asked the Minister of Aviation, how much financial aid has been given by his Department to airports in the United Kingdom; which airports have received this aid; and what were the amounts given in each case.

Manchester, £1,600,000; Birmingham, £145,000; Newcastle, £100,000.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he is aware that since the tightening of general air safety standards on all United Kingdom airlines, and particularly chartered operators, a diversification of traffic is now taking place and increased bookings are being made with foreign lines; and whether he is satisfied that his Department have sufficient control over foreign airlines flying in and out of the United Kingdom to demand stringent safety standards in line with British requirements.

By international agreement, each country is responsible for the safety standards of its own registered aircraft; but if my right hon. Friend had doubts about the safety of a foreign applicant, he would consult the national aviation authority concerned before granting any permission.

asked the Minister of Aviation when he expects a report from the committee of inquiry on aviation fuels and safety.

As my right hon. Friend said in reply to the hon. Member for Loughborough (Mr. Cronin) on 19th February last, the report of the Working Party is to be published this month.

asked the Minister of Aviation what progress has been made in the negotiations between his Depart- ment and Beagle Aircraft Ltd. concerning the Chirstchurch factory and airfield; and, in view of the fact that the de Havilland Aircraft Company will now be vacating the factory in July, 1962, three months before it is due to be taken over by Beagle Aircraft Ltd., what steps are being taken to ensure continuity of employment for all those at present working there.

de Havilland's present intention is to terminate their tenancy at Christchurch on 30th September, 1962, but they may be able to leave a little earlier. Negotiations have started with Beagle on the terms of a lease to take effect as soon as de Havillands leave. Continuity of employment for de Havilland's employees is primarily a matter for arrangement between the two companies, but, as my right hon. Friend has said, we shall ensure that this point is taken fully into account in our negotiations with the Beagle group.

asked the Minister of Health if he is satisfied that the salary for a public health inspector is sufficient to attract persons into the service; and if he will make a statement.

I have no responsibility for the salaries of public health inspectors.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the estimated shortage of public health inspectors; and what is the number of local authorities which undertake the training of pupil inspectors.

I regret this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health (1) what is the number of local executive council areas in which a sterile syringe service, provided by the hospital service, is available to general practitioners;(2) what is the average annual charge to a general practitioner for the use of a sterile syringe service provided by the hospital service.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the inadequacy of the Maternal and Child Welfare Clinics in Sunderland; and what action is proposed to remedy this situation.

Some clinics are held in inadequate premises. Better premises are now being provided for one, and the local health authority's building programme includes provision for other replacements.

asked the Minister of Health, how many epileptic colonies will receive epileptic patients who additionally exhibit behaviour disorders.

Two.

asked the Minister of Health what amounts of orange juice, cod liver oil, and vitamin tablets were distributed through the health department of Durham County Council for the quarter ended September, 1960, and for a similar period for 1961; and what was the percentage decrease in each welfare food.

Following are the figures:

asked the Minister of Health if he will make a statement about the new suspected cases of smallpox reported in South Wales.

Eight cases and one suspected case have occurred in Rhondda Borough and Llantrisant Rural District. There have been two deaths. Five of the cases are traceable to a woman who died on 9th February during confinement without definite signs of smallpox.Two are traceable to a boy initially thought to have chickenpox. It is not known how the woman and the boy were infected.

asked the Minister of Health for how long the vaccancies for various grades of physiotherapists in the Nottingham hospitals have been outstanding.

I understand that certain posts have been vacant for periods of up to three years. I am obtaining details and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the grave dissatisfaction in the County Borough of Oldham at the recent nominations to the hospital management committee made by the Manchester Regional Hospitals Board, he will receive a deputation representative of the county borough before making his current appointments to the regional board.

No; appointments to hospital management committees are the responsibility of regional hospital boards and I cannot intervene.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT figures showing the average ratio of effective nursing staff to patients in each of the following types of hospital, namely: long stay (geriatric), tuberculosis, maternity, and infectious diseases.

The information is not available exactly in the form requested but I can give the following:

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has completed his investigations into the possibility of industrial centres for mentally subnormal people coming within the grant arrangements for sheltered workshops; and if he will make a statement.

The matter is still under examination and I am not yet in a position to make a statement, but I will do so as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys and girls entering employment obtained apprenticeship in Wales in 1961; what were the corresponding figures for the previous five years; and how they compare with the rest of the United Kingdom.

4,230 boys and 647 girls entering employment in Wales in 1961 obtained apprenticeships, compared with 3,421 boys and 486 girls in 1960, an increase of 248 per cent. Even so, the proportion of boys and girls obtaining apprenticeships in Wales remains substantially less than the average for the rest of the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of unemployed in the northern region at December, 1961, as compared with December, 1951; what percentage increase this represents of the 1951 figure; and what are the reasons for the increase.

