asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fresh consideration has been given to the possibility of introducing decimal coinage and the metric system.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will propose to the United States of America, Germany and other countries concerned a conference to be held under the auspices of the economic provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or otherwise, to consider changes in the world economic situation including the shortage of world liquidity, the re-emergence of the dollar gap, the commodity recession, and deflationary tendencies in creditor countries and world trade.

Member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have agreed that collaboration in economic1.

Year of Assessment			Gross Income		Net Income after Tax
					Single Man		Married Man and no child		Married Man with one child		Married Man with two children
			£	s.	£	s.	£	s.	£	s.	£	s.
1938–39	…	…	179	8	175	16	179	8	179	8	179	8
1956–57	…	…	627	9	538	10	572	5	599	16	622	1

It has been assumed that all the income is earned.2. The estimated numbers (counting a married couple as one unit) with incomes between £600 and £700 in 1956 was 2½ million, of whom—

Single	…	…	…	…	about	400,000
Married without children	…	…	…	…	about	1,000,000
Married with one child	…	…	…	…	about	500,000
Married with two children	…	…	…	…	about	400,000

About three quarters of these were wage earners.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the policy of the Public Works Loan Board with

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the net income, after Income Tax, for a single man, a married man, a married man with one child, and a married man with two children, with an income in 1938 of £179 8s., and for the same people with an income of £627 9s. in the year 1956–57;(2) how many wage-earners, single men, married men, married men with one child, and married men with two children, given separately, were in the income bracket of £600 to £700 in 1956.

The following is the reply:regard to authorisation of loans from the Local Loans Fund for the purpose of advances under Section 4 of the Housing Act, 1949.

In considering applications for loans for this or any other purpose, the Board has regard to the ability of the applicant to borrow in the market.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the estimated extra cost to the Government in increased interest and other charges attributed to borrowing for the half year to 5th April, 1958, compared with the similar period last year.

It is not the practice to publish revised Budget estimates in the course of the financial year.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will obtain information from local authorities as to the amount of accommodation in their areas suited to and available for elderly persons; and as to what plans they have for extending the provision of such accommodation.

Last year about 1,300 local authorities and a number of voluntary organisations gave my predecessor detailed information about the housing of elderly persons. I do not contemplate another inquiry at present, but I propose within the next few days to issue a further circular to local authorities advising them about various ways of providing more dwellings for old people.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many local authorities have now built enough to satisfy urgent housing needs; and whether he will publish a list of these authorities and further lists at quarterly intervals.

It is for each local authority to decide this for itself, and I believe that all authorities keep it under continuous review. All I can say is that the building of 2¾ million new permanent houses since the war has gone a long way towards meeting the really urgent needs in a great many areas.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, whether he is aware that the full effect of the 7 per cent. Bank Rate is to increase the rent of three-bedroomed council flats in Deptford by £1 0s. 8d. per week; and what steps he proposes to take to relieve Deptford tenants of this burden.

It is for each local authority to decide what rents they will charge. Authorities which pool their rents and subsidies, and which adopt rent systems designed to ensure that subsidy only goes to help those families who need it, find it possible to let new dwellings at rents within the capacity of tenants to pay.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware that in many of our large cities there are vacant houses which have been uninhabited for a long time while the local authorities have long lists of people waiting for accommodation; and if he will consider giving power to such authorities to requisition these houses when they have been vacant for an unreasonable period without satisfactory reason.

I am not in favour of further requisitioning. Adequate powers are already available to local authorities who wish to provide housing accommodation by the purchase of suitable houses.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he expects to announce a decision on the West Kentish Town (No. 1) Compulsory Purchase Order made a year ago by St. Pancras Borough Council; and what is the reason for the delay.

This Order was the subject of a public local inquiry held on 23rd July. It is a large and complicated one involving 298 properties, of which no fewer than 133 have given rise to objections. Detailed consideration of this large number of objections must necessarily take time. My right hon. Friend will announce his decision as soon as he can.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will state the gross amount of the Exchequer equalisation grant received by Wales in each year since its inception.

The total amounts paid to county and county borough councils in Wales and Monmouthshire in each of the years from 1948–49 is set out in the following table:

	£
1948–49	6,425,500
1949–50	7,728,054
1950–51	7,927,654
1951–52	8,215,456
1952–53	9,383,685
1953–54	9,478,383
1954–55	10,476,398
1955–56	10,928,037
1956–57	10,159,228

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what conclusions have been reached in the official discussions with the Prime Minister of Malta regarding the union of Malta with the United Kingdom.

