asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many primary outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease have occurred in Great Britain so far this year compared with the previous five years; and how far it has been possible to trace the sources of infection, distinguishing particularly be-

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in which districts myxomatosis in virulent form has recently been effective in destroying rabbits.

Myxomatosis is reported to be active in all counties in England and Wales except Cornwall and Lincoln (Holland). Rather more than half the specimens of affected rabbits sent in to the Ministry for post-mortem examinations from various parts of the country had the virulent strain.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is now able to announce dates for the introduction of a compulsory slaughter policy for swine fever and of a free calf vaccination service against brucellosis.

Eighteen primary outbreaks have occurred in Great Britain up to 30th November of this year. This is so far lower than the average for the last five years. Of these outbreaks 10 were ascribed to imported meat, probably from South America. The full figures for which my hon. Friend asks are as follows:

In view of the present overriding need for greater economy in Government expenditure, I have regretfully decided that I must defer the introduction of a compulsory slaughter policy for swine fever, which would entail heavy initial expenses, until early in 1963. But we will be starting on 1st May, 1962, with the longer-term, but annually less costly, free calf vaccination service against brucellosis both in Scotland and in England and Wales.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the necessity for cushioning the effect upon certain protected United Kingdom industries as a result of possible entry into the Common Market, he will consider issuing a comprehensive list of the industries which are most vulnerable in this respect, together with the corresponding present amount of import duty payable by European competitors.

No. The effect of entering the Common Market will vary from industry to industry and product to product. British industry as a whole has welcomed the prospect of a single market in Western Europe. The elimination of tariffs over a period of time will provide an opportunity for adjustment.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what study he has made of the effect, if Great Britain enters the Common Market, on Government aid for the film producing industry by way of levy, quota and the National Film Finance Corporation, in view of the provisions of Clause 92 (3) of the Treaty of Rome.

Article 92 of the Treaty of Rome provides for the possible continuance of State aids in certain circumstances. I understand that the European Economic Community has not yet decided upon the application of these provisions to the various forms of assistance currently extended to their own films industries. It is impossible to decide, in advance of the evolution of a common films policy under the Treaty of Rome and of discussions with the Community, to what extent, if at all, Government aid to the British film industry would need to be modified if we joined the Community.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has for expanding the services provided by his Department to exporters and potential exporters; and if he will make a statement.

The Government provide a comprehensive range of services designed to help exporters and potential exporters. The Departments primarily concerned are the Board of Trade, including the Export Credits Guarantee Department, which can give help to exporters in many ways; the Central Office of Information which can help with publicity; and abroad, the Government posts in the main commercial centres—about 200 in all—which provide commercial information to exporters and are ready to give help on the spot to British business visitors. I am sending my hon. Friend a number of pamphlets describing these activities.We keep the services provided under constant review and the improvement of their range and quality is a continuous process.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what sites are available in the Ferryhill district area for factory development; and what prospects there are for new industry coming into the area in 1962.

Sites are available both at Ferryhill and on the Board of Trade's nearby industrial estates at Spennymoor and Aycliffe. These sites have been shown to several firms, including some new to the area, but I cannot say whether any of them will establish themselves there in 1962.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that what is practically a new small town was built at Tullibody and Sauchie to accommodate incoming miners to work at the Glenochie pit in Clackmannanshire which is to close next year; and whether he will take steps to bring the opportunities and desirability of the area to the notice of industry seeking labour and sites.

The answer to both parts of the Question is "Yes".

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish details of the total number of new jobs provided in Fife as a result of the Local Employment Act, indicating the location of the employment and the respective proportions of female and male jobs.

About 1,200 jobs are estimated to arise from projects assisted under the Local Employment Act. Although exact figures cannot yet be given of male and female jobs, at least 1,000 are likely to be for women. 150 of these jobs have already arisen since workers have been recruited for training. I cannot give details of the individual locations, since this would disclose particulars given to us in confidence by the firms concerned.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the average age of plant machinery installed in manufacturing industry in Great Britain at 31st December, 1950, 1955 and 1960, respectively.

