asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will remove the Purchase Tax on cricket balls.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Dance) on 7th December.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the temporary surcharge will be lifted.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Bodmin (Mr. Bessell) on 7th December.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in commemoration of the Battle of the Somme, he will mint in 1966 suitable coins for modern usage.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give an assurance that, in renegotiating double Income Tax treaties, he will have regard to the model treaty of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

My right hon. Friend will certainly bear this in mind, but the precise terms of any agreement are a matter for negotiation between the countries concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that a woman employed by an industrial firm providing nursery service for the children of employees is not taxable on the company's outlay for her child, whereas in the case of a small firm unable to provide such a service but meeting the charge at an outside nursery, the cost is regarded as taxable income to the parent; and if he will remove this anomaly.

The remedy would be to tax the value of the benefit in the first case, but practical considerations are against doing so.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has decided this year to tax Christmas clubs and tontine clubs; how he proposes to trace the subscribers; what extra moneys he expects to collect; and whether he is satisfied that the cost of collection will not outweigh the results in finance.

Christmas clubs and tontines, like thrift and loan clubs generally, have for many years been charged to tax on interest and other income. The usual arrangement is that the club accounts for the tax due and thus there is no occasion for the Inland Revenue to collect from individual subscribers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Treasury Solicitor to complete his negotiations with the Petersfield Rural District Council over the proposed car park at Liphook.

Unless there are unforeseen difficulties, early in the New Year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what decision he has come to about the future domicile of the New Broken Hill Company.

It is not customary to discuss the tax affairs of particular taxpayers in the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the increasing commitments of the Valuation Office which have made it necessary to abandon the quinquennial revaluation due in 1968.

There are increasing commitments in connection with redevelopment schemes, housing, slum clearance, trunk roads and motorways; and new duties in connection with the Capital Gains Tax and the proposed Land Commission.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will withdraw halfpennies from circulation, as they are now practically worthless.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a contribution made by a trader for the purpose of his trade towards the cost of the provision of sewers by a sewerage authority ranks for capital allowances as though he had himself incurred capital expenditure on plant.

Section 40, Finance Act, 1963, made provision for allowances to be granted in respect of any contribution of a capital sum made by a trader towards expenditure incurred by a sewerage authority on providing plant for treating trade effluent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what rate of interest will apply on Government stocks held back for the time being, and money due to residents in Rhodesia.

When the present restrictions are lifted, residents in Rhodesia will receive the amount of interest due to them on any United Kingdom Government Stocks which they hold at the normal rate as specified in the prospectus of the stock in question.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for legislation in order to withhold pensions from British public service pensioners on grounds of place of residence; and to what extent it is Her Majesty's Government's policy to vary public service pensions with the place of residence of the recipient.

None, but under Statute eligibility for pensions increase depends on residence in some cases.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many British public service pensioners are now resident in Rhodesia; and what is the annual value of the pension paid to them.

There are about 600 pensioners of the U.K. public services, including an estimate for pensions for which local authorities are responsible; the total annual amount of the pensions is about £175,000. In addition, there are about 350 to 400 pensioners of Indian and other overseas services who receive between them about £150,000 a year either from U.K. funds or through the Crown Agents in London.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether, in view of the explanatory letters sent to him by the Horncastle Rural District Council and the Lincolnshire River Authority, he will now reconsider his decision not to allow the council to proceed with their proposals for the Tattershall and Coningsby sewerage scheme.

The council has been invited to prepare detailed drawings and has been told that the question of allowing the scheme to proceed will be considered further when this has been done.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has studied the warning contained in a report on air pollution by Doctor S. G. Burgess, scientific adviser to the Greater London Council, details of which have been sent to him, that the concentration of sulphur dioxide reached undesirably high levels in Central and South London during 1964, and that the use of smokeless fuel was a contributory cause of such pollution; and what action he is taking to defeat this increasing danger to health.

