asked the President of the Board of Trade what applications have now been received from firms wishing to establish industries in the Shotts, Harthill, Salsburgh, and Cleland area of north Lanark.

No applications for buildings have been received from firms wishing to establish industries in this area of North Lanarkshire, but one firm has just made an application to D.A.T.A.C. for financial assistance.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is now able to announce the membership of the Committee to inquire into Company Law, which he has set up under the Chairmanship of Lord Jenkins.

Yes. The following have accepted invitations to serve and will form the Committee:

• Lord Jenkins (Chairman).
• Mr. F. R. Althaus.
• Mr. E. A. Bingen.
• Mr. Leslie Brown.
• Sir George Erskine, C.B.E.
• Professor L. C. B. Gower, M.B.E.
• Mr. W. H. Lawson, C.B.E.
• Mr. J. A. Lumsden, M.B.E.
• Mr. K. W. Mackinnon, Q.C., T.D., M.B.E.
• Mrs. M. Naylor.
• Mr. G. W. H. Richardson.
• Mr. Hilary Scott.
• Mr. R. Smith.
• Mr. William Watson.

asked the Prime Minister what preparations are to be made for the celebration of the tercentenary of the restoration of the monarchy in the person of King Charles the Second.

asked the Prime Minister what plans Her Majesty's Government have in mind to celebrate the tercentenary of the landing of King Charles the Second at Dover, leading to the restoration of the monarchy.

asked the Prime Minister what plans he has to commemorate the tercentenary of the restoration of Parliamentary government in 1660.

The unique position of the Crown and the deep affection in which Her Majesty is held by all the peoples of the Commonwealth result from a long history stretching over hundreds of years. In this long story, there have, of course, been sunlight and shadow, conflict and even tragedy. I do not think it would strengthen the position of the Crown to single out a particular incident from the past. I believe rather that it is better to concentrate on the present. A Coronation, an Opening of Parliament, the birth of a royal infant—all these seem to me more suitable for celebration.

asked the Prime Minister if he will now make a statement on the Parliamentary membership of the proposed Monckton Commission.

I have nothing to add to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on 8th December.

asked the Prime Minister what subjects he discussed with the Italian Prime Minister during the latter's recent visit to this country.

My talks with the Italian Prime Minister were confidential. They covered a wide range of subjects of common interest, including the preparations for the Summit meeting. disarmament and the political and economic relationships of Western Europe.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the final estimate for the combined gross domestic product of the Colonial Territories for 1958; whether he can now give an estimate for the first six months of 1959; and what annual rate of increase these figures represent, respectively.

The present, but not necessarily the final, estimate for 1958 is£2,835 million. Half-yearly estimates are not practicable, since they are not made by the larger Colonial Territories whose more detailed estimates form the bulk of a final total. As all the figures are estimates, the rate of increase is more reliably calculated over a period of years. Since 1953 the average annual rate of increase has been about 7 per cent., or 5–6 per cent. if allowance is made for rising prices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which Colonial Territories provide a television service; and in which others it is proposed to establish one within the next two years.

Television services are provided in Hong Kong, Bermuda, Cyprus and the Western Region of Nigeria. The introduction of television is under active consideration in Gibraltar, Malta, the Bahamas and elsewhere in Nigeria. A Commission is at this moment examining the question of television in Kenya.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent consumers in Colonial Territories still lack supplies of pure water without having to boil it themselves; and what progress is being made in providing it.

In most urban areas supplies of pure water are available; in rural areas it is the aim of the Governments concerned to provide potable water by means of deep wells and suitable catchment areas. Between 1946 and 1958 Her Majesty's Government have provided through the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts over£12,500,000 for water supplies and sanitation. This sum is of course additional to provision for these purposes from local resources.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the number of children attending school in the Seychelles; and what is the number who are provided with a midday meal in school because of the poverty of their parents.

5,462 children attend school in Seychelles, of whom 364 are provided with mid-day meals, and 1,196 with snacks. This is done not necessarily on grounds of poverty but also, for example, if a pupil's home is distant from the school and the parents cannot or will not provide food away from home.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the arrangements made for tendering Government contracts in the Seychelles; and whether tenders are asked for in all cases.