This information is not available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will issue as a White Paper a list of the industries which would be affected by the Lord Privy Seal's undertaking to make in a single operation the same cuts in tariffs on trade as the European Economic Community member states have already made by the time the United Kingdom joins the European Economic Community; how big those cuts would be on the already known facts; how many people are employed in the affected industries; and what have been their import and export records.

No. On the facts already known it is a reasonable working assumption that, if Britain joins the European Economic Community, the tariffs between Member States will have been reduced by about 50 per cent. by the time of our accession. Such a cut in the British Tariff would affect all industries, but the effect would vary from one to another and from product to product. It would not be practicable to go into further detail.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether Great Britain has yet decided to accept the short-term arrangements regarding international trade in cotton textiles agreed in Geneva in July.

Yes. We shall notify the Executive Secretary of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as soon as possible of our acceptance on behalf of the United Kingdom and the Colony of Hong Kong. Acceptance in respect of Hong Kong will be subject to certain understandings on the operation of these arrangements.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates have been made of the British steel production required for the years 1962, 1965 and 1970 in order to fulfil the British contribution towards the 50 per cent. growth between 1960 and 1970 in real gross national product approved recently by the Organisation for European Co-operation and Development.

The 50 per cent. growth is a collective target for all the member-countries taken together. The Iron and Steel Board's 1961 Special Report on Development in the Iron and Steel Industry estimated probable steel demand at 29 million tons in 1965 and 32 million tons in 1970. To allow for possible variations in demand the appropriate production capacities were assessed at 32 million tons in 1965 and 35 to 36 million tons in 1970. compared with about 29 million tons in 1962.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any statement to make on the future international value of the £.

My right hon. and learned Friend has said before, and I repeat now, that it is the firm intention of Her Majesty's Government to maintain the present international value of the £.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many students at universities are taking business and management courses, respectively; and what proportion of students they represent.

Management studies are not generally treated in the universities as an undergraduate subject, though there is a wide range of courses in subjects such as commerce, economics, law, etc., which are disciplines pertinent to management. In 1960–61 there were about 1,200 students taking postgraduate courses in management or allied subjects, and I understand that in addition Bristol, Cambridge and Leeds are, with industrial help, developing comparable courses.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many escaped prisoners are now at large; and how these figures compare with previous years.

At 30th November, 1961, 26 prisoners who escaped during the preceding twelve months were at large, compared with 29 on 24th November, 1960.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have been sentenced to imprisonment for soliciting since the introduction of the Street Offences Act.

The provisional figure for the number of women sentenced to imprisonment for offences under the Street Offences Act, 1959, from 16th August, 1959, the date on which the Act came into operation, to 30th June, 1961, is 654. In addition, 762 women were committed to prison in default of payment of fines.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many taxi-cab drivers in the Metropolitan police area, being first offenders within the meaning of the Act of 1958, have been sentenced to imprisonment following incidents involving mini-cabs or the drivers thereof.

Three. All have appealed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will arrange for the weapons handed in under the recent amnesty, and not required by the police or Armed Services, to be sold to the trade by tender, in view of the fact that there are export markets for the pistols and revolvers which constitute the majority of the weapons surrendered.

I am in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War about the disposal of usable weapons not required by the Armed Services.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that a middle-aged woman graduate, sentenced to seven days' imprisonment after refusing to be fined following an anti-nuclear demonstration, was compulsorily subjected to an examination for venereal disease on admission to Holloway Prison; and whether such examinations are obligatory under prison regulations.

No. In the case to which I think the hon. Member refers, the examination was carried out with the patient's consent in the light of certain symptoms to which she called attention. It revealed no abnormality.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children, under the age of 17 years, were found guilty before juvenile courts in England and Wales of indictable and non-indictable offences during the six months ending 30th June, 1961; and, of those children, how many were classed as children being in need of care and protection, as defined by Section 61 of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933, or as children exposed to moral danger, or as children who are ill-treated or neglected in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health.

