asked the Minister of Works what alternative accommodation he proposes to offer to the families whose housing accommodation will be demolished as a result of the Royal Mint extension proposal.

I am under no statutory obligation to offer alternative accommodation to these families. I have asked the London County Council to find them accommodation.

If the London County Council cannot find accommodation for these people, is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is one lady of over 70 years of age who has lived in this area for most of her life and that she cannot get any sleep at night because of the fear of eviction arising from the compulsory purchase order? Will the right hon. Gentleman look into the matter instead of relying upon the London County Council? Will he also take into account the case of the son-in-law of the freeholder? He has sold his property with vacant possession, leaving him with nowhere to go when the property is delivered to the Ministry of Works?

This land was designated for compulsory purchase in the County of London Plan, 1948. There were no objections to the designation. The compulsory purchase order was made on 7th March, 1958, and there have been no objections so far. The proposals to do this were published in January, 1958. Therefore, these people have had full warning that this property was to be taken over for the extension of the Royal Mint.

While it is true that this piece of land was scheduled years ago to be taken for this purpose, surely the Minister feels that he has a moral obligation to make sure that the people who are turned out shall be re-housed. Is he aware that it is no use waiting for the London County Council, because it has more on its plate already than it can deal with? Should not some special effort be made by the Department which is taking the land for the development of the Mint, which is a proper development? Will not the right hon. Gentleman look at the matter again?

No, Sir. Full notice was given of this proposal ten years ago. The London County Council is the housing authority. I am under no obligation to provide alternative accommodation for these people, who have had long notice that the land was to be acquired.

asked the Minister of Works how much has been spent on building new Government offices in London since April, 1952; and how much is to be spent in the current financial year.

£2,400,000 and £445,000.

In the light of those frightening figures of bureaucratic megalomania, will the right hon. Gentleman say why, with fewer civil servants, we need more Government offices, even allowing for derequisitioning? Why do Her Majesty's Ministers expect everyone to economise except themselves?

Expenditure upon Government offices has been less under this Government than the expenditure under the previous Government during a comparable period. This Government take the view that it is necessary that even civil servants should be provided with adequate and sanitary accommodation in order to carry on their work.

asked the Minister of Works when Carlton House Terrace will be cleaned, painted and restored.

I refer my hon. Friend to my Answer of 10th December last. The exterior of the Terrace will be repainted in the autumn.

Whilst thanking my right hon. Friend for his sympathetic reply, may I ask if when this work is done he will give consideration to the removal of certain temporary structures and the replacement of certain missing balustrades and other features?

As my hon. Friend is aware, it is intended to reconstruct the whole of this place behind the present façade in order to provide an office for the Foreign Office. It is not likely that this will be begun before 1963 or 1964 at the earliest, but, naturally, we are not doing anything more than maintain the present structure until the main rebuilding is undertaken.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will make a statement on the progress of the work being carried out at Stonehenge.

The work has proceeded according to programme. Preparations for the re-erection of the fallen trilithon and two stones on the Outer Circle have now been completed, including the temporary removal of these stones to another part of the site. The re-erection of the stones will begin this week starting tomorrow with stone No. 22 in the Outer Circle. The whole operation should be completed about the middle of June.

Does not my right hon. Friend think it would have been a good idea to have left this reconstruction of Stonehenge until there was less danger of inflationary pressures being caused by intensified Government expenditure?

No, Sir. While I am all in favour of economy, I think it should be made with due regard to the importance of various works. In any case, I would point out that as a result of these works there has been a very substantial increase in the number of visitors to this site, which is one of the most remunerative of all our ancient monuments.

asked the Minister of Works if he will extend the lift service from the Members' Lobby to the Committee and Upper Committee Lobbies from 7 p.m. to later in the evening.

As this would necessitate the employment of an additional attendant, I prefer to leave the matter as set out in my Answer to the hon. Gentleman on 15th April.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this lift serves the busiest Lobby in the House, and that hon. Members were grateful to him for putting back the morning service until they discovered that he had done so by cutting down the evening service? Is not all that is at stake the putting back of the time to 9 o'clock, which would give a couple of hours' overtime for the disabled ex-Service men who render such excellent service on the lift?

I think the hon. Member will agree that we are trying hard to meet the wishes of hon. Members on these matters, and that that was shown by my last Answer to him on 15th April. There is a likelihood that during the long Recess this lift may be made automatic. Then perhaps we can overcome the problem.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what comparative information about consumer goods is in the records of the 45 grant-aided research associations of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research; why such information is not made public; and if he will make a statement.

Research associations receiving grant-aid from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research do not as a rule undertake routine testing and, therefore, have little, if any, comparative information on consumer goods.

I think the Parliamentary Secretary is missing the point. Is he aware that these research stations refuse to make available the results of their tests, for example, to the Consumer Council of the British Standards Institution? Does he not agree that, as public money is being spent on these research stations and on the B.S.I. to obtain this information, it is important it should not be duplicated?

I know of the keen interest of the hon. Lady in consumer standards, but this particular service is on fundamental matters of research. The various members of the associations get together to do fundamental research and the associations receive grants in aid. One of the ways in which they can get together to carry out this research work requires that it should be confidential. The comparison between one group of goods and another does not come out in research and this is not in the line of country in which the hon. Lady is usually interested.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what research has been carried out for the prevention, rather than the cure, of crankcase explosions in diesel engines, notably large marine diesel engines.

