asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the Government's present discussion with employees and unions on ways of mitigating the hardship caused to individual workers by redundancy, he will bear in mind the importance of Government Departments working to a high standard in respect of their own employees; and if he will indicate their present practice.

Yes. In these matters the practice of Government Departments compares well with that of good employers generally.Government Departments inform their employees as far in advance as possible of any changes in organisation or production which are likely to result in loss of employment. Should it be necessary to discharge unestablished industrial or non-industrial employees because of redundancy two weeks' notice is normally given. Under the law as it stands, all such employees who have more than seven years' service are paid a gratuity of one week's pay for each year of service. As I informed my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea, South (Mr. Partridge) on 15th May, it is intended to reduce the period of qualification for these gratuities and make other improvements in them, with effect from 15th May, 1957.The principles governing the order of discharge on redundancy of unestablished non-industrial civil servants are laid down in the Redundancy Agreement to which the Staff Side of the Civil Service National Whitley Council are party. Redundancy agreements relating to industrial civil servants are in force between Government Departments and the trade unions concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the changes with dates which have taken place in the rate of Purchase Tax on musical instruments since the inception of the tax.

The following is the Answer:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the purchasing power today of £100 invested in Premium Bonds at the outset of that scheme, taking the value at that date as 100.

On the basis of the Index of Retail Prices, 99, in March, 1957.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sum would be required to repay post-war credits when the claimants are aged 60 years.

About £75 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will announce the names of the delegation from Great Britain appointed to attend the talks on the resumption of economic relations with Egypt etc., due to take place in Rome, on 23rd May.

The delegation will consist of Sir Denis Rickett, and Mr. Frederic Milner of H.M. Treasury, Mr. T. W. Garvey of the Foreign Office, Mr. K. E. Mackenzie of the Board of Trade, and Mr. C. R. P. Hamilton and Mr. R. I. Hallows of the Bank of England.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which county councils in England have submitted schemes under the Agriculture (Improvement of Roads) Act, 1955; and how soon he anticipates that permission will be given for work to be commenced.

The names of the fourteen county councils in England which have submitted proposals out of the sixteen which are eligible for grant are given below. My right hon. Friend will be communicating with them very shortly on the schemes which he can approve.

• Cheshire.
• Cornwall.
• Cumberland.
• Derby.
• Devon.
• Durham.
• Hereford.
• Lancashire.
• Northumberland.
• Shropshire.
• Staffordshire.
• Westmorland.
• Yorkshire (North Riding).
• Yorkshire (West Riding).

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now make a further statement on the measures being taken to prevent maltreatment of cattle exported to the Continent.

We have today learned that the Governments concerned have agreed to joint discussions with us starting very shortly. Discussions are proceeding with British interests about the recommendations of the Balfour Committee which concern our domestic arrangements.

asked the Prime Minister to what extent the Atomic Energy Research Department's inquiries into the incidence of radiostrontium in human bones in Birmingham are related to the fact that the City of Birmingham's water supply is drawn from the Welsh mountains; whether he will ensure that similar observations will be regularly carried out; and whether he will take medical advice upon the significance of the high quantities found in the bones of babies and young children in Birmingham as compared with adults.

Radiostrontium measurements, which are being made on an increasing scale, are regularly reported to the Medical Research Council who keep the matter under constant review. The higher concentration of radiostrontium in the bones of children, as compared with adults, in Birmingham, corresponds with the findings elsewhere. The amount of radioactivity absorbed by human beings from drinking water is of a small order.

asked the Prime Minister what response Her Majesty's Government propose to make to the suggestions made to them by Mr. Nehru and Mr. Bandaranaike with respect to nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

I have only seen Press reports of the statement by Mr. Nehru and Mr. Bandaranaike on this subject, but as I said on Tuesday, 21st May, I think that our position is well known, and I do not now intend to depart from it.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will arrange for the production of a film and exhibition of our achievements in the field of atomic energy for peaceful purposes; and if he will send them on a world tour.

The film "Atomic Achievement" about the building of Calder Hall has been distributed in seventy-four territories and twelve foreign languages, and two other films about the peaceful uses of atomic energy in this country have been distributed overseas since 1955. In the same period, we have had exhibitions in seventeen countries and more are in preparation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education if he is aware that his Department has declined to authorise the demolition of air-raid shelters at Horwich County Secondary School which are in need of expensive repairs and which the divisional executive regard as involving them in non-productive expenditure which is not justified by the circumstances; and if he will reconsider this decision.

I cannot add to my noble Friend's letter of 13th May to the hon. Member.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what consultations he has had, or proposes to have, with the Governments of Commonwealth countries concerning reciprocal arrangements by which emigrants from this country can continue to receive approximately similar medical and pensions services to those they enjoyed in this country; and whether the question of adequate accommodation for emigrants and their families has received further consideration by Her Majesty's Government in collaboration with Commonwealth governments.

Agreements were made with Australia in 1953 and New Zealand in 1955 providing for reciprocal arrangements in social security benefits including retirement, age, widows and invalid pensions or benefits. The agreements do not cover medical services. In Australia the pensioner medical service is open to immigrants when they qualify for a pension. In New Zealand free medical treatment is extended to immigrants after a residence of twelve months.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether in order to combat inflation he will issue a circular to local authorities urging them to stabilise their rents and rates.

