asked the Postmaster-General when it is proposed to reorganise and improve the postal services in the Benfleet urban district.

As my hon. Friend knows we are getting a new postmen's office in Benfleet by 1959. We are taking other steps to improve the service between now and then by providing temporary premises for the South Benfleet postmen, increasing the staff at Thundersley and giving closer head office attention to the whole area.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that two parcels posted in the first week of December by Mrs. Brown, 1, Bromley Forge, Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury, to her son serving in Malta, have not yet been delivered; and when delivery is likely to be made.

These parcels, which were posted about 11th and 13th December, respectively, were delivered on 30th January. I am sorry that they were delayed by a hold up in shipping services.

asked the Postmaster-General what new projects of submarine cable-laying his Department proposes to undertake now that the trans-Atlantic project is complete.

New cables to Jersey, to the Irish Republic and to the Continent are planned. I cannot yet say when further transoceanic cable projects will be undertaken.

asked the Postmaster-General how many additional public call telephone boxes were provided in Berkshire in 1956; and how many applications approved by the local authorities are outstanding and will be met in 1957.

We provided 30 kiosks in 1956. There are three others approved by the local authorities still outstanding and these will be completed shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Air to what extent it is compulsory for all officer cadets at Cranwell Royal Air Force College to participate in boxing instruction and competitions.

All cadets who are medically fit take part in organised boxing, including one competition, during their first year at Cranwell. Thereafter boxing is optional.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether, following the disbandment of squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, he will take steps to increase facilities under the auspices of the Royal Air Force for training members of the public in flying and gliding.

We already provide flying scholarships and gliding instruction for cadets, and we could not contemplate any extension to cover adult members of the public.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation on what grounds he has refused to investigate the complaints conveyed to him in correspondence by hon. Members that particular allocations of petrol to constituents are unjust.

It was clear to me from over 400 letters received from hon. Members that their constituents would best be assisted in their difficulties by making full use of the appeals machinery I have provided. That is why my advice has been to use this procedure and my experience is that the difficulties have, in fact, been met in this way.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation why an extra 192 gallons of petrol was only allowed to the businesses owned by Mr. R. W. Sharman, 1584, Pershore Road, Birmingham, 30, after the hon. Member for Northfield had given notice of a Question on this matter; and whether he will give an assurance that other businesses in Birmingham have now also been allotted extra allocations on a comparable scale.

As part of the rationing scheme for goods vehicles there has been a general final assessment of supplementary rations for the present period and in the course of this Mr. Sharman, like many other operators, has received an increased allocation.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when he anticipates excavation work on the Dartford-Purfleet tunnel will commence.

Next month.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to state the lengths of new trunk-road construction completed in 1956, as distinct from road widening or modification; and what proportion of the total programme was carried out by using nontraditional methods of construction, for example, soil stabilisation.

Nine sections of new trunk road involving a total length of 5·41 miles were completed in the calendar year 1956. In two cases stabilised soil foundations were used, for a total length of 1·36 miles.

asked the Minister of Defence to make a statement about the proposed new organisation for observa- tion, liaison and helicopter squadrons which serve the Army.

I hope shortly to make a statement on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Conference on the Nigerian Constitution is to take place.

I have recently proposed to the Nigerian Governments that the Conference should open on 23rd May.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he proposes to take on the report of the tribunal appointed to inquire into the conduct of the Prime Minister of Eastern Nigeria in relation to the African Continental Bank.

The House will have seen that, following publication of the Tribunal's Report, the Governor of the Eastern Region was advised by his Ministers to dissolve the Regional House of Assembly. New elections are due to be held on 15th March. I have asked the Governor to pursue with Dr. Azikiwe certain matters arising from the Tribunal's findings and I hope to make a further statement later.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the functions of the National Economic Council of Nigeria; and to what extent these include the co-ordination of industrial planning in the different regions.

The National Economic Council is a non-statutory advisory body in which, under the Chairmanship of the Governor-General, representatives of the Federal, Regional and Southern Cameroons Governments meet to discuss the many economic problems common to each, notwithstanding their separate constitutional functions. At its first meeting in October, 1955, the Council agreed to recommend that there should be regular consultation between the Governments in the Federation about industrial development.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent the Eastern Region Finance Corporation has financed agricultural, trading, commercial and industrial projects, respectively, in Nigeria, since its establishment in February, 1955.

I have asked for this information and will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT when I have it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how much land has been alienated in Fiji; and what are his plans regarding future land reservation in that territory.

