asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which Minister in his Department is responsible for war pensions.

The overall responsibility lies, of course, with me. My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State, Social Security, has special responsibility for war pensions and the Department's welfare activities for war pensioners. In parallel, my hon. Friend, the Minister of State, Health, is responsible for treatment, including the provision of appliances.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services at what rate he estimates the loss in the value in real terms of the National Insurance pension, since it was last increased, will fall over the next 12 months.

The next 12 months could see an increase in the retirement pension as well as in the Retail Prices Index. I am not prepared to forecast the amount of either.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has to increase the retirement pension beyond £4 10s., in view of the continued rise in the cost of living; and if he will make a statement.

I have already indicated in replies to the hon. Members for South-all (Mr. Bidwell) and for Harwich (Mr. Ridsdale) on 2nd December that national insurance benefits will be reviewed in the autumn.—[Vol. 774, c. 1005–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will now make a statement on the Government's policy towards the Seebohm Report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he now plans to implement the proposals in the Seebohm Report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he has taken to implement the recommendations in the Report of the Committee on Local Authority and Allied Personal Social Services, Command Paper No. 3703.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he will make a statement on the implementation of the Seebohm Report with regard to those health and social services operated by local authorities.

Replies have now been received from all the interested bodies invited to submit their views on the Seebohm Report. The Government are giving these comments close and careful study.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he will announce proposals for the implementation of the Seebohm Committee's Report.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply today to my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd).

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has completed his study of the 27 local health authorities providing preventive health clinics for elderly people; and if he will make a statement.

No. It has only recently been possible to initiate a research project.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many season tickets have been taken out in the first two months of the service by chronically sick patients who are not exempt from prescription charges.

The total number of prepayment certificates so far issued in England and Wales was about 44,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will extend the exemption from prescription charges in the case of mentally handicapped children until their 16th birthday.

No. I think we should rest on the existing exemption arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will include persons suffering from glaucoma in the category of persons entitled in respect of their conditions to exemption from prescription charges.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he now has to extend the list of illnesses entitling people to be treated as chronically sick and so exempted from prescription charges; and whether he will make a statement.

We have no proposals for adding to the list of specified medical conditions; but the pre-payment certificate is designed to help patients not otherwise entitled to exemption or refunds who require frequent prescriptions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he is aware that a school child of 15 years of age, details of whom have been sent to him, who has a fortnightly treatment for asthma and an annual injection, is compelled to pay prescription charges; and whether he will seek to amend the regulations so that children who are legally compelled to stay at school are freed from prescription charges;(2) whether he will take steps to exempt all school children from having to pay the medical prescription charge.

I am writing to my hon. Friend about the personal case. I do not consider that extension of the present exemption arrangements would be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why cystic fibrosis was not included in the diseases for exemption from prescription charges for persons 15 years of age and over.

Because the representatives of the medical profession did not feel that doctors could accept responsibility of identifying other conditions than those specified in the list which has been published.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will set up an inquiry to determine the desirability of the practice of printing on the containers of certain medical remedies the antidote for poisoning, as a means of safeguarding children.

This could be considered by the bodies to be set up under the Medicines Act, but present advice is that such labelling might on balance be harmful by leading to delay in obtaining medical attention.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will take steps to increase the supplementary allowance applicable to disabled persons aged 18 years.

The supplementary benefit rate already goes up at age 18. If a disabled persons has special expenses caused by his disability extra provision may be made for these. If the hon. Member has in mind any individual case, I shall be very glad to look into it.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in view of the Norwegian study under Professor Strom, details of which are in his possession, he will take steps to examine British subjects, both military and civil, who were held prisoners in concentration and prisoners of war camps with a view to ascertaining to what extent after the passage of time their health has been affected; and if he will make a statement.

A study such as that undertaken by Professor Strom would not materially add to the knowledge we get from examinations of ex-prisoners in connection with war pension claims but I would stress that anyone who feels his health is now impaired as the result of privations or ill-treatment suffered in a prisoner of war or concentration camp can still claim a war pension.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children are in receipt of the child's special allowance; and what is the total amount of money involved.