I am informed by the Governor that the procedure generally followed is laid down in Colonial Regulations. Exceptions are sometimes made, either when fixed price purchases prove cheaper, for example, in timber supply, or when the quantities concerned are very small.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the number of African, Asian, Arab and European teachers, respectively, in Kenya, who completed a two-year course of training in 1958; and what are the comparatively numbers estimated for 1959, 1960 and 1961.

Actual and estimated numbers of teachers in Kenya completing two-year courses of training 1958–61^*

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the number of African children in Kenya over the age of 11 years; and the number that are receiving grammar school education or technical school education, respectively.

There are no age statistics to answer the first part of the Question. As regards the second part, on 30th June, 1958, there were 3,922 African pupils at secondary schools and 1,114 at technical and vocational institutions. There were also 73,704 Africans receiving intermediate education, without a grammar or technical bias, most of whom were probably over 11, and a number of special schools.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that a copy of Land of Sunshine, a book by Mr. Muga Gicaru dealing with the events leading up to Mau Mau, was confiscated by the police in Kenya; and for what reason it has been banned by the Kenya Government.

The importation of this publication has been prohibited in the public interest by the Government of Kenya, on whom rests the responsibility of deciding whether such action is required in the public interest.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent television services are provided in Kenya which may be received in other African countries; and what current proposals he has for providing such services.

There is at present no television service in Kenya. A commission appointed by the Government of Kenya is now sitting. Its terms of reference are "to examine and report to the Kenya Government on the advantages and disadvantages of a television service in Kenya, the ways and means of introducing such a service and measures required therefor, with an estimate of the costs". Such a service, if established, would not in any event reach other territories, and no proposals are meanwhile in prospect for providing a service elsewhere in British African dependencies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the number of African children in Kenya who proceeded to the university in each of the years from 1950 to 1958, respectively.

The following is the reply:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) if he is satisfied with the present methods employed by officers of Colonial Governments for the protection of the wild game in Central and East Africa; and what improvements he proposes to introduce; (2) in view of the reports and evidence of cruelty and slaughter of wild animals in British territories in Central and East Africa, what additional steps he intends to take to protect and preserve these animals; and if he will examine the problem during his visit to Central Africa.

I am satisfied that the Governments in the territories concerned are keenly aware of the importance of taking adequate measures of protection; but the task of overcoming organised poaching throughout vast areas of game parks and reserves is a very difficult one. Furthermore, the extent to which adequate protection is possible has to be considered in relation to the many competing demands on the territories' financial and other resources and in some cases by the conflict between the interests of game and man. My right hon. Friend is visiting East, not Central, Africa on this occasion. I know that he has this problem very much in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why there is no separate Co-operative department in North Borneo.

For administrative convenience, a Co-operative branch has been set up in the Department of Agriculture. The head of the branch has been gazetted as Registrar of Co-operative Societies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what were the circumstances that led to the arrest of Mr. Ngembus Williams, at Kumba, Southern Cameroons, on 21st November; and why documents in connection with the All-African People's Congress held at Accra in December, 1958, are considered by the Southern Cameroons Government to he seditious documents subject to confiscation by their police.

Information was received that Mr. Ngembus Williams was in possession of prohibited publications. His premises were searched under a magistrate's warrant, such publications were found and he was arrested, charged, and convicted. Copies of the All-African People's Congress News Bulletin, which is not proscribed, were among papers removed for examination, but he was not charged in respect of them and they have not been confiscated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why permission was refused for Dr. Banda to receive a visit from Sir John Moffat.

This is a matter for the Federal authorities. I understand, however, that Sir John Moffat was told that he might visit Dr. Banda under the conditions normally attaching to visits. That would mean that the interview would take place in the presence of a Prison officer and that there should be no discussion of political questions. Sir John Moffat did not avail himself of this.

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

, pursuant to Mr. Macleod's reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 5th November, 1959; Vol. 612, c. 78], supplied the following information:The number of Africans in Kenya so restricted on 5th November was 530.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of qualified and the number of unqualified teachers, respectively, employed on the teaching staffs of approved schools.

There are 489 qualified and 12 unqualified teachers employed in classroom teaching in approved schools. In addition, there are 342 instructors employed in practical trade training. Of these, 83, the majority of whom are employed for such subjects as sewing and dressmaking, do not possess a recognised professional qualification.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now discharge Mr. J. Philpott, 22 Market Street, Slough, now serving a sentence of nine years' preventive detention in Parkhurst Central Prison, following the official investigation into his claim that he was wrongly sentenced to preventive detention.

