asked the Minister of Works what progress has been made with the plans for a memorial to the late Marshal of the Royal Air Force the Viscount Trenchard.

After consulting my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air, I have appointed a Committee to advise me on the erection of a statue to the late Lord Trenchard. Lord Templewood has agreed to act as Chairman. Lord De L'Isle, Sir Albert Richardson and Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Dermot Boyle have agreed to serve as members of the Committee.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that his Answer will give much satisfaction to those who served under Lord Trenchard in the Royal Air Force and to the nation as a whole?

asked the Minister of Works whether a name has yet been chosen for the new entrance into Hyde Park from Knightsbridge.

Yes, Sir. Her Majesty The Queen has graciously approved that the entrance shall be called Edinburgh Gate.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what experiments are now taking place at the Road Research Laboratory at East Kilbride to further road safety by electrical, or other methods; and if he will make a statement.

The programme of research carried out by the Road Research Laboratory includes work on the electrical heating of road surfaces, the prevention of snowdrifts by snow fences, and chemical and mechanical means of removing ice and snow from roads. The Scottish branch at East Kilbride participates in this work, keeps in close touch with Scottish problems and assists in disseminating the results of this work in Scotland.

Is not the hon. Gentleman being a little too cautious? Can he say what results are being achieved, and, if any, would they have been of any use in the building of the Preston by-pass, for example? Is he aware that during this winter Everton Football Club have been using this method of surface heating throughout the season with great success and have been able to play all their games? Would it not be possible to apply that method to road surfaces?

As the hon. Gentleman will remember, in an Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Mr. Jennings) on 18th November, I recognised the success of electrically heating road surfaces. Good results are being achieved from this research, as is being shown by the way abnormal weather conditions are being dealt with. The Scottish branch is a branch of the main laboratory at Harmondsworth, Middlesex, but the branch deals with Scottish problems, making full use of its special experiences of local conditions.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that Edinburgh Corporation is at present considering electrifying the road in the Mound for this purpose?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what Government research is undertaken on the hydraulic aspects of structures for hydro-electric schemes.

The Hydraulics Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has undertaken scale-model investigations of hydraulic structures for a number of hydro-electric schemes, principally overseas. The structures have included intakes, sluices, spillways and stilling basins.

First, can my hon. Friend tell me for whom this work is carried out? Secondly, does the station charge for its services?

In most cases the work is carried out for British firms of consulting engineers, and the charges made by the Hydraulics Research Station are based upon the staff time involved, to which is added the overhead costs.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what progress is being made towards completion of up-to-date geological maps covering the ironstone field in the East Midlands.

The whole of the field has been geologically surveyed on the scale of six-inches to the mile. Out of the eight geological sheets on a scale of one-inch to the mile covering the Northampton Sand Ironstone Field, three have been published recently and three more are soon to be published.

Can my hon. Friend say whether any progress has been made with the mapping of the Oxfordshire ironstone field, and can he say whether explanatory notes have been published to cover the area?

Yes. The smaller field of Oxfordshire is an area covered by two one-inch geological sheets. One sheet is being prepared for publication, and a survey on a scale of six inches to the mile of the area covered by the other sheet is now in progress. In addition to the maps, explanatory memoirs dealing with the ironstone fields have been published by the Geological Survey.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why he will not allow mobile silage clamps as eligible for silo subsidies in Scotland when they are eligible for subsidies in England.

Mobile type silo clamps have been approved for grant-aid in Scotland where they have been permanently set on a concrete base. A mobile silo is not generally suitable for Scottish conditions, but if my hon. Friend has any exceptional case in mind I shall be prepared to consider it.

Is my noble Friend aware that I have sent him particulars from a producer of these clamps in which he says that they are eligible for subsidy in England but not in Scotland? That is why I tabled the Question. Is my hon. Friend aware that it is most useful to have mobile clamps on farms because they can be moved from one field to another from year to year?

That is so, but as my hon. Friend will recognise, we do not have in Scotland the same systems of dairy farming, which are sometimes based on a movable bait, as in England, but, in the light of what I have said, if my hon. Friend knows of certain cases, I should be grateful if he would let me have details of them.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that under the Local Government Act, 1958, which applies to England and Wales only, there is provision for electricity undertakings being rated after 1st April, 1959, on lines similar to those now operating for gas, with weightings for generation and distribution; and if he will introduce similar arrangements for Scotland.

