asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the appropriate grade in the Civil Service for a civil servant in receipt of £1,750 per annum; what pension rate and other emoluments are included in this grading; and what is his estimate of the cost to the Treasury of attaching Members of Parliament to this grade for salary and pension purposes.

Many Civil Service grades may earn £1,750 per annum; examples are Principals in the Administrative Class and Senior Executive Officers in the Executive Class. The immediate cost of attaching Members of Parliament for salary purposes to a grade with the same salary would be nil, while the future cost would be conjectural. The pension payable to a civil servant who retired on a salary of £1,750 could be anything from nil to £980 according to the number of years for which he had served; the qualifying period for a Civil Service pension is ten years. Civil Service pensions would be inappropriate to the circumstances of hon. Members; and I do not think that the difficult actuarial calculation needed to estimate the cost of giving such pensions to Members would be justified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an estimate of the loss of revenue to the Exchequer in a full year if capital allowances for tax purposes at the rate of 2 per cent. per annum on the cost of the structure were to be allowed for buildings, other than industrial buildings, used for the purpose of a business, trade or profession.

About £15 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what control is exercised by the Treasury over the use of the £2,311 million provided by way of subsidies to private industry and agriculture between 1st April, 1951, and 31st March, 1959.

The Treasury participates in determining and revising the purposes for which grants and subsidies should be paid and the conditions of payment. Once the payments have been made the question of further Treasury control often does not arise, because many of the grants and subsidies are made towards the cost of current operations and current deficiencies under the price guarantees. On the other hand the level of subsidy is one of the factors taken into account annually in determining future support policy. In other cases various means are adopted to safeguard the public interest, for example systems of progress payments subject to satisfactory performance of special conditions written into agreements between private companies and the Government.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent it is the policy of his Department to discourage industry from siting new factories in the Cardiff area.

It is not the policy of my Department to discourage industry from siting new factories in the Cardiff area. On the contrary, a large number of industrialists have visited sites or premises in Cardiff since the beginning of 1959 at the Department's suggestion and some of these have already decided to set up in the area.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what number of factories in Cardiff are now vacant; and whether he will make a statement on his plans for industry in the city.

There are two vacant Government-owned factories in Cardiff, and I am aware of two further vacant factories which are privately owned. Negotiations for the occupation of the Government-owned factories have reached an advanced stage. Subject to the claims of places with more serious unemployment, the Board of Trade will continue to bring these and other facilities available in Cardiff to the attention of suitable industrialists.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the list of areas to be included as development districts which will benefit from the provisions of the Local Employment Bill.

asked the President of the Beard of Trade whether he will now name the areas to be classed as development districts under the Local Employment Bill.

I would refer the hon. Member and the right hon. Member to the reply I gave on Tuesday to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, South (Sir R. Robinson).

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether in view of the recent trade agreement arrived at between the Federation of British Industries and the Chamber of Foreign Trade of the German Democratic Republic, and the fact that the Federation of British Industries are sending official observers and participating in the Leipzig Spring Fair, he will arrange for an official observer from his Department to attend this fair.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has now studied the development plan for the Maltese islands and is satisfied that there is not an error in the estimate, in paragraphs 16 and 17, of the number of jobs to be created if full employment is to be attained; and if he will make a statement.

As is acknowledged in the plan itself, estimates of this kind must inevitably be based on assumptions and on the assessment of many imponderables. I see no ground for supposing that any reasonable calculation would produce an estimate sufficiently at variance with that given in paragraph 17 to invalidate the soundness of the plan.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what proportion of the manpower displaced by the changeover of the Royal Naval dockyard in Malta is expected to be absorbed in the new commercial dry dock; and what steps are being taken to absorb the remainder in other industries.

No manpower was displaced when the dockyard was handed over to Bailey (Malta) Ltd., on 30th March, 1959. Employees discharged by the Admiralty were immediately reemployed by the firm. About the same number is still employed by them. Future employment prospects remain generally as stated in the House by my predecessor on 9th December, 1958.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the results of the cyclone which struck the west coast of Mauritius during 36 hours on 18th and 19th January last; and what assistance to the inhabitants is proposed from Government funds.

I regret to say that Mauritius was struck by a severe cyclone on the 18th and 19th January. Eight people were reported killed and over 100 injured. Some 11,000 houses were destroyed and a further 9,000 rendered uninhabitable. Extensive damage was done to communications and power supplies. It is provisionally estimated that the 1960 sugar crop will be reduced by about 15 to 20 per cent. and the loss will be nearly £4 million.Restoration of essential services has made good progress. Families involved have been accommodated in refugee centres and railway coaches, and iron and pole shanties are now being erected to provide temporary accommodation.The Governor has opened a relief fund to which Her Majesty's Government have agreed to make a donation of £15,000, as a token of their sympathy. A Supplementary Estimate for this sum will be presented at the earliest convenient opportunity and in the meantime the necessary funds will be issued from the Civil Contingencies Fund. Three Mauritian Ministers will be in London by Friday, 12th February to discuss possible ways and means of obtaining further help towards a rehabilitation programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the total number of immigrants into the United Kingdom during 1959 from Colonial and Commonwealth Territories other than the West Indies, India and Pakistan.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will rename the Civil Defence Corps the Voluntary Service Corps, or some such similar name, in order to describe more accurately its present functions.

While I am glad to pay tribute to the valuable services which members of the Corps have been able to render in peace-time emergencies, its primary purpose remains that of training to save life and relieve suffering in the event of war. In these circumstances, legislation changing the name of the Corps is not at present in contemplation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in his consideration of the possibility of admitting specially handicapped refugees into this country.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chigwell (Mr. Biggs-Davison) on 5th February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now make a further statement on the working of the arrangements for admitting more refugees to Great Britain in World Refugee Year, and the numbers involved.