455,000 acres have been sold (other than to the Crown and native Fijians) out of a total land area of about 41 million acres. About 4½ million acres of the total area is tribal land owned communally by the native Fijians and may not be permanently alienated except to the Crown for public purposes, although it may be leased if not required for native needs.As to the second part of the Question, the work of investigating the present and future land requirements of native Fijian owners with a view to determining the Native Reserves is proceeding. When these have been determined, native land not required for the use, maintenance or support of the owner becomes available for leasing either to other native Fijians or to other inhabitants of Fiji.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the search made at the headquarters of the Nicosia branch of the Pancyprian Federation of Labour; and what losses were caused by the destruction of stamps, files, and membership records.

The premises of the Cyprus Building, Wood and General Workers, Union were searched on 15th January. No files or membership records were destroyed. Some stamps may have been damaged, but if so, the loss cannot have been more than one or two shillings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many, and which, emergency regulations in Cyprus have been withdrawn or eased within the last three months; how many, and which, still remain in force; and what steps he proposes to take, and when, to withdraw or ease the remainder.

The regulations relating to collective punishment and to the caning of juvenile offenders have been revoked; those relating to the control of publications have ben amended. As well as the 96 regulations together constituting the "Public Safety and Order Regulations" there are in force a further 19 categories of regulations on specific topics. These regulations will not be retained in force longer than they are needed for the emergency, but naturally I cannot give a date.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies with whom discussions are now being held on the constitutional future of Cyprus.

No formal discussions on the constitutional future of Cyprus are at present being held. If the hon. Lady has in mind discussion of the details of Lord Radcliffe's proposals, the discussions with a legal expert representing the Turkish Government have now been concluded.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken, in conjunction with their Governments, to discover and develop new supplies of oil in the British West Indies, including off-shore.

The British Colonial Governments in the Caribbean area have granted numerous exploration and prospecting licences, and companies are searching for oil in the Bahamas, Barbados, British Honduras, Jamaica and Trinidad. In the Bahamas and Jamaica off-shore possibilities are being investigated and in Trinidad, off-shore drilling is in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on his recent negotiations with Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaya, and Mr. Lim Yew Hock, Singapore, on the future constitution of both these places.

The negotiations with Tunku Abdul Rahman and his colleagues from the Federation of Malaya were confined to questions of defence and finance. Mr. Lim Yew Hock and I had a number of useful informal discussions and agreed that the next Conference on the Singapore Constitution should begin in London on 11th March. We also reached agreement on an Agenda for the Conference which is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement upon his visit to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, with particular reference to his consultation of African opinion in Northern Rhodesia regarding constitutional changes for the elections due to be held in 1958.

I welcome this opportunity to express publicly my thanks to the Federal Government, the three territorial Governments and to all those in Central Africa who gave me such a generous welcome. In particular, despite the fact that he was seriously ill throughout my visit, the late Lord Llewellin, the Governor-General, did all that he could to make my tour a happy and, I hope, a helpful one.It was no part of the purpose of my visit to engage in negotiations of any kind. I did, however, take the opportunity to make it clear that it is the view of Her Majesty's Government that federation is in the best interests of all the inhabitants of Central Africa and has come to stay. I also made it clear that Her Majesty's Government fully shared the view recently expressed both by Lord Malvern and by Sir Roy Welensky that the right form of government for Central Africa is a federal and not a unitary form of government.It is not, of course, for me to make statements about the status of the federation. I was careful, however, to tell people what my attitude was to my own responsibilities as Secretary of State for the Colonies in relation to the two Northern Territories. I made it clear that Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom had no desire, purely for reasons of prestige or anything of that kind, to retain their present responsibilities for the Northern Territories longer than was necessary and that I hoped that the Africans in each of the Northern Territories would increasingly look to the Federation and to their own territorial capitals with the same confidence with which they looked to Whitehall and Westminster. I added, however, that Her Majesty's Government could not abandon their ultimate responsibility until they were satisfied that a transfer of loyalties of this kind had been made.During my visit to the two Northern Territories I was able to hear the views of all concerned about the next steps in constitutional development in each territory. In due course each of the two Governors will hold local consultations on this matter and will inform me of the views they form as a result of these consultations regarding the constitutional developments if any which should take place at the end of the life of the present Legislative Councils.I was much struck at the large number of men and women in the Federation who are working with real good will to find sensible solutions of the various problems of race relations with which the Federation is faced. If this good work continues—as I am sure it will—and if we in London are careful to do and say nothing which makes more difficult the task of those who are engaged in it, then I am sure that all the inhabitants of the Federation can look forward to a happy and prosperous future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps will be taken by the Government of Northern Rhodesia to implement the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry into unrest in the mining industry that regular courses of instruction should be introduced for African trade union officials in the keeping of accounts.

