asked the Minister of Transport what progress he is now able to report with the improvement of traffic conditions at Gants Hill roundabout. Ilford.

The restrictions on waiting vehicles which have operated since last November have significantly eased entry to and exit from the Gants Hill roundabout, especially during off-peak periods. Some minor adjustments to the physical layout of the junction are to be started soon and the Road Research Laboratory is to experiment with automatic traffic signal control during peak periods this summer.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on the closing of intersections connecting the two carriageways in Eastern Avenue, Ilford.

The gaps in the central reservation on Eastern Avenue between Gants Hill and Ley Street have been closed as an experiment to prevent right-hand turns into and out of the trunk road. We regard this as an important safety measure and hope that local residents will accept any slight inconvenience this may cause them. The position is being kept under review to see whether any changes are necessary.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on his future plans for the reorganisation of main thoroughfares in and around the Borough of Ilford.

My principal proposals for the future include an extension of the North Circular Road from Chigwell Road to connect with A.13 at Barking, and an extension of the Eastern Avenue —A. 12—towards London. These new roads, together with improvements to the existing trunk roads, should substantially improve traffic conditions on through routes in Ilford.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the fact that capital authorisations for new road schemes in Great Britain for the four years ending 1961–62 amount to only £280 million according to the Government's announcement in July, 1957, and that, in the light of the latest Civil Estimates, some £250 million of this sum will have been authorised by 1961, leaving only £30 million for the fourth and final year of the present programme, how soon he will be able to make an announcement with regard to the scope of the road construction programme for the next few years.

The road programme is determined by the level of actual expenditure approved for each year. Schemes are authorised to meet these levels. The announcement in January, 1959, by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence that the road programme would be planned on an annual expenditure of not less than £60 million in 1961 and beyond in effect superseded the earlier announcement about authorisations.

asked the Minister of Transport what consultation he has had with motor manufacturers respecting the present standards of safety glass used in motor-car manufacture; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure that the highest quality glass possible is used.

All British motor manufacturers work to a British Standard Specification for safety glass which meets the requirements of the regulations. This specification is kept up-to-date by a Committee on which both the manufacturers and ourselves are represented; it was last revised in 1959.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has yet reached a decision about imposition of a speed limit on the stretch of road at Denham, Buckinghamshire, on the A.412 where that road joins the A.40.

We do not think this stretch of road suitable for a speed limit of 30 miles per hour, but we will seek the advice of the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee when we have Parliamentary authority to impose a 40 m.p.h. speed limit on suitable roads throughout the country.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will give official publicity to the penalties which attach, under the Construction and Use Regulations, to lorry owners who permit the emission of smoke by their vehicles, and to the possibility of avoiding such penalties by correct vehicle maintenance.

I am sure that vehicle owners and drivers are in general aware of the regulations and the penalties for breaking them. My technical officers take every opportunity to impress on them that adequate maintenance, correct adjustment of engines and care in driving can prevent the emission of exhaust smoke. I will certainly consider what further action I can take to give increased publicity to this matter.

asked the Minister of Transport what progress has been made by the Committee appointed to review rural omnibus services and linked questions; how many times the Committee has met; when it will report and if the report will be made public; and whether he is aware that since last summer there has been a further reduction in omnibus and railway services in rural areas with consequent inconvenience for many people.

The Committee on rural bus services is making good progress in its study of the problem. Memoranda have been received from some ninety interested persons and organisations. The Committee has met six times so far. It has heard oral evidence from ten bodies representing bus user interests, and is now to hear bus operators and others. The Committee hopes to report during the autumn of this year. No decision has been taken about the publication of the report.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has now received the Chandos Committee Report; and if he will make a statement.

As I said on 23rd March in Answer to the hon. Member for Dunbartonshire, East (Mr. Bence), the Committee's Report has not yet been received. Until it has been considered by the Government I have no statement to make.

asked the Minister of Defence to what extent facilities are to be available in this country for the training of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military personnel and civilian specialists from other countries in the use of chemical and biological weapons.

