asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what changes are to take place in his Department in consequence of the proposed changes in the organisation of the Ministry of Defence.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for War how far any part of the strategic reserve is available in the United Kingdom; and in what form of readiness it stands.

An effective proportion of the strategic reserve is at readiness in the United Kingdom.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will introduce legislation to amend the Television Act, 1954, to ensure that programme contractors reflect fairly the balance of political and social interests in the nation.

No. The hon. Member's criteria are more appropriately related to the programmes than to the programme contractors and on this Section 3 of the Television Act places very clear duties on the Authority.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that the Home Service programme and the television programmes, especially the British Broadcasting Corporation's television programme, are variable and weak in Morecambe and Lonsdale; and if he can take steps to secure an improvement.

I am aware of the reception difficulties in this area. The British Broadcasting Corporation however, informs me that the three sound programmes should be satisfactorily received on V.H.F. in most parts if good sets and aerials are used.Television should generally be satisfactory in Morecambe, though variable in other parts of the constituency mainly due to radio signals being impeded by high ground. In addition the British Broadcasting Corporation service is being interfered with due to exceptional atmospheric conditions. These will pass.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the low standard of television reception experienced in large sections of the Borough of Hastings, he has yet considered erecting a satellite transmitter; and what other suggestions he is considering for improving reception in this area.

The B.B.C. tells me that improvement in reception in Hastings followed the increase in the power of the Crystal Palace transmitter last December. It recognises that there is still difficulty in some part of the borough. The possibility of using a satellite will be considered by the Corporation along with the claims of other areas. No other means of improving reception in Hastings is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if the Railway Consultative Committees have now reported on the proposal that the use of station taxi ranks should no longer be limited to privileged owners and drivers.

The position is as stated in my Answer on 2nd July.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when he proposes to send his questionnaire to motor-cyclists in respect of his road safety survey recommended by the Committee on Road Safety; how many motorcyclists will be selected; what other action is proposed; and whether he will give an estimate as to when the survey will be completed and published.

Ten thousand motorcyclists will receive from the Central Office of Information a questionnaire, 5,000 copies of which will go out during this month. Answers to the questions will be analysed in conjunction with accident statistics for the same period. I cannot at the moment say when the analysis will be completed.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will take such steps as are necessary to provide for a larger representation of rural users on the Area Transport Users' Consultative Committees.

No. Rural interests are adequately represented on these Committees in proportion to the other interests involved.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether in view of the fact that the Preston motorway by-pass will be open to traffic shortly after the summer Recess, he will now circulate to interested organisations, for their comment, his proposed regulations for motorways.

This was done on 7th July.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to what extent traffic, which would normally use the Great North Road through Doncaster, is now using the diversionary road through Snaith and Thorne, rejoining the Great North Road at Bawtry.

This route is extensively used by traffic which would otherwise use the Great North Road through Doncaster.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress has been made with the construction of the Doncaster Bypass.

Land is being acquired and contract documents are being prepared. I hope before the end of the summer to advertise a draft Order under Section 3 of the Special Roads Act, 1949, to provide for intersections with other roads.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware of the increasing congestion of traffic on the Great North Road, north of Doncaster; and what further steps are being taken to deal with the problem.

The congestion north of Doncaster will be alleviated by the Doncaster Bypass and the many other schemes of improvement which are in progress or in preparation for this trunk road. I shall consider against this background whether anything further should be done to ease conditions between Doncaster and Red House.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will make a statement about the Severn bridge project, with particular reference to approach roads from the Gloucester end.

The Government are advised that there are advantages in economy and efficiency if the construction of the Severn Bridge is properly phased with that of the Forth Bridge.With this in mind, therefore, if all goes well with the Forth Bridge scheme, and the road programme proceeds as planned at present, it would be the Government's hope to start constructional work on the Severn Bridge itself some two years after work on the Forth Bridge is reasonably well advanced.The Severn project includes the approach roads from Almondsbury on A.38 about six miles north of the centre of Bristol and from Crick on A.48 on the west side of the river.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation why it is proposed to give permission to remove the 30 mile-per-hour speed limit on the road passing through New Bolingbroke, in view of the fact that two accidents have taken place only recently on this stretch of road and the parish council have expressed their strong objection to derestriction.

