asked the Minister of Education (1) whether he is aware that, while a slight increase is planned in the number of women students to be trained in physical education at general colleges, no such corresponding increase is envisaged at the specialists colleges of physical education; that, until further expansion is planned, it will be impossible to provide an adequate number of teachers to work in posts of senior responsibility in the country; and what plans he has for the further expansion of these specialist colleges of physical education;

My right hon. Friend is well aware of the serious shortage of specialist women teachers of physical education. His aim is to provide specialist training facilities for all suitable women who can be recruited in the present circumstances, whether into the existing separate colleges of physical education or into the specialist wings of general colleges which are planned as part of the current expansion programme. The capacity of one of the specialist colleges of physical education is to be more than doubled. The supply of acceptable candidates has not justified further expansion, but my right hon. Friend will be very ready to entertain proposals for some increases at other colleges where it can be shown that candidates are forthcoming.

Arising out of both those Questions, is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the Physical Education Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is concerned at this and welcomes the wings of the general colleges coming into place in 1960, but not as replacement of the specialist colleges? Is the Parliamentary Secretary further aware that there is not a shortage of candidates, but that the Headmistresses' Association made a special pre-selection and that, in spite of that, sixty cannot be accepted until next September?

The measures we are now taking mean a 50 per cent. increase in the annual intake of specialist students of physical education. If the hon. Lady likes to make any further representations, I shall be very happy to receive them.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware—I think I am correct—that at present 640 physical education posts in girls' schools are not filled?

I cannot confirm that figure without notice, but I will look it up.

asked the Minister of Education how many local education authorities have introduced a four-term school year; and to what extent such an arrangement requires his approval.

None, as far as my right hon. Friend knows, but, since such an arrangement does not require his approval, there may be one or two which have done so.

Does not the Parliamentary Secretary think it is about time that we stopped tying our school children to the church calendar, with the moving Easter? Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this year same grammar schools have five weeks' holiday at Easter? In the highly competitive, harsh world in which we live today, can the hon. Gentleman justify five weeks holiday for 18-year-olds at Easter?

I think that my right hon. Friend would become rather unpopular if he started dogmatising too much about the length of holidays. Authorities have discretion to divide the school year into four terms if they think it desirable. My right hon. Friend does not think that the advantages are clear enough to justify him calling for a radical change of this kind. I agree that holidays should be reasonable in length and that there is no harm in hard work in any kind of secondary school.

asked the Minister of Education if he is now able to make a further statement about the building of a new county secondary school at Loftus in the Cleveland Parliamentary Constituency.

This project will be included in the local education authority's building programme for 1960-61.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that that Answer will give satisfaction in the constituency and that it seems to mark at last the end of what has been quite a long battle?

I am glad that my Answer gave satisfaction. This school will complete the reorganisation of all rural schools in the area and will replace the existing very inadequate secondary school at Loftus.

asked the Minister of Education how many schools which are called comprehensive schools now exist in England and Wales; how many other schools are part of systems designed to eliminate selective examinations and provide the advantages of comprehensive education; and if he will now set up a committee to survey these schemes and provide to local education authorities an analysis of their advantages and problems.

Last year, there were 86 schools classified as comprehensive in the Department's records. I am writing to the hon. Member to explain the basis of classification, which is different from that used in earlier years. I cannot answer the second part of the Question. The answer to the third part is, "No."

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware, as I am sure that he is, of the increasing unpopularity of the so-called 11-plus examinations and of the fact that education committees, irrespective of their political complexion, are considering all sorts of schemes and variations for avoiding this selective and segregating examination? As different kinds of schemes now exist, for example, in the London area as compared with Leicestershire, and other things are happening in the north of the country, would it not be a good idea to give some expert advice and guidance to education committees on the basis of existing experience?

This is a very large subject to discuss at Question Time. A great number and variety of experiments are taking place in all parts of the country at present. It is too early to generalise about these. While I know that a great many authorities are experimenting with their own methods of selection, I believe that there is great and widespread support among people of all parties for the broad lines of the Government's White Paper.

