asked the Minister of Education how many new places in the teachers' training colleges it is proposed to provide by 1962.

Twelve thousand.

In view of the fact that Sir Philip Morris, Chairman of the National Advisory Committee on the Training and Supply of Teachers, advised the right hon. Gentleman that 16,000 new places would be necessary by 1962, and the right hon. Gentleman has based it on only 12,000 new places, and as we shall lose 10,000 teachers because of the introduction of the three-year training course, is not the Minister running this very thin, and very close to the need?

There are many points that could be made, but one short answer is that Sir Philip Morris designed his proposals to get an output of 12,000 teachers a year. With my proposal, and by asking the colleges to take as many as they reasonably can, we hope, in fact, to get 12,000 teachers a year.

asked the Minister of Education how many applicants for places at training colleges were accepted for October, 1958; and how many were rejected.

The Answer is that 14,431 were accepted. I cannot say how many candidates were unsuccessful, since there is no central register covering all the colleges.

Does not each college know how many candidates it has accepted and how many it has rejected, and is it impossible to add them up?

No. The difficulty is that there is, of course, a number of double applications. As I am advised at the moment, it would not seem right to incur the expenditure of having a central register right from the beginning; although, as the hon. Gentleman knows, there is a clearing house for those who are not accepted by the first college to which they apply.

Is not it really important that the nation should have some idea of how many potential teachers it is throwing away owing to the fact that training colleges are not large enough at present, which, in itself, is due to the refusal of the right hon. Gentleman's predecessors to expand them in time?

I do not think that it would be right to say that. We must also realise that some candidates are rejected because they do not reach the necessary standard.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is satisfied that his proposal to increase the capacity of teachers' training colleges by 12,000 places will secure the abolition of oversize classes by 1968.

The Government's aim is to secure the most rapid reduction possible in the size of classes, but it is impracticable to forecast the exact effect of this policy in particular years.

While I do not wish to detract from the advantage of the Minister's present decision, may I ask whether he is aware that his decision to increase training college capacity by 12,000 has been criticised as being good but not good enough, as cutting it very fine and as a grievous mistake? Can the Minister give an assurance that this is an immediate programme which is decided upon and which he is prepared to revise as information becomes available to him?

I think that it is a good thing that there are elements in the education world who think that any increase in the teacher training colleges is not sufficient. The fact remains that this is the largest permanent increase in the colleges that has ever taken place.

Is the Minister aware that every training college this autumn has rejected young men and women of calibre who, in normal times, would have gone into the teaching profession and made good teachers? Will he treat his expansion programme as one of utter urgency?

Yes. We think that the expansion of 50 per cent. is as much as the teacher training colleges can manage in the time available.

asked the Minister of Education how many students for the diploma in technology are works based, and how many college based.

I regret that the information is not available in this precise form.

Can the Minister say what response he is receiving from the local education authorities to the request made to them to make grants to students who are to be college based, and what response he is getting from firms who provide the in-works training compared with those students who are to be college trained?

In general, the response is good, but the larger number are works based.

asked the Minister of Education how many unqualified and temporary teachers were in employment in schools maintained by local education authorities on the latest date for which figures are available; and what were the figures twelve months before.

In March, 1957, 5,661, compared with 5,220 a year earlier.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any indication of what the trend has been since March, 1957, and can he say how he proposes to replace these teachers—by persuading them to accept training and qualification, or through the output from the training colleges?

As I am sure the right hon. Gentleman knows, this really falls into two classes—unqualified teachers, which is a problem of long standing, and is diminishing by wastage; and the temporary teachers, who are, in the broad sense, student teachers, who are doing a turn in the schools before their training begins.

Would the Minister mind answering my supplementary question?

I think that the tendency is to an increase in the number of temporary teachers, and I feel that that is rather a good thing.

asked the Minister of Education how many posts for teachers of science and mathematics were unfilled at the latest date for which information is available; and how many such posts were filled by teachers not fully qualified for the work.

In March, 1957, the heads of secondary schools reported that they had about 500 vacancies for graduates and that about 400 posts were not satisfactorily filled.

Would the right hon. Gentleman ensure that this information, which requires the filling up of forms by head teachers, is published in future in the Annual Report of his Ministry?

