asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he is making for the distribution and marketing of the proposed low-priced books for overseas so as to ensure they reach the widest possible public without increase in the agreed price.

Detailed arrangements made with the publishers and the contracts entered into will be designed to ensure that these cheap books reach the people we intend to have them and are sold at the retail price specified in the contract.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what advice he has received from the Advisory Committee on the Selection of Low-Priced Books for Overseas on the principles on which such books should be selected; and when it is expected to announce the first titles.

The Advisory Committee has begun its work but has not yet submitted advice to Ministers on principles of selection—nor would I expect this as yet. I know the Committee is pressing on with its difficult task.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster the estimated expenditure during the coming financial year on the official scheme to promote the sale of low-priced books overseas; at what price the books will be sold; and how many books it is estimated will be distributed under this scheme during the same period.

Estimates of expenditure on overseas information services generally will be laid before the House in due course. Selling prices of the low-priced books have yet to be determined. For the popular type of book, we are thinking of not more than ls. 6d. per copy. I hope it will be possible to distribute something approaching 2 million copies, of various titles, in the coming year.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will name the countries to which it is planned to send books under the official scheme to provide low-priced books for overseas.

Countries in Asia and Africa are particularly in mind at present.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the progress of the negotiations for the increased exports of British books abroad.

These negotiations are being actively pursued with the various countries concerned. I will inform the House when agreements have been reached.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will consider amending the relevant legislation so that a person may be granted sickness benefit if he goes abroad for a period, the trip being necessary for curative purposes or other treatment received in Great Britain having failed.

Sickness benefit is already payable to a person who goes abroad temporarily for the specific purpose of being treated for incapacity which began before he left Great Britain. If the hon. Gentleman has any particular case in mind in which difficulty has arisen, I will of course be very glad to look into it.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will investigate the position of elderly self-employed people, who by reason of age were debarred from joining the voluntary scheme, but whose personal savings are assessed at 5 per cent. on the first £375 and 10 per cent. on anything exceeding £400; and, since it is impossible to obtain comparable rates of interest with safety, if he will have this practice revised.

I am, of course, much concerned with the position of elderly people who do not enjoy the advantages of the National Insurance scheme. I assume that what my hon. Friend has in mind are people in receipt of the non-contributory old-age pension. The figures to which my hon. Friend refers are riot based on any assumption as to the amount of interest obtainable but govern the treatment of capital resources for the purpose of assessment of means in accordance with the Old Age Pensions Act. 1936.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many are now drawing disablement pensions as a result of service with the Forces; and how many are drawing pensions as a result of losing husbands or sons serving with the Forces.

On 30th September, 1959, pensions in respect of service with the Armed Forces were being paid by my Department to 528.000 disablement pensioners, 132,000 widows and about 59,000 parents.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will make a special allowance to all citizens in receipt of the basic pension to meet the need for coal and milk during the severe winter months.

No. Such allowances would be quite inappropriate to our universal contributory National Insurance scheme. Cases of need are, as he will be aware, dealt with by other social services.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will give an estimate of the number of employees included in superannuation schemes other than National Insurance, including those in the public services, in 1946 and at the latest convenient date.

I regret that figures for 1946 are not available. In 1958, which is the latest date for which figures are available, the total number of employees in such schemes was 8¾ millions, of which some 3¾ millions were in the public services and nationalised industries.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what change has taken place in the number of appeals reaching the Commissioner on ordinary questions under the Industrial Injuries Act since the need to obtain leave to appeal was abolished; and how many appeals have been made to the Commissioner against decisions of the medical appeal tribunals.

In the six months following removal of the requirement to obtain leave there were 414 appeals to the Industrial Injuries Commissioner, compared with 325 in the corresponding period of 1958; the answer to the second part of the Question is 1 substantive appeal, and 19 applications for leave to appeal.

asked the Minister of Power what general directions he has given to the Central Electricity Authority regarding guarantees by individual consumers of electricity.

None. The cost of rural development in many areas is such that a supply could not be given without either a capital contribution or a minimum revenue guarantee from the consumer.

asked the Minister of Power whether he will arrange for greater quantities of coal suitable for manufacturing smokeless fuels other than coke to be made available, in view of the increasing public demand for such products.

