asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been drawn to recent cases in which insurance companies have denied liability to firms insured by them because of a clause in the insurance policy providing that the insured must take reasonable precautions to prevent accidents, and in which the firm might have insufficient funds to meet the claim even after liquidation; and if he will consider introducing legislation to make compulsory insurance against the employers' liability at common law.

I have looked at the facts in the case which the hon. Member has brought to my notice. The employer concerned is insured, and the question of compulsory insurance against employers' liability at common law would not seem to arise in this case. I understand that no judgment concerning damages to the injured person concerned has been given. The general question of compulsory insurance has been examined in the past, but legislation to require it is not considered appropriate.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that in this case a young Manchester woman was scalped by her lathe, involving damages estimated at £7,000; but, because the employers had failed to guard the machine, the insurance company disclaimed liability; and because the engineering firm is so small, it could not pay her the damages, even if it went into liquidation? If a man knocks down a woman with his car in the street, the insurance company is liable to that woman, even if the driver had falsely purported to the insurance company, for example, to have a clean driving record. Could not the law be made parallel in these cases?

There is no evidence that if there were a judgment in this girl's favour damages awarded would not be paid. It would be improper for me to comment further on the merits of the case as, for all I know, further events may be impending. On the general question of legislation, this was gone into as a result of a deputation from the T.U.C. as lately as 1955. The T.U.C. was asked to submit evidence and was informed at the time that, although it was clear that hard cases could arise, we did not feel that the number justified the complexed legislation involved, which would, moreover, be difficult to enforce. My right hon. Friend would be open to consider further evidence at any time, but it has been carefully considered only recently.

Does not the Parliamentary Secretary appreciate that, in the circumstances which my hon. Friend mentioned in his supplementary question a most appalling injustice might occur, and that the sort of answer which the hon. Gentleman has given is exactly the kind of answer that is always given for stalling on this kind of question? Will he not consider dealing with cases of injustice which could easily arise because great hardship can conceivably often arise in these cases?

I can assure the hon. and learned Gentleman that we do not lack sympathy for these hard cases when they arise. This is a difficult matter. I am not a lawyer, but I understand that there is a saying about hard cases sometimes making bad law. We have considered this very carefully in the past, and we will keep a close eye on it, but legislation was thought to be extremely complex and difficult to enforce and, in view of the little evidence forthcoming as to its need, it was thought not right to embark on it.

asked the Minister of Labour what reply he has given to the recommendation made to Her Majesty's Government by the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation that all persons in custody in Cyprus, including trade union leaders, should receive a fair trial at the earliest possible moment.

The reply to be made to the Governing Body's observations on this matter is under consideration.

In view of the representative character of the I.L.O., representing Governments and employers' organisations, as well as workers' organisations, will the right hon. Gentleman refer this request to the Secretary of State for the Colonies with a view to the trial of more than 1,000 people who are still detained in Cyprus and to facilitate negotiations with Archbishop Makarios and the representatives of the Cypriot people?

I think that that goes a good deal wider. I will, of course, discuss the matter with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the majority of allegations made were rejected by the Governing Body. I should make it quite clear that if people were detained in Cyprus, that was never because of their trade union activities.

asked the Minister of Labour when he hopes to make a statement on the amendment of the Industrial Disputes Order.

There is nothing I can at present usefully add to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend on 19th March.

Can my hon. Friend say how long he thinks it will be before he will be able to make a statement on this very important matter?

The British Employers' Confederation and the T.U.C. are considering what I put to them, and I expect their views probably in May or June of this year. If my hon. Friend would like me to, I will let her know as soon as I am ready to make another statement.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that the amendment of this Order excites interest over a very wide range of interests in the country?

Yes, I know that, and I know the cases the right hon. Gentleman has in mind.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give, industry by industry, the total number of persons unemployed in Coventry at the latest available date as compared with the beginning of the year.

As the reply includes a table of figures, I will, if I may, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Will my right hon. Friend indicate whether the employment position has substantially improved in Coventry in the last few months?

That is one of the complications. As far as figures are concerned, there has been a complete deterioration, but that, as I explain in a sub-note to the table, is purely because there has been a change in the guaranteed week agreement. I am afraid that my hon. Friend will have to study the Answer in detail in HANSARD.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that most of the women serving on the Women's Consultative Committee appointed to advise him are actively supporting the Festival of Women; and why he has not consulted this Committee on this matter.

The terms of reference of the Women's Consultative Committee are to advise me on questions of employment policy referring to women. I do not think that the question of employment policy was involved in this issue.

