asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to safeguard the welfare of animals in markets.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I have made the Markets (Protection of Animals) (Amendment) Order 1965. It is being published today. The Order requires covered accommodation to be provided in markets for dairy cows in milk, calves and pigs. The accommodation must be approved in each case by me or my right hon. Friend, and unless circumstances warrant an extension of time it must be provided by 1st July, 1966. Approval can be revoked at any time, and there is provision for market authorities aggrieved by proposed refusal or revocation of approval to make representations before a decision is taken. The interests concerned have been consulted and have supported the proposals. My right hon. Friend and I propose also to issue a more general guide on the protection of animals in markets. Copies will be available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan to secure the release of the load of Christmas fare, ordered by the United Kingdom High Commission for its own consumption, which was seized by the Pakistan authorities on its arrival at Karachi as lawful prize.

I have no knowledge of any consignment of Christmas fare for the British High Commission in Pakistan being seized as prize by the Pakistan authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many local authorities provide courses for students in mechanical line composing machines; how many such students are now taking courses compared with 1950; and what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to provide such courses.

In November, 1964, 16 local education authorities offered courses in line composition, which were attended by 321 students. Comparable figures for 1950 are not available. In addition some of the many students taking final compositors' work courses take a background course in mechanical composition. I am sure that authorities will do their utmost to meet any additional demands.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the building of additional accommodation for medical students in training at Central Middlesex Hospital will commence.

Early next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science to what extent there is a shortage of qualified library assistants in public libraries; and what steps are being taken to alleviate this shortage.

Last September there were about 300 vacancies in public libraries for qualified librarians, and another 500–600 such posts were held by unqualified staff. Training facilities have been expanded, and the output of qualified librarians is expected to rise from some 320 in 1960 to about 900 in 1967.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what were the total debt and debt charges for local government in the years 1938, 1958 and 1964; and what are the estimated figures for 1965.

The figures^* for England and Wales are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish statistics showing which Commonwealth countries during the past five years have had a net balance of immigrants repatriated from this country in excess of those entering this country.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will set out in tabular form in the OFFICIAL REPORT the total loan debt for Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool in 1938 and 1958, the estimated total for 1968, the loan redemption charges for the same years, and their percentage for each year in proportion to the total amount of rates collected in each city.

The following are the nearest available figures^*. It should be remember, however, that housing accounts for the biggest share of local authority debt, and the cost of servicing this does not by any means all fall on the rates, direct comparison between total loan charges and rates collected is likely to prove misleading.

For the period before 1st July, 1962, only estimates of the net balance of immigration from certain Commonwealth territories, grouped as follows, are readily available: West Indies, India, Pakistan, Cyprus, West African territories, East African territories, Hong Kong, others. None of these territories or groups of territories showed a net outward movement in the period from 1st January, 1960, to 30th June, 1962. For the period from 1st July, 1962, to 31st October, 1965, the statistics of persons subject to the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962, show a net outward movement only for citizens of New Zealand. The net outward movement in their case during that period was 1,480.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what machinery exists for an appeal against a local authority's ruling that a house has not a life of 15 years for improvement grant purposes.

There is no right of appeal against a local authority's decision on this point. But a recent circular urged authorities to give applicants the benefit of the doubt and pay grant whenever there was any uncertainty.

asked the Minister of Labour what instructions he has issued to employment exchanges governing their treatment of employers who practise racial discrimination in filling vacancies; on what date the most recent instructions were issued; and in what respect they differ from previous instructions.

Employment exchange managers have for many years been instructed to do their utmost to persuade an employer, who may attach discriminatory conditions when notifying a vacancy, to consider on their merits any available workers of the class discriminated against who appear suitable for the job. On 5th August, 1964 a new procedure was introduced under which exchange managers were required, when an employer appeared to persist in discrimination as a result of prejudice, to report the facts to Regional Office for further efforts at persuasion. If those efforts fail, the case is then reported to headquarters for further efforts. Finally, I or my Parliamentary Secretary would consider whether the Department should refuse to deal with any vacancies from the firm concerned. Our efforts at persuasion have met with a considerable degree of success but I am keeping the situation under close review.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) whether it is his policy to discontinue the provision of halfpenny stamp machines;(2) how many fourpenny stamp machines have been installed; and how many of these machines he intends to provide.

