asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what considerations he takes into account before giving his consent to any payments to the Scottish Special Housing Association; and what proposals he has for reviewing the present arrangements.

The answer to the first part of the Question is that my right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Scotland take into account the extent of the housing problem facing local housing authorities in Scotland, their financial capacity to deal with it, and the financial position of the Association itself. My right hon. Friend has no proposals for review in mind.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance he has given to the Capital Issues Committee on the treatment of proposals to finance the export of capital goods by bank credits guaranteed by the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

In general, the Capital Issues Committee will continue to require applicants for leave to borrow for capital purposes to raise the finance where possible from non-banking sources: but the Committee has been informed that where the purpose of the proposed bank loan is to finance exports, and the Export Credits Guarantee Department has already indicated its willingness to issue a guarantee to the bank, refusal of consent would be inconsistent with the general policy of giving such guarantees direct to banks, which was introduced specifically to facilitate loans for the export of major capital goods. The Committee has therefore been asked to bear this in mind in considering applications for consent to such loans.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in HANSARD the names, qualifications and biographical details of the members of the Cohen Committee on Prices, Productivity and Incomes, giving particulars of their political party affiliations and activities over the past twenty years.

The information which the hon. Member requests in the first part of his Question was made available to the Press on 12th August last and subsequently published. I have no information on the second part of the hon. Member's Question and have not sought it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the number of items of United States agricultural produce, and tobacco, giving the value in each case, imported over the past two years or planned to be imported into this country without direct payment but which are set against United States military aid.

In the last two years the United Kingdom has imported, or has licensed for import into this country, approximately the following surplus agricultural commodities under United States aid arrangements:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons gas-fired space-heating appliances, which are both smokeless and highly efficient, are subjected to a Purchase Tax of 60 per cent. as well as hire-purchase restrictions, whereas similar appliances burning oil, which must be imported, or coal, are not subject to these handicaps.

The tax position results from decisions of successive Governments, explained to and approved by the House: the hon. Member will not expect me to comment on it at the present time. Hire-purchase restrictions are a matter for my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the unceasing drain of capital from the land and the destruction of historic houses, more than 200 of which have vanished in the last thirty years, he will now implement the specific pledge, given in the Agricultural Charter of 1951, to the effect that death duties on agricultural land will be reduced to a token sum only on the death of the owner, the full scale of duties to be exacted only if and when the estate is subsequently sold.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will increase the limit of £10 on the amount of sterling notes which a traveller may bring into the United Kingdom.

I have decided that all restrictions on the import of sterling notes into the United Kingdom can now be removed. The necessary Order has been laid before Parliament today and will come into operation on 28th February.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to assist manufacturers and exporters in Scotland to take advantage of the visit of the Canadian Trade Mission; and with what results.

Representatives of a large number of firms in Scotland met members of the Canadian Trade Mission. Officials in Scotland are following up these contacts with all these firms and others interested in trade with Canada, and I am glad to say that a number of them are taking active steps to increase their selling efforts in Canada.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the British Standards Institution has yet fixed new standards of flammability for textiles; and if he will publish these standards for the information of all concerned.

The position is still as stated in the reply I gave the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras Mrs. Jeger) on 28th November. When the Standard is ready it will be published by the British Standards Institution.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of linen exports from Northern Ireland and from Scotland, respectively, in the years 1955, 1956, and 1957.

Precise information is available only for the trade of the United Kingdom as a whole. United Kingdom exports of the main products of the linen industry in 1955, 1956 and 1957 were valued at £18·8 million, £18·3 and £17·9 million, respectively. Of these, it is estimated that over 80 per cent. was produced in Northern Ireland and about 15 per cent. in Scotland.

asked the Prime Minister if he will arrange for a model of Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly, and similar models of the latest developments in thermonuclear and nuclear energy, which are to be exhibited at Brussels, to be included in the Belle Vue, Manchester, Trade Exhibition; and whether he will ask for the co-operation of those engaged at Trafford Park and Aldermaston, so that a clear explanation can be made to the visitors and broadcasts made to the world.

As my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal informed the hon. Member for Openshaw (Mr. W. R. Williams) on 3rd February, the resources of the Atomic Energy Authority for organising exhibitions this year are already fully committed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware of the concern of the butchery trade at the competition by shopkeepers selling prepacked meat who are without knowledge of the trade; and what representations have been made to him on the matter.

