asked the Minister of Education whether he will now make a further statement on his campaign to encourage women teachers to return to teaching.

The latest reports from authorities show than nearly 2,200 married women have been appointed between the launching of the campaign in February and 31st May. Further appointments are likely to be made between now and next September.

Whilst appreciating the efforts being made and the success they are attaining, may I ask whether the Parliamentary Secretary recognises that his Department estimated that there are 50,000 married women who might be attracted to teaching? In view of this, will he redouble the efforts, and also consider what further inducements may be necessary to get married women to return to teaching?

Yes, we are getting the women coming in, and we shall do all we can to make the proposition we have offered attractive.

Can my hon. Friend say what proportion coming back are coming back in a part-time capacity?

The fallowing teachers have been obtained so far: 1,250 on a full-time basis; 925 on a part-time basis.

Has the hon. Gentleman given serious consideration to the desirability of giving better pension schemes to women who are coming back into teaching? That would be the best inducement.

If they looked after the children it would be better.

That is a complicated issue, as the hon. Lady knows, and one we have given a great deal of thought to.

asked the Minister of Education what was the total grant made by the Victoria and Albert Museum to provincial museums for the purchase of exhibits; and what percentage these grants formed of the total expenditure of provincial museums for such grant-aided purchases.

The grants made in the financial year 1960–61 totalled £21,747, which represented about 34 per cent. of the total cost of the grant-aided purchases.

Would the hon. Gentleman consider two things? Would he take very serious notice of the Standing Committee's Report on art galleries and museums about the parlous state of provincial museums and do something about it? Will he secondly consider, when the National Art Collection Fund makes a grant to a provincial museum, ignoring it when the Victorian and Albert grant is being considered, because the Victoria and Albert grant is a maximum of 40 per cent. and it looks as though the Victoria and Albert grant is being reduced because of some other grants?

As the hon. Member knows, the basis on which these grants are given takes account of whether other public funds or non-local funds are being contributed to any extent to the purchases. We shall take full account of what is said in the report just issued.

asked the Minister of Education if he will consult with the Headmasters' Conference with a view to its limiting, during the next few years, its recruitment of mathematics and physics staff in favour of local education authorities' secondary schools.

Last year my right hon. Friend consulted the Governing Bodies Associations about ways in which the independent schools might help during the national shortage of teachers. So far as mathematics and physics graduates are concerned there is a shortage in all kinds of grammar schools including independent schools, and the solution lies in an increased supply of graduates from the universities.

But surely in many of these schools the conditions are very much more favourable than in some of the schools adversely affected, and surely it would be helpful for them to make a gesture towards the maintained schools?

I have no evidence that independent schools make appointments which are in any way to be regarded as unnecessary.

asked the Minister of Education how many new school building projects for new housing estates in Essex have been disallowed by him in the past five years, and in such future programmes as have so far been approved.

Of 115 projects for new housing estates proposed for major building programmes from 1956–57 to 1962–63, 102 have been included. Of the 13 projects not included, 7 turned out not to be urgently needed, and my right hon. Friend is considering the other 6 for future programmes.

How does the hon. Gentleman reconcile that Answer with his statement in this House on 1st June that provision of new school accommodation on new housing estates and new towns is

"an overriding and absolute priority to which we must devote the first of our resources year by year."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 1st June, 1961. Vol, 641, c. 582.]

Surely his statement today represents a modification of that? In particular, why does the Minister keep on excluding the Thames View Estate from this provision?

The answer to the second part of the hon. Gentleman's question answers the first part. There is no urgent need for additional school buildings in that area which would give the priority the hon. Gentleman has referred to.

asked the Minister of Education if his attention has been called to the statement by the chairman of the sites and buildings committee of the Essex Education Committee, that it is increasingly difficult to get acceptable tenders for school-building projects because so much less important work is being done by Essex builders, and that the lowest of seven tenders received for the building of one new school was £15,000 higher than the expenditure approved for that project by his Department; and what steps he is taking to remedy this situation.

Yes, Sir. But if the project is the Aveley Mildmay Secondary School, a tender has now been accepted which is within the revised limit of cost approved to take account of increased labour costs.

But is the hon. Gentlemen aware that the committee chairman on this occasion also said that things are constantly having to be left out of school buildings although they will only have to be put in later on, and that the whole situation about costs and tenders in Essex—and I expect elsewhere—has been reduced to chaos by a combination of Government meanness and contractors' avarice?

I do not propose to follow the hon. Member along those lines of argument. We have no evidence whatever from any source in the country that the kind of conditions which he describes prevail. School building is going on at present at a rate never before achieved.

asked the Minister of Education if he will request local education authorities to confine their purchases of meat for school meals to suppliers who use the Fat Stock Marketing Corporation's schedules to indicate quality and source.

My right hon. Friend does not think it would be appropriate for him to limit suppliers as suggested. Local education authorities are responsible for running the school meals service and it is for them to purchase the meat needed so as to maintain nutritional standards at reasonable cost.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that many meat traders, admittedly a minority of those in the country, mislabel their meat and the local weights and measures inspectors are finding evidence of this all the time? Can the hon. Gentleman give an assurance that the meat supplied to schools is the meat that the local education authorities have paid for? If he cannot give that assurance, would he press on his right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture the need to have a proper schedule of gradings of meat so that action can be taken against those traders who mislabel the meat in the way I have suggested?

I will have inquiries made into whether there are good grounds for thinking that buyers of meat for local education authorities are being deceived in the way the hon. Member suggests, but as far as I have been able to discover up to now there is no evidence to that effect.

asked the Minister of Education what proposals he has for increasing the number of teachers in technical colleges.

Although some important vacancies remain unfilled, the total number of full-time teachers in technical colleges has increased from 11,400 in 1955 to 21,680 this year. This is over 3,000 more than the target recommended by the Special Committee set up in 1956. The National Advisory Council on the Training and Supply of Teachers has prepared a Report, which is to be published shortly, containing its estimate of needs for technical college teachers up to 1970. The Council is now reviewing problems of supply in the light of this Report.

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether the figures in the Report show that the original figures were quite inadequate? Can he say when the Report will be published?

The Report will be published when we have had time to consider what it contains and what steps may be called for. I hope that the hon. Member will wait until then to see what the figures reveal. They are very interesting.

asked the Minister of Education when he hopes to announce proposals for higher education in business and commercial subjects.

My right hon. Friend hopes to make an announcement later this month.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that his right hon. Friend's un- lamented predecessor said on 9th February, 1959, that he hoped shortly to be able to announce the decision of Her Majesty's Government? Is it not about time that the Government got a move on in the matter?

The hon. Lady must be fortified by the undertaking I have just given.

asked the Minister of Education how many schools are included in the building programme of the Oldham Corporation now under consideration; and on how many previous occasions authority has been refused to build each of these proposed schools.

The authority has proposed two primary schools and three secondary schools for the 1963–65 major building programmes. Of the primary schools, one was previously submitted on four occasions and the other on six. Of the secondary schools one was submitted six times previously and another twice. The third is a new proposal.

The authority's last four building programmes included three new primary schools and two secondary schools.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this does not sound quite like the answer given a few moments ago about the immense amount of school building which is going on? Is he aware, however, that I am grateful for the first half of the letter from his right hon. Friend to me yesterday and for the hopeful assurance about the secondary school which that letter contains?

asked the Minister of Education what is the present estimated cost to the Exchequer of the proposed denominational primary school at Roman Road, Lineside, Oldham; and what was the estimated comparable cost when the proposal was first submitted for approval.

This school was first proposed for the 1956–57 major building programme. The gross capital cost at that time would have been £47,432, compared with £54,863 today.

The cost to the Exchequer would depend upon the extent to which the project qualified for grant from my Department.

I am much obliged for the information, but is the hon. Gentleman aware that it discloses a rather serious state of affairs? If I rightly understand the letter from his right hon. Friend to me on this project, he is now saying that, having refused to see a deputation in May at my request, and having received the same deputation in my absence in June, without communicating with me, he now refuses to receive me, the bishop or the priest to make representations on the matter on the ground that he has received that deputation? Is that the case, or am I being asked to wait for further consideration?

I am grateful to the hon. Member for his courteous reference to my right hon. Friend's letter in his previous supplementary question. I do not think my right hon. Friend's suggestion that it would not be advantageous to meet the hon. Member at this time is based on a refusal to see him because he has already seen a deputation. My right hon. Friend's letter suggests that it would be as well if the consultations now being carried out were completed. The hon. Member might rest on that for the time being.

I am much obliged.

asked the Minister of Education what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Art with a view to the establishment of a national school of film and television; what progress has been made; and if he will make a statement.

No formal proposal has yet been made to my right hon. Friend, but representatives of the Royal College of Art and of the film and television industries have discussed a project of this kind several times with officers of the Ministry. I understand that the college and the industries are now considering several points arising from the most recent discussion, which was held last week.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a serious need for a faculty of this kind and that we are almost the only major film-producing country without one? Is he further aware that this proposal will not be brought to fruition without the blessing of his right hon. Friend and his practical assistance? Will he press ahead with the matter?

I accept pretty fully all that the hon. Member says.

asked the Minister of Education what was the increase during the years 1959 and 1960, respectively, in the numbers of full-time teachers employed in maintained and assisted schools.

The increase in the number of teachers in full-time service in maintained primary and secondary schools, excluding special schools, was 6,000 in 1959–60 and about 5,000 in 1960–61.

Does the hon. Gentleman remember that his right hon. Friend told me last week that merely to reduce the size of over-sized classes by 1970, which is not a very ambitious target, we need between 73,000 and 80,000 new teachers? Does he realise that we cannot possibly attain this target unless his right hon. Friend does something about the crisis in the supply of teachers?

The hon. Member will probably be aware of our programme for extending teacher training colleges, the growth in the size of the universities, and all the other efforts that we are making to recruit additional teachers.

Does the hon. Gentleman realise that that will do no more than meet the deficiency that will arise over the year of intermission for the next five to six years?

The hon. Gentleman must not be so pessimistic. We have much higher hopes than that.

asked the Minister of Education how many day training colleges are now in operation; how many candidates for admission were accepted; how many were refused; and where and when any further day training colleges are to be established.

Five colleges, to which 574 students were admitted in the present academic year out of about 1,400 candidates interviewed. Three more day colleges in London, Wolverhampton and Newcastle-on-Tyne will open this September and will admit about 225 students. My right hon. Friend regards this expansion of day training as a most important development.

While agreeing entirely with that last comment, may I ask whether the hon. Gentleman is not aware that it is now almost exactly a year ago that we were told of the three additional colleges which are still not opened'? Does not the hon. Gentleman feel that there might have been more speedy action in this matter, particularly to meet the need for short-term mature students' courses for the 1962 year of intermission?

That is one of the objectives of this present expansion programme. It takes time to open and start new colleges, as I think the hon. Lady knows.

Do I understand that the hon. Gentleman said that 500 out of 1,400 interviewed were accepted? Has he any information about what proportion of the remainder of the candidates were ultimately accepted for teaching? Were they lost to the profession?

This information relates to the present academic year and I have no knowledge, therefore, of candidates who were not accepted.