:As a founder member of the original Committee, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he is aware that the fact that he takes a different view from his predecessors and that, unlike his predecessors, he has not come to see the Committee and discuss things with them, fills me with regret, particularly as quite a number of Government Departments are supporting the Festival of Women? Would it not have been polite of him to come to see us on this matter?

:I am always prepared to accept a rebuke. I am coming, I hope, to the next meeting of the Women's Consultative Committee. As a matter of fact, I do not think that this is a matter within the terms of reference which I have indicated, but I have had a further approach from the Festival of Women, which has put a particular proposal to me which I am considering.

:May I thank my right hon. Friend?

:Can the right hon. Gentleman say what other representative women's organisations he consulted on this matter?

:No, Sir. The original Question was whether Government money should be expended on this. That is a matter for Government decision, and it is not one on which one can consult and take advice from outside opinion.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the terms of reference of the Inter-Departmental Committee which he has set up to consider the decision of the House of Lords in Lister v. Romford Ice and Cold Storage Company Limited.

:The Committee's terms of reference are:

"To study the implications of the judgments in the case of Lister v. Romford Ice and Cold Storage Company Limited as they might affect the relations between employers and workers."

:I understand from that Answer that the inquiry will not be confined to motoring cases only. Can the hon. Gentleman say specifically whether it is the intention, as the wording of the terms of reference seem to imply, that the Inter-Departmental Committee should also inquire into cases where employers have, in fact, insured against what their employees do or do not do and cases where employers should reasonably have insured against what their employees do or do not do? The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that these are points which were very much considered in the dissenting speeches in the House of Lords.

:The terms of reference are drawn widely for employers and workers relationship. I will certainly bear in mind what the hon. and learned Gentleman has said. I think he can take it that the terms of reference go far beyond driving cases.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the merger between Electrical and Musical Industries and other radio companies, which is likely to cause serious unemployment in the Feltham area of Middlesex; and what action he proposes to take to provide alternataive employment for those affected.

asked the Minister of Labour what step he proposes to take in connection with the redundancy which will arise from amalgamation in the radio industry in Middlesex and to find alternative employment for those affected.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the threat to employment in Hayes and Harlington; what steps he proposes to take to find alternative employment for those affected.

:I understand that although no redundancy has been declared the firm in question may have to discharge between 2,600 and 3,000 workers in the next few months. All those concerned will be invited to register with my Department for other employment as soon as it is known which workers are to be discharged, and everything possible will be done to submit them to vacancies.

:I should like to press upon the right hon. Gentleman the urgency and importance of this problem, because the merger between Electrical and Musical Industries and the Ferguson Radio Company will result in nearly 3,000 people being redundant at E.M.I., some of them being my constituents who have worked there for forty years or more, ever since leaving school. I am sure that the Minister can understand how they feel about this matter. Is he aware that the merger would leave over 200,000 square feet of factory space vacant at Hayes? Does not he agree that it is not in the local or the national interest for that space to be vacant? I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will consider that.

:Yes. I will indeed. It is always easier to make adequate plans for people who are to be displaced if one has reasonably long notice. We are on this occasion already in touch with the firm, and we will take all the points made by the hon. Gentleman into consideration.

:Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that these men have been declared redundant entirely as the result of the financial merger and there is no criticism of them? In the circumstances, will the Minister use his influence to see that the men are not discharged before alternative work is available for them?

:I do not think I can go as far as that, because it would do much to freeze the pattern of industry and it is in nobody's interest that that should be done. What is important is that if people have to move to another job they should find alternative employment after as short a gap as possible in that area, which remains one of labour shortage. I do not doubt that there will be difficulties, but I am confident that we shall be able to reabsorb these people.

:Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that some of the work is to be transferred to the Ferguson factory at Enfield, that housing in Enfield is difficult, in view of the very long housing lists, and that travel facilities between the west and the north of Middlesex are equally bad? The hope should therefore not be held out to the people who are becoming redundant that employment can be found for them in Enfield.

:Yes, I note that point. It is true that what we might call cross-travel facilities are difficult in the Greater London area, but it still remains true that the area around Hayes has an unemployment percentage of only about 1 per cent., which is much below the national average. There will be no difficulty at all for the skilled people, I am sure; for those who are not skilled, we may well have more difficulty in finding alternative employment.

asked the Minister of Labour what action he proposes to take to deal with the unemployment which will arise consequent upon the removal from Hayes, Middlesex, to Liverpool of a large food processing plant; and what steps he proposes to take to find alternative employment for those affected.

