asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the recent statement by the General Dental Practitioners Association, a copy of which has been sent to him by the hon. Member for Leicester, North-West; and, in view of the possibility of a link between the big drop in the consumption of welfare foods such as cod liver oil and orange juice and the big increase in teeth troubles amongst children, and in view of the continued decline in the uptake of these welfare foods, whether he will seek the advice of independent consultants as to how the facilities can be popularised and used more effectively.

Yes, my right hon. and learned Friend has seen the statement. But the suggestion that children's diet is generally deficient in protective substances is not accepted.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the death rate from lung cancer is still increasing rapidly; and whether, in view of the failure of the campaign to affect smokers, he will initiate an international investigation to seek an effective means of prevention and cure of this disease.

I am aware of the continuing increase in the number of deaths from lung cancer though there is some evidence that the rate of increase is slowing down. So far as smoking is concerned, the Government's intention is that the possible consequences should made widely known to the public and I believe this to be largely achieved. Intensive national and international study on methods of prevention and cure is already in progress.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that, although two consignments of apples from the Lebanon have been condemned by the health authorities at Avonmouth docks during the past month on the grounds of their arsenical content as a result of being sprayed with arsenic, all the apples have been returned to the importers at Southampton Docks; and if he will take every precaution to ensure that these will not be distributed to the public.

I am advised that only one consignment, which was imported through Southampton, was involved. All the apples returned to Southampton have been re-exported.

asked the Minister of Health (1) if he is aware that in a firm of twenty-two chain-store opticians' shops National Health Service patients are not informed that full normal National Health service and glasses are available for the statutory fee of£1 10s. 3d., and that no trade trays with the wide range of frames approved for National Health Service dispensing are shown to patients, but patients are offered frames priced at 11 guineas; and what action he proposes to take to ensure that full National Health service is provided in these shops;(2) if he is aware that in a firm of twenty-two chain-store opticians' shops National Health Service patients are asked for definite orders for lenses and frames, and a deposit of£1 demanded at the first examination and before the National Health Service application form is approved, and that when the return of the deposit is requested a receipt for overpayment is demanded from the patient; and what action he will take to stop these improper practices;(3) if he is aware that in a firm of twenty-two chain-store opticians' shops the permanent staff are mainly salesmen for selling expensive frames and not fully-qualified opticians capable of testing eyes and prescribing lenses, and that the testing and prescribing is done, in a few minutes, by hospital doctors on full-time National Health Service engagements on opticians' premises with limited facilities instead of in hospitals; and what action he proposes to take with regard to conditions under which testing may be carried out.

These are matters which appear to be appropriate for investigation by an Ophthalmic Investigation Committee of an Executive Council with which the firm is in contract to supply services in accordance with detailed terms of service. As the matter may yet come to my right hon. and learned Friend in this way and he might have to adjudicate on an appeal it would not be proper for me to comment at this stage.

asked the Minister of Health if he will ensure that at least one psychiatrist serves on the Moran Committee which decides merit awards.

Members of the Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards are not appointed in any representative capacity. One of them is in fact a psychiatrist.

asked the Minister of Health how many mentally defective or mentally disturbed children under the age of twelve are waiting for admission to hospitals controlled by the South Eastern Metropolitan Hospital Board.

The waiting list for children under the age of twelve is 233.

asked the Minister of Health whether arrangements have now been made to display a model of the proposed new St. Thomas's Hospital.

Yes. Arrangements have been made for a model of the proposed new hospital and medical school buildings to be on view in the Upper Waiting Hall from Tuesday, 15th December to Thursday, 17th December, inclusive.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what proposals have been put forward at the United Nations for finding a more satisfactory and permanent solution to the chronic shortage of United Nations funds, noted by the Secretary-General in his budget report of last August.

The General Assembly on 5th December decided to increase the Working Capital Fund from $23·5 million to $25 million in 1960; to authorise the Secretary-General to borrow from certain special funds and to negotiate short-term loans from Governments. The General Assembly urged Governments to pay any arrears of their contributions and requested the Secretary-General to press for earlier payment of contributions.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how the British delegate voted in the General Assembly of the United Nations on the resolutions asking France not to carry out her projected bomb test in the Sahara and all countries not to proceed with tests while the Geneva talks for the controlled cessation of tests continue; and which delegations voted for and against or abstained from voting on each of these resolutions.