The British Shipbuilding Research Association, supported by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, has carried out fundamental work in collaboration with the Imperial College of Science and Technology on the causes of explosions in the crankcases of large marine diesel engines. This work has led to the development of a photo-electric automatic device to give early warning when dangerous conditions are arising, so that remedial action can be taken.

Are these devices yet being manufactured for general use? In the light of the recent loss of yet another ship from a crankcase explosion of this sort, will my hon. Friend ask the Minister of Transport to make some recommendation that for the safety of British shipping these devices might be fitted?

I will draw the attention of my noble Friend to the last part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. This device is now being commercially manufactured following extensive trials at sea. There is another device for the same purpose, as was mentioned in my Answer, which is being developed independently and will also be commercially available.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what results have come from researches of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research on the transport of soft fruit to enable Scottish growers to sell their produce in markets further south.

The Ditton Laboratory of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, in co-operation with others, has shown that Scottish soft fruit can reach the big industrial areas of Britain in first-class condition by pre-cooling and transport in an atmosphere enriched with carbon dioxide and by the use of insulated containers that have been developed for this purpose.

Are special containers required? Does the method apply to perishable food like raspberries and strawberries? Could this sort of process be developed for carriage of this fruit by air as far as America?

The containers could be converted meat containers; they need not be special ones. This process would be very applicable to soft fruit like raspberries. I should require to have notice of the last part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what inquiries are being sponsored by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research into commercially useful methods for the hydraulic transport of solids.

The British Hydro-mechanics Research Association, supported by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, has, through research on the hydraulic transport of solids, considerably advanced the basic knowledge necessary before this form of transport can be a commercial proposition, and the results are being applied by British industry.

Can my hon. Friend say to what extent these results have been applied by British industry in any detail?

They are being applied, and a good example at the moment is the removal of spoil from the new tunnel which is being constructed at Purfleet. Experiments are going on, and have been for some time, in the mining industry, and they show some promise.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what stage has been reached in research by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research into the production of sulphur by bacteria.

The Chemical Research Laboratory of the Department has developed a process for the production of sulphur from raw sewage sludge to which calcium sulphate has been added. This has operated in a 50-gallon plant at Beckton successfully. The work has been undertaken in collaboration with the London County Council, which is now considering the installation of a 100,000-gallon plant for full-scale development trials.

Can my hon. Friend take the matter a little further? Can he say whether the process is likely to prove economical, and whether, in view of the experiments of the London County Council, it can now be recommended to all local authorities?

It is not yet at a stage at which it should be recommended to all local authorities. We must await the final results of the tests at Beckton. It has proved economical in the sense that the system removes a large amount of water, which means that the amount to be carried away is about half the quantity it would otherwise be. This means a great saving.

Will the hon. Gentleman say whether sulphur is actually produced in elemental form or in what way?

I should be grateful if the hon. Member would put that question on the Order Paper.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, whether he is aware of the inadequacy of translations into English of Russian scientific and technical publications, with the result that top-grade research scientists are being compelled to spend a substantial portion of their time in learning the Russian language; and whether he will set up a scientific bureau for Russian translations or take other steps to deal with the position.

As I have already indicated in answer to Questions, considerable thought is being given by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research to the difficult problem of obtaining, translating and disseminating Russian scientific and technical literature. The D.S.I.R. Lending Library Unit now has a collection of material unique in Western Europe and the Department runs a co-operative translation scheme on a limited scale. The Department is urgently considering ways and means of expanding the translation effort and getting the translations disseminated. My noble Friend cannot accept the implication in the Question that it is a waste of time for research scientists to learn Russian.

Does the Minister realise that it is difficult for scientists of the present generation to learn sufficient Russian to be able to cope with publications which come forward? Whilst admitting that more facilities for the learning of Russian in schools and so on should be provided, may I ask whether the hon. Gentleman is prepared to ensure that translations shall be available in the same way as, for example, Russian translations of English works are available in the Russian Institute of Information, in a matter of weeks, so that our scientists shall not be placed at a disadvantage by having to wait something like six months before they can get the information?

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that my noble Friend recognises the great importance of this matter, and that everything that can be done will be done to speed up the service for which the hon. Gentleman asks. Whether or not this work should be translated by ordinary people or by scientists has been argued in Question and Answer in this House over past weeks. I must reiterate that, normally, it is found that the best translations of scientific and technical papers are produced by working scientists with a knowledge of Russian. It is the only way in which one can be certain that the translations will be effective.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council whether he is aware that a monopoly has been given to a private translating bureau in the United States of America for cover to cover translations from Russian into English of at least 18 scientific journals which have to be purchased here; and what steps he proposes to take that such journals shall be translated in Great Britain in future.

While my noble Friend has no knowledge of the detailed arrangements in the U.S.A., he is aware that some Russian scientific and technical journals are being translated by commercial agencies there. There would seem to be no advantage in separate translations of the same documents into the English language taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. As I indicated in my reply to the right hon. Member for Blyth (Mr. Robens) on 1st April, discussions are taking place between the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the United States National Science Foundation regarding co-operation on the production of complete translations of Russian scientific and technical journals, with a view to avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort.