:I am informed that the transfer of this establishment to a Development Area will probably involve the discharge of rather less than 900 full-time and nearly 400 part-time workers during the late summer and early autumn. All those concerned will be invited to register with my Department for other employment, and everything possible will be done to submit them to vacancies.

:Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that if there are to be about a thousand workers discharged from this plant, plus 3,000 workers mentioned in the previous question, plus the fact that some of the defence contracts in the district are likely to be curtailed or run down to a very much lower level despite the generally favourable conditions of employment, this may cause a very serious situation indeed in Hayes area? Would he treat the matter as one of great urgency?

:Indeed, I will look at this matter. It is most unfortunate that the two major redundancies referred to in these questions should coincide. This move is to a Development Area, and, in general, there is much to be said for that, particularly the Merseyside Development Area, which has a 3·4 unemployment percentage and where, contrary to the general trend, unemployment has been rising.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will now announce when new dock regulations will be introduced.

:I regret I am not yet in a position to make a statement. My officers have had useful discussions with representatives of the Dock and Harbour Authorities Association and British Transport Commission, but the practical problems involved are extremely complicated and must be examined further in collaboration with those concerned.

:Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the dock authorities were seriously criticised in the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords for more than nine months because of their noncompliance with existing regulations? Is he further aware that a small number of men are being drowned every year because adequate provision for saving life is not made; and will the hon. Gentleman get a move on in this matter?

:We are anxious to get a move on. One of the troubles is that the more closely we look into the matter and the more evidence we have brought to our notice, the more clear it becomes that the provision of additional vertical ladders and hanging chains would not be the best way to ensure safety. New regulations, apart from the doubt whether they would have much effect, might do more harm than good.

asked the Minister of Labour what proposals for selective compulsory service he has under consideration; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Labour how far he intends to advance the age of call-up between 1957 and 1960; and if he will announce immediately the age groups to be called up so as to avoid further uncertainty and unsettlement among youths.

:I would refer the hon. Members to my statement in yesterday's debate.

:Is the Minister aware that the plan, at great length, involves a quite arbitrary kind of selectivity in the next three years with equal liability in law but unequal sacrifice in the call-up? Further, is he aware that public opinion will not stand for such arbitrary selectivity without a definite date to end conscription? Has the Minister noted that most newspapers today report that he gave a categorical assurance that the 1940 class would not he called up? Would the Minister make quite plain that according to the Government's White Paper on Defence, all this is quite conditional on the results of voluntary recruitment to the Armed Forces?

:Of course. Any prudent Government must make the reservation that if voluntary recruitment does not come up to expectations—and we did this in paragraph 48—then a new situation would arise which we must consider. As far as the 1940 class is concerned, what I said is perfectly clear. I said that the 1940 class remains legally liable but we are not planning on the basis that it will he called up. In reply to the first part of the supplementary question, I would say that there is, as I explained exactly to the House yesterday, no new element of selection involved in this separation of the registers into two.

:While 1 am delighted that the curse of the call-up appears at last to be on its way out, may I ask the Minister to state exactly how many of the 570,000 men are to be called up and when otherwise the uncertainty about their domestic and industrial life will produce out of a fine body of men a fine crop of spivs?

:That is quite untrue. The statement I made to the House yesterday on these matters could not have been clearer. Briefly, I said that the 1940 class was liable but those in it need not expect to be called up. Some of the 1939 class would be called up. It should be remembered that these plans start on 1st April, 1958, and we have time to consider the views of the House and the country and the Press, which I will be very glad to do; but I am quite certain from my own very detailed study of this matter that the plan I put forward yesterday is the correct one.

:Far from being a curse, has not the call-up done a considerable amount of good to a great many young men, for which they have expressed their gratitude in the past?

:Arising out of the first phrase in the right hon. Gentleman's answer to the first supplementary question, what evidence is there that this is a "prudent" Government?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time trained prison welfare officers are employed in Her Majesty's prisons.

:Four prison welfare officers of the type recommended by the Maxwell Committee are in post, and two more posts have been advertised.

:I presume that the Under-Secretary of State appreciates that this is an inadequate staff for the job that has to be done. May I ask whether his right hon. Friend, in reviewing prison staff pay generally, is also considering increasing the pay of welfare officers so that the best types may be employed for this important work?

:The hon. Member will remember that in the recent prison debate I dealt with the difficulty mentioned in the first part of his supplementary question. The scheme is in the nature of a pilot scheme at the moment and we want to see how it goes before deciding the way it will be further extended. With regard to the second part, pay and conditions of work of prison officers are under review by a Departmental Committee.

:In deciding whether the pilot scheme is a success, can the Under-Secretary of State assure us that he will not be unduly influenced by representations from the less progressive discharged prisoners' aid societies?

