asked the Secretary of State for War when the Guards' Chapel at Wellington Barracks, destroyed by enemy action in the war, is to be rebuilt.

I hope that we shall be able to start building in 1961.

Does my right hon. Friend appreciate, from one guardsman to another, that that is a very friendly Answer which will be received with much pleasure throughout the Brigade of Guards?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is satisfied that the Thunderbird is the best available surface-to-air missile for the Army; and if he will state the policy of Her Majesty's Government regarding its future use.

Yes, Sir. The weapon is in production for the Army and a more advanced version is being developed.

Is the right hon. Gentleman quite satisfied that the development of the diversity of types which I have in mind, Bloodhound in particular, is advisable? I realise the difference between the types of weapon, but it seems doubtful whether we are within our capacity in trying to develop these other weapons, especially now that Bloodhound has been ordered so widely abroad?

I think that this is a matter which lends itself more to debate than to Question and Answer. Broadly speaking, I know the sort of thing which the right hon. Gentleman has in mind. We have considered the matter and we are of the opinion that for Army use the Thunderbird is, if I may adapt a phrase used by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House, the best missile we have.

asked the Secretary of State for War when he proposes to make an announcement about the future of the Command Ordnance Depôt. Hilsea.

The Command Ordnance Depôt will be closed by the beginning of April and the staff were so informed in October. The possibility of using Hilsea for another Army establishment later in the year is now being examined. I will give my hon. and gallant Friend more information about this as soon as possible.

Does my right hon. Friend know that for one year it has been decided that this depôt should close, and that a large number of people will be unemployed if he does not make up his mind very soon about how he will treat this depôt in future?

The future of this depôt has been uncertain for about a year. I hope that the matter will be resolved by Christmas and that I will be able to inform my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for War what arrangements he makes to examine the scripts of proposed speeches by senior officers of the Army.

Material which an officer wishes to publish must first be sent to the War Office. It is examined under normal Departmental arrangements and submitted to me if necessary.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say in what circumstances he approved General Cowley's lecture?

Yes, Sir. I have explained this matter before. When an officer submits a lecture to me I take into account all sorts of considerations beyond the content and material of the lecture, such as the place in which it is to be given, the audience to whom it is to be given and a number of other factors. After considering them all, I thought that it was an appropriate lecture to be given to the R.U.S.I.

May I ask my right hon. Friend whether it is a fact that General Cowley made it clear in his address that the views he was expressing were entirely his own personal views?

Yes, Sir. I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I mentioned on an earlier occasion that that was a feature in my mind in passing this speech.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that many of us on this side of the House would be very sorry if he were to depart from the liberal policy of allowing such speeches to be made which he has pursued in this instance?

Would my right hon. Friend give an assurance that the very useful exchanges of view which have taken place from time to time over the years at the Royal United Service Institution will not be in any way curbed as a result of the new arrangements?

I am not responsible for the R.U.S.I. or who it invites to speak at its Institution.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say what amendments to Queen's Regulations will be made in view of the new policy?

There is no question of amendment to Queen's Regulations. An officer's duty will remain the same—to submit anything he proposes to say to the War Office. His duty is completed when that has been done.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether he has stated the Army's requirements for vertical take-off and landing aircraft to the Ministry of Aviation; and if he will make a statement;

(2) whether he has yet stated the Army's requirements for helicopters to the Ministry of Aviation; and whether, under the new arrangements, this requirement has the approval of the Ministry of Defence.

Light helicopters are in service with the Army Air Corps; and for several years Royal Air Force helicopters have supported the Army in military operations in Malaya, Cyprus and elsewhere.

More extensive use is to be made of short take-off aircraft and helicopters, for the tactical lift of men and equipment in forward areas. Proposals for extra aircraft, which have been agreed with the Ministry of Defence, have been put forward.

Will these proposals include the Fairey Rotodyne, which, we understand, has been accepted as an Army requirement? If so, will the Secretary of State see that no private firm is allowed to stand in the way of the early and prompt fulfilment of the Army's requirement in this respect?