Is my hon. Friend aware that most people who are keenly interested in education want to regard these matters as experiments and not as a pattern for wholesale implementation, as appears to be the case with some education authorities?

The great danger, as my hon. Friend will agree, is premature generalisation, because, for instance, the kind of arrangements which will prove suitable for a medium-sized county borough may be very much more difficult to implement in a large county borough. and the needs and history of different areas do indeed demand different solutions.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that many of the premature generalisations about this question have been made by opponents of comprehensive schools, and that if he held an inquiry, such as my hon. Friend suggests, it might throw light in dark places where it is very much needed?

There are certainly not any premature generalisations in the White Paper, which has been widely accepted as a very fair survey of this problem.

asked the Minister of Education what are his estimates of the size of the school population in 1965 and the average annual recruitment, wastage, and supply of trained teachers, respectively, between now and 1965, which would enable him to enforce universally the reduction in the size of classes below the maxima of 40 for primary and 30 for secondary schools in that year.

About 6,900,000 in the school year 1965–66. To eliminate oversize classes by that time we should need to increase the number of teachers by about 10,000 in each of the intervening years, other than the year when a slight decrease is likely as a result of the introduction of the three-year course.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that these figures will be scrutinised and examined very carefully indeed? While we welcome the statement which he made the other night about the possibility of reducing the size of classes by the middle 1960s, is he aware that his Department has a very long history of under-estimating the magnitude of this problem and of under-estimating the numbers of teachers required, and that these figures will be scrutinised, therefore, with due care?

I hope that we will not under-estimate the magnitude of this problem, which is by far the biggest we have in education at present. The only thing I add is that in my statement the other night, for reasons which I gave, I was careful not to commit myself to a particular year, which is what the hon. Member has quoted in his Question.

asked the Minister or Education how many new primary and secondary schools, respectively. are now required in England and Wales to provide all children with adequate, modern premises.

I cannot make a reliable estimate.

Is the hon. Member aware of the anxiety among education authorities at 'the serious drop in the number of schools under construction in Britain in the last two years, a drop for which the Government are responsible, and of the immediate necessity of constructing more schools, especially in those areas where new housing estates are developing? Will he keep this matter under constant review and undertake 'to give an estimate of 'the size of this problem?

Under the policy set out in the White Paper, it will be possible to make a start on taking out of use an increasing number of very bad, old school buildings. That is one of the main objectives of that policy. The Question speaks of "adequate, modern premises ", and I think that the hon. Gentleman will agree that is extremely difficult to give an estimate when the Question is phrased in such general terms.

Surely the hon. Gentleman can tell the House how many school building applications have been made and have been refused by the Government, including a large number of premises urgently required in Oldham for which permission has not yet been obtained in:a year in which the Government are talking about expansion and freeing purchasing power.

If the hon. Gentleman puts down a Question about Oldham, or raises wider matters, of course I will try to answer and to give him the figures. However, we should remember that, since the war, successive Governments have had to concentrate the school building programme on providing places for children who would not otherwise have been able to go to school at all. We agree that what is wanted now is to make a start on getting rid of some of the worst of the old insanitary school buildings.

asked the Minister of Education how many local education authorities have appointed teacher representatives on the education committee; and how many have not.

This information is not available, but I believe that most do.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the local authorities which have appointed teacher representatives to education committees have found their experience and knowledge of great value? Will he call to the attention of those authorities which have not done so their power to do so and the advantages to education from co-opting teachers on education committees?

As the hon. Member knows, the difficulty is that there is no requirement under the 1944 Act that local education authorities should do this. But I can tell him that my right hon. Friend is sure that it is a good thing for teachers to be represented on education committees, and I hope that some education authorities will take note of this statement.

asked the Minister of Education what reply he has given to representations about the inadequate staffing of St. Minver County Primary School, Cornwall.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a letter which my right hon. Friend has sent on the subject to the Wadebridge Rural District Council.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that this school of 120 children is a mixed school with a seven-year age range and has recently had its staff reduced from four to three teachers? Does he not think that that is a disgrace in this age, especially in a parish which is the playground of the well-to-do?

