asked the Minister of Health what steps he proposes to take to improve maternity services in Swindon, following the publication of the Cranbrook Committee's Report.

With regard to action following the Report of the Cranbrook Committee, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Dame Irene Ward) on 20th January. I may, however, add that the Oxford Regional Hospital Board has recently arranged for the use of maternity beds at the R.A.F. Hospital, Wroughton, to serve the Swindon area.

asked the Minister of Health what steps are being taken to ensure that the number and grading of permanent posts in the teaching and practice of psychiatry and in research into mental illness and mental

Agency	Field	Amount
		£
Medical Research Council	Biochemistry, neuropharmacology and neurophysiology	18,495
	Clinical psychiatry	34,827
	Genetics	1,100
	Psychology (excluding work for the services, industrial and academic psychology)	3,692
	Neurology	5,000
Regional Hospital Boards	Various locally organised projects.
N.W. Metropolitan		5,850
S.W. Metropolitan		4,415
South Western		700
		£74,079

Boards of governors of teaching hospitals and regional hospital boards also undertook during 1957–58 mental health research costing £33,000 and £28,000 respectively from non-Exchequer funds.Research into mental health, financial details of which are not available, is also undertaken by universities and medical schools.The hon. Member will be interested to know that expenditure by the Medical Research Council on mental health

The number of such posts has increased as rapidly as permitted by the supply of suitable candidates for training in recent years. Hospital boards are well aware of the need to continue to develop their mental health services as far as resources allow.

asked the Minister of Health what sums were applied from Government sources to research into mental illness during the last financial year; how these sums were distributed between different fields of research; and how such expenditure was divided between the Medical Research Council, the several regions of the National Health Service, the teaching hospitals and other channels.

Exchequer funds applied to research into mental illness by the Medical Research Council and the National Health Service during 1957–58 were as follows:research in the current year is expected to be more than double that in 1957–58.

asked the Minister of Health what representations he has had from the medical profession regarding the advertising and unrestricted sale of tranquillisers to the public; whether he has yet received a report from the inter-departmental committee on drug addiction which is considering this matter; and if he will make a further statement.

Some individual doctors have made representations, and articles and letters have appeared in the medical Press. The inter-departmental committee is not yet ready to advise on this matter and in the circumstances I can say no more for the moment.

asked the Minister of Health what progress he has made in his negotiations with the medical profession about the provision of drugs and appliances to private patients upon National Health Service terms; and whether he will make a statement.

I have at present nothing to add to my reply of 26th January to the hon. Member for Newcastle - upon - Tyne, East (Mr. Blenkinsop).

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of the population of England and Wales received free treatment from general practitioners in the National Health Service in 1958; whether the number has increased or diminished in the last 10 years; and how far he estimates that the number will increase or diminish in the years ahead.

The number of persons who actually receive treatment from general medical practitioners in the National Health Service in the course of each year is not known.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make a full statement on his Department's correspondence with the City of Stoke-on-Trent since 1951 over the proposed health centre at Blurton-Newstead; what decision was taken on the tender of £36,000; to what extent the proposal conformed to Section 21 of the National Health Service Act, 1946; and why the health centre has not been provided for the urgent needs of the people in this expanding area.

The council's first proposal in April, 1952, was to build four general practitioner surgeries, not a health centre. In 1953, a proposal for a health centre under Section 21 was made, and was approved in 1954, but in February, 1956, when the council's plans were in an advanced stage, restrictions on capital expenditure made it impossible to proceed. In December, 1957, the council submitted a tender price of £36,000, a saving of £2,300 was effected, and loan consent was issued for the revised sum in August, 1958. I have recently been informed that the general practitioners concerned, except for two partners, no longer wish to work from the centre, and the council proposes therefore to provide only one general practitioner surgery.

asked the Minister of Health in what areas demonstrations of the fluoridation of water supplies are taking place; and with what result.