The United Kingdom delegate voted against the first resolution mentioned by the hon. Gentleman, in company with fifteen other nations. On nuclear tests in general, he voted for the resolution tabled by Austria, Japan and Sweden and abstained on the resolution tabled by India. Full details of the voting are available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the maximum limit for the armed forces of the major powers visualised in the first stage of the disarmament proposals put forward by him to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 17th September last.

My right hon. and learned Friend did not lay clown fixed numbers for the reductions of armed forces in any of the three stages of the comprehensive disarmament plan which he outlined to the General Assembly.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he s yet had a report from the United Kingdom representative to the United Nations regarding the report of the United Nations Special Commissioner in Hungary; and if he will make a statement.

The report of the United Nations Special Representative on Hungary has been published and a copy is available in the Library. Her Majesty's Government's views on the report were stated by the United Kingdom representative to the United Nations during the course of the General Assembly Debate on Hungary on 8th December. A copy of the text of his speech is also in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he approved the statement made by the United Kingdom's delegate to the United Nations Organisation in the debate on Hungary to the effect that disciplinary action by a member State against its own nationals in contravention of the General Assembly's resolutions was a matter of concern to the United Nations Organisation; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom representative's speech in the debate on Hungary at the United Nations was based on my right hon. and learned Friend's instructions. I have no statement to make.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent Her Majesty's Government considers the gentleman's agreement concerning representation on the Security Council of the United Nations as still valid.

Her Majesty's Government continue to attach importance to maintaining the gentleman's agreement, though we recognise that in practice it has been impossible to observe its appli- cation to the Eastern European seat. This has been due to the refusal of the Soviet bloc to agree to the expansion of the Security Council to meet the pressure of the growing membership in the United Nations which has resulted in the underrepresentation of large areas of the world.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the United Kingdom representatives at the United Nations Political Committee voted on 7th December against the resolution urging the two parties to the Algerian conflict to begin informal discussions about conditions for self-determination and for a cease-fire as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the terms of the resolution on Algeria submitted to the Political Committee of the United Nations; which delegations voted for and against and which abstained; and how the British delegation voted.

I have placed in the Library of the House a copy of the text of the resolution on Algeria on which the Political Committee of the United Nations was asked to vote on 7th December, and also a detailed analysis of the voting.The United Kingdom delegation voted against the resolution because Her Majesty's Government believed that it would not help towards a solution of the Algerian conflict, quite apart from juridical doubts about Article II (7) of the United Nations Charter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent Her Majesty's Government has accepted the plan drawn up by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation for increased agricultural and industrial production in the Mediterranean region, with a view to removing want within fifteen years; and if he will make a statement.

At the Tenth Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the United Kingdom delegation voted in favour of the final resolution on the project. This resolution invited the Director-General of F.A.O. to organise intergovernmental consultations to frame detailed proposals. This work is now going on.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has now decided who will lead the British delegation to the Second Conference on the Law of the Sea next March.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on Great Britain's representation and policy on the International Conference on the Law of the Sea to be held in Geneva on 17th March next.

As was explained to my hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) on 7th December, my right hon. and learned Friend hopes to make a statement concerning United Kingdom representation shortly.Her Majesty's Government's policy is to achieve a fair and lasting international agreement on the breadth of the territorial sea and fishery limits.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that the current French military budget provides for an expenditure of 42 thousand million francs on nuclear weapons, he will now propose to the Council of Western European Union that the French Government be requested to submit its programme of nuclear weapon production to the Council for approval.

My hon. Friend dealt with this matter in reply to a Question by the hon. Member on llth November.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Ethiopia on the incident which occurred recently in the Awareh district of Ethiopia involving the deaths of British Somali tribesmen.

