asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the First Annual Report of the Crofters' Commission will be ready for publication.

My right hon. Friend understands from the Commission that it hopes to submit its report to him for publication early in June.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that the methods employed for the eradication of rabbits by the New Zealand Rabbit Boards are much more effective than methods applied in Great Britain; and if he will take steps to ensure that such methods are adopted here.

The method used extensively in New Zealand for destroying rabbits by laying poison baits is illegal in Great Britain and is not regarded as suitable for use here because of the danger to other animals and birds. Other methods commonly used in New Zealand, such as fumigation, trapping, shooting and ferreting, are also used in Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of detainees in Kenya who are at present employed in work camps; their hours of work, wages and living conditions; and on what projects they are employed.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 8th March, 1957; Vol. 566, c. 112–3], supplied the following further information:

Employment of Detainees in Works Camps: Kenya
Nature of work project	Number of detainees employed March, 1957
Mwea/Tebere Irrigation Project	3,200
Bench terracing	1,575
Other agricultural work	505
Forestry	155
Building	1,650
Quarrying and stone dressing	1,470
Road making and maintenance	1,220
Domestic duties in camps	2,182
Total	11,957

These detainees are held in "Works Camps", i.e., those camps in the Central Province for detainees approaching release. Some 10,000 detainees in other camps are employed in various types of work.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what amounts will be spent for the years 1957–58, respectively, on European, Asian and African education in Kenya.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 15th April, 1957; Vol. 568, c. 169], supplied the following information:The Estimates now laid before the Kenya Legislative Council for the Kenya financial year 1957–58 provide for net expenditure on education for the various races as follows:

Race	Recurrent Expenditure	Capital Expenditure (Development Plan)
	£	£
European	534,439	253,000
Asian (including Goan)	832,540	250,622
Arab	69,447	30,643
African	2,467,398	383,643

These figures exclude the costs of the general administrative establishment of the Education Department, of technical education, higher education and special schemes, and of loan charges and maintenance of buildings, in respect of which a breakdown by race is not available; they also leave out of account various appropriations-in-aid which cannot easily be assigned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the strength of the auxiliary police in Cyprus, including full-time and part-time personnel; and what are the figures for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots serving with this body.

The strength of the auxiliary police is 1,399; of these, forty-six are Greek Cypriots and 1,335 are Turkish Cypriots. There are no part-time personnel serving with this body.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many officers of the Cyprus police, of the rank of sergeant and upwards, are Greek Cypriots and how many Turkish Cypriots.

There are 209 Greek Cypriot and 185 Turkish Cypriot police officers of the rank of sergeant and upwards.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the present strength of the Cyprus police; and if he will give the figures of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots serving in the police force, respectively.

The present strength of the Cyprus regular police is 2,511; of these 792 are Greek Cypriots and 1,301 are Turkish Cypriots.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many doctors of medicine are in practice in Cyprus; and how many of these are Greek Cypriots and how many Turkish Cypriots.

The answer is 363. Of these, 312 are Greek Cypriots and thirty-one are Turkish Cypriots.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what proportion of taxes in Cyprus and what proportion of rates are paid by members of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, respectively; and what proportions of the total figures these amounts represent.

I regret that this information is not available, since separate records are not kept of the taxes paid by members of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, how many industrial undertakings in Cyprus are owned by Greek Cypriots and how many by Turkish; and what proportion of the industry of the island these figures represent.

It has always been a policy of the Cyprus Government not to differentiate between communities in economic matters, and there are no data to show how many of the total of 1,165 industrial establishments employing five or more persons are owned by Greek Cypriots and how many by Turkish Cypriots. It is, however, believed, that the greater proportion, probably over 90 per cent., is owned by Greek Cypriots.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the most recent estimate of the total population of Cyprus; how many persons belong to the Greek Cypriot and how many to the Turkish Cypriot communities; and what proportions of the total these figures represent.

The civilian population at the end of 1956 was estimated as 529,000. The proportion of Greek Cypriots to Turkish Cypriots in the most recent census (1946) was 4·48 to 1, and Greek and Turkish Cypriots together represented 98 per cent. of the total population. There is no reason to believe that this proportion has altered substantially.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how much land in Cyprus is owned by Greek Cypriots and how much by Turkish Cypriots; and what proportions of the total these amounts represent.

No complete analysis of land owned by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots is available, but an investigation is now proceeding.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the total number of persons employed by the Government of Cyprus; how many of these receive salaries of over £500 per annum; and how many of the latter are Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, and British subjects born in the United Kingdom, respectively.

