asked the Minister of Labour when the Engineering Industries Association Group Apprenticeship scheme was officially submitted to him; and what action he took.

This scheme, which we welcome, was brought to the notice of my right hon. Friend's predecessor in November, 1954. Since then, consultations have been held with officers of my Department on various aspects of the scheme, and full details have been sent to youth employment officers. Men receiving this training would normally qualify for deferment of National Service.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress in nature, kind and degree has been made since the special meeting in 1948 of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea in the comparative efficiency of fishing vessels, their gear, and the technique of fishing; and what further progress in nature, kind, and degree is planned as a result of the researches and recommendations of that Council.

Since 1948 good progress has been made with the replacement of steam vessels by motor vessels and there have been notable improvements in the design and performance of trawlers, fishing gear, echo-sounders and navigational devices. The main changes in fishing technique relate to the development of Danish seining, and pair-fishing with mid-water trawls. Work in these fields in continuing.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to make a statement on the changes in temperature during the interwar years, and since, which have taken place in the waters of the northern hemisphere; the effects of these changes on the numbers and habits of the various species of fish in the waters available to British fishermen; and the steps which have been, and are being, taken by his Department to enable British fishermen to adapt their ships, gear, and technique to all these changes.

Average temperatures in northern waters rose very slightly between 1920 and 1940 since when they have remained substantially unchanged. The principal ascertained effect upon the commercial fish stocks has been the much wider spread of increased numbers of cod and to a lesser extent haddock. The British distant-water fleet which fishes these grounds has always been efficiently and successfully adapted to meet changing conditions by private enterprise. The help given by my Department has been mainly in the field of research.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to make a statement on the experimental work of his Department in conjunction with the relevant international agencies in the sphere of the under-water photography of trawls and seines in relation to the behaviour of fish in the shallow waters of the Moray Firth as well as in the waters of the North Sea, in the other waters round the coasts of Scotland and in the waters off Malta.

Experiments in the use of under-water photography, including television, have been carried out for some time by Departmental and other fishery laboratories in England and in Scotland and are still proceeding. Films have been made showing the behaviour of trawls and seine nets in action and have been widely shown to the fishing industry. All results of research in under-water photography are reported to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the concern felt by the residents of Cley-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, at his decision to defer the carrying out of the sea defence scheme by the East Suffolk and Norfolk River Board; and, in view of the continued risk of flooding at Cley, if he will now allow the scheme to proceed.

The hon. Member will be pleased to hear that authority has been given for work to proceed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the increasing number of accidents following their use, he will introduce legislation limiting the supply and use of air-guns and air-pistols.

The existing law, which prohibits the purchase or hire of air weapons by persons under 17, but imposes no other restrictions on their possession or use, is based on the report submitted in 1934 by a Departmental Committee. The Committee concluded, after exhaustive inquiry, that no amendment of substance in the law relating to the purchase, possession and use of firearms by children and young persons was required. I have no evidence to suggest that there has since been an increase in accidents caused by air-guns and air-pistols, and on the information at present before me I see no reason to depart from the policy recommended by the Committee; but I am causing further inquiries to be made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the growing nuisance to shift workers of the increasing number of ice-cream vendors using recorders and other broadcasting mediums to advertise their presence; and what steps he proposes to take to obviate this nuisance.

In Birmingham there are in force both byelaws under Section 249 of the Local Government Act, 1933, and Section 46 of the Birmingham Corporation Act, 1954, imposing restrictions on the use of loudspeakers in streets. The Act of 1954 contains however an express exemption in favour of loudspeakers producing sounds, not being words, to announce the presence of a vendor of perishable goods, including ice-cream, provided that the loudspeaker is not operated so as to be a nuisance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what regulations and byelaws are in force governing vendors using mobile shops on highways either for obstruction, endangering the lives of customers, or using broadcasting mediums to the annoyance of residents, respectively.