Neither my right hon. Friend nor I has ever left the House in any doubt that we regard cutting down the size of classes as still the prime and most important objective of education policy, and I hope that improving conditions will make it easier to help a school like this.

As St. Minver School is in my constituency, may I thank my hon. Friend for writing to me about it? The view has been expressed locally that some sacrifice should be made in the staffing of the higher grade schools in order to provide relief in the primary schools. Would my hon. Friend care to comment on that view?

In the country as a whole, in recent years we have been able to make considerable improvement in the staffing standards in primary schools without doing this at the cost of the staffing standards in secondary schools. I must say that I think that we have been absolutely right to take this stand.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost to this country in foreign exchange of raising the car tourist allowance from £30 to £40 in foreign currency.

It is impossible to estimate.

I apologise to my hon. Friend and to the House for a typist's error in my original version of the Question. The figure of £30 should be £35. Since the price of petrol on the Continent of Europe has gone up, and since each car going abroad usually contains more than one person, will my hon. Friend recommend his right hon. Friend to raise the figure from £35 to £40 in the year beginning October next?

The Government do not feel that they are able at present to increase the allowance.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the result of his inquiries into methods of contracting for, and disposing of, confidential waste documents.

The arrangements for disposal of confidential waste paper, including Income Tax returns, are designed to ensure that it is pulped at a British mill under conditions which preserve its confidentiality. In the case of the Income Tax returns found by the hon. Gentleman on Cardiff dock, it is clear that the stipulated rules were not complied with, and investigations are proceeding. But the incident has Shown that the present system can be improved, and my right hon. Friend has therefore set in train a review of the arrangements in the Departments concerned. My right hon. Friend is grateful to the hon. Gentleman for calling his attention to this matter.

That is satisfactory as far as it goes. Has this procedure been criticised before by firms in the industry, and has that criticism been brought to the notice of those responsible for issuing the contracts? If that is so, can the Financial Secretary tell us why action was not taken before I found these papers?

I made inquiries about that and I was told that no criticisms before this incident were received by the Headquarters Contract Department at the Post Office. Since then, I have seen a letter criticising the present ararngements, and I do not doubt that they leave something to be desired.

Is it not possible to find another word to express what my hon. and learned Friend means by "confidentiality "?

I stand rebuked.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why Sir Alexander Gibb and. Partners, who were instructed by his Department to make contact with Messrs. T. F. Burns and Partners, the consultant engineers of Inch Green Investigating Company, to examine the technical aspects of the proposed dock at Greenock, were instructed early this year by the Development Areas Treasury Advisory Committee to take no further action meantime; and if he will make a statement.

I am unable to provide the information for which my hon. Friend asks without disclosing confidential details of the application for financial assistance made by the promoters of this project. Since the application is still under consideration by the Development Areas Tr00E9;asury Advisory Committee, there is nothing that I can usefully add to the replies which my right hon. Friend and I have already given.

Does my hon. Friend not agree that a satisfactory result of the tech- nical examination might have some bearing on the final decision and, if this examination is done now, it might save up to three months' delay if, or when, the scheme is approved?

I do not think I can add to what I have said. There are financial considerations to be taken into account as well.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of Her Majesty's Government's undertaking to bear in mind the default of the Hungarian Government on their external bonded debt to this country, why no steps were taken to include this matter in the trade agreement with Hungary in 1956, now shortly to be reviewed; and when it was last discussed by Her Majesty's Treasury with the Hungarian Legation in London.

