asked the Minister of Defence what would be the estimated saving in defence expenditure if Great Britain were to abandon the strategy of the massive nuclear deterrent.

It would not be practicable to supply the hon. Member with the figures he requires.

asked the Minister of Labour his estimate of the unemployment and under-employment trend in the paper-making, building and other industries in Aberdeen during the forthcoming winter months.

I expect some seasonal increase in building and certain other industries affected by weather conditions. I have no reason to suppose that unemployment in the paper-making industry will change materially from its present low level during the forthcoming winter months.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that unemployment in the City of Aberdeen, already high, will be increased by the expected abandonment by Messrs. Thomas Tait and Sons Limited, of their plan to spend £750,000 on building a new high-speed paper-making factory at Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, due to the Outer Seven Free Trade Area Agreement which will assist foreign competition with the Scottish paper-making industry; and what steps he is taking to provide alternative employment for those affected.

No. I would like to see this project go forward, because of the employment it would provide but no additional unemployment will be created if unfortunately the plan is abandoned.

asked the Secretary of State for War to what extent, prior to the trial by general court martial at Quetta, India, in 1934 of Lieut.-Colonel H. R. Sandford, the charges alleged against the accused officer were investigated by his commanding officer.

Mr. Sandford was convicted twenty-five years ago on a charge of uttering a false document. He was dismissed from the Service.Since then, Mr. Sandford has tried again and again to have the verdict of the court set aside. His appeals on points of law or procedure have been most carefully considered by several Secretaries of State and he has applied unsuccessfully to the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The Question now put by my hon. Friend concerns a point which has been considered several times by the Army Council, beginning in 1935.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it has yet been decided when the guided missile, Orange William, is to be brought into production; and whether he will make a statement.

The successful development of the missile known as Malkara makes it possible to effect the earlier deployment of an air-portable anti-tank guided weapon than would have been the case with Orange William. We have decided that the improvements which the latter offered do not justify the expense and effort needed to bring it to fruition. This specific project was accordingly cancelled, but a research programme continues based on the experience gained.

asked the Postmaster-General, in view of the progress made in the building of shops on the Longbenton Estate, on what date he expects work to start on the post office, the opening of which has been promised by the time the shopping centre is completed.

I am glad to be able to tell the hon. Member that a sub-post office was opened in the shopping centre of unit 4 of the estate of 27th October; in view of the great interest which he has shown in this matter, I am sorry the hon. Member was not told about the date of opening as soon as it was known.

asked the Postmaster-General the average waiting time before a telephone subscriber in Solihull can get "Trunks"; and how this compares with five years ago.

Trunk calls made by Solihull exchange subscribers are dealt with at the Midland switchboard in Birmingham. The latest figures for the average waiting time at that switchboard were 10·3 seconds by day and 11·3 by night. The corresponding figures for 1954 were 12·6 and 12·0. I am trying to improve matters.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is in a position to state when work will commence on the pro posed new telephone exchange in Kilmarnock.

We are planning to start building work early in 1961.

asked the Postmaster- General the number of applicants waiting for telephone service at the Feltham and Hounslow exchanges; what is the average waiting period; and if he will state the number of applicants waiting in November, 1958.

Excluding orders under inquiry and in course of being met, there are 195 waiting applicants at Feltham and 407 at Hounslow. A year ago the figures were 274 and 1,711 respectively. When plant is available, telephone service is usually provided within 2·3 months from the date of the application. More than 1,300 telephones have been installed in these two places during the past 12 months.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that failure to settle the final line definition is holding up progress in receiver design and colour television; and whether he can now state when Great Britain will adopt the 625 line standard.

I am assured that progress in receiver design in general is not static in this country; some 625-line receivers are being exported. As for colour television, the main problem is still the development of an economic and reliable colour tube. This is not dependent for its solution on a decision on definition standards.I have not yet received the report of the Television Advisory Committee but as soon as the report is received a copy will be placed in the Library. The advice given by the Committee will, of course, have to be studied very carefully, together with the economic and other aspects of television development, before a decision can be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Air (1) whether he is satisfied that the Thor rocket is now reliable; and if he will make a statement; (2) when the Thor rocket is likely to become operational.

Recent test firings of Thor in the United States have demonstrated high standards of accuracy and reliability. There are, however, a few technical details which we are still discussing with the Americans. I cannot at present, therefore, make any further statement.

No. A number of improvements are planned and work will begin shortly.

asked the Minister of Transport what further measures are in contemplation to persuade shipping interests in the United States of America to cease operating flags of convenience and other methods of discrimination against British shipping.

Last June talks were held in Washington between representatives of the United States and nine European Governments. They envisaged continuing consultation on shipping questions. I hope that arrangements will soon be concluded to establish the machinery for this consultation.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he proposes to take to enable C-licensed transport to operate more freely, in view of the essential part such transport plays in the trade and industry of the country, and in the light of the surveys made by his Department in 1952 and 1958.

My right hon. Friend has nothing to add to his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Kidderminster (Mr. Nabarro) on 4th November.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the extent to which a 30 miles-an-hour speed limit is laid down varies considerably from county to county; and if he will look into the matter in order to ensure that highly populated industrial areas in the Midlands receive the same protection as is given to residential areas in the Home Counties.

