asked the Minister of Aviation if he will now make a statement about the future of the Princess flying boats.

I have nothing to add at present to the Answer my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Members for Bournemouth, West (Mr. Eden) and for Southampton, Itchen (Dr. King) on 23rd November, 1959.

asked the Minister of Aviation what further orders for military transport aircraft are now to be placed; for what types; and in what numbers.

I have nothing to add at present to the information given about military transport aircraft in paragraph 43 of the Defence White Paper.

asked the Minister of Health the number of compulsorily detained patients, male and female, respectively, in the Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff.

Six male and 2 female on 16th February last.

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of the revenue allocated to the South Western Regional Hospital Board was devoted to administrative expenditure during the years 1954 to 1959, respectively.

The percentage of the revenue allocation of the South Western Regional Hospital Board identifiably devoted to administration was about 3·1 per cent. in the year ended 31st March, 1954, 3·0 per cent. in each of the subsequent years to 1958 and 3·1 per cent. in the year ended 31st March, 1959. These percentages do not include the cost of administration at individual hospitals.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the spectacles, scheduled in 1948 for supply under the National Health Service, are now largely obsolete, and that some of the spectacles still included in the range can now not be obtained from manufacturers; and if he will consult wtih the professions concerned, so as to include in the schedule a more realistic selection of modern styles of spectacle frames.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave today to the hon. Member for St. Pancras, North (Mr. K. Robinson).

asked the Minister of Health if he will specify the organisations from whom the Inter-Departmental Working Party on legislation concerning medicines will receive evidence; and whether he will ensure that these will include the Medical Panel of the Advertising Inquiry Committee, whose interim report was submitted to him on 12th May, 1959.

This panel is one of the bodies from which this Working Party, composed of a group of officials from the Departments concerned, has invited a memorandum.

asked the Minister of Health the number of National Health Service sight tests carried out by ophthalmic opticians in Manchester in 1959, the number of such opticians on the Manchester Executive Council's list, and the average number of sight tests, per optician, per week during 1959.

82,198 sight-tests were carried out by ophthalmic opticians in Manchester during 1959. There were 197 ophthalmic opticians on the list of Manchester Executive Council at 31st December last. This represents about eight sight tests per optician per week.

asked the Minister of Health in how many cases during 1959 fatal reactions followed poliomyelitis vaccinations.

I am not aware of any deaths in England and Wales in 1959 ascribed to reactions following poliomyelitis vaccination.

asked the Minister of Health, as representing the Minister for Science, when he expects to announce the composition of the committee which will consider noise and its effects.

I am very glad to say that Mr. A. H. Wilson, F.R.S., has accepted an invitation from my noble Friend to act as Chairman of this Committee. The membership, which is not yet complete, will be announced as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when Her Majesty's Government propose to ratify the Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of armed conflict.

Her Majesty's Government intend to postpone a decision about ratification until after the Conference of signatory States which is to review this Convention.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what official reply Her Majesty's Government have made to the memorandum of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, received on 12th May, 1958, asking the Government for their views on the Draft Rules for the Limitation of the dangers incurred by the Civilian Population in Times of War, designed to restrict the use of nuclear weapons, the preparation and furtherance of which received the approval of Her Majesty's Government during the 19th International Red Cross Conference held at New Delhi in October, 1957.

No official reply other than my right hon. and learned Friend's original acknowledgement has been sent.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps his Department is taking to make available to the German authorities at their request documents relating to the identity and activities of German war criminals; and to what extent these authorities have access to the original captured German documents jointly owned by the American and British Governments and presently housed in Washington.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "None." As I explained to the hon. Lady, the Member for Blackburn (Mrs. Castle) on 10th February, Her Majesty's Government do not now hold any documents of this kind.The answer to the second part of the Question is that the jointly controlled documents, which are mainly military, are being sorted. Those which are not secret or otherwise classified are returned to the Federal German Government. The rest are retained in Washington but the Federal German Government are allowed reasonable access to them.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a further statement on the Cyprus situation.

I cannot at present add much to what my right hon. and learned Friend told the House in reply to the Question from the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Donnelly) on 17th February. The Governor has reported on his conversations with the Cypriot leaders, and, as the House will be aware, my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies is flying to Cyprus tomorrow for further discussions. We also remain in touch with the Governments of Greece and Turkey. I will of course inform the House of any further developments.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what contribution Her Majesty's Government propose to make towards the World Malaria Fund.