The facts concerning the incident in the Awareh area of Ethiopia, as given to the House by my right hon. Friend the Colonial Secretary on 4th December. were not in themselves such as to warrant representations to the Ethiopian Government.According to information since received, further incidents occurred in the territories known as the Haud and Reserved Areas on 1st December and on 2nd and 3rd December, when Ethiopian security forces attacked two groups of nomadic Somalis from the Protectorate. killing nine of them.Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires in Addis Ababa was immediately instructed to communicate to the Ethiopian Government the information in our possession. He requested their urgent comments, and reserved the right of Her Majesty's Government to claim compensation. The Ethiopian Government have told Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires that the Ethiopian local authorities have been instructed to cooperate closely in continuing investigations of these incidents and in efforts to apprehend the guilty parties and fix the blame. Members of the British Liaison Staff and the Ethiopian local authorities have been in touch on the ground. It has also been agreed, in the course of these exchanges between the Ethiopian Government and Her Majesty's Government that, when those responsible have been apprehended, they will be dealt with, and that any other steps which are normal in such cases among tribesmen will be taken. We naturally welcome this.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why an export licence to Cuba has been refused for the delivery of 15 Hunter K.5 jet aircraft in substitution for 15 obsolete British Sea Furies.

As the House is aware, Her Majesty's Government and the Governments of other Western arms-supplying countries have for some time been restricting arms sales to the Caribbean countries because of the state of tension in that area. In the opinion of Her Majesty's Government these tensions have not yet sufficiently diminished to warrant the change of policy which would be involved in agreeing to the Cuban Government's request. We shall gladly reconsider it when, as we hope, the situation improves.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent, in opening negotiations with Russia on the Baltic debts, he has made it clear that the United Kingdom is not in any way forgoing claims on Russia for the Czarist or any other debts owing by Russia.

As stated by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State on 29th June, Her Majesty's Government have folly reserved their position in respect of these old claims.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what will be the next steps in negotiations concerning the repayment by Russia of the Baltic debts; and whether the gold held by the United Kingdom Government on behalf of Baltic interests still remains in Her Majesty's Government's possession.

When the registration of the United Kingdom claims is complete, details will be given to the Soviet Government. We shall receive details of the Soviet claims which have arisen since 1939 and as soon as both sides have studied the information exchanged, negotiations should begin.The gold held by the Bank of England in 1940 for the account of the central banks of the Baltic States is now held by the Custodian of Enemy Property.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what further requests have been submitted to the Council of Western European Union for the revision of the Brussels Treaty protocols to permit the German Federal Republic to manufacture armaments at present prohibited under the Treaty.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to a recent publication in London, printed in English, by the Embassy of the Federal German Government, with a frontispiece showing that country divided into three, namely, West Germany, East Germany and the lost provinces; and if, in view of the potential adverse effect of this upon the prospects of a peaceful settlement in Europe, he will make representations to the Ambassador.

I assume that the hon. Member refers to the front cover of the German Embassy's periodical "The German View", of which I have seen copies. The answer to the second part of the Question is "No, Sir."

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps were taken to secure remission of the sentence of Mr. Zarb before a decision was taken to resume diplomatic relations with Egypt; and what was the result of such efforts.

In reply to the hon Member for Workington (Mr. Peart) on 18th November, my right hon. and learned Friend asked the House to accept that public discussion of this problem is not likely to contribute towards its solution. Now that diplomatic relations have been restored, I very much hope that this and other outstanding problems will be the easier to deal with.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations he has made to the Argentine Government as to the reasons why the British Overseas Airways Corporation's Comet, on a proving flight to South America, was refused permission to land at Buenos Aires on 9th December and, in consequence, had to return to Montevideo.

Her Majesty's Ambassador in Buenos Aires has reported that the incident was the result of an administrative misunderstanding between the local airline representatives and the Argentine aviation authorities, in consequence of which the airport did not receive the necessary clearance authority in time.The hon. Member will no doubt have heard than on its return flight the Comet landed at Buenos Aires airport.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what are now the official relations of Her Majesty's Government with the Imamate of Oman.

Her Majesty's Government do not have relations with the socalled "Imamate of Oman".

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will endeavour to ensure that, before the International Bank for Reconstruction and Developments grants any loans for the expansion of the Suez Canal, appropriate assurances will be given by Egypt that free transit will be accorded to shipping of all nations through the Canal in accordance with the requirements of international law.

The views of Her Majesty's Government on the rights of all countries to free transit of the Canal have been frequently expressed in the United Nations and also made clear to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the accommodation and facilities provided for delegations and committees at the recent meeting in Paris of the Assembly of Western European Union were inadequate for the proper performance of Parliamentary duties; and if Her Majesty's Government will press for the provision, in the new quarters to be constructed for Western European Union at the Palais d'Iéna in Paris, of suitable office and restaurant facilities.

