asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average cost of a Parliamentary Question.

I regret that the calculation would involve an undue expenditure of time and money.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that the cost of living rose from 1938 to May, 1961, by 191 per cent.; what that percentage is now; and to what extent weekly earnings of £15 6s. 10d. are above the purchasing power of 1938 earnings of £3 9s. per week, after deduction of insurance contributions, including contributions for graduated pensions, and Income Tax have been allowed for in both cases.

On the basis of the consumers' price index the rise in prices between 1938 and February 1962, was 199 per cent. Allowing for this, the purchasing power of weekly earnings of £15 6s. 10d. in February, 1962, was about 28 per cent. higher than that of £3 9s. 0d. par week in 1938, after deducting insurance contributions and Income Tax. This figure applies to a married man without children or other dependants; for taxpayers with different family circumstances the figure would be slightly different.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated increased output per head since 1938; and to what extent output per head has increased beyond the purchasing power per head of the individual wage earner since 1938, allowing for cost of living, insurance charges and Income Tax.

Figures for 1938 are much less comprehensive than those now quoted, but it is estimated that output per head of the employed labour force was between 25 and 30 per cent. higher in 1961 than in 1938. The increase during this period in the purchasing power of average weekly wages, after allowing for changes in prices and for insurance contributions and Income Tax, was about the same as the increase in output per head.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost, in the first year, of abandoning the principle of immutability in relation to all public service pensions.

For the public services to which the Pensions (Increase) Acts apply, and the Armed Forces, the cost of bringing all past pensions up to parity with those currently being awarded for similar service is estimated at £70 million in the first year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average Bank Rate during each of the 5-year periods 1945–50, 1950–55, and 1955–60, and during the period since 1960.

The figures (for calendar years) are as follows:

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will state in table form the total trade and balance of payments between the United Kingdom and each independent African territory which is not a member of the sterling area and also the expenditure by all Ministries of Her Majesty's Government in each of those territories.

The required figures of trade and of United Kingdom Government expenditure in 1961 are given in the table below. I regret that further details of the United Kingdom's balance

asked the President of the Board of Trade what assistance his Department has given to exporters in placing or accepting orders from the Republic of Korea in recent months.

The normal services of the Board of Trade and of Her Majesty's representatives in Seoul have, as always, been available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the increased danger of a potato shortage, he will now replace the open individual licence by an open general licence to import potatoes up to 30th June, 1962.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will allow potatoes to be imported under an open general licence in view of the grave shortage of potatoes.

Open individual licences for imports of main crop potatoes are already being granted freely on request. This arrangement provides the same facilities for unrestricted entry as a temporary amendment of the open general licence.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what was the total value of exports from the United Kingdom to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, respectively, which entered those countries free of duty, and at a lower rate of duty than to countries outside the Commonwealth, respectively, in the years 1950, 1955, 1960 and 1961; and what were the corresponding figures for imports to the United Kingdom from Canada, Australia and New Zealand;(2) what percentage of exports from the United Kingdom to Canada, Australia and New Zealand, respectively, entered those countries free of duty, and at a lower rate of duty than to countries outside the Commonwealth, respectively, in the years 1950, 1955, 1960 and 1961; and what were the corresponding percentages for imports to the United Kingdom from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested, but I will write to my hon. Friend telling him what material we have on this subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how the imports of shell eggs and processed eggs from

asked the President of the Board of Trade on what dates his Department consulted accredited representatives of the umbrella industry in respect of the Common Market and of the unrestricted import of Japanese umbrellas into this country; and what reply he has given in respect of the latter to the deputation from the umbrella industry.

The National Federation of Umbrella Manufacturers were consulted by letters dated 19th April, 1961, and 24th July, 1961, and at a meeting on 15th August last year about the possible relaxation of the restrictions then imposed on imports of Japanese umbrellas. They were told that their views would be carefully considered

The figures for March are not yet available. I am circulating detailed figures for January and February in the OFFICIAL REPORT. They show that in value imports of shell eggs were much less and of processed eggs a little more than those for the corresponding period last year. The following in the information:within the general purpose of expanding Anglo/Japanese trade. The effect on the industry if Britain were to enter the Common Market was also referred to at that meeting.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what immediate steps he is taking to increase the number of new jobs accessible to the Coalburn district of Lanarkshire, in view of the forthcoming pit closure there.