Two agreements were concluded with the Hungarian Government in 1956, namely, a three-year trade arrangement and a financial agreement covering United Kingdom financial claims against Hungary other than bonded debt. During the financial negotiations, the Hungarian Government offered, as part of a settlement covering all United Kingdom claims, to re-purchase over a period of years, for a small percentage of their nominal value, certain Hungarian bonds held in the United Kingdom. These proposals bore no relation to the contractual terms of the bonds and were unacceptable to the Council of Foreign Bondholders and the League Loans Committee. In the circumstances, the two Governments agreed that bonded debt should not be included in the financial settlement and that the bondholders' rights would in no way be affected by the conclusion of the financial agreement.

Am I to understand from my hon. Friend, therefore, that nothing has happened in the last three years from the Hungarian side? Since there is presumably no matter of principle involved as the Hungarians did make an offer, does he not think, if we are about to make another trade agreement to allow more imports from Hungary, it is high time that we tried to elicit another offer from the Hungarian Government?

Until the offer looks like being one which would be possibly acceptable to the Council of Foreign Bondholders, we do not think there is much point in pressing the matter if that would be to the detriment of an agreement on trade. At present, therefore, there is no intention of linking the trade discussions in any way with negotiations on bonded debt.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, arising out of the Resolution passed at Strasbourg at a meeting of the Council of Europe's Consultative Assembly calling on the member Governments to form an association guaranteeing free trade in Europe, what proposals Her Majesty's Government has for setting up an organising body for the purpose of implementing this Resolution; and whether he will make a statement.

This Resolution did not call upon Her Majesty's Government to take action of the kind suggested by the hon. Member. The Government do, however, welcome the continued interest shown by the Consultative Assembly in the problem of maintaining European economic cooperation and of associating the European Economic Community with other members of O.E.E.C. on a multilateral basis.

Nevertheless, does not the Resolution indicate that there is a considerable feeling among the European nations that the Free Trade Area proposal and, presumably, Her Majesty's Government's proposals should be reconsidered? Will the right hon. Gentleman take some action to bring this into prominent discussion?

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that the Resolution shows what a wide measure of support there has always been for the Free Trade Area idea, but, of course, in these matters one cannot move without, in effect, unanimity.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider making, perhaps after the Whitsun Recess, a further statement on the negotiations which have taken place since we last debated this matter in the House three months ago?

Yes, I will certainly consider that.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultations between the Commonwealth Governments and Her Majesty's Government are taking place with a view to formulating proposals for a European Free Trade Area when negotiations are resumed with the Common Market nations.

We continue to keep in close touch with Commonwealth Governments about economic developments in Europe.

Is that all the right hon. Gentleman has to tell the House? Has he seen the two articles written by his right hon. Friend the Member for Monmouth (Mr. P. Thorneycroft) who, with other prominent individuals, went to New Zealand recently and found that there was considerable agreement among Commonwealth nations for participation in a European Free Trade Area? Will the right hon. Gentleman, therefore, not lag behind his right hon. Friend?

I do not think that any Commonwealth Government would contemplate being associated in a European Free Trade Area. As regards coordination with the Commonwealth, there are official level talks going on at this moment in London.

Nevertheless, will my right hon. Friend think it worth while having some form of Commonwealth conference, as the situation has so much altered since the problem was discussed previously? Would it not be wise to ascertain the up-to-date views of our partners in the Commonwealth?

We are, in fact, doing that today.

Is it not dangerous to let this whole matter drift much longer? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, quite apart from anything else, American industry is showing an increasing tendency to develop productive capacity on the continent of Europe rather than in the United Kingdom?

I quite agree about the danger in letting matters drift, and the Government are well aware of that.

Is it not a fact that the Common Market countries are already making direct approaches to other members of the Commonwealth, and, therefore, if we do not try to make some coordinated approach between ourselves, will not Britain end by being out of both?

To the best of my knowledge, that is not the fact.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what imports from the Commonwealth were most adversely affected by the terms proposed for United Kingdom membership of the European Common Market; and what was the total value of such imports, item by item, in the latest year for which figures are available.

I am not clear what my hon. Friend has in mind, since United Kingdom membership of the European Common Market has never been proposed.