Because a speed limit on a length of only 330 yards in this village is more likely to bring the speed limit into disrepute than to prevent accidents. There have been only two in the last six years.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will ask the Divisional Road Engineer for the Metropolitan area to consider and report if there are sufficient grounds for establishing a pedestrian crossing over that part of Copenhagen Street which runs from Caledonian Road to Barnsbury Road in the Metropolitan Borough of Islington.

The Divisional Road Engineer has reported to me that the number of pedestrians crossing Copenhagen Street between the Caledonian Road and Barnsbury Road junctions, both of which are controlled by traffic lights, is insufficient, even at peak hours, to warrant the installation of a pedestrian crossing. I am informed that the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis agrees with this view.

asked the Minister of Labour what is being done to find alternative employment in the district for the men who will be displaced when Government work is removed from the Bristol Commercial Vehicles company.

My local officers are in touch with the firm and arrangements will be made for workers to register before they leave.

saked the Minister of Labour the numbers of men, women, boys and girls registered as unemployed at the exchanges at Penton Street, King's Cross, and Medina Road, London, N.7, at the latest convenient date, and the figures for the previous year.

NUMBERS OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS ON THE REGISTERS OF THE KING'S CROSS (PENTON STREET) AND HOLLOWAY (MEDINA ROAD) EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND THE ISLINGTON YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICE AT 17TH JUNE, 1957, AND 16TH JUNE, 1958
—				17th June, 1957					16th June, 1958
				Men	Boys	Women	Girls	Total	Men	Boys	Women	Girls	Total
King's Cross Employment Exchange		…	…	534	—	161	—	695	1,042	—	242	—	1,284
Holloway Employment Exchange	…	…	…	717	—	369	—	1,086	1,586	—	625	—	2,211
Islington Youth Employment Office		…	…	—	23	—	14	37	—	19	—	18	37

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he is aware that the Canadian Government Immigration Service encourage skilled British tradesmen to emigrate to Canada by promise of employment there, that such employment is not always found for them, that some are thereby forced to return to Great Britain, and they are then called on by the Canadian Government Immigration Service to repay assisted passage loans made to them on the representation that employment would be found for them in Canada; and if he will ask the Canadian Government to seek means to obviate this injustice.

No. I understand that the Canadian Government Immigration Service makes every effort to give a fair picture of conditions in Canada to prospective immigrants, and that the declaration signed by applicants for assisted passage loans makes clear that the Canadian authorities cannot guarantee employment in the applicant's own trade and sets out in detail the conditions attaching to the loan.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the total cost of constructional work performed at No. 12 Maintenance Unit, Kirkbride, over the past

The following table gives the information desired:three years; how much of this work remains to be completed; and the cost of the uncompleted work at this Maintenance Unit.

Since the beginning of the financial year 1955–56 about £100,000 has been spent on new works services and major maintenance at No. 12 M.U. Kirk-bride. One minor new works service estimated to cost £1,000 is half completed, and another estimated to cost £80 has not yet been started.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the total expenditure on work to civilian contractors in regard to the maintenance and repair of aircraft in 41 Group Royal Air Force for each of the last convenient years.

Approximate figures for each of the past five financial years are as follows:

1953–54	£2	million
1954–55	£3½	million
1955–56	£4	million
1956–57	£5	million
1957–58	£3	million

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will make a statement on the proposed closure of No. 12 Maintenance Unit, Kirkbride, and No. 22 Maintenance Unit, Silloth.

No. 12 Maintenance Unit, Kirkbride and No. 22 Maintenance Unit, Silloth, are among five aircraft storage units which are being closed as part of the reorganisation and contraction of the Royal Air Force. We expect that No. 12 Maintenance Unit will close during the first half of 1960, and No. 22 Maintenance Unit during the second half of the same year. We shall do our best to provide a gap of at least six months between the two closures.

asked the Secretary of State for Air to what extent there was in Transport Command adequate freight-carrying capacity for the recent airlift to Cyprus.

