asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will give airmen an opportunity of stating their areas of preference for overseas posting.

Aircrew may already apply for posting to a particular command overseas. From 1st May other airmen will have an opportunity to indicate the three areas, in order of choice, in which they would prefer to serve overseas, and we shall do what we can to meet their wishes.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why it is proposed to withdraw the Air Attaché from Her Britannic Majesty's Embassy, Buenos Aires.

The withdrawal of the Air Attaché, Buenos Aires is one of a number of measures to save overseas expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why a citizen of London serving in the Royal Air Force in the Lincolnshire area can obtain a weekend furlough return ticket to London for 20s. but a citizen of Lincoln serving in the London area has to pay 29s. 6d. for a return ticket to Lincoln covering the same period.

I can only assume that the two journeys were not comparable, but if the hon. Member will let me know the stations between which the airmen travelled I will have the charges checked.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will give particulars of the last three toll bridges acquired and freed by highway authorities; and what were the principles on which such acquisition was carried out.

I understand that the last three toll bridges acquired and freed by highway authorities were those at Denton, near Ilkley, in Yorkshire, at Iron Bridge, in Shropshire, and at Littlehampton, in Sussex. My Department was not concerned in any way with these acquisitions and I do not know, therefore, the principles on which they were carried out.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware that road casualties in the county of Lincolnshire were the highest on record since 1941, with 466 children among them; and if he will cause art investigation to be made into the reason for this increase.

Lincolnshire police report that road casualties in the County have exceeded the 1941 total in every year from 1949 onwards. We are much concerned with the increase in road casualties both in Lincolnshire and in the country as a whole. Our Department and the Road Research Laboratory are continually investigating the causes of this increase, which is largely associated with the growth of traffic in recent years.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will make a statement on the inquiry concerning the Aberdonian express that recently went past a signal at Welwyn Garden City, near the scene of the train crash at Welwyn on 7th January.

As I informed the House on 13th February, an inquiry was held by the Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways into the collision at Welwyn Garden City on 7th January, when an up express train passed two successive home signals at danger and overtook a local train travelling on the same line. Immediately after the accident thorough tests and examinations were made of all the relevant signalling equipment in order to see whether the express driver might have been misled by a false clear indication at the distant signal. All the tests proved satisfactory, and there was nothing to suggest that the signal was in anything but proper working order.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what arrangements are to be made for the payment of dues by British ships using the Suez Canal when opened; and what advice is being tendered to British shipowners on the subject by Her Majesty's Government.

I have nothing to add to what the Prime Minister and my right hon. and learned Friend said during the debate on the Bermuda talks on 1st April.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the estimated yield in a full year of the charges for in-patient and out-patient treatment recently imposed by the Kenya Government.

£30,000 for in-patients and £44,000 for out-patients. Employers of some in-patients will also pay an estimated £30,000, but this is not a new charge.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is yet in a position to publish the Grivas diaries in full.

No. The full diaries contain material of security interest which cannot be published at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is yet in a position to state what representatives of the British Government have interviewed Archbishop Makarios during the last fifteen days: what subjects were discussed; what decisions were arrived at during those discussions; and what decisions affecting peace in Cyprus have been reached by the British Government as a result of those discussions.

The discussions with Archbishop Makarios were undertaken by the Governor of Seychelles, Sir William Addis. The matters discussed and the decisions reached were as mentioned in my right hon. Friend's statements of 20th and 28th March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will now end the state of emergency in Cyprus in view of Archbishop Makarios' statement of 22nd March, in order that negotiations can be resumed with representatives of the Cypriot people in a peaceful atmosphere.

I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend said on this point in his statement on 28th March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why he has not implemented his undertaking of 13th March to place in the Library certain evidence relating to the case of Maria Lambrou.

The summary of evidence has now been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make available for inspection by hon. Members copies of all leaflets distributed by the security forces in Cyprus since 1st September, 1956.

I have already arranged for a selection of Government leaflets to be placed in the Library. I have now asked the Governor if it is possible to supplement this.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will now make a further statement on the Cyprus position indicating in particular the nature, subject and results of his conversations with the Governor of Cyprus during his recent visit to Britain.

