asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware of the concern felt by the women of this country at the high cost of living; whether his attention has been drawn to the resolution passed unanimously by the Conservative Women's National Advisory Committee calling upon the Government to reduce the cost of living; and what action the Government propose to take to reduce immediately the cost of living.

My right hon. Friend is aware of the resolution in question. The policies of the Government are designed to secure conditions favourable to price stability.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he received a communication from the Conservative Women's National Advisory Committee calling upon the Government to reduce the cost of living; and what reply he has made.

My right hon. Friend has received no such communication.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why a non-Welsh speaking officer was appointed to the headship of the Inland Revenue Office at Portmadoc, which serves an area which is almost entirely Welsh-speaking and the population of which is accustomed to discussing their tax problems in the Welsh language; how many of this officer's immediate assistants are conversant with the Welsh language; and whether he will take action to ensure that in Welsh-speaking districts, Inland Revenue officers are proficient in Welsh, as is the case with several other Government offices.

There is a shortage of Inspectors of Taxes able to speak Welsh. Although neither the District Inspector at Portmadoc nor his three immediate subordinates speak Welsh, twenty-six of the remaining staff of thirty do. A Welsh-speaking Inspector will be posted to this office at the first convenient opportunity.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the handicap imposed on the industries producing commercial vehicles and public service vehicles by the maintenance of severe hire purchase restrictions on their products and by the imposition of Purchase Tax at 30 per cent. on goods vehicle chassis; and whether, in view of the fact that no other major item of industrial capital equipment is similarly taxed, he will take remedial action at an early date.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the alterations in hire purchase restrictions announced by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade on 28th May.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to encourage the establishment of sawmills and processing works ancillary to Forestry Commission plantations in Merionethshire and elsewhere in Wales.

It is the policy of the Forestry Commission to encourage the establishment of additional sawmills and timber processing plants wherever production is likely to he in excess of existing outlets.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what number or proportion of cattle examined by his veterinary officers before shipment have been declared unfit for shipment during the last year.

Between 26th February, 1957, when the Exported Cattle Protection Order came into force, and 24th May, 24,128 cattle were examined by my veterinary officers before leaving Great Britain for slaughter on the Continent. Of these, 137, or 0·57 per cent. were rejected as unfit for shipment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in the last twelve months by the Trent River Board in improving the condition of the River Trent at Burton-on-Trent; and what further practical measures for this purpose are proposed in the next twelve months.

My right hon. Friend understands from the Trent River Board, who are the responsible authority, that a joint survey by their engineer and the borough surveyor of Burton-on-Trent is now proceeding, after which a hydraulic model will be constructed to determine how any remedial work should be undertaken. No work can be done until these steps have been completed, and negotiations with any interests concerned have taken place.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has yet considered claims for compensation from fishing vessels whose nets have been damaged in recent incidents with foreign ships.

Reports of the extent and value of the damage sustained by English drifters in recent incidents near the Viking Bank are now being examined.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give an estimate of the amount of surplus skimmed milk which has been thrown away over the past six months because it cannot be disposed of; and what action he proposes to take to ensure that this large amount of valuable material is converted into animal or other feedingstuffs.

It is estimated that over 9 million gallons have been wasted during the last six months, nearly all of it in April and May when more milk was produced than ever before. The Milk Marketing Board in collaboration with the manufacturers and their staffs have done their utmost to process as much of the surplus milk as the factories could handle. As the result of a publicity campaign carried out by the Board, the use of skimmed milk for animal feeding has been increased from 150,000 gallons a week in March last year to 750,000 gallons a week recently. The extent to which any further increase is economically possible is governed by the cost of transport.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is now able to state when he will introduce legislation embodying the Government's long-term policy in relation to slaughterhouses.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk. South (Mr. J. E. B. Hill).

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that, in addition to the redundancies of 3,000 workers at the Electrical and Musical Industries factories at Hayes, Middlesex, notice has now been given to a further number of employees in the cabinet factory; and what steps he proposes to take to find alternative employment for those displaced.

