asked the Minister of Supply whether he has now completed consideration of the representation which he received from the radio industry in the latter part of 1958 with regard to the adverse effect on its ability to develop an important export trade caused by the maintenance of Purchase Tax at the 60 per cent. rate on its products; and what action he has taken or proposes to take in the matter.

My right hon. Friend has considered the representations received and he has invited my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to take account of them.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will give some indication of the likely performance of the Seacat surface-to-air missile, now ordered for the Royal Navy particularly against low-flying aircraft.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will give an indication of the likely performance of the Seacat surface-to-air missile, now ordered for the Royal Navy, particularly against low-flying aircraft.

Seacat will provide a very efficient close-range defence for ships, down to wave-top level. It will be much more lethal than the short-range anti-aircraft gun, which it will displace.

asked the Minister of Supply if he will make a statement on the location and functions of the radar project to be established in the north of Scotland, with his approval, to study the effects of the aurora on radio reception; and to what extent its operations will expose the local residents to radiation dangers.

This research station is to be set up on high ground and in an isolated position at Hillhead, near Fraser-burgh. Its function will be to study the effects of the aurora on radio reception as part of a programme of ionospheric studies. There will be no radiation dangers to local residents or to livestock. I warmly welcome this United States—United Kingdom exercise, in which we shall collaborate in a broadly-based research programme.

asked the Minister of Supply what quantity of ·303 rifles and ·35 revolver ammunition has been destroyed in the United Kingdom during the last twelve months; and for what reason has such ammunition been destroyed.

None by my Department.

asked the Minister of Supply what research and development is being undertaken into the stand-off bomb for use with the Royal Air Force V-bombers.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I have given today to the hon. Member for Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd).

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the growing concern about lengthening waiting lists for hospital treatment and the increase in the number of patients who are paying for treatment in order to get priority of hospital beds; and whether he will set up a committee of inquiry, or take other steps to deal with the matter.

The waiting list figure for 30th September, 1958, shows a slight reduction on the figure for September, 1957, and was nearly 100,000 less than the peak figure recorded at the end of 1950. I rely on hospital authorities to continue to do everything possible to reduce waiting periods, and I have no evidence that patients urgently needing admission are having to pay to obtain it. I do not therefore think that a committee of inquiry or other special steps are called for.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the growing concern regarding the transfer of consultants and specialists in the Health Service from whole-time to maximum part-time employment; who is responsible for supervising such employment; why he has directed that a legal opinion to the effect that such a transfer constitutes new conditions of service and should be treated as a new contract should be disregarded; and why he is encouraging the automatic transfer of these consultants.

No. These doctors are appointed and employed by regional hospital boards and boards of governors. I am advised that where there is no substantial change in duties there is no need to advertise the post when the contract is varied by the parties. I am in no way encouraging the automatic transfer of consultants to part-time employment; such transfers are a matter for local arrangement.

asked the Minister of Health in what circumstances he authorises regional hospital boards to countermand the decisions of hospital management committees to refuse to agree to the transfer of consultants from a whole-time to a maximum part-time basis; and whether he will give instructions that no consultant services committee of a regional hospital board should contain a majority of medical men.

Since responsibility for these decisions rests with regional hospital boards the first part of the question does not arise. There is no obligation on boards to appoint a consultant services committee and it would not be appropriate for me to intervene in the composition of a committee which a board chooses to set up.

asked the Minister of Health what action he is taking with regard to the report of the operational research team of the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals' Trust, for whom he provided facilities, which revealed that the sterilising techniques employed in the six hospitals covered by the team's inquiry were inadequate and that this is contributing to the present high incidence of hospital infection; and whether he will make a statement.

The report has been widely publicised and is by now well known to hospital authorities. In addition, the attention of the senior administrative medical officers of regional hospital boards has been specifically drawn to it; and in allocating sums to those boards for their revenue expenditure in 1959–60 I have asked them to have regard to the report in determining their expenditure. I shall similarly draw the attention of boards of governors of teaching hospitals to this matter within the next few days.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give details of all agreements in existence between the United Kingdom and other countries, both in and outside the Commonwealth, concerning the imposition of health restrictions, with particular reference to tuberculosis, on intending immigrants to the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom is a party to the International Sanitary Regulations of the World Health Organisation and our Public Health Regulations give wide powers to port medical officers to deal with cases or suspected cases of communicable diseases.

asked the Minister of Health what steps are taken to test new drugs before they are officially recommended to the medical profession.

