asked the Paymaster-General if he is yet in a position to make a statement about the outcome of the inquiry into the proposal to site a nuclear power station in the Snowdon National Park.

No. The Central Electricity Generating Board has now presented the memorandum about which I informed my hon. Friend on 19th May, and the other interests represented at the public inquiry have been asked to submit any comments they may wish to make on it by the end of June.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what ingredients are permitted by his Regulations for use in the manufacture of ice cream.

The Regulations lay down minimum standards for sugar, fat and milk solids other than fat, but do not otherwise limit the manufacturer's freedom to use other ingredients.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the recent announcements of several North European Maritime Governments about sea territorial limits, if he will make a comprehensive statement indicating his plans for the protection of the traditional and customary rights of the British fishing industry.

The only Government which has stated its intention to extend fishery limits unilaterally is the Government of Iceland. The attitude of Her Majesty's Government to that statement is contained in the Declaration published on 4th June to which I cannot add at present.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will arrange for the traps which have been approved under the Pests Act, 1954, to be exhibited in the House.

Yes. These traps will be exhibited in the Upper Waiting Hall of the House of Commons on Thursday, 19th June. I have arranged for one of my pests staff to be in attendance to demonstrate the working of the traps.

asked the Minister of Supply what progress he is making in finding alternative tenants for the space that is about to become vacant at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Cardiff.

No applicant for this factory has yet been found, but my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and I are continuing our efforts to attract a suitable purchaser or tenant.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the proposal of the Welsh Hospital Board to appoint an additional consultant to the Graig Hospital, Pontypridd, will not fulfil the medical needs of this hospital; and why there is such a wide variation in the standards of medical staffing between similar types of hospital in South Wales.

I am not satisfied that the effect of this appointment can yet be assessed. With regard to the second part of the Question, I am not aware of variations in medical staffing at these hospitals which are not justified by the variations in the nature and amount of work to be done.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make a statement on the two recent fatal accidents in the Royal Gwent Hospital as a result of two patients falling out of the window in the ward.

I have learned with great regret of these two fatalities. The first occurred on 2nd May, when a patient fell from a ward window on the first floor and sustained a fracture of the spine. The coroner in this case recorded an open verdict. The second occurred on 31st May when a patient fell from the window of a sluice unit on the third floor. He died on 1st June from multiple injuries. An inquest is to be held on 17th June.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the report on emergency telephone and other arrangements at Lewisham Hospital in connection with the Southern Region railway disaster at St. Johns; and what action is being taken.

Yes. In general the arrangements appear to have worked well, and I should like to take this opportunity of paying a tribute to all who took part in meeting a very difficult situation. Detailed points have been discussed by representatives of the services concerned, and steps have been taken in this region to arrange for ex-directory lines at major hospitals and for a review of their telephone communications. The report has been circulated to all regional hospital boards, and consideration is being given to certain matters by my officers with a view to further action if required.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give a direction to Regional Hospital Boards not to place orders for cotton textile materials that have been manufactured abroad.

No. Hospital authorities are already well aware of the desirability of using goods of United Kingdom manufacture so far as practicable and I see no reason for any further instructions.

asked the Minister of Health the terms of reference of the working party set up to consider the medical staffing structure of the hospitals.

To study, in the light of experience of the hospital service since 1948 and of all other relevant considerations, the principles on which the medical staffing structure in the hospital service should be organised.

asked the Minister of Health what member of the Hospitals Staffing Working Party is qualified to assess the special needs of the mental hospitals in relation to medical staffing; and whether, in view of the composition of the working party, it is his intention to exclude from their consideration the problem of mental hospital staffing.

As the terms of reference indicate, the working party is to study the principles on which the medical staffing structure should be organised and not the number of staff required by individual hospitals. The working party is well equipped to cover the hospital service generally and I see no reason to modify its terms of reference.

asked the Minister of Health what provision is made in hospitals in West Cornwall for dealing with emergency cases; what proportion of such cases arise out of road accidents; and to what extent these increase in the holiday months.

All general hospitals in West Cornwall deal with emergency cases, but most of the more serious accident cases are taken to the Royal Cornwall Infirmary at Truro, which is the main traumatic and orthopaedic surgery centre for the area. It would require a special analysis of admissions, which I do not think would be justified, to establish what proportion of emergency cases arises from road accidents and to what extent road accident cases increase in holiday months. But the increase is certainly substantial.

asked the Minister of Health the number of mental health tutors, male and female, separately, employed in mental hospitals as at 31st December on each of the five years prior to 1957, inclusive.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health when he proposes to publish the interim report from the Committee on Prescribing under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Hinchliffe.

On 23rd June. I am already in consultation with the British Medical Association and other organisations as a preliminary to deciding how far the recommendations of the Committee can be put into effect.I am very glad of this opportunity to express my appreciation of the Committee's work.

asked the Minister of Health what steps the Warwickshire County Council is taking to provide additional Part III accommodation for those people who will suffer eviction under the Rent Act, 1957.

