asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what provision of food and housing accommodation is made to labourers employed by the Public Works Department in Swaziland.

Labourers employed by the Public Works Department in Swaziland receive the following scale of rations each week: 17½ lb. maize meal, and 3 lb. beans, as well as sunflower seed and salt. At headquarters labourers are housed in compounds, but on road work they are provided with transportable corrugated iron huts.

While thanking the hon. Gentleman for that information, may I ask him whether when the High Commissioner shortly comes to this country he will seriously discuss with him the lifting of these standards where, according to his statement last week, wages vary from 1s. 6d. for youths to a maximum of 6s. a day for adults, and where, even though it is close to agriculture, bread is 5d. for a lb. loaf and milk 9d. a quart? I am giving the 1953 figures, which are the latest I have.

The High Commissioner is returning very shortly and, as I informed the hon. Gentleman on a previous occasion, this is a matter which naturally will be discussed with him; but I think I should point out that the figures which the hon. Gentleman gave on a previous occasion of wages ranging from 9d. to 1s. 5d. a day were corrected to 1s. 6d. to 6s. a day. Also—as will be seen from the additional information which I have given the House—there is approximately an extra 2s. a day in respect of food and housing in addition to the money wage which the labourers receive.

On a point of order. As the hon. Gentleman said that he corrected me, may I state that the figures I gave were from the United Nations Report for 1953? They were the latest available.

That is not a point of order.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether he will give an assurance that in future, before making any adverse report on a British citizen to a Commonwealth Government, he will inform the person concerned of the nature of the report and give him a chance to refute any charges made against him.

No, Sir. As I informed the hon. Member for Rossendale (Mr. Anthony Greenwood) on 9th May, it is the duty of the Secretary of State to satisfy himself as to the reliability of any information which may be passed.

Is the Under-Secretary aware that, since I raised the case of Mr. Miller in the House of Commons last week, I have received a large number of letters from people to say that they have similarly suffered from adverse reports made against them? I have one here from somebody who wants to emigrate to Canada and has been refused for no known reason. Does not the hon. Gentleman think that this may seriously affect a large number of British citizens and that they ought to be given the same safeguards as the Privy Councillors' conference on security wanted to see applied to the Civil Service?

The hon. Lady should not assume that the reason for the refusal of entry to Canada, which was referred to in the letter from her constituent or correspondent, has anything to do with the subject mentioned in the Question she has asked.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations from what sources he obtains his information before making reports on British citizens to Commonwealth Governments.

It would not be in the public interest for my noble Friend to disclose the sources of such information.

If one of the sources of information is M.I.5, will the Under-Secretary ensure that in future his Department checks very carefully what this notoriously incompetent organisation has to say about British citizens?

I have said in answer to a previous Question that it is the duty of the Secretary of State to satisfy himself about the reliability of any information that may be passed, and I can assure the hon. Member that that is done.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations in how many cases he has made adverse reports on British citizens to Commonwealth Governments during the last twelve months.

It would not be in the public interest to disclose the number of such cases.

Oh.

What protection has the House of Commons in these circumstances? Is the Under-Secretary not aware that there is really increasing concern about the whole operation of security procedure in this country? In view of the public alarm, of which we are all aware, may I ask what possible defence—and there is ample evidence of an innocent person being involved—an innocent person can have against this kind of Star Chamber procedure which brings the House into disrepute?

I cannot accept the statement about public alarm, but I can say that these reports are not very frequent in either direction.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations for how long his Department has been rendering secret security reports on citizens of the United Kingdom to Commonwealth Governments; and to what extent such reports are rendered on the initiative of Her Majesty's Government or at the request of Commonwealth Governments.

Information has been exchanged with other Commonwealth Governments on a reciprocal basis in the common security interest for well over thirty years under Governments of all parties. Such exchanges sometimes take place at the initiative of the Government which is in possession of information, and sometimes in response to requests.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this now reveals to me a most unsatisfactory situation? Is it not high time that there was an inquiry into it? Is it not time that Parliament had some control over this situation and was able to have information about what goes on? Does the hon. Gentleman not think it an elementary principle of justice that a person against whom serious charges are being made should be informed that the charges are being made and should have some chance of defence?

