asked the Secretary of State for War if the soldiers of the Royal Hampshire Regiment who carried out the raid on the Rastafarian camp at Red Hills, Jamaica, were armed at the time.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will publish the Report of the Hutchison Committee.

No; but I gave a summary of the recommendations in answer to the hon. Member on 15th July.

asked the Secretary of State for War why the staff of his Department has increased by 11,591 during the year 1959–60.

Because 11,607 staff were transferred to the War Department from the Ministry of Supply.

asked the Minister of Transport how many moorings are maintained by his Department at Ballachulish; and to what extent these moorings have been used in the last financial year.

Seven moorings at Ballachulish Bay are owned and maintained by us. Two of these moorings were used by laid up merchant vessels in the last financial year; one was occupied from 14th June, 1958, to 21st September, 1959, and the other from 1st May, 1959, to 4th July, 1959.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the steamers "Himalaya" and "Andes" have recently been re-fitted in the Rotterdam shipyards, because the English owners could get a fixed date for the completion of the job as well as a fixed price; and what steps he is taking, in consultation with the British shipbuilding yards, to provide similar fixed prices and dates so as to give greater employment to ship repairing workers in this country.

The work to be carried out on these ships was extensive, but had to be fitted into their sailing schedules. I understand that no capacity was available in the United Kingdom at suitable times for refitting the "Andes", and that for the same reason several yards had to decline an invitation to tender for the "Himalaya". I am in close touch with ship repairers, and I believe that they are generally able to quote fixed and competitive dates and prices for most contracts.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, for the duration of the shipping strike, he will relax the regulations which prevent passengers and freight being carried in fishing boats.

I do not consider that relaxation of safety regulations would be justified.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has now considered the report of the joint working party set up by him last January to consider and report on the pontoon dock facilities at Aberdeen; whether he has completed his consultations on it with the Admiralty and the Scottish Office; and if he will now state what action he proposes to take in the matter.

I am still considering the report. What further action should be taken can only be decided after all the interested Departments have completed their consultations.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to introduce regulations regarding the pattern of traffic direction indicators to be fitted in future to motor vehicles.

We are studying recommendations about direction indicators made at an international meeting last month to see how closely we can follow them in our own Regulations. We shall shortly be consulting manufacturers and other interests concerned about new Regulations, but I am not in a position at the moment to say when these Regulations will be made.

asked the Minister of Transport if the forthcoming London Traffic Survey which he has instituted will include a survey of the traffic using the Woolwich Ferry, and of the delays and loss of working-time due to the operation of the swing-bridges over the Royal Albert and King George V docks.

It is too early to say whether the proposed survey will cover this particular point.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give an assurance that the Stedeford Committee is considering the future of the Inland Waterways system as well as that of the railways.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is yet in a position to make a statement regarding the lighting of the areas under the bridges crossing the M.1.

My investigations are proceeding. I have so far no evidence that lighting under these bridges is necessary or desirable.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give consideration to the re-siting of a number of the road signs which cast shadows adjacent to the bridges crossing the M.1 during the hours of darkness.

If my hon. Friend has any particular instances in mind, I shall be glad to consider them.

asked the Minister of Transport what plans he has for reducing traffic congestion in Parliament Square, Westminster.

Great George Street is now being widened, and I propose to study the effect of this measure on traffic congestion in Parliament Square before considering the feasibility of other plans. If my hon. Friend has any ideas he would like me to consider, I should he very glad to have them.

asked the Minister of Transport what provision has been made in connection with the proposed viaduct over the Great West Road for an increase over the present traffic produced by new traffic generated by the viaduct, increase in traffic generally, increase in traffic to London Airport, and diversion of traffic from A.40 when the South Wales radial motorway is eventually completed to form a new route to South Wales.

The combined traffic capacity of the proposed viaduct and of the Great West Road will be about 2½ times that of the actual traffic in 1958. All the factors mentioned by the hon. Member have been taken into account.

asked the Minister of Transport when it is expected to commence work on the Darlington by-pass.

It is now proposed to modify the scheme by extending the motorway southwards to include a by-pass of Barton. Construction will be put in hand as soon as the necessary preparatory work has been completed and funds are available.

asked the Minister of Transport when work on the A.40 High Wycombe by-pass is likely to begin.

We hope to publish draft proposals for the line of this road in the near future, but I cannot yet say how soon it will be possible to start constructional work.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will issue a list of schemes under the road programme,

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will consider replacing white lines on roads with yellow ones, as in Sweden, in view.of their advantages at night.

A yellow line marking has been prescribed as an indication that loading and unloading are prohibited. In assessing visibility, it has been found costing over £100,000, which were started in the six months ended 30th June, 1960, with estimated completion date and total cost of each.

These schemes are:that the texture of marking materials is more important than their colour. The cats-eye reflectors widely used on roads in this country are considered to give the best definition of lines at night.

asked the Minister of Transport. in view of the increasingly heavy traffic on district roads, especially during the summer months in holiday areas, when a number of official detours are arranged by the police to relieve main road traffic, if he will take steps to make contributions towards the upkeep and maintenance of such roads where appropriate.