Will the Minister bear in mind that it costs anything from £2 10s. to £3 10s. per thousand words to obtain a translation? That is a hopeless waste. Does he not think that, in the circumstances, it is highly desirable that these translations should be made here, it at all possible?

Naturally, we must play our part, and I can say that we are playing an important part, but there is really no point in duplicating the effort, when there is a chance of getting together to share the information that each other has.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in view of the proposed extension, from three to six miles, of the sea territorial limits and the loss which will thereby be inflicted on the Scottish fishing industry, if he will state his proposals to compensate that industry by increased subsidy, ameliorating terms for ship building and repairing and taxation and freight reduction.

I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the reply given to him yesterday by my right hon. and gallant Friend the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Does not the Secretary of State realise that that reply does not cover the Question, that this threat to the British and, in particular, to the Scottish fishing industry still exists, and that the time to protect the industry is now, and not after the event?

As my right hon. and gallant Friend said yesterday, the position at the moment is that the only generally recognised rule of international law is that the breadth of territorial waters is three miles. All waters outside those limits are high seas, and Her Majesty's Government have reserved all rights to the freedom of the high seas.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state his plans for assisting the extension of the Scottish tourist industry during 1958.

Assistance for the tourist industry is primarily the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, and I shall continue to keep in close touch with him and with the Scottish Tourist Board. I would also draw the hon. and learned Member's attention to the reply that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan (Mr. Rankin) on 1st April.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise that at the beginning of the tourist season that reply is too vague and general, and that now is the time to assist the tourist industry in Scotland? Does he not further recognise that it would bring valuable foreign currency there, which would be of benefit, not only to Scotland but to Sassenachs as well?

I am anxious the whole time to do everything I can to help the Scottish tourist industry. I have even made speeches pointing out the merits of Scotland outside the tourist season.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is a plan to pull down a very large hotel in Strathpeffer, and will he bring that to the notice of the Scottish Tourist Board?

That is another matter that I should like to look at.

Is it not a fact that the Scottish Office has set up the committee which was suggested last year by my hon. Friend the Member for Dunbartonshire, West (Mr. Steele), and that a meeting has been held? Will the right hon. Gentleman say what conclusions that committee has reached, and what recommendations it has made with a view to aiding the Scottish tourist industry?

I think that it would be helpful if the hon. Gentleman would table a Question on the subject.

Did the right hon. Gentleman see the report of the small sums that some local authorities contribute to the Scottish Tourist Board? As the Board depends largely on the local authorities for its finance, would not he give some official encouragement to them to pay more appropriately to their means and not be so skimpy?

I sincerely hope that they will note what the right hon. Gentleman has said. I made this point very strongly some time ago at the annual meeting of the Scottish Tourist Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will state his intentions with regard to children assisting with the next potato harvest.

While it will still be necessary to call on school children this year, the policy of the Government is to reduce the numbers progressively, and we intend to reduce the number of exemptions required to 20,000, from 24,000 last year. The transport of children under departmental arrangements will also be much curtailed.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that his early decision in this matter is very welcome to all parties?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society was first given a grant out of public funds; how much it has received each year, and what is the total amount of money it has received in this way; what conditions were and are attached to these payments; and how far any of these conditions relate to the place in which the Society's show shall be held each year.

The only grant from public funds to the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society is one given by the Department of Agriculture for Scotland in aid of prizes at the Society's annual show to encourage the breeding of Highland ponies and goats. The grant has been paid since 1913, except in the war years. The annual rate of grant from 1922 to 1939 was £52, and from 1948 to 1957, £70; the aggregate over the whole period since 1913 being £1,996. No condition is attached as regards the location of the show.

Is the Secretary of State aware of the expressed intention of changing the usefulness of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society by giving it a permanent showground in, or near, Edinburgh, thereby depriving the other parts of Scotland of the benefits that they have hitherto enjoyed? Will he do something to protect the other parts of Scotland from this threat?

That supplementary question, while related to the original Question, hardly arises from that Question.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that there is no reason whatsoever why the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society should not hold its show wherever it likes in Scotland?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that miners attending public inquiries receive an allowance of only 30s. per day; that this allowance is based on such figure as would be allowed to a witness attending on citation the High Court of Justiciary; and, in view of the fact that the cost of living and earnings have risen substantially since the sum of 30s. was fixed, whether he will now review the rate of such allowances.

I agree that there is a case for reviewing the present limit on the loss of earnings allowance for witnesses cited in criminal proceedings. Such a review is now in hand, and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as a decision is reached.

For once, that is a very satisfactory reply. Can the right hon. Gentleman say when the report will be available, and whether consideration has been given to securing a relationship between the earnings and the sum granted to these men, who, after all, are compelled to attend these inquiries?

I hope that the decision will be given fairly soon, but all these points are being looked at.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that several local authorities have had to undertake costly repairs to their Crudentype houses owing to the deterioration of certain materials in the roofs; how many such authorities have requested financial assistance in the carrying out of these repairs; and whether, in view of declared governmental policy on the desirability of maintaining all houses in a good state of repair, he will reconsider his decision not to grant such assistance.