The arrangements made for the meeting in Paris were the responsibility of the Western European Union Assembly.The Council is at present examining the question of the construction of the new quarters for the Western European Union in Paris.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when Her Majesty's Government expects to sign the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

Her Majesty's Government do not intend to sign the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

asked the Minister of Labour the percentage of unemployment among shipyard workers on Tyneside on 1st July, 1959, and for each subsequent month to date.

Six point nine per cent. at 13th July, 1959, 5·5 per cent. at 17th August, 4·1 per cent. at 14th September, 5·5 per cent. at 12th October and 10·4 per cent. at 16th November.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement about the industrial dispute at Hunterston Nuclear Power Station.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he is taking to bring to an end the industrial dispute at Hunterston Atomic Power Station.

My officers in Scotland, who have been in constant touch with the employer and the trade unions concerned, convened a meeting between them on 2nd December, at which there was discussion of the conditions under which operations might be resumed. The firm tabled proposals on which negotiations are to take place between itself and the individual unions, and the meeting was adjourned until 30th December for this purpose. My officers will continue to do all they can to assist towards a settlement.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will represent to the National Coal Board the undesirability of closing any further collieries in the Central East Area of the Scottish Division of the Board, until alternative employment is available for those who will no longer be required in the mines.

I am in touch with the National Coal Board through my right hon. Friend the Minister of Power about the effects on employment of colliery closures. I understand that the Board hopes to be able to offer alternative work at other pits to all miners liable to be displaced by closures in Scotland during 1960.

asked the Minister of Labour what factors caused the increase of 803 in the number of unemployed in Sunderland in November.

Nearly half of the increase was due to continuing shortage of orders in shipbuilding; there was a seasonal increase in unemployment amongst constructional workers and an appreciable number of men and women not normally in the employment field registered for temporary Christmas employment.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed in Sunderland at the latest available date; and the corresponding figures for 1957 and 1958.

There were 5,749 at 16th November, 1959, compared with 2,319 at 11th November, 1957. and 4,272 at 17th November, 1958.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that redundancy among railway workers in Thornton, Fife, is increasing, and that the trend is likely to continue in the future; and what steps he intends to take to solve the problem.

No. I understand that eight workers are being transferred from the Railway Wagon Depot at Thornton to the Depot at Halbeath.

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys who have left school in Fife in the last year have obtained employment in the mining industry; what percentage this was of the total number of boys leaving school; and what were the comparable figures for each of the previous two years.

Up to November of this year, 268 boys leaving school started work in coal mining in Fife. This represents 11 per cent. of the total number of boys leaving school in the county during the school year ending last July. The corresponding figures for 1957 and 1958 were 702 and 407–34 per cent. and 19 per cent. respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of registered unemployed persons in Dumbarton and the area covered by his office at Alexandria at the latest convenient date; and what percentage of the insured population this represents.

At 16th November, 645 persons were registered as unemployed at employment exchanges and youth employment offices at Dumbarton and 560 at Alexandria. Separate percentage rates of unemployment are not computed for these two areas, but for the combined area of Dumbarton, Alexandria, Bowling and Helensburgh the rate was 5·4 per cent.

asked the Minister of Labour the latest available unemployment figures for Southampton, and for ship-repair workers in Southampton, respectively, with the similar figures for July, 1959, and December, 1958.

At 16th November 2,690 persons were registered as unemployed at employment exchanges in Southampton compared with 2,517 at 13th July and 2,724 at 8th December, 1958. The figures include 392, 656 and 436 respectively whose last employment was in the shipbuilding and ship-repairing industry.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were unemployed within the Burgh of Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbrightshire, at the nearest convenient date and at the same date last year; and what is the percentage of unemployment.

On 3rd December, eighty residents of the Burgh of Dalbeattie were registered as unemployed. Information is not available for any other date. It is not possible to quote a percentage rate for this area.

asked the Minister of Labour the ratio of wholly unemployed boys of 18 years and under to the number of notified unfilled vacancies for boys in Scotland and the Midlands at the latest convenient date.

