asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what changes have been made in the last five years in the arrangements for personnel management and labour relations in Her Majesty's dockyards.

No changes have been made in the arrangements for personnel management at the dockyards. At headquarters a civilian officer with wide experience of labour relations was appointed in 1954 as personnel officer. His duties have recently been widened and he now acts as Assistant Director of Dockyards (Personnel).

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what changes have been made in the last five years in the management structure in Her Majesty's dockyards.

An experimental appointment of a senior civilian officer as Deputy Superintendent (Industrial) was made at Chatham in 1953. An additional deputy manager has been appointed in each of the constructive, engineering and electrical departments at Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham yards. Planning groups are now being introduced at the main home yards and method study officers appointed. A team of senior officers is examining the scope for work measurement in the dockyards.

Management structure of the dockyards is one of the matters on which Sir Barclay Nihill's Committee has recently reported. Its recommendations are now being considered.

I welcome the steps which the Admiralty has taken towards putting into operation some of the recommendations made by the Select Committee on Estimates five or six years ago, but can the hon. Gentleman say whether or not the Nihill Committee has taken those recommendations further into account?

All the subjects which the Estimates Committee went into the Nihill Committee also has looked at, and a much wider field as well. As I said in the Answer I have just given, the Report has only just been received in the Admiralty and it is at this moment being studied.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what arrangements are at present made for the training in management methods of senior and junior supervisory staff in Her Majesty's dockyards.

At headquarters, an Assistant Director, Management Techniques, was appointed in 1954. Management training centres are in operation at Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham. They provide two-week courses for chargemen and job-relations training for all managing and supervising officers. The Portsmouth centre also provides four-week courses for inspectors from all yards.

A variety of residential conferences of up to three weeks' duration is organised for grades from senior inspector to manager. Selected officers are sent to external management training courses. It is planned shortly to set up a centre to give training in the techniques of methods study and planning.

When the Nihill Committee has reported, will some information be given to the House as to the changes which are to be made, so that the Admiralty does not hide its light under a bushel as it has seemed to have been doing during the past few years?

I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that it is the intention to make a statement to the House.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he will place all new construction and repair work for the Royal Navy with Her Majesty's dockyards.

It has been, and remains, the policy of the Admiralty to place in the Royal dockyards all the warship repair work which can conveniently be allocated to them. As a result of this policy very little of this work is now being put out to contract. Because the repair and maintenance of the Fleet is the primary function of the Royal dockyards, their facilities for new construction are limited. Nevertheless, the volume of new construction allocated to them is rising.

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. May I assure him that Portsmouth and other dockyards will be very pleased to hear it?

Will the Civil Lord be kind enough to congratulate the hon. and gallant Member for Portsmouth, West (Brigadier Clarke) upon his conversion to State Socialism?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what effects the Defence White Paper will have on the future of Her Majesty's dockyards.

The future of the dockyards is being considered as part of the current re-organisation of naval forces and their shore support, to which I referred in my recent statement on Hong Kong Dockyard. I regret that I cannot say more until further progress has been made in this review.

I am sure the home dockyards will be very pleased to hear the statement the Minister made in reply to Question 4. May I express the hope to my hon. Friend, with reference to my Question No. 5, that he will do equally well in the future?

Could the Civil Lord say whether this very important Committee which is now considering the question of all the dockyards will report on the possible use of the dockyards for extra civil work in both shipbuilding and ship repairs?

No. The Committee is dealing only with the organisation of the dockyards, not with their scope or with any other uses to which they might be put.

When considering the future of the Royal Naval dockyards, will my hon. Friend pay particular attention to the possibility of still further extending the new construction of vessels in those yards, particularly in view of the greater measure of security that can be undertaken there?

I am afraid that the physical capacity of the dockyards, quite apart from any other considerations, makes this impracticable.

Will the hon. Gentleman state in a White Paper the number of slipways that are empty, and the period for which they have been empty, in Her Majesty's dockyards?

I will consider that point.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he will grant permission for the use of a quayside berth at Devonport Dockyard for the Italian steamer "Irpinia", 12,299 tons gross register, for the winter months of 1958–59; and whether he will allow any necessary repairs to be carried out in the dockyard.

The alongside berths at Devonport are generally in use for H.M. ships refitting, and no guarantee can be given that a suitable berth would be available at the times required. I urn afraid, therefore, that permission cannot be granted.

In view of this refusal and the fact that permission has been granted previously to a Dutch ship, can my hon. Friend give an assurance that during the coming year there will be full work for the 20,000 employees now employed there and that this refusal will not render any of them redundant?

Devonport Dockyard has a full programme of naval work for the ensuing year.