The Warwickshire County Council is mindful of the terms of its statutory duty defined by Part III of the National Assistance Act, 1948, but no special steps are expected to be necessary in regard thereto.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the supplement to Public Service, June issue, entitled "Our National Health Service Celebrates; 10 Years of Triumph", a copy of which has been sent to him; and whether he will arrange to have this circulated under the auspices of his Department before 5th July, 1958, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the National Health Service.

While my Department were glad to make available any factual and statistical material, they had no responsibility for its presentation and it would not be appropriate for any particular publication of this kind to be circulated under my auspices.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will now review the advice given by the Departmental Committee on Morphine and Heroin Addiction in 1926.

Yes. In consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I have appointed a Committee with the following terms of reference:

To review in the light of more recent developments the advice given by the Departmental Committee on Morphine and Heroin Addiction in 1926; to consider whether any revised advice should also cover other drugs liable to produce addiction or to be habit-forming; to consider whether there is a medical need to provide special, including institutional, treatment outside the resources already available, for persons addicted to drugs; and to make recommendations, including proposals for any administrative measures that seem expedient, to the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland.

The membership of the Committee is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many British subjects and British ships have been attacked or injured during recent weeks in Indonesia; what representations have been made, or other action taken, on their behalf; and whether he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the Answer which my right hon. Friend gave to a similar Question by the right hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell) on 11th of June.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that Ukranians enjoying the hospitality of this country as political refugees are in constant receipt of propaganda directed to them from an agency in East Berlin inviting them to return; and, in view of the distress and uncertainty that this is causing these people, whether he will make appropriate diplomatic representations with a view to these activities being discontinued.

My right hon. and learned Friend is aware that Ukranian refugees in this country often receive leaflets urging them to return to the Soviet Union. I can understand that this propaganda may cause apprehension and distress. But so long as the law is not broken, Her Majesty's Government cannot intervene. I do not think that diplomatic representations would help. The organisation which conducts this propaganda would not be deterred by such representations.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action he has taken with regard to recommendation 164 of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe for the preparation of a draft European Convention for the reduction of the number of cases of multiple nationality.

This recommendation is still on the Agenda of the Ministers' Deputies and no decision has been taken.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what, under his regulations, is the minimum weight of butter which may be sold over the counter by retailers.

The Sale of Food (Weights and Measures) Act, 1926, does not place restrictions on the amounts in which butter may be sold unless the butter is prepacked. Prepacked butter, unless below 2 oz. in weight, may only be sold in quantities of 2 oz., 4 oz., in multiples of ¼ lb. up to 2 lb., in multiples of½ lb. up to 4 lb. and in multiples of lbs. thereafter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he has taken on the Report of the Select Committee on the Manchester Corporation Bill.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given on 12th June to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Knutsford (Lieut.-Colonel Bromley-Davenport).

asked the President of the Board of Trade what measures he is willing to use to encourage new industry to be established in Lanark, Carluke and East Kilbride which lie within the Scottish Development Area; and whether he will support applications for credit facilities and the raising of capital by any suitable companies willing to move to either of these places.

As I said on 16th April in the course of the Budget debate, the Government will in future confine assistance to places inside the Development Areas where it is really necessary and are seeking wider powers for the Treasury to give financial assistance to places outside as well as inside the Development Areas where there is a high rate of unemployment which is likely to persist. None of the three places mentioned in the Question appears to meet these criteria. At East Kilbride, the Development Corporation provides factories for lease or on mortgage terms.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals the Government now have for granting asylum to any of the political refugees who are now being transferred from Hong Kong to different parts of the world.

The United Kingdom has made a substantial contribution to the solution of the refugee problem and Her Majesty's Government cannot agree that refugees from China who have no connection with this country should be brought here for settlement. I am however always prepared to consider any compassionate case involving the reunion of a family or a case where close connection with the United Kingdom would justify admission.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employed persons are now covered by private pension and superannuation schemes.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Loughborough (Mr. Cronin) on 31st March.

asked the Chancellor of die Exchequer why the 48th Report of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, for the year ended 31st March, 1957, containing 197 pages, costs 9s. 6d. per copy, whereas the 39th Report, for the year ended 31st March, 1948, containing 170 pages, cost 3s. 0d.; and what addition to the cost of the 1948 Report was caused by the insertion of a picture of the London Customs House as it was 100 years ago.

The difference in price between the 39th and 48th Reports of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise is entirely due to the increase in printing and publication costs over the past ten years.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the estimated cost of refits for the repair ship H.M.S. "Ausonia" during the financial years 1953–54 to 1958–59, inclusive.

The cost of refits for H.M.S. "Ausonia" during the financial years 1953–54 to 1958–59 inclusive is estimated at approximately £1·4 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in which Colonies the text of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights is available; from which address it may be purchased in each Colony; at what price; in what languages it is printed; and whether it has been translated and printed in all the main local languages used in each Colony.