About 570 children and about £55,000 a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in what respect the present flu epidemic differs from earlier outbreaks in its virulence, treatment, and origin.

I am advised that compared with recent outbreaks there is no difference in virulence or treatment. In most cases the disease runs a mild course.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what approximate difference there was between the number of persons suffering from influenza in December 1967 and December 1968.

The number of persons suffering from influenza is not known. During December, 1968 the number of first sickness benefit claims in Great Britain was 18 per cent. lower than a year earlier, but there is evidence that this winter's oubreak of influenza started later.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further research he is planning to determine the number of families with children now living below the supplementary benefit level; and when he expects to obtain the results of such research.

Plans are being made for a new survey of all families with children, which among other things will enable us to estimate this figure. It is too early to say when results will be available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will initiate discussions with trade unions catering for women workers to encourage the adoption of cervical smear campaigns on the lines recently adopted by the Transport and General Workers' Union.

We welcome any interest shown by the unions in the cervical screening service, and are considering how this may best be fostered.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to have Mao influenza vaccine supplied for sick cases in Brighton, especially in the particular case sent to him by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion; and why priority over such cases has been given to foreign sportsmen.

Substantial quantities of Hong Kong influenza vaccine have been sent to chemists in Brighton. Distributors are co-operating, at my request, in a scheme to provide vaccine first for certain groups at risk; I have no information as to the source of the single dose referred to.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has considered the representations from the Stockport Executive Council on the provision of Hong Kong 'flu vaccine for the special risk chronically ill patients of local general practitioners; and what reply he has sent.

Yes. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the Department's reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied that adequate supplies of Hong Kong influenza vaccine are reaching those categories of people for whom it is most necessary, particularly doctors and nurses; and if he will make a statement.

Supply is not at present meeting demand for all those at special risk, though the requirements of hospitals and local health authorities have largely been met. A total of 1,070,000 doses have now been supplied and increasing quantities are now becoming available to chemists throughout the country to meet doctors' prescriptions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is aware that major London hospitals have no Mao vaccine even for seriously ill patients, and that a company, the name of which has been sent to him, have ceased manufacture of the vaccine owing to its inadequacy; and if he will make a statement on how individuals in the priority classes can obtain the vaccine on a doctor's prescription both in the North and South of the British Isles.

I have not received evidence that major London hospitals are now short of Hong Kong influenza vaccine for those for whom it is precribed. The company referred to has met manufacturing difficulties and at present is no longer in production. There has been no problem over the quality of the Burroughs Welcome vaccine, which the firm is continuing to supply. Increasing quantities of vaccine are now becoming available to chemists throughout the country to meet doctors' prescriptions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why an official request was recently made for him to be allowed unlimited time on independent television channels; and what reply the independent television companies made to this proposal.

No request of any kind was made.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which local government authorities in Norfolk employ psychiatric social workers.

There are no psychiatric social workers employed by local health authorities in Norfolk. I understand that one is employed part-time in the education department of Norfolk County Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now increase the scale allowances for supplementary pensioners to take account of their disproportionate heating costs.

The supplementary benefit scale rates, which were increased only last October, are intended to cover all normal expenditure on heating. Where a person necessarily incurs additional expenditure on heating which cannot be met out of the long-term addition of 10s. which is payable to all supplementary pensioners to meet extra needs of this kind, the Supplementary Benefits Commission will consider making additional payments.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is yet in a position to publish the results of the official inquiry into heating costs of old people carried out last year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now publish the results of the survey into disproportionate heating costs incurred by supplementary pensioners which was promised by the then Minister of Social Security in 1968.

My right hon. Friend the then Minister of Social Security arranged with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Power for an enquiry to be made into the comparative costs of heating a room of given size to 70 degrees Fahrenheit for 14 hours daily during a heating season of 33 weeks.The principal findings are set out in the following memorandum by the Ministry of Power.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is aware that some nationalised industries offer, as fringe benefits, financial assistance towards membership of private health insurance schemes; and if he will introduce legislation to stop this practice.