We state our requirements to the Ministry of Aviation and it is for that Department and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Aviation to have dealings with the firm concerned.

Will not the Secretary of State make representations to his right hon. Friend that the Army must be satisfied promptly in this matter?

My right hon. Friend and I know exactly what we both think about it.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the removal of the Guards to behind the railings at Buckingham Palace is permanent; and what economy has been effected thereby.

The new arrangements, which are permanent, have not produced any economies, nor were they intended so to do.

Will not the Secretary of State for War agree that this ignoble order to retreat behind the railings is not in accord with the illustrious traditions of the Guards? Could not some other way be found of dealing with the female nitwits and others who were getting in their way?

That is the type of supplementary question on a Question of this character to which the House is accustomed from the hon. Member. It was a sensible move which was decided upon, and I think that it is of benefit all round.

asked the Secretary of State for War what discussions have taken place to dispense with the Guards' picquet at the Bank of England.

Because of the reduction in establishment of the Brigade of Guards, the number of men needed for public duties was reviewed. The Bank picquet was included in this review, and on this point the Governor of the Bank of England was consulted. It has been decided to continue the picquet.

Is the Secretary of State aware that the Bank of England is getting the services of seventeen men for a thirteen-hour-shift nightly for a total expenditure by the Bank of 54s.? That does not seem to be anything like a trade union rate for the job. Will the Bank of England at least pay for the expense that public funds incur in this relic of the past?

There have been a number of raids on banks recently, but there has not been a raid on the Bank of England since 1780.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many of the 890,000 pairs of surplus boots that have been sold were released on the home market.

None of the boots were sold for the home market, except that one contractor has been allowed to sell in this country 5,000 pairs which had been damaged by flooding in his warehouse.

It has come to my attention that a larger consignment which was sold to a contractor, and by him to a foreign buyer for export, was later sold again in this country. I am looking into this.

Will the right hon. Gentleman explain why boots which have been damaged have been sold to our people and those that are good have been sold abroad? Why should we have the rotten end? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I have correspondence from knowledgeable people that during a period when the heavy boot trade has been having a bad time, some of these boots that ought never to have been made have been sold in this country? What does the Secretary of State propose to do now that he knows the contractor has broken his bond? The right hon. Gentleman says that he is looking into the matter, but we would like to know what action he is taking?

At the moment, I cannot say. All I can say is that I am looking into it. As to boots which have been severely damaged being sold on the home market as opposed to going abroad, the hon. Member answered that himself in the second part of his supplementary question. That is something in which the boot and shoe industry has a great interest.

With all these boots to spare, could not we give one to the Government?

The hon. Member is always witty.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many married men with a wife and more than one young child are now doing their National Service in the Army; and if he will discharge such men on compassionate grounds.

I have told the hon. Member on a previous occasion that the information he wants could not be obtained without a search of individual records. Soldiers are released from National Service if their absence from home is causing undue hardship to their families.

Can the Minister deny that undue hardship is being caused when a mother, sometimes in her teens, is left alone to bring up two babies, as is happening; that in May the Government promised sympathetic consideration for men with one child in difficult home circumstances, and that this sympathetic consideration is not being given, even when there are two children and, therefore, far more difficult home circumstances?

The difference between the hon. Member and myself on this point is that he has it in mind that the fact alone that a young man is married and has two children should of itself be grounds for excluding him from doing his National Service. I do not agree with that. On the other hand, however, we say that if the man can prove that to do his National Service would cause undue hardship to the family, he will be released. I believe that some 1,200 men have been so released in the past year when hardship has been shown to exist.

Will the Secretary of State now take the first step to abolish conscription by stopping the call-up of married men?

The first step to abolish conscription was taken back in 1957, when it was decided to end it.

In view of the unsatisfactory and, in my view, inhuman Answer, I beg to give notice that I will raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for War to what extent the Army is trained for microbiological warfare.

No such training is given.

What will the Minister do with the new Porton microbiological station which he has inherited? Is he aware that there appeared in the Daily Express a statement that he had struggled with the Minister of Defence for control of this microbiological place and that he had won? What will he do about it now?

