asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government which non-county boroughs and which urban districts have a population of 60,000 or more.

The information requested is set out in the following table in descending order of population in each category; the figures of population used are those given in the Registrar-General's Estimates of the Population of England and Wales at 30th June, 1956.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many non-county boroughs and how many urban districts have populations of under 20,000 between 20,000 and 40,000, and between 40,000 and 60,000, respectively.

The information requested is set out in the table below; the figures of population used are those given in the Registrar-General's Estimates of the Population of England and Wales at 30th June, 1956.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware of the waiting list of applicants for houses in Liverpool; and if he will defer sanctioning building on the areas outside the city until accommodation has been provided on all available vacant city sites.

My right hon. Friend knows that very many families in Liverpool are in urgent need of better housing accommodation. The housing needs of a city such as Liverpool which is suffering from severe congestion are best met by building simultaneously on appropriate sites available within the city and also outside its boundaries, on a pre-planned programme.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will clean down the sooty facade of Westminster Hall facing New Palace Yard and so preserve the stone work, making replacements where necessary.

We are considering the method of treatment of this facade but there is no financial provision for carrying out any work this year.

asked the Minister of Works whether he has any progress to report in the provision of a local tax office in Dagenham.

I have nothing to add to the Answer given by my predecessor on 30th October last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will reconsider closing his Department's regional office in Nottingham and covering the city's needs from Birmingham, in view of the fact that many local industries are composed of small producing units which particularly benefit from personal contact with his regional office, and that his present proposals will entail a full day's journey to the proposed Birmingham centre.

No.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of civilian staff employed at the Admiralty of the rank of executive officer, or equivalent, and above on 1st April, 1938, 1955, 1956 and 1957.

The numbers of Admiralty headquarters civilian staff with salary scales equal or superior to that of the executive officer were:

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what protest he made to the Irish Republican Government at the time of an incident in which a train seized in the Republic of Ireland was subsequently directed, driverless, into Londonderry Station constituting a danger to life and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to property; and what communication he has subsequently held with that Government.

The United Kingdom Ambassador in Dublin made a formal protest to the Irish Republican Department of External Affairs on 4th March. No subsequent communication has been held with the Government of the Irish Republic on this matter.

asked the Minister of Health the number of day hospitals in use for the treatment of mental and nervous illness in England and Wales; where they are situated; and which regional hospital boards are responsible for their administration.

My information is that these units at present exist at 17 hospitals. They are:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is now any objection to civil servants taking part in the activities of the Association for Regional Planning and Development.

There is no obection provided that civil servants taking part in the activities of the Association in an official capacity obtain the consent of their Departments in the normal way.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions have been given to the Metropolitan Police in the last three months regarding their handling of disturbances caused by strike pickets; how many arrests were made during the recent engineering strike; how many prosecutions followed; and how many convictions resulted.

At the beginning of the recent strikes the Commissioner of Police drew the attention of all police officers concerned to their duties and powers in relation to pickets. There were no arrests and no prosecutions.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will name the members of the Agricultural Advisory Panel for West Sussex who rejected recently the application for National Service deferment of Mr. J. A. Harriot of Priory Farm, Arundel; what are the qualifications of the members of this panel for their appointment thereto; what is the duration of their respective appointments; and who appointed them.

I have been asked to reply.It would not be appropriate to disclose the names of members of the agricultural advisory panels which advise National Service deferment boards on the agricultural aspects of deferment applications. Appointments to these panels are made by the sub-committee of the county agricultural executive committee that is responsible for labour matters. Members are appointed for their general knowledge of conditions in the industry in the county. There is no fixed period of service. The West Sussex Panel consists of one representative of farmers and one representative of farm workers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what decision he has reached on the recommendations of the Food Standards Committee for limiting the arsenic content of foods.

My right hon. Friend together with my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Health, have considered the recommendations in the Committee's report of 31st January, 1955, on arsenic and the representations subsequently received from the interests concerned. My right hon. Friends have decided that Statutory limits for arsenic in foods should be laid down and they propose to introduce as soon as practicable regulations based upon the Committee's recommendations. Full details of the proposed regulations will be circulated for consideration by the interests concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour how many British nationals expelled from Egypt have registered for employment since their arrival in this country; and how many have now secured employment.

2,072 British subjects from Egypt have registered for employment since their arrival in this country. Of these 766 have been found work by my Department. In addition a number have found their own employment, and some have emigrated. At 26th April, 560 men and women were still registered for employment.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if it is now possible to award a pension to Mrs. G. Bayley, of 25 The Crescent, Congleton, in respect of her son who was lost at sea in 1942, details

I am afraid that for the reasons given in my recent letter to my hon. and gallant Friend it is not possible in present circumstances to award a parent's pension to this lady.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many subsidised houses have been built since the war, and since January, 1952, respectively, by the Scottish Special Housing Association within the County of Lanark, by the East Kilbride Development Corporation, and by other local authorities in Lanarkshire; and how many families he estimates have been rehoused in each period.

The following table contains the information asked for about the number of houses built in the periods referred to. Information about the number of families rehoused could be obtained only by a detailed examination of the records relating to the lettings and re-lettings by the authorities concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much grant-aid he is willing to sanction toward the cost of the sewage purification works and the joint drainage scheme for Braid-wood and Crossford in the County of Lanark.

Until the design of the proposed sewage purification works has been finally settled and a revised estimate of the cost of the whole scheme submitted by the county council, it is not possible to say what rate of grant will be payable.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what prospect there is of a modern sewerage system being built at Leadhills, Lanarkshire.

The county council has yet to submit details of the design of a sewage purification works at Leadhills, Lanarkshire.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of extending the two-ninths earned income relief to all incomes.

To give the two-ninths relief to all earned incomes, without limit, would cost about £7 million in a full year, in addition to the cost of the limited extension proposed in the Budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of making the proportion of earned income relief two-ninths in respect of incomes between £4,000 and £10,000 per annum.

About £4½ million in a full year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of extending the earned income relief at the one-ninth rate to incomes over £10,000 per annum.

About £1¼ million in a full year.