The answer to the first part of the Question is Yes, and to the second, no representations have been made to me.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give an estimate of the amount of imported Argentine meat consumed in Scotland annually.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent beef cattle in South America are inspected on the farms in accordance with the Bledisloe Agreement, 1928; and what was the average number of carcasses exported each week of last year from South America to Great Britain.

I cannot say precisely to what extent beef cattle for export to Great Britain are inspected on the farms of origin in South America; but as stated in the report of the Gowers Committee, owing to the shortage of veterinary surgeons and the distances to be travelled, a declaration by the farmer is sometimes accepted as a substitute for inspection. We are in close touch with the Argentine authorities, and they are aware of our concern in this matter. The weekly average number of beef carcases imported into the United Kingdom from South America in 1957 is estimated at 20,000.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what factors caused the fall of 20,500,000 gallons in the consumption of full price fresh milk during 1957.

The decline was probably due to a combination of factors, of which the most important appears to have been the mild weather, as in our experience consumption tends to be higher in cold weather. In addition, 1956 was a leap year and the extra day would account for 3½ million gallons.

asked the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food what has been the amount of subsidy on milk and milk products paid to the Milk Marketing Board of England and Wales since 1st July, 1957.

£3,750,000 in respect of the general milk subsidy. In addition, nearly £17 million has been paid to the Board under the National Milk Scheme, the Attested Herds Scheme and the National Milk Records.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a further statement on horticultural marketing.

I am not yet able to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 3rd February.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what use is being made of anhydrous ammonia fertiliser; and what steps are being taken to encourage its more extensive use.

I am not aware that any significant use is being made in this country of this material as a fertiliser. It would be expensive to use and it appears at present to have no advantages over the usual nitrogenous fertilisers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now make a statement regarding his recent meeting with the National Farmers' Union, the Fatstock Marketing Corporation and bacon curers about bacon pig prices and his proposals in regard thereto.

My right hon. Friends and I have now considered very carefully the points put before us by the deputation, and in particular the specific requests that there should be regulation of imports and that the guarantee arrangements should be modified to give a separate guarantee for bacon pigs.We have decided that we should not be justified in accepting these proposals, and I have written to the deputation setting out in full our reasons for this decision. The following is a copy of this letter:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the proportion of home-grown barley and other home-grown grains and materials used in the manufacture of compound feedingstuffs in Great Britain in 1957; and what proportion of the barley used by brewers and maltsters was homegrown.

The proportion of home-grown barley and other homegrown grains and materials used in the manufacture of compound animal feed-ingstuffs in Great Britain in 1957 is estimated at approximately one quarter: about 96 per cent. of the barley used by brewers and maltsters was home-grown.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the Superintendent at the port of Pepel in Sierra Leone refuses to allow officers and crews of British ships calling there to go ashore temporarily, purporting to do this under Government regulation, and that this disallowance operates as a hardship on officers and crews and is an interference with the authority of the ships' captains; under what regulation this power is exercised; and if he will take immediate steps to withdraw the powers so as to ensure that the captains remain masters of their ships.

For reasons of health and for the speedy turn-round of shipping, it has been the practice to withhold permission to land at Pepel. This power is exercised under Section 4 of the Marampa Railway & Harbour Works Construction Ordinance, and Section 69 of the Sierra Leone Customs Ordinance. The Governor is examining the possibility of easing these restrictions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Government of Sierra Leone will be issuing the promised White Paper on educational development in the Colony.

The Government of Sierra Leone hope to table the White Paper before the end of the present sitting of the House of Representatives.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, how many persons in Bermuda will be entitled to vote in the forthcoming general election; and what proportion of the adult population this represents.

Registers do not close until 14th March, when the writ for the election of a new House of Assembly will be issued. On the 22nd February, 6,048 persons were registered, representing 25·3 per cent. of the adult population of the Colony.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement regarding the discussions that were held with the Sheiks and Sultans of the Aden Protectorate regarding the possibilities of a federation of their territory.

In reply to the hon. Member's Question on 18th April, 1956, my right hon. Friend circulated the statement issued by the then Governor of Aden after his discussions with the Protectorate Rulers on this subject. The initiative rests with the Rulers who have not so far put forward any scheme of closer association.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being considered by Her Majesty's Government to implement the decision of the United Nations Resolution of 11th December, 1957, concerning international respect for the right of peoples and nations to self-determination with regard to Cyprus, Kenya, Tanganyika and Nyasaland for further consideration at the 13th Session of the United Nations.