A few hundred pounds of freight travelled in charter aircraft carrying R.A.F. supplies under normal arrangements. With this exception,

—						1946–47	1950–51	1956–57	1958–59 (Estimate)
						£	£	£	£
England		…	…	…	…	4,040	5,565	10,817	13,106
Wales	…	…	…	…	…	5,195	6,898	12,842	15,311
Scotland		…	…	…	…	4,152	6,427	11,957	13,874
Bournemouth			…	…	…	3,025	4,217	8,650	10,501
Eastbourne		…	…	…	…	3,902	6,034	11,462	14,056
London		…	…	…	…	4,817	6,317	11,933	13,970
Stoke-on-Trent			…	…	…	4,128	6,030	12,529	15,264
Salford		…	…	…	…	4,185	5,568	10,467	12,323
Cardiff		…	…	…	…	4,254	5,393	11,332	14,191
Swansea		…	…	…	…	5,025	5,915	12,171	13,855
NOTES:
(i) The available figures of population for 1946–47 cover civilians only; for the other years they include service personnel.
(ii) The figures for 1958–59 are based on the figures of population for mid-1957, the latest available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent old records about the history of Aden are still stored locally; whether these are deteriorating; and if he will consider appointing someone, possibly a retired officer or a student, to collate these records and thus ensure their preservation.

The official archives of Aden date back to 1839 and are held and administered by its Government. In 1952–53 a professional archivist conducted a survey of the archives and as

asked the Minister of Education the educational expenditure per thousand of the population in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively, for 1946, 1950, 1956, and on the latest date; and what were the corresponding figures for Bournemouth, Eastbourne, London, Stoke-on-Trent, Salford, Cardiff, and Swansea.

The following table shows the expenditure of local education authorities per thousand of population:a result of his recommendations improved storage conditions were provided. Although the archives now are generally in a good condition some deterioration, due almost entirely to climatic conditions, has taken place. On a number of occasions in the past the Government of Aden has considered the question of the appointment of a full-time professional archivist but owing to the expense it has not proved possible to make such an appointment. The appointment of a retired officer or student to undertake the work of administering archives has not in practice proved generally to be a satisfactory solution.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the approximate amount of Government revenue raised per head of estimated population, for the latest convenient financial year, in Barbados, Bermuda, the Gambia, Jamaica, Kenya, Eastern Nigeria, Northern Nigeria, Western, Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Sierra Leone, Tanganyika, Trinidad, and Uganda, respectively.

The approximate revenue per head in 1957 based on latest available information was as follows:

	£ per head	Period
Barbados	18·16	1st April, 1957 to 31st March, 1958.
Bermuda	69·97	1st January, 1957 to 31st December, 1957.
Gambia	7·54	1st January, 1957 to 31st December, 1957.
Jamaica	16·42	1st April, 1957 to 31st March, 1958.
Kenya	4·87	1st July, 1957 to 30th June, 1958.
Eastern Nigeria.	1·52	1st April, 1957 to 31st March, 1958.
Northern Nigeria.	0·73	1st April, 1957 to 31st March, 1958.
Western Nigeria.	2·16	1st April, 1957 to 31st March, 1958.
Northern Rhodesia.	8·16	1st July, 1957 to 30th June, 1958.
Nyasaland	1·95	1st July, 1957 to 30th June, 1958.
Sierra Leone	4·52	1st January, 1957 to 31st December, 1957.
Tanganyika	2·21	1st July, 1957 to 30th June, 1958.
Trinidad	28·10	1st January, 1957 to 31st December, 1957.
Uganda	3·25	1st July, 1957 to 30th June, 1958.