None. Her Majesty's Government already carry out a great deal of anti-malaria work in the territories for which they are responsible. They also contribute substantially to the Regular Budget of the World Health Organisation and other international funds whose activities include anti-malaria work.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs up to what yield in kilotons nuclear test explosions will be permitted under the present proposals made in Geneva by the United States delegate with the support of Her Majesty's Government.

Under the American proposals the treaty would begin by prohibiting underground tests down to the lowest limit for which effective control can now be foreseen. This limit would depend on the number of inspections which could be agreed. Assuming a reasonable number of inspections, the United States has suggested a limit of 4·75 on the scale of earthquake magnitude as recorded by instruments of the control system. Soviet and Western scientists have differed about the magnitudes which underground explosions of varying sizes would show on the instruments. Soviet scientists have considered a magnitude of 4·75 to be equivalent to an underground explosion of about two kilotons. The estimate of British and American scientists is nearly twenty kilotons. The purpose of expressing the limit as a magnitude instead of a kiloton yield is to circumvent this difference, which we hope can be resolved, amongst others, by the further research called for in the American proposal.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the present danger of the outbreak of hostilities between Egypt and Israel, if he will enter into urgent consultations with the co-signatories of the Tripartite Agreement.

Our representative at the United Nations is in close touch with the Secretary-General and with other interested delegations about these matters. That includes the co-signatories of the Tripartite Declaration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs by what authority officers of his Department made a complaint to the Central Office of Information for including in its routine programme for overseas countries an extract from a leading article in The Times newspaper of 5th January last, entitled, "Evil Seed."

My right hon. and learned Friend is responsible for the policy governing the output of the Central Office of Information to our posts abroad. These posts are informed of the editorial content of the daily Press in two sections of the London Press Service. The first is a summary; the second contains longer quoted extracts. The Times article referred to was included in the summary. It was however considered that too much space—one-third of the total from all newspapers—was devoted to direct quotation in the second section. This point was made orally to the Central Office of Information, whose responsible officers concurred.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how long, on average, a Third Secretary, a Second Secretary and a First Secretary, respectively, in his Department remains in his post overseas before being transferred to another post; and how this compares with the average time in these posts in 1938.

The length of posting depends on many factors, including climatic conditions and amenities, and any exact average would be misleading. Second and Third Secretaries are moved fairly frequently to enable them to acquire experience and to show what branch of the work they are likely to do best. They usually stay between two and three years in each post. Officers from First Secretaries upwards, who have acquired experience and specialist skills, or shown particular aptitudes, generally stay between three and four years in their posts, but occasional postings are longer than this.Comparison with pre-war conditions is impossible. Before the war there were three separate services with different conditions of service—Diplomatic, Commercial Diplomatic and Consular. The latter included regional services such as the China Consular Service, whose members spent their whole careers in China. Their functions are now performed by the unified Foreign Service. A possible comparison would be between the prewar Diplomatic Service and the present Foreign Service. Postings in the pre-war Diplomatic Service were of about the same length as those in the Foreign Service today.

asked the Minister of Labour approximately how many persons are now employed in the new towns; and how many of these are in the new towns in the County of Essex.

295,000 and 29,000 respectively at mid-1958.

asked the Minister of Labour, in view of the new motor factories to be established in the Lothians and Renfrewshire, whether he will take the necessary action to ensure that those who have become redundant in nearby areas due to the rundown of older industries, such as foundry and railway engineering trades, are informed of the new opportunities for employment which are likely to arise.

Yes. Arrangements will be made for unemployed men in nearby areas to be considered for vacancies notified to my local offices which cannot be filled locally.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what factors have caused the delay in the settlement of trading balances outstanding from the period of food control and now requiring Supplementary Estimates; and what further settlements have yet to be made.

The main factors causing the delay in the settlement of trading balances outstanding from the food control period are the complexities of examination and negotiation of disputed claims. Consequently I am unable to state what further settlements have yet to be made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the concern of many public health authorities and the Association of Municipal Corporations at the long delay in introducing satisfactory regulations requiring the staining and sterilisation of meat which is unfit for human consumption; and whether he will accordingly forthwith reintroduce the Meat (Staining and Sterilisation) Regulations, 1959, which were revoked before coming into force.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware of the dissatisfaction among local authorities regarding the delay in framing regulations concerning the marking of meat not fit for human consumption; and when he expects to have obtained the agreement of all interested parties to the new proposed regulations.

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Members for Erith and Crayford (Mr. Dodds), Wood Green (Mrs. Butler) and Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Darling) on 18th February.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the number of retirement pensioners in Wales, the number whose pension is supplemented by National Assistance, and the number who received special grants for clothing during 1959.

