asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has imposed Purchase Tax on second-hand jewellery.

To remove a cloak for malpractices.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, taking the internal purchasing value of the £ sterling as 20s. in October, 1951, it had declined to 18s. 7d. in January, 1953, 17s. 8d. in January, 1955, 16s. 1d. in January, 1957; and what was the comparable figure for January, 1959.

Yes, 15s. 2d.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give an assurance that British shipbuilders will be enabled to provide credit facilities at least equal to those of their major competitors.

The credit terms on which ships are constructed and sold are a matter for negotiation between builders and owners and financial and other institutions. There are no restrictions imposed by the Government on their discretion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the approximate amount produced by a 1s. Income Tax at the present general rate of taxation.

On the basis of the Budget estimate 1s. in the standard rate of Income Tax together with the proportional amounts in the reduced rates will yield £272 million in 1958–59.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he has approved the application by the county borough council of Middles-brough to acquire by compulsory purchase land between Suffield Street and Henry Street.

Yes. My decision on this Order was given on 16th February.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many appeals from refusal of planning permission for the quarrying of chalk in West Dorset he has received during the last five years; how many he has allowed; and to what extent, in deciding these appeals, he has taken into account both the need for more local employment and also the desirability of preserving the landscape.

One such appeal was lodged, but it was later withdrawn.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he is expecting to receive and publish the findings of the Pritchard Committee.

I understand that I may receive the Report within a month or so. I shall publish it as soon as possible after getting it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, since no consultations have taken place between him and the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation in respect of the apprehensions of tenants and householders likely to lose their accommodation when work on the Eastern Avenue extension, through the borough of Leyton, is in operation, if he will now undertake such consultations in order to ensure that adequate compensation or alternative accommodation is provided.

No. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation is responsible for these matters and will take appropriate action when necessary.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what further action he has taken to encourage adjacent local authorities, particularly in the Greater London area, to pool their lists of applications for housing accommodation in respect of applications outstanding for over five years or in special need on grounds of mental and physical ill-health.

Local authorities already give full weight to ill-health in considering housing need. I have not urged them to adopt schemes for the pooling of applications, because, as I told the hon. Member on 11th March last, I doubt whether this would be considered practicable by any local authority.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will consider acquiring and exercising compulsory powers to enable him to be furnished with information from local authorities in respect of fluctuations in rental charges and availability of accommodation as between one year and another.

I am not clear whether the hon. Member is referring to all rented accommodation or only to council houses. The Institute of Municipal Treasurers and Accountants has for some time past collected and published annually the rents of council houses in some areas, and arrangements have now been made with the Institute for this to cover all local authorities. The first full return, entitled Housing Statistics, 1957–58, was published last November.As regards availability of accommodation, whether the hon. Member is referring to all rented accommodation or only to council houses this fluctuates so quickly that it would not be possible to produce any reliable statistics.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress is being made with the geological survey of the Somaliland Protectorate.

Most of the basement rocks covering one quarter of the Protectorate have been geologically mapped by the Geological Survey. The sedimentary rocks covering the rest of the Protectorate are being intensively surveyed by oil companies. Large deposits of high-grade gypsum/anhydrite near Barbera are being evaluated. Small deposits of tin, beryl and columbite have been discovered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the registration of electors in Class A Electoral Districts in Somaliland is now complete.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give an estimate of the number of Somalis who have registered for the coming territorial elections.

The registration of electors in the three electoral districts of Hargeisa, Berbera and Burao, ended on 17th January. By this date 2,508 persons had registered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on his recent tour overseas; and who accompanied him on this visit

My right hon. Friend visited Somaliland Protectorate from 5th to 10th February. He had intended to spend from 10th to 20th February in Aden Colony and Protectorate but was forced to interrupt his tour and return to the United Kingdom on 15th February for the Cyprus talks. He returned to Aden to complete his tour on 21st February and is expected home again on 28th February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to Cyprus has changed during the past 12 months; and what has been the reason for this change of policy.

The main purposes of Her Majesty's Government's policy in Cyprus were defined in the first paragraph of their Statement of Policy of 19th June, 1958. The Agreement reached with the Greek and Turkish Governments and the representatives of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on 19th February, 1959, is wholly consistent wth these purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when work was commenced on the provision of a deep-water harbour in Cyprus; and when it is anticipated that the work will be completed.

