asked the Secretary of State for War for what reasons a battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment has been sent to Kenya; and whether this reinforcement has been requested by the Kenya Government.

The move was not made at the request of the Kenya Government. The battalion was sent out as a precaution against possible further trouble in the Aden Protectorate.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will give some publicity to the fact that battalions of the Brigade of Guards are carrying out guard-mounted parades, including Trooping the Colour, on the Horse Guards Parade each morning until 12th June, so that this spectacle can be enjoyed by visitors from overseas and particularly the Dominions.

These parades do not take place each morning. There will, however, be seven more: on the 8th, 15th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th of May. The information was given by the War Office to all newspapers before the parades began. I hope that my hon. Friend's Question may have the effect of drawing attention again to this colourful ceremony.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will now arrange to resume the issue of postal order of small denominations, say up to 5s. each, in book form containing some £2 or £3 worth of such orders.

No. The issue of such books was abandoned after four years' experience because it did not appeal sufficiently to the public and was expensive. There is no reason to think that it would more successful today. I am, however, hoping that it may be possible to develop self-service machines for the more popular denominations of postal orders.

asked the Secretary of State for Air in what circumstances deductions were made from the wages of Messrs. Harwood, Willie and Crerar upon their termination of employment at No. 8 Maintenance Unit, Little Rissington, in February, 1957; what was the authority for making the deduction; and in what circumstances the money was later refunded to the ex-employees.

Deductions were originally made under the leave regulations set out in paragraph 129 of Air Publication 826, which covers the terms of employment of civilians in Air Ministry establishments. It was judged at that time that the men had left voluntarily, and that pay should therefore be withheld on account of leave taken but not earned. On review, however, it was decided that, since the impending closure of the unit had already been announced at the time of their resignation, they could legitimately be regarded as having left on account of redundancy. The sum withheld, amounting in each case to less than £2, was therefore released to them.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (1) whether he will give an estimate of the variation in accident rate before and after the installation of good, modern street lighting;(2) whether he will give an estimate of the variation in accident rate before and after the provision of a roundabout.

Good street lighting and the provision of roundabouts, at suitable places, both reduce the risk of accidents. Investigations made by the Road Research Laboratory show various rates of accident reduction in certain cases where such improvements have been made. As local conditions vary so much, it would be difficult to give any reliable overall estimates of expected reductions in accident rates which might result from these measures.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, in view of the fact that the contribution of 75 per cent. payable by his Department in respect of the proposals for improving traffic conditions at the intersection of Tottenham Court Road, New Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road and Oxford Street will amount to over £600,000, whether he is satisfied with the arrangement by which traffic signals will still be necessary after the improvement has been made; and whether it is still possible for the design to be reconsidered and a two-level intersection scheme introduced into the plan.

The scheme which my right hon. Friend has approved will give the best value for money. Control by signals has been reduced to the minimum necessary to ensure the easiest conditions for traffic. We have considered a two-level scheme and rejected it because to get an efficient traffic working would have meant the acquisition and demolition of a great deal of additional valuable property. We do not think that this could be justified.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what arrangements he has made for obtaining accurate figures from British Railways for the maintenance and running of branch lines which it is proposed to close; and whether he will publish such figures before confirming any closure.

My right hon. Friend proposes to have early discussions with the chairmen of the Transport Users' Consultative Committees with a view to speeding up the procedure for the elimination of unremunerative services. These discussions will include the question of the information the Commission should submit in support of proposals to withdraw unremunerative services. In accordance with the report of the inquiry into the Bluebell line, this question has recently been reviewed by the Central Transport Consultative Committee and the Commission.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when the report of the Bowes Committee will be published.

I refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given today to a similar Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Nantwich (Mr. Grant-Ferris).

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether, in view of the statement by the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee that the public inquiry into proposals for the prohibition of loading and unloading in London constituted a useful addition to knowledge on London traffic problems, he will now arrange for the general publication of the report.