Would not the hon. Gentleman agree that, with the yards full of repair work and the urge that private work should also be carried out, there is no need to worry about the future of the dockyards?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why his Department intervened on the evening of Monday, 18th November, to cancel a British Broadcasting Corporation's television programme designed by the Royal Marines to encourage recruiting by giving publicity to a scheme whereby any serving Royal Marine officer or other rank who introduced a new recruit to the Service could qualify for an extra week's leave; whether recruiting for the Royal Marines is achieving the numbers required by the Admiralty; why the Admiralty decided to overrule Royal Marines' initiative in recruiting matters; whether he is aware that his action is calculated to discourage Royal Marines' recruiting; and whether he will make a statement.

As regards the current state of recruiting for the Royal Marines, and the extra leave scheme, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave last Wednesday to the right hon. Member for Rochester and Chatham (Mr. Bottomley). We are studying ways and means of increasing the rate of recruiting and the grant of extra leave to serving men who bring in recruits is one of these.

As this particular idea was under examination at the time, the Admiralty took the view that it would not be right to authorise a serving officer to discuss it on television, and I would add that it was the B.B.C. who approached the Royal Marines and not vice versa, as implied by my hon. Friend.

While that is a very reasonable explanation, may I ask my hon. Friend if he can give an assurance that it will not become a habit or a practice on the part of Her Majesty's Ministers to tamper in any way with B.B.C. or I.T.A. television programmes, or with sound broadcasting?

Where the Admiralty is concerned, we have a responsibility to see that serving officers get the authority of the Admiralty before appearing on the B.B.C., and I believe the House would like to think that this was so. What happened in this instance was that the B.B.C. asked whether an officer could appear on a programme to talk about this set of circumstances, and, as time was short, he went to Bristol while the Admiralty was being asked. As the matter was under consideration, it was considered inappropriate to allow him to go on the air.

I accept that.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the statement of the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet that the naval forces at the disposal of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation are insufficient to carry out the duties which would fall to them in the event of war was made with his approval.

This officer was speaking in his capacity as the N.A.T.O. Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic. In this capacity he did not require to obtain my noble Friend's approval before making the statement. Similar views to those of the Commander-in-Chief were expressed by the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.

Is the hon. Gentleman saying that those views are the same as the views held by his noble Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty? If he does hold those views, is it not time that he resigned his position as First Lord of the Admiralty, if he considers that the Government have imposed tasks upon him which he is unable to perform with the forces given to him by that Government?

The officer concerned was not referring to the forces of any one particular country. He was referring to N.A.T.O. forces in the Atlantic, which are provided by a number of countries, and he took great care not to pick out any particular Navy for comment.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he will make a statement about the future of the Royal Dockyard, Chatham.

No, Sir. I cannot do so until further progress has been made in the review of dockyard requirements in the light of the Defence White Paper.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that an Admiralty statement has been put out which seeks to imply that there is work for a long time to come in Chatham Dockyard? Can the Minister say anything about the work that is going on in the yard at the moment?

A new submarine has been laid down in Chatham Dockyard, and in general a full load of work is planned for the dockyard in the immediate future.

Will my hon. Friend impress upon the First Lord of the Admiralty, in all the deliberations concerning Chatham Dockyard, its particular suitability for the construction and maintenance of submarines?

That point is kept in mind.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty when he will make a statement on the future of Great Britain's atom-powered submarine.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty when he expects H.M.S. "Dreadnought" to be launched.

The building of the nuclear submarine "Dreadnought" is proceeding as planned. It is too early yet to announce a launching date.

Will my hon. Friend accept the thanks certainly of hon. Members on this side of the House who are interested in the naval and civil development of new methods of propulsion at sea, and will he remember the lesson in the aircraft sphere of the Vickers 1000 and bear in mind the importance of pressing ahead with this project as fast and as far as possible?

Can my hon. Friend give an assurance that no measures of economy will affect the launching of this warship, because it is vital for the future of this country as a maritime Power to develop nuclear propulsion for ships before the many other countries which are now engaged in the same task?

I can only say that the programme is going ahead as it was planned, and I have no reason to believe that that will be changed.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary say what assistance he is getting from the United States in this matter? Is there close co-operation?

Yes, Sir. Within the broad framework of what was arranged and agreed between the Prime Minister and the President of the United States when the Prime Minister visited Washington recently, nuclear propulsion, especially for military purposes, is obviously a feature which is going to be studied very deeply with a view to a greater degree of co-operation being brought about between the two countries; but it is too early yet to say what effect that will have upon any particular project.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will make a statement on the research and development work which is proceeding on the possibility of building an atom-powered merchant ship.

Research is going forward on the problem which is to develop a system able to hold its own with conventionally powered ships. There are a number of basically different reactors which might prove suitable. One of the most promising of these possibilities is to develop an advanced form of the existing Calder Hall type of reactor.

A considerable programme of work will be necessary before the stage is reached at which the building of a ship would be practicable. This work is proceeding with all speed.

