asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that, at the height of the currency crisis in September of last year, dollars amounting to £2 million were made available for the purchase of United States leather; and, in view of the fact that ample supplies of upper leather existed in this country, what was the object of making the first release of dollars since the war for this purpose at that time.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my statement of 2nd July last when I informed the House of the Government's decision to remove the import controls on a large number of commodities used in industry and to increase the dollar quota for leather to £2 million. By far the greatest part of this trade is with Canada.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware that the United States of America is sending samples of soil to the Soviet Academy of Science to be analysed for the radioactive fall-out content, particularly strontium 90, and that similar samples are to be sent from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; and what similar reciprocal arrangements exist between this country, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

There is no question of an interchange purely between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation has arranged a system whereby reference samples of such materials as bone-ash, soil and milk-ash can be circulated to any laboratory requesting them, together with a report of all previous measurements by other laboratories on the samples. The United States has supplied such samples to the Secretariat of the United Nations Scientific Committee, at the Committee's request, for distribution. United Kingdom laboratories participate in this scheme and have assayed some of these standard samples. The primary purpose of these reference samples is to enable laboratories to standardise their methods.

asked the Prime Minister what official published evidence exists that no detectable increase in the incidence of leukaemia or bone cancer is to be expected from the nuclear explosions which have taken place up to now.

The view of the Medical Research Council that no detectable increase in the incidence of leukaemia or bone cancer is to be expected from the nuclear explosions which have taken place up to now is based on considered assessment of all the published literature. The matter is kept under continuous review in the light of new evidence as it becomes available.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement on his recent discussions with the West German Chancellor, Dr. Adenauer.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the communiqué which was issued on 18th April at the conclusion of the discussions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provision he intends to make for the refunding of Purchase Tax to retailers who have been obliged to sell commodities subject to the new rate of tax after having paid Purchase Tax at the rate operative immediately before the Budget.

None. The Government accepted in 1953 the recommendation of the Hutton Committee that no compensation should be paid in these circumstances.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of revenue he estimates will be produced in a full financial year by the imposition of Purchase Tax on clogs and other wooden-soled footwear under Group 2 (c).

My right hon. Friend did not propose the withdrawal of this exemption for revenue reasons; the estimated yield will be small, but this is not a material factor.

Industry		Receipts into Exchequer		Issues from Exchequer
		Principal	Interest
		£	£	£
National Coal Board	…	506,769,221	25,459,696	588,150,000
Electricity Council	…	5,920,000	4,145,829	123,000,000
Gas Council	…	960,000	1,460,852	32,000,000
British Transport Commission	…	2,800,000	2,943,788	134,326,642*
British Overseas Airways Corporation	…	1,414,286	524,715	32,600,000
British European Airways Corporation	…	1,007,143	342,072	10,000,000
North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board	…	663,333	927,321	17,400,000
South of Scotland Electricity Board	…	210,000	321,842	12,000,000
* including a sum of £66,326,642 issued under the Transport (Railway Finances) Act, 1957.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that the Australian Government have banned the importation of all livestock from this country into Australia from next May, and that this will have a serious effect on our export trade in pedigree cattle; and what steps he is taking to reopen this market.

My right hon. Friend understands that the ban to which my hon. Friend refers is to take effect as from 1st June next. We have expressed our concern to the Australian Government and have made certain suggestions for their consideration.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what percentage of butter imports in the years 1955, 1956 and 1957 was from Commonwealth sources;

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the total amount from all sources received by the Exchequer from, or contributed by, the Exchequer to each of the nationalised industries in the last year for which complete figures are available.

The figures for the financial year 1957–58 are(2) what percentage of total butter consumption was home made in the years 1955, 1956, and 1957.

Commonwealth countries provided 64 per cent., 66 per cent. and 59 per cent. of our total butter imports in 1955, 1956 and 1957 respectively. Home production in those years provided 5 per cent., 7 per cent. and 9 per cent. of our total butter supplies.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to obtain scientific confirmation of the circumstantial evidence on which his Department attributes over half the primary outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Great Britain to infection brought by South American meat.

As I explained in the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend on 12th December, 1957, we collect all the information we can having a bearing on the origin of each outbreak. But the events that cause each case occur a week or more before the animals become ill and the trouble is reported. Therefore scientific confirmation is extremely difficult to obtain.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the consumption of milk in January, February, and March, this year, compared with the same period last year.