There are no regulations or byelaws relating specifically to mobile shops which cause obstruction or endanger the lives of customers, but such shops are subject to the general law relating to the obstruction of the highway. Many county and borough councils have made byelaws dealing with the use of loudspeakers or noisy instruments in streets and public places to the annoyance of residents.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the total number of beds in remand homes; how many of these are unoccupied; and what is the national average cost per bed per week.

The number of places available in local authority remand homes on 31st December, 1955, was 1,238. On average 51 per cent. of these places were in use during the last six months of 1955. The average weekly cost for each child accommodated in 1955–56 is estimated to have been £11 15s. 6d.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are made for seeing that films imported into the United Kingdom do not contravene the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act.

The method of enforcing the Act is by taking proceedings in the courts against any contravention of it. It is open to any person to institute such proceedings. However, I am informed by the British Board of Film Censors that, before passing a film for public exhibition, they would require the removal of any sequence in which it appeared that an animal had been in any way cruelly treated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for failure to renew dog licences were initiated during the past year.

I regret that statistics for 1955 are not yet available. In 1954 in England and Wales there were 10,363 prosecutions for offences against the law relating to dog licences. I regret that I am unable to say in how many of these cases there had been a licence which had expired.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many monkeys have been used for the purpose of animal experimentation for poliomyelitis during each of the last 10 years; of these how many have been killed; how many have been given anæesthetics; and how many have been experimented on without anæsthetics.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to invite local authorities to take part this year in any special effort to attract recruits into the local Civil Defence services.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I have decided that the week beginning Sunday, 30th September, shall be "Civil Defence Week" throughout Great Britain. We shall conduct a special publicity and recruiting campaign during that week and for a short period immediately before it; and we are today issuing circulars to Civil Defence Corps Authorities and Fire Authorities asking them to participate in the week by arranging local publicity and events.

asked the Minister of Education what results in the recruitment of science teachers have flowed from the Burnham Committee's proposal for increased allowances.

It is not possible to say how far increases in the number of science teachers are due to any particular cause, but it is unlikely that recruitment has yet been significantly affected by salary changes that became operative only from last September. Their effect is more likely to be seen during the present year.

asked the Minister of Education, in connection with Appendix I of Command Paper No. 9537 in each of the five categories, what are the number of schools, of children, of schools without science teachers, and of unfilled science teaching posts, respectively, subdivided into boys, girls and mixed.

My Department does not receive returns of unfilled teaching posts, but I know of no school in any of the categories mentioned in the Question in which the teaching of science has had to be discontinued because of lack of staff.

asked the Minister of Education if he is now in a position to publish in HANSARD a table showing, for each local authority in England and Wales, the number of schools included in the 1955–56 building programme which had not been started by 31st March.

This information will be available shortly.

asked the Minister of Education if he will issue instructions to have all air-raid shelters on school sites demolished.

My right hon Friend is prepared to approve proposals from local authorities for the demolition of shelters that are structurally dangerous, a danger to health, or an obstacle to approved building work.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is aware that the Northamptonshire County Council's scale on which the assessment for free meals is made is such that, even where a parent or parents is in receipt of National Assistance, a payment for the school meals of the child or children still has to be made; and whether he will give sanction to the Northamptonshire County Council for the scale of assessment to be revised.

Yes. My right hon. Friend is ready to consider proposals by the local education authority for the revision of their present scale of assessment.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is now in a position to make a statement on the future of the National Film Finance Corporation.

No.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to be in a position to make a statement on the future of film quota legislation.

Not for some time.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to make a statement about the reduced premiums to be charged by the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

After consultation with the Export Guarantees Advisory Council the Department has decided to make reductions in its premiums for short-term business with some 110 out of the 170 markets for which it issues guarantees. The markets affected are the more stable markets which include also the more competitive markets: they accounted during 1955 for over 80 per cent. of United Kingdom export trade.The reductions on these markets will amount to between 10 per cent. and 20 per cent., and will take effect from the beginning of the present financial year.These reductions are justified on a commercial assessment of the Department's trading accounts and future prospects and I hope that, small though they are, they will assist our exporters in their highly competitive business.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why he imposes a heavier rate of protective duty on rayon cloth and motor cars imported from the Commonwealth than on cotton cloth from the same source.