The report of the Committee's public inquiry has already been made available to interested persons and organisations and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. While I would be glad on request to make further copies available to those concerned, I doubt if general publication is warranted.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent the Federal Government have now fulfilled their obligations under the Bonn Convention of 1952, as amended in Paris in 1954, to deconcentrate German heavy industry and, in particular, the coal and steel holdings of the firm of Krupp.

I have no information to add to that given by my right hon. Friend in answer to a similar Question on 16th December. The Memorandum from the Federal German Government of which the House were informed on 5th May confirms the disposals which my right hon. Friend stated to the House on 16th December and explains the difficulties in the way of further disposals. This memorandum and its implications are under study and pending discussion with Allied Governments it would not be appropriate for me to make further comment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the percentage of unemployment in the burgh of Motherwell and Wishaw during March, 1958, 1957 and 1956.

It is not possible to calculate a separate percentage rate of unemployment for the burgh of Motherwell and Wishaw. The number of persons registered as unemployed at employment exchanges in that area at 17th March, 1958, was 1,840, compared with 1,265 at 11th March, 1957, and 1,207 at 12th March, 1956.

asked the Minister of Labour what are the numbers now registered as unemployed at the Reading and Newbury employment exchanges, and the numbers of vacancies notified, with comparable figures for a year ago.

The following table gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures showing the number of registered unemployed in the county borough of West Ham, for each quarter since January, 1951, until the latest convenient stated date, and similar details for those temporarily stopped from working.

The following table gives the information desired.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state separately the numbers of men, women, boys and girls registered at the Borough Employment Exchange as unemployed at the most recent date in March and April, 1958, and the number on the disabled register at the same time, whether included or excluded from the total of registered unemployed.

The following table gives the information desired.

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of unemployed registered at employment exchanges within the Cleveland parliamentary constituency on an average basis during the month of March, 1958, and the comparable figure for March, 1957.

The unemployment count is taken once a month only. At 17th March, 1958, there were 530 unemployed persons on the registers of employment exchanges in the Cleveland parliamentary constituency. The corresponding figure for 11th March, 1957, was 347.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what volume of tonnage was launched in the first four months of 1958; and how this compares with 1957.

Approximately 360.000 gross tons of new merchant shipping were launched from United Kingdom shipyards during the first four months of 1958 as compared with approximately 325,000 gross tons during the corresponding period of 1957.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that difficulty is sometimes experienced by farmers through lack of adequate and clear operational instruction issued with new machinery; and whether, in the interests of agricultural efficiency, he will consult with manufacturers on this point.

I understand that this subject is under discussion between the associations representing the manufacturers and users of agricultural machinery. I will write to my hon. Friend when I have further information.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances the Capital Issues Committee grants permission to investment trusts for new money to be raised by an issue of shares; and how far such consent is conditional upon investment trusts guaranteeing not to invest any of the money so raised in Canadian or United States securities.

Since July, 1953, the Committee has been free to recommend consent in respect of applications from investment trusts, in view of the part which these companies play in supplying risk-bearing capital for industry, and of the need to encourage savings. When consent is given no condition is imposed about the use of the money to be raised, and the fact that some part of the money will be invested in foreign securities does not necessarily mean that the application will be refused; but, in considering whether to recommend consent, the Committee naturally bears in mind the claims on the market of United Kingdom industry.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he is aware that tenants of flats or houses for which no premium was charged by the landlord have been selling their leases for high premiums over the head of the landlord; and what steps he proposes to take to prevent this practice.

Where it is an offence to require a premium for the grant of a tenancy, it is also an offence to require a premium for its assignment.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent, under his regulations, tweed other than that entitled to the Orb Mark can be described as Harris Tweed.

Tweed marked with the Orb Mark and the words "Harris Tweed" is unmistakably Harris Tweed; whether anything else is Harris Tweed or not is a matter for the courts. My own opinion would be, however, that tweed produced in, say, England could not legitimately be described as Harris Tweed.