Liquid milk consumption in the United Kingdom in January, February and March this year is estimated to have been 376 million gallons—about 4 million gallons more than in the corresponding period of 1957.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will take steps to ensure that evaporated milk is sold free of metallic grit.

Manufacturers are liable to prosecution under the Food and Drugs Act, 1955, if evaporated milk contains metallic grit. I am satisfied that the powers of the local food and drugs authorities to deal with such cases are adequate and that no strengthening of the law is necessary.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of his decision not to establish a standard for the meat content of sausages, what steps he proposes to take to discourage local authorities from attempting to fix special standards which will be applicable to their own areas and thus impose difficulties with regard to the distribution on a nation-wide basis of sausages by large-scale manufacturers.

Food and drugs authorities have no power to fix food standards. My right hon. Friend has no reason to think that legal proceedings taken by them in respect of sausages with a low meat content impede national distribution.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect of the proposed 12-mile limit upon the British fishing fleet; to what extent he is prepared to subsidise the rebuilding of the fleet; and whether he will make a statement.

As I said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) on 24th March, there is no doubt that the effect would be serious; but questions of financial assistance clearly cannot be considered until the effects of any decisions taken at the Geneva Conference on the Law of the Sea are known.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has now completed his examination of policy for the marketing of horticultural products; and whether he will make a statement.

I am afraid I must ask the House to wait a little longer.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the amount of oil seeds imported annually; and what percentage of this comes from Commonwealth sources.

During the last five years annual imports of oil seeds have averaged 1,109,000 tons, 90 per cent, of which have come from Commonwealth sources.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will arrange with the Central Office of Information to display a poster in all village post offices publicising the new regulations prohibiting young children from riding on or driving farm machinery.

My right hon. Friend is grateful for this helpful suggestion which he will be glad to consider with my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what grounds legal action has been taken against seven elected African members of the Kenya Legislative Council.

The Attorney General of Kenya, whose decision alone it is whether to prosecute in such cases, has instituted proceedings against these Members for alleged libel and for conspiring to commit a misdemeanour. As the case is sub judice I can say no more about it at this stage; the grounds for the prosecution will be presented to the court at the hearing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on how many occasions the Indonesian Consulate-General has made representations to the Singapore Government concerning the activities of Sumatran rebel leaders who have entered the Colony clandestinely or as business men; and what replies were given.

None; the second part of the Question therefore does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the resolution, which was before the 14th Session of the United Nations on Cyprus and on which 33 nations voted in favour and 20 against, which expressed concern that more progress had not been made towards a solution of the problem, that the position was fraught with danger to peace and stability in that area, and expressed the hope that further negotiations would be undertaken with a view to having the right of self-determination applied in the case of Cyprus; and what steps are being taken after four months to implement it.

The voting to which the hon. Member refers took place in the First Committee upon the draft of a resolution which was then put forward for the consideration of the General Assembly in plenary session but was not adopted by it. The only resolution by the Assembly which still stands is that of February, 1957. Her Majesty's Government have sought to give effect to that resolution and have pledged their cooperation with all concerned to make further progress in giving effect to it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps he will take to arrest the deteriorating political situation in the island of Cyprus.

As I told the House on 15th April, as soon as I can profitably make a statement I will gladly do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies for what period of time Mr. George Baker was seconded to Washington as assistant to the Colonial Attaché in the British Embassy; and what jobs he has now been given by the Tanganyika Government.

Mr. Baker, a District Officer in Tanganyika, was attached to the Colonial Attache's Office for about 7½ months from the middle of April to the end of November, 1957. On his return to Tanganyika he has been posted as a District Commissioner to Tukuyu in the Southern Highlands Province.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will investigate the water supply to Belize with particular reference to the placing of an order for eight-inch pipes from the United States of America instead of 12-inch pipes from the United Kingdom; and whether he will state the cost of this project.

Proposals for increasing the water supply of Belize formed part of the development plan discussed with the delegation from British Honduras in January. It had been intended to arrange for installation of new pipes in May, 1959, but a prolonged drought has produced a critical situation, which will be aggravated by a large influx of people to Belize for the Royal visit in May. It became necessary, therefore, to take immediate steps to increase the water supply. By placing an order at once for eight-inch pipes immediately available from the United States it will be possible for the installation to be completed before the end of April. There would not have been time to get them from the United Kingdom.The total cost will be about £68,000, of which about £58,900 will be the cost of the pipes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what sum the Government of Nyasaland has allocated for new school buildings for Africans for the financial year 1957–58.