:My right hon. Friend is anxious to see this scheme made a success.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions are made in prisons for psychiatric treatment of prisoners who are homosexual; and what methods are available to ascertain whether prisoners not actually convicted for homosexual offences are, in fact, also practising homosexuals.

:All prisoners known or suspected to be homosexual are specially examined and, if found suitable for psychotherapy, are sent to a prison with a psychiatric clinic if the sentence is long enough to allow of proper treatment. Homosexuals whose offence gives no indication of their inversion come to notice through their mannerisms or behaviour in prison, or through information obtained from their past records or other sources; but it is unlikely that all are detected in this way.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners sentenced to prison for sexual offences and promised treatment for their abnormalities do, in fact, receive such treatment.

:Prisoners sentenced for sexual offences receive psychotherapy if they are found suitable for treatment and if the sentence is long enough to allow of it. Particular attention is always paid to any recommendation by a court. In 1956, 60 men and boys sentenced for sexual offences received treatment by visiting psychotherapists, but I cannot say how many of these had been recommended for treatment by the court at the time of sentence.

:Is it not clear that there is little validity in the statement made constantly by magistrates and judges to sexual offenders that when they go to prison they will receive the medical treatment which they should have for their abnormality? Does not this mean that there must be a rapid extension of the very admirable psychiatric work now going on in Her Majesty's prisons?

:I know the hon. Gentleman's interest in this matter, particularly in the psychiatric unit in Wormwood Scrubs. We hope to extend that considerably when we get the new psychiatric institution at Grendon Underwood.

:May we take it from the Under-Secretary of State that he is not very happy about the facilities which are available? Can he give a rather more definite idea to the House when he expects the facilities to be made adequate?

:It would be very difficult to give a firm date for completion at Grendon Underwood, but a start is to be made this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in the negotiations with local authorities and trade unions on the promotion of legislation that is a necessary preliminary to the ratification of the International Labour Organisation's Convention No. 96.

:My right hon. Friend has agreed to receive a deputation of representatives of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress who wish to discuss certain aspects of the proposed legislation with him.

:Can the hon. and learned Gentleman give us any idea how long after that he will be able to make a statement? Two of his predecessors who took part in what he called the "preleminary rounds" of this discussion have already been withdrawn disqualified from the ring.

:I do not think I can say how soon a statement can be made. It depends how far further discussions may then be necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of children without parents, foster-parents or guardians who are being educated as boarders at private schools.

:I regret that this information is not available.

:What would be the position of a child who is the responsibility of an executor under a will? Would such a child be covered by the provisions of the Children's and Young Persons Act, 1936?

:Perhaps my hon. Friend will send me details of the case he has in mind. If the child went to a private school—I think this is the crux of the question he has put to me—the situation will be improved by the bringing into force in the autumn of this year of Part III of the Education Act, in which, as he knows, the registration and inspection of independent schools by the Ministry of Education and the furnishing of particulars will be required by Regulations. If there are other points regarding the non-school life of the child, it will be helpful to have details of the particular case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the amount of the imperial contribution to the Metropolitan police in the year 1910–11, and the proportion of this contribution to total expenditure in that year; what was the amount of the imperial contribution to the Metropolitan police in the year 1955–56, and the proportion of this contribution to total expenditure in that year; and what would be the amount of the imperial contribution if the proportion had been similar to that in the year 1910–11.

:The amount of the Exchequer grant to the Metropolitan police in respect of imperial and national services was £100,000 in each of the financial years 1910–11 and 1955–56. The grant represented 3·88 per cent. of the total net expenditure of the Metropolitan police in 1910–11 and ·47 per cent. in 1955–56. The amount of the grant in 1955–56 would have been £819,984 if it had borne the same proportion to the total expenditure as in 1910–11.

:While thanking the Joint Under-Secretary for that very full reply, may I ask him to assure the House that his right hon. Friend will have a look at this position to correct what is an injustice to ratepayers in the Metropolitan area, in view of the fact that the imperial functions of the Metropolitan police have been increased but the imperial contribution remains the same as it was in 1910?

:Major Lloyd-George, as he then was, when he was Home Secretary, received a deputation on this subject, and, as a result of that, records are now being kept, so that the matter can be reviewed in the light of modern information.

:Do not the records reveal that the £100,000 fixed in 1910 is now completely inadequate?

:No, Sir. I think it is too early to make any firm pronouncement until we have seen the comparative figures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give approval to the removal of the air-raid shelter in Station Avenue, Halmerend, in the rural district of Newcastle-under-Lyme, on the ground that it is an unnecessary and unsightly object.