The arrangements have been of great advantage to this country and to other Commonwealth Governments in the security field, but there is a Question on the Order Paper to the Prime Minister relating to this matter which, no doubt, will be considered later today.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what agreement has been reached, following the recent discussions with the Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland regarding the future method of appointment of the Governor-General of the Federation.

The Governor-General of the Federation is appointed by Her Majesty on the advice of my noble Friend. No change in this method has been discussed with the Prime Minister of the Federation.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply. In view of the anxiety felt by many hon. Members about the discussions on Clause 29 (7) of the 1953 Constitution, can we now take it that this matter will be discussed, and only discussed, when the 1960 talks take place?

This matter of constitutional principle is one which naturally would be bound up with any decisions made in consequence of the conference to be held in 1960.

Can we be assured that there are no ex-Government Chief Whips lined up for the office?

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has considered the British Standards Institution Report on the flammability of apparel fabrics; and what action he intends to take to implement the recommendations embodied in this Report.

I am studying the Report, which contains a great deal of interesting and valuable advice. But it was published only last week and its recommendations affect several Government Departments, so that further discussions will be necessary before any decisions can be taken.

Will the Government now give urgent consideration to providing a reasonable sum of money for an educational publicity campaign so that the dangers of these flammable materials may be made known to the public and some of the tremendous number of deaths drastically cut down as soon as possible?

I agree that a public campaign may be needed, but we must consider how to organise and pay for it.

I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will not want to mislead the House. Is he aware that the Committee in its Report turned down flat all the proposal which it was set up to consider, namely, the graded labelling for flammability of all goods in daily use which cause burning and death?

I am aware of that and, very naturally, we have to consider carefully what the Report says.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from the United States Government, through the Paris Consultative Group, against the granting of licences for the export of tyre-making and other plant to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic; what was his reply; and what is the total value of the trade involved.

None, Sir. The contracts for this plant are expected to be worth over £10 million.

May I take it that no hindrance but every encouragement is being given to the industry concerned to proceed with this contract?

Yes, Sir.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the present limitations governing the export of electric power generating equipment under the exceptions procedure relating to trade with China.

Electric generators up to 375 K.V.A. and certain other equipment may be licensed provided we are satisfied that they are for civilian purposes.

Is the Minister aware that, because of the embargo, our exports of electrical goods to China fell to £150,000 last year, a mere one-tenth of what they were in 1947? Is he aware that China is about to build in Honan a hydroelectric station bigger than the largest two in America and that Sweden and Switzerland arc securing very lucrative contracts?

I am aware of the difficulties and they are now being discussed.

Can the right hon. Gentleman at long last report some progress in the negotiations in Paris for a general relaxation of this embargo?

I am afraid that the negotiations are still going on and I cannot yet make a statement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state for each of the last three years the value of British exports of mopeds and of imports of foreign mopeds into the United Kingdom; and what action he is taking to promote the production and sales of British mopeds.

These power-assisted bicycles are not separately distinguished in the import and export statistics. While their development and production is a matter for the commercial judgment of manufacturers, my Department will give any help it can in promoting exports.

Is the President of the Board of Trade aware that there has been a very large-scale importation in the last few years of foreign mopeds and that this is due to the development of this industry in France and Italy because their Governments have ratified the Annexe to the Traffic Convention of 1949 and Her Majesty's Government have not done so? Will the right hon. Gentleman and his colleague the Minister of Transport inquire into this question and take some action to stimulate the moped industry in Britain?

I will certainly consult my right hon. Friend about it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now recommend the adoption of a decimal system of currency and a metric standard of weights and measures.

No, Sir.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that six years ago the Hodgson Committee very strongly recommended in favour of a metric standard? In view of the approaching possibilities of a European Common Market, is it not all the more urgent that something should be done to introduce a metric system, coupled, of course, with a decimal system of coinage?