The recommendations in this United Nations Resolution about self-determination only re-affirm what has been said in previous General Assembly resolutions. The House is well aware that Her Majesty's Government are doing everything in their power to promote self-government in the various territories for which they are responsible, in accordance with the circumstances of each case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies by what reductions in the services of the Public Works Department and of other governmental services the announced saving of £850,000 in the annual expenditure of the Government of Northern Rhodesia is to be secured.

The Northern Rhodesia Government consider that a saving of at least £850,000 can be effected without lowering the standard of services for the public, by a more efficient and intensive use of men and materials. £380,000 plus consequential savings will be effected by leaving all but essential staff vacancies unfilled. Apart from this, the Public Works Department aims at saving £249,000, including £60,000 on building maintenance and £46,000 on road maintenance. A long-term "streamlining" of the Department is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is being taken to improve communications in the Southern Cameroons, in view of the complaint made in the Annual Report of the Medical Department that there is no air, river or railway service for the evacuation of patients or the transport of staff or medical stores.

Better communications are certainly required in the Cameroons, and every effort is being made to improve them. The cost and the practical difficulties owing to the difficult terrain and the very many rains are formidable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is being taken to provide hospitals for mental or infectious diseases in the Southern Cameroons, in view of the statement in the Annual Report of the Medical Department that none have been established in the territory.

I am asking the Governor-General, Federation of Nigeria, about this and will write to the hon. Member when I have the information.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is being taken to provide training centres in the Southern Cameroons for medical practitioners, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, X-ray technicians, grade one midwives, assistant leprosy inspectors, health inspectors, Native Authority sanitary inspectors, and dispensary attendants, in view of the statement in the Annual Report of the Medical Department that no such centres exist.

I am asking the Governor-General, Federation of Nigeria, about this and will write to the hon. Member when I have the information.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the estimated number of sufferers from yaws, malaria and leprosy in Northern Nigeria; and how many, respectively, receive treatment.

It is not possible to give exact estimates. In some areas the incidence of yaws is as high as 10 per cent. of the population; but over 250,000 patients have been given treatment in the last four years.Nearly all the population have probably at one time or another suffered from malaria. A pilot control scheme, worked out in co-operation with the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children's Fund and aiming at the complete eradication of the disease, now covers about 500,000 people.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the number of schools and children in regular attendance at school in Nyasaland in 1953 and on the latest available date.

I am asking the Governor for the latest available information and will circulate it, together with that for 1953, in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the labour troubles and growing unemployment in Hargeisa, British Somaliland Protectorate; and what action he has taken in the matter.

A ten-day strike of daily rated employees of the Public Works Department in Hargeisa occurred last month. The strike was supported by some privately-employed domestic servants. Discussions took place between the Government and representatives of the strikers which led to a resumption of work. Wage increases for Government labour, which were in fact pending at the time of the strike, were announced shortly afterwards, and since this incident no further unrest has occurred. The employment position is better than usual for the time of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that promoters of greyhound racing are limited to 104 meetings per year, but that, if through inclement weather race meetings have to be cancelled, this maximum figure is pro tanto reduced; and whether it is permissible, under his regulations, for promoters, in consultation with the licensing authorities and interested parties, to arrange these cancelled race meetings on other dates.

The limit of 104 days on which betting facilities may be provided on a licensed greyhound track is imposed by the Betting and Lotteries Act, 1934; the days must be fixed annually by the licensing authority and there is no provision for changing them once they have been fixed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he is aware that his regulations limit greyhound racing promoters to 104 meetings on specified days in each year; and to what penalty a promoter is liable if he arranges to promote meetings on days other than those specified, for the purpose of recovering race meetings which have had to be cancelled or postponed due to inclement weather or other exceptional reasons, provided the maximum of 104 meetings per annum is not exceeded;(2) whether he is aware that the present regulations restricting promoters of greyhound racing to 104 meetings per year make no allowance for meetings cancelled due to inclement weather and other exceptional reasons; and whether he will take the necessary action to ensure that these promoters will be able to rearrange these meetings on agreed alternative dates.