My right hon. Friend accepts that sulphur dioxide is, in general, an undesirable pollutant of the air, but he is not aware of any evidence that, in the concentrations normally found in London, it is harmful to health. Research on the subject is being actively pursued.As the report recognises, the average concentration in London remained at about the same level in 1964 as in previous years. Smokeless fuels in general give rise to less sulphur dioxide than others.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will now make a statement on the reorganisation of local government on Tyneside.

Yesterday I wrote to the Tyneside local authorities inviting their comments on my present conclusion that I should not accept the proposals of the Local Government Commission for a continuous county and four most-purpose boroughs, but should instead put forward a proposal of my own for a single all-purpose borough. I have sent my hon. Friend a copy of this letter.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what consultations he is having with local authorities about the new local tax he is proposing.

Although I am convinced that rates must be replaced by a fairer local tax, the shape of this must depend on the future structure of local government. I shall have no specific proposals for such a tax for some time to come.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware of the high cost of work done by the Salford direct labour organisation; by what amount the cost of the work on the first phase of the Higher Irlam scheme carried out by this organisation exceeded the cost as originally allowed by him; and by what amount the estimate submitted by the direct labour organisation for the second stage of the scheme exceeded the tender by a private enterprise builder the acceptance of which was authorised by him.

Salford City Council has appointed an independent adviser to examine the cost of the work carried out by its direct labour organisation and until I have seen the results of that investigation I cannot comment.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will take steps to ensure longer security of tenure for persons living at residential caravan sites, whose caravans are too large to permit speedy removal.

My right hon. Friend fears that this would present difficulties, since all caravans are by nature movable.If the hon. Member would let him know of any proposals he has in mind, he would be glad to consider them.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what is the Government's policy with regard to the better type of prefabricated bungalows built by local authorities in the 1945 period.

Generally, they can remain in use while they continue to provide satisfactory housing or until their sites are needed for redevelopment; but if they are built on open spaces they are required by law to be removed by the end of this year.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many schemes under Section 22(2) of the Rent Act he has approved or has under consideration; and in how many of them provision is made for taking the views of the local authorities on the qualifications or pay of persons to be appointed rent officers.

The Clerks of all the 157 registration areas have been consulted on a draft scheme, and over one hundred councils have been asked formally to comment upon one, as required under the Section. The terms of employment and pay of rent officers have been discussed with the local authority associations. The rent officers are, however, appointed not by the local authorities but by their Clerks as a personal function. No provision has been made, therefore, for seeking the views of authorities on these appointments.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what replies he has had from local authorities to his circulars 24/55 and 60/65 in regard to the housing of ex-Service men; and whether he is satisfied from such replies that there is a general acceptance of responsibility for rehousing ex-Service men.

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that most housing authorities accept responsibility for rehousing ex-Service men. Only 74 out of 1,412 in England and Wales have said they were unable to give full effect to the advice in Circular 60/65, which is the only one he has issued on this subject. Most of these have said they will comply in part.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will lay down further guide lines for local authorities in respect of the housing of ex-Service men so as to ensure fairness between local authorities.

My right hon. Friend sees no need for further general guidance. But he will be writing to those local authorities who do not accept the recommendations of his recent circular.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he intends to introduce legislation embodying the White Paper of 24th November, as far as the increase in council house building subsidies is concerned; how much this item will cost the Exchequer in the first year of operation; and if this item will be maintained at the same figure even if general market rates are reduced below their present level of 61 per cent.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Housing Subsidies Bill which was presented on 2nd December and in particular to paragraph 16 of the Explanatory and Financial Memorandum.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, when publishing future housing returns, whether he will include individual columns showing the houses and flats built by industrialised methods.

As stated in the recent White Paper, "The Housing Programme 1965 to 1970", it is proposed to issue a new statistical abstract on Housing. This will include the number of dwellings built by industrialised methods in the country as a whole.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what steps he proposes to take to protect purchasers of new houses from jerry-building; and if he will strengthen the position of the National House Builders' Registration Council.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Croydon, South (Sir R. Thompson) on 7th December.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will issue a circular to planning authorities on the need to provide for some owner-occupied housing in all redevelopment schemes so as to include a number of professional people in each community.