I understand from the Government of Northern Rhodesia that regular courses of instruction for African trade union officials are already a feature of labour administration in Northern Rhodesia. They tell me that it is probable that these courses, which are normally held annually, will in future allow more time for instruction in trade union accounting. In addition trade union officials are now receiving practical guidance in book-keeping from the inspectorate staff of the Registrar of Trade Unions in the course of their duties. This staff is likely to be strengthened in 1957.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a detailed statement on his conversations with authoritative and representative persons in the various parts of the Gold Coast.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement on the discussions about constitutional difficulties which he has held in the Gold Coast.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on his recent visit to the Gold Coast.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when he expects the Ghana White Paper to be published.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent he discussed constitutional problems, local government reform, and the question of territorial seccession with the leaders of political parties during his official visit to the Gold Coast; and if he will make a statement.

A White Paper outlining Her Majesty's Government's constitutional proposals for Ghana will be published very shortly, and I shall hope to make a statement then.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what estimate the Governor of Tanganyika has made of the extent to which African communities and farmers in the territory who wish to extend areas they now cultivate will be affected by the passing into law of the Pangani River (Hydro-Electric Projects) Bill now pending before the Legislative Assembly.

The Bill is designed to enable the Tanganyika Government to continue to honour obligations which it assumed under an agreement

—				Kenya	Uganda*	Tanganyika
				£	£	£
Customs duties	…	…	…	7,508,665	3,671,000	4,820,144
Excise duties	…	…	…	2,098,605	1,421,000	1,345,632
Consumption tax	…	…	…	65,369	—	—
Export duties	…	…	…	964,879	6,417,000	504,534
Petrol tax	…	…	…	434,194	—	—
Stamp duties	…	…	…	454,914	130,000	150,771
TOTAL	…	…	…	11,526,626	11,639,000	6,821,081
* The figures shown for Uganda are revised estimates.

The rates of customs duties are, with very few exceptions, the same in all three territories. Rates on most dutiable articles are calculated

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what indirect taxation is levied in Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika; what are the minimum wages for African labourers in each of these territories; and what is the estimated average annual cost of direct and indirect taxation to African labourers in each territory.

The revenue raised from indirect taxes in each of the territories during the East African financial year 1954–55, the last year for which final figures are available, was as follows:

Beer per 36 standard gallons (of worts)	Shs.	180·0
Sugar (per cwt.)	Shs.	5·60 c.
Cigarettes, cigars, cheroots and cigarillos (per pound)	Shs.	11·0
Manufactured tobacco, other than tobacco made up by the grower without the use of machinery, ready for smoking in tobacco pipes (per pound)	Shs.	11·0
Matches:
(a) in boxes or packages containing not more than 100 matches (per gross of boxes or packages)	Shs.	1·44C.
(b) in boxes or packages containing more than 100 but not more than 200 matches (per gross of boxes or packages)	Shs.	2·88 c.
(c) in boxes or packages containing more than 200 matches (for every gross of 100 matches)	Shs.	1·44 c.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many of the 30,826 detainees in Kenya on 31st December, 1956, had been in detention without trial for more than two years; and how many for more than one year.

11,682 had been in detention for more than two years and 12,368 for more than one year but less than two.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give, in detail, the financial arrangements reached in the recent discussions with the Government of Kenya.

I hope to be able to make an announcement on this subject shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is being taken by the Government of the Seychelles to stabilise the cost of living, in view of the increased prices of essentials such as coconut, bread, fruit, rice, sugar, oil and cloth.

I have asked the Governor for a report and will let the hon. Member have the information when I receive his reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what facilities are available, including the services of an interpreter, to enable Abdul Rahman Al Bakir, Abdul Aziz Shemlan and Abdul Ali Alaiwat, to present requests or petitions to the prison governor in St. Helena, to the Colonial Governor, or to Her Majesty.

It is open to these three men to present requests or petitions in the normal way at any time. An interpreter is not required as all three speak English.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what restrictions are placed on the right of Abdul Rahman Al Bakir, Abdul Aziz Shemlan and Abdul Ali Alaiwat, now in custody in St. Helena, to obtain materials for reading and writing, to procure documents and literature in their own language, to write and receive letters, and to receive visitors.

