asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to give for Wales and Monmouthshire in 1953, 1954 and 1955, respectively, the numbers of licensed public houses, of

—				1953	1954	1955
On-licences at 30th June	…	…	…	4,939 (a)	4,917 (b)	(c)
Registered clubs at 30th June	…	…	…	1,111	1,148	(c)
Occasional licences granted during year ended 31st December	…	…	…	1,883	1,954	2,004
Convictions for drunkenness (all offences) during year ended 31st December	…	…	…	1,981	1,966	2,072 (d)
Convictions for drunkenness (all offences) during year ended 31st December (persons under 21)	…	…	…	190	176	260 (d)
Persons convicted under Section 15, Road Traffic Act, 1930 during year ended 31st December (e)	…	…	…	187	233	275 (d)
Notes
(a) Includes 43 in suspense.
(b) Includes 37 in suspense.
(c) Not yet available.
(d) Provisional.
(e) These figures do not include persons convicted of this offence at the same time as an offence for which a higher sentence was given.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many clubs have been registered each year in London and also in the country generally since the abrogation of Defence Order No. 55C.

The precise number of clubs registered since Defence Regulation 55C lapsed on 10th December, 1952, is not known. The figures for the years ended 30th June, 1953, and 30th June, 1954, are as follows :

—	New clubs registered	Clubs closed	Net increase in clubs registered
England and Wales
1953	869	424	445
1954	936	522	414
Metropolitan Police District and City of London
1953	219	140	79
1954	221	140	81

The following table gives the available information :The figures for the year ended 30th June, 1955, are not yet available.The net increase in England and Wales in the year ended 30th June, 1952, when Defence Regulation 55C was in force was 395.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men and women, respectively, were enrolled in Civil Defence at the latest available date ; and by how many these figures have increased during the preceding 12 months.

On 30th September, 1956, 176,669 men and 242,944 women in Great Britain were enrolled in the Civil Defence Corps, the Auxiliary Fire Service and the National Hospital Service Reserve. These totals are respectively 11,180 and 5,620 less than the corresponding totals for the year before. In addition there were on 15th December, 1955, the latest date for which I have figures, 206,026 members of the Industrial Civil Defence Service, 30,446 more than a year before. Separate figures for the numbers of men and women in the Industrial Civil Defence Service are not available.

	Civil Defence Corps			Auxiliary Fire Service			National Hospital Service Reserve
	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total
England and Wales
Strength : 30th September, 1956	142,544	179,516	322,060	14,579	4,524	19,103	4,556	38,499	43,055
Increase or decrease in last 12 months	−11,181	− 7,881	−19,162	− 709	− 396	− 1,105	+ 201	+ 949	+ 1,150
Scotland Strength : 30th September, 1956	12,767	13,387	26,154	691	262	953	1,532	6,756	8,288
Increase or decrease in last 12 months	+ 351	+ 948	+ 1,299	+ 6	− 13	− 7	+ 152	+ 773	+ 925

Industrial Civil Defence Service
			Strength 15.12.55	Increase in previous 12 months
England and Wales	…	…	191,169	+29,052
Scotland	…	…	14,857	+ 1,394

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports he has received in the last 12 months of explosives found in coal already supplied to consumers in the County of Lancashire ; and in how many such cases the coal came from the Wigan area.

I have been informed of 43 cases in which explosives were found in coal supplied to consumers in Lancashire during the year ended 30th September, 1956. The source of the coal has not been identified in every case, but in five of the cases it has been traced to collieries in the Wigan area of the North Western Division of the Coal Board.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department

The Committee is at present engaged in drafting its Report. It is aware of my anxiety that this should be presented as soon as possible and while I cannot at present give any firm date, I am hoping that the Committee will find it possible to complete its work early in the New Year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring up to date the information already published by him up to the month of March, 1956, about recruitment to and resignation from the police forces, including the Metropolitan Police.