Work on access roads began in April, 1957.Work on the harbour will take not less than two years to complete, but I should not like to be precise about when it can start.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the reason far the presence of the frigate, H.M.S. "Ulster", in St. George's Bay, Grenada.

H.M.S. "Ulster" is not in St. George's Bay, Grenada. She was there from 10th February to 13th February. There was then a possibility of a strike of Government electricity workers which might have lead to a breakdown of essential services. In these circumstances, it was considered advisable for H.M.S. "Ulster" to visit Grenada in case it became necessary to provide technical assistance from her ship's company to maintain these services. The strike in fact did not take place.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the official steps being taken to prevent the industrial dispute arising in Grenada.

A dispute over wage claims between employees and the Government Electricity Department was first reported in August, 1958. A tribunal was appointed to inquire into the matters under dispute but the union concerned did not accept its recommendations. Discussions between the union and Government representatives continued and a Government Committee was appointed in February to negotiate with the union. Negotiations are now in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the magistrate informed Captain Law on 18th January, 1958, that he would be maintained for three weeks, and efforts made to find him employment, when the effect of his order was the detention of Captain Law in Kamiti Prison for a period of three months.

I have no information on what remarks, if any, the magistrate made when he found Captain Law to be a vagrant and ordered his committal to house of detention.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the passport of Captain Law was taken from him by the Kenya authorities in June, 1958, when he was repatriated by air to the United Kingdom; and when it will be returned to him.

The initial five-year validity of Captain Law's passport expired early in 1954, and he had no means to pay for its renewal for a further five years. It was therefore retained, and he was issued instead with an emergency travel document at no cost. He may apply for a new passport at any time in the usual way.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the appeal of Captain Law for his repatriation to the United Kingdom was ignored by the magistrate on 17th April, 1958.

The repatriation of Captain Law was not a matter for the Court, but for the Kenya Government, which had been considering the matter since Captain Law first made his wishes known. As the formalities in this difficult and unusual case had not been completed by the time the power to repatriate under the Ordinance was about to expire Captain Law was brought before the magistrate again on 17th April to ensure that there would be no legal bar to repatriation. Within a week of the magistrate's order of this date the way was clear to try to secure a sea passage for Captain Law; no booking could be obtained and he was therefore repatriated by air.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the repeated appeals of Captain Law to the Superintendent of Kamiti Prison for his release and repatriation to the United Kingdom were ignored.

Captain Law made two applications for repatriation while at Kamiti, the first on 21st January, 1958, and the second, to the Acting Commissioner of Prisons, on 14th May. There was an unfortunate delay in dealing with the first (largely because this was the first recorded case of a European, and a permanent resident of the Colony, voluntarily surrendering himself as a vagrant and asking to be sent to the United Kingdom at public expense); but for several weeks before the second application efforts had been proceeding to book him a sea passage to this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the result of the medical examination of Captain Ernest Law after he was admitted to Kamiti Prison on 18th January, 1958.

The medical officer found that Captain Law's physical condition was normal for a man of his age.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what date the decision was taken to extend the probationary appointment of Mr. Dyke Campbell Hill; and on what date this decision was communicated to Mr. Hill.

As my hon. and gallant Friend is aware the probationary appointment of Mr. Dyke Campbell Hill was not formally extended.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, on what grounds the Research Council of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in its consideration of the dispersal of the Microbiology Group did not seek the advice of the advisory committee which had been attached to the Group or the Institute of Biology.

My noble Friend understand that the Research Council were already fully aware of the advisory committee's views on the future of microbiological research and of the Group before they took the decision referred to in the Question. They did not consider it necessary to supplement the views and advice they had already received by consulting any additional bodies. The reasons for their decision were fully explained at the time and I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the statement then made by the Research Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what advice le has received from the Highlands and Islands Advisory Panel about Messrs. MacBraynes' proposals for the reorganisation of their sea services as they affect Skye and Raasay;(2) whether he is aware of the adverse effect which MacBraynes' proposals for the reorganisation of their sea service may have upon the life of Skye and Raasay about which the hon. Member for Inverness has written to him; whether he will take this into account in making his decision; and if he will make a statement.

