that problem.

asked the Minister of Labour when he anticipates being able to make a statement on industrial health services and organisation as envisaged in paragraph 143 of the Report on the Staffing and Organisation of the Factory Inspectorate.

I am not able to say when I shall be in a position to make such a statement.

It is very heartening to read in the Report that much thinking is taking place about this matter, but is it unrealistic to expect effective action in the near future as a result of that thinking?

The main thinking referred to in paragraph 143 of the Report, which the hon. Gentleman quotes, is that being done by the Industrial Health Advisory Committee. I should not like to hurry that. I think that it is more important that we get the right answer than that we come to a conclusion quickly. In particular, I am sure that we want the result of the very important survey going on in Stoke-on-Trent into the pottery industry, which will not be available until the end of the year.

Is the Minister aware that the investigation to which he has just referred as taking place in north Staffordshire into the pottery industry is going very well, but that if it were hurried too much and not completed properly we should lose all the best benefits that we expect from it?

asked the Minister of Labour the present strength and grades of the Medical Inspectorate of his Department: and to what extent he is proposing to increase the numbers in any grade during 1957.

There are at present on the strength of the Medical Inspectorate, one senior medical inspector, three deputy senior medical inspectors and 11 medical inspectors. I hope to increase the strength by three medical inspectors during 1957 to fill existing vacancies.

Whilst I appreciate that the increase this year is encouraging, would not the Minister recognise that this service appears to be inadequate, and that that is another reason for our hoping to get a reply earlier than he has indicated in his reply to a previous Question?

The hon. Member knows that this and his previous Question are very closely linked. The reason why, in part at any rate, no suggestions have been made for increases in the cadre is that it was thought that those changes should await the decisions on policy to which I referred in my earlier Answer.

asked the Minister of Labour when it is proposed to announce the successor to the senior medical inspector of his Department who is to retire this year.

Her Majesty's Senior Medical Inspector of Factories will retire at the end of August next. I hope to be able to announce his successor well before August.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that many people on both sides of industry regard the work of this inspectorate as of very great importance, and want to see it extended, as the Minister has indicated in reply to an earlier Question? Therefore, in building up an effective department, the name of the gentleman who is to be in charge should be known soon.

I recognise that, and I attach the greatest importance to the Medical Inspectorate, as does the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Minister of Labour the unemployment figures in Coventry up to the latest convenient date in January; and what proportion this bears to the figure for December.

Three thousand and sixty-six, at 14th January, compared with 2,228 at 10th December.

Is the Minister aware that my figures from the unions on 17th January were, I am very sorry to say, even worse than his? Would he not feel able to come to Coventry himself to look into these matters? For example, is he aware that many of these recent dismissals are among men with thirty and forty years' service, and that the National Union of Vehicle Builders is very worried about the chances of any of these men who are over 60 years of age getting jobs again? We should like him to come—would he consider it?

I will certainly consider it. If there is any discrepancy in the figures, it is likely that those compiled through the employment exchanges are accurate; but I do not think that there is much dispute between us as to the figures. I think that it is most important to remember in this, as in all other questions, that we are approaching—indeed, we are now just about at—the seasonal peak of unemployment. In every year since the war there has been an average increase of about 45,000 to 50,000—that sort of figure—in these two months. I have said, and I repeat it, that the petrol and oil restrictions, and other complications, will this year add slightly, or, perhaps, considerably to these figures, but when we look at the figures of unemployment we should bear in mind the normal position every year in these months.

Do I take it from that Answer that the Minister envisages a decline from now on in the figures of unemployment and part-time working? If not, to what extent does he believe the oil position will alter the usual pattern?

No, I cannot prophesy that. In some years the February figure is rather higher than January and, in others, rather lower. It depends, for example, on the sort of weather we are going to get, and, obviously, I cannot prophesy that. The weather has a considerable effect on the building trade. We have, in fact, been rather lucky so far as January is concerned. But the employment situation does depend also on the availability of fuel supplies to industry. The position has been announced as being safe until the end of February, and I think that in a day or two my noble Friend the Minister of Power will make a statement about March supplies.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will make a statement on the results of his inquiries into restrictive practices in industry.

The National Joint Advisory Council's study of this subject is by no means complete, but the results so far reported offer encouraging evidence of the readiness of employers and workers in industry to tackle the problem jointly in a spirit of mutual co-operation.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give an assurance that no Government legislation will be introduced to amend the Truck Acts to make possible the payment of wages by cheque.