I do not think that the hon. Member will expect me to comment on an article in the Daily Express. I know of no struggle over this establishment. It was not allied exclusively to any one Government Department, but in view of its defence interests and its administrative links with the Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment, it was considered appropriate that the War Office should be responsible for it. Its work will continue exactly the same as in the past.

Is it within the right hon. Gentleman's knowledge that in Russia considerable resources are being devoted to chemical warfare? Why are our people not being given training in this important new branch of warfare?

The Question asked about microbiological and not chemical warfare.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) why the Royal Highland Fusiliers are being sent to Aden;

(2) how many of the Royal Highland Fusiliers to be sent to Aden are National Servicemen.

This battalion, which includes 130 National Service men, is going to Aden to relieve another infantry unit.

Is the Minister informed about the appalling conditions prevailing in Aden? Are any of these soldiers from the West of Scotland expected to pay £21 in rent for a slum house? Will the right hon. Gentleman examine sympathetically the proposition made by Lady Tedder that ships should be sent out until housing conditions are made better? Will he consult his noble Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty to see that hospital ships go out, led by the hospital ship "Britannia"?

I know of no case of any Army personnel paying a rent anything like the figure which the hon. Gentleman has quoted. Indeed, we have a comparatively small number of Army families in Aden who are in private accommodation, fewer than fifty in the whole of the Aden garrison. I have had no complaints from the garrison about accommodation. Of course, Aden is overcrowded. We are proceeding with building there for what we envisage as being the permanent garrison in Aden. Strategic needs force us to keep a rather larger garrison there at present and they must perforce be in temporary accommodation. It is the climate which demands a very high standard of accommodation. It is the great heat and humidity out there. We are building for the permanent garrison.

Apart from all that, as I, unlike the hon. Member for South Ayrshire (Mr. Emrys Hughes), have had the privilege of serving with a component part of this distinguished regiment, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he is aware that the regiment will be happy to serve the Queen in any of her Dominions to which they are sent?

I quite agree with my hon. Friend.

Give the hon. Member another medal.

While I do not suggest it is worse for one unit than another to serve there, will not the right hon. Gentleman show more concern about conditions in Aden, unless he can deny all these reports which we have all heard about the extremely unsatisfactory accommodation? Cannot he tell us something about that? Surely air conditioning can be introduced even in temporary accommodation? It is perfectly possible to air condition huts. We should like some reassurance that drastic action of some sort is being taken.

Yes. I was asked whether I would do something to improve conditions. There are quite a lot of things I should like to do to improve conditions in Aden, I quite agree, but I cannot do anything about the heat and the humidity. [HON. MEMBERS: "Air conditioning."] As to the accommodation itself, I gave a detailed Answer to one of the right hon. Gentleman's hon. Friends a fortnight ago on the programmes which were going forward and which included a considerable programme for air conditioning of temporary accommodation.

As one who has served with the other part of the R.H.F. and has also been to Aden recently, may I ask whether it would not have been far better if the hon. Gentleman the Member for Ayr (Sir T. Moore) had told my hon. Friend that there is no question of anyone of the R.H.F. paying £21 a week for any house because they are not going to be in houses? The actual fact is they are not going to be in houses but are going to be in tents or huts, and no one is going to be housed in a decent fashion befitting either the H.L.I. or the R.H.F. —in that order—until August next year.

The hon. Gentleman was referring to some married families, not, I think, to the troops themselves.

There was a statement made in another place. In view of the unsatisfactory nature of this reply, and as my constituents are so much affected, I give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for War what progress has been made in equipping units of the British Army with the F.N. rifle; and if he will make a statement.

Production is going well and the rifle has been issued to all infantry battalions. Issue to other units has begun and will be completed throughout the Army early in 1961.

Does my right hon. Friend think it likely that he will be able to persuade the West German forces to take this rifle?

That supplementary question is very wide of the Question on the Paper.

But would the right hon. Gentleman at any rate make some effort to see that ammunition is standardised, because the really alarming thing is that now we should be told that there is no standardisation even of small arms ammunition in N.A.T.O.?