I am aware of one such case. I understand that B.O.A.C. offer insurance with a private health insurance scheme to its pilots and flight engineers for reasons relating to the nature of their duties.As for the second part of the Question, I cannot legislate to control the activities of nationalised industries.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many claims for industrial injuries benefit were made by part-time workers in 1967;(2) what the total expenditure on industrial injuries benefit was for the year 1967; and how much of this went to part-time workers.

The total expenditure on industrial injuries benefit in the year 1967–68 was £99 million. I regret that neither the number of claims from part-time workers nor the amount of benefit paid to them is known, since the duration of the working week is not relevant to basic entitlement to benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of haemophiliacs who have accepted a car conversion grant in place of an invalid tricycle.

Seventeen.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the improved type of invalid tricycles to be issued to haemophiliacs who qualify for a vehicle have been issued to date.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has for legislation to ensure that the majority of directors of optical companies are statutorily registered as ophthalmic opticians, as recommended by the Crook Report in 1952.

The Opticians Act, 1958, already stipulates that a body corporate can be enrolled in a list maintained by the General Optical Council only if a majority of its members are registered opticians.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which establishments within the National Health Service carry out experiments and research on live cats and dogs.

Forty-nine Public Health Laboratory Service laboratories and 145 hospitals are registered by the Home Office as premises at which experiments on live animals may be performed. I do not know which of them use cats or dogs specifically for this purpose and the information is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now make public the results of his study of the report by the British Medical Association Planning Unit on Aids for the Disabled.

We have not yet completed our consideration of the Report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the legislation since October, 1964, which has increased the benefits to widows and retirement pensioners.

The legislation effected since 1964 which has increased the benefit to widows and retirement pensioners is listed below. The principal effects of the legislation have been to raise the standard rates of national insurance benefit twice, to remove the earnings rule for widows, to increase the earnings limit for retirement pensioners, to improve the return for deferred retirement, to double the period for which widow's allowance is payable and to introduce an earnings-related supplement to widow's allowance;

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services taking October, 1964, as 100, what was the purchasing power of the retirement pension in March, 1965, March, 1966, March, 1967, March, 1968, and the latest available date.

Index of purchasing power of retirement pension October, 1964, to December 1968, starting at 100 in October, 1964,

		Man or woman on own insurance	Man plus wife on his insurance
October, 1964	…	100	100
March, 1965	…	116	117
March, 1966	…	112	112
March, 1967	…	108	109
March, 1968	…	117	118
December, 1968	…	112	113

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of those receiving unemployment benefit is also receiving supplementary benefit at the most recent available date.

Twenty per cent. of persons receiving unemployment benefit were also receiving supplementary benefit, at the beginning of November, 1968.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many accidents involving the Tippen vehicle for the disabled were notified to his Department during 1968.

Damage to or by Tippen petrol driven vehicles was reported on 957 occasions. The records do not distinguish between accidents on the road and minor accidents such as scratches against gateposts.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will now reassess the petrol allowance for disabled drivers, in view of recent tax increases.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects the P5 invalid vehicle to come into production.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to announce an extension of the categories of eligibility for the issue of a car to disabled persons.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether drivers of the P5 invalid vehicle will be authorised to carry a passenger; and if he will make a statement concerning the development and production of this vehicle.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what improvements are to be made to the standard invalid tricycle during the course of next year.

I would refer the hon. Members to my hon. Friend's reply today to my hon. Friends the Members for Bedfordshire, South (Mr. Gwilym Roberts), Chislehurst (Mr. Macdonald) and Liver- pool, Exchange (Mrs. Braddock), and the hon. Member for Banbury (Mr. Marten).

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people have had limbs or digits amputated and how many people have required surgery following accidents on escalators in each of the last five years.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek powers to assist local authorities to give financial help to those play-groups finding it difficult to meet the expense of providing extra sanitary facilities required under the new regulations recently announced.

