asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why it took him until 21st March to send a formal reply to the communication sent to him by the hon. Member for West Ham, North, dated 6th March concerning the claims of Mr. L J. Crickmar; why no further information was given to the hon. Member for West Ham, North, until he received another formal acknowledgement to his subsequent letter of 10th May, dated 15th May; why it was necessary on this occasion for five days to elapse before sending a formal acknowledgement; and whether he will take the necessary steps to expedite the dealing with complaints from hon. Members.

When I received the hon. Member's first letter on 11th March I caused a search to be made in the records of my Department to see if I could give him a substantive reply without reference to the Governor of Kenya. The details at my disposal about Mr. Crickmar did not relate to his financial affairs and I therefore sent a formal reply within nine working days to the effect that I would have to consult the authorities in Kenya. No further information was sent to the hon. Member because there was at that time none to send. The hon. Member's letter of Friday, 10th May, was received on Monday, 13th May, and was acknowledged by postcard on the same day; I sent him an interim reply two days later. I have dealt with this matter with all the expedition consistent with a proper examination of complaints.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why it took him so long to resolve the claims of Mr. Crickmar; why the Governor of Kenya took so long to answer his communications; and what action he proposes to take to obtain more speedy replies from the Governor of Kenya to his communications in the future.

The local Housing Committee could not resolve Mr. Crickmar's claim for house allowance because he failed to present the receipts and other necessary particulars. The Income Tax Department was unable to make a proper assessment of his tax liability because he failed, contrary to the law, to make a return and claim his allowances. In default of co-operation from Mr. Crickmar the authorities in Kenya could make no progress on his case and the Governor of Kenya could not inform me of progress where none had been made. He has answered my communications as promptly as the necessary information could be secured.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies for what purposes the tribal police are used in Kenya; what is the number of tribal police employed in the Central and Rift Provinces; and on what basis they are recruited into the service.

The primary functions of the tribal police are to support the local African Administration and to investigate and prosecute in African courts offences against native law and custom, African District Council by-laws, and the Native Authority Ordinance. I am obtaining, and will communicate to the hon. Member, the information on strength and recruitment, for which he asks in the last part of his Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of leasehold fragmentary land holdings whose leases have been terminated under the Land Consolidation Scheme in Kenya, and the number of Africans affected by such terminations.

I am afraid that it may take some time to collect this information, but I am asking the Governor to do this and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will break down the sum allowed in the Kenya budget for education in 1957–58 into the sums allocated for Europeans, Asians and Africans, and within each racial group for primary schools schools and scholarships.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders known to the police occurred in England and Wales in each month from the beginning of 1957.

The number of murders recorded as known to the police in England and Wales in each of the first five months of 1957 was: January, 13, February, 13; March, 21; April, 27; and May, 21. These figures may include cases subsequently found not to be murder. In addition, one case of manslaughter was recorded in March which, before the passing of the Homicide Act, would have been recorded as murder.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now permit the issue of identity cards for day trips by way of the cross-Channel boat services to France and Belgium to be issued in London instead of only at the port of embarkation; and whether he is aware that permission to do this would be welcomed by all concerned.

There are difficulties in the way of this proposal, but I am arranging for it to be re-examined.

The following are the figures:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has been giving to the possibility of allowing no-passport trips between Newhaven and Dieppe; whether he has yet had a conference with the French authorities about this matter; and if he will now announce his decision.

Her Majesty's Government have reached agreement with the French authorities in this matter and an announcement will be made at an early date.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the weekly attendance centres for young offenders run by the Salford police; how many similar schools there are in the country; what evidence there is as to their effectiveness as an instrument for turning young offenders from continuing on a path of crime; and what steps he is taking to encourage the opening of more such centres.

