asked the Minister of Labour the number of workers employed by Scottish Aviation, Limited, who have been discharged through redundancy to date; and what steps he has taken to find these workers alternative and suitable employment, and where.

Eight hundred and twenty-six, all of whom were invited to register for other employment before their discharge. The vacancies brought to the attention of those who registered included suitable local vacancies and vacancies notified by three aircraft firms in England. Of those discharged since 1st July, 1959, all but 39 have obtained other work; of those discharged in 1958, 29 remained unemployed in June of this year, but some of these may since have obtained further employment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations have been made to him regarding delays in the acquisition, by lease or purchase of freehold, of land by the Forestry Commission, and regarding restrictions on the purchase of immature crops of standing trees; what action he will take; and if he will make a statement.

The Forestry Commission has received complaints from prospective vendors of land, and also one from the Chartered Auctioneers' and Estate Agents' Institute, about delay in negotiations for the acquisition of land by the Commission. The Commission has recently increased its legal and clerical staff on this work and has improved its office procedures in order to speed up negotiations. But in addition I must point out that a significant cause of delay would be removed if vendors' solicitors themselves gave more prompt attention to these transactions.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is satisfied that the existing provision of £9,000,000 under the White Fish and Herring Industries Act, 1953, is adequate to enable the White Fish Authority to continue making grants for the construction and modernisation of fishing vessels; and whether he will make a statement.

The sums provided have been committed earlier than was expected, both because of the very large number of applications for grant which the White Fish Authority has received in the last year, and also because of a technical requirement that grants which have been cancelled and repaid have to be paid into the Exchequer and may not be used to make other grant payments. The total of applications approved has already reached £9 million gross, but in order to avoid a break in the continuity of approvals of these grants the White Fish Authority has been given permission to enter into further commitments up to the amount affected by this method of accounting, that is, until the amounts committed total £9 million net. Approvals thereafter will depend on the provision by Parliament of further funds. The Sea Fish Industry Bill now before the House contains a provision for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps have now been taken by his Department in conjunction with the London County Council and the City Corporation to acquire a permanent site at the junction of Old Street and City Road as a permanent annex to Covent Garden market for the storage of empty containers and produce in bulk.

I am glad to be able to say that the London County Council has instructed its officers to negotiate for the site. I am most grateful to the Council for its help in this matter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much has been saved annually as a result of the amalgamation of the Dorset and Somerset Agricultural Executive Committee services; and how this saving has been achieved, taking into account office accommodation and travelling.

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that economies have been secured by the more efficient use of staff, but it is impossible to give a precise figure. It was estimated in 1957 that the saving achieved would be approximately £10,000 per year and I have no reason to assume that this estimate has not been realised.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware of the concern felt by the British fishing industry at the large increase of fish being caught for industrial purposes by Scandinavian countries to the detriment of future stocks; and what steps he intends taking to deal with this problem.

A recent assessment of the effect of industrial fishing on fish stocks was made by the Permanent Commission of the International Fisheries Convention. It concluded that, although there was a reduction in the stocks of whiting and haddock, this was not so substantial as seriously to reduce the yield from these fisheries. A similar conclusion resulted from an experiment in the industrial fishery grounds for young herring in the North Sea.I fully share the concern felt in this country on the general question of conservation, and my Department will shortly be having discussions on the whole question of industrial fishing with representatives of the industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a further statement on the Report of the Committee on Transactions in Seeds.

In consultation with my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary of State for Scotland, I have almost completed my study of this very detailed Report in the light of the views expressed by the organisations concerned. I shall make a statement in due course.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a further statement on the Heneage Committee Report.

As my hon. Friend said in reply to a Question on 8th June, agreement in principle has been reached by the associations principally concerned on what should be done to deal with the main problems considered in the Heneage Report. I hope to be able to make a statement very shortly.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a further statement on the Report of the Committee on Grassland Utilisation.

The recommendations of the Committee have involved a great deal of study and discussion between the Agricultural Departments, as well as consultations with other bodies such as the Agricultural Research Council. This is now completed and I shall make a statement as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has concluded his discussions with the City of London Corporation on alterations and improvements to food markets in the City; and if he will make a statement.

Alterations and improvements to food markets in the City are the responsibility of the City of London Corporation. I am informed that the Corporation has the question of improvements very much in mind and is in fact actively engaged on improvements in Spitalfields and Billingsgate and the poultry market at Smithfield.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he has taken to ensure adequacy and efficacy of British information services in the Arabian Peninsula.