In the Borough of Watford, in part of the County of Anglesey, and, in Scotland, the Burgh of Kilmarnock. Much useful technical experience is being gained but it is too early for improvement to be apparent in the condition of children's teeth.

asked the Minister of Health how many health centres have been provided under Section 21 of the National Health Service Act, 1946; and how many have been provided in Plymouth, Sheffield. London, and Stoke-on-Trent, respectively

Ten new health centres have been provided under this Section, including one in Sheffield and one in London; one has been approved in Stoke-on-Trent; I have had no proposal for a centre at Plymouth.

asked the Minister of Health upon what administrative basis, condition or advice health centres are provided under Section 21 of the National Health Service Act, 1946; and to what extent areas receive priority or urgent consideration when the people employed are industrial workers and tend to suffer more than others from industrial conditions.

The continued experimental approach to health centres is based on advice given in reports by the Committee on General Practice in 1954 and by the Guillebaud Committee in 1956. The responsibility for providing a health centre rests with the local health authority in consultation with the executive council and other interests concerned. No question of priority between areas has so far arisen.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the success of the European conferences of local authorities for 1957 and 1958, respectively, if he will give his support to the resolution of the Consultative Assembly for the acceptance of the principle of holding the European Conference of Local Authorities every year, and provide the necessary financial contribution to enable the conference to hold its third session in the course of 1959.

A decision on the principle of holding annual conferences is to be taken at the next meeting of the Ministers' Deputies.The Committee of Ministers has already agreed to the holding of a third conference early in 1960. It was not possible to fix a date satisfactory to all member countries in 1959.Funds for preparatory work necessary during this financial year have been voted. The total amount to be voted for the conference will he decided at the next meeting of the Deputies.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what changes will arise from the transfer of the headquarters of the Bagdad Pact from Bagdad to Ankara.

The headquarters of the Bagdad Pact has been functioning in Ankara since October, 1958. Apart from the geographical change this has in no way affected the working of the Pact.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the anti-British propaganda broadcast to East Africa and, in particular, Zanzibar by the Cairo Radio; and what representations he is making about this.

Cairo Radio's Swahili, Somali and Arabic programmes are heard in East Africa, including Zanzibar. These broadcasts include much anti-British and anti-Colonial propaganda. Her Majesty's Government deplore inflammatory broadcasts but no representations have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that Iceland has declared its willingness to participate in an international conference on the same level as the recent Law of the Sea Conference at Geneva; and, in view of the urgent need for an early settlement in the dispute of the 12-mile territorial limit, if he will take the initiative in convening such a conference.

A second Conference on the Law of the Sea, to be held at Geneva in March or April, 1960, was decided upon by the last United Nations General Assembly. Her Majesty's Government agree that it is urgently necessary to settle disputes in this field and indeed would have liked the conference to be held this summer. Her Majesty's Government are glad to note that, although Iceland did not vote for the conference, she is reported to intend participating in it.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what date he proposes to publish the White Paper on British information services.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he is now in a position to issue a White Paper on the present state of Government information services.

Yes. The White Paper is being published today. Copies will be available in the Vote Office at 3.30 p.m.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he is now in a position to state his proposals for assisting and encouraging the distribution in foreign countries and the Commonwealth of journals of the principal learned societies of this country.

The British Council already makes use of the journals of learned societies in its libraries and reading rooms overseas. It presents them to learned institutions overseas and uses them in exhibitions of specialised periodicals. As announced in the White Paper published today, these services are to be expanded.I am at the moment considering with the Departments concerned what further measures could be taken to promote the circulation of these journals overseas.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce legislation establishing uniform machinery for medical inspection and appeal in all cases where rates paid to farmworkers are reduced by agricultural wages committees on account of backwardness or incapacity.

My right hon. Friend thinks that these are matters which should be considered in the first place by the Agricultural Wages Board, which has certain powers of direction over agricultural wages committees, and I am therefore bringing this question to its notice.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now introduce legislation providing the same protection for the inshore fishermen of this country against trawl fishing as is assured to the Faroes fishermen under the agreement between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of Denmark; and if he will make a statement.

Her Majesty's Government do not propose to consider any alteration in the fishery limits of the United Kingdom pending the outcome of the Second World Conference on the Law of the Sea to be held in the spring of 1960. I hope that this conference will produce lasting agreement on this difficult question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of farmstock involved in outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in 1958, the compensation paid on slaughter, and the origin of the infection, where this has been traced.

The numbers of animals slaughtered in outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in 1958 were: 9,529 cattle, 2,442 sheep, 8,008 pigs, 24 goats. The compensation paid was £869,562. Infection is thought to have spread from the Continent in 17 primary outbreaks and from imported meat in 10.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the satisfactory progress of the attested herds scheme, which should result in Great Britain being completely clear of bovine tuberculosis in two years' time, what further safeguards are to be applied when Irish cattle are brought into this country.

Future arrangements for the trade in store cattle from the Irish Republic are still under consideration. My right hon. Friend hopes to be able to make a statement before long.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many foresters in the employment of the Forestry Commission have received training in the management and control of deer; in what this training consists; and what provision is being made for replacing wastage of foresters so trained.

Five Forestry Commission foresters are at present receiving such training, the main object of which is to minimise damage to forests by humane methods of control. The training consists of theoretical instruction in the biological habits and the control of deer and practical exercises in their location, selection and shooting. The question of replacing wastage of trained foresters has not yet arisen.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what provision has been made in England and Wales under Section 101 (1) of the Agriculture Act, 1947, for the control of the abundance of deer for the purpose of preventing damage to crops.

None. I am not aware of any evidence that would warrant the setting up of a State service for the destruction of deer in this country.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the prohibition of all methods of fishing, except line fishing, within certain areas will include Faroes vessels.

Yes, the proposed Agreement provides that, during specified periods, fishing in these areas by Faroese and Danish as well as British fishing vessels shall be limited to line fishing.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will direct the Forestry Commission to explore the possibility of giving financial assistance, as done in Argyll, to a private firm in order to build a modern saw-mill at Brandon, Suffolk, capable of handling softwood timber likely to come from the Breckland forests in the near future.

The Forestry Commission does consider matters of this kind in the normal course of its duties, but I will see that the hon. Member's suggestion is brought to its notice.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the average increase in the amount of weekly National Assistance grants to provide for increases in rent paid out to recipients of all kinds in Wales since the Rent Act came into operation; and to how many it has been paid.

The National Assistance Board informs me that on the basis of the data available in respect of Wales it is calculated that some 32,000 weekly Assistance grants have been increased to provide for rent increases during 1957 and 1958. Of these slightly over half have been in respect of increases under the Rent Act. The average amount of these increases is calculated as 4s. 3d. per week. The total is cumulative and I have no information as to how many of the grants are still in payment.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many pensioners have 2s. per week deducted from their pensions because they are in receipt of disability allowance; and if he will seek authority to discontinue this lien upon the allowance which is based upon handicaps incurred in the service of the nation.

I regret that this information is not available, and I have no proposals to make on this subject.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he is aware that boys of over 15 years of age, who have insufficient stamps on their cards and then become unemployed, cannot claim either unemployment benefit or National Assistance; and what steps he intends to take to remedy this injustice.

As unemployment benefit is an insurance benefit, payment of it is dependent in all cases on compliance with the contribution conditions. The minimum age for making independent application for National Assistance was fixed at 16 by Section 7 (5) of the National Assistance Act, 1948. Children under that age would be included as dependants in any grant of Assistance for which their parents might be eligible. I have no proposals for legislation on this subject.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will consider the advisability of requesting the Pneumoconiosis and Silicosis Panels to adopt the Gough process, details of which have been sent to him, in the course of their examination of men who are suspected to be suffering from either disease.

This technique is already in use at certain of the panels, and I am considering the possibility of extending its use.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will give urgent consideration to the recommendations made concerning the complaint of pneumoconiosis in the report by Dr. Howell, a copy of which has been sent to him.

The full and interesting report to which the hon. Gentleman refers has recently been sent to me by the General Council of the Trade Union Congress and will clearly require careful study before conclusions can be reached on its recommendations.

asked the Paymaster-General what new markets for the export of coal have been opened during the present coal year; and what grades of coal are in most demand by overseas buyers.

Coal export contracts normally cover the calendar year. In 1958 the United Kingdom resumed exports to the Argentine. While there is at present a surplus of most bituminous coals in the European countries where our main coal markets lie, the demand for anthracite grades has been better maintained.

asked the Paymaster-General if, in view of the present unsatisfactory position with regard to coal distribution, and the fact that in areas like Uxbridge consumers are being asked to wait five weeks for delivery, he will reconsider his decision to relinquish all control of, or responsibility for, coal distribution.

No, sir. Reimposition of control over house coal supplies would not solve the problems that exist in some localities as the result of transport, labour and storage difficulties.

asked the Paymaster-General if he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board to cut its prices in order to stimulate demand and reduce surplus stocks.

No. Such matters are primarily for the commercial judgment of the National Coal Board which is well aware of the need to sell at competitive prices. But the question the Board has to consider is whether further general price reductions would increase demand sufficiently to offset a fall in total proceeds.

asked the Paymaster-General if he will state by name what opencast coal sites have now been worked in the Rural District of Atherstone in the County of Warwick.

Following are the names of the sites:

• Ansley Common.
• Baddesley Wood and extensions.
• Bratts Waste and extensions.
• Churchill and extensions.
• Dordon Hall and extensions.
• Grendon Wood.
• Holly Park.
• Merevale.
• Monks Park.
• Orchard and extensions.
• St. Helena North.
• Suckle Green.
• Slacks Wood.
• Slacks Wood West

asked the Paymaster-General whether, in view of the surplus of small coal in the country and the shortage of processed smokeless fuel required by the consuming public, he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board to accelerate research work on the problem of how to utilise small coal for the new processed type.

No. The National Coal Board is aware of the need to develop improved types of smokeless fuel for commercial production and a general direction would not serve a useful purpose.

asked the Paymaster-General what directions he has issued in the last 12 months about the price of steel.

None.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will specify the nature and number of the export services of his Department available to exporters of fish landed in British ports to the Commonwealth and to foreign countries, respectively, indicating which foreign countries.

I would refer the hon. and learned Member to my right hon. Friend's reply to his Question on 26th February. The same services are available for fish as for films.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what representations have been made to Russia to take cured spent herring.

In the course of the negotiations last summer for the 1958–59 herring contract the Herring Industry Board made strong representations to the Russians to take some spent herring. The Russians insisted, however, that they would buy only cured herring of the kind they ordinarily take from us.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what warnings have been issued to civil flying organisations stating that a fence may be built across Biggin Hill Airfield, and the reasons therefor; and what consideration has been given to using part of the airfield as a base for guided missiles.

The flying clubs who are leasing part of this airfield have been told that a fence may have to be put up to mark off the leased area from the rest of the airfield. I cannot comment on what consideration may have been given to the use of Biggin Hill or any other airfield for guided missiles.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why Royal Air Force married officers, stationed at Tengah, Singapore, are allowed to take their wives and families with them when sent to the hill station 300 miles away, whereas Royal Air Force married other ranks are not allowed to do so.

It is up to the officer or airman to decide whether he takes his family with him when he attends a course at the Command General Service and Passive Defence Training School at Fraser's Hill, and to make private arrangements for their accommodation. I understand that they would normally stay at the nearby civil leave centre run by the Pahang Government. No Service permission is required.

asked the Secretary of State for Air (1) why a Royal Air Force married other rank, stationed at Tengah, Singapore, was sent away from his family for the change of air at the end of his three years' tour of duty; and why, when he applied for leave with his family, he was refused and informed that the hill station duty was a holiday;(2) what course was necessary for a Royal Air Force married other rank, stationed at Tengah, Singapore, to undergo at the hill station just prior to his return to England.

The airman to whom I understand the hon. and gallant Member refers was sent on a 14-day General Service training course. As its name implies, the course is designed to improve an airman's general usefulness to the Service, as well as his usefulness in the Command. I am told that this man did very well. He could not be spared for leave immediately after the course.

asked the Minister of Labour what evidence he has that the firing of pottery containing china stone as a constituent, causes fluorine compounds to be emitted; and how far these have been shown to cause any specific illness to workers in the industry.

The emission of fluorine compounds in this process has been confirmed during investigations by Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate which are still in progress. I have no evidence of ill-health from this cause among workers in the industry.

NUMBERS OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS ON THE REGISTERS OF THE GATESHEAD EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICE AT THE UNDERMENTIONED DATES
Date			Men	Women	Boys	Girls	Total
12th February, 1951	…	…	1,331	407	35	32	1,805
11th February, 1952	…	…	1,226	565	41	63	1,895
16th February, 1953	…	…	1,123	693	46	48	1,910
15th February, 1954	…	…	1,083	550	41	31	1,705
14th February, 1955	…	…	818	444	37	20	1,319
13th February, 1956	…	…	741	264	31	18	1,054
11th February, 1957	…	…	734	344	23	14	1,115
17th February, 1958	…	…	923	251	16	13	1,203
9th February, 1959	…	…	1,475	432	43	28	1,978

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will direct the police to make a special effort to break up teenage gangs in the London area, and so afford greater protection to the public.

The Commissioner of Police, who is responsible for the enforcement of the law in the Metropolis, is taking all possible measures to deal with hooliganism by gangs of youths.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, in view of the recent official statement of the First Lord that material work on H.M.S. "Dreadought" had started, when this nuclear-powered submarine will be at sea.

It is not the practice to disclose information of this kind.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why the frigates H.M.S. "Loch Gorm", "Loch

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed men, women and juveniles registered in the borough of Gateshead at the latest available date for each of the years from 1951 to 1959, respectively.

The following table gives the information desired:Craggie", and "Loch Tarbert" are to be sold to Portugal; why the frigate H.M.S. "Loch More" is to be sold to Ceylon; why the frigates H.M.S. "Farnham Castle" and "Lancaster Castle" are to be sold to Norway; why the frigate H.M.S. "Oxford Castle" is to be sold to Finland; why the ocean minesweepers H.M.S. "Pickle" and "Plucky" and to be sold to Ceylon and Finland, respectively; and if he is satisfied that the Royal Navy's anti-submarine forces are sufficiently strong to justify the disposal of these ships.

Apart from the reference to Pickle, whose sale to Ceylon has already been announced, none of these assumptions is accurate. All the ships named are, nevertheless, surplus to R.N. requirements because they cannot be brought to the standard required of a modern anti-submarine frigate. It is our policy to concentrate our resources on providing up-to-date ships.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the midget submarines H.M.S. "Sprat", "Minnow", and "Shrimp" are now for disposal; and how long each vessel was in commission.

"Sprat", "Minnow" and "Shrimp" were built for development purposes. They are now available for disposal and we are ready to consider offers for them. They were in commission for 21, 23 and 18 months respectively.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he will give an approximate figure for the cost of a vessel of H.M.S. "Sprat" type of midget submarine.

The approximate figure, as will be seen from page 245 of the 1956–57 Navy Estimates, is £93,500.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what investigation was undertaken into the fire on H.M.S. "Broadley" on 29th September, 1956; and what is his estimate of the cost of writing off H.M.S. "Broadley", "Bisham", and "Edlingham".

The circumstances attending the fire in H.M.S. "Broadley" were fully investigated by a Naval board of inquiry. Losses of naval ships are not formally written off, and an exact estimate is not available but the loss was something of the order of half a million pounds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what efforts are being made to improve the staffing of the Medical Department in Uganda, in view of the present inadequacy of the facilities.

The Uganda Medical Department has steadily expanded since 1945 though the rate of expansion naturally depends on the availability of qualified staff as well as finance. Recruitment of doctors and nurses from this country is satisfactory and the recent educational expansion in Uganda has, for the first time, produced a surplus of applicants for local nursing training. One hundred and seventy-six trainee nurses and 30 potential medical assistants have been selected to study in local centres.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will make a statement on the progress of the Government's policy of regionalisation of the railways.

The policy for the railways set out in the Railways Reorganisation Scheme (Cmd. 9191) has been progressively applied. All the area boards are fully functioning and the day-to-day management of the railways and responsibility for organisation within their regions have been delegated to them. Their responsibilities include the production of revenue budgets and the promotion of business. In all regions the operating and commercial functions have now been merged, and further decentralisation on a line or area basis has been introduced. This gives greater local autonomy, including wide latitude in applying the freight charges scheme, in getting and in carrying traffic. The members of the area boards who have come in from industry and public activities are making a most valuable contribution.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress he is making with the closure of Croydon Airport to charter and other flyers who have continued to use it since December last; and if he will make a statement.

As a result of the arrangements which the Secretary of State for Air and I made to accommodate the Croydon flying clubs at Biggin Hill at the beginning of February, aircraft movements at Croydon have now been reduced to under a quarter of what they were a year ago.I have now decided that Croydon Airport will be closed for general flying as from 1st May. I am, however, prepared as an exception and for a short period after that to give special permission to commercial firms with established bases there to continue scheduled and charter operations, and operations in aircraft owned or constructed by them or maintained under existing contract by them for purposes directly connected with the maintenance, repair, test or delivery of such aircraft. These exceptional concessions will be granted only to firms that can satisfy me that they are doing all they can to find alternative accommodation and that they need extra time after 30th April for the purpose of transferring their flying operations elsewhere.The effect of my decisions will be that flying at Croydon this summer will be a very small fraction of the amount of flying a year ago. There will be no flying at night save in emergency and in any event operations will cease altogether not later than 30th September, when the Ministry's facilities and services on the aerodrome will be withdrawn.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of murders known to the police for each month since June, 1958.

One murder made known to the police was reported to me in July, 1958; one in August; three in September; three in October; four in November; five in December; and one in January, 1959. These figures, however, include cases which were subsequently, or may later be, found not to be murders.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in respect of each of the independent schools which have applied for direct grant to replace contributions from education authorities, what the amount of the grant was in the last financial year, and what the revenue was from school fees.

The following table gives for the year 1957–58 the amount of the approved contributions from education authorities and the income from school fees in respect of each of the schools in question:

School	Approved Contributions	Fee Income
	£	£
Aberdeen:
Albyn School for Girls	15,028	20,243
St. Margaret's School for Girls	15,792	13,878
Dumfriesshire:
Maxwelltown Benedictine Convent	6,450	5,220
St. Joseph's College	11,682	16,070
Dunbarton:
St. Bride's School	10,004	23,295
Edinburgh:
Melville College	16,492	22,930
St. Mary's Cathedral Choir School	1,774	—
John Watson's School	18,814	13,754
Glasgow:
Westbourne School for Girls	5,253	29,330
Laural Bank School	14,885	39,808
The Park School	15,433	27,394
Craigholme School	15,337*	17,177*
Kelvinside Academy	17,655*	34,300*
Renfrewshire:
St. Columba's School	15,367	21,939
* Estimated amounts. Actual figures not yet available

asked the Minister of Works what consideration he has given to instituting a comprehensive review of the building processes and procedures successfully practised in the leading countries of the world, in order to derive knowledge which would be advantageous if made available to the average smaller builders in Great Britain.

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that the processes and procedures in question are adequately covered by information which reaches this country through a number of channels, including the technical Press.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, if he will make a statement on the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation science studentship and fellowship scheme.

The North Atlantic Council has decided to finance a science studentship and fellowship programme to start this year. The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, in consultation with other interested Government bodies will make these awards to British subjects normally resident in this country.Under the programme the United Kingdom proposes to provide increased opportunities for study, research training and experience for post-graduate and post-doctoral students in science and technology (including medical and agricultural sciences, industrial psychology and sociology). The scheme is intended to stimulate an international exchange of such students between N.A.T.O. countries though awards can be held in the home country of a student or in a non-N.A.T.O. country.The value of, and conditions governing awards made by the United Kingdom will, generally speaking, be similar to those for D.S.I.R. studentships and fellowships, with provisions for cost of travel and a cost of living allowance where appropriate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what allowance will be made for Income Tax purposes on the maximum and minimum contributions for National Insurance proposed in the National Insurance Bill.

Under the Income Tax Acts allowance is due for employees' National Insurance contributions except so much thereof as is referable to unemployment benefit, sickness benefit and maternity benefit. What part of the maximum and minimum National Insurance contributions proposed in the National Insurance Bill would be allowable under these provisions cannot yet be stated.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of civil servants who, during the last five years, have resigned or retired, respectively, from the Board of Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance.

It is not possible to give completely precise figures without a disproportionate expenditure of staff time. Approximate figures for the years 1954–58 inclusive are:

—	Resigned	Retired	Total
Inland Revenue	14,250	6,550	20,800
Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance	7,500	3,350	10,850

NOTES:(