£359,488.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how the sterling balances for the Colonial Territories were divided between the various component territories at 31st December, 1957.

The total of £1,004 million, which includes £122 million Dominion and Colonial securities, was attributable to the regional groups as follows:

	£million
West Africa	295
East Africa and Aden	186
Borneo territories	94
West Indian territories(including Bermuda and Bahamas)	147
Hong Kong	140
Other territories*	142
* Excluding, for technical reasons, Singapore. Detailed figures for individual territories are not published.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement about the present constitutional position in Malta.

As the House will know, Dr. Borg Olivier informed the Governor last night that without a mandate from the people, he was not prepared to take office and form a Government, nor able to give advice. The Governor is seeing Mr. Mintoff again today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the sentences passed by the magistrate at Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia, on 2nd January, 1958, on five African boys charged with burglary; and how these compare with sentences authorised under the penal code of that territory.

I think there is some misapprehension about the date of the incidents which the hon. Member evidently has in mind, since no sentences of this kind were passed on 2nd January. The cases to which I think the hon. Member is alluding were heard on 27th and 30th January. The details are as follows:

1. Timothy Phiri was convicted on 9 counts of burglary and theft and was sentenced in aggregate to 15 strokes on four of the charges and to reform orders on the other five.

2. Brown Chilubula was convicted on two counts of burglary and theft and on one of theft. He was sentenced to 16 strokes in aggregate and was recommended for deportation to his village.

3. Stephen Rice Mpande was convicted on four counts of burglary and theft and one of theft, and sentenced to an aggregate of 17 strokes on the first four charges and to a reform order on the fifth count.

4. Santi Meleki was convicted on two charges of burglary and theft and sentenced to an aggregate of 22 strokes (eleven strokes on each charge). He was also recommended for deportation to his village.

5. Stanley Jeremiah was convicted on two counts of burglary and theft and one of theft. He was sentenced to an aggregate of 17 strokes and recommended for deportation to his village.

No appeal was entered against any of the above sentences but late on the evening of 31st January, 1958, the High Court intervened in the matter as the sentences appeared excessive to the Acting Chief Justice. At the time of the intervention eight strokes were still due to be inflicted on Stephen Rice Mpande, eleven on Santi Meleki and nine on Stanley Jeremiah.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will give an approximate date when the next elections for the Legislative Council for Mauritius will be held.

The present intention is that a General Election should be held when it next falls due, that is, within three months of the dissolution of the present Council whose five-year period expires at the end of August, 1958.The actual date of the election will depend on the completion of the necessary arrangements to bring the new system into operation and I cannot yet say when this will be.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (1) if he will make a statement on the recent interviews which representatives of the Government of Ghana had with Her Majesty's Treasury for the purpose of promoting the investment in Ghana of British funds and what results were achieved;(2) the subjects he discussed recently with the Ghanaian trade delegation to Britain and the results achieved.

The main purpose of the Ghana Trade and Good Will Mission which we recently welcomed to the United Kingdom was to stimulate further interest in Ghana in private industrial and financial circles, rather than to conduct official negotiations with Governmental authorities. I do not doubt that the contacts made by the Mission will lead to a further expansion of mutually beneficial trade and investment between the United Kingdom and Ghana.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations how many Basuto, Bechuana and Swazi, respectively, have been sent to the Co-operative College, at Lough-borough, to obtain a knowledge of business methods and co-operative trading.

None.

asked the Minister of Education how many additional special school places have been provided in each of the past six years; what are the categories of children for which they have been provided; and how many further places are estimated to be required in each category.

I am writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Education what action he is taking regarding World's Children's Day.

The organisation of the celebration of this Day on 11th June, 1958, is in the hands of the United Kingdom Committee for the United Nations International Children's Fund and the Save the Children Fund. I shall be sending a message to help give publicity to the celebrations.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is aware that on 1st April, 1951, when the price of a school dinner was only 7d., 2,773,527 pupils took the advantage of having this cheap meal and that this was 49·9 per cent. of the pupils present at school on that date, and that on 1st April, 1957, the price of the school dinner had risen to 1s., and the percentage taking the dinner had fallen to 45·9 per cent.; and when he hopes to publish the relevant figures for 1st April, 1958.

