asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the shortage of telephone kiosks for public use outside post office working hours in each of the Aberdeen districts of Mast-rick, Northfield and Woodside; and what steps he is taking to provide an ample supply of such kiosks for these districts.

There are 9 kiosks in each of the Northfield and Woodside districts and in present circumstances I would not feel justified in providing any more. Four kiosks serve Mastrick, one of which was installed quite recently.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the constant confusion between telephone calls from London and elsewhere to Chieveley, near Newbury, and Cheveley, near Newmarket; and if he will make some clear distinction in the naming of these exchanges.

I would like to thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to this difficulty. I am arranging for the exchanges Chieveley (near Newbury) and Cheveley (near Newmarket) to be given distinguishing suffixes in the routing instructions held by telephone operators. This, I hope, will overcome the difficulty.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the number of applicants waiting for telephone service at the Feltham and Hounslow telephone exchanges at the latest convenient date.

Six hundred and twenty-one at Feltham and 2,026 at Hounslow on 31st March, 1957.

asked the Postmaster-General how many telephone kiosks for public use have been installed within the County of Norfolk, including Norwich and other urban areas, in each of the years from 1947 to 1956, inclusive; and how many are proposed to be installed during 1957, 1958 and 1959.

The figures are as follows:

1947	13
1948	23
1949	37
1950	53
1951	37
1952	39
1953	32
1954	37
1955	28
1956	47

We expect to provide about 45 kiosks in Norfolk this year and about the same number in 1958. It is too early to give a reliable estimate for 1959.

asked the Postmaster-General if he has yet decided to place in the principal railway stations automatic slot machines for the sale of letter cards similar to the slot machines now available for the sale of stamps.

As my right hon. Friend informed the hon. Member on 29th March, the letter-card machines are on trial in a number of places. Among these are certain railway stations. The provision of more machines is under consideration.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) what alterations he proposes to make in the postal service at Cardiff; and whether he will make a statement;(2) what considerations led him to discontinue the second postal delivery on Saturdays in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, but to continue the second postal delivery in the Metropolitan area of London.

The alterations announced on 2nd May will apply to the postal services in Cardiff. A fuller announcement will be made locally when the detailed arrangements have been worked out. As was explained last week in reply to the hon. Members for Salford, East (Mr. Frank Allaun) and Brightside (Mr. Winterbottom), what we propose is to suspend one Saturday delivery in all towns, including London.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will improve the design of the Forces Letter Form issued by the Post Office for communication by air with members of the forces abroad.

Yes. A new form called the Forces Air Letter, replacing the present Forces Letter, will be available at all post offices from 6th June. It is modelled on the civilian air letter, and I hope it will give as much satisfaction.

asked the Postmaster-General what consultations he has had with the United States forces regarding the release by them of a medium wavelength for the north-east of England.

None directly, but I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs that no changes are contemplated in the medium wavelengths used by the American forces' network in Germany.

—				Sound licences			Combined licences
				Amount	Per licence		Amount	Per licence
				£'000s	s.	d.	£'000s	£	s.	d.
Post Office expenses
Collection	…	…	…	622	1	8	573		1	8
Interference	…	…	…	238		7	452		1	3
Payable to B.B.C.	…	…	…	5,920	15	8	17,892	2	11	3

asked the Postmaster-General the number of people holding television licences in the North-East.

In Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire there were 974,227 combined television and sound licences at 31st March, 1957.

asked the Postmaster-General which regions in the British Isles have had a shared regional programme in the Home Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation at any time since 1945.

Apart from the sharing arrangement between North-East England and Northern Ireland, the following areas receive the programmes of other regions.

	Home Service received
Flint (North Wales)	Northern
Brighton.	West
Folkestone
Hastings
Eastbourne
Cromer	Northern

asked the Postmaster-General (1) what was the total amount charged for collection of television and sound broadcasting licences, respectively; and how much this represents per licence issued;(2) what was the amount received by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the last financial year for television and sound broadcasting; and how much this represents per licence issued.

Following are the provisional figures for 1956–57:

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will set up a Select Committee to consider the provision of an adequate regional programme in the north-east of England.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will give an estimate of the number of civilians employed by his Department in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively, who will lose their employment as a result of recent changes in defence policy.

The run-down of the civilian labour force to the level required by recent changes in defence policy will be gradual, and I regret that it is not possible at this stage to indicate how far it will involve the discharge of men now in our employment. The need to discharge men will be offset by the effects of normal wastage and transfer to other work, including work at present performed by Service personnel. As I said in replying to the debate on the Air Estimates, we shall give the maximum notice to civilian employees whenever it becomes necessary to close a station or depot.

asked the Secretary of State for Air (1) what additional married quarters have been made available at A Headquarters, Royal Air Force, Habbaniya, since July, 1956; and how many officers and men are on the waiting list at present;(2) why a number of married quarters at A Headquarters, Royal Air Force, Habbaniya, have been unoccupied for as long as two months; and what action he proposes to take in the matter;(3) how far the present points system adopted in the allocation of married quarters at A Headquarters, Royal Air Force, Habbaniya, is acceptable to the officers and men concerned.