My right hon. Friend added Lesmahagow to the list of development districts last December in order that he should be able to use his powers under the Local Employment Act to relieve unemployment arising from the closure of the Westoun pit. So far no firm has been attracted to the district, but the Board of Trade will go on trying to find new industry for it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many new jobs have become available in the Western Isles constituency as a result of new industrial development, assisted financially under the provisions of the Local Employment Act.

In the Stornoway Employment Exchange area, which comprises the greater part of the hon. Member's constituency, it is estimated that some 60 jobs have arisen or will arise from projects to which financial assistance has been offered under the Local Employment Act.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what specific proposals for industrial development in the Outer Isles he has received from the county councils of Ross and Cromarty and Inverness in the last two years; and what has been the nature of his replies.

I have received no such proposals.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the closing down of the locomotive works in Glasgow, the shale oil industry in West Lothian, and Stewart and Lloyds tube mills at Mossend, involving the loss of work for over 3,000 persons, what steps Her Majesty's Government will take to prevent increased unemployment in Scotland.

The policy continues to be the exercise of the powers under the Local Employment Act designed to help areas in which high unemployment exists or is threatened.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will increase the grants available to local authorities and to landlords to modernise older houses, in view of the 10 per cent. increase in building costs since October, 1961.

No. Expenditure up to a limit of £800 a dwelling already attracts grant. My right hon. Friend has no evidence to suggest that this upper limit or the amount of grant needs to be increased.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he received the appeal of Mr. R. O. Bradbury, of 55 Criffel Road, Carlisle, against the bill of £383 he has received from the corporation of the city of Carlisle in respect of of road charges, following the statutory notice under the Public Health Act, 1875, which he received on 15th April, 1958, instructing him to make up a proportion of 352 yards of roadway at what has been subsequently estimated to be a cost of £118; when he will make his decision on this appeal; and whether he will take account of the fact that, not only is the sum demanded a much larger one than that accounted for by the notice, but also is in reference to a long stretch of side road of which Mr. Bradbury only has a minimal use.

The appeal was received on 18th December last. A hearing is to be held on 11th May, and my right hon. Friend will make his decision as soon as possible after receiving the inspector's report. All the circumstances brought to his notice will be taken into account.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will state the estimated average rate of efficiency in the arrestment of dust of precipitators installed in Thames-side Cement Works in each of the last 10 years, and the highest and lowest figure reached by any individual precipitators to achieve this average.

The figures are not available for individual years. Efficiency in the arrestment of dust is normally measured by the "slip"; that is, the amount of dust escaping to the atmosphere. With recently installed precipitators this represents on average 0·2 per cent. of the cement made in the kiln; it has risen on occasion to an average of 0·8 per cent. with the older units,

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what representations he has received from the British Transport Commission during the past three years concerning the effect on railway services between London and the south-east of the increasing numbers of people whose work is in London and whose homes are outside London; and what action he has taken.

None.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what are the terms of reference of the four town clerks

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will give a table showing the dates at which the electrostatic precipitators at present operating in Thames-side Cement Works were installed.

The following is the reply:who are considering the boundaries of the proposed new Greater London boroughs.

The terms of reference are:1. To take into consideration the map showing the possible grouping of boroughs sent to local authorities in the London area on 16th December, 1961 (subject to any amendments to the outer boundary which the Minister may indicate), and the views expressed and any alternative suggestions made by local authorities in respect of this map.2. To make recommendations (after such consultations with each other and with the Department as they may think necessary) for the creation of a pattern of London boroughs over the whole of this Greater London area (other than the City of London) mainly by the amalgamation of existing local government areas.3. In making recommendations to have regard to the Government's declared aim of creating boroughs with a minimum population of around 200,000 wherever possible (some boroughs might be substantially larger than this); and also to the present and past associations of existing local government areas, to the lines of communication, the patterns of development, and the location and areas of influence of service centres.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what machinery exists for appeals to be made against the decisions of the town clerks considering the boundaries of the proposed new Greater London boroughs.

The Town Clerks will not take decisions, but their recommendations will be taken into account in framing the legislation which will later be presented to Parliament.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he expects to receive the report of the town clerks considering the boundaries of the proposed new Greater London boroughs.

It is too soon to say.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he expects to give the Worcestershire County Council details of modifications which he proposes to make to their green belt proposals.

