asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will take the necessary action to amend the 1948 Companies Act to ensure that all private companies shall, on the written request of 10 or more shareholders, or of the holder of more than£100 of the capital, issue an audited balance sheet of the company.

The Act already gives all shareholders and debenture holders in every company the right to receive a copy of the audited accounts, including the balance sheet. Other creditors, including depositors, do not have this particular right but, as my right hon. Friend explained to the hon. Member in his reply on 20th November, unpaid creditors can petition the Court for the winding up of the company.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the increase in unemployment in the Northern Region; and what steps are being taken by his Department, in accordance with the Distribution of Industry Act, to offset this increase.

My right hon. Friend is watching figures for employment in all regions and he will add to the list of places for which financial assistance is available, should the returns make this necessary. In the Northern Region, though there has been some increase in unemployment, there are no places, apart from Scarborough and Whitby where unemployment is so high and persistent as to justify including them on the list.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state the reasons that mirrors are still subject to Purchase Tax at 30 per cent. whereas all other domestic furniture is taxed either at 15 per cent. or 5 per cent. regardless of cost or luxury aspects; and whether he will deal with this anomaly at an early date.

The comparison made by my hon. Friend is one-sided. Mirrors as such are taxed at the same rate as brushes, combs and other toilet articles; and also as pictures, prints and domestic ornaments. I do not see any anomaly in this.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the burden imposed on painters because frames for their pictures are subject to Purchase Tax at 30 per cent. unless the mouldings thereof are more than three inches wide; and whether, in view of the desirability of assisting the arts rather than penalising them in this way, he will review this section of the purchase tax at an early date and take remedial action.

No. Picture frames three inches or more in width were exempted, after consultation with the Royal Academy, in order to assist painters. Narrower frames are as a class indistinguishable from those generally used to frame photographs or prints and they must remain taxable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the amount of contributions under the new pension scheme upon which it was estimated that the private section of employers would receive£140 million in tax relief; and, under the present Income Tax and Profits Tax, what tax relief the private sector of employers is now receiving in relation to their contributions to the National Health Service and the National Insurance Industrial Injuries Act.

About£300 million contributions and£20 million relief.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that, since the resources of the Public Works Loan Board are denied to many local authorities and access to the stock market remains rigidly controlled, rates of interest in the only alternative channel open to them, namely, the mortgage market, remain artificially high, if he will now consider making the facilities of the Board available to all local authorities for the purpose of house building or loans for house purchase at rates of interest and subject to conditions not less favourable than those he has granted to building societies.

It is difficult to compare the fixed-interest rate on Public Works Loan Board loans to local authorities with the variable-interest charge proposed in the recent White Paper for Exchequer loans to building societies. In present conditions, the latter charge for 20-year loans would be a little below the former, but this might not always be so.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he anticipates that the last of the Government's creditors under the post-war credit scheme will be repaid provided there is no change in the present system of settlement.

It is estimated that if the present rules were not changed, all but about 2 per cent. of the post-war credits originally outstanding would have been repaid by 1988.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has recently received from interested organisations and persons in regard to preparing appropriate measures in good time for ending unrestricted hire purchase in the event of consumer demand becoming excessive; and if he will make a statement.

I have not received any such representations and see no need to make any statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will have an examination made of the fuel-saving properties of the domestic heat pump with a view to a reconsideration of the present Purchase Tax on these appliances.

I am aware of the properties of the heat pump, but I do not think it would be right to single it out for a fiscal privilege over competitive kinds of electric heater or refrigerator.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has had from the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance (Scotland Branch); and what answer he has made.

I have seen copies of a resolution recently adopted by this organisation demanding compensation for the decline in the value of civil service pensions due to past inflation. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a letter which explains why I do not consider such special treatment to be justified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange for the Colonial Development Corporation to be able to borrow money at a lower rate of interest.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of 28th November to the hon. Member for Dover (Mr. Arbuthnot).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now take steps to reduce long-term rates of interest which have been kept at a high level by large sales of Government stock.

I cannot accept the implication of this Question. The level and movements of the long-term rate of interest reflect fundamental conditions in the capital market.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he will take steps to make the resources of the Public Works Loan Board available to local authorities on a much larger scale than at present;(2) whether he will make a substantial reduction in the rates of interest charged to local authorities for loans from the Public Works Loan Board.

The Board lends to local authorities to the extent that they are unable to raise capital in the open market, and its interest rates reflect those prevailing in the market for local authority borrowing, I see no need for any change in these arrangements which fully provide for local authority requirements.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many building societies are eliminated from qualifying for trusteeship status by the terms laid down in the White Paper on House Purchase; and what proportion of the whole is represented by their assets.