Local authorities were asked in paragraph 25 of the recent Housing White Paper (Cmnd. 2838) to consider the needs in their areas for houses for owner-occupation as well as for renting.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what steps he is taking to improve the reception of British Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts in Southern Rhodesia; and how soon he expects such improvements to be made.

There is evidence that steps already taken to improve the audibility of the B.B.C.'s direct short-wave broadcasts have made a noticeable improvement. Our relay station in Bechuanaland, which will come into service very shortly and includes a medium-wave transmitter, will make these broadcasts even more easily audible to listeners.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will arrange for transcripts of all official Government broadcasts from Bechuanaland to Rhodesia to be placed in the House of Commons Library.

The broadcasts from the relay station in Bechuanaland will consist of B.B.C. programmes in the Corporation's World and African services. It is not contemplated that there will be any official Government broadcasts.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will give the latest figures of United Kingdom citizens resident in Rhodesia who have left the country since the Unilateral Declaration of Independence.

I regret that no figures are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what evidence he has that the Kariba Dam has been mined by the illegal régime in Rhodesia.

I am not prepared to divulge the evidence or its sources.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations why, although by virtue of the Southern Rhodesia Act 1965 he has power to direct the payment of interest on Rhodesian public debt in this country, he has permitted default.

Though the Government of the United Kingdom have been given certain powers to enable them to ensure the lawful Government of Southern Rhodesia, including the power to make laws and in certain cases to exercise, or control the exercise of, executive powers in Southern Rhodesia, they have not assumed the government of that country and have not in any way succeeded either to the assets or to the liabilities of the Government of Southern Rhodesia. It is not for the British Government to intervene in a situation where interest payments of Rhodesian public debt in this country have been stopped as a result of the illegal actions of Mr. Smith and his colleagues on 11th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations how many of the provisions of the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia Act, No. 24 of the Legislature of Southern Rhodesia for 1964, have been brought into operation; and what were the dates fixed by the Governor for the coming into operation of such provisions and the dates of each proclamation fixing such dates.

All provisions of the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia Act, No. 24 of the Legislature of Southern Rhodesia for 1964 have been brought into operation.All Sections except, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22 and 23 were brought into operation at 22nd May, 1964, by Southern Rhodesia Proclamation No. 14 of 1964, 19th May, 1964 (Southern Rhodesia Gazette Notice No. 379 of 1964).Sections 11, 12, 13, 17, 18 and 23 were brought into operation at 13th November, 1964, by Southern Rhodesia Proclamation No. 41 of 1964, 11th November, 1964 (Southern Rhodesia Gazette Notice No. 790 of 1964).Sections 14 and 15 were brought into operation at 22nd January, 1965, by Rhodesia Proclamation No. 7 of 1965, 18th January, 1965 (Southern Rhodesia Gazette Notice No. 65 of 1965).Sections 21 and 22 were brought into operation at 1st April, 1965, by Rhodesia Proclamation No. 14 of 1965, 19th February, 1965, (Southern Rhodesia Gazette Notice No. 146 of 1965).Sections 4, 16 and 20 were brought into operation at 1st July, 1965, by Rhodesia Proclamation No. 35 of 1965, 22nd June, 1965 (Southern Rhodesia Gazette Notice No. 453 of 1965).

asked the Minister of Power what consideration he has given to the recommendation of the Council on Tribunals that independent inspectors should he appointed to conduct power station and transmission line inquiries instead of the present method of inspections conducted by representatives from his Department and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government; and what action he will take.

I have this matter under consideration, in conjunction with my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Housing and Local Government.

asked the Minister of Power if he will issue a White Paper on the managerial reorganisation of the National Coal Board and mining industry, including the terms of redundancy compensation.