40,245 and 29,360 respectively, an increase of 37·1 per cent. But to get this into perspective the level of employment had risen, and the percentage of unemployment in fact rose from 2·2 per cent. to 2·5. The higher level of unemployment in December, 1961, was mainly due to reduced activity in construction, iron and steel and shipbuilding and repairing; and there were also a large number of registrants for Christmas employment.

asked the Minister of Labour what further measures he intends to take to deal with the problem of unemployed juveniles in the Chester-le-Street constituency area; and whether he will give particulars of these measures.

Eighty-eight young people were registered as unemployed at the Chester-le-Street Youth Employment Office in mid-February as compared with 111 the previous month. Out of the 246 who left school at Christmas, all but 20 had found employment by mid-February. The Youth Employment Service is making every effort to find suitable employment for these young people and will continue to do so.

asked the Minister of Labour if, in view of the fact that the American Labour Department estimates that 1,800,000 jobs are being lost annually through automation, he will set up a special committee to investigate how far unemployment is being created by automation in this country, and to advise what steps should be taken to deal with the social consequences; and if he will make a statement.

We are continuing to study not only the effects of automation in this country but the problems it has created in the United States of America and elsewhere. I do not think that the setting up of a special committee would be useful at this stage.

asked the Minister of Labour how many office workers have lost their lives by fire and have been seriously injured by fires at their place of employment in the 12 months to the last convenient date, and for the previous five years.

I regret that the information available is not analysed in this form.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give the number of adult males currently unemployed in the Gateshead area; how many vacancies exist, skilled and unskilled; and how many jobs for such men, skilled and unskilled, are in prospect for the coming year.

In February, 1962, there were 1,980 men registered as unemployed at the Gateshead, Blaydon and Felling Employment Exchanges and 208 unfilled vacancies. In December, 1961, the latest date for which an analysis of vacancies by occupation is available, there were three vacancies for men in labouring and 252 in other categories. There are about 1,000 jobs in prospect for males in this area but I regret that I cannot say how many are for skilled or unskilled workers nor how many will arise in 1962.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will publish as a White Paper the several treaties or agreements constituting the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, together with any exchanges of opinion since 1939 between the respective Governments regarding the operation of, or the obligations under, such treaties or agreements; and if he will make the relevant documents available in the Library of the House.

The principal instruments comprising the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance are the Treaties of 1373, 1386, 1642, 1654, 1660, 1661 and 1703, together with the Declaration of 1899. These have all been published in volumes of the State Papers, which are in the Library.It is not customary to publish confidential exchanges of the kind requested by the hon. and learned Gentleman.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, in view of the continuing ill-treatment of the Khampa tribe in Tibet, if he will instruct the United Kingdom representative at the United Nations to move for further discussion of the matter following the earlier debate on the subject in the General Assembly.

The views of Her Majesty's Government were fully explained during the debate on Tibet in the General Assembly on 20th December, 1961. The further discussion in the United Nations which the hon. Gentleman suggests would not, I fear, help the Khampa tribesmen.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what proposals have been made by the United States of America to the Six and the United Kingdom for discussions with a view to eliminating tariffs on tropical agricultural products.

The Government of the United States of America have been in touch with us for some time about the question of tariffs on tropical products, and recently handed to us and the Six countries of European Economic Community a memorandum drawing attention to the relevant parts of President Kennedy's message to Congress of 25th January.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what compensation is to be paid and other satisfaction offered by the United Nations for the damage and depredations caused by their forces during their occupation of Lubumbashi in Katanga.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the installation near Elisabethville owned by the Union Minière. This is a Belgian enterprise, and any question of compensation would therefore be the concern of the Belgian authorities.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many experts on nuclear weapons are attached to the staff of the Armaments Control Agency of Western European Union.

No such specialists have yet been appointed to the staff of the Agency, because, as I told the hon. Gentleman in my reply of 21st February, the conditions laid down in the Treaty for fixing levels of stocks of nuclear weapons and for the simultaneous introduction of controls have not yet been fulfilled.

asked the Lord Privy Seal in view of the additional problems created for the refugees in Tunisia and Morocco as a result of the agreement between the French Government and the Algerian Provisional Government on a cease fire, if he will increase Her Majesty's Government's contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

It is too early to judge whether additional problems have been or will be created for these refugees as a result of the event foreseen by the hon. Gentleman, nor do I know what provision will be made for them by the Governments primarily responsible in such an event.The question of an increased contribution by Her Majesty's Government does not therefore at present arise.

asked the Lord Privy Seal when he expects to receive from the European Economic Community the final text of the agreement between member countries on agricultural policy; and if he will decline to proceed further with British negotiations on agricultural policy until he has received the full and final text of the European Economic Community agreement.