The maximum penalties for allowing betting on days other than the 104 days fixed by the licensing authority under the Betting and Lotteries Act, 1934, are set out in Section 30 of the Act. Legislation, of which I cannot indicate a prospect, would be required to allow the days fixed to be altered subsequently.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of shop premises in which illegal ready-money betting is known to have been transacted; how many police raids have taken place on such premises; and what has been the number of people arrested and the total of fines imposed in the past year at any convenient date.

I regret that the information is not available for England and Wales as a whole. In the Metropolitan Police District in the year 1957, 228 search warrants were executed in respect of places of all kinds in which illegal ready-money betting was suspected of taking place contrary to the Betting Act, 1853. 625 persons were arrested. Fines and costs imposed on persons convicted amounted to a little over £7,700; two cases have yet to be disposed of.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the concern prevalent in the fire service at the delay in implementing the pay increase to firewomen, recommended by the National Joint Council on 17th October last; and what action he proposes to take in this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what grounds he has vetoed the increase in firewomen's pay agreed by the National Joint Council in September, 1957.

After carefully considering the recommendations of the National Joint Council, I referred them back to the Council on 14th February for further consideration and report in accordance with the provisions of the Fire Services Act, 1947. I made it clear that I agreed in principle to an increase in the pay of firewomen, but I asked the Council to reconsider the particular pay increases which they had recommended because approval of these rates would result in percentage increases not only considerably greater than that granted to firemen in June, 1957, but also greater in certain respects than could be justified by comparison with the local government scale to which firewomen's pay has hitherto corresponded.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Metropolitan Police have announced that cars carrying Corps Diplomatique plates will not be towed away even when causing obstruction.

No such announcement has been made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why he has declined to permit an elderly Polish lady, Mrs. Katarzyna, to continue to reside with her son and daughter-in-law at West Hartlepool, having regard to the fact that there is sufficient accommodation in the son's home, and that the son, Stefan Poll, has given a written undertaking that he will continue to provide a home and keep for his mother for the rest of her days.

Mrs. Katarzyna Slacowska was admitted to this country for two months on 22nd September, 1957, to visit her son who had previously given an assurance that his mother would leave at the end of her permitted stay. An application made four days after her arrival for permission to stay here permanently was refused, in accordance with long-standing policy, because she has a husband and relatives in Poland. Her permitted stay was, however, extended to 31st January. I can find no ground for any further extension.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will have an inquiry made into the conduct of the police in dispersing a number of people demonstrating outside No. 10, Downing Street, on Monday, 17th February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take in connection with the treatment received at the hands of the Metropolitan Police by a constituent of the hon. Member for Greenwich and who is a Greenwich borough councillor, on Monday, 17th February, in Whitehall, particulars of which have already been transmitted to him with a statement by an eye witness.

I have received a report from the Commissioner of Police on the incidents in Downing Street on 17th February. This shows that during the course of the action taken to disperse demonstrators eight persons were arrested for obstruction and for assaulting the police. Three police officers and one member of the public received injuries. The latter, who is a constituent of the hon. Member for Greenwich, has since complained about the conduct of the police. This complaint, and other complaints of a less specific nature, including those which have appeared in the Press, are being fully investigated, and I will write to the hon. Members when the inquiries are completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what decision has been reached on the applications of Joaquim Perez-Selles, a Spanish citizen, for asylum as a political refugee.

I have gone into this case very carefully and can find no grounds for allowing this stowaway to remain in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to permit shops in seaside towns like Cleethorpes to open on more than 18 Sundays in the year, in view of the fact that rents have increased some 120 per cent., wages 75 per cent. and rates 200 per cent., that whilst fancy goods, buckets and spades, are not allowed to be sold they can be given away in the amusement arcades, and that an extra eight days' Sunday openings would be an added amenity to visitors.

This would require legislation, about which I can give no undertaking.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, after studying the problem of compensation for victims of crimes of violence, he will now make a statement of Government policy.

This is a difficult problem and I do not expect to be able to make a statement on it for some time

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he has circulated regarding the administration of drugs to accused persons in order to obtain information from them.

None; and I have no reason to think that such action is called for.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that certain members of the Royal Air Force and of the United States Air Force receive special training in dealing with the dangers of unfissioned nuclear materials released from crashed aircraft carrying nuclear weapons but that no such training is given to members of the fire brigades serving those parts of the country regularly flown over by such aircraft; and whether he will arrange for the immediate amendment of the standard instructions to fire brigades in order that selected members of those brigades may receive such training.