Attendance centres are provided by the Secretary of State under powers conferred by the Criminal Justice Act, 1948, and are managed on his behalf by local agents, usually the police. They are attended on Saturdays, normally for two hours at a time, by boys not less than twelve and not more that seventeen years of age who have been ordered by the courts to attend for an aggregate of up to twelve hours under each order. The Cambridge University Department of Criminal Science has been making a study of the results of attendance centre treatment, but the research is not yet completed. Thirty-seven attendance centres have so far been provided and I am ready to consider sympathetically requests to set up others wherever offenders are likely to be ordered to attend in sufficient numbers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what regulations govern the use of police dogs in the Metropolitan area.

The use of dogs by the Metropolitan Police is governed by instructions which are issued from time to time by the Commissioner of Police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that Rodi & Weinenberger (Gt. Britain) Ltd., of 41, Barnsole Street, Gillingham, Kent, do not operate a guaranteed minimum wage, that there is no guaranteed piece-work percentage and that no decision affecting wages and conditions can be resolved without reference to the firm in Germany; and if he will therefore revoke the residence permits of those foreign nationals responsible for administering this firm.

I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service that the matters referred to in the first two parts of the Question are to be the subject of negotiations between the firm and the appropriate trade union. On the information available to me, there does not appear to be any ground for any action on my part.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he takes in granting residence permits to aliens to enable them to manage businesses in this country, to ensure that they observe approved trade union practices, in particular the fair wage resolution in the operation of their business.

Before permitting a foreigner to set up in business in this country or to join an existing business here, the Secretary of State requires to be satisfied that there is no objection to the person concerned and that the business in question is not detrimental to the national economy. On the latter point the Home Office is advised by the Board of Trade or other appropriate Department. In matters of industrial practice, businesses managed by foreigners are subject, like all other businesses, to the operation of the general law.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that a new type of respirator has been invented, details of which have been sent to him, designed to protect wearers from nuclear radioactive fall-out; and what steps he is taking to make it available to the British public.

A simple "smog" mask worn in dusty conditions would give all the protection that is required against breathing in radioactive dust from which the internal risk is small compared with the external risk due to gamma radiation from the surrounding contaminated area. No respirator can give protection against this external gamma radiation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions, for what purpose, and with whose permission, the telephone wire of Bowes Park 2153 was tapped between the years 1946 and 1948, and of Tottenham 6113 from 1948 to 1956.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 25th June to a question by the hon. Member for Brixton (Mr. Lipton).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances the prerogative or other power is extended to the tapping of telephone conversations other than those of persons suspected of serious crime.

As I informed the House on 7th June the power is used also in cases involving the security of the State.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if, in view of replies received from Commonwealth Governments to the Secretary of State's communication on economic development, Her Majesty's Government will reconsider proposals for an early contribution to the Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development.

The replies from the Commonwealth Governments to which the hon. Member refers related to suggestions for a Commonwealth Development Agency and an associated Commonwealth Bank to which Commonwealth Governments would contribute. The question of a contribution to the Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development is one for the Foreign Secretary.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what action he proposes to take to secure the early payment by the Government of Pakistan of the provident fund claim of Major L. Newman, 94, Chestnut Rise, Plumstead, S.E.18.

The great delay in the settlement of Major Newman's just claim is due to a difference of view between the Indian and Pakistan Governments as to which of them is liable for payment. My noble Friend will continue to do everything possible by representations to the authorities concerned, to hasten a settlement. I am writing to the hon. Member about this case.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education why, in view of the change in the purchasing power of the £ since 1945, the scale of school fees payable by parents, which was instituted in 1945 on an income basis, has not since been revised; and, since a parent whose previous income of £10 has now risen to £16 in accordance with the rise in the cost of living will now be charged at the £16 level although there has been no increase in the real value of his income, whether he will re-examine the matter with a view to the revision of the scales of payment.

I have written to the hon. Member.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education if he is aware that, after the recent holiday, there was not enough seating accommodation for the children starting at the Holton-le-Clay village school; and if he will take urgent steps to provide the additional classroom for which the parish council have been pressing for some considerable time.

The building of the new classroom is being started either today or tomorrow.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education the total numbers of school meals supplied to the school children of West Ham in secondary, junior, infant, nursery, and special schools when the charges for such meals were 9d., 10d. and 1s., respectively; and to what cause he attributes the reduction in the number of West Ham school children now taking meals at school.