I do not yet know the date when these documents will be made available. As regards the second part of the Question, our negotiations in Brussels have not been hampered by the lack of a final text of the regulations in question.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether any further proportion of the contributions to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund has been made available for extraneous purposes in the Congo or elsewhere since the repayment of $10 millions to the Fund on 27th December, 1961.

No.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will state the annual percentage rise in the retirement pension from 1951–61, taking 1951 as being equal to 100; and

asked the Minister of Power if he will state the proposals being made by the Central Electricity Generating Board following its examination of a suitable site for the purpose of building a new power station in the County of Durham; and what examination is being made of the Chester-le-Street area in connection with these proposals.

I gladly circulate below a table setting out the figures requested. On the last part of the Question I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Miss Vickers) on 12th February except to invite the hon. Member's attention to the striking demonstration which the table asked for by him gives both of the substantial increase made in retirement pensions since 1951 and of the admirable way in which that increase compares with the other figures selected by him for inclusion in the text of his Question:Following is the table:

I have nothing to add to the replies I and my hon. Friend gave the hon. Member on 3rd July and 13th November.

asked the Minister of Power on what date the Gas Council transmitted to him the report of Professor Illing as to the geological and allied aspects of the proposals contained in the Gas (Underground Storage) (Chilcomb) Bill, 1961, to the introduction of which he has given his consent.

The Gas Council has kept my Department informed of the advice it has had from Professor Illing. This advice has now been collated by him into a report to the Gas Council, a copy of which was given to me on 28th February.

asked the Minister of Power on what date he received from the Gas Council the report tendered to them by the Geological Survey which contains important stipulations as to precautions necessary to avoid risks of fire, contamination and subsidence as a result of the proposed storage of gas under the City of Winchester and the adjoining rural areas; and whether he took account of these stipulations when giving his consent to the promotion of a Bill by the Gas Council to give legislative effect to the scheme.

A memorandum by the Geological Survey confirmed that gas could, with suitable precautions, be stored in the area without risk of leakage or of surface subsidence. This was sent to my Department by the Office of the Minister for Science on 13th February. As I have previously explained to my hon. Friend, my consent to the promotion of the Bill had regard to its general objectives and the necessity for them to be examined by Parliament.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the continued damaging effects on egg producers of the unrestricted dumping

On 9th February, the Egg Marketing Board, supported by the National Farmers' Union, submitted an application to the Board of Trade for the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of frozen eggs from Poland and China in the egg year beginning April, 1962. They claim that these imports would be dumped in such quantities as to threaten the British industry with material injury.According to immediate inquiries we made, imports of frozen eggs from either country are likely to be less than half the amount forecast by the Egg Marketing Board. My right hon. Friend is urgently considering the Egg Marketing Board's application in the light of these revised figures.He is also examining urgently a further application put in by the Board on 27th February in respect of shell eggs from Poland. No suggestion has been made to us that British egg producers are threatened with material injury by the current level of imports of frozen or shell eggs.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the total importation of Polish eggs, and the total importation of all eggs, in the twelve months to the latest available date; and what were the corresponding figures for the previous twelve months.

Details of our total imports of all eggs are available from the Trade and Navigation Accounts. Details of imports from Poland are as follows:

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) if an application to impose anti-dumping duties on imported Polish eggs has been received from the Egg Marketing Board;(2) what action he is taking to impose anti-dumping duties on imported Polish eggs.

On 9th February the British Egg Marketing Board supported by the National Farmers' Union submitted an application to the Board of Trade for the imposition of antidumping duties on the ground that there was a threat of material injury to British producers during the egg year April, 1962—March, 1963, from imports at dumped prices of frozen eggs from Poland and also from China. The Polish authorities have informed the Board of Trade that their exports of frozen eggs to Britain are likely to be less than half the figure forecast by the Egg Marketing Board. This application is being considered urgently in the light of this information. I am also considering a further application submitted on 27th February that dumped imports of shell eggs from Poland threaten material injury to the British producers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is his latest estimate of the cost to Treasury funds of the scrapping of machinery under the terms and conditions of the Cotton Industry Act, 1959.

My latest estimate is £11·8 million.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the opening and closing dates for receipt of applications for re-equipment grants under the terms of the Cotton Industry Act, 1959; and what will be the cost to Treasury funds for valid applications received to date.

Applications must be submitted not later than 8th July, 1962, and may relate to expenditure incurred on or after 24th April, 1959. Applications from the spinning, doubling and weaving sections were invited in March, 1960, and from the finishing sections in July, 1961. The likely cost to the Exchequer of applications so far received is about £9·7 million, assuming that all the projects go ahead.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent his Department is keeping in touch with the British Transport Commission over the railway reorganisation in South Wales, so that surplus factory space and sites will be readily made available for alternative use.

My Department, through its regional offices, maintains close contact with the British Transport Commission, both in regard to South Wales and elsewhere.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on those aspects of takeover bids which the Jenkins Committee has been asked to consider.

The Committee has been asked to consider, in relation to takeover bids, the duties of directors and the rights of shareholders. Thus it is concerned to see whether existing legislation ensures fair dealing between the parties to such transactions. The broader economic and social questions which have been raised in relation to some recent bids are not within the Committee's terms of reference.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the value of machine tools exported to the several member countries of the Common Market, to North America and to the Commonwealth, excluding Canada, over the past five years, the value of machine took imported into the United Kingdom from the several members of the Common Market, by country, and from North America over the past five years, and the value and types of machine tools imported into the United Kingdom from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and associated territories over the past three years.

Yes. The following is the information.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the number of soldiers who joined the Army in Scotland in 1961 and in January and February, 1962.

3,137, 270 and 330 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the number of soldiers who joined the Army from Ayrshire in 1961 and in January and February, 1962.

103, 17 and 12 respectively.

asked the Minister of Education what was the total cost of the provision of milk for schoolchildren in the latest convenient year; and what sum was collected in charges.

The total cost of providing school milk in the financial year ending on 31st March, 1961, was £11,159,784. No charge is made for school milk.

asked the Minister of Education what was the total cost of the school meals service for the latest convenient year; and what was the total receipt from charges for meals consumed.

The total cost of the school meals service in the financial year ending on 31st March, 1961, was £75,251,721. Income from charges amounted to £30,019,049 leaving a net expenditure of £45,232,672.

asked the Minister of Education if he will state the projects in the Stalybridge and Hyde constituency which are included in the 1963–64 school-building programme.

I expect to announce the Cheshire authority's major building programme later this week, and will then write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Education if the Secondary Schools Examination Council has now reported to him on the proposal for advancing the summer examination for the General Certificate of Education; and if he will make a statement.

The Secondary School Examinations Council will be considering this question at its meeting on Wednesday next.

asked the Minister of Education how much he proposes to allocate to educational research in the coming year.

I propose to make available £20,000 in 1962–63 for the promotion of educational research, in addition to my present annual grant of £7,000 to the National Foundation for Educational Research.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what States are at present members of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea; what action has been taken following the conference held at Bergen in 1959, to elucidate measures to protect arctic cod against over-fishing; and what investigations are being carried out by the Council at the present time.

As regards the first and third parts of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to his Question of 20th February. As a result of the recommendations of an international group of scientists appointed at the Bergen conference, the Permanent Commission set up under the 1946 Over-Fishing Convention has agreed on an early increase of the mesh-size for northeastern waters. A similiar investigation is in progress as regards the waters round Iceland.

asked the Minister of Defence what are the costs per head of population per week of the Army, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, the Ministry of Defence, and other defence expenditures, respectively.

In the 1962–63 Estimates the Navy will cost 3s. 1d. per head per week, the Army 3s. 10d., the Air Force 4s. 0d., the Ministry of Defence 1½d. and the Ministry of Aviation 1s. 6d.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has yet appointed the trade union members of the National Economic Development Council; and whether he will make a statement about the relation of the Council to existing advisory bodies in this field.

On the suggestion of the Trades Union Congress I have appointed the following members of the Council:

• Mr. W. J. Carron.
• Mr. F. Cousins.
• Mr. H. Douglass.
• Mr. S. F. Greene.
• Mr. R. Smith.
• Mr. G. Woodcock, C.B.E.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will make regulations to deal with the danger from oil heaters.

There are still a few points of detail to be settled, but I hope

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the total net assets, in 1954 and 1960, of the companies, other than public corporations, whose balance sheets are summarised by the Board of Trade; by how much trading profits of this group rose during the period, absolutely and as a percentage; and by how much the gross dividend and interest payments of this group rose during the period, absolutely and as a percentage.

I have been asked to reply.Following are the provisional figures. The final figures will appear, together with a descriptive article, in "Economic Trends" next month:to be able to make the regulations shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the percentage by which the number of male persons convicted in the twelve months to the last convenient date, for indictable offences of all kinds, exceeded the number convicted in 1938; and if he will give the corresponding percentage increase or decrease for indictable offences of larceny, breaking and entering, receiving, fraud and false pretences, violence against the person, and murder, respectively.