At their meeting on 23rd December the Highlands Panel recommended that the summer sea service to Raasay and Portree should be retained so long as there was a real demand for it; and that a ferry service for Raasay should not be brought into operation instead until it could be an all-weather ferry service. Since then further consideration has been given by Messrs. MacBraynes to various ways of serving Raasay and Skye, and these have been communicated to the Panel. Representatives of the Panel are visiting Raasay and Skye later this week to discuss what solution will best meet the Islands' needs. In considering the Panel's further recommendations I shall, of course, take into account the various representations made to me on this subject by my hon. Friend and by others.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the expected cost of the hospital building programme for the years 1959–60 and 1960–61.

Expenditure on the hospital building programme in Scotland in each of the years 1959–60 and 1960–61 is expected to be about £3·2 million, including all expenditure on capital equipment.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland in how many statutes, applicable to Scotland alone in the last 25 years, there have been permitted fines of up to £500 or over; and whether he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of such statutes.

There are five such statutes. Following is the list:

PUBLIC GENERAL ACTS ENACTED WITHIN THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AND APPLYING MAINLY OR WHOLLY TO SCOTLAND ALONE WHICH PROVIDE FOR THE IMPOSITION OF FINES OF £500 OR MORE
Short Title of Act	Relevant Provision
The Illegal Trawling (Scotland) Act, 1934	Section 1 (3)
The Water (Scotland) Act, 1946	Fourth Schedule
The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Protection) (Scotland) Act, 1951	Section 5
The Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act, 1951	Section 22 (7)
The Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act, 1956	Section 40 (1)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is yet in a position to make a further statement as to the noxious fumes, said to contain arsenic content, which trouble the residents in and about the Bannermill Lane area of the city of Aberdeen; if the officers of the Scottish Office Department of Health have yet completed their analyses of samples; and with what result.

Analysis of the fume discharged from the chimney of premises in the Bannermill Lane area indicates an arsenic content of rather less than 0·1 parts per million, which, I am advised, does not give cause for concern. A further meeting between the Corporation, my Department and the firm involved is to be held on 3rd March to consider the general question of how best to improve atmospheric conditions in the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make available in the prison libraries of Scotland copies of Command Paper No. 645, Penal Practice in a Changing Society, in order that any prisoner who desires to study it may do so.

The White Paper is not directly relevant to Scottish prisons or prisoners, but I am arranging to make it available in the prisons.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the termination of the Cotton Yarn Spinners Agreement, he will now permit the cotton industry to import the most suitable textile machinery available from other countries without payment of import duty.

It is open to users to apply for the removal of duty on definable classes of textile machinery, and any such application would be carefully considered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many applications have been made by firms for sites in the Wrexham Development Area during the past three months; and how many have qualified for assistance under the Distribution of Industries (Finance) Act, 1958.

No applications for industrial development certificates for this area have been received during the past three months. In the six weeks since Wrexham qualified for assistance under the Act, five firms have made preliminary inquiries, but none has yet made a firm application.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that foreign contracts are being lost to continental competitors where credit terms are involved, owing to the rigidity of the Export Credits Guarantee Department demanding that certain minimum figures shall be reached to qualify for two and three year credit terms, respectively; and whether he will issue instructions that greater flexibility be practised in regard to otherwise approved accounts.

The Exports Credits Guarantee Department is entirely flexible in this matter. If a contract is otherwise acceptable for insurance, the Department is normally prepared to put United Kingdom exporters in a position to match credit terms offered by foreign competitors. I should be pleased to look into any cases where my hon. Friend considers the Department has not acted in this way.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what persons are serving on the North-East Trading Estate Board; and when they were appointed.

There are at present eight Directors. The following is the information:

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of the rising incidence of unemployment in Lowestoft, he will now add this town to those areas included within the provisions of the Distribution of Industry Act, 1958, so as to encourage the development of new industries there.

Although the number of those at present unemployed in Lowestoft is high, the rate is very little above what it was at this time last year and I hope that the numbers will come down to a low level again this summer, as they did last summer. At present, therefore, I do not think we can add Lowestoft to this list.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the value of the export of British aircraft and their component parts for the year 1958.

About £151 million, including engines and electrical parts and appliances.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the estimated number of cigarettes smoked in the United Kingdom for 1958; and what were the corresponding numbers for 1951.