I take the right hon. Gentleman's point, but it does not arise out of this Question. I would advise him to put down a Question about the German army to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give an instruction to all head postmasters that ex-Service men should be given priority for employment on delivery work in the Post Office.

It is already Post Office practice to give preference for employment as regular postmen to ex-Service men with a minimum of five years' regular service.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that postal staff at the House of Commons date-stamp outgoing letters by hand, involving hundreds of thousands of manually applied date-stamps monthly; what steps he has taken to assess the wastage of labour; and, having regard to the near uniformity of House of Commons envelopes, whether he will consult with Her Majesty's Stationery Office to arrange complete uniformity of envelopes for letterheads, followed by complete mechanisation of date stamping.

The amount of mail handled at the House of Commons Post Office is not far short of the normal standard for provision of a date stamping machine. Accommodation in the post office is, however, limited, and because of the incidence of work at the office any savings of time arising from the introduction of a machine could not be recovered. In consequence, I am satisfied that no change should be made at present.

The lack of uniformity of envelope sizes is a drawback in the field of postal mechanisation generally, but I could not claim that it is a critical hindrance to mechanised date stamping.

Yes, but is my hon. Friend aware that the General Post Office is notoriously reticent in mechanisation programmes—

More reticent than the hon. Gentleman.

The expert on reticence.

—and as now we are all having to pay 3d. for an ordinary letter instead of 2½d., instead of 2d. at an earlier date, would not it be appropriate if my right hon. Friend examined his costs for letters with a view to increasing mechanisation and putting the cost of postage back where it should be, namely, 2d. for an ordinary letter?

I assure my hon. Friend that we are neither reticent in going forward with and talking about mechanisation nor backward with the schemes which we are pressing forward at present.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that many residents of Mowmacre Hill, Leicester, and, in particular, the old-age pensioners, are disturbed by his continued refusals to permit a sub-post office to be made available for them there or to allow a person from another sub-post office to attend at a shop there to pay out pensions; and whether he will now take steps to remedy that position, in view of the fact that it imposes an unnecessary burden on the residents.

I have given the points which the hon. Member makes very full and sympathetic consideration; but, as I have already explained, post office facilities in this area are up to the standard provided in similar areas elsewhere, and I should not be justified in giving the exceptional treatment for which the hon. Gentleman asks.

Is not that a highly unsatisfactory state of affairs? Does not the hon. Lady know that when she opens the new drive-in post office in Leicester she will be handed a document which says:

"Improved customer relations are of great importance to the Post Office."

Why not do something for the people who have to walk in and cannot afford to drive into the post office? Whilst not deprecating the idea of a drive-in post office, may I ask whether the hon. Lady will accompany me to see how impossible it is for old-age pensioners to get there? I invite the hon. Lady to do that.

I have nothing to add to the statement already made. As to customer relations, these are worsened by the sort of persistent arguments which may be brought forward in cases that have been fully explained before.

asked the Postmaster-General when it is proposed that the new post office in Tetbury will be completed.

In 1963.

Is my hon. Friend aware that that statement will be received with dismay by the people of Tetbury? Is she aware that a large part of the most valuable buildings in the centre of the town is held by her Department at the moment, producing no rates and "no nothing"? Will she press on with this matter a good deal quicker than the Department is doing at the moment?

I am sorry that at the moment it is not possible to start any earlier. Other more urgent things must take priority, on the limited capital that we can invest in buildings.

asked the Postmaster-General when he expects to extend the Post Office telephone service for cars to the London area and the Home Counties.

I cannot yet say. But if, as I hope, the pilot scheme in South Lancashire proves successful, I would plan to extend it to other districts as soon as the necessary transmitting stations can be established.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for that reply, may I ask whether he would agree that the sooner this can be done in this area the better, because it will fulfil a very urgent need and be very welcome?

I think we have first to see whether the South Lancashire experiment is a successful one and whether it is economic, but, in the expectation of that, we are making certain preliminary plans for London, the Midlands and West Yorkshire.

asked the Postmaster-General what estimate he has made of the installation cost and the annual fee payable by car owners who wish to install telephones in their cars under the Post Office new scheme.