The information is given in the following table :

—				Men						Women
				1955			1956			1955		1956
				Recruits	Resignation without gratuity or pension	Retirement with pension or gratuity	Recruits	Resignation without pension or gratuity	Retirement with pension or gratuity	Recruits	Total wastage	Recruits	Total wastage
Counties, cities and boroughs :
April	…	…	…	305	191	172	450	106	91	44	10	35	23
May	…	…	…	287	216	150	358	96	97	33	25	32	19
June	…	…	…	240	174	139	318	106	82	21	14	42	22
July	…	…	…	273	207	142	381	109	66	26	26	32	27
August	…	…	…	330	171	135	375	87	68	26	29	43	27
September	…	…	…	350	139	122	320	109	77	33	21	37	22
Metropolitan :
April	…	…	…	109	46	85	159	37	41	3	3	7	7
May	…	…	…	113	48	102	127	33	39	12	5	10	5
June	…	…	…	108	41	90	124	49	46	8	9	4	3
July	…	…	…	109	40	70	141	29	50	3	8	8	7
August	…	…	…	131	37	110	121	38	39	5	9	9	9
September	…	…	…	112	61	83	145	28	50	7	13	4	6
TOTALS	…	…	…	2,467	1,371	1,400	3,019	827	746	221	172	263	177

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that a drug, of which he has been informed, is being supplied by some Cardiff chemists without the signature of a dental surgeon ; that a card of a quasi-prescriptive character has been printed by manufacturers of the drug, and that they are being sold as confidence pills without purchasers signing the poisons book or producing a doctor's or dentist's prescription ; and what action he proposes to take in relation to his responsibilities in regard to drugs.

My attention has been drawn to recent allegations about the indiscriminate sale of a drug which was added to the Poisons List as from 15th August, 1955. I understand that the matter is being investigated by the Pharmaceutical Society, which is responsible for the enforcement of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will make a statement on the location of the College of Advanced Technology for the North-East.

I am awaiting the views of the Regional Advisory Council which is examining this question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to make a statement about Anglo-Soviet trade developments, following the visit of the Soviet Trade Mission led by Mr. Malychev.

There has been a very gratifying increase in our exports to the U.S.S.R. this year. I hope that in due time the visit of the mission, to which the right hon. Gentleman refers, will lead to a further improvement in our exports to the U.S.S.R., but I understand that orders resulting from this mission are not likely to be placed in any large quantity before the end of the year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what concessions were obtained at Geneva in return for the binding of the duty-free entry of foreign maize into the United Kingdom.

Concessions were not exchanged at Geneva on a commodity for commodity basis. Our commitment on maize cannot therefore be related to particular concessions received by us.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many false or inaccurate trade descriptions have been subject to summonses by his Department during the last twelve months ; and whether he will give particulars of the principal items involved.

There were nineteen prosecutions during the twelve months ended 30th September last. Brief particulars of the cases and items involved in prosecutions brought under the Merchandise Marks Acts are placed in the Library at six-monthly intervals.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has a statement to make about his talks with the Canadian Minister of Trade.

On my way to Washington last month, I took the opportunity to give Canadian Ministers in Ottawa a preliminary outline of the European free trade area proposals which have been the subject of earlier Questions. The considered views of the Canadian Government, as of other Commonwealth Governments, are now awaited.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give in tabular form the classes of goods that are subject to import duties and which would have to be reduced or abolished as a result of the United Kingdom entering the European Customs Union ; the rate per cent. of each duty ; and the volume of imports last year from each of the countries included in the proposed Free Trade Area of Europe.

I must emphasise that there is no question of the United Kingdom entering the European Customs Union ; it is not the alignment of our external tariffs with those of Europe which is being considered, but the creation within Europe of an area within which restrictions on the free exchange of manufactured goods will be progressively removed. It would not be practicable within the compass of this answer to tabulate the rates of duty chargeable on all goods which would be included in the suggested mutual free trade area. As regards the last part of the Question, it is not possible at this stage to say which countries would be members of the mutual free trade area if it were formed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give an estimate of the number of overseas visitors to this country this summer ; how the figure compares with past years ; and the amount of foreign currency accruing.