I will certainly examine that point.

asked the Minister of Education what delegates have been appointed to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Conference now meeting in Paris.

The Parliamentary Secretary is leading the delegation and Sir Ben Bowen Thomas is deputy leader. The members are Sir Harold Spencer Jones, Professor H. R. Trevor-Roper, Sir William Emrys Williams, Mr. C. R. Allison, Miss F. D. Mackenzie-Whyte, and officials.

May I ask two supplementary questions? First, what arrangements has the right hon. Gentleman previously made for either the House or the public to be informed of the membership of this important delegation? Secondly, since the schools run by local authorities are, after all, the backbone of this country's educational system, is not it a pity that the right hon. Gentleman did not include in the delegation at least one headmaster of such a school?

There was an official announcement about the membership of the delegation. Of course, I take the hon. Gentleman's point, but it is difficult, having regard to the size of the delegation, always to fit in every single element in the educational sphere.

I did not ask the Minister to fit in every single element; I merely asked him to find room for one representative of the main element.

There have been such representatives before, and I have no doubt that there will be again on other occasions.

If the right hon. Gentleman cannot find a head teacher, will he at least include a teacher?

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware that there was a five-form entry into the Horncastle Cagthorpe Secondary Modern School in 1958, and that in all probability a similar five-form entry will take place in 1959; and what special arrangements are being made to provide additional accommodation for at least one class of pupils who will otherwise have no accommodation.

Yes, Sir. I shall consider carefully any arrangements for additional accommodation that the authority may propose.

Does my right hon. Friend know how much educational time is lost owing to the fact that this school is situated in three buildings throughout the town? Will he have a special examination made of this matter?

Yes, Sir, I will.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will make a statement on the progress of his consultations with the representatives of local authorities and divisional executives on the delegation of education functions; whether he has yet prepared any model schemes of delegation; and when he intends to issue a memorandum of guidance in respect of Section 52 of the Local Government Act, 1958.

After consulting the local authority associations, I have decided to issue a circular giving guidance on the preparation and operation of schemes of delegation. I hope it will be ready by the end of this month.

Will the Minister make the circular available to hon. Members who want to see the degree of delegation which is proposed? Will he confirm that schemes have to be approved by the end of July next year and that it is urgent that information should be available for the local authorities?

Yes, Sir. Perhaps the most convenient arrangement would be for me to send the hon. Gentleman a copy, in view of his Question, and also to place copies in the Library.

asked the Minister of Education the present shortage of teachers in the County of Essex; what steps are being taken to meet the problem of the shortage during the next four years; and what reply he has given to the representations made to him on this matter by the Essex County Council.

The authority's quota for January, 1959, is 10,650 and on 1st October it was 341 short. The Government have announced that the training colleges for teachers are to be expanded by some 50 per cent., and I shall continue to do all I can to help individual authorities get their proper share of the available teachers. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of my reply to the authority's representations.

While one appreciates the prospective increase in teachers after a number of years, may I point out that that does not help the immediate situation? Has the Minister any ideas as to how the immediate situation can be met?

Figures show that Essex has gained 331 teachers as compared with the position a year earlier, so the tendency is towards improvement.

asked the Minister of Education what representations he has received on the need for relaxing superannuation Regulations in order to induce more retired teachers to undertake whole or part-time service in schools during the present shortage of teachers.

I have received representations from the Essex local education authority about this and am sending the hon. Member a copy of my reply.

Would the Minister be so kind as to let me know the contents of it? Would not this be one method by which immediately more teachers could be secured?

I would ask the hon. Gentleman to examine the letter that I shall send him, because this is a most complicated matter. He might then want to put down another Question.

asked the Minister of Education approximately how many teachers are now in Her Majesty's Forces; and what steps he has taken to secure the immediate release of those teachers.

I do not know the number, but it cannot be large.

Here again is another means by which immediately one could have a certain number of extra teachers. Under the present circumstances, is not it advisable that teachers in Her Majesty's Forces should be transferred immediately to their ordinary civilian occupation?

I am discussing with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour a further extension of the deferment arrangements for teachers.

