asked the Minister of Works the purpose of the work being done in the Green Park adjacent to Piccadilly and opposite Down Street.

This work consists of the diversion of gas and water mains in connection with the Park Lane Improvement Scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will use his powers under Section 23 (1) of the Act of 1943 to cause the publication by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, in their annual report, of a statement of the progress of rural electrification in the County of Aberdeen, including details of the contributions towards costs to be required from individual occupiers, and approximate dates.

In accordance with the present general requirements as to its Annual Report the Board includes information about the extension of electricity supplies to rural areas. My right hon. Friend does not think he would be justified in requiring the Board to deal with any particular area in greater detail. If, however, an hon. Member asks the Board for up-to-date information about any areas, it will supply it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for assisting the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board in joining up those areas which are still without electricity and which could only be incorporated within the Board's system at considerable loss.

My right hon. Friend has discussed with the Board representations which it made to him on this question and has asked the Board for further information about the scope of its problem and the resources likely to be available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of teachers in receipt of professional pensions in Scotland on 31st August, 1959.

On 31st March, 1959, the latest date at which figures are available, the number was 10,764.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will instruct his road surveyors to replace the road signs inscribed "Lay-by" with others inscribed "Halting place", or some other grammatical wording with a similar meaning.

No. The word appears in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary and has been given statutory blessing by Parliament in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1957.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received regarding the draft salary scales as they affect non-graduate women teachers; and what reply he proposes to make.

My right hon. Friend has received representations from women teachers on several points specifically affecting non-graduate women teachers. These representations, together with all others which he receives, will be discussed with the National Joint Council which deals with salaries of teachers in Scotland before final decisions are taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the need for the establishment at Ballochmyle Hospital of a maternity unit and if he will authorise the Western Regional Hospital Board to meet that requirement.

My right hon. Friend recognises that the Central Hospital at Irvine is not very conveniently situated for some of the areas which it serves. But the percentage of births in Ayrshire that take place in hospital is above the average for Scotland, and considerably above the figure in other parts of the Western Region. My right hon. Friend cannot hold out any hope of additional provision in the county in the near future, but maternity needs will of course be taken into account in the longterm major redevelopment foreshadowed in his reply to the hon. Member last week.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made in the proposal to construct a new out-patient department at the Greenock Royal Infirmary.

A detailed schedule of accommodation for the proposed new out-patient department has been completed. The Regional Board hopes to start work very soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many additional maternity beds are required in the Greenock and district area to meet the recommendations of the Montgomery Committee on Maternity Services in Scotland.

The Western Regional Hospital Board estimate that thirty additional maternity beds would be required.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress he has made in his discussions with the Admiralty concerning a site for the proposed Technical College at Greenock.

My right hon. Friend is still pursuing this matter with my noble Friend, the First Lord of the Admiralty.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many small farmers in South Ayrshire have applied for and received grants under the provisions of the Small Farmers Act; and what has been the total expenditure in South Ayrshire.

Two small farmers in the Parliamentary constituency of South Ayrshire have had farm business plans approved under the provisions of the Small Farmers (Scotland) Scheme, 1959, but neither has so far applied for an instalment of grant.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the number of slum dwellings and derelict properties existing in the City of Edinburgh; and whether he will institute an inquiry as to the continued delay in clearing such areas with a view to rebuilding houses to let in the centre of the City.

The Corporation has before it a number of major and complex schemes of slum clearance and redevelopment, on which much preliminary work has been done. Some works of clearance have begun, and the whole programme will gain momentum as these preliminaries are overtaken. The Corporation and my right hon. Friend's Department are in frequent consultation on these matters and he sees no reason for an inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that, following the collapse of the tenement building at 6, Beaumont Place, Edinburgh, which left homeless 19 families, a further 22 families have been given notice to quit within seven days from other parts of the same block of houses; and whether he will direct the Edinburgh Corporation to make a thorough examination of all existing slum properties as a safeguard against similar disasters.