I have nothing to add to my statement on 28th March, which dealt fully with my conversations with the Governor during his recent visit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the Report on the non-Government Islamic schools in Malaya states that there are very few good school buildings, that salaries of teachers arc as low as $5 a month. 11 s. 8d., that some classes have over 100 children with an average of 65, and that the position educationally is unsatisfactory t and if he will take steps, with Their Highnesses the Malay Rulers, to bring about a unified system of compulsory education throughout the Federation.

I have seen the Report to which the hon. Member refers, but I do not think that it would be appropriate for me to comment while it is still under consideration by Their Highnesses the Rulers and the Government of the Federation of Malaya.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made on the provision of interracial schools in Fiji.

The number of multiracial schools in Fiji is steadily increasing. Of some 500 primary schools, 106 now cater for children of more than one race and 21 of the 27 secondary schools are multi-racial. In addition, a multi-racial post-school certificate course has been opened this year in Suva.This process is, however, limited by the fact that certain areas of the Colony are inhabited only by people of one race and by the natural tendency at the primary school stage towards separate schools for separate language groups. Progress depends on making English the medium of instruction at the lower primary level and this, in turn, depends on the supply of suitable teachers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether it is with the authority of the Government of Jamaica that a station for tracing guided missiles is operated on a hill outside Kingston by American personnel; and if he will make a statement.

The hon. Member is misinformed. There is no station in Jamaica for tracing guided missiles.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many firearms certificates were issued in Jamaica in 1956; and what relation the number bears to the overall population.

The number of firearm users permits issued in Jamaica in 1956 was 13.783. The estimated population at the end of that year was 1,579,620.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many vacancies exist at the present time for doctors in the health services in all the Colonial Territories; what proportion these vacancies form to all the posts required in each territory; and how many applications are received in a year for these vacancies from qualified doctors already in the National Health Service in this country.

The figures required by the first two parts of the Question are:

Territory	Vacancies*	Establishment of doctors
Aden (Colony and Protectorate)	1	22
Bahamas	—	18
Barbados	4	27
Bermuda	2	5
British Guiana	14	66
British Honduras	1	13
Brunei	3	9
Cyprus	—	76
Falkland Islands	1	5
Gambia	—	12
Gibraltar	—	10
Hong Kong	1	197
Jamaica	1	165
Kenya	4	176
Leeward Islands:—
Antigua	—	14
St. Kitts Nevis	—	12
Montserrat	—	3
Virgin Islands	—	2
Malaya	1	267
Mauritius	14	83
Nigeria:—
Federal Service	7	90
Eastern Region	11	87
Northern Region	12	129
Western Region	11	107
North Borneo	1	17
St. Helena (including Tristan da Cunha)	—	3
Sarawak	2	21
Seychelles	—	9
Sierra Leone	1	54
Singapore	3	256
Somaliland	1	10
South Pacific Health Service (including Fiji, Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony and British Solomon Islands Protectorate)	—	45
Tanganyika	2	175
Trinidad	18	140
Uganda	6	145
Windward Islands:—
Dominica	—	9
Grenada	—	16
St. Lucia	—	11
St. Vincent	—	11
Zanzibar	—	23
TOTAL	122	2,540
* These are the vacancies, actually notified to the Colonial Office for recruitment, against which candidates have not yet been selected.
The Colonial Office receives about 300 applications a year from qualified doctors. Most of these are employed in the National Health Service here but it is not possible to give precise figures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has yet received the Annual Report for 1956 of the Colonial Development Corporation; and how soon he expects to present it to Parliament.

I have received it and will present it as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what report is given of Parliamentary Questions and Answers to the Caribbean territories in overseas programmes of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Reports of Parliamentary discussions, including points from Question Time, are frequently included in overseas services broadcasts to the Caribbean area. Apart from the normal news bulletins, Parliamentary material of interest to the Colonies is included in such programmes as "Commentary ", "Serious Argument", "This Day and Age" and "Colonial Commentary". All these programmes are broadcast regularly to the Caribbean.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will receive a delegation from the European, African and Asian members of the Uganda Legislative Council regarding the intention of the Protectorate Government to delay elections to the Council until 1961; and when.