I understand from the National Coal Board that there is no shortage of suitable coals for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Power what consultations he has had with the industries concerned with regard to the establishment of a smokeless fuel production plant in the east Northumberland coalfield to meet the demand for this fuel following the growing application of the Clean Air Act.

The location of new plants is primarily a matter for the industries concerned.

asked the Minister of Power why he approved the plan for the West Midland Gas Board to erect a lurgi gasification plant; and whether this experiment is to be encouraged in other areas.

The Coleshill plant is expected to make gas from coat, at a competitive price. I will gladly consider any similar proposals which may be included in the future development programme of area boards.

asked the Minister of Power if he is aware that trade union representatives requested a thirty- minute interview with the Parliamentary Secretary when he visited the Michael Colliery recently; and what were the reasons for refusing the request.

Yes. The mineworkers' representatives were invited to meet me but they stipulated a minimum of thirty minutes for discussion and, unfortunately, this could not be fitted into the programme.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the regulations of his Department do not permit free X-ray for purposes of employment, emigration and other reasons, but that mass radiography units are now operating free of charge; and what is his policy with regard to amending the regulations to enable X-ray facilities to be available for a wider variety of purposes than at present.

Full-scale X-ray examinations for these purposes are not within the scope of the hospital and specialist services provided under Section 3 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, and charges are therefore made for these. Mass miniature radiography is however a diagnostic preventive health service available free to all on demand. I am not satisfied that any alteration of the present arrangements is desirable.

asked the Minister of Health the total annual cost of treating victims of multiple sclerosis; and how much is being spent on research into the treatment of this disease.

I regret that the information asked for in the first part of the Question is not available. The Medical Research Council is spending about £9,000 specifically on research on multiple sclerosis this financial year, and research is also taking place with the support of university funds and hospital endowments at other centres. I understand that contributions from other sources include expenditure of £40,000 over the last four years by the Multiple Sclerosis Society and grants of over £27,000 by the Nuffield Foundation to be used over a period of five years.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give particulars about the Inter-Departmental Working Party which he has set up on legislation concerning medicines; what are the terms of reference of this working party; what is its membership; and what are the qualifications of the members.

This Working Party has been set up by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and myself, in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with the following terms of reference:

"to review the legislative provisions which relate to the control of medicinal substances and to recommend what changes should be made to rationalise and simplify the law with a view to ultimate amendment and consolidation."

asked the Minister of Health on what date the Mental Health Act, 1959, will be brought into operation.

A commencement order permitting informal admission to mental hospitals was made with effect from 6th October, 1959. Other provisions will be brought into force as soon as the necessary preparations are complete, but I cannot yet name precise dates.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the shortage of domiciliary midwives in Ilford; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy the shortage.

There has recently been a shortage of domiciliary midwives in Ilford, due in part to illness, but the Essex County Council, which is responsible for the service in this area, informse that the position has now been substantially restored.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he will take steps to ensure that opticians under contract with the National Health Service, in their window and other advertising, use only the correct terms of their qualifications, namely ophthalmic optician or dispensing optician, and not other terms liable to mislead the public;(2) whether he will take steps to ensure that opticians under contract with the National Health Service, in their window and other advertising, use only the name and qualification of the optician actually providing the service and not the names of firms or opticians where the person named has long since been deceased;(3) whether he will take steps to ensure that opticians under contract with the National Health Service do not display in their windows offers to supply children's spectacles and statements of sight testing at homes and evening consultations, and do not attach to their receipts pamphlets offering to adjust and repair spectacles and advertising chain-store dispensing shops.

My right hon. and learned Friend is satisfied that the terms of service of opticians deal adequately with advertising in relation to contracts under the National Health Service pending any rules which may be made by the General Optical Council on advertising in general.

asked the Minister of Health when the building of the proposed new hospital at Lindley, Huddersfield, will commence.

I am urgently considering revised proposals from the board and hope to be able to authorise the acceptance of a tender within the next few weeks.

asked the Minister of Health what progress is being made in providing hostels for people now confined in mental hospitals solely because there is no other provision for their welfare, in view of the desirability of enabling them to regain their liberty and self respect as members of the community.

Local authorities have made a start in providing hostels of various kinds for the mentally disordered. It is likely that the main effect at first will be to avoid hospital admission for those not in need of it rather than to enable hospitals to discharge patients; local authorities and hospital authorities have, however, been asked to consult together in assessing future needs for the provision of hostels.