In mid-November there were in Scotland 20 unfilled vacancies and in the Midlands Region 1,169 unfilled vacancies for every 100 wholly unemployed boys under 18 years of age.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will introduce legislation providing for the compulsory payment on appropriate scales to employees who are rendered redundant as a result of the taking over of one company by another.

This is not a matter for legislation but one to be determined by those concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will make a statement regarding new safety regulations in the shipbuilding and ship-repairing industry.

A statutory draft of the regulations was published in April and later withdrawn for amendment in the light of the comments received. Discussions have since been proceeding with interested organisations and I hope to publish a further statutory draft next month.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made to date in the proposal to set up a statutory authority to run Covent Garden Market and in introducing the promised improvements.

Detailed consultations have been taking place with the interests concerned and I hope to introduce legislation before long.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the progress made in combating the fowl pest epidemic in the country as a whole and in Lincolnshire and the adjoining counties in particular.97 and 98. Sir A. Hurd asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make a statement on the present fowl pest epidemic, the number of poultry destroyed, and the compensation paid from public funds;(2) the results of his further inquiries into the origin of the widespread fowl pest infection this year; and what further measures are proposed to check the introduction of infection from abroad.

Fowl pest infected areas have been declared in and around Gloucestershire, the North-East Midlands and East Anglia. The position has improved recently in Gloucestershire, and the area has been contracted. Many outbreaks of disease have continued to occur in Norfolk, Suffolk and other parts of East Anglia. The situation in Lincolnshire is showing signs of improvement but there is still cause for concern in some adjoining counties, especially Nottinghamshire, Huntingdonshire and the Isle of Ely. Since the beginning of October, about 2,300,000 birds have been destroyed at a cost to the Exchequer of about£1,750,000.We do not know precisely what has caused the epidemic, but intensive methods of production clearly accentuate the risk of spread of infection.In the interests of the industry generally, it is the responsibility of all poultry keepers and distributors to manage their undertakings in such a way that the risk of introducing and spreading infection is kept at a minimum. I am not contemplating any change in the regulations which already prohibit the import of poultry and hatching eggs from countries where fowl pest exists.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that among produce converted to end-use specifications by Forestry Commission labour last year, the highest percentage was pulpwood and boardwood material; and what steps he is taking to encourage the building of more pulpmills and boardmills based upon the use of home-grown timber.

Industrialists are well aware of the fact that production from British forests will rise sharply within the next few years, and of the opportunity this will bring for the establishment of new mills and factories. The Forestry Commission is always anxious to help anyone who wishes to have information or advice on volumes or specifications. As my hon. Friend is aware, one of the objects of the re-organised Associations of Woodland Owners is to encourage the development of additional markets.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will re-introduce the payment of compensation for losses due to swine fever.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to a similar Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Sir C. Taylor) on 9th November. I am not yet in a position to add to it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now announce the names of the small group of scientists that he is setting up to examine the use made of toxic sprays in agriculture and to make proposals as to whether more research is necessary; what their terms of reference will be; and in what form, and when, they will report.

The Minister for Science and I, together with the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Health are still considering the composition of this group, but we have in mind that it will consist of about eight scientists comprising, among others, my chief scientific advisers on agriculture and on food, the director of the Plant Pathology Laboratory, and persons nominated by the Medical Research Council, the Agricultural Research Council, the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Nature Conservancy. The terms of reference will be:

"To study the need for further research into the effects of the use of toxic chemicals in agriculture and food storage, and to make recommendations".

The group will report to the four Ministers to whom I have referred, but I clearly cannot, at this stage, say when its report will be available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will take steps to ensure that foreign bacon displayed in the shops is marked with the name of the country of origin.

In general the Merchandise Marks (Imported Goods) No. 3 Order, 1934, already makes it obligatory for imported bacon sold in the United Kingdom to bear an indication of origin which may, at the option of the person applying the mark, be either "Empire" or "foreign", as the case may be, or a definite indication of the country of origin.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the total landings of Danish bacon and the average price per hundredweight of Danish bacon landed in Great Britain for each week from the beginning of March, 1959, until the last convenient date, with the corresponding figure for 1958.

The figures, taken from the Official Accounts of Trade, are as follows. As the Official Accounts of Trade shown only totals for calendar months for the United Kingdom, these are shown below as weekly averages.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in view of the rapidly changing conditions in the bacon indus- try, he will make a further statement before Parliament adjourns for the Christmas recess.