I already contribute towards the cost of maintenance of all classified roads in county areas. Nearly all the alternative routes come into that category.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the number of applications by local authorities in England and Wales for pedestrian subways to be constructed in their areas since 1st January, 1957; and what is the number that has been approved by his Department.

Since 1st January, 1957, 116 applications have been received from local highway authorities in England and Wales. Of these, 83 have been approved, 31 are under consideration and two have been refused.

asked the Minister of Transport what were the numbers of accidents and casualties at uncontrolled pedestrian crossings in England and Wales from 1st January, 1960, to 30th

asked the Minister of Defence what discussions he had during his visit to the United States of America with regard to the development of the neutron bomb.

I am not prepared to disclose the details of the wide-ranging discussion of defence matters that took place during my recent visit to the United States. June; and what were the comparative figures for the same period in 1959.

Information for the first six months of the year is not yet available. During the period 1st January to 30th April, 1960, there were 37 fatal and 345 serious casualties on uncontrolled pedestrian crossings in Great Britain. The figures for the comparable period of 1959 were 25 and 279, respectively. Since a year ago there has been an estimated 13 per cent. increase in traffic on the roads.Separate figures for England and Wales are not available. I have no figures of accidents (as distinct from casualties) on pedestrian crossings.

asked the Minister of Defence how much land held by Service Departments has been returned to agricultural use, or to its original owners, since 1955 in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, respectively; how much is still in the occupation of Service Departments in each of these three counties; and how much land it is intended to return to agriculture, or for industrial or residential purposes, during the next three years in this area.

The following are the figures.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will publish the evidence of the recent activities of Russian trawlers engaged in electronic survey work in the North Sea and round the coasts of Great Britain.

Russian trawler fleets are constantly at sea in close proximity to our own territorial waters and we know that many of the trawlers are fitted with electronic and technical equipment required to intercept radio transmissions in this country The frequent appearance of Russian trawlers in areas where naval exercises are being conducted or in waters where Western military research activity is being carried out, suggests that the Soviet Union are carrying out intensive intelligence-gathering operations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what consideration Her Majesty's Government have given to the arrangements for security of title of land and land policy generally in Kenya.

Her Majesty's Government have been in close touch with the Governor and his advisers on the security of title to land and on the general land policy in Kenya. Her Majesty's Government regard the future security of title to land as a matter of vital importance. They have already had discussions with Ministers of the Kenya Government about the best method of ensuring such security and considerable work has already been done. As soon as detailed proposals have been prepared, further discussions will take place with the Governor and his Ministers with a view to a final statement being made.Her Majesty's Government are convinced that the principles in Sessional Paper 10 of 1958–59 and 6 of 1959–60 represent the right way forward in land policy since they would put land tenure on a proper basis and enable the development and resettlement schemes mentioned in the Lancaster House Conference Report to begin. These matters are clearly of the greatest importance. For this reason, it is proposed that after the debate on the Sessional Papers the necessary legislation will, subject to Her Majesty's pleasure, be enacted by Order in Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what land-buying scheme is to be established for the Kenya Highlands; what amount Her Majesty's Government is making available for compensation and purchase; and over what period the fund will be expended.

The Kenya Government have applied to the International Bank for a loan of £5 million to redevelop farms in the Highlands for more intensive settlement by good farmers of all races. Her Majesty's Government have already undertaken to make available for this scheme Exchequer loans of £3,150,000 up to 31st March, 1964. This money is for resettlement and land purchase, not for compensation. The Kenya Government are considering what further schemes to develop land and relieve unemployment can be undertaken within the framework of their 1960–63 Development Plan.

asked the Minister of Aviation, in view of the difficulty of reading the three-pointer altimeter, what replacement he proposes authorising in those aircraft which are equipped with it.

Since 30th September, 1959, Britannia, Comet, Viscount and all other aircraft which operate above 20,000 feet have been required to be fitted with altimeters modified to reduce the possibility of misreading. A Committee was set up in February, 1959, to investigate the design of altimeter faces and mechanisms and it has formulated the requirements for a new instrument. Samples are being produced for evaluation by the Institute of Aviation Medicine, in flight simulators and operational aircraft.

asked the Minister of Aviation when he intends to place in the Library of the House the preliminary draft of the Regulations he proposes to make under the Civil Aviation (Licensing) Act, 1960.

I have arranged for this to be done today. Copies of the draft Regulations will be available to Members in the Vote Office tomorrow.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police dogs have been procured in England by the Metropolitan Police in each of the last three calendar years; what has been the total cost of procuring these dogs in each year; and how the average cost of English dogs compares with the average cost of imported German dogs, including all expenses involved, and the estimated cost of maintaining these imported dogs in quarantine.

In 1957 the Metropolitan Police acquired 56 dogs; in 1958, 61 dogs; and in 1959, 37 dogs. Most of these were received as gifts, but miscellaneous expenditure of £80, £31, and £137 was incurred in connection with their acquisition. The average cost of all dogs acquired for police purposes in England and Wales is not known; but it must be less than the average cost of the small number of dogs, specially selected for breeding purposes, which were recently imported from the Continent.

asked the Minister of Works when he expects work to begin on the protective building for the excavated Roman villa site at Lulling-stone, Kent.

Next spring, I hope.