While thanking my hon. Friend for that Answer, may I ask whether it would be possible for the Secretary of State to carry out this review before the new regulations about rating valuation in Scotland come into force?

My right hon. Friend will start the review so that the new arrangements can be brought in for the 1961–62 rating year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to assist the Forestry Commission to dispose of the thinnings now coming from Scottish forests.

Although there have been local difficulties in the disposal of thinnings, these have not been on such a scale as to call for special measures. There will, however, be a gradual increase in the supplies of thinnings and the problem of finding the additional outlets which will eventually be required is actively engaging the attention of the Forestry Commissioners.

What is the hon. Gentleman's Department prepared to do to help in this matter?

Everything we can. The hon. Member will realise that in the first instance this is a matter for the Commission, but we shall do all we can to help.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to use Scottish supplies of timber to promote the growth of timber-using industries in Scotland.

The Forestry Commission has in addition to normal marketing activities, sponsored investigations into the feasibility of establishing in Great Britain small-scale pulp, wood chipboard and wood fibre budding board plants. Reports on these studies are expected to be published within the next two or three months.

Does the hon. Gentleman not think that, in view of the difficulties which he indicated in answer to my previous Question on the subject, this is now becoming a matter of some urgency and ought to be treated as such? Is he aware that there will be great disappointment if the forestry programmes do not lead to the birth of a number of industries in Scotland, particularly the North of Scotland?

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that as far back as 1950, during my own term of office, the Forestry Commission had practically concluded an arrangement for the establishment of a hardboard mill in Inverness, that consideration was given to a pulp mill in Argyllshire, where sufficient timber was estimated to be becoming available to keep a pulp mill going, and that there was also consideration of a furniture factory at Cannich? Is there any progress in any of this projects?

I could not say without notice whether there is any progress in these specific cases, but I would like to look them up, now that the right hon. Gentleman has mentioned them, and let him know.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to meet the difficulties revealed by the Crofters Commission in the reorganisation of crofting townships.

My right hon. Friend has at present no proposals to make for amending the existing provisions on this subject, but he knows that the Crofters Commission is giving thought to it and he would of course be prepared to consider any proposals which it might make.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that it would now appear that these provisions of the Crofting Act will never be made effective? Surely, he ought to do something about it now. The difficulties have been indicated. Should he not tackle them?

It is for the Commission to judge, in the light of its own day-to-day experience, if and when the time is ripe for concrete proposals to be made. It may well come.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the various escapes from Peterhead Prison of John Ramensky, stating in each case the manner of his escape, how long he was at large, how he was recaptured, how he was dealt with on his return to prison, and also indicating when a reconsideration of his present prison sentence is to be undertaken.

John Ramsay, formerly Ramensky, escaped from Peterhead Prison in 1934, in 1952 and three times in 1958. On the first three occasions he climbed through windows or trap-doors in the roof and scaled the perimeter wall. On the fourth occasion he disappeared during recreation and on the fifth during exercise; and on both these occasions he appears to have scaled the wall. He was recaptured each time by the police, after being at large for one day (on two occasions) two days (on two occasions) and ten days (on the last occasion).

Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that this is a remarkable case? Can he say what powers the excellent Governor of Peterhead Prison, of whom I make no criticism, has to deal with a case of this kind by giving the prisoner work suitable to his aptitude? If the Governor has no such special powers, will the hon. Gentleman see that he gets them?

I dare say this prisoner has several aptitudes. No doubt, the Governor will take into account what the hon. and learned Member has said.

Is this not a case either for giving the prisoner a key or for sending him to one of the prisons without walls?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to assist the citizens of Aberdeen who are threatened with food shortages caused by the recent storms there.

None, Sir. So far as my right hon. Friend is aware, no threat of shortages exists.

Does the hon. Gentleman realise that if he read the Aberdeen Press and Journal he would find plenty of evidence about this? Will he read it in order to deal with the problems as they arise?