The number of overseas visitors to the United Kingdom during the six months from April to September this year was about 800,000, compared with 765,000 in 1955, 656,000 in 1954 and 595,000 in 1953. The amount of currency which accrued from expenditure in this country by these visitors is provisionally estimated at £84 million, compared with £79 million in 1955, £69 million in 1954 and £62 million in 1953.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation declaring a moratorium on the power of hire-purchase firms to repossess themselves of household goods on which substantial payments have been made where the hirer becomes unemployed after the hiring agreement and produces a certificate from the employment exchange that suitable alternative employment cannot be found.

No. The Hire Purchase Acts, which apply to virtually all agreements for household goods, already provide that where at least one-third of the hire-purchase price has been paid the owner may not repossess the goods except by action through the courts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement regarding the future of the National Film Finance Corporation.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 2nd August last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent our exports to Egypt have declined in recent months ; what are the causes of the decline ; and what steps he is taking to improve trade with Egypt.

The decline is due to causes which are well known to the House, and this is not a time when I would expect an improvement of trade with Egypt.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the continued concern felt by shirt, collar, and tie manufacturers about the imports of shirts from Hong Kong ; whether he is aware that the 1956 rate of importation, measured in terms of numbers of garments, is equivalent to about 20 per cent. of the home trade output ; and whether he will give further consideration to the matter in view of the possible effect on the employment position of workers in the trade in this country.

I am aware that there is concern in the industry about these imports. Up-to-date information of the number of shirts produced in the United Kingdom is not available, but I am always ready to discuss with the industry methods of improving the statistics of production. The best estimate I can make of the number of shirts imported from Hong Kong as a proportion of the total number produced in the United Kingdom in the year ending June, 1956, is that it was between 10 and 20 per cent. In terms of value these imports represent less than 5 per cent. of production in the same period. The figures also indicate that the value of shirts produced in the United Kingdom, though lower than in the years 1951–53 increased in 1955 compared with 1954 and the rate of production has increased again this year. In these circumstances I can see no justification for action inconsistent with our general Commonwealth commercial policy.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware of the increasing hardship imposed on people buying houses through building societies as a result of repeated increases in rates of interest ; and if he will introduce legislation to control these rates and thus alleviate such hardship.

No. My right hon. Friend cannot ask the House to insulate any particular class of borrower from the effects of monetary policy.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make a further statement on how far his policy of reducing Government expenditure is meeting with success ; and whether he will give the latest available figures showing the progress so far made towards the ultimate objective.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which my right hon. Friend made on this subject at the end of Questions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the reasons for the further increase in the rate of interest charged on loans to local authorities.

The rates were increased to keep them in line with those prevailing in the market for loans of comparable periods to local authorities of good standing.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has received from the Inland Revenue Staff Federation asking him to get rid of the trestle tables, folding chairs and hard seat chairs, at present in use in the Inland Revenue Department, by the end of this year ; what would be the cost to public funds in replacing these serviceable articles of furniture ; and if he will resist these proposed luxuries in the interests of national economy.

My right hon. Friend has received no such proposals, though the subject of trestle tables and folding chairs has been discussed in a committee of the National Whitley Council of the Civil Service. At a cost of £2,600 those still in use by clerical staff in Revenue offices are being replaced. They are of a type which no up-to-date business interested in efficiency would continue to tolerate.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food his estimates now of the sums needed from the taxpayer to meet the fatstock price guarantees on cattle, sheep, and pigs, respectively.

The most recent Estimates were published on 5th July, 1956, and the total was £63·4 million, made up as follows :

	£m.
Cattle	11·9
Sheep	10·2
Pigs	41·3

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the modifications proposed to be made in the methods of implementing the guaranteed prices for fatstock.