If the figures for the most important Commonwealth imports which would be affected by our joining the Common Market are known—I presume they must be known to my right hon. Friend—do they not show that the real core of the problem is a comparatively small percentage of our total Commonwealth trade? Therefore, is not the problem, in the end, nothing like as big as it appears to be at first sight?

No, Sir; I am sorry to say that they show nothing of the sort. In fact, throughout the discussions, what has been one of the greatest difficulties is that the United Kingdom could not possibly accept a common commercial policy settled by a majority in Europe. where we are in a minority, which would settle our commercial relations with the Commonwealth.

I fully support what the right hon. Gentleman has just said, but will he say whether, in connection with the Question asked by his hon. Friend the Member for Somerset, North (Mr. Leather), the Government have given close study to the proposal made from these benches by my right hon. Friend the Member for Brighouse and Spenborough (Mr. J. Edwards) in the debate on 12th February last about associating Commonwealth trade with Common Market items by groups of commodities rather than looking at the thing right along the line? Has that been studied?

I can assure the right hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend that all these possibilities are being studied. One of the main topics in the current series of Commonwealth consultations now taking place in London is the whole question of our relation with Europe.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial assistance under the Distribution of Industry (Industrial Finance) Act, 1958, has been made available to alleviate unemployment in Sunderland.

None, Sir.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that unemployment in Sunderland has, unfortunately, risen again? In view of this, will he see that his Department pays particular attention to our difficulties?

D.A.T.A.C. will, of course, be very glad to examine any applications submitted to it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what approaches he has received from interested persons or organisations requesting that, as he has removed Purchase Tax from maintenance television tubes, he should do the same for maintenance valves, in view of the exact similarity in the arguments for the abolition of Purchase Tax on these articles.

None, Sir.

But is the Minister aware that the arguments used with regard to television tubes and replacement tubes can be applied exactly to radio valves? If the Chancellor thought it wise to take the tax off television tubes, why should he not take it off the valves which go in the same set? Exactly the same arguments apply.

The trouble is that the arguments are very different. The cathode ray tube is a very much more expensive item of equipment. There is also the reconditioning problem which has been removed by eliminating Purchase Tax on cathode ray tubes. Further, radio valves are frequently sold separately for people to build into sound receivers of their own manufacture. I mention all these points to show that the two arguments are not at all the same.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average annual dollar cost to the United Kingdom of licences for the manufacture of penicillin in Great Britain.

I regret we have no figures, either on the basis of Exchange Control authorisations or of actual remittances to the United States, which distinguish payments by United Kingdom manufacturers for licences for the production of penicillin in Great Britain.

Is it not anomalous that there should be any form of commercial tribute of this kind to the United States in respect of a product which derives entirely from British research? Does the hon. Gentleman not think that he ought to make some effort to collect these important figures?

One must remember that the United States made a considerable contribution in the development of the process, and it is largely in connection with the United States development that royalties are quite properly paid.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has completed his inquiries into the matter of independent arbitration for tenants of his Department's factories in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

I shall need some further time to consider this matter which concerns a number of Departments.

Is the President of the Board of Trade aware that the tenants of Government factories in Scotland feel that they are suffering injustice since those in England and Wales have the right to go to arbitration in the matter of rents but Scottish tenants have not? Can the right hon. Gentleman give us an idea when his inquiries will be completed?

It is awkward that the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1954, does not apply to Scotland. It raises a rather difficult problem which concerns the Minister of Supply and the Service Departments, but I hope that before long we shall have a common policy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the principal commodities imported into the United Kingdom from Commonwealth countries on which both the United Kingdom and the six Common Market countries have zero tariffs; and what percentage they represent of total Commonwealth imports.

I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the principal commodities which are duty-free when imported into the United Kingdom and which are expected to be duty-free when imported into the Common Market. Such commodities account for about 15 per cent. of United Kingdom imports from the Commonwealth in 1958.