My right hon. Friend has made inquiries of local authorities and of local sources concerned with the food supply in the area and he is assured that no difficulty has arisen.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many replies he received from local education authorities concerning the recent circular advising the more extensive use of bread and margarine instead of potatoes in school meals; and how many authorities commented favourably on the suggestion, and how many unfavourably.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many local authorities are now following his recommendations to cut down the supply of potatoes to children partaking of school meals, and to substitute bread and margarine, rice and spaghetti instead;

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to the hon. Lady's question on 18th November, 1958. The memorandum did not call for a reply and the advice was given only in case the need arose. Two education authorities considered that the meal would not be so nutritious or so palatable.

Is the Minister aware that the reaction of local authorities to this circular was not entirely favourable? What are the peculiar attractions of rice, spaghetti and macaroni as substitutes for potatoes? Is be further aware that even if ¾oz. of these foods were substituted for potatoes, they can hardly be regarded as a milestone on the road towards doubling our standard of living in the next 25 years?

Reductions in these commodities may not prove necessary. The local authorities are only being asked to do what any prudent housewife would do and switch from commodities which are rising in price to commodities which are not rising in price.

Is the Minister aware that the circular is in the interests of economy? Does that mean that because more children of the unemployed are now taking these dinners they have to have shabby dinners of bread and margarine, rice and spaghetti? Is the hon. Gentleman further aware that bread is 5½d. per lb., rice 1s. per lb. and spaghetti 1s. 2d. per lb., while there is a plentiful supply of good Scotch potatoes at 3½d. per lb.?

The circular only gives recommendations to local authorities about what they should do if they find that their budget is being taxed by Changes in price. It does not follow that any action has so far been necessary in any particular case.

Owing to the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I propose to raise this matter on the Adjournment at the earliest opportunity.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many school children were taking free meals in schools throughout Lanarkshire during the last ten weeks of 1957 and 1958, respectively.

The information required by the hon. Member is not on record in my right hon. Friend's Department, but I understand that the average daily number of children receiving free meals in Lanarkshire for the month of November was 5,003 in 1957 and 6,822 in 1958.

Is it not a fact that this circular sent out in October means that a piece of cheese could replace butcher's meat and that bread and margarine could replace potatoes? Does the hon. Gentleman think that a piece of bread and margarine with cheese on it is an adequate meal for a child? Would he take into consideration the fact that these children are coming from homes stricken with unemployment, and that they require a good substantial meal in the middle of the day? Would he look into the matter of the meals now being served?

I do not think the hon. Lady would be right in decrying the meals that are being supplied, which are of a very high standard.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that the salary increase of 5 per cent., recently awarded to teachers, has resulted, in the case of those promoted teachers who have retired but returned to teaching, in a decrease of the pension element so as to maintain their total salary at the same level; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy this anomaly.

Yes, Sir. It is a general rule of public service superannuation that a pensioner re-employed in the same service may receive only so much of his pension as, when added to his pay, will not make the total of pay and pension greater than his pay at the time of his retirement. My right hon. Friend cannot exempt teachers in the circumstances mentioned from this general rule.

Might I urge the hon. Gentleman to get his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to think about this matter again? Does he not realise that he is offending in two respects? First, he is refusing a teacher the right to draw a pension which he has earned, and secondly, he is creating a small pool of cheap labour in the teaching profession. Does the hon. Gentleman consider that this is a way in which he will help to bring the 1,000 extra teachers into the teaching profession?

The provisions of the superannuation scheme are well known. This proposal would require an alteration in them.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to sustain and enhance the status of history as a subject in the secondary school curriculum for the purpose of the School Leaving Certificate pass groups qualifying for university entrance.

Pupils may be presented in history in the Scottish Leaving Certificate Examination on either the lower or the higher grade, but the conditions under which passes in history are recognised for university entrance are entirely a matter for the Scottish Universities Entrance Board.

Is the Joint Under-Secretary aware that this treatment of a higher history pass as a lower equivalent pass will certainly lead to a reluctance on the part of students and scholars to take history at all and will lead in turn to a shortage of qualified history teachers, thus debasing the whole cultural and academic value of the Scottish school and university curriculum? Will the Joint Under-Secretary ensure that proper representations are made to sustain and enhance the status and reputation of history and history teaching in the schools? This is done in England. Why not in Scotland?