Is my hon. Friend aware that those of us who wish to maintain this nation as the premier maritime Power of the world are extremely interested in the commercial application of this new method of propulsion? Will he give the House an assurance that this nation will not become too interdependent with its allies, but that we shall be able to develop our own methods of propulsion for our ships?

We are examining a type of reactor which is different from that of the Americans.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what arrangements he has made to take over Butlin's camp at Skegness in the event of war; and what plans he has for its use.

It would not be in the public interest for me to discuss the nature of any plans to take over property in the event of war.

Does not my hon. Friend agree that it is very much in the public interest that the public should know where they can go to find a reception area in the event of atomic bombing? How can they possibly know if certain areas are reserved? Should there not be an overriding priority to use these areas for the reception of refugees due to atomic bombing if that were to occur?

I think that is rather a wider matter than purely an Admiralty problem, but I am sure that my right hon. Friend who is responsible for coordinating the various Departmental requirements of this sort will be most interested in my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I can tell his hon. and gallant Friend where the people will go when war comes and that the hon. Gentleman would be far better occupied, and so would the other occupants of the Treasury Bench, in trying to avoid a war and leave Mr. Butlin to his business.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if the plans for the extension of Devonport Dockyard are now complete; and what plans he has for handing back to, the city of Plymouth additional land or buildings.

Yes. Following the Admiralty decision of July last not to acquire some nine acres previously included in the scheme for the dockyard extension, I recently received a further deputation from the Plymouth Council. Discussion between us is still going on. In the meantime, the transfer to the council of a number of properties not now required has been brought under negotiation.

I thank my hon. Friend for seeing this deputation. In recent years the Government have handed back more than 27½ acres. May I ask my hon. Friend whether he realises that the derequisitioning of this land in the city by the Government is completely wrecking the economy of Devonport, and that there are now more vacant spaces than after the bombing and that it is a dreary and desolate place? Has he considered the petition from traders and householders for compensation? Will he consider also building Admiralty dwellings on this land instead of at St. Budeaux?

I could not for one moment accept the suggestion that the whole economy of Devonport has been ruined, but, as I told the deputation when they came to see me, we have very great sympathy with the citizens of Devonport who have suffered from this uncertainty. It was to try to ease the difficulties which the council foresaw that the deputation came to see me.

How does my hon. Friend think that sympathy helps? What we want is some practical help and compensation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how the programme for the building of new workshops and the reconstruction of old workshops in Devonport Dockyard is progressing; and how many feet of the dockyard wall remain to be built.

The programme for new building and reconstruction of workshops in Devonport Dockyard is being progressed as rapidly as financial limitations permit. Some 7,000 feet of the wall required by the extension scheme remain to be built.

In view of the fact that we are told that this very expensive wall, which costs £12 an inch to build, is really necessary, and as we have 3 per cent. unemployment in Devonport over and above the national average of 1·5 per cent., and as most of the unemployed are building operatives, can my hon. Friend undertake forthwith to employ some of those men on this necessary wall?

I could not undertake to build the whole wall in one year.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty to what extent atomic anti-submarine weapons have been developed in the Royal Navy.

Research into new antisubmarine weapons covers a broad field, but it would not be in the public interest to disclose details.

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether he or his colleagues have any answer, in their opinion, to the possible menace of the immense Soviet submarine fleet?

That is a very broad question to answer by way of Question and Answer, but I should say that probably one of the most potent weapons to use against a submarine is another submarine, particularly a nuclear submarine.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what has been the reduction during the past twelve months in the numbers of the uniformed branches of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, compared with the civilian and non-uniformed branches; and what percentage of the total this reduction forms in each case.

The Vote A strength fell by 7,000 or 5¾ per cent. between 1st October, 1956, and 1st October, 1957. In the same period the numbers of Admiralty civilian employees fell by about 10,000 or about 5½ per cent.

Is my hon. Friend aware that there is very considerable anxiety at the apparent trend, not borne out by his Answer to this Question, that the uniformed branches are falling more rapidly than the non-uniformed branches in the Navy? Will he make certain that the non-uniformed branches of the Navy, the civil servants, are cut to the same or to an even greater degree than the uniformed branches?

I hope, as my hon. and gallant Friend has said, that this Answer will serve to right this erroneous impression.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many married quarters have been built at Aldershot since 1st January, 1950; and what are the plans for the future in this respect.

188 married quarters have been built in this period and 250 more converted or modernised. Further work is in progress, but I am not yet in a position to say what the final numbers will be.

Does the hon. Gentleman not appreciate how disappointing this figure is after seven years? Is it to be wondered at that there is difficulty in getting Regulars for thy Army? Is not this one of the reasons why the decision to abandon National Service is in great danger?

