asked the Postmaster-General if he is now in a position to make a statement on the additional protection he can give to the postmasters in rural areas against robbery and violence.

Protection for sub-postmasters in rural areas is only part of a wider problem on which we are in close touch with their National Federation on a number of measures. It would not be in the public interest to give publicity to such security arrangements, since this could be of assistance to the criminal fraternity.

asked the Postmaster-General what action he is taking to improve the Silver End telephone exchange to eliminate interference.

I had not previously known about this trouble, and I am sorry it should have arisen. The quality of transmission on the individual line mentioned to me by my hon. Friend has been specially checked and possible causes of

Call Charges	Manual Service Tariff (3 minutes minimum charge)		New Tariff for Automatic Service
			Time bought for 2d.	Charge for dialled calls lasting
				1 minute		2 minutes		3 minutes
	s.	d.		s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
Within telex local charging area		6	1 minute		2		4		6
Calls between centres under 15 miles apart		6
Calls between centres 15–35 miles apart		9
Calls between centres 35–50 miles apart	1	0	30 seconds		4		8	1	0
Calls between centres 50–75 miles apart	1	3	20 seconds		6	1	0	1	6
Calls between centres 75–125 miles apart	1	6	15 seconds		8	1	4	2	0
Calls between centres over 125 miles apart	2	0
Teleprinter Rental £160 a year			£160 a year

asked the Postmaster-General how many applicants for telephones in the Borough of Leyton are still awaiting installation; and what is the

asked the Postmaster-General what progress he has made with the introduction of a national dialling system in the Telex Service.

I am pleased to announce that plans are well advanced and the first two automatic telex exchanges will be opened in the autumn of this year. One will be in Shoreditch, serving about one-third of the telex subscribers in London, and the other in Leeds serving telex subscribers there and in Bradford, Lincoln, Middlesbrough and York. The Telex Service will be completely automatic in three years. Operating economies so achieved will enable us to introduce a new tariff, based on the same principles as the new telephone tariff recently announced. There will be a 2d. unit charge for telex calls, the amount of time bought for 2d. depending on the distance of the call. Details of the new tariff follow.average period of delay between application and service.

At the beginning of this month, there were 105 outstanding applications. Of these, 79 are in the course of being met and 26 are awaiting new line plant. Save in the few cases where applications have to be held up because of shortage of plant, service is provided within two to three months from the date of application.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is aware of the flooding in the Stourton by Stow parish of the County of Lincoln, parts of Lindsey, which was caused by the drainage from Scampton Aerodrome; and what action he proposes to take to remedy this defect in the drainage system.

Scampton airfield is on the other side of the watershed from Stourton by Stow and the rest of the area flooded by the recent overflow of the River Till. The only drainage which enters the river from the airfield is the outfall pumped into the River Cricket Till from the station sewage system. This has not increased in recent weeks and could not in any event have accounted for the recent extensive flooding.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what application he has received from the British Transport Commission regarding the maintenance or closure of the Fossdyke as a navigable waterway between Lincoln and the Trent.

Maintenance of this waterway is a matter for the British Transport Commission. We have received no application for its closure.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many road service licences have been voluntarily surrendered in England and Wales in the years 1949, 1955, 1956 and 1957; and what was the total road mileage involved in each of those years.

I understand my hon. Friend has rural transport in mind. In 1955, 1956 and 1957, the number of licences voluntarily surrendered for services in rural areas in England and Wales which were not replaced either partially or entirely by new services, and the total route mileage involved, were:

—	Number of licences	Total route mileage
1955	45	610
1956	61	680
1957	70	801

In some of these cases other services were already operating and continued to operate along the routes in question. Comparable figures for 1949 are not available.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware of the unsatisfactory condition of the law relating to cattle straying on the highway; and if he will now frame and introduce appropriate legislation amending the Highway Act, 1864, on this matter.

We will consider the question of amending the law when a suitable opportunity arises.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will re-examine his decision, with special reference to his departmental letter of 25th June addressed to the Clerk of the Lichfield Rural District Council, in the matter of that part of the A.5 which passes through the village of Wall, near Lichfield, in view of the increase in the volume of traffic since the last census in 1954 and the dangerous nature of the bottle-neck on this important road.

We shall shortly publish a draft Order to establish the route of the Wall by-pass, but I cannot yet say when the scheme can be included in the roads programme.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will compensate owners of property scheduled under Section 1 (2) of the Trunk Roads Act, 1946, for the loss of value to their property.

I regret that I can only make payment for land at the time when it is acquired. In present circumstances, I am only prepared to acquire land for works on trunk roads when it is actually needed.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when the flyover at the junction of the Great West Road and Chiswick High Road was first approved; when the work was commenced; and when it is anticipated that it will be completed.

A scheme for a flyover was first approved in 1938, and it was revived in 1954 when the plans were revised and improved. Work started in mid-February, 1957, and the contract date for completion is August, 1959.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many major and how many minor road improvement schemes, respectively, have been carried out in the areas of the Basildon Urban District and Brentwood Urban District since January, 1952.

Excluding the considerable road works in Basildon New Town, five major and six minor improvement schemes on trunk and classified roads have been carried out in Basildon Urban District, and five major, four minor and two traffic signal schemes in Brentwood Urban District. In addition, five major schemes are in progress in the former and two major and one minor in the latter.

asked the Minister of Defence if he is aware that there are still more than 8,000 deserters from the three Services; and whether he will again consider the granting of an amnesty.

Deserters during the period of the last war are covered by the special amnesty granted in 1953. I see no grounds for considering the grant of an amnesty to those who have deserted since the end of the war.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what official steps have been taken to obtain redress for the British shareholders and debenture holders of Egyptian Delta Light Railways since 1956; and what is the present position.

There has been no change in the situation since I answered my hon. Friend's last Question on this subject.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consult his Technical Personnel Committee with a view to the preparation of a new series of "Careers for Men and Women" booklets regarding scientific and technological professions.

New booklets in the "Choice of Careers" series are being prepared which will replace the "Careers for Men and Women" booklets. Six of these which deal with scientific and technological professions are at present being re-written. There is full consultation with the appropriate professional institutions and with organizations representative of employers and employees.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of unemployed signing on at the employment exchanges in the Sedgefield constituency at the latest available date; and how such figures compare with twelve months ago.

Twenty-four at Sedgefield Employment Exchange and 120 at Haverton Hill Employment Exchange at 16th June, 1958, compared with 19 and 78, respectively, at 17th June, 1957.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the extent of short-time working in Wednesbury, Darlaston and Willenhall; and what factors are creating this situation.

According to the latest reports from employers, altogether about 1,300 people in the three areas were working short-time on the 28th June, 1958. The majority of them were in the iron and steel industries, which are experiencing a fall in demand for their products.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number recorded at the Wednesbury Employment Exchange as being wholly unemployed at the latest convenient date; and what is the extent to which this number has increased in the last twelve months.

289 at 16th June. This was 179 more than on 17th June, 1957.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he will take to ensure that the National Apprenticeship Council shall have advice from the main body of the teaching profession through its professional organisations.

An Industrial Training Council is today being established by the British Employers' Confederation, the Trades Union Congress and the boards of the nationalised industries. It will be for the council itself to decide what other organisation should be invited to co-operate in its work.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men and women, respectively, are now registered at the Falkirk Employment Exchange as wholly unemployed, and how many as working short time; and what were the figures for corresponding dates in the previous three months.

The following table gives the information desired.

NUMBERS OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS ON THE REGISTERS OF THE FALKIRK EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE AT 17TH MARCH, 14TH APRIL, 12TH MAY AND 16TH JUNE, 1958.
	Wholly unemployed		*Temporarily stopped
	males	females	males	females
17th March, 1958	549	539	261	35
14th April, 1958	538	605	353	39
12th May, 1958	531	567	250	19
16th June, 1958	507	558	494	60
* The "temporarily stopped" are persons working short-time or otherwise temporarily suspended who were not at work on the Monday to which the figures relate and who were registered at the employment exchange.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he will now make a statement on the future of H.M.S. "Vanguard".

For the past two years "Vanguard" has been maintained at a high state of readiness in Operational Reserve to meet Treaty obligations. These obligations no longer exist and "Vanguard" will now come to a lower state of readiness. This will result in considerable savings in manpower and money. She will continue to be used as a training accommodation and Reserve Fleet headquarters ship until satisfactory alternative arrangements can be made.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (1) to what extent it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to discharge single women from Admiralty employment rather than married women, when redundancy takes place at depots like Crombie in Fife; and what proportion of those to be paid off at this establishment within the next week or two are single women;(2) to what extent it is the policy of his Department to declare redundant single women rather than married women when workers are being paid off in such establishments as Crombie in Fife; and what proportion of those workers who will be redundant at that particular establishment in a very short time will be single women.

The factors taken into account in selecting work-people for discharge are, as a paramount consideration, efficiency, and also length of service. These rules apply both to men and women, without distinction between married and single. Of the 115 women to be discharged at Crombie, 60 are married and 55 are single.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many letters he has received from workers at the Royal Naval Armaments Depot complaining about the dismissal of single women and widows, and the retention in employment of married women; and to what extent it is his policy to inquire into the relative hardship involved before individual workers are given notice of dismissal.

I have received one letter transmitted by the hon. Member. Every effort is always made to avoid or mitigate hardship in carrying out discharges, but as I have already said, this cannot be made a matter of rule.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state, for each of the factory building developments scheduled for Dundee, the approximate date for the start of the building operation; how many building workers are likely to be employed on each project; and for how long.

Construction has started on two projects which should be completed by March next. A varying amount of detailed planning remains to be done on the other projects. I expect work to start on all but one of these by the end of this year. All should be ready for occupation by mid-1960. I can make no better estimate now than the employment of some 500 building workers over the period.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what has been the balance of trade between Great Britain and Holland for each of the past three years; and whether he will give an estimate as to how such balance would be affected if the present quota imposed on Dutch bulbs into this country were abolished.

United Kingdom imports from the Netherlands (c.i.f.) exceeded exports and re-exports (f.o.b.) by £19 million in 1955 and by about £10 million in both 1956 and 1957. I cannot estimate the effect on the total of imports if quota restrictions on Dutch bulbs were abolished.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will give the average price to the growers of the principal horticultural crops in Cornwall in the years 1945, 1951, and 1957, and the minimum wages of the horticultural workers in the same years.

I regret that my Department has no separate records of the average prices to the growers of the principal horticultural crops in Cornwall during the years 1945, 1951 and 1957.Average wholesale prices of fruit and vegetables are collected by the Department's market reporters in the main urban markets in England and Wales, but the only Cornish product for which separate average prices are available for these years is winter cauliflower, a very important crop in that county. The average wholesale prices of Cornish winter cauliflowers were as follows:

—	1st Quality		2nd Quality
	per dozen		per dozen
	s.	d.	s.	d.
1945	5	10	4	2
1951	9	7	7	6
1957	11	2	8	8

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a comprehensive statement on the conference with representatives of the British fisheries industry which he held in London on 11th July, 1958.

This was a meeting between representatives of the trawler-owners and officials of a number of Government Departments. It was concerned with the making of the practical arrangements that may prove necessary for the protection of British fishing vessels on the high seas off Iceland.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the approximate production of British flower bulbs by weight and value during each year since 1951; and what proportion such production has borne to the weight and value of imported flower bulbs in each of the years in question.

There are no official statistics of British flower bulb production by weight or value, but it has been estimated that from 200 million to 250 million bulbs of saleable size are produced annually in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the total amount paid in subsidies to the inshore and middle water fishing industries since the inception of the scheme; how this sum is allocated as between the several ports or areas involved in the scheme; and how much money remains to be allocated before the termination of the subsidies.

The total amount authorised by the White Fish and Herring Industries Acts, 1953 and 1957, for payment of the white fish and herring subsidies is £17 million, which may be increased by Order to £19 million. The total amount paid under these Acts to 30th June, 1958, is £12,523,690. The amount still available from 1st July this year is, therefore, £4,476,310, or £6,476,310 if the full amount of £19 million is made available.Under the Acts of 1953 and 1957, white fish subsidy has been payable since 1st August, 1953, and herring subsidy since 13th May, 1957. The allocation of the total sum of £12,523,690 according to the country of landing is as follows:

—					England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland	Totals
					£	£	£	£
White Fish Subsidy	…	…	…	…	5,822,322	6,197,952	107,182	12,127,456
Herring Subsidy	…	…	…	…	105,340	276,322	14,572	396,234
								12,523,690

Before 1st August, 1953, white fish subsidy was paid under the authority of the annual Appropriation Acts and the total amount paid in the United Kingdom from its inception on 31st July, 1950, to 31st July, 1953, was £4,952,876.

asked the Minister of Supply what proposals are under consideration for the development of a rocket testing base or a missile station on the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales.

None. There is an observation post on the peninsula used in connection with missile firings in Cardigan Bay, and it is planned to move this to higher ground in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies by whom each of the twenty-three members of the Council of Makerere College is appointed.

The chairman, vice-chairman and hon. treasurer are appointed by the East Africa High Commission; the principal and vice-principal of Makerere College are ex-officio members of the Council; of the remaining eighteen members, two are appointed by the Inter-University Council, the Governors of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika each appoint three members, the British Resident of Zanzibar and the East Africa High Commission each appoint one member and five members are appointed by the Academic Board of the College from among the members of that Board.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent help is being given by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund to maternal and child welfare schemes, through the medium of community development services, in Kenya, Tanganyika, and Uganda, respectively.

The United Nations Children's Fund provided sums of $140,000 and $92,000 in March, 1956, and April, 1957, for programmes of mothercraft and homecraft activities in Kenya and Uganda, respectively. A further sum of $50,000 was provided in April, 1958, for a similar programme in Tanganyika, but in this instance I am not yet aware that the programme has been agreed with the Tanganyika Government. In all three cases, the provision is for a two-year programme linked with existing maternal and child welfare services within a broad community development or social development programme organised by the respective Governments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will have an Order made to consolidate the provisions of the Control of Borrowing Order, 1947, and the subsequent Orders which amend it.

An Order has been made today to consolidate the provisions of all the previous Orders, including that which came into operation on 4th July. The new Order will be laid before Parliament tomorrow and will come into operation on 25th July.