No. I was asked by the Representative Members Organisation of the Legislative Council in Uganda whether I would receive representatives to discuss their view that whatever arrangements were made for elections for the representative members of Legislative Council from Buganda in 1957 should be uniformly introduced in the other provinces of the Protectorate at that time.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many naval reservists have been transferred to the Emergency Reserve in the last six months; what annual payments they formerly received; what loss of remuneration they will suffer; and what compensation will be paid to them.

About 32,000 members of the Royal Fleet Reserve have been discharged to the Emergency Reserves within the last six months. As members of the Royal Fleet Reserve they were entitled to retainers on the following scale:—

1s. 6d. per day for petty officer and above.

1s. 3d. per day for leading rates.

1s. per day for able rates.

The same rates are payable to equivalent Royal Marine other ranks.No compensation is payable because all men who enrolled in the Royal Fleet Reserve under the terms of their engagement for seven years active service and five in the Reserve, signed a statement as part of their original engagement which contained the following words:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, in order to show a comparison with the present strength, how many officers of the rank of rear-admiral and above, excluding admirals of the Fleet, were on the active list of the Royal Navy on 1st March, 1914, and 1925, respectively; and how many of these officers were serving at the Admiralty.

The number of officers of the rank or relative rank of rear-admiral and above on the active list, excluding admirals of the Fleet, were as set out below. The numbers in brackets show those serving in the Admiralty.

—	Admirals	Vice-admirals	Rear-admirals
1st March, 1914	12 (2)	24 (4)	60 (10)
1st March, 1925	11 (—)	25 (5)	66 (12)

NOTE: The numbers include for both dates officers of relative rank to rear-admiral and above in the medical, engineering and paymaster branches.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why 30 officers of the rank of rear-admiral and above, excluding Admirals of the Fleet, are serving in the Admiralty today when only 19 were serving there on 1st March, 1939.

The difference is due to the imposition of tasks which either did not exist in March, 1939, or have greatly expanded in scale since that date. Examples are the transfer to the Admiralty of responsibility for the Fleet Air Arm, the existence of N.A.T.O., the greater importance attached to personnel and welfare administration and the increased complexity of research, development and production in connection with ships, armament and equipment.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what was the total strength of the Royal Navy, excluding women, on 1st March, 1914, 1925. 1939, and 1947, respectively.

The Vote A numbers, excluding women, were:

15th March, 1914	…	…	145,601
15th March, 1925	…	…	100,104
31st March, 1939	…	…	123,396
31st March, 1947	…	…	90,247

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that on 23rd March the Midlands television station contravened the provisions of the Second Schedule to the Television Act, 1954, by offering a prize of significant value relating to an advertisement for beer; and what action he proposes to take to prevent similar contraventions in the future.

No. Section 3 (3) of the Television Act prohibits the offer in a programme of any prize or gift of significant value which is available only to persons receiving that programme. The competition which I think the right hon. Gentleman has in mind is advertised in a number of Midlands newspapers and is open to the advertiser's own customers to whom leaflets have also been sent direct.

asked the Minister of Supply when he expects a British intermediate range ballistic missile to be available.

It would not be in the interests of national security to give this information.

asked the Minister of Supply what steps he is taking to increase the production of helicopters.

None. Present helicopter production plans are adequate to meet stated and forecast requirements.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education if he will publish in HANSARD a table showing, for the 20 local education authorities which give the most major awards per thousand of the school population, for the 20 which give the least awards, and for the latest convenient year, the number of grammar school places for each thousand of total population in the authority's area, the number of pupils who gained two advanced passes in the General Certificate of Education examination in that year, and the total new major awards made in that year for university, training college and other courses.

I am writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education if he will publish the details in respect of those local education authorities which, in interpreting Circular 263, insist that students must, in addition to having two advanced passes in the G.C.E. examination, have a minimum number of marks, must have passes at scholarship level or must have some similar additional qualification before they can be granted major awards.

All local education authorities are expected to be discriminating in the selection of students for awards and to look for evidence of a good general education. Only three authorities that I know of impose specific requirements over and above two Advanced level passes. One requires a minimum aggregate of marks in two or three Advanced level subjects. The second requires students to reach a minimum standard in a third subject at advanced level. The third requires the submission of three essays on subjects outside the student's specialist syllabus. In no case is a pass at scholarship level required.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education whether he is aware of the concern of the parents, residents and of the parish council of Hopton on Sea, East Suffolk, at the lack of amenities in regard to sanitary, lavatory and playground conditions at the village school; what representations have been made to him concerning these; and if he will make a statement.