Arrangements have been made for the men's families to be informed that they can send literature in Arabic or English to them through the Bahrain Government. They will also be provided locally with a reasonable quantity of English newspapers, periodicals and books. Facilities will be provided for them to write and receive letters subject to censorship by the Bahrain Government. The receiving of visitors, as and when it arises, will be a matter for consultation between the Governments of Bahrain and St. Helena.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons are at present in custody in the prison in St. Helena; how many of them are of non-indigenous origin; and, in the case of the latter category, from what countries or territories they originate.

I am consulting the Governor on the subject and will circulate the information required in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the total number of hospital beds in the colonial territories for native use and the number available for Europeans in the same territories; and how these numbers compare with the respective proportions of the population.

The Answer to this Question will involve extensive inquiries. I am consulting the Governments of the territories concerned and will write to the hon. Member when I have their replies.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why the Navy days at Chatham Dockyard due to be held at Easter have been cancelled.

The Navy days which were to have been held at Chatham and Portsmouth at Easter have been cancelled because it was considered that fuel restrictions would too much reduce both the scale of the displays and the number of visitors.

asked the Minister of Labour the numbers of men and women, respectively, at the most recent convenient date, unemployed in the City of Lincoln, showing their trades; and how the numbers compare with those for the same date in 1954, 1955 and 1956.

The following table gives the information desired:

NUMBERS OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS ON THE REGISTERS OF LINCOLN EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICE AT THE UNDERMENTIONED DATES
Industry	11th January, 1954			10th January, 1955			16th January, 1956			14th January, 1957
	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total
Building and civil engineering engineering contracting	31	—	31	32	—	32	39	—	39	72	—	72
Distributive trades	18	10	28	20	5	25	14	16	30	35	23	58
Agriculture and horticulture	21	8	29	9	6	15	8	6	14	20	8	28
Catering, hotels, etc.	8	15	23	3	11	14	8	7	15	15	12	27
Non-electrical engineering	12	1	13	18	1	19	10	3	13	18	5	23
Local government service	11	—	11	5	—	5	5	1	6	12	1	13
Manufacture of parts and accessories for motor vehicles and aircraft	—	—	—	3	—	3	1	—	1	7	5	12
Bread and flour confectionery	—	—	—	—	1	1	4	—	4	9	1	10
National Government Service	8	1	9	4	2	6	3	1	4	6	2	8
Other industries and services	59	33	92	66	20	86	70	36	106	135	55	190
TOTAL—All industries and services	168	68	236	160	46	206	162	70	232	329	112	441

asked the Minister of Labour to publish in HANSARD a table of figures showing the monthly rise or fallOwing to changes in the indices in use, involving variations in the items priced and in the weights used to combine the various prices, a single set of figures showing the monthly changes in the average level of food prices on a comparable basis throughout the period from 1945 is not available.

Year			Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	April	May	June	July	Aug.	Sept.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
Cost of Living Index
(Prices at July, 1914 = 100)
1945	…	…	168	168	168	168	168	170	176	172	169	169	169	169
1946	…	…	169	169	169	169	169	169	171	171	168	168	168	168
1947	…	…	168	168	169	168	162	161	—	—	—	—	—	—
Interim Index of Retail Prices
(Prices at 17th June, 1947 = 100)
1947	…	…	—	—	—	—	—	100	101	99	100	101	103	103
1948	…	…	104	108	109	109	108	113	108	107	107	108	108	108
1949	…	…	108	109	108	108	114	115	116	116	117	119	119	120
1950	…	…	120	121	121	122	125	123	122	121	122	125	125	125
1951	…	…	127	127	128	131	135	136	140	140	141	143	144	145
1952	…	…	150	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
(Prices at 15th January, 1952 = 100)
1952	…	…	100	100	101	104	104	109	108	107	106	108	108	109
1953	…	…	109	110	111	113	113	114	114	112	111	111	111	110
1954	…	…	110	109	112	113	112	114	118	116	115	116	117	118
1955	…	…	119	119	119	120	120	125	126	122	124	126	128	127
1956	…	…	125	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Index of Retail Prices
(Prices at 17th January, 1956 = 100)
1956	…	…	100	100	103	106	104	103	101	102	101	102	103	102

Yes. The following table gives the available figures:

asked the Minister of Labour what report he has received of the technical reasons for the dispute between the engineers of the Britannia air liner and the British Overseas Airways Corporation; and what action he is taking to settle the dispute.