Is not it the case that a certain number of people, some of whom might be suitable teachers, are being squeezed out of the Armed Forces by Government policy; and has the right hon. Gentleman noticed that a body representing certain private schools in this country has held a conference to try to attract some of them into teaching? Is not it a pity that the right hon. Gentleman has not shown the same initiative?

No, Sir. I think that there are arrangements for watching this matter also on behalf of the State schools.

asked the Minister of Education why the new scales of maintenance grants for training college students in some instances widen, instead of narrowing, the gap between these and comparable university grants.

The new rates were fixed after careful inquiries. I believe that they preserve a proper relationship between the grants of university and training college students and that they will effectively remove hardship.

Is the Minister aware that all university and college students are of the opinion that whenever the scales are altered the gap between university and training college students should be narrowed? If one takes two comparable figures from the recent adjustments of the maintenance scales, one finds that the gap has been widened rather than narrowed. The Minister's own advisers admit that this is true to a matter of a few pounds, but a few pounds mean a lot to a training college student.

I should like to discuss that matter with the hon. Gentleman. He knows that the effect of these regulations is, inevitably, rather complex and that they affect different cases differently.

asked the Minister of Education if he will now permit urban local education authorities to include in their building programmes new schools for the elimination of remaining all-age schools.

I would ask the hon. Member to await the White Paper.

Is the Minister aware that the one thing the House agrees about in education is that the first and most urgent reform is to get rid of all-age schools if we are to have real secondary education for our children? Is he also aware that there are still twenty authorities where over 20 per cent. of the children are being educated in all-age schools? While the rural programme which his predecessor started means in time the abolition of all-age schools in the countryside, there are still towns where over 40 per cent. of the children are still in all-age schools.

I am aware of those facts, and I agree with what the hon. Gentleman has said.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will now give his approval to the inclusion of the proposed comprehensive secondary school at Kirkby-in-Ashfield in the Nottinghamshire Education Committee's school building programme for 1959–60.

No, Sir.

Is the Minister aware that this reply will be received with very great disappointment in my constituency, in view of the promises made in the Queen's Speech, with which it does not accord, and in view of the fact that this school is urgently required to meet the expanding needs of the area and to replace an existing temporary school which, by modern standards, is totally inadequate?

The hon. Gentleman referred to a passage in the Queen's Speech. Of course, the White Paper has not yet been published.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on the negotiations between the Cotton Board and manufacturing interests in Hong Kong for a limitation of cotton imports into the United Kingdom.

The Hong Kong negotiating committee met on Tuesday to consider the Cotton Board's proposals. After the meeting it issued a statement that it considered the proposals formed a reasonable basis for agreement but that a number of technical points required clarification. I understand that the committee is to meet again tomorrow.

Would the President agree that one of the main influences inducing the Hong Kong interests to reach agreement has been the knowledge that a Labour Government here would do something about it any way? Can he also say whether the recent restrictions on Hong Kong goods imposed by the French Government have added to these difficulties?

In answer to the first part of the right hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, I would say that I hope not. I hope that the Hong Kong people see, as we do, that a voluntary agreement would be in the best interests of both their industry and Lancashire's. In regard to the second part of the right hon. Gentleman's Question, we have made vigorous representations to the French Government on the basis of the facts as we know them, but we are not absolutely sure that we yet have the full facts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the textile industry and its current difficulties; and what action is being taken to counteract these.

The Government are deeply concerned with these difficulties, as my hon. Friend will see from my speech in last Tuesday's debate.

While I appreciate the interest that my right hon. Friend has taken in this matter, may I ask him to consider another aspect of the problem, that at places like Macclesfield and Congleton, where the local authorities have acquired industrial sites, they are getting little support from his Department to bring in new industries? If I bring such cases to my right hon. Friend's notice, will he do what he can to help?

Yes, Sir, I will.

As the Minister's speech on Tuesday, to which he has referred, expressed nothing but pious hopes—

No.

oh, yes. What he said, in effect, was that he hoped the increase in purchasing power would lead to more textiles being bought. Can the right hon. Gentleman give something more concrete than that in the way of immediate help to the cotton textile industry?

