asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what percentage of war pensioners are now in receipt of the allowance for lowered standard of occupation.

Three per cent.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will take steps to increase benefits paid under the Workmen's Compensation and Benefit (Supplementation) Act, 1956.

I have no proposals for legislation on this subject.

asked the Minister of Power if he will give a direction to the Scottish Gas Consultative Council to strengthen its public relations, arising from the wrong information given to many gas consumers for the recent increase in the price of gas.

I am not aware that this Consultative Council has given any wrong information, and I am confident that it constantly seeks closer and broader relations with gas users in Scotland.

asked the Minister of Power the estimated compensation necessary to terminate the contracts for oil at all dual-firing electricity generating stations.

Since these contracts cannot be terminated or modified except by agreement between the Generating Board and the oil companies, the amount of compensation would be a matter for negotiation. For this reason I am afraid I cannot provide the information asked for by the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Minister of Power how many members of the National Coal Board will be over the age of 65 years at the termination of their current engagement.

One member will reach his 65th birthday shortly before his present appointment ends.

asked the Minister of Power if he will supply information as to the annual cost, since 1947, to the National Coal Board for damage to property caused by subsidence.

The cost to the National Coal Board of surface damage in each of the years from vesting to 3rd January, 1959, is shown in the following table:

	£m.
1947	0·6
1948	0·9
1949	1·2
1950	1·4
1951	1·8
1952	2·3
1953	2·6
1954	2·6
1955	3·1
1956	3·5
1957	4·3
1958	4·3
Total	28·6

Costs in the years 1951 to 1957 inclusive are net after receiving from the Exchequer grants totalling £1·9 million over the period, under Section 11 of the Coal Mining (Subsidence) Act, 1950.

asked the Minister of Power the amount of coal stocked in the East Midlands Division of the National Coal Board to the nearest convenient date; and what is the difference in tons, for a date 12 months previous.

On 23rd January, 1960, the East Midlands Division held 10·5 million tons of coal in stock, 3·8 million tons more than on the 24th January, 1959. The level of undistributed stocks is at present declining.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will make a statement about the transfer of flying activities amenities from Croydon to Biggin Hill.

Twelve former users of Croydon Airport have moved to Biggin Hill where they now operate on terms agreed between them and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air as owner of the airfield.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he is aware of the proposal of the Blackburn Aircraft Company to put its Dumbarton factory on the market; and what steps he is taking to retain aircraft work in Scotland.

Yes. I hope that the Company will succeed in its declared aim of finding a purchaser who can take over its part of the factory and continue to provide employment. With regard to the second part of the Question, my right hon. Friend will shortly be making a statement on the wider issue of the reorganisation of the aircraft industry.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he has yet received any report from the Spanish authorities concerning the Trans-Air Dakota crash in Barcelona in August, 1959; and if he will make a statement.

A report on this accident has been received from the Spanish authorities and is at present being translated.My right hon. Friend cannot make any statement until he has had an opportunity of studying it.

asked the Minister of Aviation what representations have been made to him on behalf of the French Government to scrap the DH121 in favour of the Caravelle jet airliner.

My right hon. Friend has received no such representations from the French Government.

asked the Minister of Aviation what plans there are for installing indestructible electronic recording brains in aircraft now being developed which would help to reveal the cause of an air crash.

The Ministry of Aviation is investigating the use of accident data recorders and intends to develop equipment suitable for both military and civil aircraft.

asked the hon. Member for Holland with Boston, as Chairman of the Kitchen Committee, whether he is aware that whereas Bristol Milk appeared in his abridged price list for Christmas sales at the retail price of 22s. 6d., Bristol Cream was priced at 28s., which is 1s. 6d. more than the usual retail price; and what steps he has taken to bring the correct price to the attention of hon. Members.

I am obliged to my hon. Friend for drawing my attention to this error, and I agree that 26s. 6d. is the usual retail price for this wine.I have instructed the Department to make a refund of 1s. 6d. on each bottle purchased, either by my hon. Friend or by any other Member, and I much regret that this error occurred.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that a certain firm of chain-store dispensing opticians, whose name has been given to him by the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Hull. East, as a matter of policy fails to show National Health Service patients the range of spectacle frames available under the service; and what action he will take to ensure that this firm's patients obtain the full public service to which they are entitled.

Initially this appears to be a matter for the executive councils with whom the firm are in contract and I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave him on 14th December last.

asked the Minister of Health the number of ophthalmic and dispensing opticians, respectively, in Hull who are prepared to provide new spectacles to replace broken ones under the National Health Service, without making additional charges for early delivery.