As the hon. Member knows, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I have given some attention to this matter. I have recently discussed it with the National Joint Advisory Council, and I am considering, with my colleagues, the views expressed by both sides of industry.

Would the Minister agree that, to introduce a system of this type without making any sort of arrangements as to how cheques could, in fact, be utilised by local grocers and the like—to say nothing about complications of a domestic nature which may well arise—would not be a good thing at this particular time; and would he bear in mind that a very large section of organised labour would not like to see such a development take place?

With respect, I think that the hon. Gentleman is chasing the wrong hare, because ever since 1831 it has been possible under the Truck Acts, with the consent of the worker—which, of course, would always be preserved—to pay wages by cheque. It is only alterations in the banking structure that has made the Truck Acts inoperable. But of course I will take very carefully into account the views put to me, some very forcibly, by trade union representatives at my meeting.

Then may I ask the Minister whether he would now guarantee that before contemplating any such introduction he would make the most minute investigations in order to find out whether the workers in industry would welcome this arrangement or not?

I certainly should not contemplate bringing in any Government legislation until the very fullest consultations had taken place.

Can my right hon. Friend find any good cause why it should remain a crime, under a Statute a century and a quarter old, for employers and employees freely to agree amongst themselves for the payment of wages in any form?

There is no doubt that if such a Clause had been introduced as, for example, my hon. Friend is contemplating in his Private Bill, it would have done little more, in fact nothing more, than restore the original position of the Truck Acts; but the point that was put to me with some force was, not that there was anything wrong in the system, but that it might lead to undesirable pressure upon workpeople being introduced. I am not saying whether that point of view is right or wrong, but it is one that I must take into account.

asked the Minister of Labour when he proposes to present to Parliament the full findings of the Household Expenditure Inquiry, 1953–54.

The Report is likely to be available by about the middle of this year.

Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that his right hon. Friend said on 13th March last that he proposed to publish towards the end of the year the pattern of expenditure of the groups excluded from the cost-of-living survey? Is this not an unconscionable long time to take in publishing these facts? Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that everybody concerned with the welfare of 2 million and more people living on National Assistance want to have the facts? Are the Government delaying because they do not want the country to know what the facts are?

I can reassure the right hon. Gentleman on the last point in his supplementary question. It is true that we are falling behind our original hoped-for schedule, but we want to publish these results in detail. It is proving longer to tabulate the information than we had hoped would be the case. We are getting on with it.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will permit deferment of National Service for those undergoing approved courses of study in commerce and retail distribution.

Deferment is already granted to apprentices in certain retail trades where recognised apprenticeship schemes exist, and I am always prepared to extend these arrangements if suitable schemes are submitted to me. The position as regards commerce is under consideration.

While thanking the Minister for that reply, which indicates some progress, I should like to ask him whether he is aware that these young workers studying for their national certificates are the only ones at present refused deferment, that this is causing great difficulty to shipping, commercial and similar offices, and that these young men find it very hard to resume their studies after two years' National Service, and consequently many of them never do resume them?

The hon. Member's Question refers to study. There is something of a difficulty here because deferment has been granted only so that a man can complete his training and not normally for whole-time courses of study, unless they are at a university, technical college or similar institution. There is a scheme for commercial apprenticeships, and although it has not yet been formally submitted to me, that will be done in the near future. The scheme is being informally studied in my Ministry at present.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men were deferred from call-up for National Service on 1st October, 1955.

The number on 3rd October. 1955, was 437,110.

Has the right hon. Gentleman taken note of the fact that the figure has gone up from 437,000 to 445,000 in twelve months, although he is not calling up the full number in the age groups? Is that not an indication that this National Service system, under which about 70 per cent. of the young men concerned are not required, is just a lot of nonsense and ought to be dispensed with at the earliest possible moment?

The hon. Gentleman really cannot build that castle on such a tiny amount of sand. There is only a 7,000 increase between the years. Unless one studies the number of young men who were born eighteen years ago in regard to each of these figures, no comparison is valid.

While appreciating the need for certain types of reservation, may I ask whether it is not undesirable that we should continually narrow the base from which we draw people who go into National Service?

The whole future of National Service is a subject which the Government are considering and on which they will make their pronouncement in due course. As I told the hon. Gentleman a week ago, there are more young people coming into the net at the present time than are needed.

Could the Minister help to clarify the position by saying what proportion the deferments are to the number called up?