No. I do not think this is an appropriate matter for a White Paper, but I have arranged for an explanatory document prepared by the National Coal Board to be placed in the Library.

asked the Minister of Technology if he will use the resources of the Atomic Energy Authority for the establishment in Aberdeen of non-atomic sphere such as automation and other sophisticated machine tools.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer which I gave him on the 30th November.

asked the Minister of Technology why no mention of the Denny Hovercraft developments is made in the Sixteenth Annual Report of the National Research Development Corporation 1964–65.

I understand the reason is that no significant developments took place during the year in question.

asked the Minister of Technology what action he contemplates to increase the spread of technology on the workshop floor, especially in the smaller firms.

I have decided to set up a Production Engineering Advisory Service to help the engineering and allied industries to increase their productive efficiency. This service will cover all aspects of engineering from the improvement of engineering design to new and improved management and production techniques, including automation.The service will be available to all engineering firms and will be operated on behalf of the Ministry of Technology by the Production Engineering Research Association in conjunction with the Regional Offices of my Department. Mobile demonstration and advisory units will be stationed in each Region and teams will be available to visit engineering works and show designers, foremen and production staff how to use the most modern production engineering techniques.The service will begin as soon as the mobile units can be prepared and staffed and I hope that it will be in operation in all the Regions within twelve months. Initially it will run for a period of four years and the net cost to the Exchequer will be about £1 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement about the extent of the financial assistance to be provided by Her Majesty's Government so as to guarantee the future of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

I am at present considering proposals about the amount of financial assistance to the Royal Opera House in the context of the total provision for the Arts Council for 1966–67.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give an assurance that he will not exercise his powers so as to derogate from the provisions of Sections 7 and 9 of the Epping Forest Act 1878 that the Forest should at all times be kept uninclosed and unbuilt on as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the public; and how often in the last five years his powers have been exercised without the consent of the Corporation of the City of London as Conservators of Epping Forest.

No. I will consider on its merits any question that may arise as to the exercise of my powers in relation to Epping Forest. The powers have not been exercised in that area during the last five years and the second part of the question does not therefore arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many new primary and secondary schools were completed in England and Wales in the fourth quarter of 1964 and in the first three-quarters of 1965.

The numbers are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force establishments in Northern Ireland and the number of civilians employed in each establishment, respectively.

The Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force establishments in Northern Ireland, and the number of civilians employed by the Ministry of Defence in each establishment, are:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, in assessing the suggested saving in defence costs by 1969–70, on what scale he assumed that delivery of the F111A and F111B would have taken place in that year and previous years on the basis of the full purchase that he contemplated.

On the basis that deliveries of the F111 A to the R.A.F. would begin in 1968–69. In line with normal practice, I cannot give further details of combat aircraft numbers. There is no U.K. interest in purchasing the F111B.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of reinforcements that would be required to bring all units of the Regular Army up to their war establishment.

About 50,000, for those units that will be included in the mobilisation Order of Battle.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has received a resolution from the Wareham and Purbeck Rural District Council concerning disbandment of the existing Territorial Army; what reply he proposes to make; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The Council has been told that the White Paper which will be published tomorrow will explain more fully the purpose and content of the Government's plan.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of new entries this term into the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Suffolk; and how many are officers' sons and ratings' orphans, respectively.

Eighty-four new boys entered the Royal Hospital School this term. Of these eight (including one orphan) are the sons of direct entry officers; twenty-one (including one orphan) are the sons of officers promoted after at least four years' service on the lower deck; and fifty-five (including six orphans) are the sons of ratings. My hon. and gallant Friend will be glad to appreciate that as time passes after a war, the number of Service orphans of school age diminishes.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of officers' sons at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Suffolk, whose fees are wholly paid from the Services Education Fund and whose parents pay nothing; and how many ratings' widows have to pay fees.

There are at the Royal Hospital School twenty-four sons of direct entry officers and one hundred and four sons of officers promoted after at least four years' service on the lower deck, in respect of whom full fees are paid. Their parents are eligible to claim Navy Education Allowance, in the same way as the two hundred serving ratings who have sons at the school. There are at the school thirteen sons of ratings' widows whose mothers contribute towards the fees; in each case the parental contribution is less than the full amount of the fee.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will abolish the earnings rule for ratings' widows in assessing the fees to be paid for their orphan sons at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Suffolk.