The hon. Member can be assured that we fully appreciate the importance of building the maximum number of married quarters as soon as we can. He will also appreciate that the average in this locality he mentions has not been below the general average for the country.

It is bad everywhere.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many new homesteads have been provided for married soldiers and their families during the past five years; what is the total amount of domestic accommodation now available for this purpose in this country; and to what extent proposals to provide modern accommodation have now been implemented.

I have taken the whole of the hon. Member's Question to refer to the United Kingdom. A total of 4,896 married quarters for officers and other ranks have been built in the last five years; and the total number now available is 27,942. We have completed more than three-quarters of the programme of new building which was launched in 1949 and we have, in addition, modernised or converted more than 2,000 old married quarters.

Does that mean that accommodation will now be available for all married soldiers who need it?

No, Sir. I think it would be over-ambitious to say that all needs are catered for, but we are pressing on to meet the full requirements of the Army as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the announcement by Lieutenant-General Sir E. Otway Herbert, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, which was delivered to the Institution of Electrical Engineers at Chester on 11th November, to the effect that Russian scientific claims were not to be believed, was made with his authority; and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the speech by Lieutenant-General Sir E. Otway Herbert. General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, at Chester on 11th November, declaring that the Soviet authorities must never be believed about anything they tell us, was made with the authority of his Department.

No authority was necessary. I understand that General Herbert's remark was that we should not believe everything the Russians tell us.

Whether or not the Secretary of State has done me the favour of reading this speech, is he aware that this officer did not believe there was a Sputnik and did not believe there was a dog in the Sputnik?

Was there a dog in the Sputnik?

If that officer holds those strange views of the Russian experiments, what view would he take of the American experiments?

The latter part of the supplementary question is somewhat hypothetical. I think the reports of this speech were somewhat exaggerated. I have indeed done the hon. Member the courtesy of looking into it, and I can assure him that what Lieutenant-General Herbert implied was that we should not believe everything the Russians tell us. I think that is probably wise advice.

asked the Secretary of State for War the estimated cost of equipping the infantry of the line with brigade cap badges.

About £9,000.

In view of the fact that this will not contribute either to the fighting or the administrative proficiency of the troops concerned, is this not a case of unnecessary Government expenditure which could be avoided?

I cannot accept the first part of my hon. Friend's statement. My hon. Friend will appreciate that we should in any case have had to provide new cap badges for the thirty regiments which were amalgamated.

The Worcestershires are not being amalgamated.

asked the Secretary of State for War why single men serving in the forces in Germany do not get the local overseas allowance.

Because it is held that single men are not put to greater essential personal expenditure in Germany than they would be in the United Kingdom.

On what grounds does the hon. Gentleman justify this? How can he say that a married man who leaves his family in this country is entitled to overseas allowance but in Germany a single man is not? On what basis is the decision made?

A special rate of allowance is made to married Regular soldiers who would be entitled to have their families with them in Germany but who are without them. This is simply because we have to allow for the money they send home. That affects their own living standards in Germany, but it is paid out at a lower rate than the ordinary overseas allowance.

Is not a married man in this country with his family at a disadvantage in comparison with a married man serving in Germany whose family is in this country? How does the hon. Gentleman justify this position?

The hon. Member must make allowance for the fact that expenses in Germany outside of N.A.A.F.I. and officers' messes and so on are rather higher than they are in this country.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the Answer, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Army Estimates.

asked the Secretary of State for War on what basis the decisions were taken in connection with the amalgamation of certain cavalry regiments announced in the White Paper.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer I gave on 31st July to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Dance), in which I set out the basis on which these decisions were taken.

In view of the fact that six new cavalry regiments were created during the war and all were disbanded and four new tank battalions were created and all retained, except that later two are to be disbanded, would it not have been better to have treated them all alike and disbanded the four new tank regiments? Is he aware that that would have affected no traditions and thereby it would have avoided the amalgamation of cavalry regiments whose traditions and history stretched back over many years?

I do not think any member of the Royal Tank Regiment would take my hon. Friend's view.

asked the Secretary of State for War what consultations were held with the honorary colonels of cavalry regiments before it was decided how many cavalry regiments were to be amalgamated and which regiments they would be.

Representative colonels commandant were consulted about the broad division of reductions between the two wings of the Royal Armoured Corps. They were not consulted about the number or selection of regiments for amalgamation.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that it was a pity not to have made use of the great experience of these very distinguished officers who include, amongst others, my right hon. Friend the Member for Woodford (Sir W. Churchill)? Had he conculted them further, would it not have avoided a good deal of the annoyance which has been caused by the truculent and dictatorial attitude of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff?

I very deeply resent what my hon. Friend has just said about the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. I will certainly not follow that remark. I think it was most improper of him to have said that. [HON. MEMBERS: "Why?"] I felt that it was improper. In answering my hon. Friend's Question, which I wish to do with full courtesy, I have told him that we decided on certain matters in consultation with the colonels commandant. After that, the principles were settled and most of the selections followed automatically.