There is set out below, in order of the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature, a list of the duty-free items where United Kingdom imports from Commonwealth and other preferential sources exceeded £500,000 in 1958. Since the Common Market Tariff has not yet been fully elaborated, the list of items assumed to be duty-free is based on the best available information, and may in the event prove inaccurate. Where import figures for the precise definitions below are not available, they have been estimated. The calculations exclude gold and precious stones, which are not specified in the Trade Accounts.

Within this list by far the largest items are wool, natural rubber and unwrought copper. Other large items in order of magnitude, are jute, cotton, furskins, raw hides, and nickel.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now identify the sites suitable for industry at Douglas and Douglas, West, in the county of Lanark.

Before I can say which sites would be suitable for industrial use I need certain further information from the County Council. I will let my hon. Friend know immediately this is received.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that 70 houses, of which 50 are subsidised, are now standing empty? Will my right hon. Friend take steps to draw this facility to the attention of industrialists who may be considering the expansion or transfer of their factories so that they can take advantage of this and bring industry to this village which is losing half its employment and a third of its people in a matter of months?

I will. As soon as we get information about the facilities and services available to these sites, we shall be able to talk to industrialists.

May I ask whether the Government are taking note of the kind of cases mentioned by the hon. Member for Lanark (Mr. Patrick Maitland)? This is a case of the closure of a pit upon which a village is entirely dependent which, when closed, throws the whole community into distress. Are the Government giving attention to this matter, and is the right hon. Gentleman's Department consulting with the Ministry of Power to ensure that when pits are closed they have plans to foster alternative industries?

We also keep in touch with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour in this matter. We have identified several sites in this area and I hope that very soon these sites will be equipped with facilities which we shall be able to offer.

In view of the failure of the Government to deal with questions of this kind in relation to coal sufficiently in advance, will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that when it comes to closing cotton mills under the Government's policy he will bear in mind the lessons of what has happened in the coal industry?

Yes, I will.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the necessity of maintaining an increasing employment in the textile machine-making industry, he will limit the payment of re-equipment subsidy to machinery manufactured in the United Kingdom.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer which my hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Accrington (Mr. H. Hynd) on 5th May.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is very great concern in the textile machine-making industry about the diminution of export orders and the contraction of output? Although one realises that rules must have exceptions, surely he is prepared to tell the House that his regulations will provide that priority will be given to home purchases where purchases are made with a Government subsidy?

Last year, we exported £40 million worth of textile machinery and I understand that the export order books of the industry are in a fairly good state. I do not think that I can do what the hon. Gentleman asks, because the essence of this proposal is that the industry should be made competitive. We must, therefore, allow the industry to buy the machines which it thinks most useful.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent cotton textile firms, which have wholly closed down for a temporary period prior to the appointed day, will be enabled to qualify for assistance by a partial re-opening.

The precise terms of eligibility for compensation will be laid down in the detailed schemes to be prepared by the proposed agency after consulting the section concerned. The object is, however, to remove excess capacity irrespective of whether a firm is actually in production at the time.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that some considerable time has passed since he threw out his vague proposals to the House and that no one in Lancashire professes to understand them? Judging from the Answer which he has given to the House he clearly does not understand them himself. Surely we should have some indication as soon as possible about what his proposals are.

I hope to publish a White Paper quite shortly, but I think that the lion. Gentleman would agree that these schemes need to be worked out with both sides of industry. What the Government had to do first was to give the broad indication of what extent the help from the Exchequer would be. Now that we have done that, detailed work on the schemes can go forward.

Will not the right hon. Gentleman give us a more specific answer about the date on which the White Paper is likely to be available? Surely he agrees with my hon. Friend that at the moment there is a great deal of dubiety about what this scheme is and what it amounts to. While no doubt there are negotiations to take place in the industry itself, they should have started a long time ago. A lot of Government money is now involved.

I hope that the White Paper will be published next Thursday. I think that it must be clear to the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. S. Silverman) that until the Government had decided and announced the scale of their assistance it was not possible to work out the detailed schemes.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent, in the course of his discussions with the employers about the reorganisation of the cotton textile industry, proposals were considered for payment of subsidy to firms that carried on business instead of to those closing down.

