asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the number of registered unemployed miners and cotton workers, respectively, in Wigan at the latest convenient date.

Seventy-one from coalmining and 98 from cotton on 12th October.

asked the Minister of Labour when the Panel examining the safety and health questions arising from the use of ionising radiations in relation to persons working in research laboratories and research establishments, other than hospital research establishments, is expected to report.

Some preliminiary fact finding has been done and the work of the Panel is proceeding as quickly as possible; but it is too soon to say when the report will be ready.

asked the Minister of Labour how many dental students complete their training this year and next year; what proportion are due for National Service on completing their training; and whether, in view of the fact that the school dental service is seriously understaffed, he will permit graduates to volunteer for school work as an alternative to military service.

About 990, of whom about 840 are men. Of these, some 560 will be liable for National Service. Applications for deferment from men who are willing to take employment in the School Dental Service are considered by a professional committee which advises on these matters.

asked the Minister of Labour what official notification he has received of the impending closure of two Dundee jute works; how many workers are likely to be redundant; and what steps he is taking to find them alternative employment.

The firms in question recently notified my employment exchange manager that they would close at the end of this year. My local officers expect that, when the 173 workers become redundant, they will be able to submit them for vacancies notified by other employers.

asked the Minister of Labour how many apprentices are threatened with redundancy due to the closure at the end of the year of two jute works in the city of Dundee.

One, and it is understood that he will be able to continue his apprenticeship with another firm.

asked the Minister of Labour what percentage of the insured population in Caernarvonshire was registered as unemployed on the most recent available date; and how many were so registered in August, September, and October.

At 12th October, 1959, the latest date for which figures are available, the unemployment rate in Caernarvonshire was 8·4 per cent., compared with 7·3 per cent. in July, 5·5 per cent. in August and 5·8 per cent. in September.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has taken note of the fact that more trade unionists pay the political levy under the law of contracting out than they did when it was contracting in; whether he is aware that many trade unionists do not contract out because of their fear of intimidation by shop stewards and union officials; and whether he will restore contracting in instead of contracting out.

As regards the first part of the Question, I am aware of the statistical position; as to the second part of the Question, so far as I am aware there is no reliable information available as to the grounds on which trade unionists decide to contract out or otherwise; the answer to the third part of the question is that the Government have no such proposal in mind.

asked the Postmaster-General when an alternative television programme broadcast either by the British Broadcasting Corporation or the Independent Television Authority is likely to be available in the East Devon area.

The I.T.A. hope to extend its service to East Devon by mid-1961

asked the Postmaster-General what is the number of subscribers waiting for connection to each of the 14 exchanges serving the Wycombe constituency; what is the waiting list as a percentage of the total subscribers to each exchange; and when it is estimated that the High Wycombe manual exchange will be converted to automatic working.

The figures are as follows:

asked the Postmaster-General what instructions are given to Post Office officials regarding the giving of information about Post Office employees to unknown persons on the telephone.

The rules specify the circumstances in which information about Post Office officials may be given and to whom. Normally, such information would not be given in answer to a telephone inquiry. If the hon. Member believes that a breach of the rules has occurred, I should be grateful if he would let me have details.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if, in view of the exceptional circumstances which have arisen in regard to the education of the children of Royal Air Force parents in Aden, including gross overcrowding in the schools, refusal of admission to a large number of children, and the long delay in building new Accommodation, he will publish the recent report and recommendations of Her Majesty's Inspectors on the subject.

No. As my right hon. Friend told the hon. Member in July, it is customary to treat these reports as confidential, and he sees no reason for making an exception in this case.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why he has overridden the decision of the Cardiff Corporation and the objections of the local residents by sanctioning the erection of a hut for the use of Air Training Corps personnel on a site in Waterloo Gardens, Cardiff.

There have been some local objections to the use of this site, but I am not aware that any decision of the Cardiff Corporation has been overridden. My right hon. Friend is proposing a meeting between the corporation, the Glamorgan Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Association and the Air Ministry to discuss the whole matter.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that during the recent gales wireless messages from ships in distress round British coasts were so numerous that they were jamming each other; and if. to ensure adequate protection to rescue operations for British ships, he will inquire into the causes of such jamming and methods of preventing it on similar occasions.

No. During the period 12th to 14th November British Coast Radio Stations dealt with only four ships in distress. Frequencies for distress working are agreed internationally and are not used for ordinary traffic. No congestion in distress communication was experienced, and I see no reason for instituting a special inquiry.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on the amount of loss of life and damage to British shipping done by the gales which occurred on or about 12th-14th November.

