asked the Minister of Health on what date he approved an extension of the arrangements for poliomyelitis vaccination to provide a fourth dose to children between 5 and 12 years; on what date this information was received by the Middlesex Executive Council; and on what date this information was sent to general practitioners in the area of Willesden.

My right hon. Friend announced this extension in reply to my noble Friend the Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel) on 12th April. The Department's circular letter was received by the Middlesex Executive Council on 13th April. Printed notices to general practitioners in the area were distributed on 5th May.

asked the Minister of Health what is the estimated shortage of social workers for the physically handicapped; what is this figure expressed as a percentage of the total required; and what steps are being taken to remedy the shortage.

The unfilled need for social workers, concerned with the physically handicapped, cannot be estimated precisely. The establishment of a National Council for Social Work Training, and the provision of additional training courses, ought to help.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the delays that have been experienced in obtaining medical treatment by people who have been bitten by adders; if he is satisfied that the supply of serum for the treatment of such cases is adequate; and if he will arrange for its distribution to the various hospitals situated near places where adders are known to exist.

Adequate stocks of anti-venom are maintained at various centres, and it is available for any hospital whose medical authorities wish to hold it.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that, since the introduction of the recent increase in prescription charges, a large number of prescriptions issued by doctors have not been used by patients and that there has been a substantial decrease in the number of prescribed medicines supplied; and whether he will reconsider his previous decision by adopting the proposals to remove these charges in accordance with the advice of the National Health Service for Leicester and other executive councils.

No.

asked the Minister of Health whether in future he will ensure that National Health Service regulations are headed England and Wales and not England as heretofore.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to publicise the need for a larger intake into medical schools.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for St. Pancras, North (Mr. K. Robinson) on 5th June.

asked the Minister of Health if he has considered the advantages of the Vistodax television unit perfected by Australian scientists for use in surgery during operations; and what proposals he has for the introduction of this process into British hospitals.

Adoption of new medical devices is best left to doctors working in the specialities concerned, but I will gladly have examined any information the hon. Member may like to send me.

asked the Minister of Health if he is satisfied with the functioning of the administrative committees for hospitals, and with the information provided by them to representative bodies and the public; if he is satisfied that trades councils are adequately represented on these administrative committees; and whether he will take steps to ensure that, in future, local authorities, trades councils and chambers of commerce shall be the nominating organisations for all representatives.

The Answer to the first two Questions is, in general, "Yes"; the last does not therefore arise.

asked the Minister of Health what is the ratio of consultant ophthalmologists to the population in the various hospital areas under the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board; and what is the average ratio for the rest of the country.

The ratio of consultant ophthalmologists to population expressed as thousands of population per notional half-day of consultant time is as follows:

(a) In hospital areas in the Sheffield Region:
Barnsley	21·6
Boston	14·6
Chesterfield	22·9
Derby	17·2
Doncaster	34·7
Grantham	52·9
Grimsby	16·3
Leicester	38·5
Lincoln	10·2
Nottingham (including Mansfield)	16·5
Rotherham	30·5
Scunthorpe	16·3
Sheffield (including Teaching Hospital staff)	25·9
Worksop	22·3
(b) In the rest of England and Wales: 19·9

NOTE.—Regional hospital board and board of governors staff cannot conveniently be separated for the purpose of this table and all ophthalmologists in the geographical regions concerned are therefore included.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that, because of the underpayment of hospital pharmacists, there is a scarcity of hospital pharmacists, and that therefore hospitals are tending to stop dispensing prescriptions for out-patients, with the result that the items are often more expensive for the patient and often not so satisfactory; and, in view of the fact that this bears most heavily on poor people and old age pensioners, if he will review the pay of hospital pharmacists in order to make this service efficient.

A small proportion of the prescriptions given to hospital outpatients are dispensed by retail pharmacists; there is no difference in the charge to patients or in quality. A claim for increased salaries for hospital pharmacists is now before the Whitley Council.

asked the Minister of Labour what proportion of factories in which accidents happened to young persons in 1960 had been visited by a factory inspector during the twelve months prior to such accidents.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Labour what plans he has for the extension of apprenticeship classes in Government training centres.

The plan announced by my predecessor in April of 1960 will be fully implemented this year.As the hon. Member knows this plan provided for 300 training places in classes designed to demonstrate, particularly to small firms, the advantages of full-time systematic instruction in the first year of apprenticeship.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement on the unemployment position in Dundee in the light of the recent visit of his Parliamentary Secretary to the city.

On 15th May 4,336 workers were registered as unemployed at Dundee and Broughty Ferry, representing a percentage rate of 4·8. The main problem arises from the current difficulties in the jute industry. I was impressed by the success of the efforts already made to bring new industry into the area, and these efforts are continuing.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will consider introducing legislation to make it an offence for any employer to take any action likely to prevent an employee from following his trade or profession with another employer at the expiration of a contract of service.