Official estimates of the number of cigarettes smoked in the United Kingdom are not made, but I understand that estimates of the weight of cigarettes sold to the public are published by the Tobacco Manufacturers Standing Committee, and that they show an increase of one-fifth between 1951 and 1958.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in HANSARD the text of the letter which he wrote in February, 1959, to 50,000 managing directors drawing their attention to the assistance the Government are prepared to give to firms setting up factories in Aberdeen and the Highlands, indicating to whom the letters were sent.

I presume that the hon. and learned Member is referring to the letter which I sent on 16th January. The text was published in the Board of Trade Journal, in the issue of 23rd January, and copies have been placed in the Library. I will send the hon. and learned Member a copy of the letter which went to almost every company with 25 or more employees.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the trade agreement recently signed by the Federation of British Industries and the East German Chamber of Commerce, and the fact that 190 British firms are taking part, he will visit the Leipzig Fair or appoint an official observer to visit the fair on his behalf.

No.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the high level of unemployment on Merseyside, he is now prepared to build Government-financed factories in the Merseyside Development Area.(2) what steps his Department is taking to attract new industries on Merseyside in order to relieve the unemployment problem in that area.

Yes. I am prepared to add Merseyside to the list of places where we are now prepared to build Government-financed factories.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he took to inform the Caltex Petroleum Company of the facilities available on the Isle of Sheppey, when their proposal to build a refinery at Southampton was opposed.

As the application by Caltex (U.K.) Limited for planning permission for their oil refinery at Warsash will be the subject of a public inquiry, it would not be appropriate at this stage to call the company's attention to facilities available elsewhere.

asked the Paymaster-General (1) what inquiries he made as to whether the building of the new strip mill at Colvilles had received the approval of the Iron and Steel Board before he authorised the loan to the company of £50 million for this purpose;(2) on what dates the proposal to build the semi-continuous strip mill at Colvilles was submitted to the Iron and Steel Board for consideration, and approval was given by that Board.

As the right hon. Member will see from paragraph (1) of the Heads of Agreement between Messrs. Colvilles and Her Majesty's Government, it is a condition of the loan that the company's plans must be approved by the Iron and Steel Board.The company has not yet submitted a detailed scheme for the consideration of the Iron and Steel Board. The nature of its proposals were, however, fully discussed between the company, the Government, and the Board; and, before the Government entered into negotiation with the company, the Board informed my noble Friend that, subject to their examination of detailed plans, they regarded these proposals as acceptable.

asked the Paymaster-General what opencast operations, apart from the Polesworth Abbey site which he has authorised, are proceeding in the Dordon and Polesworth area of the county of Warwick, and by what authority; what directions he has given, designating what land as land on which prospecting for minerals may be carried out; and what proportion of such land has already been the subject of opencast coalmining.

No other opencast production operations are proceeding in the Dordon-Polesworth area, but directions for prospecting have been given in respect of 62½ acres at Boot Site and 67 acres at the Orchard Site. About seven acres of the Orchard Site have already been subject to opencast operations.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what was the ratio of other ranks to officers of the rank of air commodore and above on 1st August, 1939, 1945, 1951, and 1958.

The ratio of air officers to the rest of the Air Force, excluding women, on the dates referred to was as follows:

1st August, 1939	…	1:1,285
1945	…	1:2,291
1951	…	1:1,020
1958	…	1:717

When calculating this ratio the figures for officers of the rank of Air Commodore and above have included officers serving in other Government Departments, in international headquarters and seconded to Commonwealth and other Governments in addition to those serving in purely R.A.F. posts.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many men were recruited to the Royal Navy from Northern Ireland during the last year; and how this compares with previous years.

The number of R.N. ratings and R.M. other ranks recruited in Northern Ireland in the last three years were:—

1956	…	…	…	…	206
1957	…	…	…	…	254
1958	…	…	…	…	267

These figures are for calendar years and for men entered on Regular engagements at Belfast.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on what dates, either at the time or subsequent to the Berlin Airlift, the East German Government suspended, or prevented the normal operation, supply, or exchange with West Berlin of water supplies, interzonal trains, telephone and postal communications, and the practice of co-operating with West Berlin police in tracing and apprehending non-political criminals; and to what extent, since the new Soviet proposals on Berlin, threats have been made by the East Germans in connection with these matters.

The actions taken by the Soviet authorities to interrupt West Berlin's communications and utilities during the blockade were published in Command Paper No. 7534 of 11th October, 1948, Part II.Since 1949, there has been extensive interference by the East German authorities with Berlin communications. The following are details.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in any peace treaty with Germany, he will seek to ensure that service in the German armed forces is forbidden to any person sentenced for crimes against peace, against humanity and because of war crimes or otherwise found guilty of offences by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg.

I cannot anticipate Her Majesty's Government's attitude on particular points of detail in any discussions leading to a German Peace Treaty.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware of a resurgence of Nazism and anti-Semitism in Western Germany and whether, in any peace treaty with Germany, he will insist that action be taken by Germany to prevent the rise of Nazism in that country.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what evidence he has concerning the re-emergence of Nazism and anti-Semitism in Western Germany; and what action he is taking in consequence of this country's rights in the matter under the Potsdam agreements.

Although there have been some isolated cases of anti-Semitism there is no evidence of the resurgence of Nazism. These cases have been promptly dealt with by the West German authorities and condemned strongly in the Bundestag and in all responsible circles in Western Germany. This is a matter for the Federal German Government. As regards a peace treaty, I cannot anticipate Her Majesty's Government's attitude.

asked the Minister of Health (1) what steps are being taken to ensure that general practitioners and others are aware of the risks in diagnostic radiology;(2) when he expects to receive the report of Lord Adrian's Committee on the hazards from radiation.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I have just received an interim report from Lord Adrian's Committee and I should like to take the opportunity to express our sincere thanks to the Committee for the work they have done and are doing. The report will be published as soon as possible. It deals mainly with mass miniature radiography, the value of which the Committee consider far outweighs any effects of the very small amount of radiation involved. It also includes some preliminary observations on radiological procedure generally, but comprehensive recommendations on this must await the completion of the detailed survey of present practice which the Committee are making. Meanwhile, the need to keep exposure to medical radiation to the minimum is well recognised by the medical profession, and advice on the subject is available from the sources described in the Answer I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Dr. Stross) on 12th May, 1958.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps he

NUMBERS OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS ON THE REGISTERS OF EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN MIDDLESEX
Employment Exchange (including Youth Employment Office)		15th January, 1951					12th January, 1953
		Men	Boys	Women	Girls	Total	Men	Boys	Women	Girls	Total
Acton	…	134	15	64	2	215	210	1	111	—	322
Brentford	…	246	14	56	6	322	323	9	107	14	453
Mill Hill	…	182	—	103	—	285	277	—	131	—	408
Ealing	…	264	11	120	10	405	420	16	217	19	672
Enfield	…	173	21	76	22	292	710	16	184	9	919
Feltham	…	55	13	48	25	141	88	22	126	27	263
Finchley	…	201	10	84	9	304	299	9	79	10	397
Harrow	…	517	35	273	49	874	626	41	410	48	1,125
Hayes	…	103	12	61	8	184	152	28	125	20	325
Hendon	…	254	23	65	32	374	352	25	144	26	547
Hounslow	…	212	18	146	13	389	290	29	196	6	521
Ruislip	…	Opened 9th August, 1955 (previously included in Harrow)
Southall	…	93	9	71	8	181	115	21	78	15	229
Staines	…	153	27	137	21	338	240	30	191	44	505
Tottenham	…	533	27	204	12	776	1,016	41	413	41	1,511
Uxbridge	…	184	15	106	23	328	247	6	255	22	530
Wembley	…	167	6	86	7	266	218	5	92	6	321
Willesden	…	394	32	65	18	509	846	37	202	32	1,117
Wood Green	…	465	31	160	26	682	723	25	266	31	1,045
Total	…	4,330	319	1,925	291	6,865	7,152	361	3,327	370	11,210

I have been asked to reply. In accordance with the recommendations of a Working Party which reported in 1953, a new Public Health Inspectors Education Board has been set up, the training and examination arrangements have been reviewed and a number of other progressive measures have been taken. These have undoubtedly contributed to the 1958 recruitment when the target of 200 new recruits set by the Working Party was almost reached.

asked the Minister of Labour what were the numbers of males, females and juveniles, respectively, without work in each of the employment exchanges in Middlesex in January, 1951, January, 1953, January, 1955, January. 1957, and January, 1959.

The following table gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Labour how many men and women are registered as unemployed in Leigh, Ather- ton, and Tyldesley; and what percentage of these have been unemployed for two months or more.

The following table gives the information desired.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men employed at Douglas Castle Colliery, Lanark, have been declared redundant this year; how many have been offered re-employment by the National Coal Board within and beyond daily travelling distance from their homes, respectively how many of these men are, or were, resident in the Douglas area; and how many have accepted jobs involving removal of their homes.

126, of whom 86 were resident in the Douglas area. Ninety-seven men have accepted other employment with the National Coal Board, 53 within and 44 beyond daily travelling distance of their homes. The latter figure includes 35 men who are prepared to move their homes. Another 22 men are being considered for re-employment with the Board.

asked the Minister of Health whether consideration is now being given to the number of nurses at present available in United Kingdom hospitals, and to their pay and conditions; and if he will make a statement on this subject.

The supply of nurses for the hospital service is kept under continuous review, and the numbers have substantially increased in recent years. Pay and conditions of service are governed by the agreements of the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council, and I understand that the Council at present has salaries under review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that on 17th February, at about 9.30 a.m., no fewer than four separate accidents, involving at least 10 vehicles, occurred in fog on the Watford by-pass between its junction with A.5 and that with Spur Road, Mill Hill; and, in view of the fact that some of the drivers must have been going too fast for the conditions or overtaking when it was not safe to do so, what prosecutions are being instituted for careless or dangerous driving.

Responsibility for the investigation of road accidents in the Metropolitan Police District and for deciding whether there should be prosecutions arising out of them rests with the Commissioner of Police. It would not be proper for me to make any statement as to prosecutions that may be pending.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will consider investigating whether it would be advantageous where accidents are possible over United Kingdom landing fields, for radar control from the ground to be made more active than is sometimes the case at present.

I have no evidence to show that radar installations have not been active when required by pilots. However, matters affecting safety, such as this, are under constant study by my Department and changes in instructions to radar units can be made as may seem necessary from time to time.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT particulars of recruiting for the Regular Army, male adults only, for the years 1957 and 1958, broken down to show the figures for the principal recruiting centres in the British Isles.

pursuant to his reply, [OFFICIAL REPORT, Wednesday, 18tn February, 1959; Vol. 600, c. 59], supplied the following information:

REGULAR RERUITING (MALE ADULTS) DIRECT FROM CLVIL LLFE
Recruiting Centre		1957	1958
Glasgow	…	1,090	1,197
Liverpool	…	970	1,204
Edinburgh	…	878	827
Manchester	…	849	1,039
Sheffield	…	814	1,066
Leeds	…	804	971
Birmingham	…	760	873
Central London	…	617	606
Nottingham	…	582	753
Belfast	…	480	1,026
Newcastle	…	472	633
Brighton	…	460	419
Leicester	…	453	475
Wolverhampton	…	435	345
Bournemouth	…	421	359
Cardiff	…	407	528
Croydon	…	402	408
Hull	…	398	410
Bradford	…	388	357
Dundee	…	388	519
Acton	…	387	381
Blackheath	…	379	386
Stoke-on-Trent	…	375	525

Recruiting Centre		1957	1958
Reading	…	367	309
Derby	…	354	489
Lincoln	…	353	428
Wanstead	…	347	388
Bristol	…	342	390
Surbiton	…	342	230
Chatham	…	325	294
Portsmouth	…	315	326
Kentish Town	…	287	355
Chester	…	278	427
Middlesborough	…	272	372
Southend	…	270	268
Gloucester	…	263	241
Preston	…	256	276
Exeter	…	252	239
Ipswich	…	243	251
St. Albans	…	241	349
Aberdeen	…	237	257
Darlington	…	237	384
Southampton	…	236	293
South Shields	…	228	338
Carlisle	…	205	153
Norwich	…	205	196
Swansea	…	205	238
Northampton	…	204	210
Coventry	…	203	226
York	…	183	173
Cambridge	…	176	152
Huddersfield	…	174	303
Pontypridd	…	168	323
Canterbury	…	167	216
Inverness	…	167	137
Salisbury	…	148	156
Blackburn	…	145	207
Worcester	…	144	130
Wrexham	…	138	220
Omagh	…	137	246
Devonport	…	133	161
Dumfries	…	133	134
Shrewsbury	…	107	93
Oxford	…	97	87
Redruth	…	71	82
Channel Isles	…	53	62
Total	…	22,617	26,116

NOTE:—The figures are based on weekly returns from the centres and the totals therefore vary slightly from those published which relate to calendar months.