No such recommendation is made. The therapeutic value to be placed on a remedy is a matter for professional decision in the light of experience, published reports, etc.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the high cost of drugs supplied by United States firms; and what steps are taken to control these.

Products which involve research and expensive plant for their manufacture are necessarily expensive in their early years. Many preparations supplied by British-based subsidiaries of United States firms are in this category. In order to obtain general supplies for the National Health Service at reasonable prices, I rely where appropriate on ordinary contracting arrangements, and for the rest on arrangements worked out in co-operation with the pharmaceutical industry.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the fact that cigarette consumption in the United Kingdom rose by 2½ per cent. in 1957 to 102,288 million and increased by another 3 per cent. in 1958, what new information he has to give on the effect of cigarette smoking on lung cancer; to what extent official research proves that filter-tipped cigarettes are less dangerous; and if he will make a statement.

No new information of major significance on the relationship between lung cancer and smoking has become available since the statement by the Medical Research Council in 1957; a number of subsequent papers and reports have, however, confirmed the Council's assessment. There has been no official research in this country to demonstrate whether filter-tipped cigarettes are less dangerous. It continues to be the Government's policy to make the risks of smoking known to the public through local health authorities as part of their health education measures.

asked the Minister of Health what are the minimum and maximum salaries for radiographers.

The Answer is £420 and £850.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of their present inadequacy, he will extend the chiropody services in the Thurrock area.

I am considering the possibility of the present chiropody service being extended and hope to be able to announce a decision very shortly.

asked the Minister of Health how many people in this country are suffering from leprosy at the present time; and how many new cases have been reported recently among immigrants from overseas.

Two hundred and seventy-nine. I regret that exact information as to the country of origin of persons suffering from leprosy is not available.

asked the Minister of Health what progress has been made in the use of the drug interferon in the treatment of the common cold; and when he anticipates receiving a report from the Medical Research Council on this matter.

I am advised that research on this substance has not progressed to the stage when it could be tried in man.

asked the Minister of Health what progress is being made with an anti-measles vaccine.

While I understand that progress has been made in the preparation of such a vaccine, I am not at present aware of any proposal to manufacture it for general use.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the proposal to set up a meat research centre now in contemplation by the Government, and which was strongly recommended by the Technical Advisory Committee on Meat Research, will include Scotland within its scope.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many complaints he has had from north-east Scotland about delay in the transport to the south of Great Britain of perishable food, the date of the latest complaint, the cause of each delay and the nature of each complaint; and what action he has taken in each case.

My right hon. Friend can find no record of any complaints about delays in the transport of perishable food from north-east Scotland.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when work is to start on the construction of the cut-off channel of the Great Ouse Flood Protection Scheme.

This scheme is being discussed with the river board and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that the Potato Marketing Board has decided to limit the amount of potatoes that a farmer can plant and that a levy of £10 is to be imposed on every acre planted above the average; and, in view of the fact that there is no certainty that the harvest will be a good one what steps he is taking to prevent a shortage of potatoes and ensure a reasonable price during the coming months.

The Potato Marketing Board announced last August that 1959 was to be a quota year under paragraph 84 of its scheme. I understand that the quota acreage allotted to registered producers for 1959 is greater than the acreage which they have planted in 1957 and 1958 when no quota provisions were in force. If producers plant up to their quota there will be plenty of potatoes next season unless yields are abnormally low. But if the home crop cannot keep the market supplies at reasonable prices, imports of main crop potatoes will again be permitted.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give directions under Section 2 (2) of the Agricultural Marketing Act, 1949, to the Potato Marketing Board to draw up a scheme to utilise the surplus potatoes during good harvests, instead of restricting the acreage to be planted, since the harvest is always dependent upon the weather and therefore uncertain.

Under the Potato Marketing Scheme, the regulation of the production and marketing of the potato crop in Great Britain is a matter for the Board. My right hon. Friend has no reason to think that the Board's decision to use its powers to influence the acreage grown will prevent ample production in favourable weather conditions.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when it is proposed to implement the recommendation in the Waverley Report that the cost of maintenance of sea defences should rank for grant.

After full consideration, the Government decided that it could not accept the Waverley Committee's recommendation that the cost of maintenance of sea defences should be assisted from Exchequer funds.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the United Kingdom output of eggs in 1958 compared with 1957 and 1956.