All 35 ophthalmic opticians and 2 dispensing opticians under contract with Hull Executive Council have accepted standard terms of service which preclude their making additional charges for early delivery when replacing broken spectacles under the National Health Service.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the drug Preludin will be available to the public only on the prescription of a doctor.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department to the hon. Member for Brixton (Mr. Lipton) on 4th February.

asked the Minister of Health in connection with the breakdown of negotiations which began in 1956 between the two sides in the appropriate Whitley Council in the matter of a revaluation of the salary scales of regional hospital boards' works organisation staffs, why, having had the staff side's draft terms of reference for arbitration in his possession for more than two months, he has so far failed to give his observations upon them.

I understand that in reply to a Management Side offer on salaries the Staff Side last November made counter proposals on salaries and proposals for a different grading structure for engineering staffs together with suggested terms of reference for arbitration if agreement was not possible. Until these proposals had been examined in detail it would have been premature to consider arbitration. Agreement on the new grading structure has just been reached between the two sides and terms of reference have been agreed for settling by arbitration the difference between them on salaries.

asked the Minister of Health if he is satisfied with the treatment available in hospitals for migraine; and if he will appoint a committee to inquire into the different treatments available with a view to making them more widely known.

It is not my function to assess the merits of particular forms of medical treatment. Sufferers from migraine can obtain treatment by consulting their family doctors and I do not think the appointment of a Committee for the purpose suggested by my hon. Friend would help.

asked the Minister of Health the number of personnel, other than medical and nursing staff, employed in hospitals in England and Wales when the National Health Service came into operation in July, 1948; and the number at the latest convenient date.

In round figures 197 thousand at the end of 1948 and 250 thousand at the end of 1958. This includes professional, technical, works, maintenance, domestic, administrative and clerical staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is yet in a position to indicate the agenda for the Conference on the Law of the Sea at which Great Britain will be represented, to be held in Geneva next March.

Yes, Sir. In accordance with Resolution 1307 adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10th December, 1958, the conference will consider the questions of the breadth of the territorial sea and fishery limits.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made in the official consultations with the Soviet Government concerning the jamming of the British Broadcasting Corporation's Russian-language broadcasts.

I am glad to be able to tell the hon. Gentleman that on 3rd February our Ambassador in Moscow was informed that the Soviet Government had decided to stop jamming from 17.00 hours Greenwich Mean Time the same day. I understand that Russian jamming has now stopped.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) what steps he has taken to secure the implementation of the agreement with Herr Alfred Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach for the break-up of his industrial properties by 31st January, 1960;(2) what recent discussions he has had with the Governments of France and the United States of America regarding the future of their joint agreement with Herr Alfred Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach due to be implemented by 31st January, 1960; and if he will make a statement.

As the House knows, an International Committee was set up under the terms of the Bonn Settlement Convention to consider Herr Krupp's request for an extension of time in which to carry out the remaining sales of his properties. The Committee, which is an independent body, whose members are not instructed by Governments, announced on 25th January that it had granted an extension up to 31st January, 1961. I am informed that the decision was unanimous.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will take note of Recommendation 225 of the Council of Europe on the procedure for concluding partial agreements, which was unanimously adopted by the Consultative Assembly, and take such steps as are necessary to bring about the amendment of the statutory texts.

Her Majesty's Government are not in favour of the suggested amendment. The present unanimity rule has not created difficulties in the past; and it allows every member of the Council of Europe to have a part in determining the range of activities which are conducted in the framework of that organisation.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed over 50 years of age registered at the employment exchanges at the latest convenient date; and what percentage this forms of the total number of unemployed.

The number was 132,714 on 7th December, 1959, or 33 per cent. of the total. These figures exclude temporarily stopped and casual workers.

asked the Minister of Labour if his attention has been called to the strike of apprentice jockeys at Newmarket; and what steps he is taking to settle this dispute on a just basis, and to secure an improvement in the conditions at the hostel in which these boys live.

Yes. My officers are trying to arrange for a resumption of work so that the apprentices' grievances can be discussed with the employers, with whom the responsibility for the conditions at the hostel rests.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider making available a financial grant for the provision of a public planetarium in Edinburgh.

Apart from the approach made to me by the hon. Member, I have had no other requests for such a grant, but I shall consider the matter further. Meantime I would remind the hon. Member that there is already a working model planetarium in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, where it is a very popular exhibit.

asked the Minister of Transport what complaints he has received about the poisonous fumes emitted from the exhaust of diesel driven aids in the sheds of the West India and other London docks; and what action has been taken to deal with this problem.

Two complaints from London dock workers about diesel fumes have been brought to my attention. I am informed that the Port of London Authority has examined the problem with manufacturers, other users and the trade union and that my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Labour, is having further inquiries made.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give an assurance that in future he will not infringe the rights of the non-smoking public by over-ruling decisions of the traffic commissioners to restrict smoking to the upper decks of public-service vehicles.