Experience shows that the status of a subject is not dependent solely on its treatment from the viewpoint of university entrance. History is of very great value but, at the same time, we are anxious that courses in secondary schools should be as varied as possible and that pupils should have every opportunity to study such subjects, including history, as may be of most value to them.

Is the Secretary of State aware that it is difficult to understand how in Scotland the subject of history is treated as a Cinderella? It was only recently that it was treated as part of the English courses. Surely, the intelligent man must know something about the history of his country.

It simply is not true that history is treated as a Cinderella. At the moment, a condition of being presented for the Scottish leaving certificate is that the student should have studied history for three years and either history or geography for the next two years.

I give notice that I will raise this matter at the very earliest opportunity to try to wring a more satisfactory answer from the Joint Under-Secretary.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will introduce legislation to ensure that before any land in Scotland shall be sold to a foreign buyer his sanction must first be obtained.

No, Sir.

Would not the Minister expand that somewhat over-brief answer? Surely, there is a little more to be said? Surely, there is one Minister on the Government Front Bench who sometimes to himself hath said something about his native land?

Under the Status of Aliens Act, 1914, aliens have the right to hold and acquire property in the same way as British subjects. To detract from that would be a retrograde and illiberal step, in the opinion of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and in the opinion of the Home Secretary, and one which he is not prepared to contemplate.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated cost of strengthening the road bridge over the Tweed at Cold stream to enable it to carry the extra heavy traffic now directed over it; and what proportion of this cost is borne by the Government.

The work at present in progress was originally estimated to cost £6,000, but the necessity for more extensive work has recently become clear. It is too early to say what the cost will be, but the Government will bear the whole amount.

May I ask my hon. Friend to bear in mind the fact that his Department has been taking much too narrow a view of this problem? Is he aware that the present figure is much nearer £50,000, and that there is great doubt whether the present Coldstream Bridge will ever be able to stand up to the very heavy traffic which is now directed over it, and that it might be necessary to find a different site for the bridge a mile or two upstream from the present Coldstream Bridge?

My right hon. Friend is aware of that Berwick County Council has now asked for a meeting of representatives of all the authorities concerned to discuss the possibility of constructing a new bridge in the vicinity of Coldstream. My right hon. Friend is consulting his right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, who is equally concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many approved voluntary probation homes and hostels there are in Scotland for girls and boys, respectively;

I shall, with permission, answer this Question and Questions Nos. 27 and 37 together.

On a point of order. The Joint Under-Secretary has asked permission to answer three Questions together. I think I am in order in asking that these Questions should be answered separately.

The hon. Member ought to hear the Answer to the combined Questions first, and then, if he is dissatisfied with it, perhaps he will have an opportunity of asking a supplementary question.

The Answer is as follows. 132 voluntary homes in Scotland are registered under Section 29 of the Children Act, 1948. Of these homes, 12 for girls and one for boys have been approved for the reception of probationers, and no other home or hostel has been approved for this purpose. My right hon. Friend hopes shortly to make regulations for the conduct of voluntary homes, but he has no power to determine that a voluntary home should receive only a particular category of child or young person.

Is the Minister aware that these Questions arise out of incidents which took place in such a home in my constituency? First, may I ask the hon. Gentleman, since there is only one such home for boys in Scotland, whether he is satisfied that that meets the need? Secondly, how often do his officers visit this home annually? Thirdly, since there is a danger in young people, charged with offences of varying degree or with none, being housed together in such homes, will he look upon the introduction of these regulations as a matter of the greatest urgency?

In reply to the first question, it has been thought preferable not to segregate offenders put on probation with a condition of residence but to train them in living with others of their own age. With regard to the question how often inspectors pay visits, that varies, but if the hon. Gentleman would like particulars, perhaps he will put that question down. As to the third question, if in a particular home the combination of people going there seems to be unwise, my right hon. Friend would have this represented to the management, as well as to any local authority which had placed children there. The regulations will be made as soon as possible.

