asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that the County Borough of Oldham, and the area immediately surrounding it, now has one of the highest figures of unemployment in England, he will make a visit to the town to discuss with the civic, trade union, and commercial leaders the question of joint and cooperative efforts to deal with the situation.

The rate for wholly unemployed in Oldham is less than the national average though there are a large number of temporarily stopped. I am watching the situation and if it appears to me likely that a meeting of the kind suggested would help either I or the Parliamentary Secretary will convene such a meeting.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether there has yet been any increase in the sales of British books to Israel since January, 1957, as the result of his efforts to promote their export; and whether he will now consider making special arrangements with the Government of Israel which will help to meet the demand for British books.

In the first nine months of 1958 exports of books to Israel other than by parcel post, amounted to £6,853 as compared with £3,680 in the same period in 1956. I understand that the total trade in books amounts to about £50,000 a year.On the question of special arrangements to promote exports of British books, I would refer my hon. Friend to the general statement by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 3rd November.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to encourage industry to go to Fife, especially considering the recent closures of textile and other mills there, as well as the increasing difficulties of school leavers and women in securing employment.

My Department brings the area to the attention of companies proposing developments, especially those which employ women.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that investors in the Mias Group of companies have requested that an investigation be made into the financial affairs of this group of companies, as provided for under the Companies Act; and whether he will therefore order such an inquiry.

I have received a letter this morning requesting such an investigation. This is under consideration.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the results of, and conclusions drawn from, the most recent radioactivity tests in the higher altitudes of the Highlands and Islands, with particular reference to samples, involving deer, sheep and other living creatures; and if he will name the localities, showing the highest levels.

The hon. Member is no doubt referring to a recent report on the radioactivity in the antlers of deer. The small quantity of radioactivity stated to be in these antlers is not unexpected, in view of measurements of radio-activity in the bones of animals from hill areas already reported. I have at present no evidence of the existence of any special hazard in the Highlands and Islands.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware of the confusion created in the minds of many people on the question of the abolition of the atom bomb as a result of statements made by the Governments of both Great Britain and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics asserting that each of them are anxious to abolish the tests and each condemning the other as the cause of their continuation; and if he will take steps to publish the correspondence which has passed between the two countries on this subject for the past two years so that the confusion may be removed.

I am aware that such confusion may exist, but not, I think, as a result of statements made by Her Majesty's Government. Most of the correspondence with the Soviet Government on this matter has already appeared in official publications. I will, with permission, circulate a list of these in the Official Report. Some of the recent correspondence has not been officially published but has appeared in the Press and as United Nations documents. If the House so desires, I will be glad to arrange for it to be presented as a further White Paper.Following is the list:

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware of the increasing delay in Ministerial replies to Members' correspondence; and whether he will set up a Departmental Committee to inquire into the cause and to propose remedies.

No. I am not aware of any increasing delay of this kind, but if the hon. Gentleman will let me know of any instance of unreasonable delay, I will look into that.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he proposes to publish the Report of the Committee appointed by him in July, 1957, under the chairmanship of Dr. R. P. Linstead, to review the functions of the Government Chemists' Department.

I have no evidence that this Report is of sufficient general interest to justify the expense of publication. I should be quite willing to provide the hon. Member with a summary of the recommendations, if he so wishes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the present membership of the Iron and Steel Holding and Realisation Agency.

The Chairman is Sir Herbert Brittain. The members are Mr. A. C. Bull, Sir Thomas Chadwick, Sir Thomas Frazer and Mr. C. P. L. Whisnaw.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will set out the pensions in 1952, the 1956 increases, and the amount of loss in purchasing power since 1952 in spite of the increases, respectively, accruing to teachers, civil servants, nurses, railwaymen, miners, post office workers, police, and local government employees, respectively, in similar form to the table sent to him by the hon. Member for Tynemouth.

1. The following is the information in relation to those public servants mentioned in the Question to whom the Pensions (Increase) Acts apply; that is, teachers, civil servants (including Post Office workers), nurses under the National Health Service Superannuation Scheme, police and local government employees:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors have resulted in the expenditure on gross fixed investment in public authorities in 1957–58 amounting to £1,425 million, as compared with the estimate of £1,500 million made in September 1957, and the estimate of £1,502 million for the year 1957, as indicated in the National Income Blue Book.

Prices paid by public authorities for capital goods rose at a slower rate in 1957 than had been expected. This accounts for about half the difference between the present estimate of the out-turn and the forecast made by my predecessor a year ago. The remainder of the difference is due mainly to the fact that the rate of miscellaneous investment expenditure by local authorities did not in the event rise as fast that year as had been expected.The coverage of these figures differs from those used in the National Income Blue Book in several important respects; the figure which I used referred to the financial year, whereas the National Income Blue Book deals with the calendar year. Moreover, the latter includes a number of items excluded from my estimates, notably, investment in Northern Ireland, the purchase of land and buildings and the investment by that part of the steel industry which is not yet denationalised.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now allow registered shares to be converted into bearer form.