The reason is historical. Commonwealth goods have traditionally not been exempted from revenue duties. The import duties on motor cars and artificial silk goods were originally introduced in 1915 and 1925 respectively and were in force before 1932 for revenue reasons. They were not, therefore, covered by the duty-free entry provisions of the 1932 tariff legislation under which Commonwealth imports, including cotton goods, enjoy duty-free entry, as part of our Ottawa arrangements. These duties are not contrary to the Ottawa arrangements or to our trade agreements with Commonwealth countries under which we receive reciprocal benefits by way of preferences.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many monkeys have been imported into this country each year during the last ten years for the purpose of animal experimentation.

I have been asked to reply to his Question.Monkeys are not separately distinguished in the Trade Returns. Statistics of imports are therefore not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to list the pictures purchased by the National Gallery out of Exchequer funds since 1945, indicating the price paid in each case and the amounts of special Treasury grants, where applicable.

Details are given below of nine pictures purchased by the National Gallery since 1945, and of the extent to which they were financed, in whole or in part, either from the normal grant-in-aid of purchases or by means of special Exchequer grants. In general it is not the practice of the National Gallery Trustees to disclose the prices paid for individual pictures.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take steps to amend Section 6 of the Finance Act, 1908, so as to impose upon county councils an obligation to send out postal reminders to holders of dog licences reminding them of the need for renewal prior to the date of expiry.

The issue of dog licence reminders in England and Wales is entirely within the discretion of the local authorities, who collect and spend the money. I do not think further legislation is called for.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in order to assist in the drive for increased savings for which the Government has appealed, and to help in the Government's policy of discouraging home demand, he will take steps to direct the Independent Television Authority to refrain from granting facilities for advertising inessential goods.

No. I see no reason to single out one particular advertising medium for treatment of this kind.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what was the approximate acreage of agricultural land taken in Great Britain during 1955 for the purpose of constructing or improving roads; and what it is estimated will be the corresponding figure for 1956.

For 1955, I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer which I gave to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Barkston Ash (Sir L. Ropner) on 28th March, 1956. I regret it is not possible at this stage to give an estimate of the corresponding figures for 1956.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will approach the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to grant the Chairman of the Central Electricity Board, on the occasion of his reciprocal visit, equal facilities to those given to Mr. Malenkov, with equal opportunities of Press, radio, television, and personal contacts.

The Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority is in direct touch with the Soviet authorities about the arrangements for this visit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what has been the

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what further progress has been made with the Linlithgow Bridge Scheme; and if he can now give the estimated date for its completion.

Tenders have been received and are being considered. I hope that work will be completed by the summer of 1958.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to publish the Report of the Committee of Inquiry set up under the Chairmanship of Sir Hugh Rose, Bt., to discover whether it is still necessary for children to be granted exemption from attendance at school for work in the potato harvest.

I hope to present the Report to Parliament next week.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland Whether he has now received the interim report

The minimum monthly wages effective in the Seychelles from the following dates, and the urban working-class cost-of-living index at similar dates are shown in the table. The index is calculated about three times a year.of the panel of experts examining the Forth road tunnel proposals; and whether he will publish it at an early date.

Yes. The interim report has been presented to Parliament and copies will be available in the Vote Office this afternoon. It has been printed without the numerous appendices in order to save time, but I am arranging for a full copy to be made available in the Library. I am consulting the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board and the local authorities concerned about the panel's conclusions, and I shall make a further statement as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the position, at the date of his assumption of responsibility, of negotiations and inquiries affecting the Forth road crossing.

An interim report by the panel of experts appointed to consider the alternative proposals for a road crossing of the Forth has now been received and laid before the House. I am consulting the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board and the local authorities concerned and I shall make a further statement as soon as possible.