The immediate help will be the agreements with the Asian industries, if they are made. After that, as I said in my speech, the Government are very willing to discuss with the Lancashire industry any long-term proposals that the industry may have for stabilising itself in the future.

While I appreciate what my right hon. Friend said this week in his speech, may I ask whether he can say that the Government will look favourably upon the idea of redundancy schemes in the various sections of the cotton industry? Would they be likely to receive Government approval?

No, Sir. I should have to look at any such proposals with great care before I could give an opinion.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the difficulties being experienced in the wool textile industry, what steps he is taking to explore with the trade organisations especially concerned avenues of encouraging more trade; and whether, to that end, he is still in close touch with the authorities in both Canada and the United States of America with a view to securing more favourable import terms for British wool textiles.

My hon. Friend the Minister of State recently discussed with representatives of the industry the main difficulties confronting them in their export markets. I am in close touch with the Canadian and United States authorities and am pressing both to remove disabilities against our goods.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that, while the woollen textile industry appreciates the relatively narrow limits within which he can assist the trade, it does view with very great concern the situation arising over the Canadian and United States' import tariff quotas? I hope that he will bear in mind that at this time of year we are reaching the vital period and that negotiations will be coming to a head? I hope that he will bear this in mind on every possible occasion.

Yes. I want to do all I can. The House may be interested to know that the Canadian Finance Minister has just told me that it is the firm intention of his Government to restore the margins of preference formerly enjoyed by the United Kingdom.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why he has retained electronic computers and high speed cinematograph cameras on the embargo list of goods not for export to China, Russia and other Communist countries.

I regret I cannot give this information as the proceedings of the Paris Group are confidential. But many types of electronic computers and high speed cameras are now free from embargo.

The types which, as the Minister knows, I am referring to are on the embargo list. Does he agree that at the moment this country of ours possesses a lead of from four to five years over any other nation in the manufacture of these products? Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that, while we may keep these methods secret now, in due course advancing knowledge will cause us to share those secrets with the rest of the world, with the result that in the end we lose the secret and also what would now be a good market?

I agree with the hon. Member that our electronics industry is second to none. The hon. Member may, however, have seen references in the public Press to the effect that some of these computers are needed in connection with rocket missiles.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many people, men and women, respectively, were employed in the factories administered by the North-Eastern Trading Estates Limited on the latest available date.

At the end of September, 1958, 21,638 men and boys and 28,973 women and girls, making a total of 50,611, were employed in these factories.

Is the President of the Board of Trade aware that while we appreciate that the Government have many other anxieties, this continued fall in employment, particularly among men, in these Government factories is causing concern and that we in the North-East feel that the Government are quite indifferent to the interests of the North-East Development Area?

I assure the hon. Member that we are not indifferent to the North-East area and that we are glad to see that in the area as a whole there is a high rate of employment.

Is the President of the Board of Trade aware, however, that there are still three factories on Tees-side which have been standing empty for a long time and that there seems to be great complacency about trying to find tenants for them?

We are trying to find tenants for them.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that certain firms are leaving the North-East and coming back south again and that a retraction is taking place? Will he carefully watch developments in that part of the country, which at the moment appears to be rather neglected?

Yes, I will. When I was in the Lowlands of Scotland the other day, it was complained to me that a Scottish firm was leaving the Lowlands and going to the North-East Coast.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many people, men and women, respectively, were employed in the factories, in Sunderland, administered by the North-Eastern Trading Estates Limited on the latest available date.

At the end of September, 1958, 2,252 men and boys and 2,796 women and girls, making a total of 5,048, were employed in these factories.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that these figures are also disturbing? Has he seen the suggestion made by the Financial Times that, in view of the prospects for shipbuilding, the Government ought now to consider their Development Area policy regarding the shipbuilding areas? Will the President of the Board of Trade see that this is instigated immediately?

The figures are, in fact, a decrease of fourteen over the last four months—more or less stable. On the question whether the outlook for shipbuilding justifies the action proposed in the newspaper quoted by the hon. Member, I shall have to think about that.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on the establishment of new industrial enterprises in Stoke-on-Trent.

I have nothing new to report but the needs of North Staffordshire are brought to the attention of suitable firms.

Can the President give an assurance that he will give this matter high priority? Is he aware that the closing down of the great Royal Ordnance Factory at Swynnerton and the diversion of the extension of the Michelin factory elsewhere, and the imposition of a 30 per cent. Purchase Tax three years ago, has wounded this area considerably and something ought now to be done about it with great energy?

The hon. Member may be interested to know that, of more than 2,000 workers at Swynnerton, only 69 are on the unemployment register, and that the numbers of wholly unemployed in October were 2·5 per cent., which included an unusual number who were temporarily stopped on the day of the count.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps have been taken to implement the recommendations of the Committee on Weights and Measures Legislation which reported in 1951; and what further steps to implement their recommendations are contemplated in the present Session of Parliament.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what further implementation of the recommendations of the Hodgson Committee on Weights and Measures is proposed for the present Session.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to introduce legislation to implement the Hodgson Report.

Many trade and consumer organisations have been consulted about the Committee's recommendations and a Weights and Measures Bill will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time permits. My right hon. Friend intends to make regulations to deal with part of the field, but regrets that this will take a little more time.

Does my hon. Friend, whom I congratulate on answering his first Parliamentary Questions, know that the Angus Joint Weights and Measures Committee has some anxiety regarding the packaging of food, measures for drink and the tolerances for petrol pumps? Are these matters among the regulations which are to be dealt with this Session?

The regulations will be concerned with the retail sale of food and the marking of pre-packed foods. They will not include petrol.

In view of the fact that this Report was published in 1951 and that there is growing concern by house-wives as well as by retailers on the question of packaged goods other than foods, could not the Government speed up this legislation with the same haste as they speeded up the Bill which we discussed yesterday?

I realise that the Hodgson Committee reported in 1951; but its recommendations were very detailed and in many cases they presupposed considerable consultation. We have had to consult over ninety organisations and some of the consultations are still in progress.

Without wishing to embarrass the Parliamentary Secretary on his first day at the Box, may I ask whether he realises that his Answer is no advance whatever on the one given to me last June? Does he hope that by next week, when I have a Question down, we might get a stage further?

I cannot anticipate the date on which we will be able to introduce the regulations.

Would it be correct to assume that the trade organisations concerned have, in fact, given a great deal of co-operation and information?

Yes. In most cases that is entirely true.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the dangers of the use of subliminal techniques for advertising and other purposes; and if he will take steps to ban their use.

As I understand it, these techniques can be used in cinemas and on the television. Their use in cinemas would be subject to the local licensing authority, and as regards television. I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General to the right hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Ness Edwards).

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the very welcome lead given by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, which has declared these sinister techniques professionally unacceptable? Will he follow that lead and ban these techniques from all kinds of communication? Further to that, can he say what is being done about the importation of American horror films which use these techniques?

It is really not the Board of Trade's responsibility to ban these techniques from all forms of communication. I think my responsibility rests probably on the second part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, which referred to the import of films. If they contain these practices and they are found to be bad, we certainly shall see what can be done about it.

Are these subliminal techniques being used by the Prime Minister's personal advertising staff?

My right hon. Friend has no need of any extraordinary techniques.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the amount of the grant-in-aid made to the British Institute of Management in each year since its foundation; and whether it is now proposed to continue this grant.

As the Answer to the first part of the Question contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT. The Government have told the Institute that they are prepared, on certain conditions, and subject to Parliamentary approval, to make a final grant of £5,000 during the financial year 1959–60.

Can the President of the Board of Trade confirm that this organisation which for the last ten years has been preaching better management and methods to British industry has had to call in the organisation and methods department of a private firm to overhaul its own administration and structure, and are he and the Prime Minister flattered by having recently been made honorary fellows of the Institute?

I agree that the Institute has had a certain amount of internal difficulties. Of course, it was always the case that it knew that Government grants would taper off. I think they have continued rather longer than was first expected. I hope it will now be able to stand on its own feet. Perhaps the honorary fellowships of the Prime Minister and myself will help.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of the complete absence of tenders for Her Majesty's Dockyard, Sheerness, he will now include the Isle of Sheppey as an area ranking for assistance under the Distribution of Industry (Industrial Finance) Act.