I think that it would be reasonable to allow a company to convert its registered shares into bearer form if it could show good reason for this, if the bearer share warrants would be of small denomination, and provided that the arrangements would be such as to ensure that capital could not be exported from this country without Treasury consent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statment on the case of Mr. Joseph Miscallef Stafrace, editor of Is-Sebh, the daily newspaper of the Malta Labour Party.

As both cases in which Mr. Stafrace is involved as editor of Is-Sebh, are still sub judice I am unable to make any statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will arrange for the early removal of convicted terrorists from Cyprus to other places of confinement outside the Colony.

A number of convicted territorists have already been transferred from Cyprus to Her Majesty's prisons in the United Kingdom and arrangements have been made for further transfers should this become necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give particulars of television broadcasts in Cyprus, including the hours of broadcasts, the languages used, and the types of programmes.

The Cyprus Television Service operates on three evenings a week from 7 p.m. to approximately 10.10 p.m.—a total of about 9½ hours a week. Greek, Turkish and English are the languages used. The programmes consist of newsreels, documentary and entertainment films and local studio productions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of television receiving licences issued to date in Cyprus, and to give a breakdown of the numbers of licences issued to Greek Cypriots, and Turkish Cypriots.

I am consulting the Governor and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made in drawing up electoral rolls on a communal basis in Cyprus; and when it is proposed that elections to the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Houses of Representatives shall take place.

Preliminary lists of Turkish voters have been prepared, but the final rolls cannot be completed until the constituency boundaries have been determined following discussion with the representatives of the Turkish Government and the Turkish Cypriot community. Preparation of preliminary lists of Greek Cypriot voters is also going ahead. It will not be possible to hold elections for either House of Representatives until the final electoral rolls and the necessary constitutional instruments are ready.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what proposals he now has for ensuring the safety of civilians in Cyprus.

Close liaison has been established between United Kingdom civilians and district committees. Existing measures of protection have been intensified and new ones introduced.The hon. Member will not expect me to go into detail which would disclose the intentions of the security authorities. Briefly, protection is being given along specified roads used by United Kingdom civilians, special protection is being provided at places of work and in markets and arms are being issued to civilians competent to use them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what proposals are being made by the Kenya Government for Africans to be given freehold title to land; and to what extent encouragement will be given to co-operative land ownership where necessary to ensure efficient land use.

An official Working Party, whose Report I have placed in the Library, has recommended the systematic registration of all land interests in areas of native land where the idea of individual ownership has gained sufficient acceptance among the Africans, and the conversion of rights of full ownership, which exist under native customary law, into freehold by registration. Subordinate rights will, however, be fully safeguarded. The Kenya Government have accepted these recommendations in principle.Under the proposed law there will be no bar to numbers of small owners combining their land interests and transferring them to co-operative ownership, provided the local control board agrees; this board will consist mainly of local Africans. Cooperative societies as such, however, have no rights in land under customary law and so cannot initially be registered as owners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he has taken to stimulate a study of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in schools and universities in the Colonies; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies to his Questions on 3rd and 15th July last. Universities and University Colleges in the Colonies are autonomous academic bodies for whose curricula I have no responsibility.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the anxiety and expense caused to farmers in the Sparsholt, Littleton and Crawley areas by repeated failures of the electricity supply; and what steps he is taking to secure a supply of electricity adequate for the agricultural industry in this district.

I was not aware of the difficulties to which my hon. Friend refers until he wrote to me a few days ago and I am sorry about them. My right hon. Friend cannot intervene in the operations of Electricity Boards, but he is calling the matter to the attention of my noble Friend the Minister of Power.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the total amounts of the advances made by the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation to finance new buildings and fixed equipment in each of the years 1951–58.

The following statement shows for each year the total loans which my right hon. Friend is informed were made by the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation and also the total of those made specifically for the improvement of fixed equipment. In addition, loans were made for paying off existing mortgage or bank loans, of which an unknown proportion would have been raised originally to finance such improvements, and again some part of loans made for working capital would not doubt have been used for the improvement of fixed equipment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police constables and sergeants who retired before 1945 are receiving smaller pensions than those retiring today; and what would be the annual cost to grant all police officers the same pension according to their rank, irrespective of when they retired.

The specific information asked for is not available; but it can be assumed that all constables and sergeants who retired before 1945 are receiving smaller pensions than officers with comparable service retiring at present. The increases authorised by the Pensions (Increase) Acts are, of course, available to them on the same conditions as to other public service pensioners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the fact that although it is illegal to sell cigarettes to children, they can, and do, purchase cigarettes freely from automatic machines, and that this goes far to undo the propaganda that is carried out in schools; and whether he will introduce legislation to make the sale of cigarettes from automatic machines illegal.

Section 7 (2) of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933, enables a summary court, if satisfied on complaint that any automatic machine for the sale of tobacco is being extensively used by persons apparently under the age of 16, to order precautions to be taken to prevent the machine being so used or, if necessary, its removal. On the information before me I do not feel justified in proposing a further restriction.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the concern felt by those connected with the cinema industry and various children's welfare and guidance organisations at his refusal to take the necessary action to form a National Children's Cinema Council; and whether he will reconsider this decision.