On the question of the urgency of these regulations, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that his right hon. Friend, in a letter to me dated 23rd October, said that such regulations would be introduced. In order to avoid the repetition of such incidents as these, and since the urgency of the matter is not denied by the Scottish Office, can the hon. Gentleman give me a clearer definition of "near future"? Can he put a date on it?

A draft of the regulations was sent three months ago to representative voluntary societies and the local authority associations, and the last reply was received only yesterday. The whole matter will be considered and the regulations laid without any undue delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional expenditure he proposes to incur in respect of the Marginal Agricultural Production Scheme as a result of his recent decision on marginal agricultural production payments announced on 21st January.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give further details of the modification he proposes over the running down of the Marginal Agricultural Production Scheme; and how much extra grant will be available for farms affected.

My right hon. Friend proposes to provide £900,000 in respect of the Marginal Agricultural Production Scheme for the 1959 cropping year in place of the £600,000 which it was estimated would otherwise have been spent on a scheme under Clause 3 of the Small Farmers Bill. This should enable agricultural executive committees at their discretion to continue assistance on the scale which has obtained previously to occupiers of holdings of less than 150 acres and to give assistance again of course at their discretion at an aveage of half that rate to occupiers of holdings above that limit.

In view of the fact that the Minister was strongly opposed to this concession during the Committee stage of the Bill, is he going to resign?

No, I think the hon. Gentleman must have got mixed up with some other debate. I never opposed this concession. I was only too pleased to advise my right hon. Friend that it ought to be made.

May I ask the noble Lord if he will confirm that it is the intention that the scheme will run for an extra year, and, secondly, if he will see if the applications now in can be dealt with more expeditiously? I am told that there has been some delay, and that there is some anxiety among the farmers as to exactly what is the present position.

That will be locked into.

Do I understand the Minister to say that this scheme was going to run for an extra year? Is it not the case that it finishes on the date mentioned in the Bill when it was introduced, and that what has happened is that a gap has been filled which nobody seemed to know existed until we had the debate?

What has happened, as I think the right hon. Gentleman knows, and what was meant by the hon. Gentleman below the Gangway, was that the putting into operation of the scheme under Clause 3 has been, in fact, postponed for a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he now has anything further to report in relation to an extension of maternity bed accommodation in Glasgow, as this problem is still giving concern to those responsible for the maternity services of the city.

The regional hospital board is now preparing proposals for further substantial additions to the maternity bed accommodation in Glasgow.

Whilst thanking the hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask whether he is aware that this is causing very grave concern, as I have stated in my Question, and that maternal and infant mortality figures were actually increased in the last M.O.H. Report? Is he aware that I am glad to hear that he is prepared to do something about this matter?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many sanatorium beds have been rendered vacant in the Glasgow area as a result of the new techniques in the treatment of tuberculosis; and to what extent he expects that a proportion of these beds will be avail-able soon for geriatric purposes.

About 120 tuberculosis beds have become redundant in Glasgow in the past year. Of these, 70 have been earmarked for geriatric patients, of which 20 are already in use.

Whilst again thanking the hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask whether he is aware that large numbers of old people are still living in appalling conditions and that they cannot obtain geriatric beds? Is he aware that many of us are being driven to the reluctant conclusion that the Government have only two speeds—dead slow and stop—but that I am glad to know that they are making some progress, though it is not wholly satisfactory?

I assure the hon. Lady that we have these considerations very much in the forefront of our minds.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in view of the value of the proposed Tolsta-Ness road in the Isle of Lewis to the development of tourism, agriculture and the local transport system, and in the provision of employment, he will now offer assistance towards the cost of its construction to Ross and Cromarty County Council.

My right hon. Friend will of course consider very carefully any proposal that the county council may make to him about this road, but in view of the many competing claims on the limited funds available he cannot say when he could offer grant.

In view of the fact that the Distribution of Industries Act has so far had no impact whatsoever upon the unemployment in this area—the heaviest in any part of Great Britain—and that no major scheme under his Department is now being carried out there to solve that problem of unemployment, will the hon. Gentleman consider this application which is coming very soon from the county council as a matter of immediate urgency?

The application will certainly be considered. There will be no delay in the consideration of it, but I cannot give any promise as to when the grant can be offered.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will now give financial aid to the construction by Inverness County Council of jetties at Scalpay and Kyles Scalpay, Isle of Harris, and the provision of a vehicular ferry service.

