asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state his plans for improving the pay and conditions of service in the Metropolitan Police Force, with a view to making them more attractive and increasing the size of the police force.

The pay, and in part the conditions of service, of the police are primarily a matter for the Police Council for Great Britain, which is a joint negotiating body representative of the police authorities and of all ranks of the police service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the problem caused by persons acquitted on criminal charges being deprived of costs incurred in presenting their defence.

I would invite the hon. and learned Member's attention to the statement made on 19th October by the Lord Chief Justice in the Court of Criminal Appeal, in which he made it clear that the discretion of the courts to award costs out of local funds to an acquitted defendant was an unfettered one, and said that costs might, and should, be awarded in all cases where the court thought it right to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are now sleeping three to a cell; and what progress is being made towards ending such overcrowding.

On 20th October there were 6,462 men housed three to a cell. So long as committals remain at their present level, the only method of reducing this overcrowding is to provide extra accommodation, which my right hon. Friend is making every effort to do. Tenders have been accepted for one new security prison and planning clearance has been obtained for the building of a second, but it is to open prisons that we must look for speedy relief. Two of these have been opened in the last eighteen months and my right hon. Friend has a further four under consideration at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent he has given consideration, in the light of his judgment of the present state of public opinion, to the introduction of further legislation to extend or limit the penalties for homicide and treason.

I am keeping the operation of the Homicide Act, 1957, under review, but I have at present no proposals for further legislation in this field.

asked the Prime Minister what further steps he has in mind to extend devolution in Scottish affairs.

A good deal has been done in this direction in recent years. If further changes are desirable, they will be made.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will consider recommending the setting up of a Royal Commission on teachers' salaries.

No. Statutory machinery already exists for the consideration of teachers' salaries by bodies representative of authorities and teachers.

asked the Prime Minister if he is now in a position to supplement the reply he made to the letter to him in September by the management and workers of Scottish Aviation, Limited, Prestwick, the Scottish Trades Union Congress and Ayrshire Members of Parliament about Scottish Aviation, Limited's Pegasus aircraft.

I have told the company that I am prepared to receive its proposed deputation next week.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will now appoint an independent committee to investigate and report on all matters leading up to, the cause of, and matters connected with, the Suez war, together with the reasons for Great Britain's sudden withdrawal from this campaign.

No.

asked the Prime Minister if, in view of the importance to all mankind of a Summit Conference leading to a peace agreement between the great Powers, he will propose to other heads of Governments that this should take precedence over all internal considerations and be called at the earliest possible date.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statements made in the House on 27th and 29th October by myself and my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary; and also to the announcement made on 1st November that a meeting of Western heads of Government will be held in Paris on 19th December to prepare for a meeting with Mr. Khrushchev.

asked the Prime Minister, in view of the recent promise by the Leader of the House on behalf of the Government to reconsider the relations between the nationalised industries and Parliament, and the greater number of Questions which such a reconsideration is likely to produce, if he will consider increasing the Question period from one hour to one-and-a-half hours by starting the business of the day at 2 p.m. instead of at 2.30 p.m.; and if he will make a statement.

I think we had better await the results of the discussions which my right hon. Friend proposes to have with those concerned and through the usual channels.

asked the Prime Minister if he has now given further consideration to the memorandum submitted to him by the hon. Member for Carlisle in regard to the appointment of a Parliamentary Commissioner after the Scandinavian model for the consideration of individual grievances against administrative or executive action by public authority; and if he will make a statement.

I have given further consideration to the memorandum submitted to me by my hon. Friend. There would be many constitutional and practical difficulties in the way of adopting the Scandinavian system in view of the very different constitutional and other circumstances of this country. I understand, however, that a group of lawyers is to undertake a serious and objective study of the matter, and I think it would be well to wait until the results of this study are known before coming to any final conclusion.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations what protests have been made by the Maldivian Government against the violation of the treaty by the United Kingdom authorities in Gan; what was the nature of the reply; and if he will make a statement on this country's relationship with the Maldivian Government, the construction of the staging post, the resettlement of displaced persons and the payment of compensation for the land occupied.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations whether he will make a statement on the state of negotiations with the Government of the Maldives.

Allegations of the violation of the Protection Agreement at Gan have been made in letters delivered to the United Kingdom High Commissioner in Colombo by the Maldivian Government's representative there. These allegations were unfounded and have therefore been rejected.In April the United Kingdom Government invited a Maldivian delegation to be its guests in London in order to continue talks on outstanding matters. This invitation was renewed on 11th August in a message from my noble Friend to the Maldivian Prime Minister.The United Kingdom Government have also offered their good offices to help bring about a peaceful restoration of the Maldivian Government's authority in Addu Atoll.Work on the air staging post, including necessary resettlement, is expected to be completed by early next year. The question of additional compensation awaits the further negotiations to which we hope the Maldivian Government will agree in due course.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations what progress is being made with the economic survey in the High Commission Territories.