The Admiralty is negotiating directly with certain firms which have shown an interest. If, unfortunately, the employment situation makes it necessary the island will be added to the list.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to advertisements by companies guaranteeing rapid and large returns to small savers who invest in breeding chinchillas; and if he will institute an enquiry into the activities of these advertisers with special reference, firstly, to the methods of grading chinchilla fur recognised by the fur trade, as compared with the methods envisaged by advertisers who are not members of the British Fur Breeders' Association and, secondly, to the state of the market for breeding chinchillas and for pelts.

I have just received copies of these advertisements and it will take a little time to consider them.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for that reply, may I ask him whether he will consider some means by which the resources of his Department could be brought to bear on what, in the case of some of these get-rich-quick advertisements, might prove on investigation to contain an element of fraud?

I have only just received these advertisements, and as far as I can see on preliminary investigation the question turns on whether it is true to say that these hardy vegetarian rodents are prolific breeders or not.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many new factories are now under construction in Development Areas.

At the end of September, 218 factories and factory extensions for manufacturing industry were under construction in the Development Areas.

Does the right hon. Gentleman think, in view of the serious increase in unemployment in the Development Areas in recent months, that this is a sufficient figure? If he does not think it is sufficient, has he plans to increase the number rapidly? Is he aware that the steel industry on Teesside stands ready at short notice to provide him with all the constructional steel he needs to multiply the factory programme several times?

Yes, I am looking into the question whether we can get some of our tenants in those areas to extend their factories.

How many are in the North-East?

The North-East is easily the best. It has 80 out of 218.

In view of his wartime experience of this, will the right hon. Gentleman consider not only the extension of existing factories but the building of advance factories?

I would if I thought that would be really useful, but in view of the present state of factory premises, which is very different from what it was just after the war, I think it is better to find a firm which wants a factory and to build the type of factory it wants.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he proposes to take with respect to the Report of the Monopolies Commission on imported timber.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade is meeting the Timber Trade Federation in the near future to hear representations about the Commission's findings. In the meantime I cannot make a statement.

Is not it the case that the original reference of this subject was as long ago as 1951, and was not it pretty clear quite early that the traders in imported timber intended to resist putting their house in order voluntarily? Therefore, is not it high time that an order was made by the President of the Board of Trade?

There are certain difficult aspects of this question, and I have asked the Parliamentary Secretary to discuss them fully with the timber trade. If it had not been for the change in the Parliamentary Secretaryship, I think we should have been able to have given an answer now.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the conference of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank at New Delhi.

The hon. Member will now have seen my right hon. Friend's statement during the debate on the Address on 3rd November.

Yes. I did not hear it, but I read that statement with very great interest. In view of the fact that the executive directors of the International Monetary Fund are not to meet until the end of this year, and that after that Parliamentary and Congressional approval, involving very great delay, will have to be given to their recommendations regarding the increased quotas, will the Government give an example of rapid action for these urgent needs of the under-developed countries?

The matter is being considered urgently by the respective executive boards, and I think we should rely on their work at this stage.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make the necessary financial provision to enable the British Museum Reading Room to remain open until 10 p.m. on week days.

No, Sir.

What is the point of building the greatest storehouse of knowledge in the word and then denying access to it by almost everyone who is in normal full-time employment? Is the hon. and learned Gentleman aware that the equivalent library in Moscow is open until midnight every night of the week, and that this suggestion would cost some £30,000 a year? Cannot we do better than that?

No. It would cost, I am advised, about £50,000 a year and would need 69 extra staff. The trustees would like to keep the Library open until 10 o'clock every evening, but it is not by any means very high on their list of priorities. There are other things they need to do more at the moment.

Would the Financial Secretary consider this again? Is not the British Museum one of the greatest libraries in the world and of great prestige value to this nation? Is not it highly desirable that foreign students as well as our own should be able to study there in the evenings?

Of course, it is perfectly true that this is one of the greatest libraries in the world. On the other hand, there are many competing claims on the trustees, and they cannot place this one highest on the list of things they want to do at the moment.

Does the Minister's answer to that supplementary question mean that the trustees can hope that some of their applications to him will be granted?