The West Ham Local Education Authority's annual returns showed a total of 9,825 pupils taking the school dinner on a day in the autumn of 1955, when the standard charge was still 9d., and 9,480 last year when the charge was 10d. The next annual return by local education authorities, showing the number of pupils taking the school dinner after the charge became a shilling, will not be submitted until this coming autumn.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education whether he is aware of the dismissal of Miss Edith Bamford, as head mistress of a Church of England school at North Owersby, near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, for teaching at a Methodist Sunday school; and, in view of the violation of the liberty of the subject, if he will arrange for her reinstatement.

My noble Friend deplores the reasons publicly given by the managers for their action, but understands that before they communicated with the head mistress, she had accepted the local education authority's offer to employ her, pending her retirement in 1958, at another school without loss of salary. He does not therefore propose to pursue the question of the teacher's return.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education what action is being taken on the Report on the Supply and Training of Teachers for Technical Colleges.

As soon as the Report was published my noble Friend commended to the attention of local education authorities, technical colleges and employers in industry and commerce the many recommendations which concern them. He will announce his decisions as soon as possible on those recommendations which require action by the Ministry.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education what steps he is taking to encourage girls to take full-time university level science courses and to take up positions in industry.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to my speech in the House on 22nd March.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education if he is aware that the Kingsbury Community Association has been trying for 11 years to secure a community centre; and whether his Department will assist in the matter.

My noble Friend is aware that Kingsbury is one of the areas where the Middlesex Local Education Authority agrees that a new community centre is desirable, but he cannot give priority to this type of building at present.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education what progress has been made in staggering children's holidays, so as to ease the strain on holiday resorts.

Within the broad limits laid down in my noble Friend's regulations L.E.A.s are free to adjust the timing of holidays to suit local circumstances. But with the educational year beginning in the autumn and with most of the principal examinations held in the summer the scope for staggering school holidays is limited.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how the export price of Canary Islands tomatoes exported to the United Kingdom this year has compared with the fair market price of tomatoes in accordance with the Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act, 1957.

As I informed the hon. Member for Deptford (Sir L. Plummer) on 6th June, it would not be appropriate to give reasons for the rejection of applications under the Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act. This is in accordance with long-established practice for other applications involving customs duties. In these circumstances, the hon. Member will appreciate that no useful purpose would be served by going into details of this particular aspect of the application which no doubt he has in mind.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now make a further statement regarding the steps he proposes to take in order to stem the flood of cheap cotton goods into this country from India, Pakistan and the Far East.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the result of the meetings suggested by Sir Anthony Eden a year ago, between representatives of the United Kingdom cotton textile industry and representatives of the cotton textile industries of India, Hong Kong and Pakistan; and if he can now state Her Majesty's Government's policy in relation to the duty-free, quota-free imports of cotton yarn and cloth from India, Hong Kong and Pakistan.

My right hon. Friend is considering the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the increasing practice of gift schemes with soap powders and detergents at the expense of the quantity of powder in the packet; and what protection he will offer to the consumer.

I am aware that gifts have been offered with detergents. The Board of Trade have no powers either to stop such gift schemes or to specify the quantities in which detergents and soap powders are to be sold.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make an announcement about the chairmanship of the Cotton Board.

Yes, I am glad to be able to say that Lord Rochdale has accepted my invitation to become Chairman of the Board, on a part-time basis, when Sir Raymond Streat retires at the end of September. The Government and the cotton textile industry are fortunate in securing the services of Lord Rochdale for this appointment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now make a statement as to the progress of the consultations between his Department, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, the British Transport Commission, and the Severn River Board, regarding the problem of the continuing erosion of the banks of the River Severn and the accumulative loss of land.

Discussions are still proceeding and I regret that I am not yet able to make a statement.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much subsidy will remain when the retail price of ordinary milk is raised to 8d. a pint on 1st July.