There is nothing that I can usefully add to the statement I made in reply to my hon. Friends, the Members for Newbury (Sir A. Hurd) and Dorset, North (Colonel R. H. Glyn) last Monday.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in view of this year's excellent harvest and the need to reduce prices wherever possible, if he will seek powers, by price control or otherwise, to reduce the present high price of bread.

No. This year's harvest was certainly good. A good harvest in this country, however, does not of itself produce a substantial reduction in the cost of making bread, since the price of bread grains is determined by world supplies of which home production forms a relatively small percentage. Price control would be neither appropriate nor desirable.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what considerations led him to exclude potash from the fertilisers on which farmers may draw a subsidy.

Most of our potash is imported through one source. As my hon Friend knows, I am hoping shortly to be able to study the Report of the Monopolies Commission on fertilisers so that at this stage there is nothing further I can add.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has identified the type of virus and the source of infection of the outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Gloucestershire and Leicestershire.

Virus of the type "O" has been identified. Inquiries into the origin of the primary outbreak in Gloucestershire are not yet complete, but there are indications that it may have arisen out of the feeding of waste foodstuffs to pigs. The outbreaks in Leicestershire are secondaries resulting from the movement of pigs from Gloucestershire.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in light of information available to his Department from the Commonwealth Economic Committee, he will give the total of the Danish pig-breeding herd, namely, gilts in pig, sows in pig and other breeding sows, for October, 1957, October, 1958, and October, 1959, with the percentage increase or decrease during each 12-months' period.

According to information published by the Danish Government, the total Danish pig-breeding herd, namely, gilts in pigs, other sows in pig, sows with litter and barren sows, was 553,000 in October, 1957; 573,000 in October, 1958; and 657,000 in October, 1959. These figures represent increases of 4 per cent. and 15 per cent. respectively on the preceding year. The figures for November, 1959, indicate that the breeding herd has now fallen to 637,000.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he proposes to take to increase the numbers of the pig-breeding herd in the United Kingdom.

I have already said that, apart from any automatic adjustment arising from the feedingstuffs formula, there will be no reduction in the standard price of pigs next year; and I see no reason why pig producers should not plan ahead with confidence.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the proposed imports of North American frozen pork will arrive as whole carcases; and, of the remainder. what proportion will be backs.

Importers are no doubt at present assessing their requirements and it is not therefore possible at this stage to give a precise Answer to my right hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, as representing the Minister for Science, what report he has received from the Therapeutic Substances Testing Board of the Agricultural Research Council about a drug which will cure or prevent fowl pest.

The attention of the Veterinary Therapeutic Testing Board has been drawn to a substance marketed under the name of HEL-A-MIN 100 for the treatment of fowl pest. The manufacturers have been asked to supply certain information which will enable the Board to determine whether there is a case for testing this product. We are still awaiting a reply from the firm.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance, in view of the hardship frequently suffered by retirement pensioners and others living in country areas without Post Office facilities who travel substantial distances in order to draw the pensions to which they are entitled, an example of which has been given him by the hon. Member for Taunton, relating to Bury, near Dulverton, what action he proposes to take to remedy this situation; and why it is not possible to pay pensions in such cases by post.

The general arrangements, under which a pensioner can in appropriate cases appoint a friend or relative to cash his pension orders for him, appear to work satisfactorily. I have no reason to think that these arrangements have broken down at the particular village which my hon. Friend has in mind, but I am writing to him about this.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when the decision of the appeal tribunal of 5th November, 1959, will be known, with reference to the claim for unemployment benefit by shipwrights, employed by Cammell Lairds, of Birkenhead, who were made redundant due to an industrial stoppage in May, 1959.

The decision of the tribunal of Commissioners on this test case was given on 7th December.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the number of men pensioned at less than 100 per cent. rate for disabilities suffered in the 1914–18 war who have been medically examined during the past four years, in order to ascertain whether their disabilities have worsened in advancing years and now warrant a higher assessment; and in how many of these cases increases in assessment have been awarded.

About 20,000 and 6,200 respectively.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the number of men who are 100 per cent. disabled as a result of their 1914–18 war service and who do not receive an allowance for attendance, and the numbers of such men who have been medically examined during the past four years to ascertain whether they deserve an attendance allowance.