My right hon. Friend is informed that the Corporation has made arrangements not only for the immediate vacation of these tenement buildings, but also for the rehousing of the families involved. He is satisfied that the Corporation is fully alive to the responsibilities vested in it by Parliament, for dealing with dangerous buildings and he sees no reason to intervene.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will introduce a regulation permitting retired teachers who return to service to receive full pay in addition to their pensions.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer given to the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. G. M. Thomson) today.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Scottish judges, in receipt of pension, retired before 9th July, 1959; what is the annual aggregate of their pensions; and what it will cost to increase those pensions by 12 per cent.

There is one Scottish judge in receipt of pension who retired before 9th July, 1959. His pension is £2,700 per annum, and an increase of 12 per cent. will cost a further £324 per annum.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress being made with the Forth road bridge; and whether the work is up to schedule.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave in the House today to the hon. Members for Edinburgh, West (Mr. Stodart) and Kirkcaldy Burghs (Mr. Gourlay).

asked the Prime Minister if he will include in his proposed African tour a visit to the High Commission Territories of Basutoland, Swaziland and Bechuanaland.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will include in his tour of Africa next year a visit to all or any of the High Commission Territories of Bechuanaland, Swaziland and Basutoland.

I would refer the hon. Members to what I said in reply to Questions on this subject on 26th November.

asked the Prime Minister the nature of the agreement he reached with Dr. Adenauer concerning the purchase of British arms, including missiles capable of being fitted with nuclear war-heads; and what guarantees as regards German policy were obtained as a condition for this agreement.

My discussions with Dr. Adenauer were confidential; but I can assure the House that we did not discuss this matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state his plans for removing restrictions on the manufacture in, and export from. Aberdeen of diesel engines and of agricultural machinery.

I am not aware of any restrictions.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has studied the information sent to him by the right hon. Member for Huyton concerning the details of the take-over bid by Investment Registry Limited for Suburb Leaseholds Limited, and in particular, the treatment of the participating preference shareholders; and whether he will exercise the powers conferred upon him by the Companies Act in respect of withholding of information and oppression of minority shareholders and institute an inquiry under that Act.

The object of an inquiry under the Companies Act is to establish the facts, but it seems from the Press report which I understand the right hon. Gentleman to have in mind, that the facts in this case are already known. No representations have been made to me by shareholders and it is not clear how intervention by my Department could help them.The issues raised in this case are of the kind relating to take-over bids which will be considered by the committee which my right hon. Friend is appointing under the chairmanship of Lord Jenkins.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer his reasons for refusing to include all temporary service in the Civil Service for pension purposes instead of half as at present, in view of the fact that the Commission was of the opinion that there was room for alteration in the temporary employment field.

My reasons are those given in my letter to the National Staff Side a copy of which was sent to the hon. Member in reply to his Question of 29th June. He will recall that the proposal mentioned in the Question amounts to making a retrospective and costly change in the conditions governing Civil Service pensions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has given consideration to the possible difficulties for blind persons of identification of the proposed new £1 and 10s. bank notes; and if he will recommend that they should be treated in such a way that blind people can distinguish them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will recommend to the Bank of England that the new £1 and 10s. notes be printed in different sizes or in such a way that blind persons can tell the difference, and so be independent in making their own payments.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will press for reconsideration of the decision to issue new 10s. and £1 notes of differing sizes, rather than of identical sizes, so as to prevent confusion by those with defective eyesight.

The Bank of England has assured my right hon. Friend that it is fully alive to this problem. I understand that it has arranged to discuss it with representatives of St. Dunstan's and the Royal National Institution for the Blind later this week. If it is found practicable to incorporate some feature which will help the blind to distinguish between notes of the same size but of different denominations, this will be done.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what percentage of the cost of house building has been represented by the cost of land in each year from 1950 to the latest convenient date.

I have no information about the cost of land used by local authorities or by private builders, or the cost of privately-built houses, that would enable the calculation asked for to be made. In any case, no worthwhile comparison could be made in this way between 1950 and subsequent years.During this period development charge has been abolished and there have been two changes in the basis of compensation payable when local authorities buy land; at the same time, the land acquired has come to consist increasingly of land covered by unfit houses rather than of virgin land. Moreover, in recent years private building has made a greatly increased contribution to the national housing achievement

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs the number of tenancies acquired to date by the Metropolitan borough councils under the Requisitioned Houses and Housing (Amendment) Act, 1955, the total cost of acquisition, and the amount of Government grants.