The radio equipment in customers' cars is supplied directly by the manufacturers, and the charge is a matter for the parties concerned. The radio licence fee is £7 10s. a quarter. This is based on the costs met by the Post Office in the construction and maintenance of the radio stations and associated equipment.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that on telephone accounts it is extremely difficult to check details of local calls made; and whether, in future, he will ensure that full details appear on such accounts.

It would not be possible to give full details as my hon. Friend suggests. More than 3,500 million local calls are made annually. The charges for each line are recorded on a meter at the exchange and only the total of chargeable units for each line is known.

While appreciating the difficulties of this, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he agrees that the method of presenting Post Office accounts at the moment is one which very often causes general dissatisfaction—

Which is getting worse.

—because people do not feel they have any method of checking whether they have or have not made the calls they are alleged to have made? I wonder if my right hon. Friend will look into this to see if something can be done.

There may be some little dissatisfaction with telephone accounts, especially their amounts, of course, but I do not think it arises largely from charges for local calls. It is for a technical reason that it would not be possible to do as my hon. Friend suggests.

Has the right hon. Gentleman considered the question of inclusive charges to get rid of this immense accounting which is done in connection with local calls?

Yes, that is a suggestion—one of many—I have under consideration.

asked the Postmaster-General how many newly-designed desk-type telephones have been delivered in the Gloucester telephone area; and in how many colours.

An initial delivery of eighty has been made to the Gloucester Telephone Area. These are in four colours: light ivory, topaz yellow, two-tone grey and two-tone green. Further supplies, in the full range of six colours, are now being received from the manufacturers and are being issued.

Hear, hear.

While appreciating the progress now being made, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he realises that these instruments were announced a year ago and that six months ago subscribers in the Gloucester area were being asked to subscribe for them? Is not progress extremely slow? Will my right hon. Friend speed it up in the near future?

Manufacture of these instruments has certainly not been as rapid as we had hoped. I should like to make it clear that production is now in full swing in a very large way and we shall have deliveries throughout the country on a substantial basis very soon.

They are very good telephones anyway.

asked the Postmaster-General what progress has been made in the investigation into the practicability of installing public telephones on railway trains; and when such a telephone service will be introduced.

The provision of public radiotelephones on railway trains is technically feasible, but the establishment of a satisfactory service would be

Does not my right hon. Friend consider that people would be prepared to pay a considerably increased charge for this facility and that a radiotelephone service would encourage people to travel by rail rather than by road?

I think that part of that supplementary question is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport, but I think that I might be allowed to say that in my personal view the demand for this facility is very limited indeed and I do not believe that it would pay.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give a detailed report of the business transacted at the St. Helens Post Office during the twelve months up to the latest convenient date; to what extent this represents an increase in postal, telephone, telegraph, and wireless licence business; and how many pensions are being dealt with there.

As the full Answer contains a great many figures I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT. Briefly, the position is that some classes of business including pensions have increased, some including telegraphs and wireless licences have decreased. The general level of business is a little below that of the previous year.

asked the Postmaster-General how many people are now on the waiting list for telephones at Eastbourne; and how many are sharing lines.

At 30th September last there were 47 applications on the waiting list at Eastbourne and 134 others were under enquiry or in course of being met. The number sharing lines is 2,620, out of a total of 8,754.

During the past twelve months 780 telephones have been provided.

Is not a figure of over 2,000 people sharing lines a very high proportion compared with other parts of the country?

In fact it is a lower proportion, I regret to say, than in many parts of the country. Even so, as I have made clear on more than one occasion, it is our policy at the Post Office to give people free choice whether to have an independent or shared line as quickly as possible.

asked the Postmaster-General when he anticipates being able to install an automatic telephone exchange in Eastbourne and the surrounding sub-exchanges.

I expect to introduce automatic working at Eastbourne towards the end of 1964. The adjacent manual exchange at Hampden Park is due for conversion in 1962.

Just in time for the next election.

Do not all the replies we have had from the Postmaster-General suggest that he should take some advice from private enterprise on this nationalised industry?