Facilities have been available for some time and will remain so for training limited numbers of N.A.T.O. personnel in defence against chemical and biological attack. No facilities are made available to N.A.T.O. by the United Kingdom for training in the offensive use of chemical and biological weapons.

asked the Minister of Defence to what extent the techniques of brain-washing, described by Professor Kennedy in his lecture to the Royal Institution, have been used by Her Majesty's Government in any of the theatres of operation of Her Majesty's forces, either during or since the last war.

I know of no case where any of the Services has used the techniques described by Professor Kennedy.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the forthcoming atomic bomb test that China is to make on 28th March, if he will now make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's proposals for the association of that country with the forthcoming disarmament discussions.

No. I am not aware of any authoritative statement that the Chinese Government has set off a nuclear explosion or intends to do so shortly. I have nothing to add to my reply on this subject on 7th March.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the Western proposals for disarmament at Geneva do not provide, in the first stage, for the physical destruction of armaments.

The reason for this is that we wished to put forward proposals that were likely to secure acceptance.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs his estimate of the amounts by which existing armed forces would be reduced if the Western proposals for disarmament at Geneva were adopted.

The Western Plan provides for the eventual reduction of armed forces to levels required for internal security and fulfilment of obligations under the United Nations Charter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the Ten-Nation Disarmament Conference.

When the Committee met, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State presented the Western proposals on behalf of the five Western Governments and Mr. Zorin explained Mr. Khrushchev's proposals of last September.Despite obvious differences there appear to be certain areas of agreement, and I hope that the Ten Power Committee may soon discuss them in detail.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply he has received from the Ethiopian Government to his claim for compensation in respect of the attacks by Ethiopian frontier guards on Somali tribesmen grazing their cattle in the Haud and to his proposal for a joint Anglo-Ethiopian inquiry into these incidents.

The Ethiopian Government have told us that since, in their view, the incidents at Haabo Humeyd and Lanquairta, in respect of which we claimed compensation, resulted from the earlier incidents in the Awareh area when Protectorate tribesmen attacked Ethiopians, they cannot accept our claim. No reply has been received to our proposal for a joint Anglo-Ethiopian inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy regarding the new Soviet proposals for a moratorium on underground tests of atomic weapons.

As the House is aware, on 11th February the United States delegation put forward a proposal to ban tests in the atmosphere up to a feasible height of control, under water, and underground above a power producing seismic events of magnitude of 4·75. On 19th March, the Soviet delegation took up this proposal and suggested that in addition there should be a simultaneous undertaking not to conduct any nuclear weapons tests below this magnitude during a period of joint research and experiment by the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom into the problems of detecting underground tests. This proposal for joint research, an idea to which I referred in the House on 29th October last year, was itself a feature of the United States proposals of the 11th of February.Her Majesty's Government regard this development as an important one and, as the House is aware, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been discussing the matter with the President of the United States.They made a joint declaration yesterday, the text of which is as follows:JOINT DECLARATION ABOUT NUCLEAR TESTSPresident Eisenhower and Prime Minister Macmillan have discussed the present position of the Nuclear Tests Conference at Geneva between the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.It has been, and remains, the earnest desire of both the United States Government and Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to achieve, by international agreement, the total prohibition of all nuclear weapons tests, under effective international control.When the Geneva Conference began seventeen months ago, there was reason to hope from the preliminary scientific discussions which had preceded it that there would be no insuperable technical or scientific difficulties in establishing an effective control system capable of detecting nuclear tests of all kinds. Subsequently, however, it appeared from further scientific research that in our present state of knowledge there are great technical problems involved in setting up a control system which would be effective in detecting underground nuclear tests below a certain size. It is, however, the sincere hope of the President and the Prime Minister that an agreed programme of co-ordinated scientific research, undertaken by the three countries, will lead in time to a solution of this problem.Meanwhile, the President and the Prime Minister believe that progress can be made towards their ultimate objective of a comprehensive agreement. They have agreed that much has been accomplished in these Geneva negotiations towards this objective. They point out that in the effort to achieve the early conclusion of a treaty there are a number of important specific problems to be resolved. These include the questions of an adequate quota of on-site inspections, the composition of the Control Commission, control post staffing, and voting matters, as well as arrangements for peaceful purposes detonations. They believe that negotiations on these points should be speeded up and completed at the earliest possible time. The Prime Minister and the President have agreed that as soon as this treaty has been signed and arrangements made for a co-ordinated research programme for the purpose of progressively improving control methods for events below a seismic magnitude of 4·75 they will be ready to institute a voluntary moratorium of agreed duration on nuclear weapons tests below that threshold, to be accomplished by unilateral declaration of each of the three Powers. Indeed, in order to expedite progress, the President and the Prime Minister have agreed to invite the Soviet Government to join at once with their two Governments in making arrangements for such a co-ordinated research programme and putting it into operation.It is to be understood that once the treaty is signed, ratification will have to follow the constitutional processes of each country.The President and the Prime Minister have agreed to give instructions to their delegates at Geneva in accordance with the spirit of this declaration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what official proposals he has received from the Federal German Government concerning a plebiscite in West Berlin.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will propose that the fund for the compensation of stateless and otherwise ineligible victims of Nazi persecution, at present under consideration by the Federal German Government, be placed under the responsibility of the High Commissioner for Refugees.