I have received reports of two strandings, one of which was serious; one foundering; four cases of heavy weather damage; and three minor casualties. None of these resulted in loss of life. It is reported that unfortunately two fishermen were washed overboard and drowned; one off Scotland and one off Cornwall.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) what reply he has sent to the representations he has received from the Mountstuart Dry Docks Company, Cardiff, concerning the threatened closure of the East and West Bute Docks and the Roath Basin entrance to Cardiff Docks;

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave on 18th November to the hon. Member for Cardiff, South-East (Mr. Callaghan) on this matter.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will amend the regulations regarding the employment of Merchant Navy officers and men in ships other than surface vessels, assuming that they had received the required training as Royal Naval personnel serving in Her Majesty's submarines.

No amendment of the existing regulations would be required to permit the employment in undersea merchant vessels of officers and men who have had the requisite experience of serving in submarines of the Royal Navy.

asked the Minister of Transport what report he has received from the appropriate consultative committee regarding the estimated annual saving which would result from the closing of the single line from Louth to Mablethorpe; and if he will refer to the committee for their consideration the recent information on this matter sent to him by the hon. Member for Louth.

I understand that a proposal by the Eastern Region of British Railways to close this line will be submitted soon to the Transport Users Consultative Committee for the East Midland Area. It is open to my hon. Friend to send the Committee any information which he thinks may be of value to it.

asked the Minister of Transport whether his attention has been called to the sudden increase in London traffic congestion during the past few days, one of the main causes of which is a burst water main in High Holborn; whether he is aware that under present arrangements being made to repair this burst it may take three weeks before the road is reopened to traffic; how many men are engaged on carrying out repairs; and whether he will arrange for the matter to be treated with urgency and all possible assistance given in order to ease the present congested state of the traffic.

I am aware of the congestion caused by the water main which burst in High Holborn on 18th November, and I am happy to tell my hon. Friend that repairs were completed and the full width of the road restored to traffic at 6 a.m. on Monday, 23rd November. The work of repair continued night and day with between 9 and 15 men, the highest number which could usefully be employed.

asked the Minister of Transport what progress is being made in providing more off-street parking in London.

The progressive introduction of comprehensive parking control schemes on the streets is giving the right incentive to the responsible local authorities and also private enterprise. Projects for garages in Audley Square and Finsbury Square are already well advanced and other are being planned. I will keep the House informed as fresh projects are put in hand.

asked the Minister of Transport what progress is being made in extending the parking meter scheme in the West End of London; and if he will make a statement.

I have recently approved in principle the proposals of the Westminster City Council to extend the use of parking meters throughout the remainder of Mayfair. The Boroughs of Holborn and Woolwich have also applied for parking meter schemes in parts of their areas, and I understand that other London Boroughs are at present considering similar schemes.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) in what years he has phased the better road system between Hull and the West Riding, the Humber Bridge, and all other major road developments for the Hull area;(2) what road and other works he will approve in the Hull area, and at what cost, in order to reduce unemployment in the city this winter.

I understand that work on the scheme to improve Holderness Road will continue through the winter. In order to help with unemployment my predecessor made grants totalling £243,000 to the Kingston-upon-Hull Corporation towards the total cost of £324,000 of this scheme.As far as trunk roads are concerned, work has recently been started on the construction of Ferriby By-pass on A.63 between Hull and Howden. Several other major schemes are in preparation or are being planned on this road and on A.614 between Howden and Thorne, but I cannot yet say when it will be possible to start constructional work on them. In addition, as announced by my predecessor on 29th July last, we shall be putting in hand, as soon as preparatory work can be completed, some supplementary works on the Leeds Ring Road and on widening A.63 between the Ring Road and the Great North Road; these too will help to improve communications between Hull and the West Riding. Other improvements will follow as soon as they can be fitted into the programme.The Hull Corporation are re-constructing Drypool Bridge with the assistance of Government grants. They have also been invited to prepare plans to replace the Hessle Road level crossing by a bridge, and I hope it will be possible to consider this scheme for a grant within the next two years.The Humber Bridge is a local authority project which does not appear in my present road programme.

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, if he will arrange for a full report of the proceedings of the Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency at Monaco to be placed in the Library.

Yes, but I understand that the account of the proceedings will be lengthy and that it will be some time before the International Atomic Energy Agency can publish it.

asked the Minister of Defence what percentage of commissioned officers now serving in each of the Armed Forces, respectively, won promotion from the ranks or lower deck.