The Government are not prepared now to recommend the changes proposed in this Report, but we are noting the arguments which are being put forward at present, particularly with reference to the proposed Free Trade Area.

Leaving aside the question of a European Common Market, is my hon. Friend aware that there is a problem here over the increased mechanisation in this country? Some hon. Members saw a machine only last week which can work in units of five for the packaging of food, which has great difficulty in finding out how to package 14 lb. for the English stone.

That is one of the new arguments being put to us at present.

Is there not an extremely easy way of decimalising our currency, involving only one legislative act? If ten pennies were made to equal Is. and if we gave up using the £ note and ten separate shillings equalled a 10s. note and ten ten shilling notes equalled a fiver, we could decimalise our system.

Matters appertaining to currency are for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but as the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is by my side on the Front Bench I am sure that he is taking note of the suggestions.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) the total of China's sterling surplus derived from her balance of trade with Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and Malaya for 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1956;

(2) the total sterling value of China's favourable balance of trade with the sterling area for the years 1952 to 1956, inclusive.

As the Answer contains a number of figures, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT. China does not publish any trade statistics. The figures circulated are therefore those recorded by sterling area countries. These figures contain a measure of double counting, and do not in any case give a picture of China's overall balance of payments with the free world.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the considerations which led him to discriminate against the import of non-dollar petroleum and petroleum products from Rumania.

In the meantime, can the President say whether it is or is not true that, taking into account her favourable balance with Japan and her deficits with Switzerland and Ceylon, China's overall surplus is of the order of £100 million? Also, is it not the case that, despairing of the policy of this country, she is running that balance down by converting into other currencies which she can use more easily than sterling? In effect, is he not thus allowing trade to slip through our hands because of the foolish policy his Government are pursuing?

I do not believe there are any accurate figures for China's overall surplus, but the figure mentioned by the hon. Gentleman is, according to my information, much exaggerated.

rose—

On a point of order. I have two Questions down.

The hon. Member asked a very long supplementary question. One is quite enough. I think we must have Mr. George Craddock.

I was going to ask a short one, Sir—

Order. The hon. Member ought to rest content with the rope he got.

In the absence of a satisfactory financial settlement of United Kingdom claims against Rumania, which include large claims in respect of the expropriation of United Kingdom oil interests, the import of Rumanian petroleum and petroleum products cannot be permitted.

Is it not possible for the Minister, notwithstanding the fact that there are these financial difficulties to overcome, to go into this question in the same way as France resolved her financial problems with Rumania, by the allocation to a special fund of the small percentage of the annual trade between the two countries? Would not that make it possible to support a fund to liquidate this debt finally?

I imagine that would be a way in which such a debt could be liquidated, but it would take good will on the part of the Rumanian Government to start such a system.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that the bank accounts held in this country of British subjects previously resident in Egypt are still blocked; and if he will take steps to see that these people are allowed to use their own money to purchase houses or set up businesses in Great Britain.

I assume that my hon. and gallant Friend refers to those British subjects from Egypt who have not yet asked for re-designation as United Kingdom residents for exchange control purposes. Technically they must continue to be regarded as residents of Egypt, but I can assure him that all applications from them are sympathetically considered. For example, the release of funds for house purchase would normally be granted.

Whilst thanking my hon. Friend for that helpful reply, will he confirm that the £100 limit does not apply where somebody wants to set himself up in a new house or a new business in this country?

Yes, Sir. The £100 limit is only the limit of the sum beyond which applications for release must be made to the Bank of England.

Is the Minister aware that sympathetic consideration does not take these people very far? Is he further aware of the fact that same of them have been told that their credits in this country, if their credits in Egypt have been confiscated by Nasser, must be held in this country at the disposal of Nasser? Surely that is both ridiculous and unjust?

If the right hon. Gentleman is referring to the same question as this one and has any case he wants to bring to my attention, I will gladly look at it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the exchange regulations to allow residents in Great Britain to have some dollars when visiting Canada and the United States of America as tourists so that the ordinary people on both sides of the Atlantic may get to know each other better.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Sir C. Taylor) on 7th February.