:In reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Goole (Mr. G. Jeger) on the 11th instant, my right hon. Friend explained the grounds on which the removal of shelters is authorised. He is informed that no such grounds exist in this particular case.

:While thanking the hon. and learned Gentleman for referring to the previous reply, may I ask him if he can tell the citizens of Halmerend what on earth is the point of maintaining air-raid shelters locked up and dotted around in remote villages? Has he read the Government's Defence White Paper, and, having read it, will he now tell my constituents why they should put up with this public nuisance, and give positive reasons for it?

:Outside the area of complete devastation by a hydrogen bomb, sound last-war shelters would give protection against blast, against heat and against radioactive fall-out, especially if improved by the thickening of the walls and roofs with sandbags and the like. It is for that reason that, where the structure is sound and where there are no reasons of obstruction or health for their removal, it is the policy of the Government that these shelters should be retained.

:May I ask the hon. and learned Gentleman what would happen if one or two of the local inhabitants went out one dark night with pick-axes and removed one or two bricks from the shelter and made it a dangerous structure which the local authority would then have to remove?

:The hon. Gentleman will certainly not expect me to reply to a hypothetical question, still less when it presupposes an illegality.

:In view of the fact that the House was not impressed by the Home Secretary's reply, to which the hon. and learned Gentleman has referred, to my hon. Friend the Member for Goole (Mr. G. Jeger), and that most hon. Members regard the value of these shelters from the last war as being purely minimal, would he give an undertaking that the Home Office will look again at the whole shelter policy and see if it is not possible to give a more favourable answer to my hon. Friend who asked the question?

:No, Sir. This matter has been carefully considered, and these shelters are thought to offer a substantial measure of protection which it would be unwise to give up at this moment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what inquiry is made by his Department, when an officer of the Metropolitan police has been convicted for such offences as breaking and entering and larceny, into cases in which the same officer has previously given evidence for the Crown against persons convicted of like offences.

:An inquiry is ordered by the Commissioner of Police where the circumstances give grounds for any suspicion that an injustice may have been done in earlier cases.

:While thanking the Joint Under-Secretary for that Answer, may I ask him if he is aware that there have been several cases recently in which great suspicion has been aroused that convicted police officers have pinned the guilt for their previous crimes on innocent persons and even those who, to use the common phrase, are known to the police?

:Apart from the two cases which are sub judice, I have not got in mind the cases to which the hon. Gentleman refers, but if he would care to send details to me I will certainly have them looked into.

:May I ask the Minister whether such an inquiry was inaugurated when a member of Metropolitan Police, giving evidence in a case in which a man who was then a Member of this House was concerned, confessed in the witness box that he had committed perjury and fainted? Was there an inquiry in that case, and is that man still in the force?

:I have not got that case in mind, and I should be grateful if the hon. Member will give me further details.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will have inquiries made about the Nazi indoctrination and actions of persons applying for admission to the United Kingdom with a view to preventing the admission to this country of persons responsible for the teaching and spreading of such doctrines here.

:I am not aware of any activities of this kind, but if the hon. Member will let me know what specific cases he has in mind, I will make inquiries and communicate with him.

:If on making inquiries the hon. Lady discovers that there is a considerable amount of anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi type being used in camps and other places, will she deal with it?

:Within the law as it stands, we will take any necessary steps to prevent any offensive activities in these camps, but I think the hon. Member must draw the line between the free expression of opinion and Nazi indoctrination, which is what he calls it. Certainly, within the law, we will take any action we can against such publications.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has given consideration to the antisemitic journal published by some Hungarians who have been given asylum in Great Britain, a copy of which journal has been supplied to him by the hon. Member for Leicester, North-West; and whether he will take appropriate steps by introducing legislation or otherwise to prevent similar Nazi literature from being produced and circulated in Great Britain.

:My attention has been already drawn to this publication, which is in the Hungarian language, and steps were taken to see that no facilities were given for its display or distribution in hostels for Hungarian refugees. My right hon. Friend does not think that any further action on his part is called for, but a close watch will be kept on activities of the kind referred to.

:Is the hon. Lady aware of the fact that there are a lot of people like myself who urged that as many refugees as possible should be brought into this country who were fleeing from persecution in Hungary and other places? Is she aware that this type of publication is a very serious abuse of the right of asylum, and will she take further steps to make certain that this is not allowed, because it is, in fact, a very serious Nazi method of trying to make a distinction between one section of the community and another?