An application by this prisoner for habeas corpus is at present sub judice. I can, therefore, make no comment on his case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet reached a decision upon the recommendations of Part H of the Wolfenden Report; and what steps he proposes to take in order to ascertain the views of this House on the matter.

The debate a year ago showed that opinion in the last Parliament was sharply divided. I believe that that was an accurate reflection of opinion in the country, and that it would be premature to introduce legislation on this topic. I do not think that the time is yet ripe for a further debate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider the immediate recruitment of an auxiliary traffic corps in the London area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now give favourable consideration to the suggestion that a special corps of traffic police should be formed to regulate traffic and to deal with traffic offences.

I would refer my Non, Friends to the reply which I gave on 3rd December to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Surbiton (Mr. Fisher).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners have absconded from Her Majesty's Prison, Eastchurch, during the twelve months ending 14th November, 1959, or at the latest convenient date; and what were the offences with which they had been convicted;(2) how many prisoners have been convicted of a further offence after absconding from Her Majesty's Prison, Eastchurch, during the twelve months ending 14th November, 1959, or at the latest convenient date; and what was the nature of such offences.

The number of prisoners who have absconded during this period from Eastchurch, which has accommodation for about 500 prisoners, was 37, of whom five committed offences while unlawfully at large. The following are the details of the nature of the offences concerned:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement upon safety standards for paraffin oil domestic heaters. having regard to the disaster involving the deaths of five young children, dealt with by the Hertford coroner on Wednesday, 2nd December, 1959, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Kidderminster; what safety standards for such paraffin oil heaters have been prescribed or recommended by his Department; what steps are taken as to enforcement; whether, having regard to the millions of such paraffin oil portable domestic heaters now in daily use in this country, he will take immediate steps, by every means at his disposal, to recommend revised and improved safety standards; and what consideration he has given to the introduction of further legislation on this matter.

I have no power to prescribe safety standards for domestic paraffin heaters. I understand that the relevant British Standard Specification for these appliances is at present being revised. I am also informed that the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research are, with the co-operation of the manufacturers, undertaking tests of oil heaters of the type involved in the fire at Ware, and I shall consider whether any action on my part is necessary when the results of those tests are known.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in his consideration of proposals for the purchase or adaptation of magistrates' courthouses, he applies as far as practicable at least the minimum standards of accommodation for offices recommended in the Gowers Report.

Responsibility for making proposals about courthouses for magistrates' courts rests with the Magistrates' Courts Committee and the local authority concerned. The Home Office, in considering any proposals, and in offering advice, bear in mind the best modern practice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Birmingham Watch Committee on police allowances; and what reply he has made.

The Birmingham Watch Committee has suggested to me that it is for consideration whether there ought not to be power to pay a special allowance in those areas in which there is serious difficulty in recruiting police. In reply, I have said that I understand the concern of the Watch Committee, but have pointed out that any proposals which it may wish to make for alterations of police pay or allowances should be addressed to the official side of the Police Council for Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet received any proposals for the purchase and adaptation of the East Penwith magistrates' courthouse at Camborne, Cornwall.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from representatives of the Prison Officers at Wormwood Scrubs Prison regarding remarks made by characters in the television programme "Probation Officer" broadcast on 23rd November, 1959, denigrating officers of Her Majesty's Prison Service; and what representations he has made to the Independent Television Authority or the programme contractors.

The Prison Officers' Association protested to the Prison Commissioners that the programme reflected adversely on all prison officers, not only those serving in Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Representations were made by my Department to the programme contractors that the programme not only reflected on the Prison Service as a whole but also on the selection of officers by the Prison Commissioners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that on 27th November last Mr. Kenneth Court, held in custody at Brixton prison, was granted bail, and that on 30th November two sureties were offered who were not accepted by the Metropolitan Police authorities until 3rd December; what was the cause of this delay by the police; and whether he will take steps to obviate the unnecessary detention of accused persons who have been granted bail.

The acceptance of sureties in cases of this kind is a matter not for the police but for the justice who takes the recognizance. From the information which I have received, it appears that the delay in admitting Mr. Court to bail in the period mentioned was caused not by the police but by the failure of the necessary sureties to attend the court to enter into recognizances. The last part of the Question does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what authority police officers entered and searched 5 Farrant House, Winstanley Road, S.W.11, on 18th July, 1959.