The answer to the first part of the Question is 10,762. As regards the second part, I regret that the information asked for is not available but during the period 1st January, 1957, to 30th September, 1959, about 1,750 disablement pensioners of the 1914–18 war were medically examined to ascertain whether they were entitled to constant attendance allowance and 670 of them were awarded the allowance.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance why all men disabled in the 1939, and later wars, are medically examined at regular intervals to ascertain whether their condition has improved or worsened; and why the ageing disabled of the 1914–18 war are not regularly examined to ascertain whether their disabilities, borne for more than forty years, now warrant some increase in assessment, and/or some supplementary allowance.

The answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's Question is that, as he will be aware, awards in respect of service since 2nd September, 1939, are on an interim basis and pensioners are therefore subject to periodic medical boards in the light of which their assessments can be varied upwards or downwards.Pensioners of the 1914 war received in the great majority of cases final awards many years ago. The fact that these are final awards, while ensuring that they can in no circumstances be reduced, does not prevent me from awarding an increased pension in cases in which there is material and permanent worsening of the pensionable disability.I do not think that regular compulsory medical boarding would be appropriate in these cases; if it were now instituted it might well arouse false hopes in some cases and certainly resentment in others. Steps are however taken to draw the attention of pensioners to the possibility of reviewing their assessments where unhappily their pensionable disability has become worse.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what special action he contemplates, additional to the printed leaflets recently issued to all war pensioners, to ensure particularly that the ageing severely disabled men of the 1914 war, whose pension assessments were fixed more than thirty years ago, now receive the fullest compensation for which they may be eligible, in the light of the present conditions and effects of their war disabilities.

As I said in the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr. John Hall) on 16th November, the problem of ensuring that pensioners receive all their entitlements is a continuing one, and my welfare officers, the war pensions committees and their voluntary workers, the ex-Service organisations, the Press and, last but not least, hon. Members all help to ensure that they do so.

asked the Minister of Power whether he is aware of the fault which has developed in a cooling tower of novel design at present being constructed by the Central Electricity Generating Board under the capital development plan, and the consequent reconstruction involved, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Lichfield and Tamworth; and what special provision he makes for the possibility of frustrated expenditure when giving capital sanction to projects of this nature.

The major construction projects of the Central Electricity Generating Board are carried out by contracting firms which are responsible, under the normal contractual arrangements, for correcting faults such as the one to which my attention has been drawn. No special provision is needed, therefore, in the Board's capital investment programme.

asked the Minister of Power whether he is aware that the Wilson Committee has now reached a stage where it would welcome further written memoranda from people interested in research and development on processes making chemicals, gases and oil from coal, and that the delays caused by their procedure have caused public concern; and, as it is an urgent national need that new uses are found for coal, if he will give the Committee power to secure immediate information on all research, known and potential, into the scientific exploitation of Great Britain's coal reserves.

The Chairman tells me that the Committee has already received a large amount of information and has had the fullest co-operation from all the organisations approached. The Committee does not require special powers to obtain information, and its latest request was intended to make sure that anybody who wished to help was given the opportunity to do so.As I told the hon. Gentleman the Member for Wigan (Mr. Fitch) on 30th November the Committee is pressing urgently with its very detailed investigations.

asked the Minister of Power if he will make a statement on the search now going on in Scotland for natural gas.

Work is in hand to prove the volume of gas in the structure at Cousland, Midlothian—the only place in Scotland where our knowledge of the geology of the country suggests that there is natural gas in any quantity.

asked the Minister of Power (1) if he will show in the form of an index the output of crude steel in Scotland in each of the years from 1948 to 1958, taking 1948 as 100;(2) what proportion of United Kingdom crude steel output was produced in Scotland in each of the years from 1948 to 1958.

The required information is given in the following tables:

SCOTLAND—CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION
—		Index (19481=100)	As a percentage of United Kingdom Output
1948	…	100·0	15·2
1949	…	105·7	15·3
1950	…	107·6	14·9
1951	…	93·8	13·5
1952*	…	93·7	12·9
1953	…	103·1	13·2
1954	…	99·0	12·1
1955	…	104·0	11·8
1956	…	111·8	12·2
1957	…	116·5	12·1
1958*	…	93·5	10·9
* Reduced to 52 weeks for comparability.

asked the Minister of Power if he has reached a decision on the recommendation of the Gas Consultative Councils that legislation should be introduced to enforce dealers in second-hand gas appliances to ensure that such appliances are safe for use before being sold to the public.