Can we take it that the Chancellor recognises the desirability of ordinary people in this country being able to visit Canada and the United States as freely as possible? If he does, will he have consultation with his opposite numbers in Ottawa and in Washington to hasten the day when this can be done?

That is my right hon. Friend's point of view. Indeed, he said on the occasion I mentioned that he was anxious to provide a basic travel allowance for the dollar area as soon as circumstances permit.

Will he have consultation?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the current value of £100 which was invested in Premium Bonds at the outset of that scheme.

The Bonds could be cashed for £100, but, if not so cashed, they would have the additional value to the holder of being eligible in a month's time for inclusion in the 1st June and subsequent monthly prize draws.

But why does the hon. Gentleman so naïvely evade the question? Does he recall that the present Prime Minister, when he introduced the scheme, said that it was not a gamble because nobody could lose? Will he now take steps to disabuse the public of that no doubt unwitting deception?

So far as I can see, my right hon. Friend's statement was perfectly correct.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the net income of a married man in the financial year 1956–57 whose earned income was £6,000 after Income Tax and Surtax; what will be his net annual income after Income Tax and Surtax under the provisions of the present Finance Bill; what will be his percentage rise in net income; what will be the increased net annual income of a married man with an earned income of £10,000; and what will be the percentage rise in his net income;

(2) what will be the change in the net income after Income Tax and Surtax under the provisions of the present Finance Bill compared with the financial year 1956–57 of a married man with two children with an earned income of £6,000 and a married man with two children and an earned income of £10,000; and what would be the increased net income in percentage in each case.

I would refer the hon. Member to Table XI of the Financial Statement presented on 9th April.

That is rather a peculiar answer. Is it not correct that the increase in percentage in the case of the first Question would be 10 per cent. and in the case of the second Question 14 per cent.? Also, how do the Government consider that they are doing justice to the community at large when millions of men have to go on strike to get 5 per cent.?

I think that if the hon. Gentleman will consult the Table he will find ample material for his speeches on the Finance Bill.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, substituting a fiat rate increase of £100 to single and married persons and an extra allowance of £25 for each child for the provisions in the Finance Bill relating to concessions to payers of Income Tax and Surtax and children's allowance, what is his estimate of the additional net income, and the increase in percentage of net income, of a single man, married man, 'married man with one child and married man with two children, respectively, where their income is £700 per annum, £2,000 per annum, £6,000 per annum, and £10,000 per annum, respectively; and what would be the difference in cost compared with the proposals in the Finance Bill.

As the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give instructions that Pay-As You-Earn contributions shall not be adjusted in respect of the current Income Tax period when they concern the prospective earning of children about to leave school four months later.

No, Sir. In the majority of cases these adjustments prevent under-deduction of tax and thus avoid the consequent inconvenience to taxpayers in later periods. But if the hon. Gentleman has any particular case in mind where difficulty has arisen, I shall be glad to have it.

I am obliged to the hon. Gentleman, but is he aware that I could send him a case of a war widow who struggled to bring up her son by going out to work herself, who has already had adjustments made in her Pay-As-You-Earn payments in spite of the fact that her son does not leave school until August t so there is a four months' lapse in which she is actually paying the increased contribution? That is the kind of thing I have in mind.

As I have said, in general this arrangement is to the advantage and convenience of the taxpayer, but I will gladly look at the individual case mentioned by the hon. Gentleman.

Will the hon. Gentleman agree not to be too precipitous in this matter, since the Opposition will have a valuable Amendment down on this point to the Finance Bill? If the Treasury has any heart at all it will accept that Amendment, and a large number of others which we shall be tabling, and it would be a pity to have to duplicate the work of the Inland Revenue in this respect.

I hope to avoid precipitancy, but I would rather not hold up investigation of this case.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the approximate yield of Purchase Tax on musical instruments, including gramophones, radio-gramophones, record players, and records, for the latest available year.