It is not possible within the limits of a Parliamentary answer to deal satisfactorily with questions which arise from the regulations which will govern the qualification of building societies for trustee status, and I would ask my hon. Friend to await the discussions on the Bill.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the diversion of trade which has taken place from the unregistered retail stationer because of the Purchase Tax-free authorisation recently given to hospital authorities under the National Health Service; and what consultations he has had with the Stationers' Association of Great Britain in this matter.

Yes. The Stationers' Association wrote to me on this matter on 4th November, and I shall be replying within the next few days.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what gain accrues to Her Majesty's Treasury from setting off admitted maintenance claims and future payments of Schedule A Income Tax.

None. Repayments to which a taxpayer is already entitled are not withheld to be set against tax liabilities which are not yet due.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will ask the housing departments of local authorities for information regarding the number of persons in their areas who received notice to quit under the Rent Act on 6th October, 1958.

Local authorities are not in a position to provide this information. Even if they were, it would not be very useful. Service of notice to quit has often been followed by agreement on a new tenancy, and even where no agreement is reached the notice cannot be enforced without the tenant having an opportunity of asking the court to postpone its operation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many dwellinghouses, including farmhouses, in the county of Anglesey are without a piped water supply; and what percentage this forms of all houses.

About 5,000 dwelling-houses in Anglesey, or 30 per cent. of the total, have not yet a piped water supply.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures giving the national average rent and rates charged by local authorities for each of the months from January, 1951, until December, 1951, compared with January, 1958, until the latest convenient stated monthly date, using as the basis January, 1951, being equal to 100.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will include in proposed legislation with regard to house purchase a provision that the sum required for a deposit on a house shall include the legal and conveyance charges.

No.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will include in the proposed Bill on house purchase a provision to prevent mortgagees using Government funds from charging introduction fees.

As explained in the White Paper "House Purchase", no building society using Government funds will be able to require payment of a premium or to make any other charge as consideration for an advance on mortgage

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures giving the national overall figures for the repair and maintenance of old houses, for each of the months of January 1951 until December 1951, compared with January 1958 until the latest convenient stated monthly date, using as the basis January 1951 being equal to 100.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what liaison exists between his Department and that of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation in respect of providing for accommodation for householders whose houses have to be demolished in connection with new or expanded roadways; and, in particular, what consultations he has had with the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation in regard to providing such accommodation for residents likely to be affected in Leyton by the Eastern Avenue Extension.

Consultation on such matters takes place as necessary between my Department and the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. In the case of the Eastern Avenue Extension, no need to consult has yet arisen.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what housing authorities, when sending periodic statistical information to his Department in respect of house accommodation, include the number of adults and children given temporary accommodation owing to eviction and other causes; and what approximately is the number so accommodated.

Local authorities do not send this information to my Department. Temporary accommodation would normally be provided by the welfare authority, not the housing authority.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (1) why he went against the advice of his inspector and the local urban district council and gave permission for a petrol station to be built on the Kirby Road, near Frinton-on-Sea;(2) if he will revoke his decision to allow a petrol station in Kirby Road, near Frinton-on-Sea.

The Inspector took the view that, although the site was itself suitable for a petrol filling station, permission should be withheld because of the importance of preserving the gap between Frinton and Kirby Cross. I felt unable to accept the view, however, that the use of this site on the edge of Frinton would prejudice the local authority's sound aim of preventing the coalition of Frinton with Kirby Green, and I decided therefore that the objection referred to by the Inspector was not a sufficiently strong reason for holding that the public interest required the refusal of permission. My decision was reached after an inquiry at which all the arguments for and against the proposal were fully and clearly stated, and I am not prepared to revoke it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what officials of his Department, after his inspector had reported, visited the site proposed for the petrol station in Kirby Road, near Frinton-on-Sea.

None.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (1) if he is aware of the conditions under which many tenants are living in the Market Square, numbers one to five clearance areas, in the borough of Jarrow; and if he will expedite his decision on this matter, and thus enable the local authority to get on with the work;(2) what are the reasons for his delay in making a decision with regard to the borough of Jarrow's Market Square, numbers one to five clearance areas Compulsory Purchase Order, 1957.

The Order was a complicated one, there were many objections to it, and it involved difficult issues going beyond the question of the unfitness of the properties in the clearance areas. Nevertheless, I regret that consideration of the Order has taken longer than it should, and I am seeing to it that my decision will be sent to the Council this week.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what is, approximately, the number of elderly persons who have been provided by local authorities with smaller accommodation in exchange for their previous residences during the past five years, and, approximately, the total number of small housing units for this purpose erected or made available by local authorities since 1946.

No information is available about the number of elderly persons who have been provided with smaller accommodation in exchange for their previous residences. Particulars of the number of one-bedroom dwellings provided by local authorities can be found in the Housing Returns. The total since the end of the war is nearly 150,000, and the number is increasing rapidly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the percentage of unemployed in the island of Malta; how this compares with a year ago; and what steps are being taken to introduce now industries to absorb the workless.