The county council has not submitted any specific proposals for such jetties. If and when it does my right hon. Friend will be prepared to consider them.

Is the noble Lord aware that this is part of a scheme embracing a road, jetties and a ferry service—started many years ago—and that it is becoming a matter of dismay to the local population and all concerned that the scheme has not been completed? Is he aware that there is no other industry in the island, since the Harris Tweed industry collapsed and fishing dwindled to its present small scale? Cannot the Government and the noble Lord feel that they can make some contribution through the Secretary of State's Department towards solving the problems of the area?

Perhaps the hon. Member will direct his observations in the first place to the county council concerned if he thinks that it ought to produce specific proposals which, as he knows, must be made before anything can take place by way of response.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to introduce regulations regarding new facilities for legal advice under the Legal Aid Act; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend hopes to make the necessary regulations within the next few days.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will examine again the position of small owner-occupiers in the crofting counties who farm holdings similar to crofts but who in future, will be denied assistance either under the Crofters Commission or the Marginal Agricultural Production Scheme.

The small owner-occupiers who have received assistance under the previous Marginal Agricultural Production Scheme will continue to do so for the 1959 cropping season under the new Scheme.

Is it not the case that after that they will receive no assistance? Is it not a position without any rhyme or reason to have one man, a crofter, who will receive extremely generous grants under the Crofting Acts and to have a next-door neighbour who has bought his croft who will have no grant under the M A.P. or under the Crofting Acts? After all the talk about encouraging people to own the land, is there any reason at all for this?

The hon. Member has stated the problem perfectly fairly, and its urgency and intensity are certainly recognised.

On the broad aspect of the M.A.P. Scheme, as announced last week, are my noble Friend and my right hon. Friend keeping before them the possibility of receiving further suggestions regarding the continuation of the Order under the M.A.P. Scheme after the year of grace which was announced last week?

That is a little wider than the Question, but my hon. and gallant Friend knows perfectly well that we are examining the whole problem afresh in the light of representations which we have received.

Are we to understand that with the £7½ million bribe given to horticultural interests yesterday in the House it is also being considered, in view of what the Minister has said today, that something more might be done for the small farmer?

Answer.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the nature of his reply to a letter he received from the Crook and Willington Urban District Council, County Durham, dated 15th January, 1959, on unemployment and lack of industry in the area.

A reply will be sent by the Department tomorrow. My right hon. Friend has great sympathy with the District Council in their plea for the introduction of new industry into the district to offset reductions in employment in recent months. We cannot direct industry to particular places, but we shall do what we can to steer suitable firms to the district. In the larger area, of which this district forms a part, approved extentions to Government factories are expected to provide several hundred new jobs in the course of the year, and I hope that workers in the Crook and Willington district will succeed in getting a share of them.

Is the Minister of State aware that sympathy at the moment is not sufficient? Is he aware that when the Prime Minister toured the North-East he did not contact the employment exchanges in the west of Durham? Is he aware that, according to the latest figures that I have received, unemployment is 4·4 per cent in an area which covers three constituencies and the percentage in the North-West Durham constituency—the area in question—is considerably higher than that? Will the hon. Gentleman now consider some special financial aid to encourage industrialists to enter the area?

The area is not on the D.A.T.A.C. list, but the matter is, of course, kept under review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent under his regulations Income Tax relief is allowed to business firms for expenditure incurred in advertising their products; and what limit is placed on the sums that may be spent for this purpose.

Under the ordinary Schedule D expenses rule expenditure on advertising is allowed as a deduction if it was incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the taxpayer's trade and was not of a capital nature. There is no statutory limit of amount.

Is the Chancellor of the Exchequer aware that certain steel firms, under the guise of advertising their wares, are carrying out a blatant anti-Labour Party and anti-nationalisation propaganda? Is he further aware that this has gone on now to such an extent in the dailies and weeklies that if any hon. Member had collected the examples he would have collected enough to paper the walls of this Chamber? Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether he intends to permit this abuse of legitimate advertising to continue?

