asked the Minister of Labour how many disabled persons there are in Jarrow and Hebburn who are now unemployed.

On 15th February, 140 registered disabled persons were unemployed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by what date it is expected that all bovine herds will be attested.

All remaining areas have now been declared eradication areas and my right hon. Friend hopes to declare the whole of England attested before the end of the year. Scotland and Wales are already attested.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made by the preservatives Sub-Committee of the Food Standards Committee carrying out a study of substances and processes for bleaching or improving the maturing of flour.

The Sub-Committee has made an extensive study of this subject, and is now taking evidence from trade interests before completing its report.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has noted the rising trend of milk production; whether he is satisfied that the Milk Marketing Board is taking sufficient steps to penalise producers supplying milk of low butterfat content; and whether he will take steps to remedy this.

Milk production has recently been higher than in the corresponding months of last year. My right hon. Friend is watching with interest the progress of the Milk Marketing Board's butterfat testing scheme and, in addition, he will, later in the year, be advised on these matters by the Committee set up to consider the composition of milk.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that the licences issued for importing 25,000 tons of Canadian pork have not, to any substantial extent, been taken up by the trade because the prices offered were too low; and what other action he will take in these circumstances to restore the balance between the pork and bacon markets in this country.

I understand that Canadian exporters have not found price levels in this country sufficiently attractive and consequently the import licences issued five weeks ago have not yet been taken up by the trade.On the second part of the Question, as my hon. Friend is aware, this is a matter which is being considered during the present Price Review.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that during recent weeks Denmark and Holland have been exporting bacon to this country at a rate as fast as British bacon factories are losing supplies of pigs, and that within the last ten months the British bacon industry has lost 1,000 tons a week or one-third of its trade to Denmark; and what steps he proposes to take to stop this tendency.

There has been a recent increase in bacon imports and a fall in home production. This fall reflects not only increased competition from imports but the competition which the curing industry has to meet from the pork and manufacturing trades for the smaller supplies of pigs which have been available over recent months.The position of the pig industry is at present being reconsidered as part of the Annual Review consultations. I must ask my hon. Friend to await the announcement of the Government's decisions following the Review.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is satisfied that no danger to public health will result from the arsenite spraying of potato foliage on this year's crop; and if he is yet in a position to make a statement.

By voluntary agreement, the use of alkali arsenites will cease after the 1960 potato harvest. Surveys have shown that potatoes from crops treated with alkali arsenites do not contain residues dangerous to consumers. The main risk is to operators and to cattle but I am confident that those concerned will exercise the most stringent safety precautions in this final season of use and that the extra period will be of great value for the commercial development of suitable substitutes.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what restrictions are imposed under his regulations as to the age and physical condition of cattle exported live from the United Kingdom for slaughter overseas.

No cattle of any age may be exported from Great Britain to Europe without being rested at an approved place for at least ten hours immediately beforehand and without a certificate signed by a veterinary inspector that he has examined the animals and Found them fit to be shipped.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the pilot check being undertaken regarding the administration of ploughing grants.

The pilot check which my right hon. Friend has instituted in four divisional offices is for the limited purpose of considering whether and by what methods a general cross check of ploughing grant applications against cereal deficiency payments would be effective in improving the administration of both schemes. Consideration is also being given to the possibility of carrying out a cross-check centrally by mechanical means.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to improve the administrative arrangements of the fertiliser subsidy schemes.

A number of administrative improvements have been made this year. In addition, my right hon. Friend will in due course submit legislative proposals to enable suppliers' records to be examined.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whom he intends to appoint as the first chairman of the Horticultural Marketing Council when the Horticulture Bill receives the Royal Assent.

When the necessary power has been conferred upon us the Secretary of State for Scotland and I intend to invite Mr. David Bowerman to accept this important appointment. I am glad to be able to inform the House that Mr. Bowerman has told me that he would be in a position to accept such an invitation.

asked the Minister of Aviation when he expects London Airport to be saturated with traffic; and what are the plans for dealing with this situation.