A number of authorities have had to carry out repairs to the roofs of Cruden houses, and seventeen have asked for financial assistance. Local authorities are, however, responsible for repairs to their houses of whatever type, and I am not prepared to make any exception in this case.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that this rapid deterioration of the roof materials was quite unforeseen? In the circumstances, and in view of governmental policy to keep houses in repair, could he not be more forthcoming in order to help local authorities do that?

In general, it is really the duty of the owners, public or private, to keep houses in good repair, and the Government cannot accept financial responsibility for this work.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has to extend the protection of the courts to tenants who have already entered into what they regard as oppressive agreements under threat of eviction; and whether he is prepared to nullify such agreements so as to bring such tenants within such protection as the new Bill provides.

It is not proposed under the Bill to interfere with agreements negotiated between landlords and tenants.

Is this quite fair to those people who took for granted what the Government said—that they would not introduce amending legislation—and, therefore, gave up any hope of having any amelioration of their conditions? Would it not be fair to make the Bill retrospective so that all those affected by it would be protected, and not to make a distinction between one tenant and another?

There is no justification for re-opening agreements made between landlords and tenants, and I must point out that by the agreements the tenants got security of tenure for at least three years, which is not the same as under the Bill.

Where the agreements are unduly oppressive, and where any court would say that they were unfair and arrived at under duress, would not the right hon. Gentleman consider giving the tenants some right of appeal?

It would open up the widest possible issues if we started reopening agreements already made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent he proposes to introduce 40 miles-per-hour speed restrictions; and whether he has yet selected suitable stretches of road.

The provisions in the Road Traffic Act, 1956, enabling a 40 m.p.h. speed limit to be imposed outside the London Traffic Area cannot come into operation until a report has been made to Parliament on its experimental use in that area.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now make a statement on the scheme submitted to him by the White Fish Authority.

I am unable to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member on 27th March.

This is most unsatisfactory. Is it not a fact that this report has been in the hands of the right hon. Gentleman for a considerable time now and that the industry would like a reply in order to know what it is to do in the future? This industry is in a petty parlous plight and desires to know the recommendations of the Secretary of State.

The implications of the scheme must be carefully considered before a final decision is reached. Many interests are involved, and recent considerations must be looked at very carefully.

But when can we expect a decision?

I should not like to give a firm indication this afternoon.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which local authorities will be involved in the promotion of a provisional order in preparation for the construction of a Tay road bridge.

I have discussed the proposed Tay bridge with representatives of Dundee Corporation, Fife and Angus County Councils and Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Arbroath Town Councils. It would be for the promoters of any provisional order relating to a Tay road bridge at Dundee to consider what provisions it might suitably contain for a joint board of local authorities.

Would my right hon. Friend ask the local authorities of Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire whether they would like to join the scheme? I have reason to believe that at least one of them might be interested in coming in, in view of the benefits they are likely to receive from a Tay road bridge?

That is a matter in the first instance for the promoters of any Provisional Order.

In view of the unemployment situation which is developing in Scotland to a serious extent, would not this be one of the public works schemes which it would be desirable to get on with as quickly as possible?

The initial stages are going on at the moment.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he is taking to ensure that there will be ample supplies of anti-poliomyelitis vaccine for all persons desiring vaccination by June of this year.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Health to the hon. Members for Coventry, North (Mr. Edelman) and Leicester, North-West (Mr. Janner). The Great Britain figures which my right hon. and learned Friend quoted include due provision for Scotland.

What has that to do with Edinburgh? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the medical officer of health in Edinburgh has expressed concern that supplies will not be available for those people who have registered for vaccination in Edinburgh? Can the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that the vaccine will be available in sufficient quantities to meet the needs of the people of Scotland, and can he assure the chief medical officer for Edinburgh that there is no ground for doubt about the adequacy of the supplies for that city?

The hon. Member did not mention Edinburgh in his Question. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Health said yesterday, we have taken steps to ensure that there are quantities of the American Salk vaccine to safeguard the supply position. There are so many unpredictable factors that it would be wrong to forecast the position on 30th June or any other date. I suggest that we await the debate on Thursday.

As the right hon. Gentleman is Minister of Health for Scotland, and in view of the unsatisfactory nature of his reply, I beg to give notice that I shall endeavour to raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are his plans for establishing more high-power units for the treatment of cancer; and how far these plans also include the use of radioactive cobalt and caesium.

The intention is that one of the two new radiotherapy departments proposed in Glasgow should be equipped with a linear accelerator and the other with a major treatment unit which may be a cobalt unit. The third department, proposed in Aberdeen, is likely to be equipped with a cobalt unit. I am advised that the use of caesium for this purpose is still at the experimental stage.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the opinion which has been expressed in many quarters in Scotland that more attention should be paid to the need for providing these facilities urgently? Will he use his influence to see that the addition to the Western Infirmary is proceeded with as soon as possible?

Certainly, Sir. As the hon. Member knows, I have been working on this matter very closely for some time past.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many children have been removed from foster parents in Mull, and other islands in Argyllshire, since 1948; and for what reasons.