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of in-patients now in mental hospitals have been inpatients on previous occasions.

I regret that information is not available in the form requested. About 47 per cent. of patients admitted to mental hospitals in 1958 had previously been in-patients in such hospitals.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress the Government have made during the last two months towards securing the admission of the People's Republic of China to a seat on the Council of the United Nations Organisation.

My right hon. and learned Friend answered a Question by the hon. and learned Member concerning Her Majesty's Government's

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will policy on this matter on 18th November. There has been no change since that date. In our view, because of continuing deep divisions of opinion on this question, to press at this stage for discussion of Chinese representation in the United Nations would not be in the best interests of the Organisation.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what contributions Her Majesty's Government made during 1959 to the United Nations, its subsidiary and voluntary funds, and to the Specialised Agencies; and what proportion these contributions bore to the respective total budgets.

The following is the information:now make a statement about the leadership and composition of the British delegation to the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs who will represent Great Britain at the Conference on the Law of the Sea to be held in Geneva next March.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will lead the delegation and the senior official delegate will be Sir Gerald Fitzmaurice, the legal adviser to the Foreign Office.The delegation will include representatives of the various Departments concerned and the fishing industry will be invited to nominate advisers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs who were he British delegates to the last conference of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Parliamentarians.

Delegates to last annual N.A.T.O. Parliamentarians' Conference were:

• The Rt. Hon. Nigel Birch, O.B.E.
• The Rt. Hon. George Brown.
• The Rt. Hon. Clement Davies. Q.C.
• The Rt. Hon. Arthur Henderson, Q.C.
• The Hon. Greville Howard.
• Mr. A. Kershaw, M.C.
• Mr. W. J. Peel.
• Mr. R. Prentice.
• Brigadier Sir Otho Prior-Palmer, D S.O. Captain E. W. Short.
• Mr. T. Steele.
• Mr. R. D. Williams.
• Lord Crathorne (Leader of the Delegation).
• Lady Elliot of Harwood.
• Lord Jellicoe.
• Lord Layton.
• Lord Milner.
• Lord Shepherd.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what further representation has been made to the Ethiopian Government about attacks by Ethiopian frontier guards on Somali herdsmen grazing their cattle in the Haud and reserved areas.

We have claimed compensation from the Ethiopian Government and reserved our rights in respect of the incidents at Haabo Humeyd and Lanquairta. No reply has yet been received. We are not claiming compensa- tion over the incidents near Awareh since here the Protectorate Somalis were resisting the Ethiopian security forces in the exercise of their general responsibility for the maintenance of public order. We have proposed a joint AngloEthiopian inquiry into all these incidents.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representation has been made to the Icelandic Government about the suspension of the rights to land injured fishermen for hospital treatment.

The position remains as stated in my reply to the hon. Member on 4th May, 1959.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many of the 400 invitations issued, by arrangement with the British Council, to Soviet youth to visit Great Britain in 1959–60 have been accepted.

Four hundred and ten invitations were issued. There have been 181 acceptances.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the Argentine courts not having given judgment before the end of 1959 in the appeal of the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company, as forecast, what information he has received as to the reasons for the delay; and what steps Her Majesty's Government will take to find out the present position of the British claimants for compensation.

I am told that the Argentine judge who was hearing this case has been given leave of absence to deal with urgent personal matters. He is expected to resume his duties in March. Her Majesty's Government have continued to make it clear to the Argentine Government the importance which they attach to an early settlement.

asked the Minister of Labour if he has yet fully considered the problems relating to the cause and cure of unemployment in Aberdeen which, on 5th November, 1959, were discussed by him with the Minister of Transport, the Admiralty and the Scottish Home Department; and if he will now give details of the topics then discussed and the conclusions reached.

I was not represented at this meeting which was primarily about pontoon dock facilities for Aberdeen. A statement about the meeting was given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport

asked the Minister of Labour what estimate his Department has of the numbers of young persons coming from school on to the labour market in each of the next six years, in the Port Talbot and Glyncorrwg area.

The estimate is as follows:

asked the Minister of Labour how many unemployed were registered in the County Borough of

asked the Minister of Labour the number unemployed, at the last convenient date, of young persons under the age of 18 years and of persons from 18 to 21 years, respectively, in the Port Talbot and Glyncorrwg area, specifying the numbers of male and female, the numbers unemployed for two months or more, and the percentage this represents of the total working in the said age groups.