I need not go into the meritoriousness or the reverse of any particular form of advertising expenditure. The test is not the meritoriousness or otherwise of it but its connection with the business.

Will the right hon. Gentleman explain exactly in what way the advertisements to which my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock (Miss Lee) refers are related to the business of the specific undertaking?

That is not precisely the Question which I have been asked to answer today.

Would my right hon. Friend not agree that it is perfectly reasonable to take action to prevent a robber coming on board?

rose —

Mr. Grey.

On a point of order. I think that on a question of this importance we might be allowed a few more supplementary questions.

I take another view.

asked the Prime Minister (1) in view of the increasing difficulties being experienced by school leavers in finding employment, what official consultations he had, while on his tour to the North-East, concerning this problem; and if he will make a statement;

The tour was not arranged for the purpose of official consultations, nor did it include any visits to employment exchanges. I did, however, have informal talks with many people, including, of course, trade unionists and members of works councils. I am well aware of the employment difficulties in certain parts of the area, both from the reports of my colleagues and from what I saw and heard for myself. I believe, however, that the measures which the Government are taking will increasingly show their effects both in the North-East and elsewhere throughout the country.

Is the Prime Minister aware that the vast majority of the people in the North-East took a very dim view of the fact that he showed no practical concern over the unemployment in the area? [HON. MEMBERS:"Oh."] It is quite true. It might have served a much more useful purpose if at least the right hon. Gentleman had made some contact with the employment exchanges and also had some talks with the people who were unemployed. It might have saddened his heart a little and made his visit less flippant than it appeared to be. [HON. MEMBERS:"Order."] May I also ask the right hon. Gentleman what method he has set in motion to reverse the trend of unemployment, and if he thinks that the people in the North-East might have the right impression—

Order.

I have not quite finished—

I ask hon. Members to remember that this is Question Time. There will be plenty of time for speeches later.

May I put this further point to the Prime Minister, Mr. Speaker? If he had done this, at least it would have created the impression in the minds of the people that he had gone there as Prime Minister and not as leader of the Tory Party.

So far as I could follow them, I think the greater part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary questions were a criticism of myself, which the House, and ultimately the country, must judge. With regard to any more precise questions, I am glad to feel that in the last few weeks proposals have been approved for the extension of twenty Government factories in the North-East Development Area. These will be completed by October of this year and should provide work for well over 2,000 people.

In view of the reference to school leavers in Question No. 45, is the Prime Minister aware that not only in the North-East but elsewhere thousands of school leavers of last July had not found jobs by November and December, and that very many who left school before Christmas are having the greatest difficulty in finding jobs and may have to wait weeks? Is this the Prime Minister's idea of what he calls the "Opportunity State"?

Of course, I recognise that there has been this difficulty, but I am hopeful, and indeed confident, that the position will improve.

Would the right hon. Gentleman be good enough to specify the Government measures which are likely to help the shipbuilding industry and to correct the redundancy in the coal mining industry? Is he aware that the total expenditure which the Government propose to incur in the building of hospitals, additional schools and the reconstruction of roads in the North-East is a mere bagatelle in comparison with the employment needs of the area, and would he look into this matter and do rather more than the Government propose?

Of course, the stimulation of investment generally, the reduction of the Bank Rate, the easing of the credit squeeze, the increase in initial allowances and the very substantial increase in public investment—all these will have their effect. Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman, who I know is very courteous to his fellow Members, would allow me to answer his point in the next Question but one, which deals specifically with shipbuilding, because another hon. Member has it on the Order Paper.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will transfer the responsibility for the cotton textile industry to a Department other than the Board of Trade.

No, Sir.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say that the reason for that reply may be that he has no more competent Ministers to pass it on to? Is he aware that for seven years we have been taking deputations to Presidents of the Board of Trade about the cotton industry without one single thing being done; that since he became Prime Minister two cotton workers have fallen out of employment every hour of every day of every month; that the situation is now grave; that the decision of the Restrictive Practices Court yesterday will almost certainly result in some short-term worsening of the situation? Will he, therefore, tell us in relation to cotton, as he has done in relation to shipbuilding, what measures the Government have in mind to deal with this?