Up to 30th September, 6,901 dwellings had been purchased and a further 228 had been taken on lease by Metropolitan borough councils. I cannot give the total capital cost of acquiring these dwellings, but grant claims have been settled for 3,647 dwellings so far, involving the payment of grant totalling £277,826 a year.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many sub-standard houses are in occupation in the Borough of Gateshead; what would be the total cost of replacing these houses at £1,500 per house after interest has been paid for 60 years at the current rate of 5¾ per cent.; and what would be the reduction in total cost if interest rates were restored to 3¼ per cent.

The information available does not distinguish between unoccupied and occupied unfit dwellings. At 30th June, 1959, 1,016 unfit houses had been demolished since the Council submitted their proposals under Section 1 of the Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954 for dealing with an estimated total of 4,023 unfit dwellings.On the assumption that a further 3,000 replacement dwellings are to be provided to deal with the remainder, the Answers to the second and third parts of the Question are £16,059,000 and £5,802,000, both figures assuming that repayment would be by way of half-yearly annuities.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what plans he has made to ensure proper provision for compensation for the men likely to be made redundant by the New Towns Commission, because they are too old for superannuation; and if he will make a statement.

I promised during debate on the New Towns Bill that I would consider what might be done for those officers of new town corporations who might suffer hardship when the corporations are dissolved and their jobs come to an end. I am examining this problem with the chairmen of the corporations at the present time, and in due course it will be discussed on the New Towns Whitley Council.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what arrangements have been made with the proposed New Towns Commission to safeguard the jobs of the building trade operatives who were engaged by the development corporation.

The New Towns Commission has not yet been set up. But when the time comes I expect no difficulty in arranging that employees of the corporations whose services continue to be needed for the work that has to be done will continue in employment.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if, in the inquiry to be held upon the proposed development in Piccadilly Circus, he will include Wyndham Place, St. Marylebone, in view of the public resentment at the development proposed at that place.

No. As I stated in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend on 10th November, the London County Council has already granted planning permission for the development in Wyndham Place to which he refers. This is not the case with the proposed development in Piccadilly Circus.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, if he will renew the assurance that he gave to industry in 1957 that he would not, during the lifetime of that Government, make any further change in the percentage of industrial derating subsequently laid down in the Local Government Act, 1958.

I assume that my hon. Friend refer to the statements made in 1957 that the Government proposals, later enacted in the Act of 1958, were limited to rerating to 50 per cent. I am not in a position to add to that.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many new buildings in the central London area, erected within the past five years, have integral car parking space; and how many are without such provision.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs the names and qualifications of the members of each new town corporation appointed or reappointed during the past 12 months.

The following table gives the information asked for:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will consider taking steps to amend Section 57 of the Local Government Act, 1933, so as to permit citizens living within three miles of a local government area to stand for county or district council elections in that area.

The qualification of candidates for election to membership of county, county borough and county district councils is at present based on residence or the ownership or occupation of property in the local government area concerned. My right hon. Friend does not think that it should be extended further.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what schemes have been submitted to him for safeguarding the foreshore from Normans Bay to Pevensey Bay, Sussex; and whether he is satisfied that the safety precautions are sufficient to protect the householders in this area against the ravages of the sea.

Since 1950, I have approved for grant an expenditure of £150,000 on this foreshore. The East Sussex River Board, which is responsible for protecting this area, tell me that there is no immediate danger, but that it has already begun work on the weakest places to prevent the erosion from developing. I am informed that these precautions are being taken with the utmost speed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what arrangements he has made to meet Mr. Mintoff during his visit to Malta on 8th December for the purpose of discussing the restoration of the Constitution of the island.

The Governor has issued invitations on behalf of my right hon. Friend for delegations from all four political parties in Malta to meet him during his visit. My right hon. Friend welcomes this opportunity of obtaining first-hand information about all aspects of the situation in Malta.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how, for the period of 1954–58, the average increase in the real personal disposable income of a single pensioner depending solely on the retirement pension, compared with the increase of 2·7 per cent. per year for the nation as a whole.