I think that my hon. Friend realises that the Postmaster-General is subject to capital investment control like several of my right hon. Friends.

asked the Postmaster-General what facilities have been granted to the Information Exchange for General Post Office Telephone Subscribers, a private concern claiming to offer certain services to persons whose names have been selected from the General Post Office Directory; and what inquiries he has had respecting this firm and its invitation to join their scheme by payment of £6 5s. after £25 has been earned by utilising the telephone according to their instructions.

No special facilities have been asked for and none have been provided. Several inquiries have been received from recipients of the Information Exchange circulars. We have made it clear to them that the Post Office has neither sponsored nor supported the scheme.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that this rather strange concern is liable to mislead a good number of people particularly by its name and the financial proposals embodied in its circular? Cannot something be done to acquaint possible subscribers to this dubious concern about what it is actually doing?

Several hon. Members from both sides of the House have passed these papers on to me and I have passed them in turn both to the authorities and to my legal advisers, and both have advised me that there are no grounds for legal proceedings. This is a service giving racing intelligence—tips on horses.

Can the right hon. Gentleman assure the House that his Department will not give encouragement to this private concern in the future?

No encouragement whatsoever has been given. The firm is simply using the telephone.

asked the Postmaster-General to what extent wilful damage to kiosk telephones shows an increase or decrease over the past five years; and, in particular, what are these figures in respect of the Borough of Leyton.

I am sorry that separate figures for the Borough of Leyton are not available. In the London Telecommunications Region as a whole, however, the number of cases of wilful damage to kiosks has, unfortunately, increased from 3,300 in 1956 to about 5,400.

Cannot something be done to affix a device to the kiosk which would emit a loud noise whenever the installation was being damaged?

I will certainly have a look at that suggestion or any others that the hon. Member might put to me.

asked the Postmaster-General what steps are being taken to improve television reception in Wear-dale, County Durham.

Weardale is one of many small areas where reception is poor because of the lie of the land. I understand that the B.B.C. will bear in mind the needs of Weardale in planning further stations.

The I.T.A. has not yet completed its main network and it tells me that it cannot yet make firm plans for filling gaps in its coverage.

Is the Postmaster-General aware that this is not a small area confined to Weardale? It also touches the Teesdale area, where there are a great number of villages and where industry still prevails. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, apart from the annual licence, people in the area pay an annual fee to a private company and also 2s. or 2s. 6d. a week so that they may have reasonable reception? Will he seek to remove this anomaly, otherwise I shall have to bring these people into the London area to obtain social justice or Tory freedom?

I referred to Weardale in my Answer because the Question in turn referred to Weardale, but, short of building a new transmitter, there is no way in which the B.B.C. could improve reception in the area generally. I believe that I.T.A. is likely to start very soon on building a new station in Carlisle which it believes may well help reception in that area.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that people in County Durham generally are extremely pleased that they now see twice as many programmes as they did ten years ago?

asked the Postmaster-General if he will amend the rules as to advertisements with a view to strengthening the Advertising Advisory Committee in order to fulfil the purposes of Schedule 2 of the Television Act, 1954.

No, Sir. The Advertising Advisory Committee is appointed by the I.T.A. under the Television Act, and is concerned with standards of advertising conduct. Section 4 (3) of the Act places the duty on the Authority to secure that the provisions of the Second Schedule —which in this context relate to the amount and frequency of advertising—are observed.

But is not the Postmaster-General aware that this Committee has met only three times in the past twelve months? In view of the number of advertisements on I.T.A. and the viewing time they take up, does not the right hon. Gentleman consider that these few meetings are totally inadequate? Further, is he aware that of the fourteen members of this Committee only one represents viewers' and consumers' interests? Should not that section of the Committee be strengthened?

The Committee is perfectly entitled to meet as frequently as it likes, although it has met on only three occasions in the last twelve months. This Committee is concerned solely with giving advice on the form and presentation of advertising, but the rules to which the hon. Member refers govern the quantity of advertising that may be shown. As to the composition of the Committee, I think that the hon. Member will find that although the advertising world, quite rightly, is represented on this Committee, there are many gentlemen outside the advertising sphere also on it.