With regard to the last question about the judgment on the restrictive trading agreements, this, of course, is not a matter of decision by the Government but by the court, and since it was delivered only yesterday it would be in any case premature for me to make a statement now—

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Surely it is in order for me to say that, if anyone considers the supplementary question I put, it will be realised that I did not ask what action was going to be taken about the restrictive trading agreements. I asked what action was going to be taken about the cotton industry, and the Prime Minister is deliberately trying to dodge any question about the cotton industry by getting away on a side issue.

Order, order.

This is too big a matter to permit that sort of thing happening.

The hon. Member should resume his seat when I rise. This is not a point of order for me, it is a matter of debate and controversy.

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker, surely I am entitled. if it appears that the Prime Minister has misunderstood a question of grave importance, to make it clear that he has misunderstood it and ask him for an answer to my question?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman misunderstood what I said. I began by saying "with regard to the last question. "Since it was immediately in my mind I proposed to answer that part first. It is not an uncommon practice, and certainly there was no discourtesy to him.

Since 400 mills have closed down in Lancashire since the last election, and since nearly one-third of the cotton operatives have lost their jobs since the party opposite came into power, can the right hon. Gentleman tell us of a single action taken by this Government to help the industry?

I understood that the party opposite—I do not know the right hon. Gentleman's view—were in favour of Government action to impose restrictions upon imports. I say that I am happy that this has been the result of voluntary agreement between the trades because of the effects of Government action, which is a very serious thing, upon the whole of our Commonwealth preferential system, upon the whole of the Ottawa-based system, which has worked and helped us for twenty or thirty years, and with regard to our very big responsibilities to Colonies and underdeveloped countries.

Is the Prime Minister aware that when the Act was under discussion in this House the Opposition said repeatedly that this kind of decision should be taken not by judges but by Ministers responsible to Parliament, and does not this decision show how right we were?

No, Sir. I would have thought that was a very dangerous doctrine. If we are to have a system which is intended to discourage this form of arrangement, a judicial decision is far the better method.

asked the Prime Minister what proposals Her Majesty's Government have for providing additional employment in ship-repairing and shipbuilding in the North-East as a result of the evidence submitted to him during his recent visit.

Although a reduction in the volume of sea-borne trade and the laying up of ships has affected employment in the whole industry, the shipbuilders on the north-east coast have nearly one half of the total orders held by the industry in the United Kingdom and this will provide work for some years.

The Prime Minister has given a very general answer which does not mean very much. If, as he says, his tour of the North-East was not just a pre-election vote-catching tour, are we not entitled to expect some more tangible results in relation to our employment problem? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that when he visited my constituency he omitted the usual courtesy of informing the local Member of Parliament? May I ask why he confined himself to the soft lights and the red plush of the Station Hotel and did not ask me to take him round some of the rotten, decaying slums in which thousands of people are living in Newcastle after eight years of Tory rule?

With regard to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, I think the answer I gave gives the facts. The only real remedy for the eventual increase of total shipbuilding is the increased use of shipping by the increase of world trade, by the work done by the International Monetary Fund, by the great increase in credit which we have been able to give as a result of our stronger position, by the great credits given to India and so on. There is also the record work in relation to the guarantees given under the Export Guarantees Acts. All these moves are devised to increase the total demand for shipping.

Is the Prime Minister aware that a major contribution to the world recession which has affected ship-repairing was made by the credit and monetary policy of Her Majesty's Government in 1957? With reference to his announcement about the number of new factories to be set up in this area, may I ask him why it was not possible to take action of this kind earlier, and so provide the employment which is now so badly needed?

The two parts of the right hon. Gentleman's supplementary question hang together. He objects to the monetary policy we followed in 1957. We have debated that often. I feel that the action which we took was necessary and alone provided the basis for the great increase in credit which we are now able to give.

To return to the question of shipbuilding, would my right hon. Friend agree with the point of view that there are three levels at which action should be taken; first, by the Government, action which is already being taken; secondly, by management in making as modern as possible the yards of the North-East, which is largely being done already; and, thirdly, by the unions in helping to eliminate restrictive practices?

My hon. Friend has very succinctly stated that this problem, like so many other problems, will be solved only by the efforts of everybody concerned.