asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will instruct the Committee on Consumer Protection to publish the written evidence which has so far been submitted to it; and if he will place a copy of the evidence in the Library of the House of Commons.

No. As the House was told on 27th July last, this is a matter which is left to the Committee's discretion.

asked the President of the Board of Trade on what occasions the Federal Government of Germany, or its official trading department, has made approaches to his Department requesting that the British Government should not sign an official trade agreement with the German Democratic Republic; what grounds for this request were stated in such representations; and what was the nature of his replies.

No such approaches have been made.

asked the President of the Board of Trade on what date he applied to the German Democratic Republic for a visa for his official observer to attend the Leipzig Fair; and, in view of the fact that this Government have now declared that they will issue the necessary documents on application, if he will, again, apply for a visa to enable an observer to attend the next Leipzig Fair in an informal capacity.

No such application was made. The Answer to the second part of the Question is. "No".

asked the President of the Board of Trade what representations were made to the President of Peru, on the occasion of the latter's recent visit to this country, about the sudden increase in British imports of Peruvian fish meal; and what result these representations had.

No representations were made. The Peruvian authorities are, however, well aware of the concern of the United Kingdom fishing industry about the increase in imports of Peruvian fish meal.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he has recently taken, or proposes to take, to facilitate increased output and exports by, and modernisation of, the pottery industry.

The pottery industry is continuing to modernise and re-equip and the value of its output in 1959 was greater than in any previous year. The industry has a fine export tradition and exports amount to over 40 per cent. of total sales. The services of the Department are freely available to exporters, and the Board of Trade is always ready to do whatever it can to help.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that a £10 annual travelling allowance is still allowed as a tax-charge to certain persons, arising out of war-time circumstances, whether he will now extend that allowance to all travelling between home and business.

I am afraid I could not justify the course my hon. Friend recommends.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider setting up a civil equivalent of the Staff College at Camberley for the Civil Service.

I rather think that the benefits attributed to a staff college can, for the Civil Service, be better achieved in other ways.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury the total United Kingdom investment in Australia in the last three years.

In 1956–57, £50 million; in 1957–58, £46 million; and in 1958v59, £64 million. These estimates are based on material published by the Australian Bureau of Census and Statistics and relate to the Australian financial year, 1st July to 30th June.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the continued difficulties of the long-term market for Government loans and the accumulating deficits of the British Transport Commission, he will now consider a further investigation into the methods of financing the nationalised industries.

I do not see the necessity for a general investigation of this kind. As to the British Transport Commission, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in his statement of 10th March, has indicated how the Government intend to go about consideration of the financial problems of the Commission.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that proposals for Purchase Tax upon books have in the past been withdrawn on cultural grounds, whether he will similarly remove Purchase Tax from gramophone records now charged at 50 per cent. and from musical instruments charged at 25 per cent.

I cannot anticipate my Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, taking October as being equal to 100, he will give the monthly per cent. rise or fall since that date in the purchasing value of the £ sterling, the cost of living, the cost of imports, the cost of exports, the terms of trade, National Health and National Insurance contributions, National Health and National Insurance benefits, wages, prices, and profits, retirement pensions, war disability pensions, and unemployment, giving, additionally, the rate and rise or fall in the Bank Rate.

Following is the reply:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many local authorities employed direct labour forces in 1950, 1953, 1956, and 1959, respectively; and how many of these were employed in respect only of care and maintenance.

Out of the 1,469 housing authorities in England and Wales, the numbers who made use of direct labour on some or all of their house construction were 178 in 1950, 167 in 1953, 156 in 1956, and 139 in 1959. I have no information as to the numbers who made use of it on care and maintenance.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, how many local authorities use a direct labour force for building houses for sale.

In 1959 one county borough did so, one non-county borough, two urban districts and two rural districts.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, in view of the substantial increase in the number of retired persons in Wales, he will introduce a special subsidy to encourage local authorities to build more pensioners' bungalows and single flatlets; and whether he will make a statement.

A special subsidy is already payable to encourage the erection of one-bedroom dwellings suitable for old people. I would welcome proposals from local authorities in Wales to include a larger proportion of these in their house-building programmes.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will give, in tabular form for each year since the end of the war, the names of the first six local authorities which head the list for the building of houses, together with the number of such houses built by the council and by private builders, respectively.