The policy is to discontinue the halfpenny machines.The 4d. demand is already catered for in many cases by the combination of 3d. and 1d. machines. I am planning to increase as rapidly as possible the number of points where both these machines are available.

asked the Postmaster-General what was his annual expenditure for advertising in newspapers and periodicals for the years 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1964; what he estimates will be the total amount spent on advertising for the current year; and if he will make a statement.

I am sorry this information for the years 1956 to 1959 inclusive is not available. Expenditure on advertising in newspapers and periodicals for the financial year 1964–65 was £1,030,000 and the estimate for the current financial year is £1,129,000. About three-quarters of this (£853,000) is for advertising for staff, particularly Postmen and Telephonists in London, the Home Counties and Midlands. The remainder (£276,000) is for a variety of purposes (e.g. new postal tariffs, post early for Christmas, changeovers to STD).

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the need to encourage exports and of the decisions made by the Universal Postal Union Congress held in Vienna last year, he will make reductions in postage rates for printed matter sent abroad by bulk post.

Yes: a new method of charging and a rebate of 5 per cent. of postage will be applied to all printed matter sent abroad by bulk post with effect from 1st February, 1966. At the same time, the service will be extended to include full rate printed matter.

asked the Postmaster-General why a letter posted at Rugby on Saturday, 13th November, was not delivered until noon in the Leeds, 1, postal district on Thursday, 18th November.

I assume that this item is the one about which the hon. Member has written to me. It was apparently sent as a parcel, not as a letter. I am having inquiries made into the delay and will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Power if he will indicate the nature of the official discussions which took place between his Department and the National Coal Board prior to the announcement of extensive pit closures on 18th November, 1965.

The discussions were concerned with the general scale of closures, their economic and social consequences and the action being taken by the Government and the National Coal Board to redeploy the men concerned. I made a full statement on all these matters in the debate on the Second Reading of the Coal Industry Bill yesterday.

asked the Minister of Power what estimate he has made of the effects the planned programme of pit closures is likely to have on recruitments of labour to the mining industry.

The economic and financial reconstruction of the industry now in progress should assist recruitment by improving the industry's prospects.

asked the Minister of Transport when he will now publish the Order laying down the line of the south coast trunk road; and whether this will relate to the section from Cosham to Roche Court, Fareham, or to the whole length from Cosham to West End, Southampton.

I cannot add to what I told the hon. Member on 3rd November about when I hope to publish a draft Order. It will be for the line from Cosham to West End.

asked the Minister of Transport to what extent the trunk road building programme in West Suffolk is affected by the recent proposed reductions in capital expenditure; and which projects are affected.

There are no trunk road schemes in West Suffolk with planned starting dates before January 1966 which are affected by the deferment arrangements. No decision has yet been taken on schemes with later starting dates.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on the possibility of further construction works being undertaken on the Liverpool—Southport road in the near future.

The proposed Bootle—Thornton diversion, some 3 miles long and costing £2 million, is being considered along with many other urgent schemes for a place in the next extension of the trunk roads programme.

asked the Minister of Transport what action has been taken to expedite the widening of the bridge and roadway at the junction of Rimrose—Knowsley Roads, Bootle, and Crosby Road, Crosby, adjacent to the Gladstone Dock; and when contract works will commence and will be completed.

The scheme has been designed and work will start as soon as land needed for the essential pedestrian subway has been acquired. I hope to publish the Compulsory Purchase Order for this land early in the new year. If there are no objections to it, I should expect to confirm it about one month later. Work could then start immediately, and the scheme should take from two to three months to complete.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the availability

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the traffic flow on the busiest section of the A.465, the Heads of Valleys Road; what is the highest traffic flow estimated on any section in the foreseeable future; and whether he is satisfied that the three-lane standard is, and will be, adequate and safe.

It is estimated that when the whole of the new road

Yes. The United States authorities have agreed that this line of credit shall be available if required for a further year, to 25th November, 1966.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out in tabular form in the OFFICIAL REPORT the total national debt and the amount of interest paid on it in 1938, 1948, 1958, 1964, and the estimated figures for 1965 and 1968.

The figures are as follows:between Hirwaun and Abergavenny has been completed, the busiest section will be to the west of the junction with the Aberdare Road A.4059, which will have a traffic flow of about 7,000 vehicles per day. The Heads of the Valleys Road has been constructed with a good standard of visibility and if a motorist drives in a responsible manner with due regard for other road users, I am satisfied that the three-lane carriageway provided will be adequate and safe to carry the traffic for many years to come.