No. A voluntary Consultative Cinema Committee was formed in 1952 comprising representatives of the British Board of Film Censors, the cinema industry and the local licensing authorities, with an advisory subcommittee including persons specially interested in the welfare of children. So far as I am aware, this machinery is generally considered to be satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the estimated net movement of immigrants into the United Kingdom from India, Pakistan, and the Caribbean countries, respectively, during 1958 to the latest date available.

The net inward movement for the ten months ended 31st October, 1958, is roughly estimated to have been as follows: India, 6,000; Pakistan, 4,700; Caribbean countries, 14,300.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is now in a position to state the nature and personnel of the committee of inquiry which he promised to institute with reference to the increase in youthful delinquency and drunkenness.

I am arranging for the Social Survey Division of the Central Office of Information to carry out an investigation among police forces in selected areas into the continuing increase in the number of offences of drunkenness and to make a report to me. The investigation will cover all age groups, and not only offences by young persons.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what further action he will take to increase educational liaison within the Commonwealth.

My hon. Friend will have seen from the Report of the Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference (Cmnd. 539) that a Commonwealth Education Conference will be held in the United Kingdom next year to formulate a new scheme for Commonwealth scholarships and fellowships; to review the existing arrangements for cooperation between Commonwealth countries in educational matters and to make recommendations for improvements or expansion where necessary. I look forward therefore to greatly increased liaison within the Common-wealth as the plans agreed on at Montreal are put into operation.

asked the Minister of Education when the White Paper containing the Government's proposals for improvements in secondary education will be published.

asked the Minister of Education when the White Paper on the building of new schools will be published.

Shortly.

asked the Minister of Education from which year the proposed five-year plan of school building will operate.

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

asked the Minister of Education what progress he has made with his discussions with his right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour about a further extension of the arrangements for deferment from National Service of teachers.

I cannot at present add anything to what I told the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Sorensen) last week.

asked the Minister of Education how many local education authorities have, at the latest convenient date, adopted in full the recommendations of A.M. 563; how many have adopted these recommendations in part only; and, of those who have adopted only part of the recommendations, how many have adopted the recommendations on the payment of vocation allowances.

Of the 146 local education authorities, 87 have accepted all the recommendations of A.M. 563; and 42 have accepted most of them, including the standard figures of maintenance and the income scale. The arrangements of the remaining 17 authorities are still under consideration.One hundred and six authorities, including 19 of the 42 mentioned above, have accepted without modification the recommendations on vacation grants.

asked the Minister of Education what recommendations he has recently received about training more teachers; on what estimates he based his decision on the number of extra training places required; and what assumption he made about the prospect of reducing the size of classes in the next few years.

The National Advisory Council on the Training and Supply of Teachers recently recommended the provision of 16,000 training college places. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the letter in which I explained to the Chairman of the Council the reasons why I reached the conclusion that the right immediate course was to undertake a programme of expansion to add 12,000 places by the autumn of 1962. On the last part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to my Answer last week to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mr. Moss).

asked the Minister of Education what additions to the school building programme in Newcastle-under-Lyme he has made in the current year; and what further proposals submitted by the education committee of the excepted district he has under consideration.

The project added to the 1959–60 building programme is the second instalment of Bursley Way County Primary School. The Answer to the second part of the Question is, "None, at present."

asked the Postmaster-General how many telephones have been installed in the Epsom division within the past twelve months.

In the five exchange areas mainly concerned, 979 telephones were installed in the twelve months ended 30th September, 1958.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what consideration is being given to M. Spaak's proposals for an interim settlement in Cyrus; in what respects they differed from Her Majesty's Government's plan; and whether the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's assistance is still being sought.

As the White Paper on the subject makes clear, Her Majesty's Government agreed to discuss at the proposed international conference their own plan and any amendments suggested to it, including M. Spaak's memorandum of 24th September. That remains our position.M. Spaak's memorandum of 24th September differed from our own announced policy principally in suggesting the creation not only of two communal assemblies but also of a single representative institution, and in recommending that the Governor should be assisted in his executive task by the Presidents of the two Communal Houses of Representatives.The discussion on Cyprus in the North Atlantic Council is at present suspended. We are ready to resume it as soon as it seems useful to do so.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what would be the cost, in 1959 and 1960, respectively, of increasing the retirement pension to 60s. in the case of the single pensioner and to 91s. in the case of the retired couple.

The cost would be £114 million in the financial year 1959–60 and £116 million in 1960–61. The cost would rise to £164 million in 1981–82. If other National Insurance benefits were increased correspondingly, the total cost would be £154 million in 1959–60 and £157 million in 1960–61, rising to £209 million in 1981–82.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when work will start on the reconstruction of the Roy Bridge, Tulloch, section of the Spean Bridge-Newtonmore Road, which has already been approved by his Department.

I understand that Inverness County Council hopes to start work on this scheme next spring, provided that there are no unforeseen difficulties in land acquisition.