During the six months ending 30th June, 1961, 32,520 persons under the age of 17 years were found guilty by magistrates' courts of indictable offences and 19,142 of non-indictable offences (excluding offences relating to motor vehicles, figures for which are not yet available). It is not possible to separate the figures for juvenile courts from those for other magistrates' courts. Where a child or young person is brought before a court charged with an offence, the question whether he is in need of care or protection within the meaning of Section 61 of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933, does not arise in those proceedings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to make alterations in the qualifications required for jury service so as to ensure that all jurors are capable of fulfilling their responsibilities.

I can hold out no prospect of early legislation on this matter. Any proposal for testing the mental capacity of prospective jurors would raise difficult problems.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will make a detailed statement on the form and contents of his reports to Commonwealth representatives on the negotiations about Her Majesty's Government's application to join the Common Market.

After the Ministerial meetings in Paris on 10th-11th October and in Brussels on 8th-9th November, my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal gave Commonwealth representatives in each city accounts of the proceedings. On each occasion he, with my right hon. Friend the Commonwealth Secretary, met Commonwealth High Commissioners in London immediately after his return to London to give them as complete a report of the meetings as possible. There have also been meetings of the Commonwealth Liaison Committee to keep the High Commissioners' economic advisers informed. These procedures will of course be maintained throughout the negotiations. Our Delegation in Brussels are in close touch with Commonwealth Representatives there, and of course we are also in contact with Commonwealth Governments through the usual diplomatic channels.

asked the Minister of Education what decision he has made about the opening date for the college of further education at Bennetts Bank, Wellington, Shrophire.

I understand that the local education authority expects to bring the college into use early next year.

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

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9th November, to which I have nothing to add at present.

asked the Minister of Education what consultations he has had since 1st November, 1961, about the negotiating machinery for teachers' salaries; and what further consultations he proposes to have before the end of the year.

Some informal consultation has taken place and I am proposing talks with both local authority and teacher associations before the end of the year.

asked the Minister of Education what was the number of boys and girls, respectively, who obtained school-leaving certificates with two or more A-level passes from local education authority schools, from local education authority establishments of further education and elsewhere, respectively, in each year from 1954 to the latest convenient date; and what percentage each group formed of their age group.

I refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 4th December to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey). In addition, I draw his attention to the Introductory Note to Table 48 on page 205 in "Education in 1960". The significant bias in the sample was higher in the earlier than in the later years which would make it wrong to draw conclusions by comparing one year with another. Statistical exercises are now proceeding to make the necessary corrections and provide the best possible estimates of the numbers of qualified leavers for past years.

asked the Minister of Education by what procedure other than by application to a local authority a youth club can seek help from public funds towards the payment of the salary of a full-time leader or warden.

There is normally no other procedure. In exceptional circumstances, where a local development or experiment is of national significance, application can be made for a special Ministry grant.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will list the Colonies with compulsory education, giving the length of the period of compulsory education in each territory.

The following territories have compulsory education.

• Bahamas, between the ages of 6 and 14.
• Gayman Islands, between the ages of 7 and 15.
• Dominica, between the ages of 5 and 15 in certain areas.
• Gibraltar, between the ages of 5 and 15 in certain areas.
• Jamaica, in certain scheduled territories primary education is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 15.
• Kenya, between the ages of 7 and 15 for European children and for Asian boys in the towns of Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa.
• Malta, between the ages of 6 and 14.
• Northern Rhodesia, in certain areas there is compulsory education for the 4-year lower primary course for Africans.
• Pitcairn Islands, seven years of primary education.
• St. Helena, between the ages of 5 and 15.
• Trinidad, between the ages of 5 and 12.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what help has been given by other Commonwealth countries in the relief of distress from famine and flood in Kenya.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 30th November, 1961; Vol. 650, c. 85] supplied the following information:The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland has very kindly made available three Dakota aircraft of the Royal Rhodesian Air Force and these have given significant help by distributing food in Kenya. Since the 18th November these aircraft have dropped 357,900 lb. of food to stricken areas in the Colony.No other material or financial assistance has been given officially by Commonwealth or Colonial Governments, but contributions to Kenya's Famine Relief Appeal have been received from many private individuals in the Commonwealth. There have also been offers of foodstuffs from private firms and one Australian Company, for example, has donated 50,000 tins of baby food.