Nine and three quarter million pounds in the financial year 1956–57.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that less than £1 million, that is, one-tenth of this sum, is derived from instruments which are certainly not luxuries but are necessities for professional and amateur, and, more particularly, school orchestras? Since these are essential to education, will the hon. Gentleman consult his right hon. Friend so that they may come to the stages of the Finance Bill firmly determined to abolish the tax?

As I stated in answer to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Itchen (Dr. King), who asked a similar question, my right hon. Friend has taken note of this point.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the present high rates of interest prevailing in the United Kingdom, he will consider arrangements to provide funds for Commonwealth investment at a lower rate of interest.

No, Sir.

Would the hon. Gentleman not agree that it is rather hard for the Commonwealth countries, particularly the newer ones, to be obliged to pay exorbitant rates of interest for essential capital investment?

To make loans on the terms suggested would involve either a direct or an indirect subsidy. If a subsidy is to be granted, this is not the right way in which to do it.

Yes, but since it has been obvious to everybody except the Government that the Bank Rate as a method of monetary technique has now broken down, does not the hon. Gentleman recognise that the present and rising level of Bank Rate has been driving one Commonwealth country after another to making its borrowing in Amsterdam, New York, Zurich and other financial centres? Will he, therefore, look at it from that point of view? Will he further recognise that one of our main instruments for Commonwealth development, the Colonial Development Corporation, has now reached the limit of its lending powers, and will the Government take quick action to deal with that as well?

The Colonial Development Corporation is not a question for me. As for the right hon. Gentleman's general proposition, as I do not accept his premise, I do not accept his contention.

What is the difference between subsidising the Commonwealth and the Government selling Trinidad Oil and subsidising our Budget?

I said that this was not an appropriate method of granting a subsidy, if such a policy were decided upon.

When the hon. Member says that he does not accept my premise, does he not accept as a fact that Commonwealth countries have been driven from borrowing in London to the financial centres which I have mentioned? Does he deny that that is taking place as a result of the high level of interest rates?

The premise which I do not accept is that the Government's monetary policy has been ineffective.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the approximate saving to the United Kingdom balance of payments on current account on the assumption that the sterling balances remained at their present level, if the Bank Rate were reduced by 1 per cent.

On the further assumption that other short-term interest rates also fell by 1 per cent., the saving would probably be about £15 million a year.

Would the hon. Gentleman not agree that that is a very high price to pay for a monetary policy which, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Huyton (Mr. H. Wilson) said, has materially broken down? Would he reassure the House that the Treasury is not completely hypnotised by a 5 per cent. Bank Rate?

Certainly it is not. I would say that the Bank Rate and other monetary measures have been an important factor in bringing about the favourable balance in the last twelve months.

And bringing more inflation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that Purchase Tax reductions in the recent Budget are being passed on to the public in price reductions.

None, Sir.

If the Financial Secretary is doing nothing, can he at least assure the House that these reductions have in all cases been passed on in full to the consumer?

Purchase Tax is one of the factors which determines the price of retail goods on which it is levied, and in so far as it affects the price, that factor has been reduced by the reduction in Purchase Tax.

Would the hon. Member answer the Question? Can he assure us that these reliefs have been passed on in full?

The hon. Member asked me whether the Government propose to take steps for practical purposes of price control, and I said, "No."

asked the Secretary to the Treasury (1) when he expects to place non-industrial civil servants employed at London Airport on the same basis, for salary purposes, as industrial civil servants and pay them at London rates;

(2) if he will give the facts about comparative living costs which have led to the payment of a lower salary to non-industrial civil servants working in Uxbridge than those of a similar grade working in Hammersmith; and when he expects to revise the present position with regard to provincial differential.

Under the present arrangements civil servants are paid at London rates if they are employed within twelve miles of Charing Cross. A provisional agreement just reached on the National Whitley Council and, subject to ratification, by the constituent Associations on the National Staff Side, provides, amongst other things, that from 1st January, 1958, the London rate will be payable to staff employed within sixteen miles of Charing Cross. This includes London Airport and Uxbridge.