The right hon. Gentleman is a trustee. I do not think that he should necessarily make that inference, but if he has anything specifically in mind perhaps he will communicate with me.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has not increased the travel allowance beyond £100 for the period November, 1958, to November, 1959, for British subjects going abroad.

My right hon. Friend would like to ease the currency restrictions on travel abroad as soon as possible, but he has also to consider other claims on our resources.

While appreciating that, may I ask whether my hon. Friend realises what a bad impression it gives abroad that now, with all the money that we are supposed to have in our present financial position, it is still impossible for the ordinary man in the street or the businessman to get more than £100 unless he receives special permission?

My hon. Friend should remember the correspondingly good impression which has been created by our assumption of a number of other commitments.

While fully realising what my hon. Friend has said, but thinking that it ought to be discussed on the Adjournment, I wish to give notice that I hope to have the opportunity of raising the matter again.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what help has been given up till now, under the Distribution of Industry (Industrial Finance) Act, 1958, to firms seeking to establish factories in areas of specially high unemployment.

Since the Act came into operation 191 preliminary inquiries have resulted in 32 firm and eligible applications. Of these, 2 are being accepted, I has been rejected and the remaining 29 are still being examined.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what requests he has received from the British Pottery Manufacturers Federation that he should abolish the 15 per cent. Purchase Tax on pottery; and whether, in view of unemployment and short-time working in north Staffordshire, he will abolish the tax without delay.

The Federation recently wrote to my right hon. Friend and in reply he has assured it that he will keep in mind the information it sent. There is nothing I can add to that reply.

Can the hon. Gentleman's right hon. Friend remember that the original imposition of the tax caused a great deal of harm and did not bring in the revenue which it was thought it would produce? Would not it be a good thing to abolish now a tax which was stupid and which did very little good but a great deal of harm?

I will convey what the hon. Member has said to my right hon. Friend.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why, under his regulations, advertisements forming part of a campaign against public ownership have been allowed to firms as a trading expense to be set against taxable income.

An allowance for expenditure of this kind is only made where satisfies the ordinary Schedule D expenses rule, that is, that the expenditure was incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the taxpayer's trade and was not of a capital nature.

Does not the hon. and learned Gentleman think that it is stretching matters a bit to claim that expenditure on this highly political campaign is expenditure wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the company's trade? Secondly, will he consider requiring all public limited companies to state separately in their public accounts expenditure of a political nature?

In reply to the first part of the hon. Member's supplementary question, I would say that the accounts in question have not yet been carried in to the Inland Revenue; the point has not, therefore, yet arisen whether such expenses are deductible or not. As I told the hon. Member in reply to a Question earlier this year, it does not necessarily follow from the Tate and Lyle case that expenses would be deductible. As to the second part of his supplementary question, perhaps the hon. Gentleman will be good enough to put a Question on the Order Paper.

If it is found on examination that these expenses for political purposes are deductible, and as this is obviously contrary to the general public interest, may we have an assurance that steps will be taken by the Government to ensure that such expenses shall not be deductible for tax purposes?

The general rule is that money which is laid out for political purposes is not a deductible expense.

May we have an assurance that Richard Thomas and Baldwins, and other firms which still remain in national ownership, are lot engaging in this campaign?

No, Sir. I cannot discuss the affairs of any individual taxpaying concern.

On a point of order. May I seek your guidance, Mr. Speaker? I have risen each time, but at least two of the supplementary questions on this highly contentious matter have been put by Privy Councillors. I wish to ask a question.

This is not a debate. The hon. Member should put a Question on the Order Paper.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the large sums now being paid by steel companies out of what would otherwise be taxable profits, for a campaign against steel nationalisation, if he will subject such expenditure to tax.

There is a rigid rule against the disclosure of the details of the tax liabilities of individual concerns. In these circumstances, I can neither confirm nor deny the assumptions that underlie the hon. Member's Question. On the substance of the matter, I have nothing to add to my Answer to his previous Question.

If these very large sums had been donated directly to the Conservative Party for a similar campaign against public ownership, would not they then have been subject to tax?

That seems to me both hypothetical and to be referring to the affairs of an individual taxpayer.