The general milk subsidy for the current financial year, after taking into account the increase in retail price from 1st July, is estimated at about £8½ million.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the consumption of full price fresh milk for the month of May.

The provisional figure for the United Kingdom is 111 million gallons.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much of the 1956 wheat crop has been sold off farms; how much remains; if he is satisfied that merchants and millers will clear in the next month before harvest all the 1956 wheat of millable quality awaiting collection from farms; and if he will make a statement.

It is expected that in the crop year ending on the 30th June, 1957, about 2·4 million tons of millable or potentially millable wheat will be sold and despatched on delivery in England and Wales.Against this, wheat certificates in respect of 2·3 million tons have been received to date. Certificates for a further substantial quantity will continue to come in up to the end of July. In view of this satisfactory position and the better market demand in recent weeks, my right hon. Friend considers that the balance of the 1956 crop should be cleared off farms before the 1957 harvest becomes general.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that more than 50 birds have recently been picked up dead on two farms in south-eastern England and that a postmortem examination of some of these showed that they had been poisoned by seed corn dressed with toxic chemicals; and whether, in view of these facts, and bearing in mind the findings of the Zuckerman Committee and previous reports of other birds and animals dying as a result of eating food dressed with toxic farm chemicals, he will take steps to render illegal the sale of all such chemicals.

Several reports that dead birds have been picked up on farms in south-east England have been received this year but post-mortem examinations have failed to establish the cause of these deaths and it has not been possible to determine conclusively whether dressed seed corn was responsible.As recommended by the Zuckerman Working Party, the possible harmful effects of toxic chemicals on birds, animals, and wild life generally are being kept under close review.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will circulate to English and Welsh local authorities a memorandum similar to that issued to Scottish local authorities regarding positive steps for preventing accidents in the home.

My right hon. Friend hopes to do so shortly.

asked the Minister of Health when he will make a statement on the latest report of the Medical Research Council on the connection between smoking and lung cancer.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made at the end of Questions today.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) whether, in view of the urgency and importance attached in the Prime Minister's letter to Prime Minister Bulganin to the unification of Germany, he is now ready to agree to Germany being united within the United Nations and an all-European treaty based on the Charter, but outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw alliance, in exchange for the Soviet Government accepting free elections as the means of unification;(2) whether, in view of the insistence in the Prime Minister's reply to Prime Minister Bulganin that there can be no comprehensive disarmament agreement without the unification of Germany, he will agree, as part of an agreement on German unification, to negotiate a European convention for the reduction, limitation and control of armaments and withdrawal of foreign forces from the territories of Germany and her neighbours on the lines proposed by the Soviet Government on 17th November and subsequent occasions.

The Answer to both Questions is "No." The hon. Member is well aware of Her Majesty's Government's attitude on this subject. It is that Germany should be reunified by free all-German elections and that an all-German Government should be free to choose its own policies. The Soviet Government has consistently refused to accept this or to negotiate on the basis of the proposals put forward by the Western Powers at Geneva for a Treaty of Assurance in connection with the reunification of Germany in freedom. The Soviet Government statement of 17th November, 1956, contained no proposal for German reunification and there has been no subsequent indication that the Russians are prepared to modify the line which they took on this subject at Geneva.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the declaration in the Prime Minister's reply to the Prime Minister Bulganin regarding the rights of the German Federal Government in relation to making arrangements for its self defence, what is now the policy of Her Majesty's Government in the matter of rearming Germany with nuclear weapons, and in regard to her joining the Western system of military alliances.

As to nuclear weapons I would refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the hon. Members for Ashfield (Mr. Warbey) and Islington, East (Mr. E. Fletcher) on 17th April. As to the Western Alliance, the Federal Republic has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and of Western European Union since May, 1955.

asked the Postmaster-General if, in the interests of the ordinary telephone subscriber, he will instruct the telephone service to revert to the practice of rendering their accounts quarterly instead of six-monthly.

A change to quarterly accounting would require a large increase in staff and additional expenditure estimated at about £1 million, and could not be undertaken at present.