May I take the opportunity of thanking the Financial Secretary for that statement and of assuring him that now that these protracted negotiations have come to a successful conclusion he will have pleased a lot of people in my constituency?

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what is the daily subsistence payable when away on duty to, respectively, a principal secretary, a permanent under-secretary, a Parliamentary Secretary and a Member of Parliament.

As I informed the hon. Member on 14th February last, Members of Parliament and Ministers are paid the same subsistence allowances as the most senior civil servants. I gave details of the Civil Service allowances in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Holland with Boston (Sir H. Butcher) on 7th March last.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the new Order concerning the movement of live poultry, other than day-old chicks and hatching eggs, will come into operation

The Order comes into operation on 20th May.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that the trawlermen propose to cut their Suez Emergency Surcharge by 2s. only from the surcharge of 6s. per 10 stone which they imposed; and if he will introduce such a measure of price control as will enable him to prescribe that the surcharge should now be removed entirely.

The British Trawlers' Federation abolished the Suez Emergency Surcharge as from 29th April, while increasing from that date their minimum price for cod by 3s. per kit. I do not consider that price control is necessary on this account.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman recommend that we should go back to the pre-Suez charge?

The industry has to bear in mind the whole question of its costs and the spread of costs over the whole industry. Considering the hazards of the industry and the higher costs to which it has been subjected over recent years, I am bound to say that I think its record is very good in maintaining relatively stable fish prices.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that the prices of fish sold on Fridays, Holy days or in Holy Week increase without regard to weather conditions pertaining at the time; and, in relation to the present scheme made to attract housewives to purchase on Tuesdays in addition to Fridays, if he will introduce such a measure of price control as will enable him to prescribe reduced prices on Tuesdays to ensure custom.

The British Trawlers' Federation's new publicity campaign aims at encouraging the housewife to purchase fish on Tuesday because that is usually a day when supplies are plentiful. Prices on particular days reflect the interplay of demand and supply, and I am sure the housewife is best served in that way.

Will the right hon. Gentleman tell the trawlermen that the housewives have heard all these fishy stories before and will not walk into this net of buying on Tuesdays, because they know that the market is influenced by the laws of supply and demand and that if there is a demand for fish on Tuesdays as well as on Fridays the prices will rise?

I understand that the reason Tuesday has been selected is that the supplies of fish landed on Mondays are, because of the week-end, unusually high. The supplies on Tuesdays ought, therefore, to enable the housewife to get a very good bargain in the price which she pays for fish. That is why Tuesday has been selected.

Will my right hon. Friend tell the housewives that it is to the advantage of the fishermen, a very important section of the community, that there should be the greatest possible consumption of fish?

I agree with my hon. Friend's conclusion. I very much welcome this initiative on the part of the fishing industry to encourage the consumption of fish, which is a very wholesome and excellent food and which, nutritionally, has very good value.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will consider the desirability of requiring the repayment of the price guarantee subsidy on future exports of eggs so as to make clear beyond all possible doubt that Great Britain is not subsidising exports to the Continent.

I will certainly bear this suggestion in mind when considering what steps it would be most appropriate for Her Majesty's Government to take to control the export of eggs if this should be necessary.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many of us on this side of the House are anxious that this country should have a clean record in the matter of export subsidies on farm goods?

This is not a specific export subsidy. While strictly speaking it is not against the provisions of the G.A.T.T., we are anxious to make it clear that it is not our deliberate intention to subsidise eggs for export.

What is the amount of subsidy involved? Will the right hon. Gentleman try to avoid the grave embarrassment which we have suffered in the West German market and which, as I am sure he will agree, has not helped our relations with Denmark? Will he take steps at least to ensure that this sort of difficulty does not arise again in the future?

I think the amount of the subsidy involved in the first three months of this year was £70,000. Replying to the second part of the question, those are, of course, exactly the considerations which I had in mind in giving my Answer just now.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what savings in his Department's staff and administrative costs will result from the establishment of the British Egg Marketing Board.