With my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs and the Colonies, I have given special attention to the information services in the Arabian Peninsula, and in September, 1958, I visited Aden for this purpose. As a result these services have been substantially strengthened.The changes, fuller details of which are given below, include increase in daily broadcasting hours of the B.B.C. service in Arabic from 4½ in 1957 to 12 today; changes of emphasis and method in broadcasting; a new relay station at Berbera; expansion of the Aden Broadcasting Service; increased information establishments; a new British Council Centre at Bahrein; and a general expansion of Press, film, radio-tape, publications and photographic services to the area.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will make further inquiries into the case of Mrs. H. Minshull, 5, Florence Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, whose claim for disablement benefit was disallowed by a tribunal on 24th August in contradiction of the report of a medical specialist; and if he will give instructions for a re-hearing of the case by another tribunal.

I have looked into this case. But, as my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary has explained to the hon. Member, Parliament in the Industrial Injuries Act, 1946, placed the decision in these cases in the hands of independent statutory authorities, and I have no power to intervene as suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will publish annually the number of people who qualified for a pension during the previous twelve months and the cumulative total to date since the present National Insurance Scheme came into operation in 1948.

The figures for which my noble Friend asks are not available for the year 1948 in the middle of which the National Insurance Scheme came into full operation. But in Table 53 at the back of my Department's Annual Report for 1958 she will find for 1949 and each subsequent year, both the number of retirement and contributory old-age pensions awarded in the year and the number in payment at its end. I hope these figures are those which she has in mind.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he is aware that the recent relaxation of the earnings rule brings no benefit to many widows and women retirement pensioners, because of the ruling that more than twelve hours of work per week is inconsistent with retirement and whether he will relax this rule.

The hon. Member is, I think, under some misapprehension. The so-called twelve-hours rule is only one of the tests applied by the National Insurance Commissioner to the question of retirement, and as such has no application to recipients of widows' pensions. So far as applications for retirement pensions are concerned, the overriding test is that laid down in Section 20 of the National Insurance Act, 1946, as to whether the work is "not inconsistent with retirement". I do not think that the construction placed upon this has so far given rise to serious difficulty, but I intend to keep a close watch on it in connection with future changes in the earnings limits.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will refer the question of further relaxation of the earnings rule to the National Insurance Advisory Council before making any new draft regulations.

In accordance with Section 77 of the National Insurance Act, 1946, regulations making further relaxations in the earnings rule will be submitted in draft to the National Insurance Advisory Committee.

asked the Minister of Power to what extent it is his policy to bring together the chairmen of all fuel industries with a view to planning the nation's fuel and power requirements, and avoiding excessive dependence of the national economy upon imported oil and liquid methane.

I certainly intend to work in close touch with the heads of the nationalised fuel and power industries on all major issues of national fuel policy which affect them.

asked the Minister of Power if he will make an interim statement on the progress of the investigation into the by-product potentialities of coal; and whether he will consider the publication of periodical reports of the progress made.

The Committee was appointed in April this year and is pressing on urgently with its very detailed investigations.I do not want to delay the Committee's final report by asking for progress reports about the main subject of its inquiry.

asked the Minister of Power the estimated total production and consumption of coal for the year 1959 on the basis of current output and sales; and how these amounts compare with the estimates made by his Department a year ago, and with the actual out-turn for the year 1958.

Total production may be 207 million tons, against the estimate of 203 million tons given in the House on 3rd December, 1958, and the actual production of 216 million tons in 1958. Consumption, including exports, may be 195 million tons against an estimate of 200 million tons, and actual consumption of 208 million tons in 1958.

asked the Minister of Power how the present level of coal stocks compares with the estimate made by his Department a year ago.

Undistributed coal stocks at 17th October totalled 35 million tons, compared with the estimate made in December, 1958. that they would be 23 million tons at the end of this year.

asked the Minister of Aviation what factors he takes into account when advising aircraft manufacturers whether or not to sell military aircraft to foreign countries.

Provided there are no political or strategic objections, and provided the purchaser is able to pay, we naturally encourage British industry to export its wares to any country where it can find a market for them.

asked the Minister of Aviation how many British fighter aircraft have been delivered to Cuba since the assumption of power by Senor Fidel Castro.