Discussions are now proceeding with the representatives of producers on new arrangements for carrying out the guarantees for fatstock to come into effect on 25th March, 1957. We hope to announce details soon.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the supplementary guarantee payments to be made to the producers of fat cattle referred to in his recent letter to the President of the National Farmers' Union.

Subject to Parliamentary authority which is now being sought, supplementary guarantee payments will be made on all cattle presented for certification and found eligible during the current livestock year. These payments will be graduated and will amount on an average to about 11s. per live cwt. In total they will amount to approximately £11 million.During the current livestock year there has been a sharp and sustained fall in the prices of fat cattle from the very high levels ruling last year. The present guarantee arrangements, which are based on a 52-week moving average of market prices, have been too slow to reflect adequately these price reductions in higher guarantee payments. Thus, although guarantee payments have been rising, a substantial gap between the average return received by producers during the current livestock year and the

Period	Time of certification				Extra payment
					per cwt.
					s.	d.
1	26th March, 1956–22nd April, 1956	…	…	…	23	0
2	23rd April, 1956–20th May, 1956	…	…	…	21	0
3	21st May, 1956–17th June, 1956	…	…	…	18	0
4	18th June, 1956–15th July, 1956	…	…	…	15	0
5	16th July, 1956–12th August, 1956	…	…	…	13	0
6	13th August, 1956–9th September, 1956	…	…	…	11	0
7	10th September, 1956–7th October, 1956	…	…	…	10	0
8	8th October, 1956–4th November, 1956	…	…	…	9	0
9	5th November, 1956–2nd December, 1956	…	…	…	8	0
10	3rd December, 1956–30th December, 1956	…	…	…	6	0
11	31st December, 1956—27th January, 1957	…	…	…	5	0
12	28th January, 1957–24th February, 1957	…	…	…	4	0
13	25th February, 1957–24th March, 1957	…	…	…	3	0

The following table gives the average market prices realised during the first eight periods of this fatstock year, i.e., up to 4th November, and the average returns

Period	Average Market price, actual or estimated			Rolling average rate of homebred guarantees per cwt.		Stabilising adjustments per cwt.		Additional payment per cwt.		Total estimated average return per cwt.
	s.	d.		s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
1	132	5	Actual	3	0	—		23	0	158	5
2	128	8	Actual	6	6	—		21	0	156	2
3	129	0	Actual	10	0	—		18	0	157	0
4	122	9	Actual	14	0	—		15	0	151	9
5	114	10	Actual	17	0	—		13	0	144	10
6	107	3		19	6	2	0	11	0	139	9
7	102	6		22	6	3	0	10	0	138	0
8	100	0	(est.)	25	6	2	6	9	0	137	0

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement as to the position with regard to the proposed egg marketing scheme.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Leominster (Mr. Baldwin).

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent more rabbits have appeared since harvest ; if he is satisfied that the county committees' arrangements are working satisfactorily for destroying rabbits where occupiers have failed to deal with them ; and in which parts of the country myxomatosis is now evident.

Reports received do not suggest that there has been any marked increase in the number of rabbits in England and Wales since harvest. Where there is evidence that occupiers have failed to deal with rabbits on their land, action by the county committee has usually had the desired effect. Myxomatosis still continues to spread slowly amongst sparse populations of rabbits in parts of Cumberland, Lancashire, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Merioneth and there is also a recurrence of the disease in Hampshire, whilst minor outbreaks have been reported from time to time in other parts of the country.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the estimates of cereal yields from this harvest made by his Department compare with those of recent years ; to what extent allowance has been made for the abnormally high moisture content of the grain, the amount of grain wasted by shedding and for crops that could not be harvested at all ; and on what sources of information in the counties his Department relies for these estimates.

On the basis of the estimates made at the 1st October, the yields per acre of wheat, barley and rye are expected to be about the same as the average of the five years 1951 to 1955, but the yields of oats and mixed corn are expected to be below the average.These estimates are summarised from reports prepared by the local officers of the National Agricultural Advisory Service, on the basis of their knowledge of local conditions.