On the basis of the Retail Prices Index, the real value of the retirement pension increased on average by 7·2 per cent. per year over the period mentioned by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the proportion of women at present employed in the senior branch of the Foreign Service.

On 1st November. 1959, there were 705 established members of Branch A of the Foreign Service. Of these, 14, or approximately 2 per cent., were women.

asked the Minister of Health what was the total number of beds per thousand of the population in the Newcastle Region on 5th July, 1948, and for each year to date; and how each figure compared with the national average.

The available information is as follows (estimates of population by hospital regions were not made before 1954):

asked the Minister of Health what is the latest information at his disposal with regard to the uptake of cod liver oil and other welfare foods in Tynemouth and the other principal towns in the North-East of England; and what steps he proposes to take in the near future to publicise the health benefit which results from their proper utilisation.

In Tynemouth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland, in the latest six-month period for which figures are available, there have been increases in the amounts of orange juice, cod liver oil and vitamin tablets distributed, compared with the same period of last year, except for an insignificant reduction in the issue of orange juice in Tynemouth and vitamin tablets in Gateshead. Continuous publicity is undertaken to ensure that the health benefits to be derived from the proper utilisation of welfare foods are understood by expectant mothers and the mothers of young children and by those who give them professional advice, and the need for additional publicity is under constant review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation enabling foster parents to receive an allowance in respect of adopted or foster-children in cases where no guardians' allowance can be claimed under the National Insurance Scheme, in view of the fact that foster-parents are relieving public authorities or charities of a financial liability.

As the hon. Member recognises, a guardian's allowance under the National Insurance Acts may be paid in certain circumstances to an adoptive parent or a foster parent, or there may be entitlement to family allowance under the Family Allowances Acts; and local authorities have power to pay boarding-out allowances in respect of children in their care.My right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance and I do not think that further provision need be made.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will grant the application for a home posting on compassionate grounds by 23644221 Private Mabberley, Duke of Edinburgh's Regiment, now stationed at Le Marchant Barracks, Devizes.

No. The circumstances have been investigated and do not justify my keeping Private Mabberley in this country.

asked the Minister of Labour to what extent unemployment in the iron-founding industry has increased during this year in Scotland; and to what causes he ascribes the increase.

Between mid-January and mid-October, the latest date for which figures are available, unemployment in the iron-founding industry in Scotland fell from 1,006 to 779.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider an extension to the Remploy factory in Sunderland.

As stated in reply to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) on 1st July, no such extension is proposed at present, but the possibility is being kept in mind.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the fact that Birmingham Corporation is seeking Government approval for an expenditure of £37 million on major roadworks in the period 1962 to 1966 and that the London County Council wishes to start during the period 1960 to 1965 a programme of major works to cost £17 million, excluding minor schemes, what level of Government grant will be available to assist the works involved.

The London County Council and the Birmingham Corporation have very recently put these proposed road schemes to my divisional road engineers, who are considering them. I cannot yet say what the outcome will be.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) to what extent he has under consideration the possibility of increasing the scale of assistance to the large cities of the country for urgent road development work of importance to the national road network as a whole;(2) what information he has with regard to the road improvement programmes of the main cities in England and Wales during the next quinquen- nium; what expenditure is involved per head of the population in each of the cities; and what indication has been given in each case as to the amount of Government grant which will be made available to assist the works programmes.

The corporations of our great cities, among others, have been asked to inform me of the schemes they would like to carry out over the next five or six years. I cannot at present say what the scale of Government grants is likely to be.

asked the Minister of Transport what arrangements have been made to plant trees and shrubs in the centre strip and at the sides of the new motorway.

Planting on M.1 will follow the general recommendations of my Advisory Committee on the Landscape Treatment of Trunk Roads. Detailed plans have been prepared by the consulting engineers and have been approved by the Committee. Planting will shortly begin. Substantial groups of native trees will be planted at selected points, including the approaches to bridges. Cuttings, embankments and the central reserve will as a rule simply be grassed.

asked the Minister of Transport what progress he has made in his discussions with the highway authorities associations about liability for non-feasance in respect of highways.

The discussions with the highway authorities associations are nearing completion.