The figures are 32 per cent. in the Royal Navy, 60 per cent. in the Army and 64 per cent. in the R.A.F. They exclude National Service officers but include officers who were sent to officer cadet schools during the war or since without having completed their initial training in the ranks. In the time available it has not been possible to identify these officers. I hope that it will prove possible to do so without disproportionate labour, and I will communicate further with the hon. Member when the investigation has been completed.

asked the Minister of Defence whether he will give consideration to the ending of discrimination against married Service men who are under the age of twenty-one, particularly regarding free passage abroad for wives wishing to join their husbands and the provision of housing accommodation.

I do not think that it would be in the interests of the Services or justifiable on financial grounds to change the present age limits.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will consider preparing a leaflet to be issued to Service men joining Her Majesty's forces explaining their rights and obligations, particularly with a view to helping young married couples regarding their service abroad, travel and prospects of housing accommodation.

The literature issued to recruits already includes some advice on these points, but I have asked the three Service Departments to consider whether anything further is required.

asked the Minister of Education what projects have been included in the school building programmes for each of the years 1960–61 and 1961–62 submitted by the Cornwall Education Committee.

In 1960–61, secondary schools at Camelford, Tregony and St. Stephen-in-Brannel and a primary school at Perranporth; in 1961–62, secondary schools at Saltash and Tor-point and a primary school at Helston

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what organisations, other than trade unions, registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies, the members are required to pay a political levy by law unless they specifically declare in writing that they do not wish to do so.

None. But it is not unknown for the rules of a Co-operative Society to provide that a sum should be transferred each year from profits to a political purpose fund, this sum being calculated on a per capita basis but excluding members who had notified the Society in writing that they objected to the payment. I regret that it would involve a disproportionate amount of work to find out in how many Societies this rule now applies.As regards the trades unions, to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers, it is the rules of the union, and not statute law, which require the payment of a political levy; the function of statute law in this respect is to provide for exemption from the levy and to ensure that the rules contain certain safeguards.

asked the Minister of Health how the present. consumption of welfare foods, including cod liver oil and orange juice, for the south-west area of England and the principal towns therein compares with that of the immediate post-war period; and what steps he proposes to take in the near future to arrest the recent decline in such consumption by more effective publicity methods and a better system of distribution.

The following table shows the quantities of welfare foods distributed in the south-west since 1955, which is the earliest year for which comparable figures are available.

asked the Minister of Power how many persons are employed in slate quarrying in Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire, respectively; and how many were so employed on comparable dates in 1951 to 1958, inclusive.

The numbers employed at slate quarries and mines in December of the years shown are given below.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will reconsider his refusal to award a war widow's pension to Mrs. Mary Alexander, 55, Blair Drive, Dunfermline, in view of further representations made by the Black Watch Association and the British Legion.

My right hon. Friend has been into this case and the evidence has been studied again by our senior doctors. I am afraid, however, that it is not possible to certify that this lady's husband's death had any connection with his war disablement, and it is not therefore possible to award a war widow's pension to her. She is, however, entitled to other provision under our social service system, and I am writing to the hon. Member about this.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is now in a position to announce the composition of the Standing Consultative Council on Youth Service in Scotland.

I am glad to be able to announce that the Hon. Lord Kilbrandon has accepted my invitation to be Chairman of this Council. The other members are as follows:Association of County Councils in Scotland—Waller Duncan, Esq., Chairman, Dumfries Education Committee.Scottish Counties of Cities Association—Councillor J. F. Stewart, Chairman, Edinburgh Education Committee.Association of Directors of Education—G. Reith, Esq., M.A., B.Sc., B.Ed., Ph.D., Senior Depute Director of Education, Edinburgh.Association of Further Education Officers in Scotland—Miss J. T. Hamilton, County Youth Officer, Angus.Council for the Training of Teachers—W. B. Inglis, Esq., O.B.E., M.A., Ed.B., Ph.D., F.E.I.S., Principal, Moray House College of Education.Educational Institute of Scotland—George T. Craig, Esq., M.A., F.E.I.S., Teacher, Earnock Secondary School, Hamilton.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will list the more important common-user items for the supply of which he is now responsible to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, respectively.

I am at present responsible for supplying to both Services all vehicles, all conventional weapons and ammunition for aircraft, for anti-aircraft defence and for infantry, as well as conventional aircraft bombs and pyrotechnic stores. I am also responsible for supplying the Royal Air Force, and to a more limited extent the Royal Navy, with clothing, except flying clothing, and general stores. These arrangements may be modified in consultation with the other Departments concerned.The Army's general responsibility for the supply of food, petrol and oil to the other Services will continue.