In December, 1959, there were about 275,000 retirement pensioners in Wales, of whom about 65,000 were having their pensions supplemented by the National Assistance Board. Some of these supplements cover the needs of a household with more than one pensioner. The number of grants made by the Board to retirement pensioners to meet exceptional needs, mostly for clothing and bedding, is not known, but the number of such grants to all kinds of recipients in Wales was 18,526 in 1959.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance with which countries the United Kingdom has established reciprocal arrangements in regard to the payment of family allowances; and what efforts are being made to extend this list.

Our reciprocal arrangements with the Isle of Man. Jersey, Guernsey, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Yugoslavia all make provision in respect of family allowances. Our agreements with Cyprus, Malta, Israel, Switzerland and Turkey do not cover family allowances; these countries have not yet established general schemes of family allowances. There are no reciprocal provisions on family allowances in our agreements with the Irish Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden. Families going to those countries from the United Kingdom or coming from those countries to the United Kingdom can however generally qualify for family allowances by virtue of one of the European Interim Agreements on Social Security which the United Kingdom and those countries have all ratified. I am always glad to take any opportunity there is of extending these useful and sensible arrangements.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the reasons for his policy of not extending the period of payment of family allowances to those citizens temporarily absent on work abroad but continuing to pay United Kingdom insurance contributions and Income Tax.

The object of the Family Allowances scheme is to provide for families in this country as part of the social services of this country, and the view has always been taken that to pay allowances in respect of absences exceeding six months would be inconsistent with this object. There is, in any case, no connection between family allowances and insurance contributions which, if paid at all, are paid for quite different purposes. Liability for Income Tax may depend on such factors as the amount of the income and its source, which again, have no relevance to family allowances.

asked the Minister of Power what plans he can now announce for reducing the existing coal stocks by developing the use of byproducts of coal.

The Government, the National Coal Board, the Gas Council and private industry are developing gasification processes based on coal and are carrying on research to improve the use of by-products; in particular, Gas Boards are setting up two Lurgi plants and the National Coal Board a Ruhrgas plant. The longer term prospects are being examined by the Wilson Committee.It would be unrealistic to expect such processes to contribute much to the reduction of stocks in the near future.

asked the Minister of Power if he will take powers to ensure that Regulation 7 of the Coal and Other Mines (Mechanics and Electricians) Regulations, 1956, is fully operative at all places of work to which the Regulations apply.

No. My right hon. Friend is not prepared to ask Parliament to amend the Mines and Quarries Act, 1954, so as to detract from the manager's responsibility for the safe working of the mine in accordance with the Act and regulations.

asked the Minister of Power in how many reports received by him dealing with fatal accidents in mines it has been stated by the person reporting that certain safety regulations have not been carried out due to shortage of staff on the part of the National Coal Board; and if he will list such reports.

I cannot without very considerable research give a precise figure, but I can assure the hon. Member that the number is very small.

asked the Minister of Power if he is aware that the report of Her Majesty's Divisional Inspector of Mines on a recent mining fatality in Yorkshire reveals that certain provisions of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1954 were not being carried out, that safety regulations were being ignored, and that these factors contributed to the cause of the explosion; and what steps he intends to take in the matter.

Yes. My right hon. Friend is now discussing with the National Coal Board and other interested authorities, the best means of preventing a recurrence of the circumstances which gave rise to this accident.

asked the Minister of Power the percentage increase in the total exports of coal to Denmark for 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959; and what are the prospects for the next five years of exports to this area, in view of increased competition from Poland.

Exports of coal to Denmark were 3·4 million tons in 1954. They rose by 7 per cent. in 1955, but fell in each succeeding year to 1959 when they amounted to one million tons, 29 per cent. of the 1954 total. So far this year shipments and sales have been much better than a year ago. The level of exports over the next five years will depend on Denmark's demand for imports and the success of the efforts of the National Coal Board and the exporters to sell coal in competition with other suppliers and with oil.

asked the Minister of Power if he will send a letter to all local authorities, similar to that being sent by him to other Government Departments, asking them to consider the merits of using coal and coal-burning equipment in establishments under their control.

I am asking my right hon. Friends to draw the attention of local authorities to the relative merits of coal and fuels like coke which are derived from coal. I am also asking them to bring to the local authorities' notice the new technical sales service introduced by the National Coal Board. Local authorities will already be aware that coal installations with new mechanical stokers were, by recent Orders made by my right hon. Friends, exempted from the provisions of the Clean Air Act relating to smoke control areas.

asked the Minister of Power if he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board that, in conditions such as those which obtained at Betteshanger Colliery on Sunday, 14th February, ministers of religion are always to be allowed, when their ministrations are desired by the miners, to go down the mines.