It is unlikely that with Gatwick Airport in full use London Airport's runway capacity will be saturated in less than six or seven years. Meanwhile additional passenger accommodation and aircraft stands are being provided and more are being planned in line with the recommendations of the Report of the Millbourn Committee in 1957.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he is aware of the dilapidations at London Airport; and what steps are being taken to maintain the buildings in good condition.

A new long haul passenger building to replace the existing temporary buildings along the Bath Road is already under construction in the central terminal area. Meanwhile a good deal of repainting and redecorating is being done and this work should be completed in the near future.

asked the Minister of Aviation the numbers of emergency and stand-by landings at London Airport for the month of May, 1959.

Seven and 58 respectively.

asked the Minister of Aviation whether he will ensure that tenants rehoused by his Department upon acquisition of their former homes are given terms comparable with those they would have enjoyed had they continued in their previous tenancies under the protection of the Rent Acts.

The rehousing of persons displaced from their homes in such circumstances is governed by Section 31 of the Civil Aviation Act, 1949. This requires, in effect, that alternative accommodation shall be provided which is suited to the reasonable requirements of those displaced, and that the terms shall likewise be reasonable.

asked the Minister of Health what representations he has received from trade unions concerning his unilateral decision to alter the terms of the National Health Service superannuation scheme; and whether he will make a statement.

I have received representations against the proposal to abolish the payment of interest on contributions returned to those who voluntarily leave National Health Service employment, but not against the proposal that the Exchequer should take responsibility for all but a very small part of the actuarial deficit of £80 million.As I said in my reply to a number of Questions on 29th February, I am at present considering these representations.

asked the Minister of Health the number of employees in the National Health Service who left the service voluntarily before retirement in each of the years 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959, respectively; and whether they were paid interest on the contributions they had paid in to the National Health Service superannuation scheme.

I regret that precise figures are not available, but it is estimated that about 50,000 employees voluntarily left superannuable employment in the National Health Service in each of the years in question. In all but a very small minority of these cases interest on returned contributions was paid.

asked the Minister of Health what would be the saving to the National Health Service if there was a removal of Purchase Tax from all drugs and dressings; and to what extent such a reduction would reduce the cost of dispensing.

No precise figures are available, but it is estimated that the annual saving to the National Health Service in England and Wales would be of the order of £¾ million and so far as prescriptions dispensed by chemists are concerned would reduce the average cost by less than 1d.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is satisfied that experimental tests with oral contraceptives being carried out in certain parts of the country are being properly controlled and are safe.

Limited clinical trials of oral contraceptives are being carried out in this country through unofficial channels, but my information is that they are being carried out under medical supervision and that adequate precautions are being taken for the safety of those participating.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that children in need of special hearing aids other than the Medresco are unable to obtain the special types required free under the National Health Service, nor can hospitals supply them to patients nor offer grants towards the cost if purchased privately; and if he will take steps to provide special aids, such as bone conductors, free where necessary on the recommendation of an ear, nose and throat consultant of a local authority.

There is in the range of Medresco hearing aids a valve type bone conduction aid which is obtainable free on the recommendation of a hospital consultant. Commercial aids are not supplied under the hospital service but in appropriate circumstances a local education authority may provide them without charge through the School Health Service.

asked the Minister of Health if he will indicate the improvements in design and fitting of artificial limbs which have accrued from the work of the Department of Research and Experiment at Roehampton since its creation in 1947.

As a result of the work of the research department, in conjunction with the manufacturers of artificial limbs, there has been substantial improvement in the fitting, alignment and stability of artificial limbs: new types of sockets, corsets and pylons have been introduced: the use of new materials has been extended: and walking appliances for children have been developed. The design of arms has been improved, and many special arm appliances have been produced. Apart from the work which is done for amputees, appliances for patients with paralysed arms have been developed.

asked the Minister of Health the average time now taken for major repairs to artificial limbs at Roehampton; and what steps he proposes to take to improve the service and avoid delay.

Between three and four months: the matter is being discussed with the manufacturers of artificial limbs.

asked the Minister of Health the average time now taken to supply an entirely new artificial limb, from the date of first measurement to the date of delivery of the new limb.