I have nothing to add to my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Mr. Teeling) on 14th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the length of time which elapses before a newly-appointed Governor arrives to take over, on the spot, the duties of an outgoing Governor; and whether he will consider steps by which this period, when there is no Governor at his post, can be eliminated.

I am certainly aware of the need for a new Governor to be in post soon after the previous Governor leaves. So far as possible this is the rule, but an interregnum cannot always be avoided, although this is seldom of more than a few weeks' duration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons are still detained under Emergency Powers in Kenya; how many of such persons have appealed to the Advisory Committee; and how many persons have been released on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee.

At 31st October, there were 16,385 persons still in detention. By 18th November, 2,525 persons had appealed to the Advisory Committees, and 1,058 had been released on their recommendation. Of the remainder, some were released before their appeals were heard and others have since been released, although their appeals had been rejected. As no individual records of the latter are held centrally, it is not possible to answer the second part of the Question without considerable research.

asked the Minister of Works if he will publish the recommendations of the Historic Buildings Council on the preservation of the toll-house at Half-Way between Newbury and Hunger-ford on the Bath Road in view of the interest that many travellers find in this landmark, which is now falling into disrepair.

I have accepted the advice of the Historic Buildings Council for England that we should look to the owners to preserve this building as a dwelling without the help of a grant for repairs.

asked the Minister of Works what is the number of building trade operatives employed in each year since the war and their distribution

OPERATIVES EMPLOYED BY CONTRACTORS ON BUILDING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING WORK
Year			New Houses	Industrial Buildings	Schools	Repairs, Maintenance, etc.	TOTAL (Thousands) All Operatives
1946	…	…	not available		not available		869
1947	…	…	not available		not available		962
1948	…	…	245	96	18	570	1,003
1949	…	…	225	101	24	542	996
1950	…	…	232	121	32	492	997
1951	…	…	230	129	38	465	990
1952	…	…	264	124	36	427	974
1953	…	…	311	120	34	418	988
1954	…	…	315	119	31	406	978
1955	…	…	349	126	Not available	333	1,058
1956	…	…	330	147		326	1,078

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that vouchers in payment of certain agricultural grants and subsidies require the recipient to endorse his name over a 2d. stamp before payment is made and that this is no longer necessary in view of the Cheques Act, 1957; and what action he proposes to take to bring this practice into accord with the law.

As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Knutsford (Lieut.-Colonel Bromley-Davenport) on 12th November, Section 3 of the Cheques Act, 1957, does not apply to payable orders by which payment of all agricultural subsidies in Scotland is made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the authorised establishment of physiotherapists under the National Health Service in Scotland; and how many are actually employed in the various hospitals and clinics.

The available figures are as follows:

There is no authorised establishment for the whole of Scotland. There are 426 whole-time and 90 part-time physiotherapists in post and 64 existing posts are vacant.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local authorities have exceeded their legal borrowing powers; and what steps he proposes to take to alleviate the difficulties of such authorities.

I know of only one local authority which has exceeded its borrowing powers under proviso (i) to Subsection (1) of Section 260 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1947. I am discussing the position with the council concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now take steps to secure the appointment of a woman consultant for the Bruntsfield Hospital for Women and Children and the Elsie Inglis Maternity Memorial Hospital, Edinburgh.

I am considering the position in the light of the Lord Ordinary's judgment on Friday last.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many schoolchildren have taken part in the potato gathering harvest this year; how many were from senior secondary and how many from junior secondary schools; and how many were provided by the County of Fife.

I regret that the information will not be available for about a month; but I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has now replied to the memorandum on the reduction in defence work recently sent to him by the Scottish Council (Development and Industry); and in what terms.

I am not yet able to add to the reply given by my hon. Friend on 29th October.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that when gear of seine net vessels is seized by Her Majesty's fishery officer on a charge of illegal fishing the period of waiting for a hearing is often so long that deterioration of the nets occurs, and that, when a charge is dismissed, injustice and loss is thereby inflicted on innocent fishermen; and if he will take steps to ensure that in such cases the nets are preserved intact and returned to their owners in good condition.

All gear seized by my officers is stored with great care. I am informed that nets are thus usually preserved in the condition in which they are received; but seine net warps are liable to deteriorate in store whatever the precautions taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will consider the payment of compensation in cases where gear of seine net vessels, seized by a fishery officer for alleged illegal fishing, deteriorates during the period of seizure, and where the alleged offence is not established as a result of court action.

I regret that I have no power to pay compensation in such cases, but the hon. Lady's point has been noted for consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state in detail how the proposed European Free Trade Area will affect the Scottish shipbuilding, ship-repairing and fishing industries.