The last complete year for which statistics of persons convicted are available is 1960. The following table shows, for the years 1938 and 1960, the numbers of males convicted of all indictable offences, of murder, and of indictable offences in the groups classified in the Criminal Statistics as larceny, breaking and entering, receiving, frauds and false pretences, and violence against the person; and the percentage increases in 1960 compared with 1938:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the percentage by which the number of male persons, aged 30 years or over, convicted in the twelve months to the last convenient date, for violence against the person, exceeded the number similarly convicted in 1938; and if he will give the corresponding percentage increase or decrease for those convicted between the ages of 21 and 30, and for those convicted under 21 years.

The last complete year for which statistics of persons convicted are available is 1960. The following table shows, for the years 1938 and 1960, the numbers of males aged 30 years and over, 21 and under 30 years, and under 21 years, convicted of indictable offences in the groups classified in the Criminal Statistics as violence against the person, and the percentage increases in 1960 compared with 1938:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it was with his approval that the film, "Terminus", now being shown in London, included moving pictures of individual prisoners in handcuffs and close-ups of them in a railway carriage reserve for a Home Office party.

Permission was given to take long shots of an actual prison party, in which no individuals would be recognisable. But I am informed that no such shots were taken and that the whole scene was staged with professional actors.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he expects to receive the report of his inspector who conducted the inquiry into the London County Council's proposal compulsorily to acquire sub-standard housing property in the Bolina Road area of Deptford; and when he proposes to notify his decision to the London County Council.

My right hon. Friend expects to receive the inspector's report within the next few days and a decision on the order will be announced as soon as possible after the report has been considered.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures giving the cost of a 900 square feet standard area council built house in each year from 1951 to date, and the cost of borrowing, at the then current interest rates, a 100 per cent. loan for payment of those houses, on a repayment basis spread over sixty years.

The table below gives for each year the average building cost of local authority three-bedroom houses, adjusted to a standard area of 900 square feet, and the annual charges payable on a loan of that amount for a period for sixty years. The figures for building costs are based on tender prices and exclude the cost of land and services.The rates of interest shown are those charged by the Public Works Loans Board at the beginning of each year, but since the end of 1955 most local authority housing has been financed by borrowing on the open market for much shorter periods than sixty years and in general at lower rates of interest. The figures in the table are not therefore representative of the cost of building to local authorities.Following is the table:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT figures showing the average ratio of effective nursing staff to patients in each of the following types of hospital, namely: long stay (geriatric), tuberculosis, maternity, and infectious diseases.

At 30th September, 1961, the following were the ratios of effective nursing staff per 100 occupied beds:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish details of the proposed grants to be allocated to Lanark County Council, for classified road improvement schemes, during the years 1961–62, 1962–63 and 1963–64; and if he will publish details of each scheme.

The allocations which I have notified to the county council, after consultation between its officials and mine, are £111,050 in grant for 1961–62, £163,500 for 1962–63 and £169,950 for 1963–64. These allocations are, of course, provisional and subject to the necessary moneys being voted by Parliament.The schemes to be chosen in 1962–63 and 1963–64 are still subject to review but those on which grant has been authorised in the current year are as follows:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will slate the number of occasions local planning authorities have acquired land compulsorily to enable the public to have access to a foreshore since the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949, became law.

None.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is satisfied that the Plimsoll Line is now fixed at a level which is safe to all British shipping; and if he will make a statement.

I have no reason to believe that our rules, which reflect international rules, are not satisfactory. I should be grateful if my hon. and gallant Friend would let me know what he has in mind.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will set out in tabular form in the OFFICIAL REPORT the tonnage per square mile of insoluble deposit, soluble deposit and total solids resulting from air pollution at stations where measurements are taken for the average three years prior to the Clean Air Act becoming law and for each year since, together with the same figures for December, 1961, for Boghead, Loch Katrine, Brixham, Devon, Trafford Park, Salford, Phillips Park, Manchester, Heaton Park, Stoke-on-Trent, Stockport, Stalybridge, Warrington, Widnes, Eccles, Bolton, Stafford, Urmston and Liverpool, and the same national average figures for the same years.

Annual records of atmospheric pollution are maintained in terms of years ending 31st March. The period of three years preceding the Clean Air Act ended on 31st March, 1957. During the period 1st April, 1954, to 31st March, 1961, the available yearly averages of the recordings at sites in the places detailed in the Question, and also the averages of all the available recordings made during the same year, expressed in tons per square mile per month, are as follows (the figures given are for a site near the centre of a town when no more definite area is indicated):