I am studying this matter at present and hope to be in a position to put my proposed modifications to the council within the next three months.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what slum clearance schemes made by Cardiff Corporation for Riverside, Cardiff West, have been submitted to him; and what decision he has taken.

The council has not yet submitted to me any slum clearance orders or compulsory purchase orders for the Riverside area.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what advice he now proposes to give to the Staffordshire County Council concerning the proposed purchase by the Lichfield Rural District Council of Fradley Airport as regards the council's proposal for conditional designation, the need to prevent further spoliation and the need to secure purchase in one lot.

My right hon. Friend is advising the council to abandon its proposal.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what considerations have led him provisionally to decide that the functions of the Metropolitan Water Board should be transferred to the proposed Greater London Council, bearing in mind that the administration of water was specifically excluded from the terms of reference to the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London, and that the proposal has accordingly not had the benefit of any consideration by the Royal Commission.

Although water supply was excluded from the Royal Commission's terms of reference, since the areas convenient for supply are not necessarily those convenient for general local government purposes, it was never suggested that the Minister would not be free to consider further the existing arrangements for water supply in the light of the recommendations of the Commission when these were known. In the event the Commission's proposal, which the Government have accepted, will result in a directly elected authority which could conveniently assume responsibility for water supply as for other matters affecting the whole, or the major part, of Greater London. In these circumstances, I see no further need for an indirectly elected authority concerned with water supply alone.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he intends to transfer privately-owned water undertakings in the area of the proposed Greater London Council to that authority.

My present proposal is to make the Greater London Council responsible for water supply in the area of the Metropolitan Water Board. This does not affect any privately owned undertakings. If changes are required in the areas of supply they would be determined in accordance with the policy of regrouping, with which the House is already familiar, and would be carried out under the existing law.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, in order to take full advantage of good forthcoming building weather, and to avoid the loss of ratable value to Rugeley Urban District Council, and in view of the scheduled completion of the new Rugeley sewage works pumping station before the end of 1962, he will institute an early inquiry as requested by the Staffordshire County Council's Town and Country Planning Committee with a view to acceptance of such applications as have been made relative to the development at Etching Hill and Slitting Mill, Rugeley.

With the consent of all the parties, my right hon. Friend is arranging for the applications to be decided on written representations which should save time.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will send a circular to all local authorities in industrial areas asking them to advise schools of the action which should be taken to protect children from the dangers of old industrial workings, and especially those filled with water.

My right hon. Friend feels sure that local authorities in industrial areas are aware of the importance of warning children against these dangers, and he does not think that a circular is needed.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will announce the names of the persons whom he has appointed under Section 9 of the Public Health Act, 1961, to the Building Regulations Advisory Committee.

I have now made the following appointments:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what arrangements he intends to make in his reorganisation of local government in Greater London for public bodies which are at present jointly administered by representatives of a number of different local authorities.

These will each have to be considered separately.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement about his recent talks with the Rulers of certain of the Uganda kingdoms.

As my discussions with the Rulers are still continuing, I would prefer not to make a statement at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the loan assistance promised to the Uganda Government of £4,250,000 towards the cost of the compensation scheme for overseas officers and the £1,750,000 towards the costs of the commutation of their pensions will begin to be made available.

Issues from these loans have recently been sought by the Uganda Government and it is intended to make such issues as are necessary from the Civil Contingencies Fund pending the presentation to Parliament of a Supplementary Estimate at the earliest opportunity.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why, when the Kenya Government introduced non-racial salary scales in the Civil Service after the Lidbury Commission, women were not given inducement pay and serving women officers were not allowed to convert with inducement to C, P and N scales; if he is aware that this decision now prevents a number of women officers becoming designated officers and thus has a detrimental effect on their career compared to men serving in similar circumstances; and if he will take steps to remedy this situation.

In accordance with paragraph 97 of the Lidbury Report, inducement pay was added to women's scales where this was required to attract recruits from overseas. That, after all, is the basic reason for adding inducement pay to any scale, whether for men or women; and it is also the reason which determines the application of the Overseas Service Aid Scheme. The disability which prevents certain officers (some of whom happen to be women) from being designated under that Scheme thus equally affects men and women. The tests for designation are those described in the Aid Scheme Agreement between the Governments of Kenya and the United Kingdom, and they were established at the request of the former and with the prior concurrence of the relevant Staff Association in Kenya.

asked the Minister of Works if he will detail the current expenditure of £23,720 on 1A Kensington Palace.