About ninety-eight days.

asked the Minister of Health what medical and anatomical qualifications are required by persons to be employed as fitters of artificial limbs and appliances.

I understand that the artificial limb manufacturers by whom limb fitters are employed do not require any such formal qualifications, but that the fitters are given considerable practical training in which the Ministry's medical officers assist.

asked the Minister of Health why the optician at a hospital, of which he has been informed by the hon. and gallant Member for Hull, East, did not show any types or colours of National Health Service spectacle frames to an elderly eye patient, but showed private frames priced from £7 10s. upwards, and eventually sold a pair of spectacles for £4; and what steps he will take to ensure that the full National Health Service for spectacles is available to all hospital patients at the price of £1 10s. 3d.

The full range of National Health Service spectacle frames is available to all hospital ophthalmic patients at the appropriate scale of charges—£1 for the lenses and 10s. 3d. for the most popular type of frame. The hospital board concerned is investigating the matter referred to by the hon. and gallant Member and I will write to him when I receive its report.

asked the Minister of Health his estimate of the number of children born annually in England and Wales as a result of the practice of artificial insemination.

I have no information on which to form a satisfactory estimate. As the hon. Member is aware a Committee on Artificial Insemination, appointed by my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Scotland, is engaged in studying this matter and may be expected to review whatever information is available.

asked the Minister of Health what progress has been made in making transistor hearing aids available to adults through the National Health Service.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 2nd November, 1959, to the hon. Members for Cardiff, West (Mr. G. Thomas) and Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd) and to the hon. and learned Member for Kettering (Mr. Mitchison). I am not yet able to state a more definite date.

asked the Minister of Health the condition as to immunisation of the child who died from diphtheria at Walthamstow recently and of the other four children who contracted the disease; and how long the immunisation had been performed in each case before the attack of diphtheria.

The child who died had not been immunised. Five other children have contracted diphtheria in Walthamstow this year. Three of these had not been immunised; one was immunised in 1952; one was immunised in 1954, and given a re-inforcing dose of diphtheria prophylactic in 1959.

asked the Minister of Health how many patients compulsorily detained at mental hospitals are fit to be released on licence or discharged if places in suitable homes or hostels are made available to them.

I regret that this information is not available. The number is, however, unlikely to be large.

asked the Minister of Health whether any action has yet been taken, either by his Department or by the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board, to reduce the list of people in Barnsley and district who are awaiting admission to hospital.

Yes. I have proposed to the board a list of steps which might be taken, and the board's officers are holding preliminary consultations with a view to discussing with officers of the Ministry what effective measures can be adopted.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the unsatisfactory position which still exists with regard to the Purchase Tax on cake ornaments; and that whereas cake frills are chargeable to Purchase Tax at 12½ per cent. and cake ornaments at 25 per cent., cake boards and cake cards are not chargeable to such tax; and what would be the cost of removing Purchase Tax entirely from cake accessories.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend's reply of 25th March, 1958. I am aware of the facts, but I do not share my hon. Friend's view of them. As regards the last part of the Question, no estimate is possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that it is laid down in Customs and Excise Notice No. 78 that for framed mirrors the Purchase Tax charge of 25 per cent. applies to the whole article under Group 11 (c) whether or not the frame is ordered or supplied separately from the mirror; and, in view of the fact that certain frames suitable for surrounding mirrors are exempt from Purchase Tax under Group 25, how he ensures that frames free of tax ordered under Group 25 are not subsequently used for framing mirrors.

My right hon. Friend is not prepared to describe the means by which attempts to avoid payment of any tax due are countered.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now reconsider the present arrangements under which Purchase Tax on hair-waving and hair-drying machines and some articles designed for heating the hair in the process of waving, curling and setting it is imposed at 25 per cent., whereas all other articles designed for waving, curling or setting the hair are subject to Purchase Tax at 50 per cent.; and whether he will now establish a lower and uniform rate of taxation on all such apparatus.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget decisions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has yet determined the rate of interest to accrue on any transfer of the loan to Colvilles, Limited, under the Heads of Agreement with that Company; and what the rate is.