Would the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that there are some hon. and right hon. Members on both sides of the House who prefer a very close amalgamation of regiments in order to promote greater efficiency and economy?

I always listen with respect to what the right hon. Gentleman says.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will consider extending the facilities of the open-air baths at Catterick Camp by the provision of a roof and other necessary alterations to enable the baths to be used for a longer period than from May to September.

Yes, Sir. This proposal is being considered with a number of others.

In view of the great need to extend the facilities at this camp and while thanking the Minister for the attention he has given to the matter, may I ask him to try to hurry up, because this work is absolutely necessary?

Like the hon. Member, I have looked into the question myself on the spot and I have every sympathy with the request. I hope that we shall be able to do something to meet it, but this raises issues which go rather wider than Catterick Camp itself.

asked the Secretary of State for War what reduction of expenditure he estimates will follow the merging of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry.

At this stage it is impossible to give a reliable estimate to the hon. Member, but plainly there will be considerable savings.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that reply. Will he tell us whether that considerable reduction will mean the closing down of the Churchill Barracks at Ayr and handing it over to the civilian authorities?

Perhaps the hon. Member will put down a Question on that quite separate issue.

Would it not be better for the hon. Member for Ayr to put a Question on the Order Paper?

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will make a statement on the resignations of the colonels of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry.

asked the Secretary of State for War what reasons prompted him to instruct Major-General Hakewill Smith of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and Major-General Urquhart of the Highland Light Infantry to submit their resignations as colonels-in-chief of their regiments; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) why he instructed the colonels of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry to resign;

(2) what recent steps he has taken to induce the Highland Light Infantry to amalgamate with the Royal Scots Fusiliers.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state his objections to the wearing of the kilt by the new regiment to be formed from the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry.

I must apologise for the length of the answer.

After discussions, which began in August and continued till early November, only one point of difference remained between the Army Council and the Colonels of the two regiments. This was whether the amalgamated regiment should wear trews or the kilt. On a point of dress like this I would have preferred to meet the wishes of the regiments, but I felt bound for two reasons to maintain the Army Council's decision that the amalgamated regiment should wear trews.

The first reason is that the other colonels of both the Highland and Lowland Brigade have given me their unanimous and emphatic view that the wearing of the kilt by a regiment forming part of the Lowland Brigade is unacceptable to both Highland and Lowland Regiments. The second reason is a practical one. The new amalgamated regiment will be one of four within the Lowland Brigade. In future senior officers and senior N.C.Os. will be on a common roll for promotion within the regiments forming the Brigade. In addition, regiments of the Brigade abroad will be brought up to strength by postings from regiments at home. To submit officers and other ranks to the need to change from kilt to trews, or alternatively from trews to kilt on posting would, I am advised, be most unwelcome to other Lowlanders in the Brigade.

So, on 19th November, I informed the colonels that, if they could not accept the decision of the Army Council on this one outstanding issue, I must of necessity, and with great reluctance, ask them to submit their resignations.

Both officers in their replies reaffirmed their view that the amalgamated regiment should wear the kilt. They recommended that, if this was not acceptable to the Army Council, the two regiments should be disbanded. Accordingly, they offered their resignations. On 2nd December, I informed both colonels that I proposed to recommend to Her Majesty the Queen that their resignations should he accepted as soon as their successors had taken office. I am grateful to both colonels for offering to serve until then.

Neither I nor the Army Council consider that the disbandment should be accepted so long as any chance remains of bringing about amalgamation: I have hope that, with good will agreement can be reached.

Whilst accepting a lot of what my right hon. Friend has said as representing the views of the War Office and of the Army Council, may. I ask whether he does not surely agree that it is a short-sighted and ill-advised policy so deeply to offend Scottish sentiment and opinion and also lose the services of two such distinguished officers on a matter which to all of us seems not one of real principle? Would my right hon. Friend look at the matter again?

I have endeavoured in my reply to tell my hon. Friend the two main reasons why I felt I had to act as I did. We ought to try to treat this with a sense of proportion. Taking the purely traditional view, the Royal Scots Fusiliers have had trews throughout their history. From 1809 to 1947, the Highland Light Infantry—before that they were the 71st Foot—wore trews. In other words, if my mathematics are right, in only ten years out of the 148 have the Highland Light Infantry worn the kilt.

Is the Minister aware that there has been an election among the officers in which there was a two-thirds majority for disbanding the regiment? In view of the fact that the Government agree with free elections in the E.T.U. and in Eastern Germany, how can they turn down this one? Does the Minister realise that if there were a ballot of the men it would be 200 to one for disbanding the regiment? Is he aware that they are not interested in trews or the kilt but in getting back into civvies?