The sum of £23,720 is for expenditure on Kensington Palace as a whole, excluding Apartment 1A, for which separate provision is made.The details are:

asked the Minister of Works if he will give the details of the current expenditure of £10,385 under the heading of Other Palaces and Properties in the Civil Estimates, 1962–63, Class IX, Vote 5, Appendix II.

The details are as follows:

asked the Minister of Works if he will give details of the net total of £50,789 to be expended on the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 1962–63.

The details are:

asked the Minister of Works if he will itemise the capital expenditure of £57,000 to be spent on Kensington Palace under Appendix II of Class IX, Vote 5 of the Civil Estimates for 1962–63.

The details are:

asked the Minister of Works if he will give full details of the £4,900 required in 1962–63 for the boiler houses in the royal gardens at Windsor Castle.

The £4,900 is for the overhaul or replacement of 60-year-old pipework and valves.

asked the Minister of Works if he will itemise the expenditure of £164,731 on Buckingham Palace in 1962–63.

The details are as follows:

asked the Minister of Works if he will itemise the expenditure of £125,777 on Hampton Court Palace in 1962–63.

The items are as follows:

asked the Minister of Works why the estimated net total expenditure on St. James's Palace is being increased from £49,488 in 1961–62 to £58,009; and if he will give details.

The increase of £8,521 is made up as follows:

asked the Minister of Works if he will itemise the current expenditure of £55,150 at St. James's Palace.

The details are:

asked the Minister of Works if he will give details of the £84,300 required in 1962–63 for the modernisation of sanitary and engineering services at Windsor Castle.

The details are as follows:

asked the Minister of Works if he will give full details of the £55,000 required in 1962–63 for expenditure on 1A Kensington Palace.

The details are:

£55,000 is that part of the total estimated cost of £65,000 which is expected to be spent in 1962–63.

Details of the estimate of £65,000 are as follows:

£34,000 for repairing the structure and for occupational services such as plastering, partitioning, doors, joinery, etc.

£6,000 for drainage, plumbing and sanitary fittings.

£18,000 for engineering services including heating, hot water, electricity and lifts.

£7,000 for contingencies.

The cost of the boiler house and boiler equipment, the kitchen equipment and some of the decorations and special fittings is being met privately by H.R.H. Princess Margaret.

asked the Minister of Works if he will itemise the works to be carried out on royal palaces totalling £26,050, being works under £10,000, as shown in the Civil Estimates, 1962–63, Class IX, Vote 5.

The details are:

asked the Minister of Works if he will itemise the £79,000 for fuel, gas, electricity, water, etc., shown in the Civil Estimates, 1962–63, Class IX, Vote 5, on Royal Palaces.

The details are as follows:

asked the Minister of Works if he will give details of the sum of £36,352 appearing under the heading of Palaces generally in the Civil Estimates, 1962–63, Class IX, Vote 5, Appendix II.

The details are:

asked the Minister of Works why unexpended balances of the sums expended on accommodation at royal palaces are not surrendered to the Exchequer, as indicated in the Civil Estimates, 1962–63, Class IX, Vote 5, Royal Palaces.

Unexpended balances are surrendered in the usual way on this Vote, except for the Grant-in-Aid in Subhead A. Grants-in-Aid are not normally subject to surrender of balances unexpended within the financial year.

asked the Minister of Works what total grant-aid has been given to the proprietor of Kismul Castle, Isle of Barra, for its reconstruction; and what conditions governing public access throughout the year were attached to the award of grant.

On the recommendation of the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland a total grant of £9,000 has been made to The Macneil of Barra towards the cost of repairs to Kismul Castle on the condition that facilities are given for the public to visit the Castle. Public access is provided on Saturday afternoons during the summer.

asked the Minister of Works which ancient monuments in the Outer Hebrides are in the care of his Department.

The following Ancient Monuments in the Outer Hebrides are in the guardianship of my Department:Steinacleit Cairn and Stone Circle, Lewis.Dun Carloway Broch, Lewis.Callanish Standing Stones, Lewis.St. Clement's Church, Rodel, Harris.

asked the Minister of Works how many persons are employed by his Department in Scotland, full-time and part-time respectively.