No.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty when he expects to hand back the land forming part of the Royal Naval depot at Edingham, near Dal-beattie, to its former owners; and whether he will make a statement.

We are expecting to transfer most of the site of this depot to former owners who are already in occupation under tenancies; we are considering disposing of the rest to certain other parties.The district valuer is about to start valuing the properties and expects to get in touch with the parties in about two or three weeks. Negotiation of terms of sale and completion of the legal formalities may take some time, especially as boundaries may need adjustment, but we would hope, subject to the agreement of satisfactory terms, to complete the transfer by the autumn of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will place in the Library of the House of Commons copies of the Reports by the Fraser Committee and by the Powell Cotton Committee on health services in Uganda.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs the plans of the Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield New Town Development Corporations for introducing new industry into each of the towns during the next three years; and what estimate has been made of the increased employment that will be provided.

The Corporations have no proposals for introducing new industry into either town, except for one small firm expected at Welwyn Garden City. Some expansion of industry already in the towns is not ruled out.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how much new industrial building has been provided within the designated areas of Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City new towns, respectively, during the past five years.

At Welwyn Garden City about 1,400,000 square feet and at Hatfield about 150,000 square feet.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs the size of the waiting list for houses in Welwyn Garden City and in Hatfield new towns; and the average time an applicant has to wait before being housed.

The waiting list at Welwyn Garden City is 680, and people now being housed have been on the list about two-and-a-half years. At Hatfield. the waiting list is 560, and the average waiting period for people now being housed is about twelve months.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what plans have been made by the Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield New Town Development Corporations for the provision of houses for sale in each of the new towns during each of the next three years; and how many applications for such houses have been made in each town.

The Corporation has plans at present to build 269 houses for sale at Welwyn Garden City. About half of these are expected to be completed within eighteen months. The Corporation has 400 outstanding inquiries from people wishing to buy a house.At Hatfield, fifty-seven houses for sale are about to be started. Ninety inquiries have been received from people interested in buying these. The Corporation is considering building a further 200 houses for sale.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when the charity disregards for National Assistance were last reviewed; and what action he proposes to take to bring them up to date.

These disregards were reviewed and increased as recently as last September.

asked the Minister of Power if he will set out the Heads of Agreement, dated 10th March, 1959, with Richard Thomas and Baldwins Limited, under which he is making a loan to that company for the construction of a sheet-steel plant at Llanwern and if he will state any subsequent modifications of the agreement.

The Heads of Agreement were set out in an Answer given by my right hon. Friend, the then Paymaster-General to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Sir P. Roberts) on 13th March, 1959. The only modification since then has been the raising of the maximum amount of the loan from £60 million to £70 million, in order to enable the Company to extend and accelerate the completion of the approved scheme. I announced this in Answer to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Sir S. Summers) on 16th December, 1959.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will provide a public observation platform overlooking the works in progress at Hyde Park Corner.

The provision of such a platform would be a matter for the London County Council as road improvement authority to consider with the contractors. Platforms are not, however, normally provided to overlook road works.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland in what circumstances the Accountant of Court accepts payment of his bills by cash instead of by adhesive stamps.

I understand that the Accountant of Court would not accept payment by cash except in circumstances where adhesive stamps were not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the major hospital projects in the current capital investment programme of hospital building in Scotland; and if he will now announce his plans and estimates for the 1960–61 programme.

A list of these projects is given in Appendix A to the Civil Estimates, Class V, Vote 10, for 1959–60. Up-to-date details of the expenditure on the several schemes will be given in the Civil Estimates for 1960–61 to be published very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that there are differences between Scotland and England in the law relating to the adoption of children, namely, that in Scotland adopted children are not entitled as of right, as they are in England, to inherit property, on the intestacy of their adopted parents, and that this is an anomaly which inflicts hardship on adopted children in Scotland; and if he will now take steps to remove this anomaly.

I am aware of the differences between the laws of England and Scotland relating to the succession rights of adopted children. This is one of the matters that I am considering with a view to legislation to amend the law of succession in Scotland.