I have not received any report on technical issues. As the hon. Member will be aware, I have set up a court of inquiry to inquire into the causes and circumstances of the dispute.

asked the Paymaster-General if his attention has been drawn to the reference on page 75 of Volume 1 of the Proceedings of the International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, to the Severn Estuary as a favourable site for a tidal power plant; and what action he proposes to take to establish such a plant.

Yes. But as regards the proposal for a Severn Barrage, I have nothing to add to the Answer given to the hon. Member on 30th July, 1956.

asked the Paymaster-General when he proposes to announce his revised programme for atomic energy development.

My noble Friend hopes to be in a position to make an announcement within a few weeks.

asked the Paymaster-General to what extent fuels other than petrol are being developed for use for motor transport since the rationing of petrol.

I know of no such fuels being developed, or likely to be developed quickly, to augment motor fuel supplies to any significant extent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount of Entertainments Duty paid by the 225 cinemas closed in 1956 in the last full year in which they were in operation.

I regret that this information is not available. Entertainments Duty may be paid by means of Excise stamps or tickets, or on the basis of certified returns of admissions, and there is no record of payments of duty in respect of separate groups of cinemas during any period.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what salary would have to be paid to Members of Parliament to equal the purchasing power of the salary paid to Members of Parliament in 1912.

£1,664, if free travel facilities (introduced in 1924) and the sessional allowance (introduced in 1954) are disregarded.

asked the Minister of Health for what treatments, and for what conditions, under his Regulations, dentists are required to seek permission before proceeding.

The following items of treatment require the prior approval of the Dental Estimates Board, but any item of treatment may be commenced without awaiting prior approval if it is needed for the immediate relief of pain or other urgent symptoms:

• Radiological examinations exceeding a specified cost;
• Extensive or prolonged gum treatment;
• Gingivectomy;
• Gold fillings;
• Inlays;
• Crowns;
• Apicectomy;
• Alveolectomy;
• Extractions necessitating the supply of dentures;
• Provision of dentures;
• Repairs to metal dentures exceeding a specified cost;
• Backing and tagging of teeth on non-metallic based dentures;
• Provision of obturators, special appliances, radium applicators, splints, etc.;
• Removal of impacted teeth, buried roots, cysts, etc.;
• Orthodontic treatment;
• Treatment of fractured jaws.

asked the Minister of Health the number of new hospitals now under construction in the country at the present time.

Three: mental deficiency hospitals at Greaves Hall, near Southport and at Balderton, near Newark; and the first stage of a general hospital at Swindon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the numbers of written cautions and the numbers of prosecutions during 1955 and 1956,

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to give details of the number of appeals by advertising interests dealt with during 1956 under the Control of Advertisements Regulations, 1948; how many of these appeals were dealt with at public hearings and by correspondence, respectively; how many in each group referred, respectively, to posters, including bulletin boards, but not trade signs, public information panels, and to trade signs on the premises of the occupiers concerned; and how many of each separate category were rejected or allowed.

The total number of appeals decided during 1956 was 2,048. Details are as follows:respectively, for the avoidable emission of smoke from motor vehicles.

In the Metropolitan Police District there were 146 written cautions and 12 prosecutions in 1955 and 120 written cautions and 44 prosecutions in 1956. I regret that figures for the rest of the country are not available.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will give the number of pensioners in receipt of supplementation of benefit in each of the six latest available months.

The number of weekly allowances of National Assistance paid to persons receiving National Insurance retirement pensions was 906,000 in June, 1956, 911,000 in September, 1956, and 927,000 in December, 1956. As this information is obtained quarterly figures are not available for the other months. Some of the allowances provided for the requirements of a household with more than one pensioner.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance to publish in HANSARD a table of figures showing the amounts of the retirement pensions in 1945; the dates on which these pen- sions were increased; and, taking the £ sterling as having a purchasing value of 20s. in 1945, what was the relative purchasing value of these pensions on the dates stated, after allowing for the depreciation in the purchasing value of the £ sterling.

The information is given in the following table:

Date	Rates of pensions				*Values (£=20s. in 1945)
	Single		Married		Single		Married
	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
1945†	10	0	20	0	10	0	20	0
30th Sept., 1946‡	26	0	42	0	26	0	42	0
1st Oct., 1951§	30	0	50	0	23	4	38	10
2nd Oct., 1952	32	6	54	0	23	7	39	3
25th April, 1955	40	0	65	0	27	3	44	3
* By reference to Cost of Living and Retail Prices Indexes.
† Old age pensions.
‡ Old age pensions subject to retirement.
§ New pensions continued to be awarded at the old rates to pensioners who attained pensionable age after 1st October, 1951.