The information requested is not readily available, but the number of houses completed in each local authority's area since the war is given every quarter in the Appendix to the Housing Return. No fair comparison can be drawn between the performances of different authorities unless allowance is made for differences of population and needs, availability of building land, and so forth.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs the number of houses in South Wales that have no bathroom, no hot water supply, and no toilet of their own; and whether he will give the respective comparable figures for Cardiff, Swansea, Merthyr, and Rhondda.

Precise figures are not available. Nine years ago, at the time of the 1951 census, 290,173 houses in South Wales were without a fixed bath and 70,591 without a water closet. Since then there has been great improvement, and I estimate that these totals have been reduced to about 200,000 and 45,000 respectively. The following are approximate estimates for the places named in the Question. No figures are available for hot water supply.Following are the particulars:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many council houses have been built in Goole in each of the past three years.

The council completed 200 houses in 1957, but none in 1958 or 1959.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs the number of houses now designated for slum clearance in Cardiff, Swansea, Rhondda, Port Talbot, and Merthy Tydfil, respectively, and the number of houses cleared in those areas in 1958–59 under the slum-clearance scheme.

It was estimated in 1954 that there were 466, 682, 250, 623, and 1,259 unfit houses in Cardiff, Swansea, Rhondda, Port Talbot and Merthyr Tydfil respectively. Since 1st January, 1955, 309, 250, 81, 121 and 376 houses in these areas have been closed or demolished, the figures for 1958 and 1959 being 88, 206, 77, 46 and 265.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what representations he has received from the Tottenham Borough Council concerning the Tewkesbury (No. 6) Clearance Area; and what reply he has made.

None, Sir.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, how many public footpaths and bridleways were extinguished by orders issued by his Department in 1959.

During 1959 my right hon. Friend made or confirmed 159 orders for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many public footpaths and bridleways other than those forming parts of long-distance routes have been created in the past ten years under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949.

Twenty-eight by order made by a local authority and confirmed by my right hon. Friend or one of his predecessors. Local authorities may also create paths by agreement, but Ministerial consent is not required and I therefore have no figures.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, in view of Her Majesty's Government's developing policy of increasing financial assistance to private industry, what proposals he has in mind for assisting local authorities whose financial burden increases as a result of the financial and fiscal policies pursued, together with expansion of local services welcomed, by Her Majesty's Government.

This matter was fully debated in the House on 25th February. Exchequer aid to local authorities in-creases with increase of burden. It also takes special account of needy areas.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when and to whom he granted loan sanction for making up the road on Treadgold Avenue, Bramhope, near Leeds; how many yards are being made up; when work was scheduled to begin; when it was scheduled to be finished; and what will be the cost.

No application for loan sanction for this purpose has been made to my right hon. Friend, and he has no information about it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many requests he has received for the establishment of a centre in Wales for the measurement of the quantity and content of the radioactive dust deposited on the land in Wales, and for the determination of such content in soil, pasture, grass, water, milk, and foodstuffs; what was the nature of his replies; and if he will make a statement.

Fifty-five local authorities have written in support of a resolution passed by Lleyn Rural District Council urging that a separate laboratory in Wales should be established. A reply has been sent to each of them explaining that under the Government monitoring programme special attention is directed to Wales as an area of high rainfall; that technical reports covering all the data collected in Wales are regularly published; and that as the work demands extremely intricate laboratory processes and skilled assessment it is better to centralise the facilities for it than to duplicate them. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of this letter.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will make a statement about the future of the woods at Hawns and Dendles on the edge of Dartmoor, regarding which representations have been made to him; and what action he takes to preserve woodlands in places of great beauty in a National Park.

I understand that the owners of this area, most of which is unplanted at present, propose to plant trees on it and to reconstitute most of the existing woodlands. Planning permission is not required for this, but the owners have discussed their proposals with the local planning authority and have made certain changes to meet points raised by the authority. I have considered representations that I should acquire the land in order to preserve it in its existing state, but have come to the conclusion that this would not be justified.In answer to the second part of the Question, I am always ready to consider tree preservation orders submitted to me by local planning authorities.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, having regard to the proposals to extract considerable quantities of water from the County of Carmarthenshire to meet the needs of industrial development in West Wales, he will press for an early report from his Advisory Committee on Water Supplies in Wales so that these new proposals can be considered in the light of its recommendations.