According to our records, 112 children since the Children Act, 1948, came into operation. With permission. I shall circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table giving the information requested in the second half of the Question.

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider issuing a statement, similar to that issued for England and Wales, regarding children boarded out by local authorities, voluntary organisations and so on?

I will certainly look into that.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is informed by local authorities of decisions taken to remove children from foster parents on grounds of remote geographical location; and to what extent in such cases the parents or children are consulted.

According to the information which local authorities have since 1948 been obliged to give me whenever a child has moved from a foster home, no child has been removed solely because the foster home was geographically remote. The second part of the Question does not, therefore, arise.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Grant children and the Johnstone children in Mull were removed, and that it was not on the grounds of education? Can it be that at that time all the foster parents in the Isle of Mull were bad?

No, I do not think that that conclusion should be drawn. Again, I should be grateful if the hon. Lady would put down a detailed Question on these cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what precautions are taken to ensure public safety before detainees for criminal lunacy are released from mental hospitals.

I assume that the hon. Lady is referring to persons found insane and ordered by the courts to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure. In considering such cases I examine not only full reports by the Medical Commissioners of the General Board of Control, who have had the patient under observation during his detention, but also the whole history of the case and the proposed arrangements for the patient's future, which generally include further supervision by responsible guardians and by the Board of Control.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that one patient was released in December, 1957, and by October, 1958, had murdered an old lady? Is he aware that between December and October the patient regularly failed to report? How did the patient get away with failing to report?

I should like the hon. Lady to send me details of that case.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for the north isles shipping services in Orkney.

As the hon. Member is aware, the service has already been improved in a number of ways in fulfilment of the recommendations in the Macgillivray Report, and I am also making an offer of increased assistance towards the maintenance of the service to North Ronaldshay. Any question of further improvements is primarily a matter for the shipping companies concerned with Orkney, but, though I cannot give any definite undertaking of Government assistance at this stage, I am willing to consider any proposals that the companies may put forward for assistance towards the provision of new ships, if it is clear that they cannot be provided in any other way.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for some of that reply. May I remind him that the vital part of the Report was on the question of the replacement of ships, and that the matter is becoming very urgent? May I remind him that freights on the services have gone up, and unless the ships are repaired very soon, expenses in general will be much higher? May I urge the right hon. Gentleman to give his personal interest to finding a solution in the very near future?

The hon. Member will realise that I have taken a close personal interest in this matter at all stages, and I appreciate the urgency of it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider using small mobile hospital units in the Highlands to serve patients who require regular or intermittent treatment and who cannot afford the expense and loss of time involved in journeys to Inverness, Edinburgh, or Glasgow.

I am obliged to my hon. Friend for his suggestion, and I am taking it up with the Regional Hospital Boards concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what quantities of trees have been recently disposed of by the Forestry Commission to landlords in the Mauchline district of Ayrshire; and at what price.

Since 1st October, 1957, the Forestry Commission has sold 18,300 transplants to landowners within ten miles of Mauchline. All sales were made at the retail prices agreed for the various species by the nursery trade.

As Lord Strathclyde is a constituent of mine, may I ask the Minister whether he was overcharged? Can the right hon. Gentleman also tell me what quality of trees they were that needed to be planted on good agricultural land without giving the farmer more than 24 hours' notice?

I do not see the name of my noble Friend on the Order Paper. I understand that the trees sold in the area were Sitka spruce and Norway spruce.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to introduce the Bill in respect of slaughterhouses.

A Scottish Slaughterhouses Bill will be introduced as soon as this becomes practicable.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance, in his own interests and the interests of his right hon. Friends, that this legislation will be introduced before the next General Election?

At this moment I cannot give any assurance of the precise time.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has now received the views of all the organisations he consulted in respect of Command Paper No. 9623, relating to mental illness and mental deficiency in Scotland; whether he has now received the report from the Scottish Health Services Council Committee on the same subject; and if he will make a statement.

I have received comments from most of the organisations consulted, and expect to receive the report from the Scottish Health Services Council very soon. I shall have to consider the views of all these bodies very carefully and I cannot, therefore, make a statement at this stage.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise that this report was expected in February of this year? Since two-fifths of the National Health Service beds in Scotland are in mental hospitals and mental deficiency institutions, is not the urgency of the matter clear to him? Will he do something to hurry up these reports?

There are one or two important organisations which have still to convey their views to me. I am hoping to receive them very soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his discussions with the Scottish Joint Consultants Committee.

Yes, Sir. It has been agreed that the study of hospital staffing structure referred to by my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Health in his statement on 21st April will be conducted on a Great Britain basis, and that interim arrangements for senior registrars will be made; the actual arrangements are to be discussed at a further meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the Committee considering the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act, 1949, to make its Report; and if this Report will be made available to hon. Members.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has yet received a Report from the Committee which he appointed to inquire into the Tenancy of Shops Act.

I expect to receive the Committee's Report during the summer; it will be published

Will the Secretary of State ensure that the Committee invites evidence from appropriate organisations or individuals involved?

May I have notice of that question? I should like to give an accurate answer.

Will the right hon. Gentleman keep in mind that the absence of cases of exploitation of shops is attributable to the success of the Act, and that the mere fact that they do not exist does not mean that they would not recur if the protection were taken away?