Five Sea Furies have been delivered to Cuba since the change of Government. They were the last five of an order for seventeen which had already been paid for by the former Cuban Government.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will state in detail his plans for handing over certain services of British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways to private operators.

I am having discussions with the Corporations and the independent airlines on a variety of problems. Until these discussions are completed I do not propose to take any new decisions about the allocation of services.

asked the Minister of Aviation what fresh steps he proposes to take to increase research into methods of securing noise abatement in order to relieve residents around London Airport of excessive noise from aircraft.

Considerable research into this difficult problem is going on continuously, and the results are put into practice as and when promising lines of action emerge.

asked the Minister of Aviation when he proposes to provide modern invalid chairs for the use and convenience of disabled persons travelling as passengers arriving at or departing from London Airport.

Specially designed invalid chairs have been ordered to replace those at present in use at London Airport. They are expected to be delivered in the next few weeks.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking in connection with the shortage of repair parts for Medresco hearing aids and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will improve the distribution of repair parts and batteries for Medresco hearing aids at Stockton-on-Tees; and when the new transistor aid will be available for general distribution.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that there is a shortage of leads for Medresco hearing aids at Kettering, and a list of about eighty people waiting for them; and whether he will take immediate steps to make a supply available there and in Rothwell.

There have recently been shortages of some repair parts for Medresco valve hearing aids, but I am not aware of any shortage of batteries. The shortages arose primarily from production difficulties. I have taken steps with the assistance of my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General to increase supplies, and deliveries are now adequate except of receiver leads. These are being distributed to hearing-aid centres as equitably as possible, and I hope that full supplies will be available soon.With regard to the issue of transistor aids, these are already being supplied to children and I hope to begin supplying them to adults next spring.

asked the Minister of Health if he is yet able to announce the starting date of the new extension planned at the Barnsley, St. Helen Hospital.

The details of the accommodation to be provided have now been settled and sketch plans are being prepared, but it is not possible yet to say when actual building will start.

asked the Minister of Health if he will reconsider the recent increase in garage rents imposed on members of the staffs of sanatoria and hospitals, especially as they affect those working in country districts where cars are essential.

The rents charged to hospital staff for garages are fixed by the hospital authorities and I have no reason to believe that they are excessive.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the difficulties in the medical staffing of Ashington Hospital, Northumberland; and what steps are being taken to secure an immediate improvement.

I am aware that there is a vacancy for a junior hospital medical officer which the Regional Hospital Board hopes to fill very shortly. The Board has also advertised for a senior casualty officer to fill a post at present occupied by a locum.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the hardship involved and of the opinions expressed by the medical profession, he will now consider the early removal of all health charges.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made about prescription charges on 15th July, 1959, and to the reply which I gave to a Question about other charges on 20th July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when he will be appointing the leader of the British delegation to the Conference on the Law of the Sea; and what consultations are now being made with other maritime nations.

We are aware of the need to appoint the leader for this Conference in good time, but my right hon. and learned Friend is not in a position to make a statement about this at present.We have had, and are continuing to have, very extensive consultations with other maritime countries. These are confidential.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the United Kingdom delegate to the United Nations in October of this year voted in the General Assembly for the continued exclusion of the Peking Government from the United Nations.

The debate on this subject which took place in the General Assembly on 21st and 22nd September turned on the procedural question of whether the issue of Chinese representation in the United Nations should be inscribed as an item for discussion on the Assembly's agenda. The deep division of opinion on this subject in the United Nations has in no way lessened in the past year and it was the view of Her Majesty's Government that a debate on it, rather than serving any useful purpose, would have embittered the proceedings. In these circumstances the United Kingdom Representative was instructed to vote for a further postponement of discussion.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why Her Majesty's Government have not acceded to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in Time of Armed Conflict.

The provisions of this Convention are very complex. We have, therefore, had to make a thorough investigation of the extent and effect of the obligations which Her Majesty's Government would assume through ratification. This has taken longer than we anticipated, but the investigation is now nearly complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations he proposes to make to the Government of the German Federal Republic about the cancellation of tickets booked by British subjects in the United Kingdom for the Oberammergau Passion Play in 1960.