My information is that redundancy at the cabinet factory is not in addition to those already announced. No notices have yet been issued, but I understand that polished cabinets will not be made after August or September and that the cabinet factory's other activities will be reviewed at the end of the year. When it is known which workers have been selected for discharge, everything possible will be done to put them in touch with employers with vacancies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the increase of pensions recently granted to compensate for the increased cost of living does not apply to retired police officers who have not yet reached the age of 60 years.

This restriction was imposed by Section 1 (2) of the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1956, which has the effect that male pensioners under the age of 60 do not qualify for pensions increase unless they retired for health reasons or their health has subsequently prevented them from taking full time employment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of murder or homicide have become known to the police during the past six months; how many of these have occurred since the Homicide Act received Royal Assent; and what are the corresponding figures for the two previous periods of six months, respectively.

The number of murders which became known to the police in the six months ending 30th April, 1957, was 105, of which thirty-five became known after 21st March, 1957, when the Homicide Act received the Royal Assent. The numbers in the six months ending 31st October, 1956, and 30th April. 1956, respectively, were ninety-four and seventy-three. The figures for all three periods include cases subsequently found not to be murders.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how soon he anticipates being able to make a statement concerning the introduction of legislation on betting, gambling and lotteries.

I am not yet in a position to make a further statement on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the reason for the delay in setting up the departmental committee to investigate conditions of service of prison staffs, which was promised on 11th January last; and if he will now announce its constitution and when it will commence work.

The composition of this Committee has not yet been settled, and I am not therefore able to make any further statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now reform the system of interviewing prisoners eligible for corrective training and take steps to safeguard against defamation third parties who may be mentioned in reports published in court.

I am glad to be able to inform the hon. Member that as a result of my consideration of the problem which he raised in previous Questions I have caused a circular to be sent to clerks of the peace suggesting that the terms of reports submitted to courts of quarter sessions by the Prison Commissioners on prisoners eligible for Borstal training, corrective training or preventive detention should not usually be made public unless it becomes necessary to do so because the defence wishes to challenge the report or for other reasons ask for it to be read out. The Lord Chief Justice, whom I have consulted, has been good enough to say that he agrees with this suggestion. This solution of the problem will safeguard the interests of the defence and of third parties without putting any difficulties in the way of the court receiving the fullest information about the prisoner and his circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what other arrangements he envisages now that the Home Office Training Board is no longer functioning and the suitable qualified body recommended by the Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce is not to be set up.

The Marriage Guidance Training Board was appointed in 1949 to plan and supervise schemes for selecting and training marriage guidance counsellors to be employed by certain voluntary organisations. In my judgment there is no longer any need for an officially-appointed body to perform these functions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the qualifications of the Alliance as a specialist body in the field of sex education and marital guidance, whether he will utilise this organisation as a liaison between the Government and the voluntary societies.

If the hon. Member will be good enough to let me have details of what he has in mind, I shall be glad to consider them if in fact they come within the province of my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the number of convictions for drunkenness in 1955 compares with that for 1956; and what were the figures for these years of convictions for drunkenness among people under 21 years of age.

The total number of offences of drunkenness proved in England and Wales in 1956 was 60,182, of which 5,385 were offences by persons under 21 years of age. These figures are provisional. The corresponding figures for 1955 were 54,210 and 4,417, respectively.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education how many psychiatrists, educational psychologists and psychiatric social workers, respectively, are either employed by, or make their services available to, local education authorities for child guidance work.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education whether a definite date will now be given for the completion of the Thomas Willingale School, Debden, Essex.

The Essex Local Education Authority expect both departments of the school to be ready for occupation when the new term begins in September.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education if he will state, for the last convenient year, the numbers of students taking courses for the national certificates in engineering and for the higher national certificates who did not complete their courses or who failed in the final examinations.

