asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in the negotiations for entry into the Common Market, the question of the quarantine arrangements for cattle, dogs, and other animals has been or will be discussed; and if, in safeguarding British farming interests, he will insist on the United Kingdom being in a position to continue present precautions against foot-and-mouth disease and rabies.

This question has not yet been discussed in the negotiations. The right of member countries to impose restrictions necessary for safeguarding human or animal life or health is fully recognised in the Treaty of Rome, and we attach great importance to this.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in the sale of commons acquired by his Department under Section 85 of the Agriculture Act, 1947; and what steps are taken to see that when disposed of these ex-commons are protected from undesirable development.

Nineteen commons, comprising 2,259 acres were acquired under Section 85. Of these five, comprising 866 acres, have been sold; ten, comprising 918 acres, are in process of being sold; and the future of the remaining four, comprising 475 acres, has not yet been decided.My right hon. Friend has no powers to control the future use of these former commons, which are now ordinary freehold. The Ministry is in close touch with the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society and my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Housing and Local Government, has arranged that his Ministry will inform the Society of any applications for development which may affect those former commons, to give the Society opportunity to enter formal objections if they wish.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has completed his inquiries into recent movements of wholesale, retail and import prices of beef and veal, of auction prices of cattle, and of subsidies to cover deficiency payments; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the working of the deficiency payment scheme for fatstock, and that the consumer is receiving the benefit of the low prices ruling for fat-stock; and if he will make a statement.

During the period from April to October prices for cattle were low and this led inevitably to high deficiency payments. The wholesale prices of home-produced beef reflected closely the fall in cattle prices. Imports have been appreciably lower than last year and their prices have fallen less than those of home-produced beef. Reductions in retail prices were widely made though they did not wholly reflect the fall in wholesale prices.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the concern among Yorkshire inshore fishermen at the continuing use of their fishing grounds by foreign trawlers using small mesh nets; and what action he now proposes to take to prevent the overfishing that is taking place.

Yes. We have made proposals to the other countries concerned for stricter control over the use of small mesh nets, and these are now being discussed with them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is satisfied with the present arrangements for notifying poultry farmers of an outbreak of fowl pest in their area; and if he will make a statement.

Poultry-keepers within half a mile of an outbreak are visited and the movement of poultry within that area is restricted for at least 28 days.Where there are a number of outbreaks, the restrictions may be applied to a wider area. Notice is then given through the Press and the B.B.C. I am satisfied that the present arrangements give a good measure of control.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the present incidence of fowl pest in Norfolk, giving the number of outbreaks, the number of birds destroyed and the amount of compensation paid during the past four months, and the comparable figures for the three previous years.

The outbreaks which occurred in September and October were, in general, connected with disease in turkey flocks. A new series of outbreaks led, at the end of November, to restrictions on the movement and marketing of poultry in an area about ten miles around Diss. There have been further outbreaks mainly in this area but also in other parts of the county and we are closely watching the situation.As to the second part of the Question, the figures are as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the poultry keeper from Norfolk whose recent claim for compensation for fowl pest amounted to £⅓ million made claims in 1959–60 and in 1960–61; and what compensation was granted on each of these claims.

These payments are made to private individuals in compensation for property which has been taken from them. They concern the private affairs of individuals and it is not our practice to disclose the amounts.Compensation is not based on a claim from the owner, but upon the value assessed either by the Ministry's officers or by valuers on our behalf. If the owner is dissatisfied, the valuation can be referred to arbitration.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the number of accidents on British farms during the last year for which records are available; and how many of this number were fatal accidents.

125 men, women and children were killed on farms in Great Britain in 1960. In the same year the Agricultural Departments were notified of 14,587 absences from work due to non-fatal accidents and industrial diseases of agricultural workers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what steps he is taking to limit, and prohibit, the sale of untreated raw milk, except for manufacturing processes;(2) what is the percentage of untreated raw milk now being sold.

Rather less than 6 per cent. of the milk sold by retail in England and Wales is raw milk. It would not be practicable to require all milk to be heat-treated before sale to the public.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the future of imports of Charollais bulls from France.

I have no statement to make.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in view of the recent outbreak of disease in the imported Charollais bulls, he will now consider sending back to France the 27 remaining animals, when they come out of quarantine in three weeks' time.

No. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave at Question Time today.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has received of the acreage of winter wheat drilled this autumn.

I should not like to give any figure until after the results of the December agricultural census for England and Wales are known. A large acreage of winter wheat has been sown, and if there is no set back to spring sowings, the total United Kingdom wheat acreage should certainly exceed last year's rather low total, and may well exceed the more normal total of some 2 million acres.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in view of his responsibility for maintaining the standards laid down by statute, what consultation he has had with the Milk Marketing Board concerning their proposals to pay producers on the basis of the solid content of milk as well as the quantity sold; and what further provision is being made for raising the hygienic standards of milk at the same time, so that the highest possible quality will be attained in the domestic milk supply before the problem of competing supplies from the Continent arises in the event of Britain entering the Common Market.

The Milk Marketing Board consulted my Department when formulating their scheme for payment to milk producers in England and Wales on the basis of compositional quality. I am at the moment seeking the views of the interests concerned on a number of proposals concerned with the control of the hygienic quality of milk.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now in a position to remove any areas, at present in receipt of aid from the Board of Trade, from the list.

I am satisfied that high and persistent unemployment no longer exists, or is to be expected, in the Southwold area, and I am accordingly removing it from the list of development districts.There are other districts which I hope soon to be able to remove from the list, but their prospects are not yet sufficiently definite for me to be able to take this step now. In order, however, to concentrate our efforts on the other development districts which still need assistance, I have decided to add the following districts to those for which new applications for assistance under the Act will no longer be accepted. In all of these districts either unemployment is no longer high or there is a substantial number of jobs in prospect.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking, in view of the proposed closure of de Havillands aircraft factory at Christchurch, to encourage new industry, particularly the motor industry, to establish new works in this area, so as to ensure continuity of employment for both the skilled and unskilled workers involved.

I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour that he does not expect lasting unemployment to arise from this closure. The Board of Trade's first concern is and must be for the development districts, but in the event of serious unemployment arising in the Bournemouth and Christchurch area I shall seek to interest suitable firms who could not go to a development district.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has offered for sale the factories on the Wrexham Trading Estate to the sitting tenants; to how many firms he has written; and of these, how many have replied favourably and unfavourably, respectively.

The Board of Trade have been in correspondence with all ten industrial tenants at Wrexham about the possible sale of their factories, but the discussions are not yet completed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, pending the introduction of general weights and measures legislation, he will seek powers to control the weights and prices of pre-packed food and other products.

No

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is satisfied that the existing machinery is exploiting to the full Great Britain's tourist trade, and in particular ensuring the provision of adequate and suitable hotel accommodation; and what proposals he has for its further development.

I am satisfied that the British Travel and Holidays Association is doing a magnificent job in building up our tourist trade. I am sure that the confidence now shown by investors in the future of the hotel trade is largely attributable to the Association's success in persuading ever-increasing numbers of overseas visitors to come here year by year.It is the Association's responsibility to devise the means for further developing our tourist traffic. It is my responsibility to ensure that any proposals for Government action are considered as sympathetically as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is now in a position to announce the action which will be taken, following the Milk Marketing Board's application, to prevent the importation of skim milk from the Continent at below the cost of production.

The decision on the application by the Milk Marketing Boards for the imposition of anti-dumping or countervailing duties on imports of full cream and skimmed milk powder from various sources was announced yesterday. I reached the conclusion that a case for action had not been made out.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many British-made motor vehicles were exported to Italy in the 12 months ended 30th November, 1961; and how this compares with the preceding 12 months.

Details for November, 1961, are not yet available.The number of new cars and commercial vehicles exported in the twelve months ended October, 1961, was 9,576 compared with 4,758 in the preceding twelve months.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that a decision has now been taken to impose a duty of £10 5s. per cwt. to prevent the dumping of butter from the Republic of Ireland, he will now announce his decision about an application for a similar duty against bacon imported from the Republic.

I am not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that pocket transistor radios imported from Japan are being sold in this country at approximately £4 less than the standard price for the same article produced in the United Kingdom; and what action he proposes to take to protect the home industry.

The home industry is protected by a duty of 20 per cent. and by a quota limitation on imports from Japan.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will reconsider his decision to withdraw the Purchase Tax concessions at the end of this fiscal year available to the manufacturers of Grand Prix racing cars.

No.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the northeast are for the Durham constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the northeast are for the Durham, North-West, constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Chester-le-Street constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Sedgefield constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Gateshead, West, constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Blyth constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Morpeth constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Consett constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the northeast are for the Blaydon constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Houghton-le-Spring constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Wallsend constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what numbers of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Gateshead, East, constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for the Jarrow constituency.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will classify the 27,500 jobs in prospect for the northeast; if he will estimate the time it will take before they become realised; and which areas will benefit.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many of the 27,500 new jobs in the north-east will be in the city and county of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

I am circulating below an analysis of the 27,500 jobs in prospect classified by employment exchange areas or groups of areas.I have broken down the figure in this way and not by constituencies because the employment exchange area is the administrative unit on which our development districts are based. These exchange areas have been drawn to correspond as far as possible with the local pattern of travel-to-work, so that it may reasonably be inferred that projects will draw most of their labour from the area in which they are sited. But constituency boundaries in many cases cut right across employment exchange boundaries and travel-to-work areas. We have, therefore, often no material for forming a reliable judgment as to the proportion of the labour required for a given project which is likely to be drawn from a given constituency.The jobs in prospect for an area are the aggregate of the estimates of their labour requirements provided by the firms who have been granted I.D.Cs. or been offered assistance under the Local Employment Act. Jobs which have actually accrued and projects known to have been abandoned have, of course, been deducted. The figures may be exaggerated in that firms tend to overstate the labour they will take on. On

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the undertakings that purchasers of new cars are required to give affecting their legal rights in relation to faults in manufacture, including damage arising therefrom; whether he will examine the extent to which this is practised, with a view to introducing legislation to protect purchasers; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware of the problem which the hon. Member has in mind. This is one of the matters on which I hope to receive advice from the Committee on Consumer Protection early next year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is Her Majesty's Government's present policy on resale price maintenance.

The present policy of Her Majesty's Government on resale price maintenance is to administer the provisions of Sections 24 and 25 of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1956.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has yet completed his inquiry into resale price maintenance; and if he will make a statement about this before the House adjourns for Christmas.

I am still studying the results of the fact-finding inquiry into this subject which my officials have recently completed. I cannot say when I shall be in a position to make a statement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is satisfied that his export councils are aware of the existence and nutritive value of Scottish haggis; and, in view of the fact that the Brazilian and Canadian authorities have classified haggis as a fertilizer, what steps he proposes to take to increase exports of this food.

In reply to the first part of the Question, I am sure that if the Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Export Council is not so aware, the Chairman of the Export Council for Europe will readily enlighten him. On the second part, my Department make no distinction in these matters between fish, flesh, fowl and fertilizer; our services are available to all, and I urge the haggis-men to take full advantage of them.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the average time taken by his Department's advisory committee to consider applications under the Local Employment Act, 1960.

About four months from the date of the application and less than two months from the time when the Committee receive from the applicant all the information necessary to enable them to investigate his case.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what effect the Government's present financial policy has on the operation of the Local Employment Act, 1960.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 26th July, when he emphasised that the Government would continue to use their powers vigorously to deal with localities where there was a serious lack of employment opportunities.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the visit of the chairman of the Industrial Estates Management Corporation for England to the Common Market countries.

I presume that the hon. Gentleman is referring to Mr. Sadler Forster's visit to Brussels last week to attend the Conference on Regional Economies convened by the Commission of the European Economic Community. I welcome the fact that he, together with a Board of Trade official, was invited to this Conference.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of the 27,500 new jobs in prospect for the north-east are for Sunderland.

There are estimated to be about 5,000 new jobs in prospect in the Sunderland group of employment exchange Areas.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many of the 27,500 new jobs in the north-east are for unskilled workers.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the tonnage of softwood pit-wood imported into the United Kingdom from France in the last three years; and how prices of these imports compare with home-produced props.

Figures for imports of pit-props, pit-poles and pit-bars, recorded in piled cubic fathoms and value, are available from the Trade and Navigation Accounts.Any comparison of the prices of imports and home-produced pit-props would be misleading in the absence of full details of quality and specifications.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what special steps he has taken since 1st November, 1961, to introduce a new employer into the aircraft factory at Gloucester which is shortly to be vacated by the Whitworth-Gloster Aviation Company.

None. This is a privately owned factory and I understand that the Whitworth-Gloster Aircraft Company Ltd., who expect to keep it open until mid-1962, are already receiving inquiries. I am keeping a close watch on the effect of this closure, but my first responsibility is to the needs of the development districts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many applications for industrial development certificates in the Gloucester area he has received since 1st November, 1961; how many of them have been granted; and how many of the remainder he proposes to grant.

Three applications have been received. One has been approved; one is in abeyance and may be withdrawn; the remaining one has only just been received and is under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the effect on imports of food into the United Kingdom which would result from the adoption of the proposals put forward at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Ministerial meeting by the French Minister of Finance and if he will make a statement.

It was agreed at the Ministerial Meeting of the G.A.T.T. that

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the Standing Committee, Command Paper 1534, respecting refrigerators.

This Report was published only on 6th December and I am now studying it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received the Twelfth Annual Report and representatives of the main importing and exporting countries should meet in Geneva early in February to carry out a preliminary examination of the possibilities of solutions to the problems of international trade in cereals and that the G.A.T.T. Council at its meeting later that month should consider the establishment of similar groups for other products.The meeting on cereals will provide an opportunity for consideration of the French proposals, which were in extremely general terms, but it will also have regard to the views of other countries as expressed in the statements made by their representatives during the Ministerial meeting. In the meantime, I can make no estimate of their effect.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of the financial assistance given to each area in Wales scheduled under the Local Employment Act, 1960; how many applications have been rejected; and how many are now under consideration.

The following table sets out the assistance given under Sections 3 and 4 of the Local Employment Act, from 1st April, 1960, until 30th November, 1961, for projects in North Wales and in South Wales respectively.Statement of Accounts of the National Research Development Corporation.

Yes. As required by Sections 4 (5) and 10 (5) of the Development of Inventions Act, 1948, I have arranged for these documents to be laid before the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he proposes to introduce a decimal currency system; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is now in a position to announce his decision regarding the introduction of a decimal currency in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend hopes to make a statement next week on decimal currency.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will fix a date for redemption at par for holders of 31 per cent. War Loan which was converted from 1929–47 5 per cent. War Loan.

I presume that the hon. Member is suggesting that we should fix a redemption date for holdings of War Loan still in the possession of those who acquired them by acceptance of the conversion offer in 1932. For the reasons which I explained to the House on 7th December last year, I am afraid that we could not contemplate any action which discriminated between holders of this stock.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to eliminate delays by the Customs authorities in their examination of machinery and parts returned by customers overseas for reconditioning in the United Kingdom.

Every effort is made by the Customs to ensure the expeditious clearance of such machinery and parts. If my hon. Friend has in mind any particular case where he thinks there has been avoidable delay, and will let me have the details, I will gladly have inquiries made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he will now make a statement about the long-term wages policy which is to succeed the pay pause;(2) with which employers and trade unions he has discussed the long-term wages policy which is to succeed the pay pause.

The hon. Member will doubtless await the debate which we are to have on this subject next Monday.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it a condition of his proposed grant of £150,000 for provincial theatres that a proportion of it should be allocated to the Scottish Arts Council.

The £150,000 is intended for the whole of Great Britain. It is for the Arts Council to decide, after consultation with their Scottish Committee, what proportion of it should be allocated to Scotland.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of his acceptance of the United States Government's plan, put before the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, for an increase of 50 per cent. in the economic growth of the Atlantic Community by 1970, what are his plans for the achievement of this target to the extent that the United Kingdom is involved.

The target is a collective one for all the member countries taken together. The Government's policies are designed to achieve economic growth on a sound basis, in particular in relation to our balance of payments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution has been made to Great Britain's invisible exports for the years 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960, as a result of the operation of the special concessions granted to overseas trade corporations in Part IV of the Finance Act, 1957; and what has been the net effect of this legislation on the nation's balance of payments.

It is not possible to assess quantitatively the net effect of this legislation on the United Kingdom's invisible exports, or on the balance of payments as a whole.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials are employed in Government Departments on the full-time study of the problems of disarmament.

The main effort in the study of the problems of disarmament is centred in the Foreign Office. As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary indicated in reply to the right hon. Gentleman on 20th November, it is not the practice to give precise numbers of those serving in the Departments of the Foreign Office.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will show in tabular form how many individuals have been asked to pay to the Treasury the compensation awarded them by an overseas Government for loss of career or interruption of service in order to take up pensionable employment in the Civil Service; on what dates these refunds were made; what period had elapsed since the person concerned had given up overseas employment; and what were the lump sums involved in each case;(2) in what circumstances, and under what regulations, Her Majesty's Government have offered permanent and pensionable employment to officers formerly employed in overseas territories without reclaiming in full the compensation awarded to them for the interruption of their careers when they ceased to serve overseas.

Where the compensation scheme is administered by the Government of an overseas territory, any question of refund of compensation is a matter for that Government. In respect of the Indian and Burman schemes, which are administered by Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary explained the position fully in reply to the adjournment debate on 1st November. The general principle is that Her Majesty's Government should not both pay compensation to a displaced officer for loss of office and also provide him with permanent and pensionable employment.I regret that information on the Indian and Burman schemes in the detail desired by my hon. and gallant Friend could not be supplied without an undue expenditure of man-hours, but I would refer him to my answer today to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Wavertree. I am unable to give information in respect of schemes administered by overseas Governments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that salaries and wages have increased by 9 per cent. in the first six months of 1961, whereas profits have fallen by 8 per cent., by how much dividends have gone up or down in the same period; whether he is satisfied that boards of directors are co-operating in his remuneration pause policy; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answers given to my hon. Friend the Member for Somerset, North (Mr. Leather) on 21st November and to my hon. Friend the Member for Lang-stone (Mr. Stevens) on 14th November, to which I have nothing to add.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the respective pensions of an executive officer in the Civil Service who retired, after 40 years' service, in 1939, and of a similar officer who retires in 1961.

The annual pensions (including appropriate increases under the Pensions (Increase) Acts) now payable to such officers are shown below. London salary scales are assumed throughout.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in preparing his Budget statement, he will consider the replacement of Estate Duty by a suitable gift tax.

I have noted my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been under the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876, which provides for the inspection and control of experiments on animals.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the advisory council, set up under the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876, are members of the veterinary profession; and how many are representatives of animal welfare societies.

One member is a veterinary surgeon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what powers exist under his regulations to provide compensation to civilian persons injured or killed when assisting the police in the discharge of their duties; and in whom they are vested;(2) if he is satisfied that adequate powers are held by magistrates and other persons to award compensation to persons injured when assisting the police; and what consultations his Department has had with such magistrates and other persons regarding their powers in this regard.

At present the criminal courts have only limited powers to award compensation for injury caused by a wrongdoer. It is, however, the practice of police authorities, with my approval, to make ex gratia payments to persons who suffer injury or loss while assisting the police. As regards the general question of compensation for the victims of crimes of violence, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to Questions by the hon. Members for Lewisham, South (Mr. C. Johnson) and East Ham, North (Mr. Prentice) on 9th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been during the last convenient 12 months' period arising out of the failure of a driver of a vehicle to comply with the signal of a school-crossing patrol to stop.

No figures are available for the country as a whole. In 1960 there were 43 convictions in the Metropolitan Police District.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent traffic wardens act as school-crossing patrols; and whether he will extend the duties of traffic wardens so that they may be employed in assisting pedestrians to cross the road.

The use of traffic wardens as school crossing patrols is a matter for the Commissioner of Police in the Metropolitan Police District and for the police authority elsewhere; but I know of no area in which they are so employed at present. As regards the second part of the Question, it would be premature to extend the duties of traffic wardens beyond those at present prescribed, but this is a matter to be reviewed in the light of experience, and I will bear my hon. Friend's suggestion in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the attention drawn by the Cardiff Stipendiary Magistrate to the absence of vacancies in remand homes, which compelled him to remand a 16 year old Cardiff boy to prison, what measures he is taking to remedy such lack of vacancies.

I understand that the boy in question was detained in police cells at the Cardiff Law Courts for one night; he was admitted to the Cardiff Remand Home the following day. Building, work to extend this remand home is well advanced and I am co-operating with local authorities elsewhere in proposals designed to provide extra accommodation as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an interim increase in the salaries of probation officers, pending the report of the Departmental Committee on the probation service.

No. I have not received any recommendation on the matter from the Joint Negotiating Committee for the Probation Service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the damage caused by the indiscriminate use of air guns and rifles and of the number of cases brought to the juvenile court of boys convicted of using them illegally; and, in view of the fact that there is no control over their sale and that licences, issued without regard to age, are necessary only for carrying them in the street, if he will take steps to control the sale and fix a minimum age for the issue of such licences.

A gun licence is a revenue licence. It does not entitle a person to acquire a gun if its acquisition is otherwise forbidden by law; and it is already an offence under the Firearms Act, 1937, to sell an air gun or an air rifle to a person under 17 and for a person under 17 to purchase such a weapon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the estimated cost of the special precautions taken by the police and other civil authorities to cope with the nuclear disarmament demonstrations at Brize Norton, Ruislip and Wethersfield air bases, respectively, on Saturday, 9th December.

The police and prison services incurred additional expenditure in connection with these demonstrations. But it would be difficult to estimate its amount.

asked the Attorney-General when Her Majesty's Government expect to complete their study of the report of Sir John Whyatt to Justice; and when he will make a statement to the House about means for protecting citizens from the wrongful acts of State or para-statal authorities.

I have nothing to add at present to the Answer I gave my hon. Friend on 23rd November.

asked the Attorney-General what body is to be entrusted with the study of the consequences to the legal systems of the United Kingdom of Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community.

I understand that these matters are already receiving attention from the professional bodies most likely to be affected. The arrangements that will be made for the study by the Government of the questions involved are under consideration by my noble friend the Lord Chancellor in consultation with my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Advocate and myself.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will make a statement on the representations the British High Commissioner has made to the Indian Government on the tension with the Portuguese authorities regarding the future of Goa.

Her Majesty's Government are gravely concerned at the state of tension now unfortunately existing between a Member country of the Commonwealth and one of their allies, and at recent reports suggesting that hostilities might be imminent. Her Majesty's Government have expressed to the Government of India their earnest hope that there will be no resort to force over Goa, which would come as a great shock to the world and inevitably have most serious international repercussions. They have similarly expressed to the Portuguese Government their hope that they will exercise restraint and avoid gestures which might be interpreted as provocative.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will state, from the information available to him through the Commonwealth Economic Committee, the income per capita in each country in the Commonwealth; and what were the respective figures 10 years ago.

The Commonwealth Economic Committee has not published any statistics in this form. Estimates of national income, in most cases going back to 1951, and of population going back to 1952, of independent Commonwealth countries (except Sierra Leone) and of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, are set out in Tables 1 and 49 of the Monthly Bulletin of Statistics issued by the United Nations, which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what reply he has made to the official communication from Sir Roy Welensky stating that he will not permit bombs for the United Nations aircraft in the Congo to be transported across federal soil.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what reply he has sent to the communication from the Federal Rhodesian Government containing that Government's refusal to allow the passage across their territory of warlike stores belonging to Her Majesty's Government.

I have had no such communications.

asked the Minister of Education why he has not yet given on official answer to proposals submitted to him over six months ago by the Cardiff Education Committee for increasing the capacity of the Llanrumney County Secondary Boys School and Girls School, Cardiff, by 1,024 places, and adding a further 224 places at Trowbridge Primary Infants School, Rumney, in view of the urgent need for commencing building.

These projects were included by the Cardiff Local Education Authority in their proposals for the 1963–64 educational building programme and I would refer the hon. Member to my answer on 30th November to the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Dr. King) on that subject.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will make a statement on the qualifications of those students who were admitted to teacher training colleges in the latest available year, and, in particular, how many of the students admitted had two or more A level passes in the General Certificate of Education.

Of the students admitted to three-year courses of general training in 1960–61 about 35 per cent. of both men and women had two or more passes at "A" level and a further 25 per cent. one pass at "A" level. The evidence available suggests that academic standards have increased significantly over recent years and I expect them to continue to do so.

asked the Minister of Education what are the respective pensions of a two-year trained teacher who retired, after 40 years' service, in 1939, and of a similar teacher who retires in 1961.

For a woman teacher who was employed outside London and who retired on the 31st August the figures are respectively £274 and £465 per annum. The corresponding figures for a man would be £348 and £487 per annum.

asked the Minister of Education how many representatives of the British Council will attend the forthcoming Commonwealth Education Conference.

Four. Of these only one will be travelling to India in order to attend the Conference. Of the remainder, one is the Council's representative stationed in India and two will be visiting India in the course of their normal duties.

asked the Minister of Education how many officials, and of what ranks and from which Departments, will be attending the forthcoming Commonwealth Education Conference.

The list is as follows:

asked the Minister of Education how soon he will give a decision on the proposal of the Cardiff Education Committee that work on rebuilding St. Illtyd's College should start in September, 1962.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 13th July.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will make a statement on the results of the review of the civil defence plans for evacuation.

The review of evacuation policy has not yet been completed.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he is aware that some local authorities are not able to allocate sufficient money for the purchase of houses under the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act and have to refuse prospective house purchasers; and if he will make more money available for expenditure by local authorities under this Act.

Lending for house purchase is but one of many purposes for which local authorities need to borrow money and only the individual authority can decide how much to allocate to each. Although some authorities have restricted advances, total lending this year has been well above last year's level.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps are being taken by Her Majesty's Government to halt the drift of population from the rural areas of Wales; and if he will make a statement.

In the rural areas of Wales which have a high rate of unemployment as well as depopulation, financial help for establishing new industries is available under the Local Employment Act, 1960. In other depopulating areas similar help is available from the Development Fund. These measures, together with exchequer assistance for agriculture and forestry, and for the provision of basic services, all strengthen the rural economy and thus help to counter further depopulation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, in view of the further representations made to him, what action he proposes to take to deal with the problem of corrosion in the prefabricated aluminium bungalows erected as permanent dwellings by local authorities between 1947 and 1951.

Two different types of bungalows are involved: the type B.2 detached bungalow and the semidetached type B.L.8. Both types are suffering from corrosion of aluminium structural members, and I am advised that experience has shown that the particular alloy used in their manufacture was unsuitable. It was derived from war-time scrap material.After a thorough investigation, I am satisfied that the 13,000 type B.2 bungalows cannot be repaired at reasonable cost, and that many of them will have to be demolished before the loan charges on them have been met. In view of assurances given by the Government to local authorities at the time when these bungalows were erected, it has been decided to relieve the councils of the capital debt outstanding on bungalows which have to be demolished.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is the total annual contribution of Great Britain to the United Nations Organisation.

In 1961 Her Majesty's Government are contributing £10·5 million to the United Nations.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will give an assurance that, in their efforts to secure negotiations to reduce tension between East and West, Her Majesty's Government will not support the West German demand for the recovery of their eastern territories.

I am not aware of such a demand.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether, in view of the recent statistics issued by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, indicating that production in the countries of the European Economic Community has remained static whilst production in the European Free Trade Area countries has continued to increase, he will again consider inviting the countries of the European Economic Community to join the European Free Trade Area.

No.

asked the Lord Privy Seal on what date he first received a request from the United Nations for the provision of 24 1,000 lb. bombs for the use of United Nations aircraft in the Congo; and on what date he acceded to the request.

The first news of the United Nations' request reached Her Majesty's Government on 21st October. Thereafter they engaged in confidential discussions with the United Nations Secretariat. A decision was made on 8th December. The request by the Acting Secretary-General has since been withdrawn.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the threat to British and allied lives, property, territories and interests in Central Africa, and the danger of a rift in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, arising from the conflict in Katanga, he will urgently consider proposing a meeting of European Heads of Government, in preparation for his talks with President Kennedy in Bermuda, so that Western statesmanship may facilitate appropriate international action to stop the fighting and foster the conciliation of the Government in Léopoldville and that of President Tshombe.

Her Majesty's Government have already approached the Acting Secretary-General of the United Nations with a request that he should secure an immediate cease-fire in Katanga. This is of course designed to bring to an end the destruction of life and property resulting from the present fighting and thus create conditions in which, in a united Congo, a peaceful and just basis for conciliation may be negotiated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what assistance has been given by Her Majesty's Government to the establishment of the Faculty of Cooperative Education at the Community Education Workshop, St. Ann's. Trinidad.

A grant of £26,042 was made in 1958 from Colonial Development and Welfare funds to meet 50 per cent. of the capital cost of the Community Education Centre. Since the buildings were designed for a wide variety of adult educational activity it is not possible to estimate what proportion of the total cost would be in respect of co-operative education.

asked the Minister of Health why, with the exception of the Windsor type frame, cellulose nitrate is not allowed to be used in the manufacture of National Health Service spectacle frames.

Because its advantages are thought insufficient to outweigh the risk, however slight, of its catching fire in manufacture or wear.