1,612 full time and 42 part time.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will authorise local health authorities who wish to do so to use private postal franking machines to draw attention on their envelopes to the association between smoking and lung cancer, in view of the general concern following the report of the Royal College of Physicians on this matter.

My right hon. Friend is considering this suggestion and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether Her Majesty's Government will make proposals to refer to an international authority disputes arising over access to Berlin.

In recent conversations with the Soviet Government, the United States Government have put forward proposals for an international access authority to control certain access routes to Berlin. Her Majesty's Government support these proposals, and would be well satisfied if the Soviet Government could agree to accept them.

asked the Prime Minister if, on his forthcoming visit to Canada, he will call the attention of Mr. Diefenbaker to recent discrimination against British firms by the Maritime Commission of Canada which has resulted in the loss by a British firm, who were the lowest tenderers, of an order for marine engines worth $2,000,000.

This matter has already been taken up with Canadian Ministers both generally and on the particular order to which my hon. Friend refers.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what work is being undertaken by his Department in connection with research on, and mapping of, the ocean bed.

For the past ten years H.M. Survey Ships, fitted with deep echo-sounding equipment capable of sounding the deepest known ocean depths, have been carrying out a systematic programme of ocean sounding. The Hydrographer of the Navy also receives on a world-wide basis a steadily increasing volume of sounding data obtained by surveying and research ships of other nations.Research on the ocean bed is carried out by the National Institute of Oceanography and by some British universities. Opportunity for British scientists to operate seaborne scientific instruments is made available from time to time in H.M. Survey Ships, in R.R.S. "Discovery II" operated by the National Institute of Oceanography, and in the R.V. "Sarsia" of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish details of the size of poultry flocks for egg production and the percentage that these flocks bear to the total number of poultry.

Just under three quarters of the 89·6 million fowls in England and Wales are kept for egg production, and just over one quarter for table poultry. If I may take 500 laying fowls as a convenient dividing line between large and small flocks, 57 per cent. were in the small flocks. I will be sending my hon. Friend a detailed statistical statement. None of these figures includes fowls on pieces of land up to I acre in size.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, with a view to eliminating the risk of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease from causes associated with swill feeding, he will consult the Service Ministers with a view to making regulations to enforce the proper sterlisation of all waste food at Service establishments before collection; and if he will make a statement on the proposals which he has in mind to eliminate the risk of the spread of disease from these causes.

The Diseases of Animals (Waste Foods) Order, 1957, prohibits the feeding of unboiled waste food to animals and poultry and also provides for the boiling in licensed plants of waste foods collected by one person from the premises of another. It would not in general be practicable to require all waste food to be sterilised at the source, and since service establishments represent only a very small part of the sources of supply of swill, I do not think that regulations on the lines suggested would serve a useful purpose. My Department maintain close contact with the Services and through our publicity campaign on the safe handling of waste foods we continually stress the rules to be observed by both handlers and feeders of swill to minimise the risk of the spread of diseases.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made with the arrangements for contributing to the $100 millions fund appeal by Mr. Sen, of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, with particular reference to milk products.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Member for East Ham, North (Mr. Prentice) on 5th February.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why, as production of milk exceeds market requirements, payments are still authorised under the Small Farmer's Scheme for improvements which involve increased production of milk.

The object of the Scheme is to increase the efficiency of small farm businesses and to enable the farmer to produce more cheaply. The increased output of milk from these farms is not in fact large in relation to the total supplies from all farms. What is more important is the general reduction in unit costs of production of all commodities.

asked the Attorney-General when the Lord Chancellor proposes to consult the Council on Tribunals with regard to the making of rules of procedure governing the proceedings of public inquiries other than those concerned with planning appeals and compulsory purchase orders, and in particular of public inquiries conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Transport under the provisions of the Highways Act, 1959.

As I said in answer to the hon. and learned Member for Ipswich (Mr. D. Foot) on 5th April, my noble Friend the Lord Chancellor is, as a matter of urgency, studying with other Ministers concerned the Report relating to the procedure for public inquiries which he has recently received from the Council on Tribunals. He hopes shortly to make the rules of procedure on which he has already consulted the Council and, in the meantime, he is considering what rules will be required for other types of statutory inquiry, which cover a very wide field. My noble Friend will consult the Council on these further rules of procedure as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state what additional measures were required to deal with the demonstration by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in Parliament Square on Saturday, 24th March; how many police officers of all ranks were involved, including those receiving off-day allowances; what was the number of vehicles or coaches used and on hire; what was the number of special courts convened; what was the estimated cost in each case; and what percentage of the total expenditure falls to be payable by the Exchequer and what percentage from London local rates.