Contributions towards the fees are based on the parent's ability to pay, and great care is taken to avoid hardship to widows.

asked the Minister of Health why no order has been placed by his Department for the supply of a particular type of invalid chair in the case of one of the hon. Member for Woking's constituents, details of which have been sent to him, although an official application was made to the Ministry of Health appliance Centre at Kingston-upon-Thames six weeks ago by a senior neurologist at Woking Victoria Hospital.

Attempts have been made to obtain from Ministry contractors the special chair required by the hon. Member's constituent but these have failed. An order has now been placed with another firm. I regret the delay and I am writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health on what date the Kent County Council submitted to him schemes made under Sections 21 or 29 of the National Assistance Act, 1948; and on what date any such scheme came into force.

Under Section 21 the scheme was submitted on 3rd May, 1949, and came into force on 1st July, 1949. Under Section 29, the scheme for the blind was submitted on 3rd May, 1949 and came into force on 2nd July, 1949, and schemes for the deaf and for the general classes of the handicapped were submitted on 28th July, 1955 and came into force on 12th November, 1955. The schemes for the blind and general classes have since been amended.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has completed his discussion with the Board of Governors about the rebuilding of St. Thomas's Hospital, London; and when he now expects the next stage of building to commence.

Following further discussions between the Ministry and the Board of Governors of St. Thomas's Hospital, covering among other matters a substantial reduction in the estimated cost of the scheme, the Board are examining a proposal which it is hoped will make it possible for Stage II of the reconstruction of the hospital to start in 1968.

asked the Minister of Transport how many learner drivers are waiting to take their test in Darlington; and what is the average waiting time before applicants can take a driving test.

About 950; 12 weeks.

asked the Minister of Transport what Government machinery exists to ensure the continued running of the railways in the event of strikes of key workers on them.

I cannot anticipate what measures, if any, the Government would take in advance of the actual circumstances.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will introduce legislation to empower himself to intervene in threatened disputes on the railways before any disruption to services can take place as a result of such disputes.

No.

asked the Minister of Transport what proposals he has received from British Railways concerning the closure or alteration of the usage of Stroud station and the introduction of single-line working between Swindon and Gloucester; and whether he will make a statement.

The Railways Board has not put forward any proposals concerning Stroud station. I have approved the resignalling of the Swindon-Kemble section of the Swindon-Gloucester line, as part of a major scheme for the installation of multi-aspect signalling in the Swindon area; the Board's proposals for a similar scheme in the Gloucester area, which includes the line from Kemble to Gloucester, have just been put to me. I understand that, if the Gloucester scheme is approved, the new signalling when installed would permit the introduction of single-line working between Swindon and Standish Junction, but this simplification would not he possible before 1968 at the earliest.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will announce the further extension of the classified road programme to 1969–70.

My provisional list of schemes costing over £100,000 each for 1969–70 outside London and the conurbations is set out below. These, together with one or two other schemes still under consideration, are estimated

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he is satisfied that serious shortages of all building materials have now been overcome; and if he will make a statement.

In pursuance to my reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 15th November, 1965; Vol. 720, c. 654], a schedule showing the comparison of the stocks of the main building materials and the number of days supply held in October, 1964, and in September/October, 1965, follows:

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what percentage of the national building effort was directed to the building of casinos and gambling establishments in 1964.

Detailed figures for the construction of casinos and gambling establishments are not available.About 2·5 per cent. (£70 million) of all the new work carried out in 1964 by contractors was accounted for by enter tainment buildings which included theatres, sports stadiums, hotels and restaurants as well as casinos and gambling establishments.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in view of the sharp increase in the price of eggs in recent weeks, if he will direct the Committee of Investigation of the Egg Marketing Board to consider this matter and report to him.