No. This matter is best left to the Board's discretion.

asked the Minister of Power, in view of the official report by Her Majesty's Divisional Inspector of Mines on the explosion at the St. John's colliery, Normanton, Yorkshire, if he will introduce new regulations under the Mines and Quarries Act making it compulsory that no electrical apparatus shall be operated by any workman unless he is adjudged capable, by examination, of detecting firedamp by recognised gas detectors in use at the colliery of employment, and that such a gas detector shall be available before a workman is allowed to operate electrically powered apparatus.

My right hon. Friend cannot agree to introduce such regulations which would require the use of gas detectors in many cases where their use is clearly unnecessary. Managers already have difficulty in finding sufficient men, willing to undergo tests of ability to detect firedamp and carry and use firedamp detectors underground, in order to comply with the present regulations.

asked the Minister of Power what portion of the proposed loan by Her Majesty's Government for the erection of a new plant by Colvilles Iron and Steel Company Limited, will be for the erection of a chemical and by-product plant.

The development scheme, in respect of which the Government have undertaken to lend up to £50 million, contains provision for coke ovens and associated by-product plant at an estimated cost of £2½ million. It is not possible to say precisely how much of the amount is attributable to byproducts.

asked the Minister of Power, on the basis of figures supplied to him for the Ministry of Power Statistical Digest, Table 96, the yearly amounts of coke, in tons, disposed of by the National Coal Board to the iron and steel industry from 1952 to 1959.

Following is the information:

Disposals of coke by the National Coal Board to blast furnaces and foundries in recent years have been as follows:

asked the Minister of Power (1) whether he will give an estimate of the cost of the plant needed for liquefaction, of a ship of 30,000 tons built to incorporate the results of the "Methane Pioneer" trials, and of the plant needed for regasification, respectively, in connection with the use of liquid methane for the production of gas;(2) whether, as a result of the six voyages of the "Methane Pioneer", he is now able to give an estimate of the cost per therm of heat from this source of fuel; and how this compares with the cost per therm of oil and coal.

No. The experiment has not been completed and my right hon. Friend has not yet received an appraisal of it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is satisfied that the general public will be adequately protected from the hazards of beryllium poisoning when the new machining plant at Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth's Aircraft Ltd., Coventry, is in operation; and if he will make a statement.

Consultations have taken place between the firm and the Alkali Inspectorate. Agreement has been reached on the best practicable means to be used for preventing the discharge into the air of beryllium compounds; and where gases containing these compounds are discharged, for making them harmless and inoffensive.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, in connection with the Government-owned sites at Handforth and Wilmslow which include the No. 61 Maintenance Unit, Handforth, the War Department Vehicle Depot, Handforth, and the Royal Air Force Station, Wilmslow Park, Wilmslow, he will consider requiring the Treasury to make a payment in 1960–61 in lieu of rates in respect of these properties in view of the delay in reaching a decision of the question of the future use of such properties for light industrial purposes.

Rates are not payable on unoccupied property, and thus there is no ground for the payment of contributions in lieu of rates on unoccupied Crown property. The local authorities concerned in this case receive rate-deficiency grant, which automatically compensates in full for a fall in the Crown contributions.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what changes are to be made in the basis of paying the block grant to local authorities; and, in particular, if he will reconsider the formula for supplementary grants, based on the number of children of school age, since this works inequitably for some local authorities.

The basis for distribution of the general grants for the second grant period beginning in April, 1961, will, in consultation with the representatives of local authorities, come up for consideration in the course of the next few months. There will then be full opportunity to examine any suggestions for improvement in the formula.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many minutes' warning of the approach of a ballistic missile would be given as a result of the establishment of the early warning station at Fylingdales; and by what means this warning would be communicated to the people of Great Britain as a whole.

The system would detect a missile as soon as it rose above the radar horizon. The warning received might be as little as four minutes before the missile landed in the United Kingdom, but could be a good deal longer. The public warning, system is being adapted for the purpose of communicating the warning provided by the station, though the main purpose of the system is, of course, to improve the effectiveness of the deterrent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to protect the public against misleading statements by the manufacturers of a well-known patent medicine, details of which have been forwarded to him by the Advertising Inquiry Committee.

My right hon. Friend is informed by my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Health that he sees no ground for action under the legislation for which he is responsible. My right hon. Friend has examined the possibility of action under the Merchandise Marks Acts, but is advised that the information available to him does not disclose any ground on which proceedings under those Acts could be contemplated. If, however, the hon. Member possesses evidence which in his view would support such action, my right hon. Friend will be glad to examine it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the constitutional position in Zanzibar; what plans he has for constitutional progress; and when he expects to implement elections on a common roll with universal adult suffrage.