The Commissioner of Police informs me that the matter in connection with which the premises were entered and searched is the subject of criminal proceedings now before the court. In these circumstances, it would not be proper for me to make any statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation, on lines similar to the rules laid down by the Fire Department of New York, to prohibit smoking in departmental stores under fire regulations; and if he will make a statement.

On the information before me, I should not regard this as a matter for legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to a case in which a probation officer brought a man before the court for failing to comply with his probation order because the man in question had refused to accept a job involving Sunday work; whether this was done with his approval; and if he will make a statement.

I assume that the hon. Lady is referring to a probationer who was recently brought before the Bath magistrates for failing to lead an industrious life, as required by his probation order. My approval to such proceedings is not required. The court, by imposing a fine, showed that it considered them to be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state his reasons for refusing to approve the sentence of birching on prisoners in Exeter prison.

In deciding whether to confirm an award of corporal punishment for a prison offence, I have to consider such matters as first the circumstances and seriousness of the offence; second, the prevailing state of order and discipline in the prison concerned; third, the medical and mental history of the prisoner and his record in prison; and fourth, the adequacy of available alternative penalties. On consideration of all the factors involved in the cases at Exeter Prison, I concluded that the alternative punishments suggested by the Visiting Committee were more appropriate than corporal punishment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to deal with the situation created by the many school leavers unable to find work and which could lead to an increase in juvenile delinquency.

I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour that, in general, the number of school leavers who have been unable to find work in England and Wales is not high, though there are problems in particular areas.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations, if he will make the whole of the material provided by the Special Preparatory Committees to the Advisory Commission for Central Africa available to the public in good time so that its value may be assessed and referred to by other persons giving evidence to the Commission.

The results of the work of the Committee of Officials are not likely to be in our hands or those of the Governments in the Federation for some weeks yet. It is therefore premature to consider now whether they should be made available to persons other than the Governments and the Advisory Commission.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations on whom will rest the duty of deciding, and on what basis the decision will be made, whether a branch of public opinion wishing to approach the Monckton Commission is representative or significant.

The decision will rest with the Commission itself.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will consider discussing with the universities and representative bodies in industry and commerce the establishment of a register of young British graduates willing to work in under-developed countries, so that more graduates may be encouraged to take up such work and, also, of a register of graduates returned from such work, so that their re-entry into employment in this country at an appropriate status might be facilitated.

The general objective of encouraging young people from this country to serve for a few years in the Overseas Commonwealth is one to which my noble Friend, as he indicated in another place on 8th December, attaches the highest importance. He is at present considering how best the objective can be achieved. I doubt, however, whether, on the particular point the hon. Member has raised, a general register of the kind suggested would be an effective method of approaching this problem, which is best handled by individual treatment.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will state in table form the cost of bringing up to the level enjoyed by United Kingdom civil servants under the Pensions Increase Act, 1959, pensions paid by the Governments of former dependent territories and the Governments of the South African High Commission Territories, both to erstwhile expatriate civil servants and to their widows and orphans.

As I explained in reply to my hon. Friend on 2nd December, pensions increases granted by Governments of independent Commonwealth countries are a matter for those Governments. As regards the High Commission Territories, reasons similar to those given to my hon. Friend by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies on 13th November, in respect of the Colonial Territories for which he is responsible, would make it difficult to justify instructing the High Commissioner to undertake the assembling of the huge volume of detailed information required. I would be glad, however, to discuss the matter with my hon. Friend to see if I can help him in any other way.

asked the Minister of Education if he will make a statement with regard to the progress being made with the plans to rebuild Huish's Grammar School, Taunton.

This project is in the building programme for 1960–61, and I understand that the sketch plans will be submitted to the Ministry towards the end of next month.

asked the Minister of Education if he will state the intention of the Government regarding county colleges.

The Government will be considering this question in the light of the forthcoming Report of the Central Advisory Council. This report is to be published tomorrow and copies will be placed in the Library.

asked the Minister of Education if he will defer any decision on the Roberts Report on the Library Service until it is apparent whether any changes in the structure of local government are likely to take place as a result of recommendations of the commissions set up under the Local Government Act, 1958.

This is one of the points I am now considering.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware of the unsatisfactory accommodation for girls attending Canton High School, Cardiff, where the girls have to walk between two buildings for lessons, neither of which have drying facilities for clothes in wet weather; and what action he proposes to take.