:I sympathise very fully with the hon. Member's objections to the sentiments expressed in this publication, but I should like to clear up one matter which he has mentioned—that we freely let in Hungarian refugees without any screening. The person responsible for the particular publication which he has in mind has been here many years, and if in fact any of his actions offend against the law, he will be made answerable for them.

:In view of the fact that it is known that on occasion people holding the view to which my hon. Friend and I object come into this country sometimes in order to send information back about their fellow nationals who are here by permission, and on other occasions perform other acts that make the lives of these people miserable, will the hon. Lady assure us that if any alien here carries out this kind of wicked enterprise he will be immediately deported?

:I think the right hon. Member knows that the situation is very carefully watched by efficient services under the Home Office and that certainly we would not hesitate to use all the powers we have if circumstances such as the right hon. Member has outlined came about.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education what progress has been made in the discussions with regard to the effect of the new structure of state grants to local authorities upon the education grant and upon the future education programme.

:I cannot yet add to what I said in the debate on 5th April.

:Is the Minister aware that people who take a particular interest in education, such as teachers' organisations, are very much concerned about the allocation of the grant, which might affect children in future? Will he give an assurance that, in the reallocation of the grant, the position will not be worse than it is now?

:I know the concern about this matter. I made a fairly full statement on it in the House on 5th April. I would ask the hon. Member to have a look at that, because it contains the answers to some of the questions he has asked.

:Will the hon. Gentleman help to clarify the matter by removing some of the cloudiness with which he surrounded his statement on that occasion?

:I thought my statement was pretty precise.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education what encouragement was given by his Department, through educational institutions and establishments in the United Kingdom, to graduates in higher technical subjects to apply for appointments as lecturers with the Copperbelt Technical Foundation of Northern Rhodesia.

:Responsibility for higher education in the Federation rests with the Federal Government, and any assistance with recruitment could only be on the invitation of the Federal Government or of the Foundation. Neither the Government nor the Foundation has approached my Department.

:Would not the Parliamentary Secretary agree that this institution in one of the Commonwealth countries is a most important one, and that it is important that graduates from this country should play a part in it?

:Of course this is an important matter, but the supplementary question raises rather wider considerations.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education the number of pupils continuing their full-time education in secondary modern schools in the County of Warwick after the statutory school-leaving age has been reached; to what extent the number has been increasing; and whether outside visits play an important part in their activities.

:In January, 1956, there were 141 pupils over the age of fifteen in Warwickshire secondary modern schools, rather fewer than in 1955 or 1954. No figures are yet available for 1957. The arrangement of outside visits is a matter for the head teacher of each school.

:Does not the Minister agree that the tendency of pupils over the statutory school-leaving age to stay on at school is something to be encouraged? Does he realise that in schools which are already obsolete and overcrowded this matter gives rise to further difficulties, and in the case of Warwickshire may be of importance?

:I certainly agree that we want to encourage children to stay longer at school. I said so on 5th April. I would only add that we should not take too seriously small changes in the figures from year to year. The local authority has in hand schemes to attract children to stay longer at secondary modern schools.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education the average number of pupils at the Wilnecote Secondary Modern School in the County of Warwick during 1956; what increase is anticipated during 1957 and 1958; and what is being done to accommodate additional pupils.

:There were 319 pupils at this school in January, 1956, and 349 in January, 1957. Numbers are expected to increase by about twenty this year and thirty next year. Two additional hutted classrooms will be available next September.

:Will the Parliamentary Secretary help me out of a difficulty? In reply to me on 14th March, he said that the new school at Wilnecote:

"will be ready by the time the additional children for whom it is needed are of secondary school age."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 14th March, 1957; Vol. 566, c. 1283.]

:I will look at that, but the present position is that the average size of classes in January, 1957, was thirty-five. It should be easier to reduce the numbers when the new classrooms are ready, provided the local education authority can obtain sufficient teachers.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education whether the Wilnecote Secondary Modern School in the county of Warwick is now adequately staffed.

:The staffing of this school last term, though slightly better than a year ago, was not as good as the local education authority would have liked.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations why the British High Commissioner in Ottawa did not attend the official reception given by the Soviet Ambassador to celebrate the opening of the new Soviet Embassy on 9th April.

:He was not invited.

:Has the attention of the Minister been drawn to the fact that in the United States newspapers—the New York Herald Tribunte, for example—it was reported that the British and United States representatives had boycotted this reception? Has his Department let it be generally known that no invitations were in fact sent?

:My Department is not responsible for what appears in American or any other newspapers.

:Is the hon. Gentleman taking steps to see that the true explanation is understood because, if I had not chosen to put down this Question, it would be generally thought in the United States and here that the British representative had refused to accept?