The figures given in my Answer to the hon. Member on 17th April relate to the number of pupils taking school dinners in the autumn of each year. I expect to be able to give the corresponding figures for this year in the late autumn.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the continuing increase in convictions for drunkenness of young people; whether he will institute a Departmental or other public inquiry into the sources from which adolescents obtain intoxicants or acquire the habit of indulging in them, with particular reference to the times of day and the types of intoxicant; and what penalties have been recently imposed on those who supply intoxicating liquor to persons under 18.

My right hon. Friend shares the hon. Member's concern, though it is only fair to say that the number of convictions remains small in proportion to the population under 18, and he is considering ways of obtaining more information about the problem.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the number of policemen injured on duty in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan force, in all years for 1938, 1939 and 1945 to date, and a similar table showing the number of crimes in which violence was used.

The numbers of members of the Metropolitan police granted sick leave in the years referred to, after being assaulted in the execution of their duty, are given in the first part of the following table.Similar figures for other police forces in England and Wales are not available.Comprehensive figures of crimes in which violence was used are not available; but the second part of the table shows the numbers of indictable offences classified as involving violence against the person which were known to the police in the years in question.

TABLE I
Year			Metropolitan police officers granted sick leave as a result of assaults in the execution of their duty
1938	…	…	222
1939	…	…	185
1945	…	…	199
1946	…	…	149
1947	…	…	145
1948	…	…	138
1949	…	…	124
1950	…	…	130
1951	…	…	183
1952	…	…	159
1953	…	…	168
1954	…	…	155
1955	…	…	140
1956	…	…	198
1957	…	…	207
The figures relate to male officers only and include, as separate cases, any second or subsequent periods of sick leave attributable to a particular assault.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has regarding the effect of radar speed meters in checking speeding and cutting down accidents where tried in Great Britain; and when it is proposed to use this device in Wales.

The use of the radar speed meter on an experimental basis in the Metropolitan Police District was started only three months ago, and I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that it is too early to form any estimate of its effects on compliance with the law relating to speed limits and on numbers of accidents. My hon. Friend may have seen reports of a statement by the Chief Constable of Lancashire that there was a reduction in the number of accidents when the meter was taken into use in the county. It is for the chief officer of police in any area to decide whether a particular method of enforcing the speed limit should be adopted.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (1) under what new or special powers his spot-check examiners for the roadworthiness of cars will be entitled to enter car parks and garages and stop on suspicion upon the highway any vehicle they may feel disposed to detain;(2) what special uniform, or new warrant of authority, will be worn or carried by his spot-check examiners of the roadworthiness of cars to distinguish them from persons, upon the highways and elsewhere, posing as his officials for the purpose of holding up law-abiding owners of old vehicles.

The powers, which are not new and relate only to stopping a vehicle on a road, are contained in Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, 1956. No vehicle can be stopped on the road for a test except by a police constable in uniform.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how much cash he expects to collect from motorists through his proposed 15s. a time roadworthiness tests for old cars during the first full year of operation of the scheme.

About £100,000 in a full year, which ought to cover the cost of administering the scheme.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, as in previous years, he will suspend the call-up of agricultural workers during the harvest period.

Yes. After consultation with my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, I am arranging for the call-up of agricultural workers to be suspended for a period of 14 weeks during this year's harvest time. The dates will vary according to the needs of the different areas and will be determined later in the light of the position in each area.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty for how many months during the years 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957, the submarine H.M.S. "Tactician" was not available for exercises due to breakdowns and defects of various types; and what was the total cost of making good these defects.

Four months. The cost was £61,000.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the number of men and women, respectively, who have been de-retired for the purpose of earning retirement increments, classified also by civil status.

The following table gives the available information:

"De-retirements" from 5th August, 1957, to 31st March, 1958
Men with wives over 60 pensioned on husbands' insurance	202
Other men	844
Women pensioned on own insurance	282
Widows pensioned on late husbands' insurance	116
Total (excluding wives pensioned on their husbands' insurance)	1,444

asked the Paymaster-General if, in view of the increasing number of fatalities in Scotland arising from coal-gas poisoning, he will indicate the results of the investigation by the Gas Council's Watson House Research Centre into this problem.

The prevention of accidental gas poisoning fatalities is largely a problem of safeguarding aged and handicapped consumers, and the Watson House Research Centre has given particular attention to the design and testing of gas cookers and hot plates especially for the use of these consumers. A special hot plate is at present being manufactured and will shortly be on sale, and work on the design of a cooker is in an advanced stage. The Centre is also working on the design of cookers with safe ignition for general use, on methods of increasing the safety of cookers already in use, and on the possibility of increasing the odour of gas.