But surely the Minister must take responsibility in this respect? Has he never watched I.T.A. and seen some of the shocking advertisements, particularly of Surf, Daz, Tide and Omo, which are slung across the dining table every time one sits down to an evening meal, and should not something be done to try to raise the standard of these advertisements?

I know there is a little disquiet in some quarters about this matter. The I.T.A. has recently appointed an officer, not from the advertising world, to give his time to advertising control and to liaison work with the programme companies.

asked the Postmaster-General what representations have been made to him from the British Broadcasting Corporation regarding the development of its sound services and particularly extensions of local broadcasting; and if he will make a statement on this projected development.

The B.B.C. is continuing to develop and extend its very high frequency sound services which are now available to 96·4 per cent. of the population. The Corporation tells me that it has also been studying a plan to provide V.H.F. stations for local broadcasting, but it has not yet put any definite proposals to me. Any such proposals will need careful consideration.

The right hon. Gentleman must obviously have the full review in mind. Will he assure the House that the voices of pressure groups now developing for the purpose of getting licences for commercial sound broadcasting will fall upon a deaf ear until the full review has taken place?

The question of commercial sound television does not arise out of this Question, which is confined to the proposals of the B.B.C.

In considering this matter will the Postmaster-General bear in mind that the north-east of England is still the only area in the British Isles without its own medium wave length and that we are still sharing with Northern Ireland? If another medium wave length becomes available, will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that we have the first claim on it?

I am sure that is being borne in mind.

Will the right hon. Gentleman also bear in mind the fact that if he does give concessions to commercial sound radio it will completely thwart the V.H.F. development of the B.B.C.?

That would involve a major departure from existing broadcasting policy and clearly would have to be reviewed within the whole context of future broadcasting.

Will my right hon. Friend refrain from giving any undertaking that the State monopoly in sound broadcasting should continue for ever?

I have given no such undertaking.

But did not the Postmaster-General give an undertaking that there would be no change in policy before this House had an opportunity to discuss the matter?

I said there would be no major change of the kind envisaged by certain hon. Gentlemen until the future of television and broadcasting has been adequately reviewed.

asked the Postmaster-General what comparative examination he has made of existing systems of pay-as-you-view television.

None, Sir. I have been informed about a number of these systems, but field trials would be necessary to assess their comparative merits.

But might there not be many advantages in the system if it works, and is it not a good plan to experiment and to examine the system now before we take decisions about the future development of television?

That is one point of view, but a decision on whether a further television programme should take the form of subscription television raises very wide issues of broadcasting policy and, as I have indicated, this would have to be settled before we could take a decision in principle one way or the other.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that such a system would be less than generous to the Labour Party political broadcasts?

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many civilian transport workers are being declared redundant at the Royal Air Force Station, Valley; and if he will make a statement.

We had a surplus of nine driven, but most of them have been found other work. We shall probably have to discharge three.

Is the Secretary of State aware that it is extremely discouraging when Government Departments create redundancies in an area where there is a high level of unemployment, and will he look at the matter again to see what he can do to keep these men at work and, indeed, to create more work for the unemployed men in the district, as there are no alternative sources of employment?

We are still trying to find work for the other three men, but I am afraid that the prospects do not look very good at the moment. As regards the second part of the supplementary question, the hon. Gentleman knows, I think, that we envisage this airfield playing an important part in our long-term plans.

asked the Secretary of State for Air under what regulations and conditions retired officers are prevented from entering aircraft industries upon retirement from the Royal Air Force.

Under Queen's Regulations, a senior officer is required to seek Air Ministry approval if, within two years of retiring, he wishes to accept an appointment with a firm having, for example, contractual relationship with the Government. This is in accordance with the White Paper issued in 1937.

Can my right hon. Friend say if any senior officers have been prevented from taking up such an appointment recently, and would he bear in mind that with so few military orders being given to the industry, many senior officers could be of great help in getting export orders? Would he interpret the Regulations very broadly in view of the present circumstances?