For the reasons which I explained to the House on 4th February, it has not hitherto been considered necessary to add any special instructions relating to aircraft carrying nuclear weapons to the standard instructions issued to local services, including the fire service, on the action to be taken in relation to crashed aircraft. But these standard instructions are kept continually under review and will be added to and amended as necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that the police pension element of the police officers' disability pension has been reduced by the precise amount of the recent National Insurance pension increase, and that, as the insurance contribution payable by those compelled to take on part-time employment has been increased by 2s. per week, this means that the alleged increase has meant an actual reduction of income by this 2s. per week; and if he will take steps to rectify this injustice.

The injury provisions of the police pensions scheme guarantee to officers disabled on duty a minimum weekly income in respect of their injury, which is payable from police funds or the National Insurance schemes, or, normally, a combination of both. The effect of a particular increase in the National Insurance element will depend on the circumstances of the particular case, but may involve a reduction in the contribution from police funds. Where increased contributions such as those to which the hon. Member refers are payable, they are in respect of benefits for which the pensioner would be eligible subsequently under the national insurance scheme and have no connection with his injury award.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made of the persons who actually took part in the mailbag robbery of 22nd May, 1952, when £250,000 in cash was stolen from a Post Office mail van in London; and whether he is satisfied with the progress made by Scotland Yard in their inquiries in this case.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that no arrest has yet been made in this case. I have no reason to think that the Metropolitan Police have not taken all possible action.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the £150 election deposit was first introduced; what would be the relative purchasing value of this £150 today, taking the £1 as having a purchasing value of 20s. at that date; and whether he will increase the electoral deposit of £150 to coincide with present-day purchasing values.

The £150 deposit was first introduced in 1918, and legislation would be required to alter it. The relative purchasing value today would b0e about £325.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in HANSARD a table showing the number of persons in his Department who have been refused and granted wage and salary increases, respectively, since the Government's appeal for wage restraint; and why increases have been granted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he last visited Glasgow on behalf of Her Majesty's Government; and for what purpose.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is generally responsible for Scottish administration. My recent visits have been private and made on the invitation of those connected with the university.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the overwhelming majority of Her Majesty's subjects are strongly opposed to stag-hunting; and whether he will give facilities for further consideration of present legislation to prohibit stag-hunting.

I can hold out no hope of Government time being made available for a Bill on this subject.

The following is the reply:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the disquiet felt by the public at the continued hooliganism being shown by university students, especially when Her Majesty's Ministers are carrying out their State duties; and whether he will introduce the necessary legislation to prevent these happenings in the future.

Yes; but I am not satisfied that fresh legislation is appropriate or required.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will consider a permanent arrangement between the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, particularly those in Asia and Africa, for periodic temporary exchange of teachers, nurses and others.

My noble Friend is always prepared to consider sympathetically any practical suggestions put to him for co-operating with other Commonwealth countries whether through the medium of any technical assistance scheme of which the United Kingdom is a member or by other arrangement.In reply to a Question put by the hon. Member on 13th February, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education gave details of the exchange scheme for teachers already operated with some Commonwealth countries, including the Union of South Africa and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The primary need of the Asian Commonwealth countries and Ghana is for teachers from this country rather than for post-to-post exchanges where differences in salaries and qualifications often create formidable difficulties. Every effort is being made to encourage and assist teachers from the United Kingdom to take up posts in these countries, and to provide training in suitable fields in this country for teachers from Commonwealth countries in Asia and Africa.Under existing arrangements, the United Kingdom Government meets requests from Commonwealth countries in Asia under the Colombo Plan for nurses and other health service personnel needed in those countries to give training. Similarly the United Kingdom Government assist Asian trainees to come to the United Kingdom for training as nurses, etc. There is a mutual technical assistance scheme in operation with Ghana under which similar arrangements can be made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what information, other than that included in its annual reports, is available to him from the Commonwealth Economic Committee showing the growth of population and income per head throughout the Commonwealth, and in Canada, the Union of South Africa, the Central African Federation, India, Pakistan, Australia and the dependent territories taken together, respectively, since the war over a convenient period.

The Committee's work is in the field of Commonwealth production, trade and consumption and not in that of population or national income statistics. Information of the kind requested is not therefore available in the regular and periodical reports of the Committee.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what facilities exist in the Bechuanaland Protectorate for technical education and agricultural education, respectively; and what further developments are planned in these fields.