When I visited Zanzibar last December I said that I would authorise the British Resident, after he had taker up office in early 1960, to examine the constitutional position in Zanzibar in the light of the opinions which had been expressed, and subsequently to make a report to me. I have just received the British Resident's report and am giving it my close attention. I have further statement to make at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in which Colonies minimum wage regulations are in force; and in which Colonies there are no such regulations.

According to my latest information the position is as follows:

Wage-regulation orders are in force in the following Territories: Aden, Antigua, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Cyprus, Dominica, Gambia, Gibraltar, Grenada, Jamaica, Kenya, Malta, Mauritius, the Federation of Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanganyika, Trinidad, Uganda and Zanzibar.

There are no wage-regulation orders in the following Territories: Bahamas, Bermuda, Brunei, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Hong Kong, Montserrat, North Borneo, Sarawak, Virgin Islands and the Western Pacific Territories.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will now make a statement on the future constitutional development of Uganda arising out of the Wild Report.

The Governor of Uganda is today conveying to the Legislative Council the views of Her Majesty's Government on certain major matters of principle embodied in the Report of the Constitutional Committee. Her Majesty's Government's views are that the legislature of the Protectorate should have an elected majority; that elections to the legislature should be held throughout the Protectorate as early in 1961 as can be arranged, on the basis of a common roll with a further extension of the franchise and without electoral safeguards for minorities; that the Executive should comprise a majority of non-official Ministers and should continue to be presided over by, and advisory to, the Governor. Her Majesty's Government also reaffirm their previous declarations regarding the perservation and upholding of the status and dignity of the Hereditary Rulers and contemplate the setting up of a Commission to consider the whole question of the relationships of the various parts of Uganda with the centre. It is hoped to make an announcement on the latter point later in the year when the Governor has been able to advise me further after consultations locally.The Report of the Constitutional Committee is being debated in the Legislative Council against the background of these decisions by Her Majesty's Government.I am arranging for copies of the text of the Governor's statement when received to be placed in the Library.

asked the Minister of Education how many primary school classes had more than 40 pupils; how many secondary school classes had more than 30 pupils; and what are these figures expressed as percentages of the total number of classes, for the lastest available date.

In January, 1959, there were 23,251 oversize junior classes and 49,204 oversize senior classes. These were 18·4 per cent. of all junior and 55 per cent. of all senior classes.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will consider amending Section 339 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1947, so as to enable local authorities to contribute to disaster funds generally, and not merely those benefiting their own areas.

This is a matter which I propose to discuss with the local authority associations at an early date.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of convictions for drunkenness in the Metropolitan Police District, and in the City of London, respectively, during the calendar year 1959; and what were the comparable figures for 1958.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Transport what evidence he possesses that accidents involving personal injury are fewer at roundabouts than at junctions controlled by traffic lights; and if he will give full details.

Investigations by the Road Research Laboratory suggest that, after making due allowance for relative traffic volume, the tendency is for fewer personal injury accidents to occur at roundabouts than at junctions controlled by traffic lights. It does not follow that at any particular junction a roundabout would be the safer form of control. In each instance the choice is governed by a number of factors, the volume and distribution of traffic and the types of accidents that have occurred being specially important.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) the cause of the traffic congestion in High Street, Harlesden, N.W.10, and adjoining roads, at about seven p.m. on Friday 12th February; and what consideration is being given to preventing a repetition of it;(2) the cause of the traffic congestion which occurred in Sussex Gardens, Paddington, W.2, and adjoining streets, at about 6.30 p.m. on Friday, 12th February; and what consideration is being given to preventing a repetition of it.

On the day and at the times in question there were no road works, public functions or other local circumstance likely to have been responsible for traffic congestion in Sussex Gardens, Paddington, or in High Street, Harlesden.Apparently many motorists were on the roads in the evening of Friday, 12th February trying to find routes and short cuts in anticipation of a railway strike; both Sussex Gardens and High Street, Harlesden, are parts of through routes from Central London to the North and West.In the circumstances I do not think that any question of special measures to present a repetition of this type of road traffic congestion arises.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in respect of the £2,311 million of subsidies and the £84 million of loans paid to privately-owned agriculture and industry since 1951, what have been the annual amounts paid to agriculture and to each industry separately.

The table below gives the information required. Subsidies have been defined as in the National Income Blue Books, and the figures may therefore differ slightly from those published elsewhere.