These calculations are based on original or revised estimates for the period shown, and exclude financial assistance provided by Her Majesty's Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the total estimated population and the estimated number of children between the ages of six to 14 years, inclusive, as at the latest convenient date, in Barbados, Bermuda, the Gambia, Jamaica, Kenya, Eastern Nigeria, Northern Nigeria, Western Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Sierra Leone, Tanganyika, Trinidad, and Uganda, respectively.

The following table gives the information for the West Indian territories and Bermuda:

—	Year	Total population	Children (6–14 years)
Barbados	1956	228,210	44,600
Jamaica	1954	1,517,700	304,000
Trinidad	1956	742,500	169,000
Bermuda	1950	37,400	6,400

The estimated total populations of the African territories for which information has been requested are:

—	Year	Total Population
		(000)
Gambia	1956	275
Sierra Leone	1956	2,100
Nigeria—
Northern Region*	1957	18,465
Western Region	1957	6,613
Eastern Region	1957	7,782
Lagos (Federal capital)	1957	324
Southern Cameroons	1957	811
Kenya	1957	6,261
Tanganyika	1957	8,774
Uganda	1957	5,680
Northern Rhodesia	1957	2,240
Nyasaland	1957	2,648
* Including the northern portion of the Cameroons Trust Territory administered as part of the Northern Region.

The registration of births and deaths is still not complete in African territories, although methods of estimating age at the time of a census are being developed. The results of the latest attempt—in Tanganyika in 1957—are not yet available. In these circumstances it is not possible to give figures for the estimated number of children between the ages of 6 and 14 years in respect of the above-mentioned African territories. In the Nigerian census of 1952–53, however, the number of children aged 7 to 14 years was separately recorded, with the following results for the African population:

—	Total African Population	Children (7–14 years)
	(000)	(000)
Northern Region (including Trust Territory)	16,835	2,456
Western Region	6,085	1,068
Eastern Region	7,215	1,256
Southern Cameroons	753	118
Lagos Township	267	43

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what terms Mr. Dyke Campbell Hill continued to serve in the Malayan Police after 30th October, 1953, when he had completed his probationary service and his probationary appointment had not been terminated or extended.

Mr. Hill continued to serve on probation while the representations he had made against the proposed termination of his appointment were being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the numbers of schoolchildren attending the primary and secondary stages, respectively, in the Bahamas; and the average cost per pupil.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 1st May, 1958; Vol. 587, c. 56], supplied the following information:The number of schoolchildren attending the primary and secondary schools, both Government and private, are:

Primary	21,897
Secondary	941

The average cost for each pupil attending Government schools was £21 16s. 2d. at primary stage and £111 14s. 1d. at secondary. Similar information for private schools is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the wage rates for skilled and unskilled workers in building and ancillary trades in the Bahamas; and the comparison between the average earnings of a Bahamian worker and these in Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad, respectively.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 1st May, 1958; Vol. 587, col. 56], supplied the following further information:The following are the hourly wage rates paid to workers in the Bahamas in

building and ancillary trades other than Government:

asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to ensure that hospital management committees are aware of the Regulations giving recognition to the Physiotherapists Association and that membership of this body does not prevent a person being appointed to a position he may seek.

Hospital Management Committees are aware of the terms of these Regulations. I will gladly look into any cases where the hon. Member feels they have been misinterpreted.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give an approximate estimate of the saving to the Exchequer if 1,000,000 National Health Service patients became private patients, taking account of doctors' remuneration, but no account of the cost of prescriptions.

On the basis indicated, and under present arrangements, any saving to the Exchequer would be limited to the extent to which earnings from private practice by doctors providing general medical services were increased and their remuneration from Exchequer funds correspondingly reduced. I cannot estimate what this would amount to.

asked the Minister of Health approximately how many private patients there are; and what estimate he is able to make of the cost to the Exchequer if all prescriptions for these people were provided in the normal way through the National Health Service.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to my reply on 28th April, 1958, to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Knutsford (Lieut-Colonel Bromley-Davenport).