The estimated output of hen eggs in the United Kingdom for the years ended May is as follows:

asked the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what considerations he takes into account in making grants towards the costs of fencing.

Grants under the Agriculture Act, 1957, which I presume my hon. Friend has in mind, can be paid, provided that the general conditions in Section 12 of the Act are satisfied, for making and improving permanent fences, but not for their restoration or repair. If my hon. Friend has any particular case in mind I shall be pleased to look into it.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance by how much the total of the supplementary grants paid by the Reading Office of the National Assistance Board to retirement pensioners has been increased since the Rent Act, 1957, came into operation.

The information asked for is not available, but the National Assistance Board informs me that in the area served by one of the Board's Reading offices, which covers both the County Borough of Reading and some other districts, it is calculated on the basis of the data available that about 1,200 weekly, National Assistance grants have been increased to provide for rent increases under the Rent Act. No separate figures are available for retirement pensioners, nor are figures available for increases made in the period mentioned in respect of rent increases unconnected with the Rent Act. The figures given are cumulative and I cannot say how many are still in payment. Their average amount is 7s. 4d.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many retirement pensioners there are in the area covered by his Reading Office; and how many of these are receiving supplementary grants from the National Assistance Board.

Statistics relating to the numbers of retirement pensioners are not available for particular areas. As regards the second part of the Question, however, I am informed by the National Assistance Board that in the area served by the Board's office in Reading which covers the whole of Reading County Borough and some territory beyond it, 2,651 retirement pensioners were receiving weekly National Assistance grants on 16th December, 1958. Some of the grants provided for the requirements of a household with more than one pensioner.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance why, in view of the fact that figures are available to show that the number of weekly National Assistance grants on 25th June, 1957, was 1,668,000, it is not possible to give the total amount of the financial grants made to these claimants.

Because, as I told the hon. Member in a Written Answer on 9th February, 1959, information about total expenditure on National Assistance is not available for weekly periods.

asked the Paymaster-General if he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board, when planning any extensions to existing colliery spoilheaps or the siting of new ones, to consult with the local authority in whose area the project lies.

No. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 27th January to the hon. Member for Barnsley (Mr. Mason) by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs.

asked the Paymaster-General to what extent the strategic reserve of oil will be stored in its crude state; and what amount of profit is expected to accrue to his Department when this oil is sold to distributive agencies or consumers.

The additional stocks will be of refined products. These reserves are of course intended as a national insurance, rather than a commercial investment. Whether there will be a profit or loss depends on the conditions ruling at the time of disposal.

asked the Paymaster-General what agreement has been reached between Her Majesty's Government and the European Coal and Steel Community regarding the export of coal during 1959.

The export of British coal to the member countries of the European Coal and Steel Community is primarily a matter for commercial negotiation. The Agreement of Association between the United Kingdom and the Community however provides for inter-Governmental consultations on matters affecting trade between them, and current problems are now under discussion.

asked the Paymaster-General what revision of the opencast coalmining programme he has approved for 1959; and how many acres of farmland will be taken for this purpose, compared with 1958 and 1957.

As announced in the House on 3rd December last, the revised programme for 1959 is 11 million tons. In 1957 and 1958, 7,700 and 6,900 acres respectively of land were taken. It is not known how much land the National Coal Board may need later this year for next year's production but it already has sufficient land for its 1959 output.

asked the Paymaster-General what progress has been made in the manufacture of smokeless fuel from Kent coal.

The National Coal Board's new processes for the manufacture of smokeless fuel are not yet proved for full-scale production.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that X-ray apparatus employed in footwear shops are operated without risk to customers and staff; and if he will make a statement.

The manufacturers and representatives of the users agreed to adopt, with effect from 1st July, 1958, safety requirements formulated by my Department on the basis of recommendations made by the Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee, relating to the manufacture and use of this apparatus. Existing equipment will be modified to conform with the requirements within five years. The requirements are designed to ensure that no direct harm can be caused to shop assistants or customers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of prosecutions regarding betting shops for the year 1958.

I have been asked to reply.I regret that the information is not available for England and Wales as a whole. In the Metropolitan Police District the number of prosecutions in respect of premises of all kinds in which illegal ready-money betting took place contrary to the Betting Act, 1853, was 246. It is thought that not more than twelve of these premises were shops, but precise information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which English firms and which Scottish firms were invited to tender for contracts for new ambulance service vehicles placed on behalf of St. Andrew's and Red Cross Scottish Ambulance Service in 1958.