The establishment of the Egg Marketing Board will result in a reduction of about seventy in the number of staff in my Department. The estimated saving in the Estimates for "Salaries and related Expenses" is of the order of £90,000. There will, however, be offsetting additional expenditures by way of allowances made to the Board for implementing the guarantee arrangements, including administrative costs.

May I take it that the balancing costs will he considerably less than the costs which my right hon. Friend's Department is now carrying?

I am hopeful that that will be so, but we shall have to wait and see.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements are going to be made for the disposal of the stock-feed potatoes, amounting to thousands of tons, which are rotting on certain farms; and whether he will give an assurance that farmers will get a fair price for them.

I am afraid that the Potato Marketing Board will not be able to dispose for stockfeed or other purposes of all the potatoes accepted under the Government guarantee. But the guarantee arrangements provide for growers to receive a fair price for their potatoes even when no use can be found for them.

Can the Minister say what he considers to be a fair price for a rotten potato?

The hon. Gentleman knows that there is not a guaranteed price but a fall-back, or support price, and the support price at this time of the year is between £13 and £14 a ton.

asked the Minister of Labour what action he proposes to take as a result of the Cameron Report on the Briggs and Ford companies.

Lord Cameron made a number of recommendations for action by the parties to the dispute, but none of them calls for action by the Government.

Is my hon. Friend keeping a careful eye on the implementation of these recommendations, particularly in regard to paragraph 87?

The company has informed my right hon. Friend that it accepts the Report and that it is in communication with the trade union side of the National Joint Negotiation Committee about it. That is all we know at the moment, but I can assure my hon. Friend that we will be ready if either side needs us.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why prisoners in Her Majesty's Prison, Dartmoor, are not permitted to receive copies of HANSARD.

Subject to the rules governing the receipt of periodicals, there is no reason why a prisoner should not be allowed to receive copies of HANSARD. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind, my right hon. Friend will be glad to look into it if he will let him have details.

Is the hon. and learned Gentleman aware that this rule is apparently not being followed? Is he aware that a constituent of mine who temporarily resides in Dartmoor was not permitted to receive a copy of HANSARD which I sent to him and which, I thought, was neither obscene nor seditious? Will he therefore make further investigations to make sure that this rule is properly followed?

It is a prison rule relating to publications that they must be received from the publisher direct in order to avoid the necessity of censorship. I think that that was probably the cause of the trouble in the hon. Gentleman's case.

Is it not possible that the reading of HANSARD in prisons might be regarded as an additional punishment; or may not this publication come within the category of comic?

Could arrangements be made for a copy of the OFFICIAL REPORT to be sent to a prisoner if he happens to be one of our constituents?

I see no reason why that should not be done.

Is it not time that HANSARD was allowed to be put in every prison library so that those prisoners who desire to read it—and many of them do—would have an opportunity to ask for it and to receive it as a right?

I will certainly draw that suggestion to the attention of the Prison Commissioners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to implement Recommendation No. 9 of the Committee on Cruelty to Wild Animals, 1951, to the effect that it should be made an offence to set a snare to catch a deer.

My right hon. Friend is informed by the Forestry Commission that the snaring of deer on its property is authorised only in very exceptional circumstances where there is no other effective means of control. He has no information about the extent of snaring by other people which would justify the introduction by the Government of legislation to forbid it.

Is the hon. and learned Gentleman aware that the Henderson Committee in 1951 reported strongly against this practice and asked the Home Secretary to ban it? Is he aware that in cases where the snare does work properly prolonged suffering to the animal can be caused, and where it does not work properly there is a good deal of additional suffering? Will he not ask his right hon. Friend to look at this again?

I am aware of the views of the Henderson Committee on the matter, but there has been a great change in practice in consequence of the Committee's findings. For example, in the five years between 1946 and 1950 the Forestry Commission snared 699 deer, whereas in the last two years none has been snared. I will certainly draw what the hon. Member has said to the attention of my right hon. Friend.