Would my hon. and learned Friend agree, in respect of both this and the previous Question, that an insurance premium against burglary is a perfectly satisfactory payment?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has studied the Cohen Report; and if he is now prepared to say whether he accepts the view of the Council that if price inflation is to be averted the pressure for goods and labour must be restricted.

Yes, Sir. In answer to the second part of the Question, post-war experience of periods of peak demand provides substance for the Council's view, but my right hon. Friend does not despair of securing the co-operation of all concerned in finding a middle way.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Prime Minister has already paid tribute to the good luck which has favoured him and his Government in achieving the present state of favourable reserves? Will he now pay tribute to the help which he has received from the working class, through unemployment created by his policies?

I think that we should all be glad to pay tribute to everybody concerned for work that has been done.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the need for re-expansion of production and employment, he will speed up the repayment of post-war credits.

Last Monday my right hon. Friend reviewed the steps already taken by the Government to stimulate the resumption of expansion, and assured the House that we shall continue to take such action as the situation demands. I have nothing to add to that statement.

But as British industry still has more slack capacity than at any time since the war, would not this be a very suitable moment for relaxation of post-war credits?

No, Sir, I do not think so.

In this new period of expansion when money is to be spent in stimulating industry, may I ask my hon. Friend whether any of that money will come to the shipbuilding and shipping areas and to the fishing ports, or is it all to go to general industry? We should like a little share of it, please.

I hardly think that supplementary question arises out of the main Question.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the hardships experienced by many to whom the State owes money under the postwar credit scheme, he will take steps to make some of this money available in such cases.

I am afraid the term "hardship" might cover so many widely differing types of case that it could not be adopted as a criterion for repayment of post-war credits.

Will the hon. and learned Gentleman consider the question of dealing with cases of financial embarrassment? Does not he consider it highly unfair that an individual who is financially embarrassed should be owed money by the Government while he himself may be put in a very serious position owing to the fact that he cannot meet his current debts? Cannot the hon. and learned Gentleman devise some way of dealing with that position?

One comes across many cases of the sort which the hon. Gentleman has mentioned which are bound to arouse sympathy. The question has been examined from this angle by successive Chancellors of the Exchequer, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that it has been quite impossible to find a satisfactory criterion.

Would not the Minister agree that he could add administrative economy to sympathy if he would repay post-war credits especially to widows on the death of their husbands? Is not it a fact that there is considerable administrative action involved in passing these credits through probate and that it would be a convenient opportunity to make repayment instead of, as at present, charging widows death duties on their husbands' post-war credits which they have not got?

May I first dispute the assumption in the last part of the hon. Lady's supplementary question? Death duties are not payable on post-war credits. As regards the other point, any repayment of post-war credits leads to an administrative saving but I am sure the hon. Lady will see that if one said merely that, on the ground of hardship, widows should be repaid on the death of the husbands there would be very many much harder cases which would be left outside.

May we take it that the Minister now recognises that there is a great deal of hardship resulting from the failure to repay post-war credits? Will not he recognise that the reason given previously for having failed to deal with this problem was the general state of the Exchequer? Now, however, that we are moving into a period in which the Government are anxious to give away money and to increase spending power, is not this an ideal opportunity for tackling this problem again and relaxing the existing system in order to overcome these large numbers of individual cases of hardship?

No, Sir. The question of repayment on the ground of hardship has been considered on its merits and quite irrespective of the desirability of inflationary or deflationary moves. I know the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Battersea, North (Mr. Jay) will bear me out that it has been found quite impracticable.

Will my hon. and learned Friend give an undertaking that when payments are due on a given date—legitimate payments—he will liven up his Department to pay them? Recently I have had cases of repayment being six months overdue, when poor people could not get their money. Will the Minister issue an instruction that these matters are to be dealt with promptly and efficiently?

The Inland Revenue makes every attempt to deal with repayment as rapidly as possible, but in some cases there is delay in the making of the claims. In other cases the certificates have been lost, and considerable trouble is taken in the Inland Revenue to find copies.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he proposes to increase the purchasing grants of the National and Tate Galleries to a level that will bear some relationship to the rising cost of works of art and to the dignity and value of these institutions.

My right hon. Friend has this matter under consideration.