I understand the position to be as follows. No actual bookings can be made in the United Kingdom for the Oberammergau Passion Play. Tickets, which cover a seat for the Passion Play and overnight accommodation in the village, are allocated by a central office in Oberammergau. Many more people apply to see the Passion Play than can be accommodated, and the acceptance of a booking by an agent in the United Kingdom is no guarantee that it can be accepted by the Passion Play authorities in Oberammergau. As this appears to be a simple question of supply and demand, no useful purpose would be served by making representations to the Government of the German Federal Republic.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what recommendations the constitutional Commissioner, Sir Hilary Blood, has made for constitutional changes in British Honduras.

The Commissioner recommends the introduction of a Ministerial system with four Ministers appointed by the Governor, one of whom would be Finance Minister.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what tax increases were announced in Malta on 18th September; and what prior consultations took place with representatives of the Maltese political parties.

The following tax increases have been introduced in Malta:

(a) Customs and excise duties have been increased on

Petrol by 4d. per gallon.

Imported spirits by 1d. per tot.

Imported beer by 6d. per bottle.

Imported wine by 6d. per bottle.

Imported cigarettes by 1d. per 10.

Imported butter by 3d. per lb.

Electrical appliances by 4 per cent. to 8 per cent. depending on whether the article pays preferential or ordinary duty.

(b) Licences have been increased as follows:

Car licences by £2 on cars of 1,450 to 2,000 cc.

£5 on cars over 2,000 cc.

The special licence for Valetta by £1.

Motor cycle and motor scooter licences by £1 10s.

Driving licences by 5s.

(c) The surtax rate of 2s. in the pound on incomes of £2,500 and over has been increased to 2s. 6d. on incomes between £3,000 and £3,500; 3s. 6d. on incomes between £3,500 and £4,000; and 5s. on incomes over £4,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the terms of the Ordinance, issued by the Governor of Malta on 16th October, regarding the wearing of uniforms for political purposes.

A copy of the relevant legislation, which is modelled on the United Kingdom Public Order Act, 1936, has been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the proceedings of the West Indies Conference on the revision of the Federal Constitution which was adjourned on 7th October.

The Conference was called by the Federal Government. It was attended by representatives from all Federated Territories and by observers from the Colonial Office. The Conference concluded by appointing two inter-Governmental Committees to examine the implications of dominion status, including the question of the representation of the Territories in the Federal House of Representatives. These committees are to report back not later than 31st March, 1960, and the Conference will be reconvened at the earliest practicable time after that date.

asked the Minister of Defence his policy in regard to poliomyelitis inoculation for men and women in the Armed Forces.

Members of the Forces have the same opportunities as civilians. Up to now, all men and women under the age of 26 who have volunteered have been inoculated. As more vaccine is now available, this age limit is being removed.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many days Royal Air Force training in flying were completed at Chetwynd Landing Ground, Newport, Shropshire, in June, 1959.

Flying training took place on seven days.

asked the Secretary of State for Air, in view of the restricted runway at the Royal Air Force Airfield, High Ercall, Wellington, Shropshire, to what extent he needs this airfield for national defence, in view of the fact that it could be producing food.

High Ercall is used extensively for flying training, for which its main runway is quite adequate. It also has valuable permanent buildings occupied by a maintenance unit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in favour of a compulsory financial contribution to horse racing from betting off-the-course; and if he will make a statement.

The Stewards of the Jockey Club, and other bodies concerned with the sport of horse racing and the breeding of race horses, have made representations to me that any Bill relating to betting should include provision for a compulsory levy on off-the-course betting on horse races, the proceeds to be devoted, like the surplus from the totalisator, to the support of horse racing and breeding. This proposal was not considered by the Royal Commission on Betting, Lotteries and Gaming, 1949–51; it raises important issues of principle and presents serious practical difficulties. Before coming to any conclusion on the proposal, therefore, the Government think it should be Independently and expertly examined. Accordingly, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I have decided to appoint an Interdepartmental Committee with the following terms of reference:

"To consider whether it is desirable and practicable that persons engaged in betting transactions on horse races, otherwise than by means of the totalisator, should be required to make a contribution for purposes conducive to the improvement of breeds of horses or the sport of horse racing; and if so, to advise on its amount and on the means of securing it."

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the concern arising from the rapidly increasing number of sewing machines being imported into this country, particularly from countries with low wages; and what applications he has received from manufacturers with regard to restriction of imports.

I am aware of the concern about imports of sewing machines, and the Board of Trade has received representations from the British Association of Sewing Machine Manufacturers on the subject.