The Joint Central Committee for the Scottish Ambulance Service advised me that it was urgently necessary to provide additional vehicles to avoid a breakdown of the Service during the winter. Because of the extreme urgency of this year's order, therefore, the delay involved in the normal competitive tender procedure would have been serious and the contracts were placed with two English firms which alone were in quantity production of the vehicles required. It will be possible for the normal procedure to be followed in future, and suitable Scottish firms along with others will shortly be invited to tender for the next year's order.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many graduates of Scottish universities in recent years found employment in Scotland; and how many went to other countries.

This is not a matter for which I have any statutory responsibility, but I understand that information in the precise form asked for by the right hon. Gentleman is not readily available.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he is aware that there is considerable anxiety about the delay in proceeding with the portions of the London-Yorkshire Motorway in Leicestershire, that the plan was submitted by the Leicestershire County Council in October, 1958, that the problems of links and bypasses differ very little from those of the original Charnwood Plan and that the additional work required has been projected already; and whether he will now give instructions for the work to proceed speedily, in view of the report which he has now considered.

I am well aware of the anxiety about this section but I cannot proceed without a thorough re-examination of the whole problem. As I explained in reply to the hon. Member last Monday, the consulting engineer has only just agreed a report with the County Surveyor and this is being considered as quickly as possible.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if, in order to further the work of road safety, he will now appoint an official representative to the Council of the Institute of Advanced Motorists Limited.

Yes. I have decided to appoint a senior officer of my Department to the Council of the Institute.

asked the Minister of Defence to what extent he co-ordinates the mechanical transport requirements of the Royal Air Force and those of the other services; and what steps he is taking to standardise common user vehicles and components.

The requirements of the three Services for transport and other equipment are co-ordinated and standardised, so far as is practicable, through inter-departmental machinery under the general supervision of the Defence Administration Committee.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is now in a position to make a statement on the Anglo-Egyptian negotiations.

I have nothing to add to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member on 17th February.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what would be the net increases in pay for a married man without children, after tax and Surtax, receiving salary increases from £6,500 to £7,500, £6,000 to £7,000, £4,250 to £5,000, £3,400 to £3,800, and £2,700 to £3,000, respectively.

The Answer is £297 4s. 6d., £302 4s. 6d., £297 18s. 4d., £197 15s. 7d., and £163 6s. 8d. respectively.

asked the Minister of Education the numbers, type and approximate cost, in each case, of denominational educational projects in Middlesex proposed for the next five years; and for which denominations.

The Answer is as follows:

asked the Postmaster-General how many applications there are for telephone service in the Dartford area which have not yet been met.

Twenty-two. In addition ninety-four applications are under inquiry or in course of being met. Three hundred and ninety-seven telephones were connected during 1958.

asked the Postmaster-General the quotas for telephone kiosks, with the allocation of quotas of expenditure, which are provided in rural areas in each of the counties in Wales for the twelve months beginning on 1st April, 1959.

The programme of rural kiosks for the next financial year is under consideration and will he settled shortly.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will publish the names of the Juvenile Employment Committee for the Gosforth and Newburn area with their occupations; the number of juveniles of school-leaving age who have obtained work and the nature of the work with the educational standard in each case; the number who are not employed, with their educational standard in each case; and if he will give the same information for the Borough of Wallsend.

The members of the South Northumberland Youth Employment Committee—which replaces the former Gosforth and District and Newburn and District Youth Employment Committees—are:

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the names of firms which have now contracted to take factory space in the North-Eastern Development Area, the area taken by each firm, the number of workers to be employed by each firm, and the date when each factory is expected to be completed.

It would be a breach of confidence to disclose the information asked for about individual firms without their prior consent. This has been sought, and, when given, I will send the hon Member the details required.

asked the President at the Board of Trade whether, in view of the termination of the Cotton Yarn Spinners Agreement, he will reconsider his previous decision and direct the Restrictive Practices Court to give priority to the consideration of restrictive practices in the textile machinery industry.

The Registrar is now in the best position to judge the right order in which to bring agreements before the Restrictive Practices Court. I am satisfied that he takes into account this kind of relationship between different industries for which restrictive agreements have been registered.