I know that the hon. Member feels strongly on this and that one of his great ambitions in life is to have the British Army disbanded altogether.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that yesterday in another place a noble Lord stated, and I read his words from HANSARD—

The hon. Member should not refer to debates in another place, except to cite the opinion of a noble Lord who speaks as a Minister. We have nothing to do with what is said by a noble Lord in another place.

I thank you for that correction, Mr. Speaker, and I apologise to the House if I have been completely out of order.

In view of the fact that the Armed Services are deficient of recruits, does the Minister think that he will encourage recruitment for the H.L.I. and the Royal Scots Fusiliers by doing away with the kilt? Is he also aware that the City of Glasgow is the home of the H.L.I. and that his decision is looked upon by that City as nothing short of an insult? Will he further say whether it is the fact that there is not a single Scotsman on the Army Council? Would he be good enough to give the name of this evil genius the result of whose work is to do something to the H.L.I. which no foreign Power in combat has been able to do in the past?

One of the main reasons why I am so anxious that amalgamation shall, if possible, take place is that the traditional connection of the H.L.I. with that great city shall be continued in the new amalgamated regiment. Disbandment would banish altogether that ancient tradition which both the City of Glasgow and the Army appreciate. I assure my hon. Friend that it is not only Englishmen whose feelings are being hurt in this matter. I have tried to make it clear in my Answer that the other Scottish regiments feel just as strongly that it would be quite inappropriate to have a kilted regiment in the Lowland Brigade.

With due respect to a section of Scottish opinion with which I am familiar, is it not a shocking state of affairs that in this atomic age we should allow some vested interests to stand in the way of the necessary amalgamation of two very important and highly respected regiments simply because there is a difference of opinion as to whether they should wear trousers or kilts? Surely this sort of thing ought not even to be considered for a single moment at this time.

The right hon. Gentleman knows my feelings about this. I think the whole matter has been taken out of proportion, and it is my wish—I hope the House will support me—that we should look at it in its proper perspective.

Although you may not think there is anything more to be said on this question, Mr. Speaker, I am afraid that the Answer given by the Minister was so unsatisfactory that I must give notice to raise the subject on the Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will seek the comments of the new committee on recruitment for the Army on his proposals for the dress of the new regiment formed from the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry.

No, Sir. I have described in answer to an earlier Question the circumstances in which my decision was taken.

In view of what has been said earlier this afternoon by the hon. Member for Cathcart (Mr. J. Henderson), is the right hon. Gentleman certain that this will not have an effect on recruiting?

There may be some temporary effect on recruiting, but I do not think it will be lasting if we can secure agreement on amalgamation.

asked the Secretary of State for War by what authority he called for the resignation of the colonels-in-chief of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry.

I asked these two officers to submit their resignations as I am responsible for advising Her Majesty in regard to appointments, promotions and other matters affecting the service of officers of the Army.

Did it not appear from earlier statements by the Secretary of State that these colonels-in-chief submitted their resignations without being asked to do so? Can the right hon. Gentleman confirm now that they were asked to resign? Can he say whether there is any precedent for such a request?

I do not know about the first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question. As to whether there is a precedent, all I would say is that I do not think that because there might be a lack of precedent it should prevent me, in my position, carrying out what I consider to be my duty.

is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a precedent? When I was Secretary of State for War I called upon a major-general, a very useful general, to resign, and he did so.

The question was whether there was any precedent for a colonel of a regiment being asked for his resignation, and it was that point that I answered.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will cause an inquiry to be instituted into the explosion staged by the Royal Engineers at Carnkie, Redruth, Cornwall, on 1st December, which, though conforming to the rules, caused unexpected blast damage, with a view to finding out whether the technical calculations need revision.

Yes, Sir. Preliminary inquiries have already been made which indicate that the damage was caused by a freak effect of the explosion. A more detailed investigation will be made, and we shall examine the current regulations in light of what is discovered.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply, but might I remind him that his predecessor wrote to me two years ago about a somewhat similar mishap in another part of my constituency? Will he give an assurance that no further demonstrations of this kind will take place until he has received a report and had time to come to a decision upon it?

That is a rather different question. If the hon. Gentleman would like to give me notice of it, I will certainly look into it.

asked the Secretary of State for War how the 18 lieutenant-colonels and 180 majors now on the strength of the Royal Tank Regiment are at present empolyed; and if he will make a statement about their future employment after phase one of the reorganisation of the Army has been completed.

Eight lieutenant-colonels and 55 majors are employed in regimental duty. The remainder are serving in staff and other appointments. After phase one of the reduction, we expect to have regimental appointments for five lieutenant-colonels and about 30 majors. Final details of extra-regimental vacancies are not yet available.

How many battalions of the Royal Tank Regiment will be maintained after phase one? Is it not four? How, then, will there be five lieutenant-colonels employed on regimental duty?