Under existing law the general position is that a provision in a contract of service which unreasonably restricts a worker's activities after the end of his employment cannot be enforced.

asked the Minister of Labour, in view of the Census Report that there is a drift away of labour from the North-East to the Midlands, what steps he proposes to take to halt the movement.

Through their distribution of industry policy, the Government are encouraging firms to develop in parts of the country where unemployment is relatively high and discouraging developments in already congested areas.However, changes in the geographical distribution of the country's labour force are bound to occur in an expanding economy.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has considered the letters of the hon. Member for Swindon, dated 25th May and 6th June, regarding the closing of the Swindon Tool Company, and the dismissal of twenty-five skilled men; and what action he will take in the matter.

The hon. Member will now have received my reply of 8th June to his letters. Only six former employees of the firm are now registered at Swindon Employment Exchange. I understand that production was resumed today at the factory and a number of ex-employees have been asked to return to work there.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of persons employed in shipbuilding and ship repair at the latest available date; and what was the number employed on the corresponding dates in 1960 and 1959.

172,800 in April, 1961. The corresponding figure in April, 1960, was 182,900, and in April, 1959, 194,500.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the number of disabled persons registered in Ilkeston, Heanor, Ripley and Alfreton; and what is the number of such persons unemployed in each of the four towns.

On 17th April, 1961, there were 996 persons registered as disabled in Ilkeston, 831 in Heanor, and 1,555 in Alfreton; on 15th May, 1961, 52 registered disabled persons were unemployed in Ilkeston, 47 in Heanor, and 81 in Alfreton. Separate figures are not available for the Ripley area, which is covered by the Alfreton local office.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) what is the latest percentage of unemployment in Dunfermline; and how it compares with the same period last year;(2) what is the latest percentage of unemployment in Cowdenbeath; and how it compares with the same period last year.

The percentage rate of unemployment in the travel-to-work area, which covers Dunfermline and Cowdenbeath and also Inverkeithing and Burntisland was 3 per cent. at 15th May, compared with 3·8 per cent. at 16th May, 1960.

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys and girls, respectively, are likely to seek employment in the City of Dundee following the end of the school year; how this compares with last year; and what special steps are being taken to prevent juvenile unemployment, in view of the present high level of employment in the city.

About 530 boys and 550 girls, compared with 492 boys and 480 girls yast year. The Youth Employment Service will do everything possible to help them find employment, and the prospects are reasonably good.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what study he has made of the comparative production costs between basic farm products in the United Kingdom and those of each of the six countries composing the European Ecoonmic Commission; and if he will publish the figures.

Cost of production studies are not carried out in E.E.C. countries in the way that they are here any the information is so fragmentary that no worth-while comparison could be made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the differences in the latest prices of Manitoba hard wheat, English soft wheat and flour from those ruling in June, 1960.

The latest prices of Manitoba hard wheats are about £27 per ton c.i.f. and show little change compared with prices in June, 1960. English sofe wheats are making around £18 per ton delivered compared with £24 10s. a year ago. The price of home milled flour for bread making, which is mainly produced from imported wheats, is now about 16s. per ton more than at the same time last year.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will take steps to enable farmers to be paid the full market value for animals compulsorily slaughtered as T.T. reactors.

No. Reactors to the tuberculin test would not be worth more than carcass value if they were allowed to be sold on the open market. For such reactors compulsorily slaughtered by my Department, we pay compensation at threequarters of the market value of a comparable healthy animal, subject to a maximum of £120 per head. The intention of this arrangement is to provide farmers with a substantial measure of free insurance against bovine tuberculosis.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the deficiency in magnesium in many areas, and of the increasing incidence of hypomagnesaema; and what steps he is taking to ensure that farmers in the districts where such deficiency obtains are fully advised of the need, and that adequate supplies of magnesium limestone are readily available to them.

Some of our pastures are deficient in certain mineral elements. The incidence of hypomagnesaemia has increased since the war, but this disease is thought to be due not only to a simple dietary deficiency but also to a physiological dysfunction in the animal.Preventive measures are set out in Animal Health Leaflet 49 and so far as I know the substances required are readily available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the total number of sections of the River Hull included in the city engineer's 18-months' survey of defective wharves for the Hull and East Yorkshire River Board, the number of sections which have been surveyed, and the number of notices to be served on wharfowners in these sections to build up their wharves to prevent flooding.

I regret that this information is not available but I am having inquiries made and I will write to the hon. and gallant Member.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action the Hull and East Yorkshire River Board is now taking to ensure that the lowest and most defective wharves on the River Hull are properly built up forthwith, with the necessary freeboard, to prevent further flooding of houses and factories, before the next equinoctial high water spring tide on 23rd September, 1961.