I think, speaking without the book and subject to correction, that about 300,000 are originally in an age class, that about 200,000 of those, because of medical or other reasons, are active candidates for National Service, and on the average 70,000 or 80,000 of those are deferred for any given reason.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent responsibility for the information services of the Scottish Office is to be assumed by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

As indicated in the reply given to the hon. Member by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 24th January, my responsibility for the information services of the Scottish Office is unaffected.

Since the Prime Minister said that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is to be responsible for coordinating the various Departmental information services, can the Secretary of State say what that means? In what way will the Scottish information services be co-ordinated? In view of the obscurity of this statement, could he tell us what his right hon. Friend is doing about it?

My own expectation is that I look forward to maintaining very close contact with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. I cannot really add to what my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on a previous occasion.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give us an assurance that the very valuable services of his information department in connection with his responsibilities for the economic wellbeing of Scotland will be in no way subject to any restriction or interference by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster?

I have already learned how valuable these services are, and I have no reason to believe that they will be interfered with in any way whatsoever.

Hughes asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the desirability of legislation to implement by separate legislation for Scotland the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce and also the Report of the Mackintosh Committee regarding the law of succession in Scotland; and if he will state the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to the implementation by legislation of both or either of these Reports or any of the recommendations contained in them.

The Royal Commission's Report contains many recommendations which would require legislation. All are being thoroughly examined and I am undertaking consultations about some of them.

Could the Secretary of State tell the Prime Minister that, in not finding time to implement the valuable recommendations of Royal Commissions, the Government are guilty of a public scandal and waste of public time, and will he expedite the implementation of these recommendations?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland in view of the need to expedite the development of the country's natural resources, what steps he is now taking to advance substantially the date for the commencement of work on the construction of a Forth road bridge.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is now in a position to make a statement about the Forth road bridge.

I am very glad to be able to announce the outcome of the discussions in which my predecessor had been very actively and effectively engaged for some time past.

That is satisfactory so far as it goes, but will the Minister be more specific about the date at which the work will start; and secondly, will he give reconsideration to this very controversial question of tolls? Is he aware that there is great dissatisfaction on all sides in the country as a whole at what is regarded as a quite unnecessary and obsolete method of financing these projects?

The answer to the first part of the supplementary question is that subject to the progress made by the Joint Board it is hoped that actual work may begin in the summer of 1958. As to the second part of the question about tolls, I do not accept that the toll system is obsolete. There are many toll bridges in operation in many parts of the world, including the United States of America and Europe.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that his statement will be very widely welcomed throughout Scotland, and that, so far as the matter of tolls is concerned, he will have a very large measure of support for the stand that he has taken?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the whole of Scotland will welcome the fact that we have now reached the point where it looks as if we have come to the "end of an auld sane"? This has been going on for about thirty years, and I think the people of Scotland will welcome the decision. We hope that the bridge will be built, as the right hon. Gentleman has said it will. Once the bridge is built, we can easily get rid of the tolls.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take on the recommendations contained in the Report of the Scottish Council (Development and Industry) on industrial development in Fife.

This Report has not as yet been submitted to me by the Scottish Council.

Has the right hon. Gentleman not taken steps to get a copy? Is he not sufficiently interested in the future of a developing mining area on which the very prosperity of the country depends? Is it not time that he awoke from the lethargy and apathy which he displayed when he was Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation?

The hon. Gentleman is, I think, jumping ahead of his own knowledge, because, as I understand it, the Fife Report has not yet been formally adopted by the Council's executive committee. Of course, if the Council cares to send it to me, as it is open to it to do, I shall be very glad to see what it says.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what answer he has made to the representations of Lord Cameron, Q.C., as Chairman of the Highlands Advisory Panel, regarding the inadequacy of the petrol rationing arrangements to meet the special geographical conditions of the Scottish Highlands.

I have received general representations on this subject from the Advisory Panel on the Highlands and Islands, and I have communicated them to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation and my noble Friend the Minister of Power. Their regional officers have already been instructed to maintain essential supplies to country areas and to give special consideration to cases where the livelihood of the applicant is involved. A reply has been sent to Lord Cameron to this effect.

Can the Secretary of State say whether special arrangements are going to be made to preserve the tourist industry in the Highlands in the summer?

That is a question on which discussions are going on. It presents certain difficulties, but the matter is very much under consideration.

I hope the right hon. Gentleman has made it clear to the Minister of Power that if the Highland hotel industry collapses during this summer while hotels on the Continent are booming because they get free petrol over there, there will be the greatest resentment throughout the whole of Scotland.