I understand that steps have already been taken to reduce the inconvenience.

asked the Minister of Education if he will give priority to, and authorise the immediate building of, the new Eastfield Road School, Louth, in order that the old school may be used as an occupational centre, and so avoid the building of an entirely new occupational centre and effect an economy of over£20,000.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Health has asked the Lindsey County Council for certain information about the occupational centre. When their reply arrives it will be possible to consider what it is best to do.

asked the Minister of Education how recruitment to courses of initial teacher training this autumn compared with that of 1955 and that of 1958.

The number entering training colleges and university departments of education in 1959 was 20,046, compared with 18,191 in 1958 and 15,264 in 1955. The details are given below. The entry this year was the highest ever, and I am glad to take this opportunity of congratulating all the training establishments on these good results.

asked the Minister of Education when the report of the Albemarle Committee on Youth Services is expected.

I have received the report and hope to present it to Parliament and publish it soon after the House reassembles.

asked the Minister of Education what are the functions of governors of colleges of advanced technology and regional colleges of technology.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of Circular 7/59, which deals with governing bodies for all major establishments of further education, and copies of Circulars 255 and 305, which refer particularly to regional colleges and colleges of advanced technology.

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, what progress has now been made by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in connection with the muffler device of a filtration character brought from the United States of America for experimental purposes, in connection with abatement of noxious fumes from the exhausts of motor vehicles, notably diesel oil vehicles; when a report upon the efficacy of this equipment will be available; and, having regard to the vitiating effect of exhaust fumes upon the promotion of clean air policy, what further steps are to be undertaken in connection with the decontamination and decolourisation of exhaust fumes from motor vehicles.

My noble Friend understands that the American device is not in commercial production and has not yet reached the stage of development at which the claims of the manufacturers can be assessed by the Warren Spring Laboratory. The laboratory is, however, keeping in touch with this development, and arrangements are being made to test two other devices which have recently been developed in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, what steps are to be taken by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research following the observations of the Hertford coroner on Wednesday, 2nd December, 1959, upon the deaths of five children in a house fire after a conflagration caused by a paraffin oil heater; what recommendations as to safety standards on paraffin oil heaters have been enunciated by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research; and, having regard to the fact that several million portable domestic heaters of the kind referred to are now in daily use in Great Britain, what special instructions he has given to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research to study urgently the possibility of improvement of safety standards for such heaters.

The annual reports for 1957 and 1958 of the joint Fire Research Organisation of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Fire Officers' Committee drew attention to the potential danger from paraffin oil heaters. Before the disaster at Ware the Organisation had already begun a special survey of fires traced to this source, and letters have been sent to 29 firms inviting them as a matter of urgency to supply samples of their heaters for test; 23 of them have already agreed to do so and the tests are in progress.My noble Friend has satisfied himself that the appropriate Government Departments have been made aware of the position. Suggestions for remedial measures must await the results of the test.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much liquid egg has been imported during 1959 and from what countries of origin; and if he will state in each case the wholesale price at which it has been placed on the British market, and the corresponding price of home-produced liquid egg.

Imports of frozen whole egg up to the end of October, 1959, were about 7,450 tons, which represents about one-quarter of our consumption of liquid egg and about 1 per cent. of our consumption of eggs and egg products. Australia supplied 2,600 tons and China 1,800 tons. The balance was imported in small quantities from South Africa, Canada, the Irish Republic, Poland, Western Germany, the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia. I regret that I cannot provide detailed information about selling prices. The market has weakened recently and according to trade sources the ex-store wholesale price of imported frozen whole egg in November generally ranged from 2s. 2d. to 2s. 3d. per lb. The corresponding price of home-produced frozen egg was about ls. 11½d. per lb.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to collect the views of the agricultural industry on the question of the extension of British Summer Time.

A questionnaire will be issued within a few days to the agricultural organisations concerned.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will re-introduce the 2s. a tail grey squirrel scheme, in view of the fact that the Forestry Commission are paying their employees Is. a tail for each squirrel destroyed.

Representations have been made to my right hon. Friend on this matter. He is, of course, giving consideration to them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the evidence taken before the Radcliffe Committee will be published; and in what form.

It is expected that publication will take place next March. The evidence amounts to nearly 1,800 printed pages and will be issued in four parts, one volume containing all the oral evidence and three volumes containing written evidence.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates to be the gross value which an estate would need to reach today to yield the same purchasing power after payment of Estate Duty as was yielded in 1938, also, after payment of estate duty, by estates valued at£5.000,£10,000,£25,000,£50,000, and£100,000, respectively.