Local authorities have to meet their costs. If any local authorities are not yet sufficiently conscious of the need to keep down their costs, I am not convinced that the issue of a circular by me would make them so.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many road accidents, fatal and otherwise, have occurred at the Wantz crossroads, Ongar, Essex, in the last five years.

Six road accidents involving personal injury have occurred at this site in the five years ended 31st March, 1957, of which none was fatal. One resulted in a serious casualty and five in slight casualties.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will investigate complaints from women held in the Central Prison, Nicosia, regarding conditions in which they are permitted to receive visitors, particularly the provision of a thick wire net through which the visitors have to communicate, and the use as a store-room of the room in which church services were held, and the prohibition of food parcels.

I have consulted the Governor, who informs me that the screen mentioned in the first part of the Question was considered essential after it was discovered that messages, including a plan for prison escape, had been passed into and out of the prison. A room made available to the women in the prison for church services previously contained a cupboard in which stores were kept, but this has been removed. Although food parcels have been prohibited for security reasons, the women are allowed to buy extra food through the prison authorities if they wish.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, how many of the treaties published in The Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads compiled officially by C. U. Aitchison, Volume XI 1933, are still in force; and how many have been modified and on what dates.

I can speak only for those Treaties in Part 1 of the Volume, which affect the Aden Protectorate. These are all still in force. Subsequent Treaties which have been concluded since those quoted by Mr. Aitchison have been supplementary to previous Treaties and have not modified them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases, since 1st January. 1950, orders made under Section 8 of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, have been set aside on appeal, up to the latest convenient date.

I regret that these figures are not available, but from inquiries that I have had made it appears that appeals against orders made under under Section 8 of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, are rare."

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been convicted of being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle in England and Wales during each of the years from 1947 to 1956, inclusive, giving in respect for each year the total number of vehicles on the roads.

The table below shows the number of convictions in the magistrates' courts in England and Wales for the offences of driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle while under the influence of drink or drugs and the number of mechanically propelled road vehicle licences current in England and Wales in the September quarter for each of the years 1947 to 1955, inclusive, Figures for 1956 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will issue an instruction to all ranks of the Metropolitan Police Force that all information, documents, photographs, and other material to which they have access by reason of their official positions is subject to the Officials Secrets Acts and that no disclosure to the Press or others is lawful, except through authorised official channels.

Existing instructions to the Metropolitan police make quite clear the application of the Official Secrets Acts to the duties of members of the Force, and I do not think any additional instruction is necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now concluded his examination of matters pertaining to legislation on betting and lotteries; and whether he is now in a position to announce the Government's intentions regarding the introduction of new legislation.

I am not yet in a position to add to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on 28th March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether, in his proposed legislation dealing with betting and lotteries, he will ensure that any betting duty or tax will be fairly and evenly distributed upon all types of betting and gambling, and not single out any one type of betting for more favourable or unfavourable treatment than another;(2) whether, in his proposed legislation dealing with betting and lotteries, he will consider taking the necessary action to remove the present discriminatory 10 per cent. betting duty on totalisators at greyhound racing tracks.

Legislation to implement the main recommendations of the Royal Commission on Betting, Lotteries and Gaming, 1949–51, would not cover betting duty, which would be the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give an assurance that in framing comprehensive legislation on betting and gambling the Government will consider making it legal for small lotteries, such as sweepstakes, to be held on licensed premises.

This is one of the matters which will receive consideration.

asked the Postmaster-General, in view of the fact that many people in mid-Tyrone and Fermanagh who are unable to receive television broadcasts from Belfast would be able to do so from Londonderry if the power of the proposed new station were to be greater than has been announced, whether he will consider increasing the power of the new station at Londonderry to, say, one kilowatt.

The B.B.C. proposes to use an average effective radiated power of 1 kW, directed to Tyrone and Fermanagh. The transmitting aerial will be designed to give as strong a signal as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the volume of business transacted at the Brierley Hill local office during the first quarters of 1950 to 1957, inclusive; and what staff was employed during that period.

The following is the information:

asked the Minister of Labour how many insured contributors used the Brierley Hill local office during 1956 and the first quarter of 1957; and to which offices they will have to go when the Brierley Hill office is closed down.

I regret that the figures asked for by the hon. Member are not available. The average number of unemployed registered at the office during 1956 was 188, and during the first quarter of 1957 was 278. If the Brierley Hill office were closed, people at present using it would be free to choose which office they would go to, but it is expected that they would use the Dudley, Stourbridge and Cradley Heath employment exchanges.

asked the Minister of Labour how many employers used the Brierley Hill local office during 1956 and the first quarter of 1957.

The Brierley Hill Employment Exchange has a record of some 300 employers in its area who employ five or more workers. I regret that it is not possible without considerable research to ascertain how many employers used the exchange during 1956 and the first quarter of 1957. The total number of vacancies filled during the period was 1,091.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether soldiers leaving the military corrective establishment at Colchester at the end of their sentence are normally required to sign statements declaring that they have not suffered ill treatment during their period of detention.

No, but they are seen by the commandant on the day of release and invited to make any complaints they wish about their treatment. They are required to sign a certificate that this opportunity has been given to them.