The following table gives the available information:Stockport on 31st December, 1958, and at the last convenient date.

At 11th January, 1960, 1,520 persons were registered as unemployed at the Stockport Employment Exchange and Youth Employment Office compared with 1,887 at 12th January, 1959.

asked the Minister of Labour how many males and females were registered as unemployed at the Bexhill, Hailsham and Rye employment exchanges on 15th December; and how many of them were over 55 years of age, under 18 years, and school leavers, respectively.

The table below gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has yet received replies to his questions on the proposed extension of summer time; and if he will make a statement.

Replies are awaited from most of the organisations consulted. When received, their views will be taken into account along with those of the numerous other organisations which my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary of State for Scotland have arranged to be brought into consultation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of horticultural officers in die National Agricultural Advisory Service on the latest available date; and the corresponding figure for the previous year.

There were 148 horticultural advisory officers in post on 1st January, 1960, and 152 on 1st January, 1959. These figures do not include the horticultural officers on experimental horticultural stations who numbered 34 in 1960 and 31 in 1959.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the total of bacon and ham consumed in the United Kingdom for each of the last three convenient months was produced in Great Britain; and what were the corresponding figures for the same months in 1958.

The production of bacon and ham in Great Britain represented 24 per cent. of the total supplies moving into consumption in the United Kingdom in October, 1959, and 21 per cent. in both November and December. 1959.The corresponding figures for 1958 are 29 per cent., 30 per cent. and 27 per cent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications under the Small Farmer Scheme have been submitted from the Ongar parishes of Essex; how many of these applications have been approved and rejected; and what is the total estimate of the resulting grants.

As parish figures of applications under the Small Farmer Scheme could not usually be made available without undue expenditure of time and labour, I have decided, with regret, not to make a practice of supplying them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what sums were paid in Cornwall during the year ended 31st March, 1959, as agricultural subsidies and grants of various types; how many applications for each were received, and how many were successful.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will indicate the total amount of grant which has been paid in respect of schemes under the Agriculture (Improvement of Roads) Act, 1955, in Wales and England, separately, up to the latest date.

Up to 31st December, 1959:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, as representing the Minister for Science, on how many occasions the Farm Buildings Research Committee met during 1959; and what progress the Committee has made.

The Farm Buildings Research Committee met twice in 1959. The Committee has been responsible for the preparation of a bibliography of farm buildings research which is now in course of publication in a series of parts. The Committee has also initiated a survey of farm buildings in this country. My

Figures for subsidies paid in Cornwall under the agricultural price guarantees are not available. Figures for the main farming grants were as follows:noble Friend hopes to make a further statement about the work of the Committee in the near future.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations to what extent the Commonwealth Economic Committee's Monthly Intelligence Bulletin is issued under the Government's authority.

The Monthly Intelligence Bulletin of the Commonwealth Economic Committee deals with dairy produce, meat and related products, which are commodities important to the economies of many Commonwealth countries. It is designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information about supply and demand conditions throughout the world, and the factors likely to affect them. The Bulletin is issued under the authority of the Committee, which operates under the joint control of all the Commonwealth Governments, including the United Kingdom Government. All Commonwealth Governments are represented on it.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations the sources of the information published in the Commonwealth Economic Committee's monthly bulletin.

The Monthly Bulletin uses information supplied by the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Governments as well as by a large number of foreign Governments and by the best recognised trade and producer sources throughout the world. The Committee's publications have achieved an international reputation for quality and accuracy.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he is aware teat seaside towns in the Bristol Channel area are still concerned about the effects of sewage contaminated water; and what further proposals the Medical Research Council has to make for ridding the beaches of this unsightly sewage.

Certainly some seaside towns ought to be concerned, and in a circular sent out in December I drew the attention of coastal and estuarial local authorities to the fact that there are beaches which arc grossly polluted. Action is for them to initiate. The Medical Research Council was concerned only with risk to health from sewage contaminated waters, and its inquiry found that risk to health can, for all practical purposes, be ignored.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs the number of applicants on the waiting list for houses in the County Borough of Stockport at 31st December, 1958, and 31st December, 1959.