This information is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of applications for passports in each of the last five years, and the number of such applications granted, in Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

The number of these applications and issues is as follows:

—	Applications					Issues
	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957
Uganda	2,911	2,909	3,764	3,644	3,368	2,911	2,907	3,764	3,641	3,368
Kenya	Not Available					12,515	11,788	10,738	11,232	11,165
Tanganyika	Not Available					6,874	5,400	5,481	4,999	4,606
Zanzibar	1,106	1,629	1,778	1,383	1,084	1,106	1,629	1,778	1,383	1,083
Northern Rhodesia	3,474	3,262	2,892	2,993	3,276	3,427	3,222	2,864	2,978	3,256
Nyasaland	Not Available					1,515	1,443	864	707	822

NOTES:(1) Full records of applications are not kept in Tanganyika, Kenya, or Nyasaland. There are many applications which lapse or are withdrawn, such as those made to cover travel to neighbouring territories for which no passports are necessary. The following applications over the five years have been refused: Kenya, 2; Tanganyika, 6; and Nyasaland, nil.(2) Refusals in Northern Rhodesia relate mainly to Africans who apply for passports for travel to territories where such travel documents are not required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Somalis in the British Somaliland Protectorate hold senior posts in the Secretariat, Treasury, judicial and public works departments; how many Somalis are being trained for positions in each of these departments, respectively; and what qualifications are required.

, pursuant to his reply, [OFFICIAL REPORT, 8th May, 1958; Vol. 587, c. 1404–5], supplied the further following information:

Department		Somali officers holding senior posts	Somali officers under training
Secretariat	…	Nil*	3
Treasury	…	1	3
Judicial	…	Nil	2
Public Works		2	11
* One Somali Administrative Officer will be posted into the Secretariat in July.

A number of Somalis, additional to those detailed above, have been selected for advanced training and will be placed in institutes of higher education outside the Protectorate at the earliest opportunity. Opportunity also exists for Somali officers in the Junior Service to be promoted to the Senior Service on the basis of ability, experience and character.The qualification normally required for new entrants to the Administration is a university degree; but this may be waived in the case of promotions of Somali officers from the Junior Service. For professional posts in the Judicial and Public Works Department, full professional qualifications are normally required. In the inspecting and supervisory grades of the Public Works Department, the appropriate City and Guilds qualification is normally required. The qualifications for promotion to the post of Accountant in the Accountant-General's Department may vary, but some accountancy qualification at a level lower than that of chartered accountant is normally required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what plans have been made for the establishment of the University of Nigeria at Nsukka; when it is expected the university will be open; how many students it will serve; the estimated cost; and what financial contribution is being made by Her Majesty's Government.

This is the responsibility of the Government of the Eastern Region, Nigeria, but I understand that a firm of British architects has been asked to draw up tentative and preliminary plans for a university. Representatives of the Inter University Council for Higher Education Overseas and of the International Co-operation Administration of the United States have visited Eastern Nigeria with a view to making a preliminary survey but their report has not yet been submitted to the Government of the Eastern Region. Proposals have not reached a sufficiently advanced stage for me to be able to answer the other points raised.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what undertaking was given by the United Kingdom delegate to the Trusteeship Council during its latest Session to consider reforms of the voting system in Tanganyika after the next elections; and what proposals are now under consideration.

I have been asked to reply. In discussion on Tanganyika at the 21st Session of the Trusteeship Council, the United Kingdom Representative recalled the Governor's statement that electoral arrangements, such as a review of the constituencies and of the parity system of representation, would be amoung the matters to be considered by the Post Elections Constitutional Committee which it is proposed to appoint after the first territorial elections have been completed in September, 1959. No changes in the voting system are under consideration at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the British Council in Sierra Leone is housed in condemned buildings in Freetown, and that this is having a bad effect upon public opinion in the Colony; and what measures he will take to alter this state of things.

The unsatisfactory state of the building has been reported to me by the Governor and to the Council by its representative in Sierra Leone. Difficult problems arise however over the site, form and cost of a new centre, which are being examined urgently.

asked the Postmaster-General when distribution of the up-to-date A to D telephone directory for the London area will be completed.

In about ten weeks' time. Nearly 1 million directories have to be printed and distributed and the work is spread for reasons of economy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will show in tabular form the number of constables in the Scottish police forces who resigned in their first two years of service, between two and five years' service, and between five and ten years' service, in the years 1955, 1956, and 1957.

The following is the available information:

RESIGNATIONS OF MALE POLICE OFFICERS FROM SCOTTISH POLICE FORCES
—			During first two years of service	Over two but less than ten years' service
1955	…	…	69	93
1956	…	…	88	69
1957	…	…	110	123

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why it is estimated that some twenty-three months, from October, 1958, to August, 1960, will be required to recondition Auldhouse School, Lanarkshire, seeing that it only accommodates thirty-eight pupils, that the project is not completely to rebuild or replace but simply to modernise an existing building, and that, in view of the overcrowding of schools in East Kilbride, the work is urgent.

Because of the location of this school, the education authority expects that the work will be done by small local firms and that it may take twenty-three months to complete, although, if it can be done more quickly, it will be. The work involves not only modernisation of the existing building, but very considerable extensions to provide accommodation of current standard.