If the hon. Member is asking whether we considered subsidising the industry at its present size instead of compensating firms who eliminate capacity, the answer is "No, Sir".

The right hon. Gentleman knows that I have never suggested anything of the kind. What I am suggesting is that it is better to subsidise production than to subsidise contraction. This has always been the fatal error of Government policy, that they allow contraction to take place and then pay compensation for the contraction instead of encouraging and maintaining production. Why does not he do something like I have suggested?

The Cotton Board undertook a study of the surplus capacity which had to be eliminated. There are representatives of the trade unions on the Board. It is an agreed estimate of the surplus capacity on which the schemes are now being worked out. If we did not eliminate surplus capacity. we should have continuing trouble.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent the recently announced proposals on the future of the cotton industry will apply to Scottish manufacturers of cotton products or cotton mixtures.

The proposals apply to Scotland as well as to England.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, under the Cotton Industry Reorganisation Scheme, he will ensure that compensation for loss of office or employment for the workers in the industry will be not less favourable than that recently made to officers of the Regular Army under the Government's scheme of compensation for displaced Army officers.

As I made clear in my statement of 23rd April, the terms of this compensation are a matter for the employers to settle directly with the trade unions concerned.

Yes, but whilst appreciating that, is the Minister aware that the settlement for the displaced Army officers was a fair and reasonable one, and that if such a settlement could be adopted for these displaced textile workers, I am sure that both the trade unionists and the workers in the industry would be pleased? Could he not recommend that they try to adopt as a means of settlement the same financial agreement as was adopted for the ex-Army officers?

I cannot accept that there is a parallel between the two— [HON. MEMBERS: "Why not?"]—but I hope and believe that the settlement for the cotton operatives will be fair and reasonable.

But is there not a parallel between the two? Both these classes of persons are displaced through no fault of their own.

An industrial settlement is something which the trade unions must look at with the employers in the usual way. Let us see what they put up to us.

Does the Minister think, then, that a man who gives fifty years of his life to an industry is of less importance than a man who gives twenty years to the Army?

Not at all, but public service and industrial service are different. [HON. MEMBERS: "Why? "] It may well be that the cotton industry wishes to introduce various conditions which would not have applied to the Army.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a further statement on the committee to consider the question of consumer protection.

I am waiting until I can announce the terms of reference and the name of the chairman together.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say when he is likely to be in that position, because we have waited quite a long time?

I hope very shortly, as we are half-way there.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what evidence he has received concerning the breaking of the law that all 'hire-purchase advertisements must state plainly the total cash price, the deposit payable and the amount and number of instalments; and what replies have been made by his Department.

Apart from a few reports of suspected breaches of the law my Department has made inquiries on its own initiative into the observance of the Act. There has so far been no case where the Board of Trade would feel justified in prosecuting.

Is the Minister aware that that reply is really unsatisfactory? Does he know that the Retail Trading Standards Association and the National Association of Retail Furnishers say that there are many infringements of this, due to design and not to ignorance? When does he hope that his Department might take action instead of letting unscrupulous people get away with it?

I cannot accept the critical comments of the Retail Trading Standards Association. I have looked at them carefully. If I thought that there were cases not due either to ignorance or misunderstanding, there would be grounds for prosecution.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the latest arrangements made by him through the Export Credits Guarantee Department, or otherwise, to finance exports by British exporters to European countries, indicating how far the same facilities exist in regard to all European countries; and, where there are differences what official facilities exist in relation to each particular European country.

Exports from this country are not financed by the Government but by the commercial banks or from other private resources. Such financing is often assisted by the guarantee of the Export Credits Guarantee Department. The Department's facilities are available for exports to all European countries though special terms apply to special cases.

In this matter does the President of the Board of Trade realise that the claims of all parts of Britain are not identical? Will he have regard to the special claims of certain areas, such as the North-East of Scotland, to facilities of the kind mentioned in the Question?

