asked the Secretary of State for Air the conditions under which Royal Air Force flying instructors are being made available to the German air force.

The arrangements with the German Federal Ministery of Defence provide for 100 Royal Air Force flying instructors, together with a small administrative staff, to be made available, on repayment, to assist in training pilots for the German air force. The mission, which will be headed by a wing commander, will work alongside German air force instructors and will be fully integrated with the German training organisation.Members of the mission will retain their commissions in the Royal Air Force and will continue to receive R.A.F. pay and allowances. They will remain subject to the Air Force Act, 1955.It is expected that the mission will be in Germany for from three to five years.

asked the Attorney-General if he will give a list of all cases in which proceedings for libel have been instituted during this century against a Member of either House of Parliament arising from a letter sent by the Member concerned to a Government Department or the Board of a nationalised undertaking.

This information is not available. I am not aware of any such cases.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will now inform the House of the results of his talks with the British Guiana delegation.

Yes. During the last few weeks I have, with my colleagues and with officials of my Department, discussed development finance with a delegation from British Guiana consisting of the Governor, the Financial Secretary, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Minister of Trade and Industry and Mr. Edward Beharry, Minister of Natural Resources.The encouraging progress of the 1956–60 Development Programme has again been reviewed in detail. The plan relies heavily on loan funds. On the basis of the latest revised figures it is now estimated that expenditure on the plan up to the end of 1959 might amount to £16¼ million, of which £9·8 million, including repayment of short-term borrowing, would be required in 1958 and 1959. It is expected that £3·9 million of this can be met from British Guiana's existing Colonial Development and Welfare allocation (£1·7 million) and local resources (£2·2 million) leaving £5·9 million to be raised in the form of external loans.In the view of Her Majesty's Government it is not likely that British Guiana would be able to raise this amount in external loans on the London market or elsewhere in 1958 and 1959. Accordingly, Her Majesty's Government have agreed, subject to provision of funds by Parliament, to lend to British Guiana up to a maximum of £5·5 million during this period. Her Majesty's Government believe that with the full use of local resources this will be sufficient to meet practically the whole of the expenditure which proves to be needed for the present plan up to the end of 1959.It was agreed that the last year of the present plan, 1960, should be merged in the next plan of development, to run from the end of 1959. It was agreed that this should be discussed in London in the middle of next year by which time it is hoped that there will be a new Colonial Development and Welfare Act.In addition, Her Majesty's Government are examining with the British Guiana Government as a matter of urgency the possibility of obtaining funds meanwhile from external sources for some of the most pressing development projects.Preliminary discussions took place with the delegation about the contents of the next plan. It is the intention of the Government of British Guiana to arrange for a survey by visiting economic experts in the coming months. Thereafter, the plan will be finalised and it, and its financing will be the subject of further discussion during the 1959 meeting.In the course of the discussions I informed the delegation that I had taken note of the recent resolution of the Legislative Council of British Guiana requesting me to receive a representative delegation from the Legislative Council to discuss proposals for constitutional advance. I have learnt with approval that all political thinking in the territory was agreed that any new constitutional instruments for British Guiana should contain safeguards of the Western democratic freedoms which are the basis of the life of the British Commonwealth.I am, therefore, asking the Governor to set up a Constitutional Committee in British Guiana representing wide interests in the territory to recommend what form constitutional advance from the present interim arrangements should take. I hope that thereafter I shall be able to arrange to receive a representative delegation to discuss the recommendations. When I have approved the proposals in principle, new constitutional instruments would be drafted to take effect in time for the general elections which would normally follow the four-year term of office of the present Legislative Council of British Guiana. In that period the determination of new electoral boundaries and the preparation of comprehensive electoral rolls would also be carried out. In the meantime, as soon as the agreed recommendations of the Committee are known I hope and believe that the flexibilities of the present constitution would allow preparations for the statutory advances which were to come.

asked the Minister of Health how many patients are on the waiting lists for admission to hospitals in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

At 31st March, 1958, 31,622 names were on the waiting lists of hospitals in the West Riding, including the County Boroughs of Barnsley, Bradford, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Rotherham, Sheffield and Wakefield. In addition there were 132 names on a Regional waiting list maintained by the Leeds Regional Hospital Board for tuberculosis and mental patients.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of resignations of men with less than two years' service in the police service in England and Wales, including metropolitan, for the years 1934 to 1938, inclusive.

The number of male police officers with less than two years' service who resigned from police forces in England and Wales, excluding the Metropolitan Police, in the years 1934 to 1938 is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of retirements, without pension or gratuity, of men in the police service with two years' service or more in England and Wales, including the metropolitan, in the years 1934 to 1938.

I regret that this information is not available.The total number of male Metropolitan Police officers who resigned without pension or gratuity in these years was:

asked the Postmaster-General how many vehicles are used by the Post Office to deliver mails in rural districts in England and Wales; how many parsons are employed in driving and maintaining such vehicles; and the cost of this service in the year 1957–58.

It would not be possible to furnish this information without a great deal of trouble and expense; but if my hon. Friend is interested in any particular case I shall be pleased to let him have details.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (1) what plans have been prepared for the con- struction of a trunk road between Liverpool and Hull, via Huddersfield, which will be adequate for the carrying of heavy traffic over the Pennines; and when such road development will be completed;(2) what plans have been prepared for the provision of a trunk road extending from Outlane, Huddersfield, into Lancashire; when the road will be completed; and whether it will form part of the proposed Cross-Pennine trunk road.

The development plans for the local authorities concerned contain proposals for a motorway crossing the Pennines from Worsley on the Manchester Outer Ring Road via Out-lane, Huddersfield to near Ledsham in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Connections between the ends of the motorway and Hull and Liverpool would be by way of improvements to existing roads. I cannot say when it will be possible to include a scheme of this kind in the road programme.