asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what payment was made by the Maltese Government for the use of the Naval Dockyard at Malta.

The Malta Government have not at any time had the use of the naval dockyard. The question of payment for its use does not therefore arise.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty why the Hong Kong Government were required to pay£7 million to the Admiralty for the use of the Hong Kong Naval Dockyard.

The redundant Admiralty property at Hong Kong and Kowloon has a high commercial value in the open market and the Hong Kong Government have agreed to purchase it from the Admiralty for£7 million.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty when Scotland will be allocated another home-based cruiser to replace H.M.S. "Gambia", which is scheduled to go into reserve.

For technical reasons, the Tiger Class will be based on southern ports. No cruiser will be allocated to Rosyth after H.M.S. "Gambia" but a number of other ships are likely to be based on Rosyth additional to those for whom Rosyth is already their home port.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what help he gives to men and women serving in the Royal Navy who wish to obtain professional qualifications; and what proposals he has for increasing such help.

The chief ways in which this help is given are: by active encouragement and tuition from Instructor Officers; by providing a wide range of correspondence courses paid for partly or entirely from Navy Votes; by arranging Service courses, wherever possible, so that they meet the requirements of professional bodies as well as the needs of the Service; by seeking the co-operation of professional bodies in granting exemption from their examinations to those who hold appropriate Service qualifications; and by arranging for examinations for professional qualifications to be conducted in Her Majesty's ships and naval establishments.We are constantly seeking ways of increasing this help and have recently arranged that any rating who takes the examination to qualify him educationally for promotion to officer rank can at the same time obtain passes at the ordinary level in the General Certificate of Education. We are also working on a scheme designed to ensure that in future most technical officers will obtain a degree in engineering in the course of their training.

asked the Minister of Education if he will make a statement about the provision of temporary accommodation at the Rochford County Secondary School pending the completion of a new school.

The Essex Local Education Authority has decided to provide temporary accommodation as soon as possible at Hawkwell Holt, since it will need this accommodation to meet the general needs of the area. As a result it hopes to give up the British Legion and Congregational Halls early next term

asked the Minister of Health, as representing the Minister for Science what further research work he now considers necessary to ensure that poisonous substances used in agriculture and food storage are not proving harmful to human beings.

As my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced on 20th November, my noble Friend and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are arranging for a small group of scientists to review the research that is being done on the use of poisonous substances in agriculture and to make proposals as to whether more research work generally is necessary. A further statement will be made shortly.

asked the Minister of Health, as representing the Minister for Science, if Her Majesty's Government will make a grant for research to be made into alternative methods of discovering remedies for illnesses which do not involve the necessity for experiments on living animals.

Much research sponsored by the Medical Research Council is already devoted to this purpose and my noble Friend is satisfied that as and when further research on these lines offers a reasonable prospect of results, the Medical Research Council will undertake it.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will now make a statement on the progress of negotiations in connection with the salary scales of the technical staff of regional hospital boards.

No. It would be inappropriate for me to make a statement while these matters are still under negotiation in the Whitley Council.

asked the Minister of Health the method of fixing remuneration for dental technicians; their present rate of pay; how many are employed in the National Health Service; if he is satisfied that the number employed is adequate to meet the demands of the service; and if he will make a statement.

The National Health Service Professional and Technical "B" Whitley Council is the body responsible for negotiating the remuneration and conditions of service of dental technicians employed in the National Health Service by hospitals and by local health authorities.The current salary scale of a dental technician performing the normal duties of the class is£450–£555 per annum. There are further grades for those with responsibilities greater than those of the normal technicians with higher salary scales. The highest scale is for a Chief Technician in charge of a technical staff of fourteen or more and is£630–£790 per annum.On 31st December, 1958, the number of technicians employed by National Health Service hospitals was 223 and by local health authorities 91. The number employed in hospitals has more than doubled since 1949 and there is no evidence of any shortage.A claim for higher salaries is before the Whitley Council.The employment of dental technicians by general dental practitioners providing general dental services is in general a matter for settlement between the parties concerned.

asked the Minister of Health the establishment for medical officers in mental hospitals in England and Wales; and to what extent these posts are filled.

I regret that information about medical establishments in mental hospitals is not readily available. In 1958 there were employed by hospital authorities, in terms of whole time equivalents, 522 consultants, 353 senior hospital medical officers, 113 senior registrars and 256 registrars in the specialty of mental health. Of these, 461 consultants, 301 senior hospital medical officers, 106 senior registrars and 239 registrars were working in the field of mental illness, the remainder in that of mental deficiency.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he is now in a position to give his approval to the Ashley Sewerage and Sewage Disposal Scheme submitted by the Newcastle-under-Lyme Rural District Council.

The outstanding information referred to in the reply to a Question by the hon. Member on 2nd November was received on 7th December and a local investigation is now being arranged.

asked the Minister of Labour how many insured workers were in the area covered by the Shotts Employment Exchange in each year since 1945 to the latest available date.

asked the Minister of pensions and National Insurance how many entrants from the open and limited competitions for the executive classes of the Civil Service were

I have no information to add to that given in reply to the hon. Member's Question on 12th June. The figures for 1959 will not be available before March, 1960, when I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many entrants to the executive class of the Civil Service from the open and limited competitions were appointed in his Department for each of the years 1949 to 1958, inclusive; and how many of these have been promoted to higher executive grade.

The information is given in the following table:appointed to the National Assistance Board during each of the years 1949 to 1958, inclusive; and how many of these have been promoted to the higher executive grade.

The National Assistance Board has supplied the information in the following table:

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now reconsider his refusal to sanction a new sub-post office in the Kinson, Redhill Park, area, in view of the substantial increase in the population of that part of Bournemouth.

I have reconsidered the matter and I am satisfied that there is still no justification for another sub-post office in this area.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the recent announcements by the British Motor Corporation, the Ford Motor Company, and Vauxhall Motors, Limited, with regard to their future programmes of expansion and the talks which at least one of these companies has had with his Department, if he will draw the attention of these companies, when they seek industrial development certificates, to the industrial advantages offered by the city and port of Hull.

When firms are looking for a site on which to expand, my Department always draws their attention to suitable areas of high and persistent unemployment.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is now able to announce the revision of the basis for estimating future traffic volumes laid down in Circular 727 of 30th April, 1956.

The review of the basis of calculation is nearly completed and I will issue a fresh circular to replace No. 727 as soon as possible.