Expenditure incurred by local health authorities under Section 65 of the Health Services and Public Health Act, 1968, in assisting playgroups which provide for children with a special need for care on health and welfare grounds already ranks for Rate Support Grant. In addition, under the Local Government Grants (Social Need) Bill now before Parliament authorities will be eligible to apply for special Exchequer grant towards approved expenditure on assistance to any playgroup in an urban area which meets a special social need.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if he will take steps to set up an inquiry into the battered baby syndrome.

In view of current studies of this subject already in progress I do not think that any further inquiry is needed at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it has become necessary to close his Department's office at Denton, which was already some distance from Brinnington, Stockport, and to establish the office at Hyde, which is a considerable distance from Stockport.

The Denton office was not large; enough for the volume of work arising in its area and, in the interests of efficiency and economy, it was decided to concentrate work in this part of the region at Hyde and Stockport. Brinnington is already served for national insurance purposes by the office at 22 High Street, Stockport, and it is intended to transfer the supplementary benefits work to Stockport as soon as sufficient accommodation can be obtained there.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what special arrangements are being made for retirement pensioners and sick people living in Brinnington, Stockport, who will now have to travel a considerable distance to his Department's new office at Hyde.

Claims for retirement pensions and other national insurance benefits made by people in the Brinnington area are dealt with by the office at 22 High Street, Stockport. Supplementary benefits claims for this area will, for the time being, be transferred to the new office at Hyde. Arrangements can be made to visit people at home if they prefer not to call at this office.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the recent official statement by the Council of Tribunals on the form of hospital inquiries, he will now set up an independent investigation into the statements made in the book, "Sans Everything".

The allegations in this book have already been investigated by independent Committees of Inquiry whose findings and recommendations are contained in Cmnd. 3687.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present annual number of confinements in Leeds; what percentage of these confinements takes place in hospitals in Leeds; and how soon the percentage of hospital confinements recommended by the Cranbrook Committee will be realised in Leeds.

Eight thousand seven hundred and forty-nine in 1967; 74 per cent. in National Health Service hospitals; this exceeds the Cranbrook recommendation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek to provide that a proportion of regional hospital boards should be elected by the population of the area concerned.

This could not be done under present legislation. For the future, the method of constituting the bodies responsible for administering the health services is one of the questions I am considering in connection with comments on the Green Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total sum allocated by regional hospital boards for professional/study leave for the current year.

The estimated total expenditure by all regional hospital boards in England and Wales on professional and study leave for medical and dental staff is about £230,000 in the current year, excluding the salaries of the staff concerned and of any locums engaged to replace them.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make special arrangements for the financing and staffing of Luton and Dunstable Hospital to ensure that its normal work is not disrupted by multiple road accidents on the M1.

No. The financing and staffing of this hospital is a matter for the Regional Hospital Board and the Hospital Management Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why he has altered his policy of providing one main hospital for each hospital management committee group in the case of West Dorset; and what other exceptions he is now making.

The policy stated in Cmd. 3000 does not imply that every existing hospital management committee group should have a district general hospital, but there has been no change in the regional hospital board's plan to provide a district general hospital for West Dorset.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what decision he has reached on the report of the board of governors of United Oxford Hospitals concerning the chimney of the Manor Road Hospital.

I have asked the board of governors to consult the local planning authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what representation he has received concerning improvements to bed bureaux in the Manchester area; and what action is being taken to avoid failure to secure admission and delay in dealing with urgent surgical and medical cases;(2) if he will investigate the difficulties of general practitioners in the Manchester area in obtaining admission to hospital for their patients; and if he will consider the proposal of the local medical committee for the establishment of a Central Bed Bureau under the supervision of a qualified general practitioner.

Two of my hon. Friends have written to me and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about this; I have received no other representations. The Manchester local medical committee has asked the regional hospital board again to consider with them the establishment of a central bed bureau for Manchester and the board has agreed to discussions between representatives of both bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action is being taken to remedy the acute shortage of gynaecological and maternity beds in the Manchester area.