I have received from the hon. Member a complaint sent to him by one of his constituents. While my noble Friend cannot yet authorise major building projects solely for the replacement of bad old schools, he has already arranged for his officers to discuss with the East Suffolk local education authority other possible ways of improving the situation at this school.

asked the Secretary of State for War in how many papers the half page picture of an explosion of an atom bomb, along with appeals for recruits to the Army, was published; what was the cost; and how many recruits were obtained as a result.

This advertisement appeared in one daily and one monthly newspaper and cost £560. A number of applications for information have specifically referred to this advertisement, but it is never possible to attribute accepted candidates to any particular advertisement or pamphlet.

asked the Minister of Works when he proposes to restore the full supply of hot water to the Palace of Westminster.

The hot water taps in lavatories used by Members have already been turned on again. All the other hot water taps in the Palace will be working normally in the next day or two.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action has been taken by Her Majesty's Government pursuant to the Resolution (54) 19 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the prevention of animal epidemics and protection of plants.

The United Kingdom is an active member of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International Epizootics Office and the European Commission on Foot and Mouth Disease, and has co-operated fully in their work. With regard to plant inspection I understand that the Council of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation, of which we are also members, will be considering these matters at its meeting this month.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the large potato surplus, what acreage of potatoes he proposes for the coming season; and how this compares with last year's acreage.

It is not the policy of the Government to determine or to recommend what acreage of land should be planted with potatoes.

asked the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food (1) what quantities of potatoes were exported from the United Kingdom by the Potato Marketing Board in the months ended 31st December, 1955, 31st January, 1956, and 29th February, 1956, and in the months ended 31st December, 1956, 31st January, 1957, and 28th February, 1957; and what were the total prices obtained, free on board, for the respective quantities of potatoes so exported;(2) what was the difference between the prices received by the Potato Marketing Board on sale free on board for potatoes exported in the months ended 31st December, 1955, 31st January, 1956, and 29th February, 1956, and in the months ended 31st December, 1956, 31st January, 1957, and 28th February, 1957, and the prices paid by the Potato Marketing Board to producers for such potatoes; and to what extent the difference was made up by subsidy.

In the year 1955–56, the Potato Marketing Board sold no potatoes for export, and exported none on its own account. This year when there is a large surplus the Board has sold substantial quantities for export for purposes other than human consumption. These transactions, which are continuing, are of a commercial character, and it would not be in the public interest to disclose details. Producers of exported potatoes receive the appropriate guaranteed price, and the loss resulting from these transactions is met as to 95 per cent. by the Exchequer and as to 5 per cent. by the Board.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures showing the amount of Entertainments Duty levied, and the total receipts to the Exchequer from such duty, on the sport of speedway racing for each of the years from 1945.

The amounts of Entertainments Duty levied on and received from admissions to speedway race meetings were not separately recorded until August, 1951 the amounts since then have been as follows:

Financial Year				Receipts of duty (approx.)
				£'000
1951–52(a)	…	…	…	150
1952–53(b)	…	…	…	110
1953–54	…	…	…	80
1954–55(c)	…	…	…	70
1955–56	…	…	…	50
1956–57(d)	…	…	…	40

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make an estimate of how much a complete abolition of entertainments tax would be offset by the consequent increase in revenue from Income Tax or Profits Tax on increased earnings left in the hands of exhibitors.

It would not be practicable to make such an estimate. The amount of the increase (if any) in the revenue from Income Tax and Profits Tax would depend on what proportion of the relief was passed on to the public by way of reduced prices of admission and what proportion retained by exhibitors.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to receive the report of the Monopolies Commission into the supply of chemical fertilisers.

I have nothing to add to the Answer which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. J. E. B. Hill) on 28th March.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on the application for an increase in the protective import duty on plywood faced with tropical hardwood, reported in his Department's journal for 1st January, 1955.

Her Majesty's Government have now decided that a case has not been made out for an increase in the import duty on this plywood.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement about the distribution of Hungarian assets by the Administrator of Hungarian Property to United Kingdom creditors of Hungary.

The rate of the first and final dividend in the distribution will be decided and announced at the beginning of June. Payment will begin shortly thereafter.