No additional quarters have been made available at Habbaniya since July, 1956, nor can I offer any hope that any will be. There are at present 13 officers and 61 senior N.C.O.s and airmen on the waiting list. Because of the disruption of family movements to Iraq some quarters have been vacant for about two months. These delays are now ending. The points system for the allocation of quarters at Habbaniya is that used for all R.A.F. stations in the Middle East and I have no reason to doubt its general acceptability.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what services his Department receive from the Admiralty Compass Observatory at Ditton Park.

In addition to undertaking certain work placed on our behalf by the Ministry of Supply, the Observatory gives us technical advice on magnetic compasses and the magnetic survey of airfields. Some of our marine crews attend the Observatory for instruction on the maintenance of these compasses.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what effect the new plans for the Royal Air Force will have upon No. 35 Royal Air Force Maintenance Unit, Heywood, Lancashire.

I do not at present foresee any major change in the role of this unit.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what road works he will construct at the junction of School Lane, Quedgeley, and A38 to provide for the extra traffic when the Hardwicke petrol depot comes into operation.

Visibility for traffic at this junction will be improved when the depot is in operation.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when he expects to receive the report of the Departmental Committee on road safety on the representations of the manufacturers of mopeds about the classification of powered cycles.

I cannot yet say. I am, however, meeting a deputation from the manufacturers in the near future to consider their proposals.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will give further details of the action proposed by the Government to implement the statement on policy which he recently made in regard to bigger tankers, deepening ports and harbours and the building of new pipelines.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will now make a comprehensive statement giving details of the action proposed by Her Majesty's Government for the building of larger tankers and alternative pipelines to ensure that the economy and standard of living of the people of the United Kingdom will never again be threatened by the failure of one or other of the present supply routes.

I would refer my hon. Friends to the Prime Minister's statement on 15th May when he announced the appointment of Sir Matthew Slattery as a special adviser on the transport of Middle East oil to assist in concerting and directing the activities of the various Government agencies concerned in this field. As my right hon. Friend said, Sir Matthew Slattery is starting work at once.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the procedural reasons which are delaying a start on construction of the remaining five of the eight road schemes with dual carriageways costing over £100,000, listed officially by him on 30th May, 1956, given in Civil Estimates 1957–l58 for commencement in 1956–57.

The start of work has been delayed by the need to deal with objections lodged by affected interests on publication of draft Orders under Section 1 (2) of the Trunk Roads Act, 1946, or under Section 14 (1) of the Special Roads Act, 1949, and because in some cases it has been necessary to seek compulsory powers to acquire land.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will hold a public inquiry under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts, in addition to the inquiry already initiated under the Fatal Accidents Inquiry (Scotland) Act, 1895, into the wreck with loss of many officers and crew of the Scottish Fishery Cruiser "Vaila" off the coast of Ross and Cromarty on 6th January, 1957.

The Merchant Shipping Acts do not apply to the "Vaila", since she was a Crown ship and was not registered under the Acts. There is therefore no power for a court or a wreck commissioner to hold a formal investigation under the Merchant Shipping Acts into this casualty.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will re-introduce the off-side rule in traffic control.

No; this has never been the rule here, and I should not be in favour of introducing it now.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what recent consultations British Overseas Airways Corporation has had with him regarding approval for the purchase of new aircraft; and what sum of money is involved.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he is now in a position to make any announcement about his approval for aircraft to be purchased by British Overseas Airways Corporation for delivery in the 1960s.

As I informed the House on 10th April last, B.O.A.C. have been conducting a searching examination into the possibilities. It has completed this and has informed me of its decision to place an order for 35 aircraft of a type to be known as the V.C.10 for delivery from 1963 onwards. The aircraft will be developed by Vickers Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd. as a private venture—no Government money being involved.The Government have approved the necessary capital expenditure by B.O.A.C., amounting to about £68 million, including initial spares.

asked the Minister of Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that all those officers who will be retired, or who may fear that they may be retired, are aware of the facilities for consultation, information, and advice directed to obtain suitable other employment; and what are such facilities.

Officers can seek information and advice from their station or command resettlement or education officer, and information on resettlement questions is contained in the Services Resettlement Bulletin, which is available to all ranks. Officers can also take advantage of the facilities provided by the Ministry of Labour and National Service at more than 40 of its local offices, where professional and executive registers have been set up and vacancies of administrative and managerial grade are noted. Advice on careers in the professions is also available at these offices. Officers will also have the help of the Officers' Association Employment Bureau which, in co-operation with the Ministry of Labour, does much valuable work in helping to find them civilian employment.The Ministry of Labour's Business Training Scheme prepares suitable ex-officers for executive posts in industry or commerce by means of a three months' theoretical course at a commercial college or by practical training or by a combination of both.A special booklet entitled "Resettlement in Civilian Employment—Regular Officers" prepared by the Ministry of Labour is given to officers well before they retire. This booklet contains information about where officers can obtain information, both in the Services and outside, about prospects in civilian life and advice on how best to prepare for a new career.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the rate now being paid to workmen by contractors employed by the Central Electricity Board of Mauritius and the rate formerly paid for the same type of work by the board when it employed workmen directly.