Fourteen additional gynaecological and 58 additional maternity beds will be provided when the new St. Mary's Maternity Hospital comes into use towards the end of the year. Another 10 to 12 gynaecological beds will come into use at Wythenshawe Hospital about the same time.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of deaths resulting from tonsillectomy operations for each of the years 1966, 1967 and 1968, respectively.

Deaths in England and Wales resulting from tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy numbered seven in 1966, six in 1967, and (provisionally) five in the first half of 1968. Separate figures for tonsillectomy are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the estimated shortage of nursing staff in Portsmouth hospitals in each of the next three years.

No reliable forecast of future nurse staffing can be given as it will depend on many variable factors.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will arrange to collect and make public information on the number of abortions performed under the National Health Service and privately in National Health Service hospitals.

Information is not available separately about numbers of private and other patients whose pregnancies are terminated in National Health Service hospitals, but totals are published in the Registrar General's Quarterly Returns. I would also refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Dewar) on 22nd January.—[Vol. 776, c. 137–41.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has for the maintenance and development of Horley Cottage Hospital and Dorking General Hospital.

The South-West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board has no development proposals for Horley and District Cottage Hospital but is continuing to develop Dorking General Hospital.

asked the Minister of Transport what plans he has for putting toll charges on the trans-Pennine way.

None.

asked the Minister of Transport what plans he has for taking tolls off the Severn Bridge.

None, but provision is made in the Severn Bridge Tolls Act, 1965, for the abolition of the toll 40 years after the date of opening.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the delay and inconvenience in respect of the provision and bringing into operation of traffic lights at the junction of Church Lane and the trunk road A10 at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire; and if he will take steps to accelerate this matter.

Delays in bringing the traffic signals into operation have been caused by the need to modify newly developed detection equipment to make it safe for use in high speed traffic conditions and by the theft of control equipment from the site. The installation should be completed and the signals in operation by early February.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will consider switching the direction of traffic on motorways, to enable both slow lanes to be next to the centre reservation and both fast lanes to be on the outside.

No. This would make it impossible to enter and leave the motorway by the slow lane. Attempts to do so through the fast lane would be highly dangerous, even with the necessary reconstruction of present slip roads.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will approve a safe pedestrian way on the road bridge crossing the railway in Aylestone Lane, Wigston, Leicester, in view of the accidents that have taken place there and the increasing use of the bridge by children.

Provision of a footway is a matter for the Wigston Urban District Council as the claiming authority for this road.

asked the Minister of Transport in what month he expects that construction work on the Elloughton bypass on the A64 will be started.

Work is expected to start in September of this year.

asked the Minister of Transport on what date or dates he wrote to the West Riding County Council asking for cuts to be made in proposed expenditure on local road programmes; what percentage cuts were sought; and what categories of project were specified.

On 26th January, 1968, a Circular was sent to all local authorities in England asking them to reduce by at least 15 per cent. their planned expenditure on roads—other than grant-aided expenditure on installations of lighting and improvements on principal roads—during the financial years 1968–69 and 1969–70. The reductions related specifically to expenditure on the maintenance of principal and other local authority roads, the improvement of non-principal roads and similar expenditure, both capital and current, on car parks, highway depots and plant, and the lighting of roads.On 5th August, 1968, the divisional road engineer informed the West Riding County Council that it would be necessary to re-arrange the programme of road schemes without a cut in expenditure to take account of the increased cost of some of them.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, owing to the number of accidents on the Ml caused by vehicles crossing from one carriageway to another, he will now arrange either to install a crash barrier between the carriageways or greatly to increase the length of road so protected; and what alternative method of minimising these accidents he has under consideration.

We are reviewing present criteria as indicated in the Answer to the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Dudley Smith) on 22nd January and this may result in further lengths of safety fence being authorised. We are not aware of physical measurers of preventing cross media accidents other than safety fences.—[Vol 776, c. 129.]

asked the Minister of Transport how much was spent per head of population on roads in the years 1966, 1967 and 1968 in the North-West and Scottish regions, respectively.