I am very conscious of that point.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether, in view of the fact that there is increasing damage done by red deer to hill farming interests in certain districts in the Highlands and also that the numbers of cases reported of poaching red deer or the wounding of red deer by gangs of poachers gives cause for disquiet, he will now, as a result of his further consideration of the matter, say what he intends to do; and if he will make a statement;

(2) whether, in view of the fact that a basis for agreement had been reached on legislative measures for the protection and control of red deer as long ago as the autumn of 1956 by farming, sporting and landowning interests in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy, he will now, as a result of his further consideration, introduce legislation in order to put a stop to the serious damage caused by red deer to hill farming interests in certain districts in the Highlands and in order to stop the continued suffering to deer wounded by gangs of poachers.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, having read the Ross-shire Police report on deer poaching, a copy of which has been sent to him, he will, as a result of his further consideration, immediately bring in a Bill to protect deer from the brutality and suffering inflicted on them by gangs whose inhuman methods maim and wound many more deer than they kill.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he now proposes to take to deal with the control of deer in the Highlands of Scotland, as a result of his further consideration of this matter.

The Government are progressing with their examination of the proposals put forward by the interests concerned for legislative Measures to strengthen the law on the poaching of deer and to ensure effective conservation and control of deer. The subject has difficult aspects, but I hope to be able, to make a statement within the next month or two.

I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer, which shows that he is aware of the seriousness of the problem, but is he aware of its urgency, in view of the fact that the amount of damage done to hill farming interests has been increasing and is likely to increase, especially as the Forestry Commission encloses more land for planting and thus denies winter grazing to the red deer, which are forced down on to marginal farms? In view of the further fact that the incidence of poaching by night with shotguns, which causes great suffering to red deer in the Highlands, has been giving great concern to very many people, will he advance as far as possible the plan for drawing up legislation to deal with the problem?

I assure my hon. Friend that I realise the importance and urgency of the matter.

Will my right hon. Friend give the House an assurance, in view of the brutality which has been revealed by the Ross-shire police report, that he will bring in a Bill to put a stop to these things before the House rises at the beginning of August for a further three months?

No, Sir, I could give no such assurance; but the Bill will be brought in as soon as all the considerations have been looked at and it is decided that it is practical to produce an adequate Measure.

Mr. John MacLeod.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. As legislation to deal with the subject has been in the form of a Bill, a withdrawn Bill or a Bill in embryo, for six years, is it not thoroughly unsatisfactory for the House to be told that we cannot have an assurance that a Bill will be brought in before the House rises?

That is not a point of order at all. Anyhow, the hon. Member for Ross and Cromarty (Mr. John MacLeod) has a Question on the Order Paper which was answered together with that of the hon. Member for Caithness and Sutherland (Sir D. Robertson).

As there has been such long discussion on this matter, what is holding things up? What are the points of difference?

The whole matter raises very complicated issues involving not only poaching and a close season but very complicated matters of entry on to land and other points which require the most careful examination if we are not to produce a very doubtful proposition.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider reclaiming 1,000 acres on the causewaymire in Caithness, using the 50 per cent. grants which are now available and the savings which will result from the employment of men who are now among the 7.2 per cent. of unemployed in Caithness and Sutherland; and if he will make a statement.

No, Sir. It is the Government's policy to provide incentives by means of various subsidy schemes to encourage landowners and farmers to reclaim such land as they are satisfied can be successfully reclaimed and worked. In the present financial situation, I could not consider carrying out, wholly at the Government's expense, a large-scale scheme of capital works, such as I know my hon. Friend has in mind.

But is it not within the compass of the Government, even though we are rather hard up at the present time, to construct one farm of 1,000 acres in an area which once carried a large number of people and which has now gone back to the moor? Is it not particularly desirable, when our unemployment is running at the rate of 7–2 per cent. and, further, is it not within the full approval of the House, that something like this should be done?

As my hon. Friend knows, I examine with the greatest care the various propositions he puts forward from time to time to deal with problems in his part of the world, but I could not at this moment say that I could entertain this particular proposal.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that much of this land in the Highlands is not held by individuals who themselves could, or would be willing to, proceed with reclamation schemes, and that if this land is to be reclaimed to provide farming opportunities for people in the Highlands it will have to be done by the Secretary of State? Will not the right hon. Gentleman reconsider his decision and see whether, in the case mentioned in the Question asked by the hon. Member for Caithness and Sutherland (Sir D. Robertson) and in other cases, he could himself initiate the reclamation of large tracts of land in Highland areas?

As the hon. Member knows, many schemes of this kind have been examined in the past, and some were carried out. I shall go on looking at all these proposals very carefully to see whether they would be economic and would really result in the effective reduction of the unemployment figures. But I am not satisfied that the particular scheme put to me would meet these requirements.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many additional recruits are necessary to bring the police force up to the required establishment.

Five hundred and one at 31st March, 1958, which is just under 6 per cent. of establishment.

Can the Secretary of State indicate in which towns or counties there is an extreme shortage?