I am not yet in a position to add to the Answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Mr. D. Price) on 2nd February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further drugs, other than Preludin, he now proposes should only be allowed for sale on a doctor's prescription.

The substances other than Preludin which the Poisons Board have recommended should be made available only on medical prescription are:

• Acetylcarbromal
• ^*Androgenic and oestrogenic substances, the following:—
• Benzoestrol
• Steroid compounds with androgenic or oestrogenic activity; their esters
• Derivatives of stilbene, dibenzyl or napthalene with oestrogenic activity; their esters
• Azacyclonol; its salts
• Benactyzine; its salts
• 3-Benzylhydrazinocarbonyl-5-methylisooxazole; its salts
• Bromvaletone
• Captodiame; its salts
• Carbromal
• 2-p-Chloropheny1-3-methylbutane-2:3-diol Guaiphenesin
• 4-Hydroxymethy1-2:2-diisopropyl-1:3-dioxolan
• Hydroxyzine; its salts
• Imipramine; its salts
• Mephenesin; its esters
• Meprobamate
• Metformin; its salts
• Methocarbamol
• α-Methyl-phenethylhydrazine; its salts
• Methyl phenidate; its salts
• Nialamide; its salts
• Phenelzine; its salts
• Phenformin; its salts
• Pipradrol; its salts
• Rauwolfia, alkaloids of; their salts
• Thalidomide; its salts
• Zoxazolamine; its salts
• ^* Except preparations intended for use in external applications and animal feeding stuffs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has yet had a report from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner about the identity of those responsible for the recent anti-Semitic propaganda, and, in particular, the telephone calls to prominent people.

I am not in a position to add to the information I gave when replying to the hon. Member's Question on this subject on 28th January.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the names of the members currently appointed to the panels of engineers established by the Reservoirs (Safety Provisions) Act, 1930.

I have placed in the Library of the House a list showing the names of the 225 engineers currently appointed to the panels established under the Act.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty whether a firm offer has yet been made by any industrialist for the Donibristle site in Fife.

Despite wide advertisement of the property no offer has yet been made. We are still continuing our efforts to find a buyer for the 90 acres available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (1) what additional safeguards are being taken or prepared against the continuing danger of flood defences being overtopped in areas adjoining the River Thames which are well below the level of high tides, such as the southern part of West Ham;(2) when he proposes to publish a summary of the views and conclusions reached in the reports of two firms of consulting engineers appointed by him to prepare a report on the practicability, design, and estimated cost, of reconstructing a movable flood barrier at a suitable point in the River Thames; and what action he has taken on these reports.

I would refer the hon. and learned Member to my Answer to a Question by the hon. Member for Erith and Crayford (Mr. Dodds) on 9th February. Publication of the summary of the consultants' reports will be followed by consultations with the various bodies concerned with flood prevention in the Thames Estuary.

asked the Minister of Health if he will list the stimulating and tranquillising drugs which will still be available for use without a prescription after the full implementation of the recent recommendations of the Poison Board.

I fear it is not possible to list all stimulating and tranquillising drugs in the way suggested because many drugs used for diverse purposes may have these effects to some extent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received urging him to strengthen the marketing power of the Potato Marketing Board.

No representations on this subject have been submitted to me.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in view of the fact that the National Stud has shown a profit over a number of years, he will authorise the purchase of a first-class stallion, should one become available, either in this country or overseas.

If such a stallion became available, the possibility of purchase for the National Stud would be considered. We already have one top-class stallion, thanks to the late Mr. Robert S. Clark's generous gift of Never Say Die.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food approximately how much public and private money, respectively, has been devoted yearly on an average to research into the causes, prevention and cure of fowl pest over the last decade.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to a similar Question by the hon. Member for Norfolk, South-West (Mr. Hilton).

asked the Secretary of State for Air his plans for equipping Royal Air Force Transport Command with Comet 4 and Vickers VC-10 jet airliners.

I have no statement to make on this subject.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations the number of students from Swaziland attending courses in the United Kingdom; and what future assistance he is proposing to give to increase this number.

Four Swazi students are studying in the United Kingdom at present.Both the High Commissioner and the Swazi National Council are considering what provision can be made in their Estimates for 1960–61 for the award of oversea scholarships.Students from Swaziland are also eligible for help under Colonial Development and Welfare schemes, for scholarships awarded by the British Council, and for awards to be made by the United Kingdom Government under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan.In addition, as a result of last year's Commonwealth Education Conference, Swaziland is entitled to apply for financial assistance to enable suitably qualified students to attend teacher-training courses in this country, and may take advantage of the additional places in technical colleges which it is hoped will be available for Commonwealth students.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons are at present registered under the Disabled Persons Employment Act, 1944; and of these, how many are female.

On 19th October, 1959, the number registered was 695,337 of whom 87,323 were females.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has now had an opportunity to consider the various alternative lines for an extension of the motorway north from Lancaster to Penrith; and whether he will make a statement.

Consulting engineers are carrying out surveys of all the possible alternatives with a view to recommending a line for a draft scheme. I do not expect their report until the autumn of 1961.

asked the Minister of Education the total sum spent by local education authorities on maintenance allowances for children in secondary schools during the school year ended 31st July, 1959.

The expenditure of local education authorities on maintenance allowances for secondary school children during the financial year 1958–59 was approximately £735,000. Figures are not available for the school year 1958–59.

asked the Minister of Education whether he has now decided to introduce legislation to carry out the recommendations of the Roberts Report on the structure of the Public Library Service.

I would refer the hon. Member to my answer this afternoon to the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas).

asked the Minister of Education what support he intends to give to the proposed staff college for technical education.

Once the college is established I shall be prepared to make an annual grant of up to £10,000. This is roughly a third of the annual running cost as at present estimated.