I do not think there is any difficulty about that.

asked the Secretary of State for War what facilities are available to ex-Service men who marry while on service overseas to enable them to bring their wives to this country when the ex-Service man has returned home.

I will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a summary of the regulations covering entitlement to family passages. If a soldier, of his own free will, leaves his wife behind him when he returns home for discharge he has no further right to a free passage for her to join him; but this is a rare occurrence and a case for granting exceptional treatment would be considered on its merits.

If I bring to the hon. Gentleman's attention the case of a soldier in my constituency whose wife is still in Malaya, will he sympathetically consider ways and means of bringing her back to her husband?

Yes, Sir; of course.

asked the Secretary of State for War what training and other use is to be made by the Army of the land, acquired in South Uist and Benbecula, for the now largely abandoned guided-missile range; when occupation of the site is to begin; for what periods; and by what numbers of troops and other personnel.

As my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence announced last week, the range will be used for the firing of surface-to-surface guided weapons. It is unlikely that preparatory work will be completed in time for the summer of 1958, but the range will come into use in 1959. About 250 troops will he in the camp in summer and a small maintenance party during the rest of the year.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give an indication to the local authorities as soon as possible of the amount of civilian labour required and such things as that, and what constructional work is likely to start during the next two months, so that they can plan the return to normal civilian life of the area? We shall be very much obliged if he can do so?

I will certainly consult my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air to ascertain how we can help in the way the hon. Gentleman suggests.

asked the Secretary of State for War why the letter received by his Department on Monday, 2nd December, from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Exchange, marked very urgent, regarding Craftsman J. Donoghue, 44th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, has not yet been replied to.

The hon. Member will have received my reply to her letter. It took a week to answer because the details she required had to be obtained from an overseas command.

While I thank the Minister for the reply which I received yesterday, does he not think that in serious circumstances of this kind something ought to be done to give the parents some assurance about the position? This matter has been going on since 21st November, and the parents had no indication at all, except a very short letter from the officer in charge, that anything concerning the boy was wrong. Is there no way of ensuring that when serious inquiries are being made parents are given some immediate information about what is happening?

It was precisely because the circumstances were serious that I did not wish to misinform either the hon. Lady or the parents.

asked the Postmaster General if he will give the dates upon which the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South was promised a new central post office for the city of Stoke-on-Trent; to what extent plans have been prepared; and whether he will so modify them that the new post office shall be as modern and beautiful as the new post offices in the Royal Parade, Plymouth.

My researches show that the hon. Member was informed, in July, 1939, that the offer of a site in Campbell Place for a new central public office had been accepted. He was informed in August, 1951, that provision was being made in the 1952–53 Estimates for certain rebuilding. A review of the position had, however, resulted in a decision to abandon the plan for a new public office building in Stoke and to use our resources for the enlargement and modernisation of the post office at South Wolfe Street. I regret that the hon. Member has not been so informed until now.

Is it a good policy to abandon plans which have been prepared? Does not the contribution which the City of Stoke-on-Trent is making to the country's economy merit a worthy central post office?

Yes, Sir; I do not dissent in any way from what the hon. Gentleman says. We have to satisfy ourselves that the service that we give in our various offices is commensurate with the importance and activities of the place concerned, and that we have done in the case of Stoke-on-Trent.

asked the Postmaster-General his intentions with regard to the construction of new post offices to meet the urgent and growing needs of the Meir, Wood Farm, and Longton.

Reasonable post office facilities are already provided in these places, and the construction of new offices is not at present contemplated.

If the Minister considers the facilities at Meir reasonable, will he take it from me that they are most unreasonable? If he doubts my word, will he get one of his reliable officers to go there and make an investigation, and then I will rely on what he says?

Meir has a sub-post office which I am informed is adequate, but if the hon. Gentleman is dissatisfied I will have further inquiries made and, if I can, will make a personal visit to the area.

asked the Postmaster-General what proposals he has for new post offices in the City of Stoke-on-Trent, in the Newstead and Blurton area, and in the Trent Vale and Harsford area; and how these will compare with the new Plymouth post offices.

Adequate services are already provided for most of these areas by two sub-offices in Trent Vale, by one in Hanford, and by one in the old part of Blurton. I am proposing to authorise a new sub-office at Newstead, and applications are now being invited from the occupiers of the shops recently built. The new offices in Plymouth are Crown post offices.

I do not know the difference between a Crown and a sub-post office—I plead guilty—but has the Minister seen the new post offices in Plymouth? Will he take it from me that they are a credit to whoever is responsible and, if they can have them in Plymouth, why should not we have them in Stoke-on-Trent?

