asked the Secretary of State for Air (1) whether, before accepting any tender for the sale of Perranporth Airfield, he will take into account the fact that the Cornwall Gliding and Flying Club is the only one of its kind in Cornwall and will be deprived of facilities for flying unless some reservations in the conditions of sale are made;(2) whether, before accepting any tender for the sale of Perranporth Airfield, he will give careful consideration to a petition signed by thousands of people praying that he will not do anything to jeopardise the future of the very sucessful Cornish Gliding and Flying Club.

We have now accepted a tender. I understand that the gentleman who made it is prepared to allow the Cornish Gliding and Flying Club to continue to use the airfield.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement of the policy of the Government in relation to the present and future constitutional positions of Sierra Leone and Gambia, respectively.

In Sierra Leone certain changes have recently been introduced and copies of the dispatches which I then exchanged with the Governor have been placed in the Library of the House. I have nothing further to add.In the Gambia informal consultations have been going on since the new Governor arrived regarding possible amendments of the constitution, but I have not so far received recommendations from him.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the maximum pensions, including increases under the relevant Pensions (Increase) Acts, now payable to male pensioners who retired on 1st October, 1949, after 40 years' pensionable service, from the Civil Service grades of clerical officer, executive officer, higher executive officer, senior executive officer, chief executive officer, principal, and assistant secretary, respectively, and the corresponding pensions payable on retirements dating from 1st October, 1958.

The figures are as follows:

asked the Minister of Health to what degree there is under-staffing in the mental hospitals of Wales and Monmouthshire.

There is no marked shortage of staff at mental hospitals in Wales and Monmouthshire.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the increasing number of those who are resident in areas where fluoridation has taken place who feel that they are being unjustly treated, and that the practice is dangerous and lacks the merit with which some give it credit; and if he will take steps to ensure that every water supply authority is in possession of all available information on this question.

I am not aware of any such increase. The best available expert advice is that the process is highly effective in reducing the incidence of dental decay, and that there is no sound evidence of its being dangerous to health. I will certainly see to it that any water supply authority proposing to undertake the fluoridation of water supplies is provided with all the available relevant information.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he proposes to take to safeguard the lives of building workers, especially spidermen; and when he proposes to introduce legislation designed to ensure the safety of all building workers.

The Factories Acts cover building operations and work of engineering construction as defined in Section 152 of the Act of 1937 to the extent indicated in Sections 107 and 108 of that Act. My right hon. Friend is considering whether to make regulations, under the powers given him by Section 152, to extend the definition of work of engineering construction in that Section to include more of the types of work on which spidermen are engaged.Regulations have been made under Section 60 of the Act of 1937 to safeguard workers engaged in building operations, namely, the Building (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations, 1948, and the amending regulations of 1952 and 1958. Regulations were also made under that Section earlier this year to safeguard workers employed on work of engineering construction and working in compressed air. My right hon. Friend hopes soon to make proposals for further regulations relating to diving operations carried out on work of engineering construction. The question of making regulations relating to other aspects of work of engineering construction is under active consideration.Following discussions at the Joint Advisory Committee on Safety and Health in the Building and Civil Engineering Industries, consideration is being given to the improvement of standards of safety in these industries through the work of safety officers and other persons with responsibilities under the Building Regulations.Also on the recommendation of the Joint Advisory Committee, close attention is being paid, in consultation with representatives of the industries and the Ministry of Education, to ways and means to improve safety training in these industries. In particular my Department is co-operating with the London Building arid Engineering Contractors Accident Prevention Group which is arranging a series of safety training courses for builders' and contractors' foremen at the Government Training Centre. Enfield, the first of which will start on 8th December this year.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were employed in advertising in the United Kingdom at the latest convenient date.

I regret this information is not available. Those employed in advertising cannot be distinguished in the statistics of employment from workers in a number of other professional and business activities.

asked the Paymaster-General how many men are employed at the Douglas West, Douglas Castle, Douglas Ponfeigh, Auchlochan, and Kingshill collieries respectively, in the County of Lanark; and what were the comparable figures in June, 1955.

The required particulars are given below:

asked the Postmaster-General how many television receiving licences are held in each of the thirteen counties of Wales.

On 31st October, 1958, the figures for Wales and Monmouthshire were as follows:

asked the Postmaster-General how many television receiving licences are held in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the various English regions, respectively; and what percentage of the population these figures represent in each case.

The latest available figures, based on the geographical distribution which I think the hon. Member has in mind, are those for 31st March, 1958, shown by the B.B.C, in its Annual Report and Accounts.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will cause a study to be made through the Social Survey Division of the Central Office of Information of the extent and spread of drinking in Scotland, with particular reference to the phenomena associated with Sunday drinking.

The inquiry to which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary referred in replying to the hon. Member for Brierley Hill (Mr. Simmons) on 13th November will extend to Scotland. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State does not consider that any survey of wider scope would be useful at present.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the regulations which it is intended to lay before Parliament in the near future with regard to weights and measures, are to be entirely confined to regulations dealing with foodstuffs and will not concern other commodities.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what action he is taking to protect the level crossing at Funtham's Lane, near Whittle-sea, where a fatal accident took place on 27th April, 1958, by automatically operated half-barriers, as recommended in the official report on the accident.

The level crossing at Funtham's Lane is an occupation crossing leading to two brickfields. The road over the crossing is not legally a public thoroughfare but is used extensively by commercial motor traffic, which has steadily grown in recent years. Following the Inspecting Officer's report on this accident, immediate steps were taken by the British Transport Commission to erect a new warning notice board on the approach to the crossing from the main road and to make other alterations as recommended in the report. As regards the crossing itself, plans and estimates for two alternative schemes, providing in the one case for automatic half-barriers and in the other for full barriers operated by gatemen, have been prepared and are now under consideration by the Commission. If arrangements can be made to provide automatic half-barriers it would be necessary for the Commission to seek special powers from Parliament. I will do my best to facilitate whichever solution is found suitable.