CROP ESTIMATES FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
			1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	5-year average 1951–55	1956 (subject to revision)
			cwt.	cwt.	cwt.	cwt.	cwt.	cwt.	cwt.
Wheat	…	…	21·7	22·6	24·0	22·6	26·7	23·5	23·3
Barley	…	…	20·2	19·9	22·6	21·4	25·4	21·9	21·9
Oats	…	…	18·9	19·7	21·2	19·2	22·5	20·3	17·6
Mixed Corn		…	19·4	19·9	21·0	18·4	22·1	20·2	18·0
Rye	…	…	18·1	18·2	19·6	18·5	20·4	19·0	19·5

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date the Food Standards Committee was invited to consider the necessity for more regulations to govern the composition of flour and bread in order to protect the consumers' interests ; what meetings have been held to look into this problem ; and when the Committee is expected to report.

The invitation was conveyed to the Committee on 25th May, and written evidence was called for from interested parties by 31st October, to be followed later by oral evidence. A preliminary survey of the problems involved was made by the Committee at meetings on 17th July and 16th October. I cannot say when the Committee will be in a position to report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when he proposes to visit the Gold Coast.

I have no present plans for visiting the Gold Coast.

asked the Minister of Defence if he is aware of the increasing concern that the two-year period of National Service has not yet been reduced ; and, in view of the economic advantages this gives to other European countries where shorter periods of service are required of their nationals, what consideration has recently been given to the matter and with what result.

I have nothing to add at present to the reply given on this subject by my predecessor to the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. George Craddock) on 18th July.

asked the Minister of Health what action he is proposing to take following the publication of the McNair Report set up to consider the problem of recruitment to the dental profession.

I am studying the Report with a view to discussions with the profession and others concerned.

asked the Minister of Health on what date the Royal Commission on Mental Laws finished taking evidence ; and when it is contemplated that its Report will be presented.

I am informed that the last date on which the Royal Commission sat to receive evidence in public was 27th July, 1955. Since then it has been pursuing inquiries and preparing its Report. I do not know when this work will be completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is aware of the grievance felt by those employed at Llandow Aerodrome and Maintenance Unit that the first intimation of the proposed close down came to them through the channels of the Press ; and whether he will see that in future a practice is followed which will allow of prior information being given to those working at the establishment affected.

The decision to close this unit was first announced to the employees' representatives on the local Whitley Committees. This is the normal practice.

asked the Secretary of State for Air his intentions as to the future use of his Department's property at Llandow ; and whether the public roads closed when the aerdorome was established will be restored to their former use.

As a result of the decision to close No. 38 Maintenance Unit the future of this airfield is under review. If it ceases to be required for flying I will inform my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation who will consult the local highway authority about restoring the roads.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will state the number and categories of the personnel involved in the proposed closure of Llandow Aerodrome and Maintenance Unit where a high degree of disabled men have given excellent service ; whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction that exists locally at this decision to close the air station and maintenance unit ; and if he will make a statement as to the reasons for his decision.

At present, five hundred and thirty-five civilians are employed at this maintenance unit. The detailed figures are as follows :

—	Established	Unestablished
Industrial staff	221	207
Non-industrial staff	74	33

In accordance with the terms of their engagement, all established staff will be offered transfer to other posts.The disbandment of any civilian-manned unit must inevitably cause disappointment, but I have every hope that hardship at Llandow will be lessened by the notice of more than four months that has been given.In the urgent search for economy a number of maintenance units are being closed. Llandow has been selected because it offers a maximum saving.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the purpose and cost to public funds of the visit, paid in September as guests of the British Council, of 43 Egyptian educationists to Scotland ; what was the purpose of this visit ; and what steps he proposes taking to ensure that public money is not in future spent by the British Council on such visits, in view of his own exhortations towards economy in Government service.