:The Question and my Answer will, I am sure, make the position quite clear.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with the motor car manufacturers about the shortage of steel sheet which they anticipate will arise later in the year.

:None, Sir. The availability of future supplies of sheet steel is a matter for discussion by the motor industry with the sheet steel producers and with the Iron and Steel Board.

:Will the Parliamentary Secretary suggest to his right hon. Friend that, before permission is given to the motor car industry to import sheet steel, in view of the serious position of our gold and dollar reserves, there should be an insistence on a definite proportion of the increase of production going to exports?

:My right hon. Friend is aware of that Socialist proposal, but we do not think it would be wise to act upon it.

:Does that mean that the Government are prepared to see a situation similar to that which occurred in 1955 and the early part of 1956, in which the increasing cost of steel imports was far greater than the exports of the motor car industry which caused them?

:It is not necessarily the case that the 1955 situation will repeat itself.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will establish a building society under Treasury control for granting loans to house-purchasers, subject to small deposits and low fixed interest rates.

:No, Sir.

:Is the hon. Gentleman aware that very heavy deposits and very high interest rates, which are liable to be raised at any time, make the business a nightmare for young married couples in particular? Will not the Government take some positive action on the lines suggested in this Question to encourage the property-owning democracy about which we have heard from time to time?

:The question of assistance to house purchase, either by local authorities or the central Government, is one for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government.

:What exactly does the policy of the Government achieve in making it almost impossible for people to buy houses?

:If the right hon. Member is referring to the general effects of the policy of the Government in regard to credit, that is a very much wider matter.

:Is the Minister aware that young couples engaged in buying houses find that every time the Bank rate goes up they are immediately faced with an increase in mortgage rates, but they are disgusted to find that now the Bank rate is showing signs of going down building societies have not followed that lead by reducing mortgage rates? Would he give the view of the Government on that situation?

:Mortgage contracts between borrowers and building societies are contracts between private persons.

:Whatever may be the wider merits or demerits of the Government's policy, what is the advantage of making it exceedingly expensive for ordinary people to buy houses?

:As I have said before to the right hon. Member, that is only one aspect of the Government's general policy in the control and restriction of credit, which cannot be debated on this Question.

:Is the Minister aware that many local authorities adopt the principle laid down in the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act in order to encourage people to buy their houses? Could not he extend this principle to the State, because only about half of the local authorities adopt the Act?

:That is a question for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government.

:In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the answers of the hon. Member to all the questions, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has yet received the Report of the Committee inquiring into the treatment of cattle exported for slaughter on the Continent; and what action is proposed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive and publish the report of the Departmental Committee on the Export of Live Cattle for Slaughter.

:My right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland received this Report yesterday, and it will be published shortly after Easter. The Committee's recommendations will be studied urgently and an announcement of the Government's intentions made as soon as possible.

:I am sure that the whole House will wish to join in paying tribute to the Committee, which has done its job very quickly. Can my hon. Friend say how this export trade in cattle for slaughter on the Continent is going today? Are as many being sent now as were being sent three or four months ago, when the Committee was set up?

:There has been a considerable falling off. I would not like to commit myself to actual numbers, but I should think that they have been reduced approximately by half. That has perhaps reduced the urgency of the matter, but I know how important it is in the minds of hon. Members, and we will try to give our views on it at the earliest possible moment.

:Can the hon. Member say whether the members of the Committee saw for themselves the conditions in France and other Continental countries before they came to any conclusions in this matter?

:Yes, Sir. The members of the Committee travelled very widely. They went to all sorts of foreign countries. I almost included Scotland, but perhaps I had better not. They have certainly been to France and other Continental countries and examined every possible aspect of this matter in the very short time they have been working.

:Is the Minister aware that there is a certain amount of disquiet in the country because the inquiry is limited in its scope and does not include the export of sheep and pigs? Is he further aware that a number of people have written to me and, presumably, to other hon. Members who are interested in the subject? Will he keep an open mind upon it, and if an opportunity arises for referring back to the Committee, will he do so?

:That is a rather wider question. We have no evidence of any substantial export of either sheep or pigs. We are as concerned as the hon. Member to prevent cruelty in these matters, however, and if he likes to bring any particular cases to our notice we shall look into them.

:I should like to join in the tribute which has been paid to the work of this Committee. This matter is likely to be discussed in the Council of Europe, as there is general interest in it, and if the Minister can assure us that the Report will be published in time it will be very helpful to our discussions there.