The Economic Survey Mission which assembled in London at the beginning of September has visited the Bechuanaland Protectorate and Basutoland and is now in Swaziland. It hopes to complete its report to the High Commissioner by the end of the year.

asked the Minister of Education what decision he has reached in connection with the Craddock Wells Estate tenants who wish to buy the freehold of their homes in Cardiff; and whether he will make a statement.

No approach has been made to me in this matter.

asked the Minister of Education when he now expects to receive the Report of the Anderson Committee.

I understand that the Report will be coming in the spring.

asked the Minister of Education if he will give details of his plans to obtain additional teachers.

I am at present reviewing the various means by which the number of teachers might be further increased. As the hon. Member will know, the Government have already announced plans for adding 16,000 places to the training colleges.

asked the Minister of Education what proportion of children reaching secondary school age this year in Newcastle-under-Lyme were able to secure grammar school places; and how this figure compares with those for five, and ten years ago, respectively.

About 15 per cent. compared with about 20 per cent. in 1954. Figures for 1949 are not available. The proportion will, however, rise again when four new grammar and technical schools are opened in surrounding areas; three of them are expected to be in use next year.

asked the Minister of Education the terms of reference and membership of the Sub-Committee on Agricultural Education, which has been established by the National Advisory Council on Education for Industry and Commerce.

The Committee's terms of reference are:

"To advise on the steps to be taken in the light of the Report of the De La Warr Committee to develop education for agriculture in establishments maintained by local education authorities."

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, if he will specify the amount of Government money invested in the new Hydrodynamics Laboratory of the National Physical Laboratory; and if he will make a statement upon the plans for its work and the number and nature of its staff.

The new Hydrodynamics Laboratory has cost about £2,000,000 and will provide up-to-date facilities for testing ship designs, particularly in reproducing more realistic sea conditions than has been previously possible. Research will be conducted to extend basic knowledge upon the resistance, propulsion and seagoing qualities of ships and tests will be carried out on new ship designs for industry. The staff at the new laboratory number nearly 70 of whom 10 are scientific officers.

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, how far experiments at Dounreay have progressed; and what degree of success has been attained in developing a breeder reactor process.

The fast reactor has been undergoing commissioning trials before loading the enriched uranium fuel. These trials have proved more difficult than expected, but this has been due to problems of chemical engineering and not to nuclear problems. Enriched uranium is now being loaded and is expected to approach a critical state within the next few weeks. This reactor is an experiment in the development of fast breeder systems, and future successful exploitation will depend on the results obtained from its operation.

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, what extension is contemplated by the Government of nuclear research at Dounreay; and to what extent encouragement will be given to associated industries by the placing of development orders with firms in the north of Scotland area.

The Atomic Energy Authority's nuclear research programme at Dounreay is concerned mainly with the development of the fast reactor, which will occupy the resources of the establishment for many years. The Admiralty submarine reactor development programme at Dounreay is now getting under way. Firms in the north of Scotland which have the necessary scientific and technical experience will certainly be given the opportunity of tendering for such development work as can be let out to industry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures showing the amount of Income Tax and Surtax paid by a man with a wife and two children in the financial year 1951, in the following wage and salary scales: £400 per annum, £500 per annum, £1,000 per annum, £2,000 per annum, £5,000 per annum and £10,000 per annum.

The amounts of Income Tax and Surtax at 1951–52 rates on a married man with two children whose income was all earned was as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, notwithstanding a fall of 13 per cent. in the cost of United Kingdom imports since 1951 and a rise of 9 per cent. in the prices received for United Kingdom exports, the consumer price index has risen by 25 per cent. over the same period whilst the £ sterling has depreciated in purchasing power by 4s.; what are the reasons for these figures; and what action he proposes to take to reverse the position.

I am of course aware of the movements of prices to which the hon. Member refers. The increases in consumer prices and in export prices since 1951 have been the result mainly of higher domestic incomes, which have a much greater influence on unit costs than the movement of import prices. In the last eighteen months we have enjoyed stability of consumer prices and my right hon. Friend proposes to continue the policies which have helped to produce this satisfactory result.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give a list of the names of the firms included in the compensation scheme for redundant machinery under the Cotton Industry Act, 1959, who have not yet announced to their employees the mills which will be wholly or partially closed due to the scrapping of machinery.

No. This would not be possible, but the Cotton Board has urged all firms scrapping excess capacity to inform the operatives affected and the trade unions as early as practicable.

asked the President of the Board of Trade his present estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of the scrapping of spinning, doubling and weaving machinery under the Cotton Industry Act, 1959; and how this estimate compares with his predecessor's estimates given to Parliament during the passage of the Bill.

About £11 million. The total cost of the Government's proposals, including re-equipment as well as scrapping, was provisionally estimated at £30 million.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the Report of the Monopolies Commission on fertilisers.

The Report was received from the Monopolies Commission on 23rd July and laid before Parliament on 24th July. It is now being prepared for publication and I hope that it will be published early next year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the proposed closure of the No. 1 Factory of Bristol Siddeley Engines, Limited, on the Pallion Trading Estate, Sunderland.