Technical training for Bechuanaland Protectorate students is provided at the Lerotholi Technical School in Basutoland. Plans are in hand to build a Trades School in the Bechuanaland Protectorate. There is a Veterinary Training School. There is no agricultural school, as the economy of the Protectorate is pastoral, rather than agricultural, but agricultural demonstrators give lectures and supervise practical work in ordinary schools.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations in what areas regional advisory councils are functioning in the Bechuanaland Protectorate; what are their powers and duties; and what effort is being made to link these upon a Protectorate basis.

In the Bamangwato and Bangwaketse Reserves Tribal and Area Councils have been constituted and inaugural meetings will be held shortly. In the Bakwena Reserve a Tribal Council is to be established soon. In the Batawana Reserve Area Councils are functioning and the formation of a Tribal Council is shortly to be discussed by the people in kgotla. In the Tati District Area Councils have been established and the constitution of a central council is under consideration.The duties of these Advisory Councils are described in the reply by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary to Questions on 1st November, 1956, by the hon. Members for Wavertree (Mr. Tilney) and Bristol, South-East (Mr. Benn).It is hoped to arrange that, where a Chief and Tribe agree, some of the African Advisory Council members from that Tribe should be elected by the Tribal Council.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what are the numbers of students taking the General Certificate of Education examination at Moeng College, Bechuanaland Protectorate; and what would be the additional annual recurrent expense and the number of teachers required to institute a two years additional course at the college.

No students at Moeng College take the General Certificate of Education examination. In the final year of the secondary course students at Moeng College sit for the University of South Africa Matriculation examinations. If successful in these they are eligible for admission to two-year courses in schools in Southern Rhodesia which prepare students for entry to the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.It is estimated that to institute a similar two-year additional course at Moeng College would require two extra teachers, an additional classroom and staff quarters. The initial cost is estimated at £6,500, and the recurrent annual cost at £1,500.

asked the Undersecretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what reply has been sent to the communication from the Government of Ghana regarding the offer of President Eisenhower to use the good offices of the United States Government to examine possible ways under which the Volta Plan might be started.

The communication to which the hon. Member refers was an informal one requiring no reply. But the United Kingdom Government, of course, welcome this evidence of the United States Government's interest in the Project.

asked the Minister of Education if he will amend the Provision of Milk and Meals Regulations so as to extend to voluntary institutions, particularly orphanages, the arrangements for providing school meals at reduced charges at present limited to parents who can prove financial hardship.

In the Education Acts and these Regulations the term "parent" already includes anyone who has the actual custody of a child; but voluntary institutions must be assumed to have the financial resources necessary to maintain the children they take into their care.

asked the Minister of Education how many of the thirty new grammar schools and the 100 major extensions to be built in the coming year will be built in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

One complete school and eleven major extensions.

asked the Minister of Education how many children in secondary modern and in comprehensive schools, respectively, chose in the latest convenient period to stay an additional one and two years, respectively; and what proportion such numbers were to the relevant age group.

I will send this information to my hon. Friend as soon as up to date figures have been extracted.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations have been made to the United States of America by the Treasury delegation now in Washington with regard to the relaxation of restrictions on exports to Communist countries; and whether he will make a statement on the revision of the restricted list of exports.

The recent visit of senior United Kingdom officials to Washington took place as part of a regular process of routine consultation with members of the United States administration on economic affairs. No question arose of "representations" on the strategic controls or on any other topic. Discussions have begun in Cocom to prepare the ground for a general revision of the present strategic control lists.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will inquire of the British directors on the Board of the Suez Canal Company what information they have on the efficiency of the present operation of the Suez Canal by the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority, whether a minimum water depth of 36 feet is being maintained, and whether the hazard to British ships in passing through the Suez Canal has increased or not under the present canal administration.

No. Such an inquiry would be unproductive.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the West German Government have appointed, as their consul in Hong Kong, Dr. Otto Braeutigam, who was a high official in the Nazi Government, and was connected with the liquidation of Jews, was tried at Nuremberg, and was suspended by the West German Foreign Office in 1956 for investigation into his wartime activities; and whether he will inform the West German Government that this man is unacceptable to Her Majesty's Government as German Consul in Hong Kong.