:I cannot give an undertaking today. We have only just received the Report and we must look at it in all its aspects. We shall certainly bear that point in mind.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reports he has received up to the latest date of rabbits increasing in different parts of the country; and in which districts myxomatosis is still effective in checking this increase.

:The latest report indicates some increase in rabbit numbers in most counties in England and Wales. Myxomatosis will not by itself prevent the rabbit population from building up once again, but in Hampshire, and to a lesser extent in Nottinghamshire and Pembrokeshire, the disease appears to have had some effect in checking the increase.

:is my hon. Friend satisfied that the pest officers and pest committees in the counties have been doing their utmost to keep chasing these rabbits and getting farmers to chase them, and will continue to do so even through the breeding season and the summer?

:Yes, Sir. We are very much aware of the importance of trying to keep this pest within bounds. In the last few months we have carried out a most energetic campaign, during the period that we thought most favourable. We shall continue to do all we possibly can, but my hon. Friend will realise that it is not an easy matter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to which countries eggs have been exported in the past three months; and what it the cost of subsidy carried by these eggs.

:The latest available information is for the three months from December to February, when about 13,000 boxes of eggs were exported to twenty-one countries. As the list of countries is long, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT. The best estimate that can be made of the subsidy incurred on these eggs is about £40,000.

:Does my hon. Friend regard this as a temporary phase in our overseas trade, and does he think that when we get the Egg Marketing Board to work it will be able to boost the home sale of home-produced eggs, so that there will not be any surplus which can be exported?

:Yes, Sir. We hope that this is a temporary phase. It is certainly not our intention to try to stimulate this export trade. I very much hope that the Egg Marketing Board, as one of its first measures, will do all that it can to try to stimulate additional sales in this country.

:Is the Minister aware that Denmark is considerably concerned about this matter, and about the effect upon the West German market? Can he tell the House what is happening in regard to the present discussions in Denmark?

:Denmark has made several representations to Her Majesty's Government upon this point. We have explained the position to her to the best of our ability. I think that she has made an approach to G.A.T.T. upon the matter, and I do not think that it would be proper for me to comment further upon it.

:Is there any substance in this protestation by Denmark that we have defaulted from the G.A.T.T. agreement on this matter? Will he confirm or deny that that is so?

:I would rather not be drawn too far on this point, but it would appear that we have not defaulted in any way because the prices at which eggs are exported are the same as those at which they are available to consumers here.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will state the object of the twin white line experiment; and what is the estimated cost thereof.

:The object of the experiment is to try out the advantages to traffic of a more rational form of carriageway marking, widely used abroad, and to determine the best standards and patterns for such markings. The rule is for motorists not to cross the solid white line when it is on their side of the road. The cost is estimated at £7,500.

:How many man-hours have been employed in carrying out this work, which many motorists believe will not reduce road accidents at all? Does the figure of £7,500 which the Minister has given include the cost of the innumerable extremely well-made signposts dotted all over the roads?

:Yes, it does. It includes both the cost of the carriageway markings and the cost of the signs, but if the effect of this experiment is to improve the standard of driving and road safety, and reduce accidents, I think that it will be money well spent.

:I welcome the fact that this experiment is being tried, in view of the success with which it has been operating in many other countries, but does not the Minister agree that unless penalties are imposed for infringement—after the first period of experimentation has been carried out—it is unlikely to succeed, in view of the fact that motorists are apt to ignore the rules of the road unless there are penalties for infringement?

:I agree. After the experimental stage is over, and when we have established whether this method will be suitable for our roads, we shall certainly proceed to make these carriageway markings mandatory and those crossing them liable to prosecution.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when it is proposed to ratify the International Convention on Road Traffic, to which the United Kingdom became a signatory in 1949.

:My right hon. Friend hopes to lay a draft Order before Parliament for the necessary Affirmative Resolutions shortly after Easter. Ratification will follow as soon as possible thereafter.

:Is it not regrettable that this has been delayed so long? November, the Minister stated that he hoped to lay this Order before the beginning of the tourist season, because it gives considerable advantages to tourists bringing their cars into this country. It is now said that it is hoped to lay it shortly after Easter. Cannot an assurance be given that it will be laid at the earliest possible moment, so that the maximum number of tourists can enjoy the full advantage of it?

:Mr. Speaker, the delay is regrettable, but it has been an intricate matter drafting this Order to fit in with all our domestic requirements. We are, indeed, at present waiting upon the hon. Member and his right hon. Friends, following our communication to them fulfilling the undertaking given in 1952 that we would consult them on this draft Order before we actually laid it. I think that the hon. Gentleman will find that his hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas) already has a copy of the substance of the draft.