The visit in question was a course arranged in Dundee from 12th to 25 th August, the subject being educational administration. The 42 Egyptian educationists who attended the course were members of an educational mission who spent three months in the United Kingdom. The Dundee course being the final portion of their period of study. The arrangements were made by the British Council at the request of the Egyptian Ministry of Education, who met all the costs. No costs fell upon British Council funds.

asked the Attorney General if he will cause legal proceedings to be taken against those persons responsible for the article in the News Chronicle, published on Saturday, 22nd September, 1956, which deliberately incited readers to break the law by openly advocating the deliberate introduction and spreading of myxomatosis, contrary to the provisions of the Pests Act, 1954, which expressly forbids the deliberate spreading of this disease.

No. The article does not, in my opinion, constitute an incitement to commit a criminal offence.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the public concern at the continuation of hydrogen bomb tests, what practical steps he has taken to secure the co-operation of other countries to end these tests ; and with what success.

The Anglo-French proposals, tabled in the United Nations Disarmament Sub-Committee on 19th March, provided for the prohibition of all nuclear bomb tests at an appropriate stage in a general disarmament programme, subject to effective international control. Unfortunately these proposals were opposed by the Soviet representatives on the Sub-Committee and at the Disarmament Commission in July. No advance has therefore been possible towards agreement on the banning of nuclear bomb tests.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power, in view of the concern that has arisen from the further increase in the price of petrol, with its adverse effect on the cost of living, what consideration he has given to the reintroduction of price control.

I see no reason for a change of policy in this matter.

asked the Minister of Labour what action he proposes to take on the recent Report of the inquiry into the steel industry dispute, in view of the findings that the employers were rigid and intransigent and the unions acted in a precipitate and unconstitutional manner.

On receipt of the Court of Inquiry's Report I sent copies to both parties in the usual way. I do not consider that any further action on my part is called for. The Court's conclusion which related to an immediate increase in wages was accepted by both sides and the other conclusions are at present under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will now make a statement about future policy with regard to slaughterhouses in Scotland.

Yes. Having regard to the views which have been expressed by local authorities, it is not proposed to adopt the recommendations of the Scottish Interdepartmental Committee on Slaughterhouses so far as they relate to the setting up of new slaughterhouse authorities and the concentration of slaughtering in a relatively small number of central slaughterhouses located according to a national siting plan.The general structure of the provisions relating to Scotland in the Slaughterhouses Act, 1954, will be retained. This means, in particular, that responsibility for the slaughterhouse service will continue in the hands of individual authorities who have a duty under the Act to satisfy themselves about the adequacy of the service in their districts, with power to provide public slaughterhouses where necessary and to register private slaughterhouses, in both cases subject to the Secretary of State's consent.Experience shows that there is no widespread demand in Scotland for the reopening of the large number of slaughterhouses which were closed for the purpose of meat control. No appreciable increase in the number of slaughterhouses now operating is therefore expected, although circumstances may emerge in particular districts justifying the building of modern and well-equipped establishments either by the local authority or by private interests.The most urgent need is to improve the conditions under which the slaughtering of animals takes place. For this purpose, it is proposed that standards of construction, equipment and maintenance should be prescribed to promote the hygienic handling of meat, proper meat inspection, satisfactory working conditions, and the humane treatment of animals in both existing and new slaughterhouses.A period of grace would be allowed for compliance with these standards so far as this depended upon the carrying out of structural alterations at existing slaughterhouses, but the period would be extended in exceptional circumstances where the Secretary of State considered that this was justified.Subject to this, it would be in the public interest that the Secretary of State should have power to direct the closure of any slaughterhouses, public or private, for non-compliance with the proposed standards, where necessary after a public local inquiry had been held into the circumstances of the case.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to make a statement about the advisory committee to be set up in terms of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act, 1951.

Yes, Sir. After consultation with interested bodies I have appointed an Advisory Committee consisting of seventeen members representative of the various interests concerned. The Committee will hold its first meeting next month. The following are the members of the Committee :