The Welsh Advisory Water Committee is considering water resources throughout Wales in relation to present and future needs. This is a large task, and it must be given time to carry it out. No major scheme to extract water from Carmarthenshire for industrial purposes has as yet been submitted to me; but should such a proposal come forward, I will ask the Committee for its views.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will withhold planning permission for building on the 15-acre field shown as 531 at Manor Farm, Hykeham Road, Lincoln, until he has considered the urgent need in the neighbourhood for a public park and recreation ground.

A public local inquiry into this matter was held last week. The need for open space is one of the factors which my right hon. Friend will consider when he has his Inspector's report of the inquiry.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, in view of the increased and rapidly increasing State financial help now being given to private industry, he will take steps to introduce legislation providing for the full re-rating of industry.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a detailed statement, giving dates and costs of the Government programme for building hospitals in Scotland, and the steps already taken to implement it.

Detailed information is contained in Appendix A to the Civil Estimates 1959–60, Class V, Vote 10; further information about the hospital building programme is published in the Annual Report of the Department of Health for Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now publish the Report of his inquiries into the operation of, and accommodation at, the workshops for mentally handicapped persons at Fonthill, Aberdeen; and what steps he proposes to extend and increase the usefulness of these workshops.

The hon. and learned Member refers, I understand, to the proposal by Aberdeen Corporation to erect a training centre for the mentally handicapped in Fonthill Road, Aberdeen, on which I have had to ask the Corporation for further information. The report of the public inquiry will be sent to the parties with my decision in the usual way.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has yet decided whether toll charges are to be levied on users of the Forth road bridge; and what are the amounts proposed, and the annual revenue anticipated.

The Forth Road Bridge Order, 1958, requires that tolls should be levied and that the Joint Board's proposals in this respect should be submitted for my approval not more than twelve nor less than six months before the probable date of the opening of the bridge.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the estimated extra cost per mile of reflecting kerbs compared with the ordinary type; and what approximate extra percentage this would add to the cost per mile of new road.

About £120 per mile on both sides. Assuming the cost of a 24 ft. road is about £60,000 per mile, this represents ·2 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has considered the Reports of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, RN 1689/PJFW GCW 1952 and RN/2993/AWC Mar., 1957, reporting that the use of reflecting kerbs can be made visible at night up to 100 yards; and whether he will specify, as a measure of road safety, kerbs with a normal night visibility of a minimum of eighty yards for all new roads.

I have considered these Reports, and I am now awaiting the results of extensive field trials of reflecting kerbs and other forms of marking the edge of the carriageway. It would be premature to specify standards of performance for these devices until we know more about the problem of maintaining them.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures are adopted by his fishery research department to obtain scientific information from foreign fishing fleets operating round the coast of Scotland.

Scientific information about operations of foreign fishing vessels is normally obtained through the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea or through direct contact with scientists of the countries concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will introduce legislation to amend the law relating to contempt of court in Scotland, so as to make the same provision for appeal as is contained in the Administration of Justice Bill.

I am not aware of any dissatisfaction with the present law of Scotland on this subject and I do not think that a case has been made out for any amendment.

asked the Lord Advocate if he is now able to state the steps to be taken to enable Scottish courts in criminal charges to award costs to acquitted persons; if he has yet referred this problem to the Scottish Law Reform Committee for its consideration and report; and with what result.The Lord Advocate: As I said in a written reply to a Question by the hon. and learned Member on 28th July last, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I preferred to await the report of the Committee considering legal aid in criminal cases before deciding whether the question of costs in criminal cases should be investigated, and, if so, whether by the Scottish Law Reform Committee or by some other body. I have nothing to add to this, except to say that I understand from my right hon. Friend that he is expecting the report of the Committee on criminal legal aid shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that the conflict in Algeria has been going on for six years with numerous deaths on both sides, and that the breakdown in recent negotiations indicates an indefinite continuation unless some outside power intervenes in an endeavour to achieve a settlement; and if he will take immediate steps to place this matter on the agenda of the next meeting of the Assembly of the United Nations Organisation, in order that it may use its good offices and prestige to bring the contestants together again and to assist in any negotiations if required.