About 3·5 per cent. of the working population was estimated to be unemployed at the end of 1957. The provisional comparable figure for October, 1958, is about 3·7 per cent. As regards the third part of the Question many measures, including the conversion of the Dockyard, are being taken to promote Malta's industrial development.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the findings of the Committee of Inquiry into the Gwembe disturbances in Northern Rhodesia.

Copies of the Report of the Commission have been placed in the Library of the House. The conclusions and recommendations are summarised under 20 heads in Chapter XIII. Hon. Members will note with satisfaction that the Committee found that no adverse reflection upon the conduct of the police in relation to the Chisamu incident would be warranted and that the procedure adopted and applied to solve the problem of resettlement was wholly correct.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the progress made in building the new Bridge of Don, Aberdeen; when it will be completed; and what arrangements he has made for the opening ceremony.

It is expected that the bridge works will be completed before the end of the year. The carriageway on the new part of the bridge is in use now. The reconstruction of the carriageway on the old part of the bridge is well in hand, and I hope that it will be open to use in January. It will be for the Aberdeen Town Council and Aberdeen County Council to make the arrangements for an opening ceremony.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland in view of the further escapes during the last three months of prisoners from Peterhead Prison, of the steps taken in consequence by the police to find the fugitives by stopping motorists and others on the roads and of the inconvenience and insecurity caused thereby, what steps he is taking to eliminate such insecurity and inconvenience.

General security precautions in the prison have been intensified, and a new wall which is being built will reduce the risk of escapes from work parties.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that the term sheriff-substitute carries a derogatory inference unworthy of the status of occupants of that responsible office; and whether he will have the matter reviewed.

This matter has been considered on several occasions, and I am not aware of any circumstances that suggest a need for further review. The status of the sheriff-substitute is well understood in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the cost of existing marginal agricultural schemes in Scotland is incurred in the Crofter counties.

In 1957 4,700 claims for marginal agricultural assistance were paid in the Crofter counties at a total cost of£415,000 which is almost exactly one-third of the total expenditure on these Schemes in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the number and total acreage of the farms and holdings in Caithness and Sutherland which will be excluded from marginal agricultural production grants under the Small Farmers Bill, the number and total acreage which will not be excluded, the number and total acreage which could be assisted, and the total amount of money involved in each of the three groups.

I am not at the moment able to make a reliable estimate of the effect of the Government's proposal on individual counties.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will indicate the total amount of the Exchequer equalisation grant paid to Scottish local authorities for the years 1955–56, 1956–57, and 1957–58.

The sums payable to Scottish local authorities by way of Exchequer equalisation and transitional grants, as provisionally estimated at the present stage of the calculations, are:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will undertake to provide in greater detail the proposed General Exchequer Grants to Scottish Local Authorities for the years 1959–60 and 1960–61 similar to that provided by the Minister of Housing and Local Government.

The total amounts for 1959–60 and 1960–61 are contained in the General Grant (Scotland) Order now before Parliament. These amounts will be distributed in accordance with the formula in the 1958 Act. Figures illustrating the effect of distributing the General Grant on a hypothetical basis were given to Members and placed in the Library in March but the information required to complete the actual calculations will not all be available until February, 1959. Scottish local authorities, who do not normally fix their rate poundages before July, will be told early next year what their share of general grant, including the effects of the transitional adjustments, will be. I will send details to the hon. Member as soon as they are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will indicate the total Exchequer grants paid to Scottish local authorities for the years 1955–56, 1956–57, and 1957–58 in respect of the services which will be covered in future by the General Exchequer Grants.

The total amounts of specific grants estimated to be payable to Scottish local authorities in respect of relevant expenditure for general grant purposes are:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local authorities have agreed to allow exemption from attending school to children in order to do Christmas work in the Post Office.

Twenty-nine education authorities have agreed to release pupils of 16 and over if sufficient adult labour is not available in their area.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what reply he proposes to make to the resolution which he has received from the Civil Service Pensioners' Alliance (Scotland Branch).

Civil Service pensions are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have forwarded to him the resolution which I received from the Civil Service Pensioners' Alliance (Scotland Branch). I have so informed the alliance.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which capital projects out of the£2 million already allocated are in respect of public works in Dundee; and which further public works projects for the city he plans to bring forward into the next twelve months.

I have so far authorised projects in Dundee estimated to cost£148,000, and I hope to authorise shortly further projects costing£69,000. I have also given the Town Council of Dundee borrowing consent, on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, for the erection of a bus depot expected to cost£54,000.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what proposals he has for legislation to prevent the use of aeroplanes for sky-writing and sky-shouting.

I have no proposals in hand.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will make a statement on the future of Elmdon Airport.