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will set out in a table the grants made for schemes of open space under Sections 93 and 94 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1947, and the equivalent Sections of the 1954 Act, showing the total capital expenditure allowed since the Acts came into operation, the amount for 1955–56, and the percentage of such grants paid to the London County Council, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Hammersmith, Acton, Ealing, Oxford, Southall, Windsor, Barking, Hackney, Kingston-upon-Hull, Marylebone, Shoreditch, Stoke-on-Trent, Stockport, Manchester, Salford, Oldham, Eccles, and Preston, respectively.

The total expenditure by all authorities in England and Wales on public open space schemes in respect of which grant has been paid, and the total amount of grants paid in respect of that expenditure, are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the dispute about the compulsory acquisition of the Westhurn Lane site for the extension of St. Andrews University.

In view of the fact that it has proved impossible to resolve this dispute locally, and bearing in mind the importance of the issues involved, I have decided that a local inquiry should be held in order to ascertain whether the circumstances call for action on my part under Section 96 (4) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1947. Such action, if decided upon in the light of the inquiry, would take the form of an Order requiring the Town Council to take specified steps for acquiring the land in question for the purpose of securing its use for development by St. Andrews University. Arrangements for the inquiry, which will be conducted in public by an independent Commissioner whose report will be made generally available, will be intimated to the parties concerned and advertised in the Press in due course.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the estimated cost of showing the British section of the Brussels Exhibition in London and some of the large provincial cities; and to what extent his Department is sympathetically considering this idea.

I do not know of any plans on the part of the firms concerned in the British Industry section to stage their exhibits in this country. With regard to the Government pavilion, I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey (Lady Gammans). I am informed that it would not be practicable to take the British exhibits round the country because of the form of construction of the buildings.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what percentage of the national income was spent by the local authorities in 1929, 1935, 1946, 1950, 1956, and on the latest available date; and what, for the same years, was their expenditure, expressed as a percentage of the national income, on education, housing and roads.

Figures are not available for all the years mentioned, but such information as is available is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what percentage of the national income was spent by the central Government during 1929, 1935, 1946, 1950, 1956, and on the latest date; and if he will state for the same years the per-

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE EXPRESSED AS A PERCENTAGE OF NATIONAL INCOME
—						1938(2)	1946	1950	1956	1957(3)
Total(1)	…	…	…	…	…	23·7	50·9	36·0	34·1	32·6
Education and child care				…	…	…	…	2·6	2·7	…
Other social services(4)			…	…	…	…	…	11·0	10·6	…
Military defence		…	…	…	…	…	…	8·1	10·3	…
Agriculture and food			…	…	…	…	…	3·6	1·8	…
Other services (including debt interest)					…	…	…	10·7	8·7	…
(1) Total expenditure on current and capital account combined, including expenditure by the National Insurance Funds and grants to local authorities, but excluding lending and other transactions in financial assets.
(2) Details for 1938 are not available.
(3) Details for 1957 are not yet available.
(4) Health services, housing, national insurance benefits, pensions, national assistance, etc.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will set out in tabular form the total expenditure on the social services by the Exchequer, National Insurance funds, and the local authorities, including the percentage for each of the national income spent in the years 1946,

EXPENDITURE ON THE SOCIAL SERVICES
—			1950		1955		1956
			£m.	Percentage of national income	£m.	Percentage of national income	£m.	Percentage of national income
Total expenditure
on social services	…	…	1,932	18·2	2,694	17·6	2,899	17·6
of which Exchequer(1)		…	1,146	10·8	1,428	9·4	1,554	9·4
National Insurance funds			304	2·9	593	3·9	641	3·9
local authorities(2)		…	482	4·5	673	4·4	704	4·3
(1) Including specific grants to local authorities.
(2) Excluding expenditure financed by specific grants from the central Government.

Figures are not available for all the years mentioned, but such information as is available is given in the following table:1950, 1955, and for the latest available date.

Figures for 1950, 1955 and 1956 are given in the table below. Comparable figures for 1946 are not available. Figures for 1957 are in course of preparation and will be published in August in the Blue Book "National Income and Expenditure, 1958."