Her Majesty's Government have in fact made it clear to the Federal German Government on more than one occasion that in their view any fund established for this purpose would best be administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that on 8th May under German law the time limit for prosecutions for homicidal acts committed during the Nazi period expires, he will take steps to ensure the favourable consideration of all applications for access to Nazi files under the control of Her Majesty's Government or of any of the allied Governments by qualified persons who are in a position to initiate or assist in instituting proceedings against any Nazi war criminals.

Applications for information in such files are in fact always favourably considered provided they are made for a serious purpose. For example the Berlin Documents Centre, which is under the control of the United States authorities, provided information out of the files in answer to about 40,000 inquiries in the year 1959 alone. However, the information that I have leads me to believe that neither the Berlin Documents Centre nor any other collection of Nazi archives under the control of any of the allied Governments are likely to contain evidence which has not already been made available in connection with war crimes proceedings and which would constitute a basis for instituting new proceedings.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will request a special meeting of the United Nations General Assembly or Security Council to consider the conflicts arising from race relations in the Continent of Africa as a danger to peace and to the maintenance of the principles of the Charter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will instruct the British delegate to the Security Council to support a protest against the shootings at Sharpeville.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the threat to peace and good international relations resulting from recent events in the Union of South Africa, if he will instruct the United Kingdom representative at the United Nations Organisation to support the proposals of the Afro-Asian group at the forthcoming meeting of the Security Council to consider this matter.

I would ask hon. Members to await the statement which I am making at the end of Questions.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the reasons for the official protest made to the Czechoslovak Government concerning the recent Press Conference held by the Czechoslovak Ambassador in London; and what was the reply of the Czechoslovak Government to his protest.

No protest was made. Our representations to the Czechslovak Embassy in London were based on Her Majesty's Government's objections to a breach of the accepted rules of diplomatic usage. The Czechoslovak Government have informed us that their Ambassador's conduct had their full support and that they cannot accept our representations. They have been told that we maintain our view of this behaviour.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make available the text of the latest Note to Guatemala about the status of British Honduras.

Yes. The following is the text of Notes delivered by the Guatemalan Charge d'Affaires in London on 5th and 24th February and of my replies of 15th and 29th February.NOTES EXCHANGED BY GUATEMALAM CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

asked the Minister of Labour how many applications for deferment from National Service he has received during the last two years from persons in the north-east of Scotland; how many of these were granted; and on what principles he acts in granting or refusing such applications.

Precise figures are not available but it is estimated that during 1958 and 1959, about 4,600 applications were received and about 4,400 of these were granted.There are also certain limited categories such as teachers who can be granted deferment and agricultural workers and men serving in the Merchant Navy who are not called up, so long as they remain in their existing

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys and girls, respectively, were placed by the Youth Employment Service in Fife in the coal industry, engineering, building and contracting, textiles, paper, vehicles, and the distributive trades, in each of the last five years.

The following table gives the information desired:occupations but in the main, applications come from men wanting to complete their education or training and the broad principle is that they should be given reasonable time for that purpose.

asked the Minister of Labour his estimate of the effect on the cost-of-living index of the lowering of the fixed retail price of milk from 8d. to 7½d. per pint.