Expenditure per head in the North-West Region was £5·7 in 1966 and is provisionally estimated at £6·7 in 1967.I understand from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland that expenditure per head of population was estimated at £9·0 in 1966 and £11·0 in 1967.Figures for 1968 will not be available until later this year.

asked the Minister of Transport what advice his Department has given to local authorities about the switching on of street lighting in the early mornings to combat the effects of British Standard Time; and what replies he has received.

A circular was sent to local authorities at the beginning of December asking them to keep street lighting on until sunrise.The replies claim that most authorities had made suitable arrangements for the dark mornings. Some authorities, particularly smaller ones, referred to extra costs and four asked for a special lighting grant.

asked the Minister of Transport what has been the result of his study of road accidents in relation to the introduction of British Standard Time; and if he will make a statement.

At present only one month's accident figures are available for the period affected by British Standard Time. It is too soon to attempt to draw conclusions about its effects.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has considered the report from the Road Research Laboratory showing the economic saving or otherwise of the use of concrete as against blacktop paving; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend is presently studying the report and he will make a statement as soon as he can.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will list the towns in which driving tests take place where there are either no traffic lights, no "Halt" signs, or no pedestrian crossings.

I regret that this information is not readily available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost and effort.If the hon. Member will let me know of any particular problem he has in mind, I shall be glad to look into it.

asked the Minister of Transport what was the annual deficit of the passenger services on the Treherbert-Bridgend line in each year since 1964; and how much grant was requested by the Railways Board to finance this service.

I regret that no deficit figures are available for the years 1964–67; the method of calculating the deficit on an individual service for grant purposes, as recommended in 1967 by the Joint Steering Group, has only been in use since 1968.The amount of grant required to retain the full rail service on the present level between Treherbert and Bridgend is estimated at £138,000 per year.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, before approving the proposal to close the Treherbert-Bridgend line, he will ascertain what were the annual sums of money spent on maintenance and repair, respectively, of the Blaenrhondda Railway Tunnel over the past 10 years.

I regret that the information is not readily available. The British Railways Board tells me, however, that it carried out all normal maintenance and repair work on the tunnel during this period. Its closure was made necessary by a considerable movement in the rock formation which could not have been foreseen.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give an assurance that the announced pensions increases will also be applied to British Railway superannuitants.

It is for the Railways Board to decide whether to put proposals for any pension increases to me for my approval under the provisions of the Transport Act, 1962.

asked the Minister of Transport when he now expects to present a White Paper on the reorganisation of the ports.

The White Paper will be published on Wednesday, 29th January and copies will be available in the Vote Office at 3.30 p.m.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has yet had a reply from the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics concerning Czarist debts.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common wealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the present constitutional development of the Falkland Islands.

Under the present constitution—which was introduced in 1964—there are unofficial majorities in both the Legislative and the Executive Councils. The Governor considers that this constitution is working well; there has been no demand for a change.

asked the Secretary of Stat efor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how wage rates and conditions of work for shepherds in the Falkland Islands compare with those in other countries in the same latitude with similar rural economies, from information available to him from international sources.

Wage rates of shepherds and other farm workers in 1967 in the Falkland Islands were £32 8s. a month plus a bonus of 12½ per cent. of the basic monthly wage for every penny by which the average wool price during 1966 exceeded 45d. per lb. There are also increments for long service and passage entitlements to the United Kingdom. In addition, shepherds and farm workers receive free housing, meat, milk and fuel.According to the economic survey of the Falkland Islands made in 1967 from which these figures are drawn the general trend of wages and conditions of employment has not differed much from those in the United Kingdom. (Copies of the survey are in the Library of the House).The comparisons the hon. Member asked for are complex and need time to consider and I will write to him in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will state the latest communications he has had from Spain and Gibraltar, respectively, on the sovereignty of Gibraltar; and what are the Government's decisions on the relevant problems.