I am not prepared to accept the hon. Member's assumptions. Nor do I think it would be helpful for Her Majesty's Government to adopt the hon. Member's suggestion.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number and percentage of foreign service officers, in the senior branch, whose fathers held or are holding foreign service posts.

According to the available records, two members of the Senior Branch are the sons of present members of the Foreign Service; nine of former members of the post-war Foreign Service; seven of former members of the pre-war Diplomatic Service and six of former members of the pre-war Consular Service—a total of twenty-four. The Senior Branch numbers about 730. The percentage is thus about 3 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number of foreign service officers who have previously held full-time appointments in education, industry, trade unions, journalism, and in the home Civil Service.

Four hundred and fifty-four of the 1,250 members of the commissioned grades of the Foreign Service have held appointments of this kind.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in any scheme of reorganisation for the railways, he will ensure that the need to maintain services in outposts like the Highlands is regarded as a public service, in view of the fact that previous schemes of regional systems such as those of Sir Eric Geddes in 1920 proved unacceptable because such areas could not by themselves be viable.

Any scheme for the reorganisation of the railways will have to take account of the problems of areas such as the Highlands.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects work to begin, and finish, on the building of a new bridge at Temple Mills, Hackney.

I understand that the London County Council hopes to start the work, towards which I am making a grant of over £150,000, in November this year and to complete it in November, 1962.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will publish figures showing the number of accidents in which the off-side of cars and other vehicles were involved.

Negligent opening of doors of vehicles was reported in 424 fatal and serious accidents in 1959. Corresponding information is being given in monthly tables issued in 1960. The available figures do not distinguish between off-side, near-side and back doors.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has yet considered the further representations from the hon. Member for Swindon regarding the installation of traffic signals at the intersection of Groundwell Road and Drove Road in Swindon; and when he will reach a decision.

The further representations from the hon. Member refer to a report which the Borough Surveyor is to prepare. I understand that this will be

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what arrangements are being made to collect graduated contributions from weekly and monthly wage-earners under the National Insurance Act.

Weekly and monthly contribution tables are included in the draft National Insurance (Assessment of Graduated Contributions) Regulations now before the National Insurance Advisory Committee. My right hon. Friend will soon be submitting to the Committee draft Regulations, to be made with the concurrence of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, providing

asked the Minister of Transport how many accidents have occurred at the junction of Green Lanes, Barnet by-pass, and Lemsford Road in Hatfield, during each of the past three years; and whether he will specify the nature of the accidents, and the number of children involved.

The following table gives the figures of accidents during each of the past three years, together with the number of casualties which resulted. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the police report giving details of the nature of each accident.for collection of the graduated contributions through the P.A.Y.E. system. These contributions will start in April, 1961.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty in what circumstances Mr. P. Wray, 23 Greenleafe Drive, Ilford, was discharged from the Royal Marines on 4th October, 1958; and what information was then given him regarding his future commitment for National Service.

When Mr. Wray reported for duty in September, 1958, he was found to be below the minimum standard in colour perception for the Royal Marines and was discharged for that reason. His discharge was notified to the Ministry of Labour. The rules require a man thus discharged to be informed in writing that his discharge did not relieve him of liability to complete his National Service. The records for October, 1958, are no longer available, but I have no reason to think that the rules were not followed.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what yards were carried by H.M.S. "Discovery" when she sailed to the Antarctic with Captain Scott; whether he will arrange to provide, ship and rig such yards in the course of the vessel's forthcoming refit; and what the cost will be.

H.M.S. "Discovery" carried the yards of a barque in her visits to the Antarctic. I regret to say that we cannot agree to spend the several thousand pounds extra which would be needed to restore these yards.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the date from which the ban on the sale of Preludin and the twenty other substances listed by the Poisons Board except by medical prescriptions will become effective.