I understand that the river board will be prepared to undertake any necessary flood alleviation works on the River Hull, after notices have been served by the Hull Corporation where appropriate, requiring owners to raise the levels of their wharves.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that the price of a loaf of bread has been increased three times in just over a year; and whether there has been any corresponding increase in the quality or size of the loaf.

I am aware of the increases in the price of bread. There has been no change in the prescribed weight of the standard loaf. I do not think it would be appropriate for me to give an opinion about quality as this is so much a matter of individual taste.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will give an estimate of the effect, in the current financial year, of the increased quantities of imported Yugoslavian beef on the cost of the farm guarantee payments.

Imports of beef from Yugoslavia represented less than 1 per cent. of total supplies on the United Kingdom market in the first few months of this year and their effect on guarantee payments must be very small indeed.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he has yet received the report of the National Insurance Advisory Committee regarding increased pensions to wives under the age of 60 years whose husbands have continued to work after the age of 65 years; and what steps he is now taking in the matter.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what steps he will take to implement the proposal of the National Insurance Advisory Committee to grant increases of pension to a widow who was younger than 60 throughout her husband's deferred retirement.

As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Tiley) on 1st June, I have now received the Report of the National Insurance Advisory Committee, and I laid it before Parliament on 5th June. I am considering the Report.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance, in view of the fact that the Government have decided to increase the salaries of civil servants earning between £2,325 and £2,650 a year by £93 a year, if he will reconsider the position of old-age pensioners and others who have less than £3 a week, with a view to affording them greater assistance.

There is, of course, no relationship between the pay of certain grades in the Civil Service and the appropriate level of benefits in a universal contributory system of National Insurance. The former is, of course, a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer; so far as the latter is concerned the hon. Gentleman will no doubt be aware that in April the level of retirement pensions, National Assistance scales and the other main rates of social security benefits were raised to the highest level yet attained in either monetary or real terms.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will give an up-to-date list of those countries with which Her Majesty's Government have reciprocal arrangements, and in which United Kingdom pensioners are receiving the recent increases in retirement pensions.

The countries are Belgium, Cyprus, France, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey and Yugoslavia. The Federal Republic of Germany will be added to this list on 1st August, 1961, when our reciprocal agreement with that country comes into operation. We have agreements also with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Irish Republic, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, but these agreements do not provide that people who have qualified for pensions in one of the two countries shall receive those pensions at current rates while they are resident in the other country.

asked the Minister of Power how the cheap summer prices of coal and coke compare with last winter's prices; and what price advantages householders who buy coal and coke during the summer, instead of next winter, can expect to obtain.

Except for certain Welsh boiler fuels, the National Coal Board's housecoal prices are £1 per ton lower now than they were last winter. Buying now compared with buying next winter is likely to save £1 a ton. Varying changes have been made in gas coke prices and it is difficult to give a comparison with last winter. But from the summer price announcements I would expect the price advantage from buying coke now as against next winter to vary between 15s. and 21s. 8d. per ton.I strongly urge everyone who can to lay in stocks during the summer. Consumers who stock coal or coke now will not only save themselves money but also insure themselves against the possibility of winter delays

asked the Minister of Aviation why he approved the large advertisement for whisky immediately in front of the main terminal building at London Airport.

For money.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will state the total number of terminal and transit passengers, and the tonnage of freight handled, at each of Scotland's civil airports in the year 1960.

The total number of terminal and transit passengers, and the tonnage of freight handled, at each of Scotland's civil airports in the year 1960 are as follows:

—	Terminal passengers	Transit passengers	Freight (short tons)
Aberdeen (Dyce)	44,222	8,964	353·8
Benbecula	11,198	7,721	129·1
Edinburgh (Turnhouse)	213,385	11,594	272·0
Glasgow (Renfrew)	633,083	19,097	4,389·7
Inverness (Dalcross)	27,741	7,382	149·1
Islay (Port Ellen)	12,358	27	93·0
Kirkwall	27,168	5,971	255·4
Machrihanish	8,619	9,198	37·0
Prestwick	157,655	143,602	1,982·0
Stornoway	20,892	1,691	276·5
Sumburgh	15,672	—	168·3
Tiree	3,368	1,808	10·1
Wick	23,061	13,216	57·6

asked the Minister of Works what percentage of the nation's building capacity he expects the hospital building programme to take up in 1962–63, 1963–64 and 1964–65, respectively.

The hospital building programme took up approximately 1 per cent. of the capacity of the building and civil engineering industries in the year ended March, 1961. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health said in his statement on 25th January, the hospital programme is expected to rise. The capacity of the building and civil engineering industries may also be expected to rise during the next four years and the percentage of this capacity taken by the hospital building programme is unlikely to change appreciably.

asked the Minister of Works what progress he has made in obtaining facilities for hon. Members to play squash rackets in the vicinity of the Palace of Westminster.