About£15,000,£34,000,£128,000,£345,000 and£910,000. respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he received a communication from the British Toy Manufacturers' Association concerning Purchase Tax; what was his reply; whether he has yet received the further communication from the hon. Member for West Ham, North, enclosing a letter from the Secretary of the British Toy Manufacturers' Association; and when he expects to send a reply to this communication.

My right hon. Friend received the Association's letter on 1st December and the hon. Member's letter on 7th December. He replied to both letters yesterday.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the response he has received from the leaders of industry to his appeal for lower prices as a means of defeating inflation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has received from manufacturers following his recent appeals for a reduction in prices.

My right hon. Friend had an informal talk with representatives of industry on Monday, 7th December, about the trend of prices. He was glad to find that their organisations agreed with him on the importance of stability and recognised that they had a share in the responsibility for its continuance. The four Presidents undertook that their organisations would give careful and speedy study to these matters in the light of what my right hon. Friend said.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people hold post-war credits of not more than£20, more than£20 an not more than£30, more than£30 and not more than£40, and more than£40 and not more than£50, respectively; and how much it would cost to redeem the credits in each category.

The estimated distribution in the lower ranges at 31st March, 1959, was as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much it would cost to pay off a maximum of£50 to all holders of post-war credits.

About£280 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates the cost to the revenue would have been in the current financial year if he had raised the Surtax level to£3,000 and£4,000, respectively.

If the rates of Surtax now charged on successive slices of income above the present starting points were charged on similar successive slices starting at points£1,000 or£2,000 higher the cost in a full year would be£47 million or£75 million, respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, since United Kingdom imports of world commodities have fallen by 14 per cent. in price since the autumn of 1956, what factors in the economy have prevented a fall in the cost-of-living index to an extent comparable with a corresponding fall in prices.

The fall in prices of imported commodities since 1956 has been more than offset, so far as the trend of t he index of retail prices is concerned, by higher domestic incomes, which have a much greater influence on unit costs than import prices.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, in view of the widespread anxiety that more should be done as soon as possible to improve the present housing situation, now causing distress to several million families, if he will state the action he proposes to take to co-ordinate the activities of the Ministers concerned in dealing with municipal housing, interest rates, the health dangers involved, and the acquisition of agricultural land in England and Wales and also in Scotland.

During the last eight years, the housing situation in the country as a whole has been enormously improved as a result of the building since 1951 of well over 2 million new houses and the rehousing of 7 million people in good modern homes. In certain areas, there is still an urgent housing need; but the best way of overcoming shortages is to keep house-building at a high level, and that is what the Government are continuing to do. I am in close and constant consultation with all the other Ministers concerned, and the success of our co-ordinated policies is proved by the house-building figures.

asked Mr. Attorney-General how many regional offices he expects to set up within the Land Registration Department; what the name of each region will be; and how many persons he expects to be employed in each one of them.

It is not expected that any new branch offices will be opened in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether the Thor missiles supplied by the United States Air Force to Royal Air Force units in this country are now regarded as operational; and under what conditions they will be armed with nuclear warheads.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made yesterday. I am not prepared to discuss operational procedures.

asked the Secretary of States for Air if he is aware of the dissatisfaction among women teachers employed at the Royal Air Force Station, Seletar, Singapore, about the conditions in which they have to live in the officers' mess, with no facilities for quiet in which to work, no private room in which to entertain friends, and no electric points for boiling kettles in their bedrooms, and that permission to live out with the appropriate allowance was refused, although the conditions of service shown to them beforehand stated that they could live out if they wished; and if he will compare these conditions with those enjoyed by Army teachers in Singapore with a view to improving them.

I am making inquiries and will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will publish a White Paper setting out in detail the effects and consequences of the setting-up of the Ministry of Aviation and the closing of the Ministry of Supply on research and development for, and the supply of equipment to, the Services.

No. I would refer the right hon. Member to the information which I gave in the debate on this subject on 12th November last.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, pending the introduction of parking meters into the St. James's area, he will install notices indicating the permissibility or otherwise of parking, waiting or unloading in St. James's Street and Pall Mall.

I am discussing the possibility of interim arrangements on these lines with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and will let my hon. Friend know the outcome as soon as possible.