There are 11,221 salaried employees, of whom 3,160 receive basic salaries of over £500 per annum. Of these, 1,728 are Greek Cypriots, 582 Turkish Cypriots, and 791 are overseas officers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the approximate total number of lepers in all the Colonial Territories, listing them for each territory; the number of hospitals and clinics in each territory; and the extent to which sulphone treatment is given.

I am asking Governments to provide figures of the number of persons suffering from leprosy who are at present known to be receiving treatment, and will write to the hon. Member. No estimate can be given of persons suffering from the disease in all its forms and not under active treatment. The present trend is towards treating leprosy as far as possible in voluntary segregation or as out-patients in clinics, not solely in specialised institutions: it would not be practicable to provide a complete list. Treatment with modern (including sulphone) drugs is universally the rule.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many constables were dismissed in Jamaica, permitted to resign after disciplinary inquiry, fined and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, respectively, in the last year.

The answer is: 18, 11, 2 and 2, respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that, in Jamaica, large numbers of special police, known as blue seams, are on duty and are responsible for many wrongful arrests, for searching people in the open street and for beatings up; that they are given their authority after only one hour's police training a week in most cases; and what action he proposes to take about this state of affairs.

There have been few complaints against the conduct of members of the Jamaica Special Constabulary; I am sorry that the hon. Member should make sweeping and unsupported allegations against a body of men which has for many years been doing excellent work in support of the regular police. Members of the force receive two instructional parades a month, and most have had many years of experience. The last part of the Question does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what requests for assistance he has received to establish co-operative building societies on the island of Antigua for the purpose of providing houses for the working classes on the island.

I have received no such requests.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will give the reasons communicated to him by the Government of Ghana for its request not to be included in any United Kingdom Honours Lists.

The Ghana Government have indicated that they do not intend to make recommendations to The Queen for the grant of honours to Ghana citizens but that they wish United Kingdom citizens in their service to continue to be eligible for such awards. Where recommendations are made by Commonwealth Governments overseas and approved by the Queen the awards are included not in the United Kingdom Honours List but in separate lists.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations on what grounds a passport has been refused to Mr. Gilbert Sekhabi to enable him to travel to the United States of America to study veterinary medicine in view of the fact that he was born in Basutoland, has produced documents to prove his identity, and his chief has endorsed his claim to be Basuto.

I have made inquiries about allegations regarding Mr. Sekhabi's application for a passport, which were sent to me earlier by the hon. Member, and I will let him know the result as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he is aware that in the Reports of his Department previous to that for 1955, the actual number of claims for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit has been stated; and if he will continue publication of the actual number of claims dealt with by stating the figures for 1955 and for subsequent years at the appropriate time.

I would refer the hon. Member to Table 52 of the Report for 1955, in which he will find the figures which he seeks. A similar table is published in each Report, and my right hon. Friend has no intention of discontinuing it.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many old-age pensioners are now in receipt of National Assistance.

I am informed by the National Assistance Board that at 26th March, 1957, about 942,000 weekly National Assistance grants were being paid as supplements to retirement pensions and about 148,000 as supplements to non-contributory old-age pensions. Some of the grants provided for the requirements of a household with more than one pensioner.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what is the estimated cost of old-age pensions in the coming year; and what is the estimated breakdown of cost between the Exchequer and contributors.

The estimated cost of retirement pensions for 1958–59 is about £500 million. It is not possible to allocate between the Exchequer and contributors the expenditure on any particular benefit of the National Insurance Scheme.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many road accidents took place in Wickford High Street during the last available 12-month period; and how many of them were fatal accidents.

Four accidents involving personal injury, none of them fatal, were reported to the police in the twelve months ended 30th April, 1957.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many road accidents took place in Brentwood High Street during the last available twelve months; and how many of them were fatal accidents.

Seventeen accidents involving personal injury, none of them fatal, were reported to the police in the twelve months ended 30th April, 1957.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the present position with regard to the new London-Yorkshire highway; whether the route of the southern portion has yet been finally approved; whether any land has yet been acquired in Bedfordshire or Buckinghamshire; and when work will commence on this portion of the new highway.

The route of the southern portion of the London-Yorkshire motorway was established by the Scheme which I made on 15th October, 1956. Negotiations are in progress for entry on to the land required throughout the whole of this portion of the motorway, and I hope that it will be possible to let the first contract by the end of this year.After discussions with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, I am having a further survey made of certain parts of the proposed route of the northern portion of this motorway with a view to publishing a draft Scheme later this year.