We have not recently received any communication from the Spanish Government or from Gibraltar about sovereignty over Gibraltar. Meanwhile, we stand by our assurances to the people of Gibraltar that we will not hand them over to another State against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will consider the holding of elections in Gibraltar before the date by which the United Nations has requested Great Britain to leave Gibraltar in order to get a further demonstration of Gibraltarian opinion on this issue.

It is expected that the next General Election in Gibraltar will be held in the early summer.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the £970,000 grant for emergency relief in the war in Nigeria is being spent in Biafra; and by what means and for what purposes it is being distributed.

£970,000 has been spent or allocated for relief in Nigeria. £700,000 of this is in the form of a grant to the International Committee of the Red Cross towards the cost of its relief work on both sides in the civil war. As this contribution has not been earmarked for specific purposes no breakdown can be given. The remainder has been devoted to relief in the federal areas of Nigeria. Colonel Ojukwu has repeatedly refused to accept relief aid in the area under his control from the British Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking following his discussions with the Governor and other representatives to safeguard the status of St. Helena.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for West Lothian (Mr. Dalyell) on 20th January.The status of St. Helena as a British Dependent Territory has never been in question. The agreement now reached as to the future operation of Solomon and Company Limited fully safeguards the interests of the St. Helenians.—[Vol. 776, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what credit facilities have been offered to the Government of Jordan in respect of arms purchases.

As the House knows, it is not the practice of Her Majesty's Government to disclose details of arms sales to other Governments. This applies equally to information about credit facilities, including guarantees or insurance cover for such sales.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will now make representations to the Italian Government for the release of five British citizens now held for one year without trial at Trani, Italy.

No. Our Embassy in Rome and our Consul in Bari have pressed, and will continue to press, the Italian authorities for an early trial, but I am advised that there are no grounds for complaint that the men have been treated improperly in accordance with existing Italian legal procedures. The question of making representations for their release does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) why, in view of his official statement condemning the attack on Beirut airport by Israel, he issued no similar statement condemning attacks on Israel by terrorists based in Arab countries;(2) what diplomatic representations have been made by him in respect of the attack by Arab terrorists trained in the Lebanon on an E1 A1 airliner at Athens Airport which resulted in the death of one passenger and serious injury to an air hostess.

We believe that such criminal acts are most appropriately dealt with by prosecution in the courts of the country concerned. Such prosecution is taking place in the Greek courts in this case.We have said again and again that we deplore all breaches of the ceasefire arrangements in the Middle East and all acts of violence, wherever and by whomsoever they are committed This most emphatically includes both acts of terrorism such as that at Athens Airport on 26th December, and terrorist attacks in Israel and Israel-occupied territory. This view was clearly expressed by the British representative in the Security Council on 29th December who described the Athens incident as part of "a terrifying trend which all nations must surely join to deplore".

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have given notification that they accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court of International Justice.

I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Dodds-Parker) on 20th December, 1968.—[Vol. 775, c. 501.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what extent of damage to property and loss of life are treated by him as relevant criteria in assessing the gravity of breaches of international law by States when the possibility of making representations through diplomatic channels is under consideration by Her Majesty's Government.

Her Majesty's Government take a grave view of all breaches of international law on the part of another State involving damage to property and loss of life. In principle, however, representations through diplomatic channels with a view to securing redress are appropriate only when the damage or loss has been suffered by United Kingdom citizens.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the circumstances in which the schoolgirl, Lao Hui-chiung, of the Belilios School, Hong Kong, was arrested; how many of her school-mates were arrested at the same time; what charges were preferred against them; what were the ages of the girls when arrested; how many are now imprisoned; and what are the lengths of sentence still to run in these cases.

In the course of inquiries held during the latter half of 1967 into the distribution within Belilios Girls School of inflammatory leaflets of a political nature, Miss Lo Wai-King, a pupil, was suspended from school for disobedience and indiscipline, pending consideration of her expulsion. Subsequently she entered the school, demanded to be allowed to return and with 13 other girls caused disturbances which required police intervention. All 14 girls, aged between 16 and 18, were arrested. Miss Lo was charged with trespassing; the others with obstructing the police. They were all sentenced to fines of H.K.$100 or one month's imprisonment. The fines of six were paid (including Miss Lo): The other eight chose the prison sentence, and have completed it.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the names of 54 Chinese detained without trial under the Hong Kong Emergency Regulations were not published.

It is not the practice to publish the names of detained persons. However, their families are notified and are, of course, free to give such publicity as they wish to the action taken by the authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what plans she has to extend facilities for training and retraining those becoming redundant, and to ensure that the jobs for which they are trained will be available when they are fully trained.

Most of the retraining required by redundant workers is at operator level and can best be given by their new employers with the help of grants from the Industrial Training Board and Government grants to new and expanding firms in Development Areas. Those suitable for accelerated training for a skilled trade can be trained at a Government Training Centre of which there are now 42 with 13 more to be set up by early 1971. The choice of training trades at the centres is based on the prospective needs of industry, and the great majority of trainees are placed in employment on completion of training or shortly afterwards.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity why one of the Under-Secretaries in her Department recently officially requested the independent television companies to provide broadcasting time for the Minister in charge of another Department.

No request of any sort was made.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will take steps to ensure that companies retain the same obligations to which they were previously liable, for making redundancy payments to employees in all cases where a company take-over occurs and where the employees carry on the same jobs in the same buildings under the same manager without receiving notice of termination on re-employment.

Employees in these circumstances are adequately protected.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will give the number of deaths caused by scrotal cancer over each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the measures she intends to take to eliminate this industrial disease.

The total number of deaths from occupational scrotal cancer reported to H.M. Factory Inspectorate over the latest five-year period for which figures are available is:

1963	…	…	…	…	4
1964	…	…	…	…	3
1965	…	…	…	…	3
1966	…	…	…	…	1
1967	…	…	…	…	-

The risk of occupational scrotal cancer arises from exposure to pitch and tar and mineral oil. The risk from pitch and tar is controlled in certain industries by the precautions required by the Patent Fuel Manufacture (Health and Welfare) Special Regulations and similar precautions are observed in other industries not subject to the Regulations.The risk from exposure to mineral oil in the cotton industry has been controlled by the Mule Spinning Special Regulations 1953; the process of mule spinning has in any case been largely superseded. The problems arising from the widespread use of mineral oils in engineering and the precautions to be taken are fully discussed in the Annual Report of H.M. Chief Inspector of Factories for 1967 and under separate cover I am sending my hon. Friend a copy. The precautions include substitution where practicable of safer oils or a modification of process to avoid contamination of the skin; good washing facilities and the provision of protective clothing and medical supervision. Most important of all however is to educate the worker to recognise the hazard and the importance of personal hygiene; and to seek prompt medical attention where necessary. Factory inspectors have been instructed to encourage employers and employees to take the appropriate precautions.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she is aware that an applicant for entry to the registry for disabled persons has to pay a fee for obtaining a doctor's certificate; and if she will take steps to abolish this requirement which causes hardship to the disabled.

The only applicants who may possibly be charged a fee for medical evidence of this kind are those in employment who are not seeking the help of the specialist employment services of the Department. We have no evidence of hardship being caused. If the hon. Member has a particular case in mind and will let me have particulars, I will have it investigated so as to be sure that the correct procedure has been followed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many firms were prosecuted in the Midlands area covered by Her Majesty's

			Index of Retail Prices		Index of Basic Rates of Wages (or minimum entitlements)
			Food	All Items	Weekly	Hourly
October, 1964 to March, 1966	…	…	4·7	6·2	7·6	11·6
April, 1966 to December, 1968	…	…	8·9	10·7	14·5	15·1
October, 1964 to December, 1968	…	…	16·1	19·0	23·4	28·7
April, 1966 to November, 1967	…	…	2·6	3·8	6·8	7·2
November, 1967 to December, 1968	…	…	6·1	6·6	7·2	7·4