Before 1956 the 30 miles-per-hour speed limit was automatically applied to roads on which there was a defined system of street lighting. Provision was however made in the Road Traffic Act of that year for all future speed limits on trunk and classified roads to be made by Orders, which must have my right hon. Friend's consent. This should greatly aid the establishment of uniform standards.

asked the Minister of Transport what was the result of his inspection of rush-hour traffic in London.

My right hon. Friend obtained first-hand knowledge of the problem which he intends to pursue vigorously with the help of the London Travel Committee.

asked the Minister of Transport how many road accidents involving injury, and how many deaths, there were in the year 1958 on the stretch of the roads A5 and A45 running from St. Albans to Dunchurch inclusive.

During 1958 there were 648 accidents involving personal injury on the A5 and A45 roads between St. Albans and Dunchurch Forty-four persons were killed.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on the number and character of the accidents that have occurred so far on the motorway Ml; to what extent the first reports on its surface and on the width and construction of the hard shoulders indicate that these are satisfactory; and what special precautions are being taken to prevent accidents in fog, including the temporary imposition of a speed limit when dense fog is forecast.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement about the salaries of principal and senior probation officers.

When, early in 1958, wider economic circumstances obliged me to withhold from these officers about 1·8 per cent. of a salary increase negotiated for them by the Joint

There have been six accidents on the motorway since its opening, resulting in the deaths of two persons, serious injury to three, and slight injury to three. Details are given below.The surface of the motorway appears to be perfectly satisfactory. The hard shoulders were not intended to be used as much as has proved necessary while traffic is getting used to the motorway, and experience now may be misleading.No special precautions are being taken on the road to prevent accidents in foggy weather. It would be unwise to impose an arbitrary speed limit which may or may not be appropriate at any particular time or place. Drivers should follow the advice given in the Highway Code and suit their speed to the prevailing conditions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to implement that part of the Gowers Committee's Report relating to office workers.

I have no statement to make at present.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has to make for a more equitable distribution of the inland drainage rate than the present anomalous imposition of the rate as between one ratepayer and another occupying property almost adjacent to each other.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, Monday, 9th November, 1959; Vol. 613, c. 3] supplied the following information:The organisations mainly concerned in the discussions which have been taking place on land drainage proposals are:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

The Forestry Commission expects to have about 14 million transplants and 15 million seedlings surplus to its requirements this winter.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations how many scholarships are provided annually to students in Swaziland, Basutoland, and Bechuanaland for study at Pius XII University College in Basutoland, the inter-racial University in Central Africa, and universities in the United Kingdom; what is the amount of the scholarships; and if he will increase the amount and the number of the scholarships.

The number of scholarship awards varies annually with the number of applicants and the financial provision made. There is no fixed limit but the figures for 1959 are set out in the table below. The High Commissioner is considering whether he can increase the amount and number of awards in 1960–61.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations the provisions of the Unlawful Assemblies Proclamation decreed for Swaziland; and on what grounds it has been enacted.

No Unlawful Assemblies Proclamation for Swaziland has yet been promulgated. A draft Proclamation has for some time been under discussion with the European Advisory Council and the Swazi National Council, but these discussions are not yet complete.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations how many persons have been arrested in connection with the illegal recruitment of bushmen in Bechuanaland for farm labour in South-West Africa; what penalties were imposed; what progress has been made in the study of the administrative and anthropological problems of the bushmen; and what consideration is being given to the establishment of a reserve for the bushmen.

Since January, 1958, five persons have been arrested in connection with attempted illegal recruitment of bushmen in the Bechuanaland Protectorate. Three of them were convicted and fined. In the other two cases, the available evidence was considered insufficient to support a prosecution for attempted illegal recruitment.Since early this year a district officer, who is also a trained anthropologist, has been engaged in an intensive study of the administrative and anthropological problems of the bushmen. He is assisted by his wife, who has some anthropological training. Until the report of the survey is available, it is not possible to reach a decision regarding the establishment of a reserve.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number, ages and sexes of the patients in Caldwell House, Uplawmoor, and in Woodlands House, respectively; how long each patient has been in each of these houses; how long each is expected to remain there; how often, and how many, vacancies for accommodation occur in each of these houses; and how many exchanges of patients between these two houses have been effected since May, 1959.

There are at present 54 girls and 73 boys in Caldwell House and 46 girls and 75 boys in Woodlands. Both institutions are occupied by low-grade mentally defective children many of whom are also physically handicapped. Few can be finally discharged and they are usually transferred to other institutions at 16. Information on how long each patient has been in each institution cannot readily be obtained. Vacancies are filled as they occur: in 1959, to date, 29 patients have been admitted to Caldwell House and 12 to Woodlands, some of them for short periods. There have been no exchanges between the two institutions since May, 1959.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the anxiety of the officers and members of the Essex Society for Mentally Handicapped Children about the shortage of hospital accommodation for mentally handicapped children in Essex; at what rate the waiting list and the intake, respectively, are growing; and how many extra beds are expected to be ready for occupation by the end of this year.

Yes, I am fully aware of the Society's concern. The numbers of mentally handicapped children on the Essex waiting lists were 170, 157, 170 and 131 at the end of 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958, and 163 at the end of September this year. The annual admissions from Essex for the years 1955 to 1958 were 38, 64, 56, and 37.Two hundred and twenty additional beds for mentally handicapped children have been provided by the North East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board since 1948, and the majority of these are occupied by children from Essex. Forty more beds will be provided in the region by the end of 1959 and a further 40 by March, 1960.