I think that Glasgow is in the most difficult position, being 314 short of the authorised male establishment, but I am glad to say that in the first quarter of this year the deficiency was reduced by 43.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to see that the herring fishing season in Shetland can open on 1st May with reasonable prices for herring going to oil and meal.

The arrangements for the purchase of surplus herring for reduction to oil and meal are a matter for the Herring Industry Board. I am, however, asking the Board to review the situation in the light of the representations I have received on the subject.

Is the Secretary of State aware that this is really causing great dismay in Shetland and that his Answer, although I appreciate his difficulty, will not be taken as a great encouragement by the men on the deck of a herring boat? Does he not realise that if there is not an outlet for herrings in Shetland there is grave danger that this fishery will be permanently impaired? Will not the time be ripe on Thursday, when the Herring Industry Board meets the fishermen's representatives, for him to use his influence with the Board to see that it finds some outlet for herring? It is the Board's business to foster the industry and, at the moment, this is not being done and the position is extremely serious.

As the hon. Gentleman clearly indicates in his supplementary question, I asked the Board to review the situation, and this meeting is to take place. I sincerely hope that something useful will come out of it.

Will not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the Herring Industry Board will be able to review this decision only if it is given some definite encouragement from the Exchequer? In view of the threat to the herring industry in Shetland, will the right hon. Gentleman make clear that the Exchequer will find the money needed to enable the Herring Industry Board to accept herrings for fish meal as from the beginning of May? There is no time to lose.

I do not think that that question arises. There is a herring subsidy scheme working at the moment, and I sincerely hope that the meeting next Thursday will produce some satisfactory results. We cannot tell yet.

Does this question not show the unhappy relationship between the Herring Industry Board and the fishermen?

I sincerely hope that the relationship is not too bad. I know that there have, from time to time, been difficulties, but I believe that the Herring Industry Board does its best to retain the closest and most friendly contact with the industry.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the recent protest of the Soviet Government on the carrying of hydrogen bombs by Western aircraft, he will agree to the meeting of technical experts proposed in his recent letter to Mr. Kruschev working out the kind of arrangement necessary to provide safeguards against surprise attacks of aircraft carrying nuclear weapons.

Her Majesty's Government proposed last July, and on a number of subsequent occasions, that there should be an early meeting of experts to discuss the practical details of safeguards against surprise attack. I repeated this proposal in my letter of 16th January to Mr. Bulganin, and my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary confirmed it in the House on 20th February last. The offer still stands.

The United States Government have now suggested an international inspection zone in the Arctic. This is an area from which the Soviet Government have professed to fear attack. I hope, therefore, that they will make a positive contribution to today's Security Council discussions and agree to collaborate with the other countries concerned in working out the details of an inspection system.

Will not the Prime Minister agree that the establishment of an international system of aerial inspection would greatly reduce the anxieties which appear to exist both in the Soviet Union and in the United States as to the possibility of surprise attack by bombers carrying nuclear weapons? Further, would the proposal put forward yesterday by President Eisenhower, which the right hon. Gentleman also has himself proposed, for the appointment of a technical committee to consider this problem, delay the proposed Summit Conference?

With regard to the first part of that supplementary question, certainly the system of international aerial inspection would reduce anxieties, but it is, of course, by itself, only of limited use. It cannot, for example, show whether an aircraft is armed or not. That is why our proposals of last August stipulate that in all cases aerial inspection with ground observation posts would be necessary. Regarding the second part of the supplementary question, certainly if the Russians participated in these technical talks that would not hold up, but would rather be a happy augury for, a summit meeting.

asked the Prime Minister whether, on his forthcoming visit to the United States, he will propose to the President that patrol flights beyond territorial limits of aeroplanes carrying nuclear weapons should be suspended pending the Summit Conference.

asked the Prime Minister if he has yet studied the reports of the discussion in the United Nations Security Council regarding the alerting of the Strategic Air Command based in the United States, particularly the statement by the Russian representative that in the event of war, the United Kingdom would be also immediately involved; whether he will make representations to the United States to reconsider the value of these patrols; and if he will make a statement.

I do not consider it would be appropriate for me to make representations of this kind to the United States Government.

Does not the Prime Minister agree that the control system that he mentioned earlier as desirable should be linked to an agreement by both sides to refrain from sending planes in the direction of each other's territory? Is it necessary to assume, as part of the preparations for a Summit Conference to discuss peace, that the United States is in danger of a bolt-from-the-blue attack from the Soviet Union? Is there not a violent clash between that assumption and the assumption that may underlie a Summit Conference?

No, Sir; I could not accept any of those observations.

Does not the Prime Minister agree that if war broke out, perhaps accidentally, because of American nuclear-armed bomber patrols, we should be immediately involved? Is not he aware of the great concern in the country about this problem? Would it not be advisable, at least, to make representations to the American Government to have these nuclear-armed bomber patrols grounded pending the outcome of the Summit Conference?

No, Sir. I studied carefully the Soviet accusations against the United States in the Security Council and have observed that they failed to secure any support there.

asked the Prime Minister whether the bomb to be exploded in the forthcoming British tests will be a clean bomb.

The weapons and devices which we test, and the methods of testing, do not add significantly to the existing level of radiation; but I am not prepared to disclose the nature of these weapons and devices.