I hardly think that we could vary the terms of insurance according to the source of the exports. All exports are equally good far us and we do all we can to promote them from all areas.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has considered the report of the committee set up by the Portsmouth Junior Chamber of Commerce to inquire into the causes of accidents to children, that the majority are attributable to unsafe toys, a copy of which has been sent to him; and whether he will consider the formation of a toy advisory group to examine toys for safety and suitability and then issue seals of approval.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer given on 5th May to my hon. Friend the Member for Belfast, West (Mrs. McLaughlin).

But has the Minister seen the report which was issued by the committee referred to in the Question? Would he say now that he intends to set up an advisory committee, in view of the exhaustive inquiry made by that committee which resulted in proving that these toys were extremely dangerous from the point of view of accidents to children?

Some of the recommendations of the report come within the purview of the Home Secretary, and it may be that the British Standards Institution could work out an effective specification for safety for toys. If it could, we would certainly look at it, but my right hon. Friend and I are studying these recommendations.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) why the Digest of Statistics for February and March did not contain a table setting out the statistics about industrial building in Development Areas;

In future this information will he published quarterly in the Board of Trade Journal.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many new Government-financed factory building schemes, including extensions, and how many private schemes, have been approved in Development Areas in 1959; and what were the corresponding figures for the same period of 1958.

Fifty-two Government.. financed and 81 private, compared with seven and 86 for the same period last year. But in terms of area and employment both the Government and the private schemes are about twice as big as last year's.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give the employment figures for each year?

Adding these two together—and I hope that I am correct —the figure last year was 6,300 and this year it is nearly 14,000.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what financial arrangements the Board of Trade is making in connection with the large extension to the Mullard factory at Simonstone.

The Board of Trade built the original Mullard factory at Simonstone where the firm manufacture television tubes. I welcome the firm's decision to build nearby a new factory, which will employ eventually up to 1,000 workers, to provide the glass for these tubes. Discussions on whether any Government assistance is necessary have not yet been completed.

Is it expected that Messrs. Mullard will install the same high standard of equipment and conditions necessary for the new processes as are established for the television tube processes in the existing factory?

This firm has a very well-known reputation and I am confident that it will take all possible care about the conditions in the factory.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many schemes for the clearance of derelict sites under Section 5 of the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945, whether by his Department or by grant, have been approved this year; and what is the total cost of such schemes.

None as yet, but over 50 are under discussion with local authorities.

Is it not several months since the Government announced that they would approve such grants? How soon does the right hon. Gentleman think the work will actually start on any of these schemes?

Applications are being dealt with urgently, but this is a matter on which we must get agreement with each local authority before work can start.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that unless the Government are much more urgent in their activities than they show signs of being there will be many more derelict sites in Lancashire before very long?

We have the Lancashire problem in mind and I assure the hon. Member that we are considering it urgently.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the unemployment in South Hampshire, he will urge the Caltex Company to reconsider its decision to postpone the refinery project for which he has granted an industrial certificate.

No, Sir. The decision must rest with the company.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that 17,250 trade unionists in south-east Hampshire have recently signed a petition urging the Government to do all they can to bring the Caltex refinery proposals into operation? Is he aware that they would mean work for 1,500 constructional and building workers for two years and thereafter work for 400 workers in permanence? Will the right hon. Gentleman use his influence with the Caltex Company to bring this refinery to a place in Hampshire which is badly in need of work of all kinds?

I am aware that this is a very large project but, as the Company has said:

"After re-examining its refinery capacity requirements, the company is unable to announce … a definite date for construction of the proposed refinery."

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, at his forthcoming trade talks with representatives of the Soviet Government's Ministry of Trade in Moscow, he will invite a trade delegation of Soviet trade experts to visit this country, as guests of Her Majesty's Government, for the purpose of visiting British factories, workshops, etc., and generally looking at British industry.

I will bear this suggestion in mind.