I recently made further proposals to the Birmingham Corporation about the terms under which I should be ready to participate in the development and operation of the airport if, when derequisitioned, it is handed back to the corporation. Discussions are now proceeding. I hope that the corporation may be able to agree to accept a substantial share of responsibility for the future administration of the airport.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether his attention has been drawn to the proceedings of the inquest into the victims of the Viking air crash at Southall; to what extent these matters are within the terms of reference of the promised public inquiry; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. There is bound to be an overlap between the matters inquired into by the coroner and those inquired into at the public inquiry, but the purposes of the two inquiries are quite different. That of the public inquiry is to ascertain the causes, including technical causes, of the accident with a view to the avoidance of similar accidents in future. That of the coroner's inquest is to ascertain how, when and where certain persons came by their deaths and whether their deaths were the consequence of any criminal act.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will state the amount of grant, in respect of maintenance of classified roads, paid to each of the 48 English county highway authorities in the years 1956–57 and 1957–58, respectively, showing, in respect of each county, the amount the grant represents per mile of classified road.

No separate figures are available for maintenance only.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what representations he has received from the Pedestrians' Association and other bodies regarding the sale of alcohol in premises on the new motorways; and what reply he has given.

The Pedestrians' Association and a number of temperance organisations have represented to me that on motorways the sale of alcohol should be banned. I shall, of course, give due weight to these views before reaching conclusions.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is satisfied that the opportunities for juvenile employment in Newcastle-upon-Tyne are adequate to absorb school leavers during the present school year; and if he will make a statement.

The employment outlook for girls is better than it is for boys, and it may take rather longer to find employment for boys leaving school at Christmas and Easter than it did in previous years. Prospects for school leavers next summer will largely depend on the general employment situation in the area at that time.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will consider increasing the amount of the United Kingdom's contribution to the United Nations World Refugee Year, so as to bring it up to an amount equal to that subscribed by voluntary agencies in this country.

Her Majesty's Government have always believed that the main effort in this country during the World Refugee Year should be made by the voluntary organisations. For our part, we have taken pains—and with some success—to enlist wide international support for the idea, and we have promised a substantial contribution. It is now for the voluntary organisations to play their part, and we shall, of course, support their efforts.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the steps taken by the Secretary-General of the United Nations since the Emergency Meeting of the General Assembly on 21st August adopted the Resolution regarding an Arab development institution designed to further economic growth in the Near East.

I have nothing to add to the information contained in the last paragraph of the answer which my right honourable Friend gave to the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway) on 23rd October. Her Majesty's Government are unaware of any further response as yet by the Arab Governments concerned to the Secretary-General's offer of United Nations assistance with the project.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on what dates the Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom replied to the original proposals submitted by Monsieur Rapacki on 14th February, 1958; and what consultations took place, and with whom, before those replies were made.

The United States reply was delivered on 3rd May and the United Kingdom reply on 17th May. Both replies were sent after discussions on the subject had taken place in the North Atlantic Council, to which they were circulated in draft before despatch.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps are being taken to arm units of the West German army with nuclear or atomic weapons of any kind; and whether Her Majesty's Government will now propose a postponement of further action until efforts have been made to open discussions on a new plan for European security.

The North Atlantic Council at their meeting at Ministerial level in December, 1957, resolved to achieve the most effective pattern of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defensive strength taking into account the most recent developments in weapons and techniques. They decided to establish stocks of nuclear warheads which would be available for the defence of the Alliance in case of need. The deployment of these stocks and arrangements for their use was to be decided in conformity with N.A.T.O. defence plans and in agreement with the States directly concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will take the initiative in opening negotiations with regard to the Chinese offshore islands, now that there has been a cessation in the bombardment of those islands from the mainland; and whether approaches will be made to the Government of the United States, without delay, to achieve that same objective.

So far as I am aware, the bombardment of Quemoy is still continuing on alternate dates. Discussions between representatives of the United States and China are continuing in Warsaw. On the general question the attitude of Her Majesty's Government remains as stated by me in the debate on the Address on 30th October.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will consider converting the light fleet carriers "Ocean", "Glory", "Theseus", and "Unicorn", at present scheduled to be scrapped, as regular troop carriers.

This suggestion is already being examined.

asked the Minister of Health what pay claims are before him from workers in the National Health Service; what is the number of people affected by these claims; and for how long each claim has been waiting.

Apart from the claims in respect of doctors and dentists whose remuneration is under consideration by the Royal Commission, the only claim at present before me relates to an unspecified increase for 1,800 engineering craftsmen employed in hospitals and was submitted in June, 1958. Other claims are, of course, in various stages of consideration by the appropriate Whitley Councils.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in reviewing methods of punishment, he will consider extending the maximum period to which a probation order can be made.

The maximum period has been three years since 1907, and I am not aware of any reason for extending it.