I hope to write to the hon. Member shortly, setting out the terms on which facilities might be made available.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty whether any decision has yet been reached about bringing the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service into the Royal Navy.

The manning of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service was last reviewed two years ago. It was decided not to change the present arrangement. Naval manning would not only cost more money but would require some 5,000 extra men from Vote A. In any case this is essentially a Merchant Navy task, most efficiently performed at present by civilian crews.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons are registered as unemployed in Fiji; and what unemployment benefit they receive.

Since January, 1961, 421 persons have registered as unemployed of whom 55 are known to have found employment subsequently. The figures are not comprehensive since registration is confined to Suva and Lautoka, the main urban areas where unemployment is most prevalent. The degree of unemployment in rural areas is very small. A more comprehensive system of registration extending to other areas is to be introduced on 1st July.There is no provision for unemployment benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what assistance Her Majesty's Government have given to the Singapore Government to relieve the damage and distress caused by the fire in the Tiong Bahru district on 25th May, 1961.

The fire occurred in a thickly populated area, three to five square miles of which have been completely destroyed. Not less than 6,000 persons have been rendered homeless. British Army units assisted both in fighting the fire and in relief work among the refugees. The Singapore Government have opened a fund for the relief of distress, and as a token of sympathy for the victims of the disaster Her Majesty's Government are contributing to it a gift of £5,000. The money is being advanced from the Civil Contingencies Fund and provision will be included in the Summer Supplementary Estimates.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the amount of Treasury funds already paid to date for the scrapping of machinery under the terms of the Cotton Industry Act, 1959; and what is his latest estimate of the total cost to the Treasury of the scrapping of machinery under this Act.

CASUALTIES ON THE A.41 BETWEEN ITS JUNCTIONS WITH M.1 AND A.5 BEFORE AND AFTER THE OPENING OF THE M.1 MOTORWAY
—	Killed			Seriously injured			Slightly injured
	Riders, drivers and passengers in motor vehicles	Pedal cyclists	Pedestrians	Riders, drivers and passengers in motor vehicles	Pedal cyclists	Pedestrians	Riders, drivers and passengers in motor vehicles	Pedal cyclists	Pedestrians
Before the motorway was opened (1958–1959*)	2	—	—	18	1	—	35	3	—
After the motorway was opened (1959–1960*)	4	—	—	36	1	1	97	5	—
* Period 2nd November to 1st November.
The Road Research Laboratory estimates that traffic on this stretch of road has increased by about 50 per cent. over the period in question.

£9·3 million was paid from public funds up to 9th June. The best estimate I can make of the likely total cost to the Exchequer remains between £12 million and £13 million.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what will be the cost to Treasury funds of applications already received for re-equipment grants under the terms of the Cotton Industry Act, 1959, assuming they are all fully accepted.

About £6·2 million, excluding some applications that have been rejected.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will state the numbers of riders, drivers and passengers in motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, respectively, killed and injured on the A.41 between its junctions with M.1 and A.5 for the twelve months before and after M.1 was opened; and what was the estimated increase in the traffic using that stretch of road after M.1 was opened.

The following are the figures:

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that some lorries are so constructed that their drivers find it difficult to see pedestrians crossing immediately in front of them when they are stationary; and if he will consult with the motor industry with a view to remedying this danger to pedestrians.

Yes. The motor industry has, however, given much attention to this problem in recent years, and visibility from the cabs of modern lorries has been greatly improved, so that drivers can see most pedestrians. More recently the fitting of additional transparent panels, at a low level in some cases, has enabled a driver to see part

CASUALTIES ON THE A.5 BETWEEN ITS JUNCTIONS WITH THE APPROACH ROAD TO THE NORTHERN END OF THE M.1 AND ITS JUNCTION WITH THE A.426
—	Killed			Seriously injured			Slightly injured
	Riders, drivers and passengers in motor vehicles	Pedal cyclists	Pedestrians	Riders, drivers and passengers in motor vehicles	Pedal cyclists	Pedestrians	Riders, drivers and passengers in motor vehicles	Pedal cyclists	Pedestrians
Before the motorway was opened (1958–1959*)	1	—	—	27	—	—	42	—	—
After the motorway was opened (1959–1960*)	1	—	—	27	—	—	24	—	1
* Period 2nd November to 1st November.
The Road Research Laboratory estimates that traffic on this stretch of road has increased by about 50 per cent. over the period in question.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will state the numbers of riders, drivers and passengers in motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, respectively, killed and injured on A.5 between its junctions with the approach road to the northern end of the M.1 and its junction with the A.426, for the twelve months before and after M.1 was opened; and what was the estimated increase in the traffic using this stretch of road after M.1 was opened.

The following are the figures: