asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patients in Scotland are awaiting the issue of Keeler visual aid appliances; and how many of these appliances are being issued each month.

My right hon. Friend has asked the regional boards for this information and will write to the hon. Member. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind which is causing difficulty, my right hon. Friend will be glad to look into it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many agents in foreign countries he has appointed for the purpose of promoting trade, industry, and commerce between those countries and Scotland; what are their qualifications for that work; in which country each is located; how long each has been so operating; and what specific results each has achieved, with particular regard to Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland where new industries are badly needed.

We have trade commissioners or Foreign Office commercial officers in nearly all the world's important trade centres. Their job is to serve the interests of the trade and industry of the United Kingdom including, of course, those of Scotland.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware that the plans for the new Bramhope Primary School were deposited at Yeadon in January for tenders, but did not come before the Wharfedale Rural District Council for their sanction until 27th February; and what guidance he has given to county councils concerning the propriety of awaiting the consent of subordinate authorities before commencing work affecting these authorities.

I am informed that, in order to save time, the county council invited tenders before it had finally approved the plans. This did not prejudice consideration of the plans by the rural district council because the tenders could, if necessary, have been modified. In fact, the district council had no comments. County councils were advised in 1951 to consult district councils in whose areas they were proposing to carry out development.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he is aware that the West Riding County Council has altered the exterior appearance of the proposed new primary school at Bramhope without the authority or permission of, or consultation with, the Bramhope District Local Education Committee; and if he will, by the revocation of planning permission, prevent another tasteless building being erected in vitrolite and cedar wood.

As I explained in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend on 3rd March, my right hon. Friend thinks the appearance of school buildings is a matter which should be left to local planning authorities. He has seen the plans of this school and sees no reason to depart from this view in the present case.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he has yet given approval for capital expenditure to improve the rural water supplies in the areas of Crudgington, Bolas and Waters Upton.

No scheme for the improvement of water supplies in these areas has been submitted for my right hon. Friend's approval.

asked the Prime Minister on what basis he decided during the current year to give permission to the four Ministers to be accompanied by their wives on official missions; what was the inclusive cost to the Exchequer for these visits and the estimated cost of the projected visits; and why on each of these occasions it was held to be necessary for wives to accompany their husbands.

I considered that each of these Ministers would be better able to carry out the official duties of his mission if his wife accompanied him.The total cost to the Exchequer of the visit of my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury was £140. The cost of the visit of the noble Lord, the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations to Malaya was £1,810. It is estimated that the visit of the noble Lord to Ghana will cost about £1,130 and that the visit of my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Board of Trade, to Australia will cost about £2,300.These amounts include the cost of one Private Secretary in each case except that of the Economic Secretary.The amounts attributable to the presence of the Minister's wife are, or are estimated to be, respectively, £17. £600, about £375 and about £770.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in the case of the land at Cairnryan, near Stranraer, which is no longer required to be held by the War Department, he will give a prior opportunity to Mr. Malcolm Wallace, from whose family it was compulsorily acquired for war purposes, to buy it back.

This land is part of the harbour at Cairnryan. It is not agricultural property which must be offered back to the original owner. I am trying to dispose of the port as a whole for commercial or industrial use so as to maintain employment in the neighbourhood and I cannot, therefore, give any assurance that Mr. Wallace's land will be dealt with separately. He will be informed of alternative arrangements we are making to sell the land in lots if it cannot be disposed of as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what British subjects are at present known to be in Tibet; and what official representation and contacts this country now has in Lhasa.

No citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies are known to be in Tibet at present. The Answer to the second part of the Question is "None".

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the actual terms of engagement in the Foreign Service under which Mr. Arthur L. Nicholson served for 24 years, rising from head of a visa section to first secretary of an embassy.

No. It is not customary to publish the terms of engagement of individual officers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recommendations his Departmental advisory service has given as to the packing, crating and presentation of horticultural products, to enable them to compete more successfully with imported goods.

My Ministry has issued standards for recommended grades for a wide variety of horticultural products; and the grade assessment scheme operated by my marketing officers provides growers with confidential reports on the condition of their produce in the markets. The horticultural officers of the N.A.A.S. advise growers on grading and packing standards and methods.

asked the Secretary of Stale for the Colonies how many Europeans were assaulted during the riot which took place at Karonga on 19th February; and how many Europeans were injured.

pursuant to his reply, [OFFICIAL REPORT, 26th March, 1959; Vol. 602. c. 156], supplied the following information:The Answer to each part of the Question is "None."

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the name of the African woman killed by security forces in Nyasaland; in what circumstances she was shot; and if he will make a statement.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 26th March, 1959; Vol 602, c. 155–6], supplied the following information:The name of the African woman killed by the security forces was Kaheri d/o Izikiza.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Africans from Nyasaland are living in Southern Rhodesia, both permanently and as migratory labourers.

pursuant to his hon. Friend's reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 10th March, 1959; Vol. 601, c. 1080–1], supplied the following information:No figures are available in Nyasaland Government records to indicate the distinction between permanent and migratory labour. It is known, however, that in 1957 123,000 adult male Africans from Nyasaland were in employment in Southern Rhodesia.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many of those Kenyan Africans, arrested up to 31st December, 1958, for offences connected with the newly-formed K.K.M. movement, have been convicted and detained; and how many of such convicted and detained persons. respectively, are former released Mau Mau convicts and detainees.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 3rd March, 1959; Vol 601, c 202], supplied the following additional information: Of the 1,315 Africans convicted in the courts of K.K.M. activities by the 31st December, 1958, 207 were former Mau Mau convicts and detainees.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what decisions were taken and what proposals made by the recent conference of the Commission for Technical Co-operation in Nairobi on housing and urbanisation; and to what extent the African inhabitants of the territories concerned were consulted.

This was a conference of experts: it was not empowered to take decisions. I am sending the hon. Member a document containing the reports of its technical committees and its recommendations. These will now fall to be considered by the Governments concerned, and I have no doubt that in doing so they will consult all interests that may be affected, in accordance with the normal constitutional processes of each territory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the need of Somali students and workers in the United Kingdom for a Somali House in London on the lines of the other Colonial Territories, such as Mauritius and Tanganyika; and whether he will consider a scheme for this purpose.

I do not know of any demand for the establishment of a Somali House in London which would justify the considerable expenditure involved. The welfare of Somali students in the United Kingdom is undertaken by the Student Liaison Officer in the Colonial Office and by the British Council. In addition, a retired senior officer of the Protectorate Government has recently been appointed a part time welfare officer to investigate any special difficulties or representations of Somali students and residents in the United Kingdom and to assist them in bringing these to the notice of the appropriate authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) why the warders of the Mammari Detention Camp, Cyprus, were denied legal representation at a trial held by the Director of Detention Camps, relating to the dispersal of their own private funds;(2) under what regulations a fine of £10 was imposed at a private trial by the Director of Detention Camps. Cyprus, on a warder for a non-service matter;(3) what appeal procedure exists whereby warders recruited for service in the Cyprus detention camps may appeal against the result of private trials held by the Director of Detention Camps in Cyprus.

The four warders concerned had disobeyed an order by the Director of the Detention Camps regarding the disposal of mess funds. One warder was fined £10 and three others were dismissed. The fine was imposed by the Director under the Prisons (Prison Service) Regulations and there is no appeal against this. The three warders were dismissed by the Governor of Cyprus, in accordance with the terms of the agreement under which they were engaged, for disobedience of orders. The Director held an inquiry into the conduct of these warders: there is no right of legal representation at such an inquiry nor is it customary to permit such representation. It is open to the three warders in question to Petition the Governor or the Secretary of State.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the numbers of court convictions in Hong Kong arising out of breaches of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and Regulations in the first and second halves of 1958, and the corresponding periods of 1957 and 1956.

The numbers of court convictions were as follows:

asked the Minister of Education whether he is now able to make an estimate of the cost to the Church of England community and the Roman Catholic community, respectively, of schools to be built within the next five years under the proposals submitted to local education authorities.

I cannot make such an estimate because I have so far asked local education authorities to submit proposals for only the first two years-1960–61 and 1961–62—of the five-year period mentioned in the White Paper.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will make an estimate of the cost to be met by religious denominations in respect of denominational schools to be built within the next five years before making any proposals with regard to grants in aid.

I doubt whether it would be practicable to make useful estimates of the cost of the work to be undertaken by the denominations for a period of five years ahead.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what figures he will give indicating the trend of crime in England and Wales in 1958.

Provisional figures for the first three-quarters of 1958 show that there continues to be an increase in most kinds of indictable crime and that the increase is greatest among young people aged from upwards of 14 to about 21.The number of indictable offences provisionally recorded in 1958 up to 30th September was 458,162, an increase of 14·7 per cent. compared with the corrosponding period in 1957. This included 95,890 breaking and entering offences, an increase of 26 per cent. over the previous year. The number of offences of larceny increased by 13 per cent. to 298,369. The increase in offences of violence against the person was 9 per cent. and there was a decrease of 10 per cent. in sexual offences.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed and the percentage that this represented at the New Year and in March in the area of Dumbarton.

There were 934 persons registered as unemployed at Dumbarton Employment Exchange and Youth Employment Office at 12th January and 784 at 9th March. It is not possible to compute unemployment percentage rates for Dumbarton separately, but for the Alexandria, Dumbarton, Bowling and Helensburgh Employment Exchange areas combined, the percentage rates of unem- Offences of robbery increased by 38 per cent. to 1,157.The total number of persons found guilty of indictable offences increased by 12·2 per cent. compared with the first three-quarters of 1957. The increase among persons aged 17 and under 21 was 26·7 per cent. and among persons aged 14 and under 17 it was 17·5 per cent.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) how many persons normally engaged in the engineering industry in Scotland were unemployed at the New Year and in March;(2) how many persons normally engaged in the metal goods industry in Scotland were unemployed at the New Year and how many in March.

The following table gives the information desired:ployment were 7·0 at 12th January and 6·1 at 9th March.

asked the Minister of Labour what reduction there has been in the number of unemployed persons in the textile industry in Scotland since October, 1958, until the latest convenient date.

The number of persons whose last employment was in the textiles industries, registered as unemployed in Scotland decreased from 5,298 at 13th October, 1958, to 5,098 at 9th March, 1959.

asked the Minister of Labour the difference between the percentage of unemployed at the New Year and at the beginning of March in Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire, respectively, and the numbers in each case.

The following table gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed and the percentage that this represented, at the beginning of January and in March, in the areas of Aberdeen and Dundee.

The following table gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Labour the difference in the percentage of registered unemployed persons in Galashiels and Hawick as at the beginning of this year and the latest convenient date; and the number involved in each case.

The following table gives the information desired

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons unemployed in the fishing industry in Scotland in October, 1958, and as at the latest convenient date.

One thousand nine hundred and thirty-two at 13th October. 1958, and 1,679 at 9th March, 1959.

asked the Minister of Labour how many vacancies, suitable for persons fit only to undertake light employment, are available in the Stornoway area, and elsewhere in the Western Isles, respectively; and if he will indicate the nature of the work offered.

No such vacancies are available at present, but several disabled persons have been placed in South Uist and Benbecula during the past few months; the occupations included those of labourer, hut orderly and night watchman. Further vacancies are expected to arise shortly in those islands and some of them may be suitable for men who are fit only for light employment.

asked the Minister of Labour how many unfilled vacancies there were for each 100 persons wholly unemployed at the most recent count in the Stornoway area.

At 4th March, there were eight vacancies notified to the Stornoway Employment Exchange and remaining unfilled. The number of wholly unemployed persons on the registers of the exchange at 9th March was 1,736.