We are grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his complimentary remarks about our efforts in Plymouth. In deciding where we will have Crown offices we have to consider whether they are justified by the weight of business, and whether sub-post offices will provide a better, more localised service for the people who want the services we have to offer.

asked the Postmaster-General what plans he has for revising books of stamps in view of the new postage rates; and whether he will consider introducing a 10s. stamp book.

A new 4s. 6d. book containing eighteen 3d. stamps was put on sale in October. Early in the New Year the present 2s. 6d. book will be replaced by a 3s. book containing six stamps each of ½d., 1d., 1½d, and 3d. denominations; and the contents of the 5s. book will be changed to six stamps each of the ½d., 1d. and 2½d. denominations and twelve 3d. stamps.

I will keep in mind my hon. Friend's point about a 10s. book, but I think it is very doubtful whether the sales would justify the cost of producing and stocking one.

As it takes about 25 per cent. more in value to post a given number of letters and postcards than it did previously—

indicated dissent.

—would my hon. Friend consider whether it would not be a good idea to have a 7s. 6d. book, which would enable one to post almost the same amount of letters as did the 5s. book?

No, Sir, we have to keep in mind the multiplicity of stock items kept in post offices and how best we can meet the convenience of our customers. The 5s. books are usually adequate for most purposes and my hon. Friend can buy two for 10s.

Does the hon. Gentleman accept the view of his hon. Friends that it now requires 7s. 6d. to give us what 5s. used to give us before the Government really got going?

I tried as politely as I could to indicate dissent while my hon. Friend was speaking.

asked the Postmaster-General what interest was shown by the building trade and the general public in the Post Office exhibit of larger letter-boxes at the recent building exhibition.

I am glad to say that some 2,000 specific inquiries were made by architects, builders, municipal officials, and the general public. It was the universal opinion among inquirers that the larger letter-plate openings would be of great help, both to the public and the Post Office.

asked the Postmaster-General what further efforts will be made to emphasise the importance of business and professional people having commercial size letter-boxes at their residences as well as their offices; and if he will make a statement.

We propose to embark upon a publicity campaign for the use of larger letter plates, at residences as well as offices, by poster, film, press advertising and exhibition, in the spring of 1958, when it is expected that supplies of the new letter plates, conforming to the new standard, will be generally available from the manufacturers. We are also seeking the co-operation of builders, architects and local authorities.

In this campaign, will my hon. Friend publicise the fact that there are many technical magazines and other magazines, such as The Director, which do not go through the ordinary size domestic letter-box?

Too many directors.

Is my hon. Friend also aware that I have installed a commercial size letter-box at my house and that it has one great advantage, that one does not have to get up at 7.30 in the morning to receive packets from the postman?

We are very grateful to my hon. Friend.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will make an investigation into the question of the transit of books by inland post with a view to reducing, if possible, the present heavy postal charges, particularly on single copies.

Single copies of books in the post normally go by the printed paper service. I will keep in mind my hon. Friend's point in any future review of that service, but I can hold out no hope at present of any reduction in the postal charges for books.

Whilst thanking my hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask him if he is aware that this single copy book post is the lifeline of literature and culture in this country? Secondly, is he aware that the book trade look with both envy and admiration at what his right hon. Friend has done for telephone subscribers and are very anxious indeed that he should do something similar in their case?

Yes, Sir, we will bear the interests of those concerned in this matter very much in mind in any future review of the position.

Will the hon. Gentleman look into the matter of the application of his own Postmaster-General's regulations dealing with the practice, which has now become common, of posting books abroad to Britain in order to avoid the increased postal charges?

We have had no great trouble over that situation up to now. It arises from special circumstances in one or more foreign countries and, if difficulties should arise, we know how to deal with them.

Does the Minister agree that, in view of the special rates for postage of books abroad, it would be desirable to apply a similar principle to the transit of books in this country?

We bear all these considerations in mind, but we have to strike a point at which our services pay for themselves without incurring too much of a loss to be borne by other users of the post.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will have the mechanism of his Premium Bond machine examined to see why it so often selects numbers beginning with the letter "Z".

No, Sir. ERNIE is proving entirely satisfactory. The initial letter indicates the denomination of the bond. Bond unit numbers with the denomination letter "Z" appear most frequently because more units have been sold in this denomination than in any of the others.

As I understand that the "Z" denotes bonds of £500 denominations, does not that reply prove two things? First, that it is true, as has always been contended from this side of the House, that the bulk of the money put into Premium Bonds is not new savings but money put into a tax-free investment that would otherwise have been invested in more profitable enterprises and, secondly, that what the old Book said is still true, "whosoever hath, to him shall be given"?

I will not enter into a discussion of the doubtful morality, and the even more doubtful mathematics of the hon. Gentleman. The fact is that there is more money invested in bonds bearing the initial letter "Z" than in any of the others. That letter, therefore, appears more frequently in the prize list. I am happy to say that this tendency is showing signs of falling off as more small investors get their money into the draw.