I do not have this information. It is a matter for the individual housing authority, which alone can judge the reliability of its list.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will make a statement on the future of Renfrew Airport.

There are certain limitations on the further development of Renfrew. My right hon. Friend is therefore considering whether in the event of the Admiralty deciding to withdraw from Abbotsinch that airfield might make a better airport for Glasgow in the long term than Renfrew.

asked the Minister of Aviation what consultations he has had with Glasgow Corporation in regard to providing a heliport in the City.

At the Corporation's request officials of the Ministry of Aviation recently inspected several possible heliport sites in Glasgow and gave technical advice on the considerations which should govern the selection of any site which might be reserved by the Corporation for a future heliport.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he is aware that the proposal of the Commonwealth Union of Trade to institute a new fare structure between London and certain parts of the Commonwealth contravenes the Air Corporations Act; and what action he proposes to take.

The Commonwealth Union of Trade announced on 14th January that it was not proceeding with this proposal.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reply has been sent to the letter of 12th January, 1960, from the Town Clerk of Liverpool concerning the need for additional clerical employment in the Liverpool area, such as could be provided by the transfer of Government Departmental work.

It remains the policy of the Government to disperse Departmental work from London wherever possible, but agreements have been reached on the National Whitley Council about the future location of most of the offices which can be moved without loss of efficiency. The Town Clerk of Liverpool has been so informed, and assured that the needs of Liverpool will nevertheless be borne in mind when new locations are being sought for Government offices.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the proportion of sterling in the total of external reserves of all countries, excluding the United States of America and the United Kingdom, in the years 1950, 1955 and the latest year for which these figures are available.

The proportions, expressed as a percentage of official and unofficial gold and foreign exchange holdings, as published in International Financial Statistics, were as follows:

asked the Postmaster-General why the charge for postal services to the United States of America has been increased.

There has been no increase in the charge for postal service to the United States of America since October, 1957, when, as part of the general tariff changes, the Commonwealth concessionary rates for surface letters and postcards were withdrawn from the non-Commonwealth countries to which they had previously applied.

asked the Postmaster-General why the post box outside the Westminster Hall Secretaries' Room is not available for posting mail until late on Monday mornings and after the House rises on Fridays, nor during Recess; and if he will arrange for it to be cleared at the same times as the other main post boxes in the Houses of Parliament.

I am arranging for my hon. Friend's suggestion to be adopted as from Monday, 1st February.

asked the Postmaster-General how many applicants are on the waiting list for installation of telephones in the County Borough of Stockport at the last convenient date.

At 31st December last, 201 applicants were waiting for telephones and orders from 170 others were under inquiry or in course of being met. Seven hundred and fifty-nine telephones were installed in the Borough last year.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware of the increase in skin complaints in school children during the last five years; and what action he proposes to take.

The following table shows that skin disorders among children inspected by the School Health Service during the years 1954 to 1958 have in fact declined. If the hon. Member has evidence of an increase in the incidence of any particular skin disease, I shall be glad to look further into the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now make a detailed statement on the loss of life and personal injury and also of loss and injury to livestock and of other material damage in Aberdeen and district caused by the recent heavy storms of wind, snow and rain there.

I regret that as a result of the storms in the north eastern counties of Scotland in the week beginning 17th January, including a particularly severe blizzard on 19th January, six people died, and I should like to take this opportunity of expressing my deep sympathy with their relatives. Only a few cases of personal injury have been reported, including two caused by exposure and eight in a railway accident.The storm caused widespread dislocation of communications and some towns in Aberdeenshire were temporarily cut off. But main roads were quickly reopened by the unremitting work of local authorities and their staffs, despite the fact that clearance operations were hampered by abandoned vehicles; after a rapid thaw had set in from 21st January normal conditions were soon restored. In the Aberdeen telephone area thirty-two telephone exchanges were isolated and thousands of faults on lines were reported; all exchanges are now back in service.Material damage fortunately appears to have been slight. No reports from farmers of losses of livestock have been received by my Department's office in Aberdeen, although a few isolated cases of loss are known to have occurred. No cases of damage by flooding to agricultural land have been reported. Some slight damage occurred to fishing vessels in harbour. In the City of Aberdeen itself, although there was considerable disruption of public services, there was no serious damage.