The appointment of Dr. Otto Bräutigam as Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Hong Kong was announced to my right hon. and learned Friend by the German Ambassador in January. Dr. Bräutigam joined the German Foreign Service in 1920. He was also for a time a member of the Nazi Party, but I am informed that he was expelled from it in 1940. He was not tried as a war criminal. He rejoined the Foreign Service in 1953.In January, 1956, the German Government ordered an inquiry into accusations which had been published against Dr. Bräutigam's conduct during the war, and he was meanwhile suspended from his functions in the Foreign Ministry. The inquiry concluded that the accusations against Dr. Bräutigam were incorrect, and that he had in fact done all he could to assist Jews and people persecuted by the Third Reich. My right hon. and learned Friend sees no reason to object to the appointment.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the confusion caused by a yearly period being used by the World Health Organisation division on the functioning of the International Sanitary Regulations, which differs from that used in the yearly records of all diseases given in the statistical publications of the Organisation, and of the fact that the yearly period used by the division does not cover the actual year it purports to refer to, he will make representations with a view to arranging that the year for records of all departments of the World Health Organisation in respect of diseases shall run from 1st January to 31st December.

I will convey the hon. Member's suggestion to the World Health Organisation.

asked the Minister of Health what is the net annual cost of drugs prescribed under the National Health Service after the yield from the prescription charges has been deducted.

In 1956–57, the net cost of the pharmaceutical services in England and Wales, after deducting patients' payments, was £52·633 million.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state for the latest convenient date the number of persons unemployed in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively, giving separate figures for skilled and unskilled workers.

At 13th January, the total numbers of unemployed persons on the registers of employment changes were 288,758 in England, 72,969 in Scotland and 33,800 in Wales. Precise analyses according to skill are not available, but the latest quarterly occupational analysis shows that at 9th December, 1957, 86,000 out of 161,000 wholly unemployed men aged 18 and over on the registers in England were classified as labourers, the corresponding figure for Scotland being 24,000 out of 37,000 and for Wales 11,000 out of 17,000.The remainder included the following numbers of men in the building and engineering, etc. groups of occupations:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when work will start, and when it is expected to finish, on the widening and improvement of the Lanark—Hamilton road between Cross-ford and Underbank School.

This scheme, which is on a classified road, is the responsibility of Lanark County Council as highway authority. I have authorised grant towards its cost, and I understand that the county council hopes to start work this summer and to complete it during 1959.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to give effect to the recommendations of the Franks Committee in relation to Scottish inquiries.

Consultations are in progress with the Scottish local authority associations about the detailed arrangements necessary to give effect to those of the relevant recommendations that the Government have accepted, so far as this can be done by administrative means. I hope that the new arrangements can be brought into operation within the next few weeks.

asked the Minister of Supply if he can give an estimate of the cost of compensation to the victims and families of those who were killed and injured in the air crash of the Britannia airliner at Downend, Bristol.

No. The aircraft had not at the time of the accident been delivered to my Department under our contract and the Bristol Aeroplane Company were responsible for the risks of flight. One of the occupants was a Royal Air Force officer, and his dependants are being, compensated at Service rates. All the other occupants were in the service of their parent companies and the question of compensation rests with those companies.

asked the Minister of Supply how much overtime was performed by the staff of his Department during 1956 and 1957, respectively, expressed as a yearly average calculated on the total number of staff, whether actually employed on overtime or not.

The average expenditure on overtime per head of non-industrial staff employed in my Ministry during the years 1956 and 1957 amounted to £19 17s. and £12 13s. respectively.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many accidents and groundings to British registered shipping tonnage have taken place in the past six months in the Suez Canal; and how these figures compare with any other comparable period prior to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal.

According to the available information, six United Kingdom ships grounded in the Suez Canal between 1st September, 1957, and 25th February, 1958. During the six months 1st September, 1955–28th February, 1956, five United Kingdom ships grounded and two were involved in collisions.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what improvements are planned for the lavatory and passenger telephone facilities at the Southampton flying boat terminal.

None, but if the hon. Member will let me know of any complaint I will look into it.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will publish in HANSARD a table showing the annual number of passengers and the amount of freight carried by independent air operators since 1951; and what proportion these are of total British traffic.

Yes. The following are the figures. They relate to traffic on scheduled services including approved inclusive tours. The independent operators do not submit to the Ministry figures of traffic on charter services, but I understand that the British Independent Air Transport Association publish in their Annual Reports such figures for their members.