A reduction of about a fifth of a point.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state in respect of Ayrshire and Scotland, respectively, the number of unemployed at 14th March, 1960. registering in areas inside, and those registering in areas outside, the areas listed under the Local Employment Act.

For Ayrshire, 2,350 inside and 3,785 outside the development districts; for Scotland 67,195 and 24,672 respectively.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how many apprentices were recruited to the Rosyth Dockyard from Fife in each of the last ten years; and what steps are being taken to increase the intake.

The figures in the table below show that of the total number of apprentices recruited to Rosyth Dockyard over the last ten years, 83 per cent. came from Fife. Total entries have fluctuated from 61 in 1950 to a temporary peak of 200 in 1952, from which they came back to a figure of 71 for 1959. Provisionally we are taking steps to raise the intake to 96 for the year 1960.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty the cost of maintaining the Reserve Fleet ships at Cardiff and Penarth; how much will be saved by transferring them to other ports; and what will be the nature of the savings.

Including Barry, which I am sorry to say I cannot isolate from the other South Wales ports at short notice, the cost in 1958 was about £160,000. The immediate saving will be of the order of £36,000 per annum on berthing and security charges and lodging allowances. We shall also be able to employ elsewhere, 8 naval officers and 37 ratings whose pay and allowances amount to about £50,000 per annum. From this concentration there will also be further savings which I cannot measure.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty to which ports the Reserve Fleet ships at present berthed in Cardiff and Penarth are to be transferred.

Plymouth, Barrow and Lisahally in Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for War how much agricultural land his Department has derequisitioned and released for normal farming use during the past year; and how much more land he expects to release in the coming year.

In the year ending 31st March we have given up 32,500 acres of land, most of it agricultural; the total includes about 13,000 acres transferred to other Government Departments. We hope to dispose of another 30,000 to 40,000 acres by March, 1961. Much of the land we hold is already let for farming.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will make a statement on the drowning of three soldiers at Westward Ho! recently; and, in view of the report of the inquest at which it was revealed that Army safety regulations had been ignored, what steps he will take to ensure observance of these regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for War what report he has received about the recent accident at Westward Ho! in which three soldiers were drowned; and if he will make a statement.

Two amphibious vehicles sank near the beach at Westward Ho! during training on 15th March and three members of the Royal Army Service Corps were drowned. Two others reached land in safety. I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to express my sympathy with the families of the men who lost their lives.At an inquest on 23rd March a verdict of death by misadventure was recorded. The accident and possible breaches of regulations connected with it are being investigated by a military board of inquiry which has not yet reported.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will place in the Library the full text of the letter sent to him by Professor Kennedy relating to his recent discourse at the Royal Institution, and to which official reference has been made.

The letter was published in the OFFICIAL REPORT in answer to a Question on 23rd March by my hon. Friend the Member for Inverness (Mr. N. McLean).

asked the Postmaster-General how many applicants for new telephones in Aberdeen City are on his waiting list; how long they have been waiting; what is the reason for the delay; what steps he is taking to supply them; and when they may expect telephones.

There are 67 applicants waiting for lines, and 250 others whose telephones are in course of provision. Most of the 67 live on new housing estates. None have been waiting for more than 15 months, and most considerably less.Cables are being provided as quickly as road construction allows and I expect telephones to be put in within the next six months for all those now on the waiting list.During the past twelve months, 1,110 telephones have been installed in Aberdeen.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many officers and men of the South African Air Force have been trained or instructed by Her Majesty's forces in the use of British equipment over the last five years; and how many are now undergoing such, training.

About 30 officers and 60 airmen of the South African Air Force have received training in Royal Air Force establishments during the past five years. None is receiving training at present.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the expansion of the British motor car industry is largely dependent on further reductions of Purchase Tax on motor cars in the near future in order to enable the industry to be fully competitive from the export point of view; and whether he will undertake to make an early declaration of Government policy in the matter.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to his third Question on 10th November, and to that given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Board of Trade, to his second Question on 3rd March.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methods are adopted by the Customs and Excise authorities to ensure that metal pipes and tubing, which are not subject to Purchase Tax, are not sold for use as, or used for the purpose of, curtain rods, which are subject to Purchase Tax if the material is obviously prepared for such purpose.