Special arrangements were made for a sufficient number of police officers to be available to deal with the demonstration organised by the Committee of 100 on this occasion. 3,291 police officers of all ranks were involved. 163 vehicles, including 52 motor cycles and 46 hired motor coaches, were used. Two special courts were convened. The exact cost to the police and to the courts cannot be calculated; but the cost of police overtime and payment for duty performed on a rest day was about £4,125, and the cost of police transport was about £675, including £350 for hiring coaches. The police expenditure is shared between the Exchequer and the London rates. The court expenses are met partly by the Exchequer, partly from local rates, and partly from the central pool of fines and fees collected from magistrates' courts throughout the country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis regarding the recruitment of immigrants from India, Pakistan and the West Indies.

I am informed by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that, subject to the basic qualifications as to character, age, height, health and education which are laid down in the Police Regulations, all applications for appointment by British subjects are considered on their merits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the minimum educational requirements for admission to the Metropolitan Police Force.

The Police Regulations require that a candidate for appointment as a constable must satisfy the chief officer of police that he is sufficiently educated by passing a written or oral examination in reading, writing and simple arithmetic, or an examination of a higher standard, as may be prescribed by the chief officer of police. The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that candidates for appointment as constable in the Metropolitan Police are required to have a sound general education of a minimum standard equal to that attained by the average pupil leaving school at the age of 15, and must pass an entrance examination consisting of papers in English composition, arithmetic and general knowledge.

asked the Minister of Power what estimate he made of the charges that would have to be made to consumers in each board area as a result of the agreed financial objectives of the electricity and gas boards; and to what extent these estimates distinguished domestic and industrial tariffs.

The extent to which charges may have to be varied in any area to achieve the agreed financial objectives is a matter for the board concerned to determine. It will depend on a variety of factors affecting the Board's costs over the next five years.

asked the Minister of Power to what extent he took into account the need to keep production costs at a minimum in areas producing large volumes of goods for export when agreeing the financial objectives for the five years up to 1966–67 of the electricity and gas boards, with particular reference to the Boards responsible for the North Staffordshire and north-western areas; and if he will give details of the circumstances, needs and capabilities of the Boards that he took into account when agreeing these objectives.

The criteria laid down in paragraph 19 of Cmnd. 1337, on which the Electricity and Gas Boards' financial objectives for the five years 1962–63 to 1966–67 are based, relate to the financial performance of the Boards, and not to the circumstances of particular categories of consumers in particular areas. The circumstances, needs and capabilities of each Board embrace its whole situation as a financially autonomous business.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation if he will state the amount of technical training facilities given by the United Kingdom to Swaziland during each of the past five years.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 28th March, 1962; Vol. 656, c. 125], supplied the following information:1. Between the financial years 1957–58 and 1961–62 £28,075 was provided from British Government funds for the Mbabane Trade Training Centre. Expenditure in each year was

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what criteria he relies on to decide whether a bona fide overseas student is or is not recommended or sponsored by his own Government.

I do not see the need for any criteria. Whether a student is recommended or sponsored by his Government is a question of fact.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what additional services the British Council offers to bona fide overseas students who are recommended or sponsored by their own Governments as compared with other bona fide overseas students.

The additional services provided by the British Council to bona fide students recommended as such by their own Governments are:

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number and percentage of persons unemployed, in the Stornoway area, and the numbers in each of the islands of Barra, North and South Uist and Benbecula, respectively, at the most recent count.

On 12th March, 1962, 1,453 or 26·0 per cent., and 103, 85, 139 and 23, respectively.

MacMillan asked the Minister of Labour what has been the average percentage rate of unemployment at Stornoway between 1952 and 1961 inclusive.

The following table gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Labour in which employment exchange areas unemployment has persisted for 10 years or more at an average level of 10 per cent. to 15 per cent., and in which areas above that level.

Lerwick and Portree in the first category, and Stornoway in the second.