After considering representations, I have decided to ask the Poisons Board to reconsider the scope of its recommendation with respect to guaiphenesin. My information is that this substance is not at present available in this country in any preparation that is liable to abuse.I have also decided that no further control is necessary in respect of nialamide, which is already subject, under the Therapeutic Substances Act, 1956, to substantially the same degree of control as that recommended by the Poisons Board.With these exceptions, I hope to put into effect, from the beginning of next month, the recommendation of the Poisons Board relating to the substances mentioned in my Answer to a Question by the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Sydney Irving) on 11th February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is yet in a position to make a statement about his consultations with the manufacturers of drip-feed oil heaters.

Yes.The Oil Appliance Manufacturers' Association has informed me that all its members who manufacture portable drip-feed radiant oil heaters will be taking the following actions:First, they will ensure that all such heaters manufactured in the future will conform with the new British Standard now in course of preparation. The new standard will, among other things, require protection against draughts of up to eighteen miles an hour, a new requirement, as suggested in the recent report of the Joint Fire Research Organisation.Secondly, they will undertake with the distributive trades in the United Kingdom to modify unsold heaters in order to bring them up to the new standard of draught performance.Thirdly, they will offer facilities to the public where required to modify their heaters, provided they are now capable of modification, to bring them up to a higher standard of draught performance.I am assured that the charges for these modifications to heaters both unsold and in the consumers' homes will be as low as practicable.I welcome this prompt action by the manufacturers, and wish to express my appreciation of the responsible and co-operative attitude that they have shown.

asked the Minister of Labour how many Remploy factories are now in production in Wales; and how many disabled men are employed in them.

Thirteen factories, employing about 960 severely disabled men.

asked the Minister of Labour how many ex-miners who are partially disabled by pneumoconiosis are now registered as unemployed in South Wales.

On 19th October, 1959—the latest date for which figures are available—400 registered disabled ex-coal miners affected by pneumoconiosis and silicosis were unemployed in the South Wales and Monmouthshire Development Area.

asked the Minister of Labour how many disabled people are now registered as unemployed in Wales.

On 15th February, 1960, the number of registered disabled persons unemployed was 5,736.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that there is in Scotland at present increasing unemployment and under-employment in skilled trades, including draughtsmen, planners, aerodynamicists and technicians related to shipbuilding and ship-repairing; if he will specify the respective figures and percentages in each section, with separate reference to Aberdeen; and what steps he is taking to eliminate this.

I regret that it is not possible to correlate the occupational analyses of the unemployment statistics with industrial analyses, and that no percentage rates of unemployment can be calculated on an occupational basis. A comparison of the occupational analyses for December, 1958, and December, 1959, shows that unemployment has increased slightly in some skilled occupations which are common both to shipbuilding and other industries, and has decreased in others. My officers are, of course, doing all they can to place such skilled workers in suitable employment.

asked the Minister of Labour in what circumstances 23639046 Private P. Wray, Headquarters Company, Depot and Training Establishment, Royal Army Medical Corps, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Crookham, Hampshire, whose home address is 23, Green-leafe Drive, Ilford, was registered for National Service in January, 1959, after he had been discharged as medically unfit from the Royal Marines on 4th October, 1958; what National Service commitment this soldier now has; and what explanation was given to him when he produced his discharge certificate on the occasion of his being required to register for the second time.

asked the Minister of Labour in what circumstances Mr. P. Wray, 23, Greenleafe Drive, Ilford, was graded Grade I for National Service in June, 1958, discharged as medically unfit on entry to the Royal Marines in October, 1958, on account of poor eyesight, poor colour perception, and weak ankles, and then graded Grade I again when again registered for National Service and medically examined in May, 1959; and what report was made on this case, by the medical officer who conducted the second examination, about the discharge certificate.

I am writing to the hon. Member about this personal case.

asked the Secretary of State for War what inquiries have been made by 23639046 Private P. Wray, Headquarters Company, Depot and Training Establishment, Royal Army Medical Corps, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Crookham, Hampshire, regarding his National Service commitment, in view of the fact that he has a discharge certificate with effect from 23rd September, 1958, from the Royal Marines; and what explanation has been given to him.

Although I understand that Private Wray states that he complained to two different officers when he first came into the Army last September, there is no record of the complaints on the interview cards and the officers concerned have no recollection of complaints having been made.