There has been no general agreement among the twelve Consultative Councils that such legislation should be recommended, and I am not satisfied that it is necessary.

asked the Minister of Aviation whether a decision has yet been reached in regard to the choice of the Pegasus aircraft for use by the Army Air Corps; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he is yet able to make a statement on the contract for the liaison plane requirement for the Army Air Corps.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence hopes shortly to be able to announce the Government's decision in regard to the choice of a liaison aircraft for the Army Air Corps.

asked the Minister of Aviation what agreement exists between British European Airways Corporation and Olympic Airways; and what arrangements have been made for the lease of aircraft by British European Airways to Olympic Airways.

The two airlines have signed a 10-year agreement for commercial co-operation which includes the purchase of two Comet IV B aircraft by B.E.A. and their resale to Olympic Airways.

asked the Minister of Aviation whether, in view of the efforts being made in Russia and the United States of America to develop man-powered aircraft, of the investigations being carried out in the United Kingdom by the man-powered aircraft group of the Royal Aeronautical Society and of the offer of a£5,000 prize by Mr. Henry Kremer for a first successful flight within the British Commonwealth, he will consider making a Government grant to an institution such as a university or aeronautical college to further research and development in this field.

Mr. Kremer's generous offer will undoubtedly provide added stimulus to these projects, but I am not satisfied that a grant of public money is justified.

asked the Minister of Aviation why he has decided that air traffic control is to be exercised by military officers at Nutts Corner and Aldergrove when they are amalgamated.

Because, in all the circumstances, this seems likely to be the most efficient and economical arrangement.

asked the Minister of Works whether he is aware that, despite a notice of intention issued by his Department to schedule the Wish Tower at Eastbourne as an ancient monument, contractors have been engaged to proceed with the demolition of the building; and what steps he is proposing to take in the matter.

Certain work at the Wish Tower had been done before the notice scheduling the monument was issued on 9th November, 1959. Part of the mound surrounding the moat had been removed and the wall of the moat had been breached before that date. There was no intention to demolish the tower.My officers have now examined the details of the work which has still to be done and I am satisfied that it will not injuriously affect the tower.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the difficulty of distinguishing between a trap other than an approved trap that has been set for a fox, as permitted by the Agriculture (Spring Traps) (Scotland) Order dated 23rd October, 1958, and a trap that has been set for a rabbit in contravention of the Spring Traps Approval (Scotland) Order of the same date; and whether, in order to facilitate such a distinction, he will prohibit the use of any gin or leg-hold trap smaller than the sixinch size.

I am not aware of any difficulty of the kind suggested by my hon. Friend. Traps set for taking foxes can be distinguished from those set illegally for taking rabbits by the place and manner in which they are set. In the circumstances there would be no advantage in making the suggested prohibition.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether he is aware that tenants had to be evacuated from property in the Grassmarket last week because of a partial collapse of the interior; and whether he will request a full report from the Corporation of the City of Edinburgh as to the extent of dangerous and derelict properties within the boundaries of the Edinburgh, Central constituency;(2) if he is aware that a further tenement building in Dalrymple Place has had to be evacuated in the City of Edinburgh because of the danger of collapse; and what further consultations he has had with the corporation regarding demolition of unsafe properties;(3) if he is aware that three separate incidents of collapse and near collapse of tenement properties in the City of Edinburgh are causing alarm amongst the citizens; and whether he will institute an inquiry as to the dates when such property was condemned as unfit for human habitation.

I am aware of the incidents to which the hon. Member refers and of the action taken by the Corporation to deal with them. As I have already explained to him, I am satisfied that the Corporation is fully alive to its responsibilities as regards both dangerous buildings and slum clearance generally. I see no reason for special intervention on my part in the ways suggested by the hon. Member, but I am writing more fully to him on the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet received the Tenth Annual Report and Statement of Accounts of the National Research Development Corporation.

Yes. As required by Sections 4 (5) and 10 (5) of the Development of Inventions Act, 1948, I have arranged for these documents to be laid before the House.