My right hon. Friend is not prepared to describe the means by which attempts to avoid payment of any tax due are countered.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now consider extending the exemption from Purchase Tax which is given to trivets and similar articles, including false hobs and hearth stools, to include hearth companion stands which incorporate a trivet.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cinemas have closed down within the last twelve months in the County Borough of St. Helens, Lancashire; and what representations the cinema industry has made to his Department.

One cinema has closed. The cinema industry has represented that Entertainments Duty should be abolished.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cinemas in Great Britain are still paying Entertainments Duty; and how many cinemas were freed from the duty by the £20 tax rebate which became effective in June, 1959.

In January, 1960, Entertainments Duty was paid by 1,297 cinemas in each of the four weeks, by 393 cinemas in two or three weeks and by a further 161 in one week only. The introduction of the £20 a week rebate in June, 1959, freed from duty some 1,300 cinemas, not including those freed in some weeks but not in others.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of meetings held in 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959, of the Hong Kong Governor's Standing Committee which keeps under frequent review problems of bribery and corruption in the Colony.

The Standing Committee, which assists the Governor in his review of these problems, was first appointed on the 31st October, 1956. It met eight times in 1957, once in 1958, twice in 1959 and once this year.

asked the Minister of Health what are the regulations which relate to the substances used to produce particular colours in the manufacture of lipstick.

There are no regulations within the purview of my Department which relate to this matter; if the hon. Member is implying that any of these substances are poisons, this would be a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the parent of a child, aged 11, was shown only one National Health Service baby's frame, not intended for older children, at a children's clinic in Ilford, the name of which has been forwarded by the hon. Member for Hull, East, purchased spectacles for £1 10s. 0d., has recently been charged £1 2s. 4d. for repairs due to damage at school games, with no claim for a contribution from the clinic, and had to wait three weeks for replacement; and what action he will take to ensure that this clinic provides a proper National Health Service of frames and colours and also repairs.

My information is that a selection of National Health Service frames was shown in accordance with the established practice at this clinic and the parent chose type C 525 which is not a standard type of children's frame and for which the appropirate charge of 11s. 8d. plus £1 for the lenses was made. I regret the time taken in effecting the repairs, which was exceptional and due to the need to send away for a lens of the correct prescription. The charge for the repairs to this non-standard frame should have been 12s. 4d.; the hospital had already discovered the error and is reimbursing the parent. As the balance of the cost of replacement is met by the hospital service in this case there is no question of reimbursement by the local education authority.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will now make a further statement on the arrangements for President de Gaulle's Address to Members of both Houses in Westminster Hall on 7th April.

I have been asked to reply.A large number of Members have signified their intention to be present on this occasion. They will be glad to know that The Queen has been graciously pleased to command that members of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and of Her Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard shall be on duty in Westminster Hall on this occasion. By permission of the Officers Commanding the Household Cavalry and the Welsh Guards, the State Trumpeters and a band will also be present.The President will speak in French, but arrangements have been made for an English translation of his Address to be available to all present. The doors of Westminster Hall will be open at 10.50 a.m. and all are asked to be seated by 11.15 a.m. Wives of Members of both Houses may enter the Hall by the Members' Staircase and East Door as well as by the North Door. The House will appreciate that it is not possible to reserve seats individually, but the front rows will be reserved for Ministers and Privy Counsellors.Parking arrangements will be as normal, except that the Southern half of New Palace Yard will have to be kept clear throughout the morning of April 7. Additional parking space for Members will be available in Great College Street, Little College Street, and Great Peter Street.

asked the Lord Advocate what representations he has received from the Scottish legal profession regarding payment to Scottish solicitors taking legal aid cases of all expenses and outlays reasonably incurred in the protection of their clients' interests; when he replied to such representations; and what was the nature of his reply.

The only representations which I have received from the Scottish legal profession in regard to expenses in legal aid cases came from the Glasgow Bar Association. That Association represented that the scale in Scotland in such cases should be altered from the solicitor and client, third party paying scale, to the solicitor and client, client paying scale. I do not think that a case has been made out for such a change and I wrote to the Association so informing them on 30th March.