I have every sympathy with what my hon. Friend has in mind. Unfortunately, in these matters the public interest and that of the individual may sometimes lie in different directions, and we have to reach the fairest decision we can in all the circumstances of each case.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what arrangements he makes to examine the scripts of proposed speeches by senior officers of the Royal Air Force.

Under Queen's Regulations, a serving officer must seek permission, normally from the Air Ministry, before making a public speech on Air Force, naval or military subjects, and submit a script of what he proposes to say.

Can the Minister say what are the criteria by which the scripts are passed by him, and under what circumstances are they referred to the Minister of Defence?

The organisation within my Department is normally that broadcasting material is cleared through the Chief Information Officer, and that scripts of speeches by very senior officers come to me. Under the most recent directive of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence, if speeches have a bearing on major defence policy, I shall send them on to him.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what recent official exchange of views has taken place between Her Majesty's Government and the United States Administration on declaring the Thor missiles in this country operational; and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will make a further statement on the progress of the Thor missile.

As a result of the test firings which have taken place in the United States, and in the light of the progress made in the training programme, we are now satisfied that Thor is able to take its place as part of the operational front-line of the Royal Air Force.

Is it not desirable to resist any declarations as to our additional military preparedness, alleged or real, at a time when we are trying to relax tensions in preparation for the Summit Conference?

I think it has been known for some time that this weapon has been rapidly developing to a point at which it is operational.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that this is a good example of the value of close Anglo-American co-operation, particularly in defence matters?

Yes, Sir, I quite agree. I also think it is a remarkable fact that it is less than four years since the Douglas Aircraft Corporation started work on this brand new concept.

Has there been any change in the regulations and conditions governing the custody and positioning of the nuclear warheads, as has been reported in the Press?

No, Sir.

Is it not a fact that the initial delivery of the missiles was regarded as non-operational, since many of them came here before they were proved to be 100 per cent. successful? Can the Minister state emphatically that the missiles on pads in this country are fully operational?

I have said that the Thor missile will now take its place in the operational front-line of the R.A.F.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what steps he is taking to co-operate with the other military and civil aviation authorities in Europe in establishing an automatic electronic system of air traffic control to reduce the risk of collision of military and civil aircraft especially at high altitude.

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Aviation on 30th November and 7th December. My Department is fully associated with the studies to which he referred.

It is because those two replies were so unsatisfactory that I pursued this question. If the Minister of Defence does not know with what countries outside N.A.T.O. the discussions are concerned, surely the Secretary of State for Air can tell me what countries with military aircraft in Western Europe outside N.A.T.O. he is attempting to associate with the discussions?

This is really a matter in which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Aviation is taking the lead, and my Department is merely associated with the studies. I should much prefer it if the hon. Gentleman would address that question to my right hon. Friend.

Would the Secretary of State have a look, with the Minister of Aviation, at the replies he has given me, to see whether the points are really covered and whether this organisation is to be both civil and military?

asked the Secretary of State for Air what steps he is taking to reduce the noise caused by aeroengines on the ground and in the air.

My Department is closely associated with the research being undertaken by the Ministry of Aviation into methods of suppressing engine noise. I am afraid that no easy or early solution to this problem can be expected. In the meantime, we try to plan the programme of flying and the running of engines on the ground so as to reduce disturbance as much as possible.

So far as noise on the ground during testing and so on is concerned, can the Secretary of State say that the Royal Air Force has at least as good facilities for suppressing this noise as B.E.A. and B.O.A.C.?

I think so. The task now is to get them better, and to conduct research for the future. In these matters we are working very closely with the Americans, who are making certain experiments, and also with the Ministry of Aviation, which is undertaking other experiments.

Of course, I want it to get better and to look to the future, but can the right hon. Gentleman tell us that the facilities at present at the Royal Air Force bases are at least as good as those of the two Corporations?

If the hon. Gentleman is talking about such things as silencing pens, I should like notice of that, as I am not sure what is the position. I doubt whether our facilities are quite as good as the Corporations'. We have many more airfields to cover. Wherever possible, however, the testing and running-up are done away from inhabited places.