Shipbuilding and ship-repairing in Europe are not at present much affected by tariffs or quotas, and the creation of a European Free Trade Area should, therefore, not have any substantial effect one way or the other on the position of the Scottish industry. As regards the position of the fishing industry, I cannot add anything to what was said in the statement on the problems of agriculture which was made last month by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster-General to the Council of O.E.E.C. This statement was circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT by the Prime Minister in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. J. E. B. Hill) on 29th October.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the present position under the Anglo-Turkish Debts Agreement; and what steps are being taken to secure payment under the terms of the agreement.

Commercial debts to a total of £7,769,477, have been settled so far under this Agreement. As regards the second part of the Question, I think there may be some misunderstanding; we are, in fact, receiving payment regularly under the terms of the Agreement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Census of Production Reports, which have recently been made available, are largely useless to many of the industries concerned because the statistics included are three years or more out of date; and whether, in these circumstances, arrangements may be made either to abandon the census reports altogether, except for those industries which find them of use, or to publish the results more quickly, so that they will have some real value.

Information from the Census of Production is used by the Government, and to some extent by industry, in advance of publication, but I agree that results should be published earlier. Arrangements already made to this end include the ordering of an electronic computer for use in the Census Office, and the publication of preliminary results of each census at the end of the following year.

asked the Minister of Supply what are now the Government holdings in the firm of Short Brothers and Harland, the percentage of total ordinary shares held, and the Government's intentions regarding this holding.

The Government holds 1,640,000 fully paid up £1 shares in Short Brothers and Harland Limited. This represents 69·5 per cent. of the total issued share capital of the company. No changes in the Government's financial interest in this company are at present contemplated.

asked the Minister of Health what increase there has been in the establishment for consultants in psychiatry in the hospitals in the North-East Metropolitan area.

The number of consultants in psychiatry employed by the North-East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board has increased from 26 to 42 since 1949.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now considered the representations made to him by a number of organisations in favour of the introduction of Government legislation to provide for the attachment of the earnings of men who default on maintenance orders; and what action he proposes to take.

Yes. I hope to be able to introduce legislation on the subject during the present Session.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number of his Foreign Service personnel overseas having diplomatic immunity and the number of their dependants overseas also having diplomatic immunity.

The extent to which diplomatic immunity is granted varies from place to place and from time to time and exact figures are not available; approximately 1,536 officers employed by Her Majesty's Foreign Service overseas enjoy diplomatic immunity together with about 970 wives and other dependants. There are in addition a number of domestic servants of Her Majesty's representatives abroad who enjoy diplomatic immunity to an extent which varies in accordance with the requirements of local law and practice.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the number of persons having diplomatic immunity in this country, showing the number of diplomats, and the number of wives, dependants, etc., respectively, having such immunity.

The number of persons officially regarded as entitled to claim diplomatic immunity in the United Kingdom as accredited diplomatic representatives of foreign States, the diplomatic and clerical staffs of their Missions and servants employed in the households of Heads of Missions or in the Chanceries of their Missions, at present recorded in the list maintained in the Foreign Office under Statute 7 Anne Cap. 12 is 3,148. This figure includes 465 servants and 925 wives of members of the diplomatic and clerical staff of such Missions.I have no information concerning the number of dependants other than wives since (apart from 37 unmarried daughters whose names are separately recorded for social purposes) their names are not returned to my Department for the purposes of the statutory list.In addition to the foregoing, there are 252 members of the clerical staffs of foreign diplomatic Missions and 154 domestics employed by Heads of Missions whose immunity is subject to the restriction contemplated in the Diplomatic Immunities Restriction Order, 1956 (S.I. 1956 No. 84), made on the 25th of January, 1956, under the Diplomatic Immunities Restriction Act, 1955 (4 Eliz. 2 Ch. 21). The immunity of seven wives of members of diplomatic staffs and 109 wives of members of clerical staffs is subject to a similar restriction.A like immunity from suit and legal process as is accorded to an envoy of a foreign Sovereign power accredited to Her Majesty is also conferred upon the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of Western European Union and the Chief Representative in the United Kingdom of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community by Orders in Council made under the International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges) Act, 1950 (14 Geo. 6 Ch. 14) and the European Coal and Steel Community Act, 1955 (4 Eliz. 2 Ch. 4).Immunity is also enjoyed, in accordance with the provisions of the Diplomatic Immunity (Commonwealth Countries and Republic of Ireland) Act, 1952 (15–16 Geo. 6 and 1 Eliz. 2 Ch. 18) by High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries in London and the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland and their official and clerical staffs, numbering in all 1,715; by 873 wives and members of families of the foregoing; and by 16 servants employed by High Commissioners and the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland.