asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from post office unions regarding the reintroduction of flogging in cases of robbery with violence at post offices in rural areas.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will issue suitable warnings prior to Guy Fawkes night about the danger of exploding fireworks near persons, particularly children.

Yes. The Home Office will again enlist the co-operation of the Press and the broadcasting authorities in the issue of warnings and will ask them to give special attention to this point.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to afford protection to retailers who are compelled to observe the Shops Act, 1950, while mobile shops are deemed to be excluded.

I cannot add to the answer that my right hon. Friend gave on 26th June to a Question by the hon. Member for Ogmore (Mr. Padley).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the causes of the fire which occurred on 3rd July at Pastens Children's Home, Limpsfield, Surrey.

I understand that the fire was probably caused by an electrical fault.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which local authorities and other responsible bodies, and from how many individual persons, his Department has received representations regarding accidents caused by air-guns fired by children; and whether he is keeping the position under review.

During the last twelve months I have received representations from the Chigwell Urban District Council, four other responsible bodies and nineteen persons. I am keeping the position under review.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations upon what conditions inhabitants of the United Kingdom are granted assisted passages from Great Britain by each British Commonwealth Government; what undertakings are given them as to economic conditions and promise of employment; and what are, in each case, the conditions of travel for transport and for accommodation of the emigrants during travel and on arrival while awaiting employment and later.

Schemes for financial assistance to prospective migrants are operated by the Governments of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, who have respectively supplied the following information:

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will refer to the Over sea Migration Board for special study and report the question of the movement of overseas British nationals into the United Kingdom.

Although the Oversea Migration Board has had occasion to touch on the subject of movement into the United Kingdom incidentally to its consideration of net outward movement, the study suggested by the hon. Member would be outside the Board's terms of reference, which are directed to emigration from the United Kingdom.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will make a statement regarding his visit to the High Commission Territories of Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of 3rd July to a similar Question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall).

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will recommend to the Government of Swaziland the appointment of a registrar of co-operatives and trade unions from the United Kingdom to assist in the development of the co-operatives and trade union movement of this Protectorate.

The Registrar of the High Court has been appointed Registrar of Co-operative Societies and the Government Secretary has been appointed Registrar of Trade Unions in terms of Chapters 128 and 125, respectively, of the Laws of Swaziland. It is not thought necessary to replace these officers by Registrars from the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Education what steps are being taken to recruit school dentists.

The recruitment of school dentists is a matter for local education authorities. My right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Health is considering ways in which the supply of dentists in general may be increased.

asked the Minister of Education to what extent it has been the practice of his Department, when the parents of children who are credited with places in the county grammar schools choose to send their children to direct grant schools, and the travelling expenses are within normal limits, to recognise such cases as within the limits of public expenditure referred to in Clause 76 of the Education Act, 1944; and whether he will give an assurance that, provided the local education authority are willing, he will permit all such transfers to be free.

This is a matter for the discretion of the local education authority.

asked the Minister of Education how many local education authorities in England give all children who have gained places in county grammar schools free transfers to direct grant schools; how many give only a limited number of free transfers, and charge fees in accordance with a national scale to others who choose to go to a direct grant school; and whether it is his policy in any case where £40 has to be paid per year to allow the local education authority to retain the whole of this amount, or to share it equally between his Department and the local education authority.

The information asked for in the first two parts of the Question is not available. I am not aware of any situation in which the last part of the Question would arise.

asked the Minister of Education whether he has yet worked out a scheme so that men teachers who have done National Service are not at a disadvantage as regards pensions compared with women; and if he will make a statement.

No. My right hon. Friend thinks it would be wrong to depart from the established principle of teachers' and other comparable public service pension schemes that National Service should be pensionable only when it occurs after a person has entered pensionable civil employment.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will look into the case of Mr. E. W. King to see whether satisfactory arrangements can be made to enable him to continue part-time work as a teacher in Dagenham.

Mr. King left his part-time post by his own choice. I am writing to the hon. Member about the other details of the case which he raised in a letter to my right hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Education how many persons were employed on any given day as occasional teachers; and how many of those so employed were engaged in giving part-time instruction in approved subjects.

On the 31st March, 1957, 86 men and 462 women were employed in maintained schools as "occasional teachers" under paragraph 2 of the First Schedule to the Schools Grant Regulations, 1951. I have no information about the number who were employed then under paragraph 3 of the First Schedule.

asked the Minister of Education (1) how many local education authorities have not yet provided General Certificate of Education courses in their secondary modern schools; and what steps he intends to take to ensure that such authorities implement the spirit and the letter of the 1944 Act;(2) whether he will issue a directive to local education authorities that a certain minimum provision must be made in the secondary modern schools for the taking of General Certificate of Education courses and that, where such provision is not made for any good reason, the education authority concerned should facilitate the transfer to a neighbouring authority of any child who would otherwise be deprived of the education for which its parents think the child is fitted.

My right hon. Friend does not collect statistical information about the widely differing courses provided in secondary schools. He will continue to do all in his power to assist local education authorities to provide courses extending beyond the statutory leaving age, including General Certificate of Education courses, where appropriate, but they must be left to decide how best to fulfil their duty of seeing that their schools offer the variety of courses which the differing needs of their pupils require.

asked the Minister of Education how many local education authorities do not provide any opportunities for children to take the General Certificate of Education in their secondary modern schools; and if he will give the names of these authorities.

This information is not available.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware of general dissatisfaction among those engaged in the Youth Service; and if he will now make a further statement on future policy regarding the service.

My right hon. Friend appreciates the concern felt for the future of the Youth Service. He is considering various suggestions which have been made to him about it, and he will make a statement as soon as he can.

asked the Minister of Education which of the recommendations suggested by the Select Committee on Estimates in their reports on school building, 1952–53, technical education, 1952–53, and on youth services, 1956–57, have been put into effect; and what sums have in consequence been saved from public expenditure.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the Departmental replies to these reports. Most of the recommendations made by the Select Committee on Estimates called for increased public expenditure. I cannot calculate the savings resulting from the others.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give an undertaking not to direct or induce new industries to be established on the Immingham-Grimsby reach until he is satisfied that adequate water supplies are available without restricting the full supplies to existing users.

The needs of existing users of water are taken into account when considering applications for industrial development certificates for this area.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many firms engaging in hire purchase and similar trading activities in Scotland are being investigated by his Department.

180 visits to firms in Scotland were made in the first half of this year by my inspectors in the course of the administration of the hire purchase and hiring control orders.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will withdraw the Customs duty on imported sulphate of ammonia.

As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary told the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Grimond) on 22nd July, an application from users for removal of the duty has been received and is under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to secure new tenants for the vacant government-owned factories at Maesteg and Cymmer.

All my regional controllers have been notified that these factories are vacant, and they are making every effort to find tenants for them.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the terms of the understanding on ceiling levels for imports into the United Kingdom reached by the Indian, Pakistan, and United Kingdom cotton industries.

No. The terms of this understanding have not been made public by the parties to it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent the quota of 1,500,000 cwt. of apple imports from Western Europe and North America fixed for the 12 months ending June, 1959, is expected to result in a decrease in imports, particularly in the months when the bulk of the home apple crop is marketed.

None. The quota is intended to be equivalent to the value quotas which it replaces. One of the objects of the change is to prevent under-invoicing.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the present position regarding the proposal to establish a chemical works at Glynllifon, near Caernarvon.

Since the Answer which I gave to the hon. Member and other hon. Members on 1st April, the local planning authority has given the firm planning permission. There are, I understand, certain problems of water supply to and disposal of effluent from the works. We are discussing the case with the firm's representatives next week.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will give the figures of full chrome calf and hide upper leather which have been imported from Commonwealth sources each year since 1952;(2) if he is aware that Commonwealth leather is being sold in this country at 15 to 20 per cent. below the cost of production in the United Kingdom, and that this is the only country with an established leather industry which admits leather free of import

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now take steps to make loans more readily available to local authorities from the Public Works Loan Board.

No. It is still desirable that local authorities should borrow from the Board only if they cannot raise their requirements from the stock and mortgage markets.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for reducing at an early date the rate of interest on loans for over 15 years to

The figures for which the hon. Member asks are given below. Imports of these types of leather from the Commonwealth and the Irish Republic increased from 819 tons in 1952 to nearly 4,000 tons in 1957. I am aware of the anxiety of a section of the tanning industry about these imports, which are admitted duty-free in accordance with our general policy of duty-free entry for Commonwealth goods. This policy, being the foundation of Imperial Preference, is not one which I would feel justified in raising at the Montreal Conference.local authorities from the Public Works Loan Board.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Beswick) on 22nd July.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what review he is making of the pensions of ex-servants of Her Majesty whose terms of engagement included an understanding of a pension at a higher rate of subsistence than has in the event been obtained.

Public service pensions are related to length of service and retiring salary. They are not given on the basis of subsistence or need and the question therefore does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what criticisms have been made of the financial affairs of the Bunyoro Native Government by the Uganda Protectorate Government; and on what evidence adverse reports were based.

The Bunyoro Native Government have been criticised for inefficient and inadequate control of expenditure; unauthorised expenditure over approved estimates; inefficient assessment and collection of taxes; and the unco-operative and at times irresponsible attitude of Treasury staff. Criticisms have been based on regular inspections by the staff of the Provincial Administration and Audit Department, and by auditing of accounts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that there is anxiety among law-abiding British subjects in Cyprus lest dangerous Cypriot prisoners at present confined in this country be returned to Cyprus before peaceful conditions are restored; and what steps he will take to allay such anxiety.

I know of no proposal to return these prisoners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies under what circumstances Georghios Toumazou Kouis, Demetrakis Constaninides and Stavros Rousounides escaped from Nicosia General Hospital on the evening of 7th July, 1958; how many of these persons have been recaptured; and what special measures have been taken to prevent further escapes from this hospital.

I explained the circumstances to my hon. Friend in my reply of 17th July. None has yet been recaptured, Security arrangements at the General Hospital have been tightened and the extensions now being made to the prison hospital will reduce the need for transfers outside the prison.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the duties of the "Viking" patrols in Cyprus.

They consist of married Service men and United Kingdom civilians who have been enrolled as Special Constables. Their primary purpose is to safeguard ex-patriate families, particularly when the husband is away on duty. The code name "Viking" is used in Limassol only, though similar patrols operate in the other main towns.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what restrictions still apply to the freedom of movement of trade union officials in Northern Rhodesia; what are the reasons for these restrictions; and when they are likely to be removed.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to those trade unionists amongst others whose movements were restricted when the state of emergency, declared in the West Province on the 11th September, 1956, terminated. The orders vary considerably in detail, but all have the general effect of excluding the persons concerned from the Copper-belt. They are necessary to prevent a renewed threat to public order and will be removed in each case as soon as the Governor is satisfied that it is safe to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in what cases the electoral cards to be shown by voters for the Legislative Council in Mauritius are required to bear photographs of the elector concerned; and in which other Colonial Territories this system is in operation.

Under Section 40 of the Representation of the People Ordinance, 1958, all voters in Mauritius are required to have an electoral card which bears a photograph of the voter concerned. The cost of the photograph will be borne by Government. Exemptions to this rule may be made by the registration officer on valid religious or social grounds, in which case a thumb print or finger print is required instead of a photograph. So far as I am aware no other Colonial Territory operates an exactly similar system, though voters' cards are used in certain other territories. I am at present in consultation with the Governor about this provision.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what taxation is paid by textile firms in Hong Kong.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 17th July, 1958; Vol. 591, c. 124], supplied the following information:The taxation payable by textile firms in Hong Kong is as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the schemes approved to date for farm improvement grants are for farms under 150 acres and what steps he is taking to assist small farmers to prepare schemes which will make their farms more economical to work and more profitable at current price levels.

Approximately half of the applications for farm improvement grants approved in England and Wales by the end of June were in respect of farms of less than 150 acres. My right hon. Friend has asked the staff concerned with this scheme to give all possible help to small farmers with advice and in resolving problems with regard to plans, specifications or tenders.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the prices of fertilisers with and without subsidies, respectively, at the latest convenient date in the United Kingdom and other European Economic Co-operation countries.

I regret that, apart from the United Kingdom, my right hon. Friend has no later information than that given in the latest O.E.E.C. publication on fertilisers, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The following is the information so far as the United Kingdom is concerned:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about forestry policy.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement my right hon. Friend made today.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many acres in Lincoln and Lincolnshire, respectively, have been flooded; what is his estimate of the damage; and what he proposes to do to prevent such flooding in the future.

As I stated in my reply to the hon. Members for Newbury (Mr. Hurd) and Goole (Mr. G. Jeger) on 10th July, about 12,000 acres of agricultural land was flooded in Lincolnshire, while in the City of Lincoln there was shallow flooding of two or three roads and a few houses and the sewage farm was partly affected for a short time. The estimated agricultural damage is very roughly of the order of £150,000, apart from water-logging and storm damage. Protective works are a matter for the drainage authorities, especially the Lincolnshire River Board, with whom my engineers are in close touch. Any schemes put forward for grant-aid will be urgently considered.

asked the Scretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement about the policy of Her Majesty's Government regarding de facto recognition of the new régime in Iraq.

I have nothing to add to what my right hon. and learned Friend told the House in the debate on 22nd July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the latest conversations with Mr. Dulles.

I would refer the hon. Member to the speech by my right hon. and learned Friend in the debate of 22nd July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will specify the circumstances in which British troops now in the Middle East will be withdrawn from that region.

I have nothing to add to what my right hon. and learned Friend said on the subject in the debate on 22nd July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will state the terms of Her Majesty's Government's declaration of policy, of 4th June, concerning the Icelandic Government's proposed intention to extend their fishing limits.

Yes. The terms of the declaration of policy are as follows:On 2nd June, 1958, the Prime Minister of Iceland made a broadcast elaborating upon an official statement issued the previous day to the effect that the parties constituting the Government Coalition in Iceland had agreed to the issue on 30th June, 1958, of a Decree concerning the fishery limits off Iceland. The Decree would claim the extension of Icelandic fishery limits to twelve miles as from the 1st of September, 1958; it would seek to subject fishing within the new limits to Icelandic control, and to reserve the right to alter the base lines from which Icelandic fishery limits are at present measured.Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom have noted with surprise and regret the disregard, both in the Icelandic Prime Minister's broadcast and in the official statement of the long established rights of other nations to fish in the high seas around Iceland.In an aide mémoire dated 29th May, 1958, Her Majesty's Ambassador at Reykjavik pointed out to the Icelandic Government that if the proposed Decree were issued, it could not and would not in law in any way restrict the rights of other nations on the high seas, nor could it lawfully prohibit fishing by other nations in areas which have long been regarded as part of the high seas.Her Majesty's Government accordingly will not be able to accept the proposed Decree, if issued, as of any effect in law. Claims to exercise exclusive jurisdiction in relation to fishing in areas outside the normal limits of territorial waters are wholly unwarranted under international law. Further, Her Majesty's Government will not be able to recognise base lines beyond those permitted by international law.Her Majesty's Government find it difficult to believe that the Icelandic Government would use force against British fishing vessels in order to secure compliance with a unilateral Decree which the parties of the Government Coalition propose to issue without regard for International law. At the same time, Her Majesty's Government must point out that it would be their duty to prevent any unlawful attempt to interfere with British fishing vessels on the high seas, whether or not such an attempt were to be made within the area in which the Icelandic Government now propose to claim exclusive jurisdiction in fishery matters.While one nation or a number of nations cannot by themselves alter international law, it is of course open to nations to enter into bilateral or multilateral agreements waiving or restricting in specified areas some or all of the rights which they now enjoy under the law of the sea. Her Majesty's Government and a number of other friendly Governments have done their utmost to persuade the Icelandic Government to abstain from unilateral action and to enter into discussions with a view to the negotiation of an appropriate fisheries agreement.Her Majesty's Government are aware of the importance of fisheries to Iceland. Fisheries are also of great importance to the United Kingdom. Her Majesty's Government adhere to the view that through negotiation it should be possible to conclude an acceptable agreement. For that reason, before the announcement of the Icelandic Government's intention, Her Majesty's Government informed the Icelandic Government that they were prepared to enter into negotiations for this purpose. Her Majesty's Government are still prepared to enter into such negotiations in the spirit of goodwill which they showed during the Geneva Conference on the Law of the Sea. They hope that the Icelandic Government will agree that negotiation is in every respect preferable to unilateral action, and that the period before the 1st of September should be used to negotiate a lasting solution acceptable to all concerned.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will specify the provision he has made and the expenditure incurred to date upon British Military, naval and air action now taking place in the Middle East.

I cannot at this stage estimate the cost of these measures.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will make a statement about increasing the output from dental schools, as recommended by the McNair Committee on recruitment to the dental profession.

After full consultation with the University Grants Committee the Secretary of State and I have accepted the recommendation in the Report of Lord McNair's Committee on Recruitment to the Dental Profession to the effect that the annual output of dental schools in Great Britain needs to be expanded to produce at least 800 dentists who will practise in this country. This means that the capacity of dental schools in Great Britain will have to be expanded from the present potential intake of about 650 students per annum in their first professional year to a number larger than 800 since we must also allow for wastage and students from overseas not intending to practise in this country. The allowances for these two factors must be decided in the light of up-to-date experience; but present trends point to the need to plan for something over 900 places. We aim to start expansion as soon as possible; and, when considering projects for inclusion in the Government's programme for major hospital building schemes, we shall give due regard, in consultation with the University Grants Committee, to proposals which will contribute to it.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish the full report of the Board of Control inquiry on the events at Broadmoor on 8th July.

For security reasons it is not proposed to publish the detailed report. I have already informed the House of the main findings in the report.

asked the Minister of Health what was the total expenditure, actual and estimated, to the latest date, on hospitals since his Department assumed responsibility for them; if he will indicate in a table, for each financial

The total expenditure, actual and estimated, of regional hospital boards and boards of governors in England and Wales for the period 5th July, 1948, to 31st March, 1959, is £2,953 million. The further information requested is set out in the table below:

asked the Minister of Labour, in view of the increasing number of recruits for long-term engagement in the Regular Army, whether he will make a statement before the Summer Recess with regard to the practical details of the Government's plan for the ending of National Service call-up by 1960, so as to give some security in employment for young men who will reach the call-up age in that year.

I would refer the hon. Member to the White Paper on Call-up of Men to the Forces 1957–60 and to the Tepdies given to the hon. Member for Erith and Crayford (Mr. Dodds) on 19th February and 2nd July, of which I am sending him copies. I have nothing to add to these statements.

asked the Minister of Labour what are his future plans for the employment exchanges at Breton Side, Plymouth, and Ferry Road, Devonport.

No change is at present under consideration other than the eventual re-housing of the Plymouth Employment Exchange.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the number of road accidents in Kirkby, Lancashire, the numbers killed and injured, respectively, the rates per 1,000 population represented by these figures and comparable rates for England and Wales.

The figures are as follows:

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what was the number of accidents in High Street, Feltham, for the period of 1st January to 30th June, 1958.

Fourteen accidents involving personal injury.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what was the number of accidents on uncontrolled pedestrian crossings for the period from 1st January to 30th June, 1958.

Between 1st January and 31st May, 1958, 351 accidents involving personal injury took place on uncontrolled pedestrian crossings. The figures for June, 1958, are not yet available.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what was the number of accidents on the Bath Road, A4, between the junction with the Parkway and the eastern end of the Coln-brook by-pass, for the period of 1st January to 30th June, 1958.

Forty-seven accidents involving personal injury.

asked the Minister of Works if he will require that all constructional contracts passed through his Department shall in future have included as one of the contract documents a properly prepared and officially approved time and progress schedule in an endeavour to put an end to the delays not uncommon today in Government construction work.

In all substantial constructional contracts my Department already stipulates in the contract documents that the contractor shall produce, in agreement with the superintending officer, within four weeks of the placing of the contract, a programme chart of the whole of the works. This procedure, combined with the full planning now adopted in pursuance of the fixed price tender policy, is effective in eliminating avoidable delays.