The number of candidates and the number of certificates awarded in 1956 in the national certificate schemes in engineering were as follows:

In December, 1956, 182 psychiatrists, 193 educational psychologists and 145 psychiatric social workers were working, full or part-time, in child guidance clinics provided by local education authorities.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education (1) what steps are being taken to extend the scope and membership of the Central Training Council in Child Care to cover the educational field, with a view to arranging courses to cater for those intending to undertake the residential care of children in special schools or boarding homes, and leading to an appropriate national qualification;(2) what steps are being taken to ensure that there are sufficient facilities for training, and for the provision of financial assistance during training, to those wishing to undertake the residential care of children in special schools or boarding homes.

My noble Friend is considering with my right honourable Friend the Home Secretary how best the recommendations of the Report of the Committee on Maladjusted Children which relate to these matters can be implemented. Local education authorities already have power to assist house staff of residential special schools and boarding homes for handicapped children to attend courses arranged by the Central Training Council in Child Care for staffs of children's homes.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education what consideration is being given by his Department to the sponsoring jointly with the Ministry of Health of a series of simple pamphlets for the guidance of parents on the upbringing of children and common problems which arise, as recommended by the Departmental Committee on Maladjusted Children.

This matter is under consideration, but my noble Friend is not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education how many local authorities in Wales raised the evening school fees during the 1956–57 session in accordance with Circular 307; and what were the number of courses held and the number of students enrolled during 1955–56 and 1956–57 under the authorities who raised the fees.

Twelve local education authorities in Wales made some increases in their fees for evening classes after the issue of Circular 307. Their student enrolments at the beginning of the 1955…56 and 1956…57 sessions were 69,324 and 63,481 respectively. The number of classes concerned was 8,302 in 1955–56. The figure for 1956–57 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the result of the negotiations in London with representatives of the Malayan Government on the constitution to be inaugurated on 31st August, 1957.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if agreement has been reached with the Malayan Federation Government on the definition of a dual-nationality status.

Agreement on the future constitution of the Federation of Malaya, including the question of citizenship, was reached during my right hon. Friend's recent talks with a delegation led by the Chief Minister and representing Their Highnesses the Rulers and the Government of the Federation of Malaya. Subject to necessary approval by Her Majesty and the Conference of Rulers, the arrangements agreed between us will in due course be published as a White Pa per.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what representations he has had from the Trades Union Congress in Aden about the level of unemployment existing there; whether he has studied the proposals submitted to him; and when he expects to be able to announce his policy on this and related matters.

The memorandum I have received from the Aden Trade Union Congress proposes new methods of immigration control. Their representations are now being studied.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what grounds the Government of Aden have refused permission to Mr. Sheikhan Abdulla El-Hilshi and Mr. El-Gffri to return to Aden.

My right hon. Friend is consulting the Governor about these cases. When his reply is received I will circulate particulars in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why Mr. Mohammed Aldo Noman, the holder of a British passport, was deported from Aden to the Yemen in May, 1956; what charges were preferred against him; and what opportunities were afforded him to answer these and appeal against his deportation.

I have nothing to add to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mrs. Castle) on 16th May, 1956.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why it took the Governor of Kenya from 22nd March until the end of May to reply to his letter concerning Mr. Leonard J. Crickmar.

As my right hon. Friend explained in his letter to the hon. Member of 24th May, it was not possible to reach an immediate decision on Mr. Crickmar's claims and the Governor of Kenya was reluctant to send me an incomplete reply.

asked the Minister of Defence what proportion of the national expenditure is devoted to work in connection with the preparation of atomic and hydrogen bombs and other nuclear weapons.

It would obviously not be in the public interest to give a precise figure, but I can say that the proportion is very small indeed.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now assist residents of the new Park South estate at Swindon by providing telephone call-box facilities as a matter of urgency.

Yes. A telephone kiosk will be installed in this district in about a week.

asked the Minister of Supply what were the average prices received at the Ruddington sales for the lots marked 202 and 231–2, signals vans; 236, 262–3, and 310, ambulances; 1557, five ambulances; and 728–9, seven motor cycles.

The average prices were: signal vans £335, ambulances £117 10s., motor cycles £19.