The hon. Member no doubt has in mind a statutory appeal to me from a decision of the Traffic Commissioners for the Northern Traffic Area. I am bound to decide statutory appeals on the evidence and arguments before me in the particular case. That is what I did in this case.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the congestion caused by traffic turning right at the junction of Cromwell Road and Earls Court Road, Kensington; and if he will arrange some kind of diversion, like that at the junction of New Kent Road and Old Kent Road, Southwark, to ease the flow of traffic.

A study of turning traffic on the whole length of Cromwell Road is now being made, but it is doubtful whether the street pattern at and around the intersection with Earls Court Road will lend itself to any workable diversion scheme. Improvement of the situation is more likely to take the form of a physical widening of the junction.

asked the Minister of Transports if he will arrange for a strip about six feet wide to be taken off the exceptionally wide pavement on the north side of Richmond Road, South Kensington, between its junctions with Earls Court Road and Warwick Road, and added to the roadway so as to ease the congestion caused when vehicles are parked on both sides of the road.

The Royal Borough of Kensington is the highway authority, and I will draw its attention to this suggestion.

asked the Minister of Transport the number of certificates of officers of the merchant service and fishing fleet, respectively, which have been cancelled or suspended by courts of formal investigation held under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, during the year 1959; and, in cases of suspension, what was the period of such suspension.

During 1959 one officer of the merchant service had his certificate suspended for nine months; five officers of the fishing fleet had their certificates suspended, one for a period of 3 years, three for a period of 2 years and one for a period of 12 months. No certificates were cancelled.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of immigrants into the United Kingdom for the twelve months ended 31st December, 1959, from the West Indies, India, and Pakistan.

Approximate figures of net inward movement are: West Indies, 16,400; India, 3,000; Pakistan. 900.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why the Rev. W. H. Donnan, of Eriswell Rectory, Brandon, Suffolk, was asked on or about 7th December, 1959, to resign his appointment as officiating chaplain of the Church of England to Royal Air Force, Mildenhall.

I understand that Mr. Donnan was not asked to resign but took the initiative himself.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the Trent River Board has yet made any recommendation as to what action should be taken in connection with the Drakelow Weir at Burton-on-Trent.

No recommendations have yet been received. I understand that the river board awaits the results of tests now being carried out on the model of the River Trent constructed at the Government's Hydraulic Research Station. These tests are being made in order to observe the effect that certain proposals for the improvement of the river might have upon the operation of the existing electricity generating station and on the siting of future corporation sewage works.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the group of scientists he has set up to examine the use of toxic sprays in agriculture has yet met; and when and in what form its, report can be expected.

Consultations about the membership of this group are practically completed and an announcement will be made shortly.I cannot, at this stage, say when and in what form its report can be expected, although it will be made to my noble Friend the Minister for Science, my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Health and myself.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will standardise all grants for further education so that the amount granted to a student depends entirely on his qualifications and not on the geographical location of his home.

I am glad to say that much progress towards uniformity in this field has been made in recent years. The Committee under the Chairmanship of Sir Colin Anderson is considering the position of students taking first degree or comparable courses and I must await its report.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what regulation his Department taxes compensation received for damage to a capital asset, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Arundel and Shoreham.

In the case to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers it appeared to the Inland Revenue that the compensation was paid for damage to trading stock; and on this basis it fell to be treated as a revenue receipt on ordinary tax principles.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what progress has been made in the discussions which, as indicated in the White Paper of February, 1959, were to be held on the recommendations of the Bowes Committee in relation to the Broads.

I am informed that negotiations have been taking place between the Great Yarmouth Port and Haven Commissioners and the East Suffolk and Norfolk River Board, but they have not yet reached agreement on the Bowes Committee recommendations. Representatives of the National Parks Commission are intending to visit the area later in the year, and I hope that, if by then progress is still held up, they will be able to help matters forward.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that in parts of Lincolnshire and Northern England the reception of the British Broadcasting Corporation's North Home Service often suffers serious interference from transmissions from Erfurt in Eastern Germany; and what he is doing to reduce the interference.

I am aware that interference to the British Broadcasting Corporation's North Home Service on the medium wavelength has become more severe. My Department has consulted the Foreign Office about it and Her Majesty's Government will continue to try to do away with the trouble.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consult with the Registrar of the Restrictive Trade Practices Court, with a view to republication of a report on the trade agreements which have been voluntarily terminated or amended, and those brought before the Court, with the Court's findings, and the agreements which are still under consideration, with any observations on the operations of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act which the Registrar may wish Parliament and the Government to consider.

A good deal of information on this subject is already available, and I shall be glad to consult with the Registrar to see what information he can give me which I can usefully put before the House.