I am informed that the rate paid by contractors is 9s. a day for pole erectors and from 5s. 5d. to 6s. for labourers digging holes. The Central Electricity Board paid between 8s. 5d. and 10s. 3d. to pole erectors, according to grade, and between 5s. 1d. and 5s. 9d. to labourers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in what territories British subjects applying for passports to come to the United Kingdom are required, in certain circumstances, to produce a bond of guarantee or to deposit a sum of money against the possibility of repatriation; and what are the circumstances.

The information available to me is not necessarily complete but so far as I am aware the system operates in the following territories:

• Gambia.
• Sierra Leone.
• Federation of Nigeria.
• Kenya.
• Tanganyika.
• Cyprus.
• Aden.
• Somaliland.
• Singapore.
• Mauritius.

It is open to any Governor to adopt the system if he considers it necessary to safeguard public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what, and whose, authority certain students from. West Africa coming to the United Kingdom to study have been required, as a condition of the issue of a passport to them, to deposit a substantial sum of money against the possibility of repatriation; and what interest is paid to such students on such sums on the return of the students to West Africa.

The aim is to safeguard the funds of colonial Governments where there is some risk that the applicants may become destitute abroad and require repatriation. The deposits do not earn interest. Passports are issued in exercise of the Royal Prerogative and in a Colonial Territory this is a matter for the Governor or (in Nigeria) Governor-General.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what steps he has taken to initiate or assist proposals to carry out experimental work in equipping a large tanker with atomic propulsion.

As I informed the hon. and gallant Member during the Navy Estimates debate on 13th May, work is being urgently pressed forward with the aim of getting nuclear propulsion in an economic form. This involves technical feasibility studies which are being prepared for my Committee, which is fully alive to the urgency of the problem.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of persons in receipt of pensions and other income whose total income exceeds £700 per annum but does not exceed £2,000 per annum; and what sum would be involved in extending to these tax payers the relief at present granted under Section 211 of the Income Tax Act, 1952, as proposed to be amended by Section 10 (2) of the Finance Bill, 1957.

I regret that the information necessary to make such an estimate is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the monthly receipts from the sale of Premium Bonds for March and April.

£3·4 million in March, £2·5 million in April.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how the total number of Foreign Service officers who resigned during the past twelve months compares with the number of resignations in the previous five years.

The number of established Foreign Service officers who have resigned from each branch of the Service during each of the five years 1951 to 1956 is set out below:

—	1stMay,1951–30thApril,1952	1stMay,1952–30thApril,1953	1stMay,1953–30thApril,1954	1stMay,1954–30thApril,1955	1stMay,1955ဓ30thApril,1956
Branch A	7	5	3	4	6
Branch B	42	57	48	40	59
Branch C	147	87	69	75	74
Branch D	2	2	3	1	0
	198	151	123	120	139

The comparable figures for 1st May, 1956, to 30th April, 1957, were:

Branch A	5
Branch B	68
Branch C	72
Branch D	1
	146

asked the Minister of Health, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what was the last occasion on which the Medical Research Council sampled young adult high-grade patients in respect to the level of intelligence, and with what result; and when it is proposed that the next sampling shall take place.

As part of an investigation concerned with the training and rehabilitation of high-grade mentally defective patients, members of the staff of the Medical Research Council's Social Psychiatry Research Unit carried out tests to estimate the degree of intelligence of young male patients admitted to one institution during 1949 and 1950. The average intelligence quotient as judged by several different tests was found to be about 70. The results of this study have been published and it is not proposed to repeat the work.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will now give the cost per prescription under the National Health Service for the months of February and March, 1957.

The average cost per prescription dispensed in England and Wales in February was 5s. 7.87d. Complete figures for March are not yet available, but it is estimated from a sample that the average cost was about ¾d. more than in February.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state, for Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, respectively, the names of the junior secondary, senior secondary, local authority fee-paying, and private fee-paying schools, with the number of boys in each.

I am writing to the hon. Member giving particulars of the 126 schools concerned.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that the reductions in exports of cattle on the hoof is not due to Government action but to rises in domestic prices; and whether he will introduce legislation or issue regulations to prevent the present cruelty to animals by restricting exports to those Continental importers who are approved by his Department as observing satisfactory practices in animal welfare.

My right hon. Friend regrets that he is unable at present to add to the statement made in the House on 8th May.