Bristol Siddeley Engines, Limited, has announced its intention of concentrating its production at Pallion into three out of the four factories it at present leases from the Board of Trade. The factory unit which it expects to vacate is some 66,000 sq. ft. and will become available for re-allocation after 1st May, 1960. We shall do our utmost to find a new occupant for the factory as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Government have yet agreed to support the set-ling up of an international trade organisation as envisaged by the Havana Charter of 1948.

When in 1951 it became clear that the United States would not ratify the Havana Charter, Her Majesty's Government concluded that there was no prospect of the International Trade Organisation being established and informed the House accordingly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when the promised advance factory is likely to be completed in Coatbridge and Airdrie; and if he will make a statement.

It is expected that the advance standard factory at Coatbridge will be completed by the summer of next year. The Board of Trade and Scottish Industrial Estates Limited are doing their best to find a tenant.

asked the Minister of Health how many mentally retarded children are not provided with educational facilities of any kind; and what financial aid is available to the parents of such children to assist them in providing private care and tuition.

I assume that the hon. Lady is referring to children who are found to be incapable of receiving education at school because of their mental disability but are suitable for training by the local health authority. At the end of 1958, 10,469 such children under the age of 16 were receiving such training and 2,583 were waiting for training. Visits and advice from mental welfare officers are also provided for the parents, but no financial aid.

asked the Minister of Health the reasons for the delay in proceeding with the building of a new general hospital at Lindley, Huddersfield; when building will commence; and when it is expected that the hospital will be completed.

I am not aware that there has been undue delay, bearing in mind the size of the project; but I know that the Leeds Regional Hospital Board is at present urgently re-appraising some aspects of the scheme in the light of certain changes in local circumstances since it was first planned. Building will start as soon as possible after this reappraisal has been completed. The hospital will necessarily take several years to complete.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he has yet received Sir Arton Wilson's Report on his investigation with regard to residential caravans; and whether he will make a statement.

I am greatly indebted to Sir Arton Wilson for the thoroughness with which he has carried out a complicated investigation. His Report is being published today, and copies will be available in the Vote Office. I am already considering the policy questions involved, and shall be consulting the local authority associations and other interests concerned. I will make a further statement as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress being made in the application of the Clean Air Act in the County of Northumberland.

Progress is disappointing. Only two local authorities are at present establishing smoke control areas.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the improper conduct of the Tomato and Cucumber Marketing Board connected with the revocation poll recently held by it, and the widespread concern and dissatisfaction expressed by registered producers culminating in the failure of the Board to justify its actions at the Annual General Meeting of the Board held on 28th October, 1959; and, in view of this and of the public disquiet following upon the knowledge by the public of the manner in which the poll has been conducted by the Board, what action he proposes to take to ensure that future polls are conducted fairly.

I am aware that some producers have expressed dissatisfaction, and have no doubt that the Board will have taken note of the criticisms. But I have no evidence that the poll was not conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme approved by Parliament.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the terms of the proposed European Free Trade Area relating to the fishing industry, indicating which countries will be involved and how this will affect the British fishing industry.

My right hon. Friend has nothing to add to the statement which he made in reply to a Question by the hon. Member last Monday.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many British fishing vessels have, since the fisheries dispute with Iceland began, been convicted by Icelandic courts of offences, indicating the nature of each offence and the penalties exacted in each case.

There have been two such convictions. The skipper of the "Valafell" was fined approximately £1,600 plus costs, and his catch and gear were confiscated, on one count of alleged illegal fishing. The fine has since been increased to about £2,200 on appeal. The skipper of the "Lord Montgomery" was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, a fine of about £3,200 and confiscation of catch and gear on 21 counts of alleged illegal fishing and two counts of alleged illegal stowage of gear. The skipper and the trawler were released on deposit of bond by the owners. Both skippers were sent in for trial on the instructions of their owners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Africans are at present restricted, without any previous trial in any court of law, to areas in Northern Rhodesia and Kenya on terms such that if they leave these areas without permission they are liable on conviction to imprisonment.

Forty and 529, respectively, but I am checking the latter figure which is provisional, with the Governor of Kenya and if it needs correction I will circulate a further reply in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Transport the number of British ships in British ports which are unemployed or under-employed to the latest convenient date, indicating the respective ports and tonnage; how these numbers compare with the numbers for each of the last 10 years; and what steps he is taking to resolve the difficulties which prevent the full employment of these ships.

, pursuant to the reply given on 4th November, 1959, cols, 1026–1027, circulated the following note:

asked the Minister of Transport the main schemes involved in the doubling of the road programme over the next five years; and when full and detailed information will be available about such schemes.

I have nothing to add to the Answer I gave to the hon. Member on 4th November about the road programme.

asked the Minister of Defence whether he will make a statement on the future of Coastal Command.

After a full review of the present arrangements, the following decisions have been reached:

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what consideration is being given to increasing the basic allowance for sickness and unemployment benefits.

The rates of all National Insurance benefits are kept continuously under review.