Is the Prime Minister aware that American scientists now admit that there is no such thing as a clean bomb? Dr. Libby of the Atomic Energy Commission admitted the other day that the bombs to be tested in the Pacific this year will be twice as dirty as the Hiroshima bomb, from which Japanese citizens are still dying. Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the Government's decision to conduct a British test, which has just been held, before exploring the Russian offer to suspend tests and thus wantonly throwing away the chance of international agreement to end the tests, has shocked public opinion in this country?

I find it difficult to follow the hon. Lady's logic. If the scientists are right in saying that there is no such thing as a clean bomb, I do not know why she asks if our bomb is a clean bomb.

asked the Prime Minister how the radioactivity of a hydrogen bomb compares with that of an atomic bomb.

It is impossible to give a general answer to a question of this kind. It would all depend upon the design of the particular bomb.

While accepting that, is it not a fact that the H-bomb has an atomic bomb core? Consequently, no H-bomb can be cleaner than the bomb which fell at Hiroshima. Can the Prime Minister tell the House what Dr. Teller means when he speaks of having a 96 per cent. clean bomb? Does it mean a 96 per cent. atomic bomb, or does it mean 96 per cent. of 100 atomic bombs, which, of course, means as dirty as four atomic bombs?

The matter is rather more complicated than that. The amount and behaviour of fall-out would depend on such variable factors as the design of the weapons, the height of the bursts and the weather.

Does not the dirtiness of the hydrogen bomb primarily depend upon whether uranium 238 is used as an outer sheath? Can the Prime Minister say whether we are continuing or whether we have abandoned the practice, as the Americans have?

The right hon. Gentleman has advanced the argument a little, but he has not clarified it. I would not allow myself to be drawn into ex cathedra statements on scientific matters on a supplementary question.

At the risk of the Prime Minister trying to slap me down, may I ask him this? Is he aware—and I think this is important for both sides of the House—that when he last told us that the tests in the Christmas Islands were going to be clean, Dr. Libby, the American expert and adviser to the United States Atomic Energy Commission, said that the British people had been deceived, and that it had been alleged in this country that the tests were clean, but the bombs were, in fact, as dirty as any of the Soviet megaton bombs?

I have no intention of slapping the right hon. Lady down. I have a Private Notice Question from the right hon. Gentleman the Leader of the Opposition, and I think it would be more courteous of me to leave it until that stage than to try to answer these detailed scientific matters in reply to supplementary questions on this Question.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of his proposal to Mr. Khrushchev that experts should now be appointed to work out an agreed system of inspection and control of hydrogen bomb tests, he will intimate to the Soviet Government that Her Majesty's Government is prepared to implement such a system in an agreement banning tests.

I have made clear the hope of Her Majesty's Government that a Summit Conference may reach some agreement on disarmament, including the question of nuclear test explosions. It is certainly our intention that such agreement should include effective measures of international control. It is very disappointing that Mr. Khrushchev should now have flatly rejected President Eisenhower's proposal, similar to mine, for preparatory technical study of this control.

Is it not a fact that the President's proposal was that there should be technical discussions without any preceding agreement to banish tests in a separate treaty? Is that not the real issue? Will the Prime Minister state whether the technical discussions, if the Soviet Union agrees to them, will take place on the basis of an agreement to ban tests, apart from anything else?

No, Sir. I think the hon. Gentleman has quite missed the point. It was proposed in several quarters, in this House and elsewhere, that, while the signing of a final agreement might have to be left, and should be left, to a summit agreement or an agreement between the Powers, it would save time and would be helpful if the technical investigations took place immediately. I am sorry that that proposal, made by both the American and the British Government, has not, as yet, been taken up.

asked the Prime Minister to what extent Her Majesty's Government have taken steps to facilitate contacts between British firms and those in Europe who have shown a desire to build the Calder Hall type of reactor; and what steps have been taken to help train scientists and engineers for Euratom.

Her Majesty's representatives overseas do everything in their power to keep British industry fully informed about developments and opportunities in the nuclear field. But contacts between British and foreign firms are usually established without the need for intervention by Her Majesty's Government.

As regards the second part of the Question, a high proportion of the places in the Harwell Reactor School and the Calder Reactor Operations School has been filled by students from the Euratom countries.

While thanking the right hon. Gentleman for part of that reply, is he aware that the American Atomic Commission is forging ahead in making more concrete the alliances between Euratom and the Commission? Should not we be taking more positive steps in that direction?

As I told the hon. Gentleman the other day, we are studying whether any further advance is necessary. When it comes to commercial arrangements, they tend to be decided on a commercial basis.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the work, progress and functions of the European Nuclear Energy Agency, the statute of which came into force early in 1958.

My right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal described the purpose of the Agency in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Scotstoun (Sir J. Hutchison) on 4th February. The first joint project to be set up by the Agency will be a chemical separation plant, known as Eurochemic, for processing irradiated fuel elements from reactors. Two other possible joint projects are under discussion, and a Health and Safety Sub-Committee has been set up.

Can the Prime Minister say why it is desirable to give this limited Agency the duty of inspecting nuclear disarmament when, if nuclear disarmament is ever agreed to, inspection must be the function of the United Nations, as the Government have so often said?