asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will order an inquiry into the adjournment, contrary to statutory provision, of the Disciplinary Committee meeting of the Tomato and Cucumber Marketing Board held on 19th July last.

In the reply given by my right hon. Friend's predecessor on 25th July to the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas) and my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, West (Mr. Stodart) he expressed his dislike of the circumstances that led to the adjournment of this Disciplinary Committee. An inquiry would not add to our knowledge of these circumstances. I would, however, refer my hon. Friend to the concluding part of the reply of 25th July.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will now introduce regulations making it compulsory for soft drinks manufacturers to inform the public by means of labelling when orange drinks contain crushed orange skins as well as the juice of the orange.

This question is being considered together with others arising on the Food Standards Committee's report on Soft Drinks. My right hon. Friend will announce his decision on all the recommendations as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the considerable increase over the last two years in the number of hares; and whether he will inquire into the desirability of amending the Hares Preservation Act, 1892, with a view to legalising the sale of British hares between 1st March and 31st July.

I am aware that there has been some increase in the number of hares over the last two years; if there is agreement between all the interested parties on the desirability of amending the Act my right hon. Friend would be prepared to consider their proposals, together with my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, but we should have to be convinced of the need for such amendment.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what are his regulations regarding delivery of leaflets by various organisations, such as political parties, religious groups, charities, and commercial firms to Royal Air Force married quarters; and whether commanding officers have authority to discriminate among the organisations so permitted.

Entry to security-classified R.A.F. stations is controlled by the issue of passes; at other stations, commanding officers have powers to permit or refuse entry. Entry for deliveries by local tradesmen is normally allowed and entry for the purpose of political or commercial canvassing is normally prohibited. Canvassing is allowed at married quarters which are approached direct from the public highway, and may also be allowed, at the discretion of the commanding officer, at married quarters outside the station which are approached from Air Ministry roads.

asked the Minister of Aviation whether the British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways have been kept fully informed of the design studies prepared by the two major aircraft groups for a supersonic airliner; and whether the Corporations' requirements have played any part in these studies, in view of the fact that a project of this magnitude is likely to fail unless it is designed from the start to meet a specific airline requirement.

Yes. The Corporations have been fully informed and their needs have been taken into account in the studies.

asked the Minister of Aviation how many British aircraft and aero engines, and of what value, have been sold abroad as a direct result of the rationalisation of the British aircraft industry initiated at the beginning of this year.

This cannot be quantified, but in the long term the rationalisation of the aircraft industry should certainly have a beneficial effect on exports.

asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations if he is yet able to state what action he is taking, and what action he proposes for the future, to provide travel documents for those South African citizens in any of the South African protectorates who ask Her Majesty's Government for political asylum.

So far as my right hon. Friend is aware, no applications for travel documents have been received from any of the South African citizens now in the High Commission Territories who have come there requesting political asylum.Regarding the Reverend Marcus Kooper, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 28th July to the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway).

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the names of all British protected subjects who have been detained in the Union of South Africa since 1st January, 1960, with or without trial; if he will give details of the whereabouts of those at present under detention; in which cases such persons have received visits and advice from United Kingdom Government representatives or legal advice provided by the United Kingdom Gov-eminent; and in which cases representa- tions have been made for their release to the Government of the Union of South Africa.

The following persons who are citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies or British protected persons and who are not also South African citizens, have been detained without trial in the Union of South Africa under emergency regulations at some date since 1st January, 1960:

• Miss Hannah Stanton
• Dr. Elias Letele
• Mr. M. K. Mpho

All three have been released.While they were detained they were visited by the United Kingdom High Commissioner or his representative, and the High Commissioner made repeated representations to the Union Government for their release. Facilities were secured for them to obtain legal advice, if they so desired, but legal advice was not provided by the United Kingdom Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations how many awards have so far been made by the United Kingdom under the Commonwealth Scholarships Scheme; how many of these are in respect of other than post-graduate students; how many are for those working in the field of adult education; and how many have been awarded to women.

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom has so far made 184 awards; 14 of these candidates have still to accept the offer.Of these 184, all except 3 have been made to candidates who hold, or will by September, 1960, hold a degree or equivalent qualification. One of the three has a nursing qualification; the other two are in the second year of an undergraduate course. Ten of the 184 awards have been made to graduates who will follow a course for a first degree in this country.No nominations for awards in adult education were received from the special agencies in oversea Commonwealth countries by the Scholarship Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what Government grants have been made to Pius XII University College, Roma, Basutoland, during each of the past three years.

The following grants to Pius XII University College, Roma, Basutoland, from the funds of the High Commission Territories have been authorised in the past three years:

—		1958–59	1959–60	1960–61
		£	£	£
Basutoland	…	500	500	500
B.P	…	100	300	500
Swaziland	…	—	—	400
		£600	£800	£1,400

asked the Minister of Defence when he will authorise the construction of an assault ship to operate with the commando carrier.

I am not yet in a position to make a statement on this matter.

asked the Minister of Education if he has considered making an additional financial grant to the West Riding County Council, so that accommodation can be provided for 500 pupils in the Swinton and Mexborough area, as a replacement for the Swinton Modern School, which his Department has now agreed shall be converted to a non-residential teachers' training college.

I understand that the West Riding Local Education Authority will shortly be making proposals for the organisation of secondary schools in the Swinton and Mexborough areas as a result of my approval of the scheme to open a day training college there. I shall consider them on their merits.

asked the Minister of Education what plans there are for the construction of a new secondary modern school in Leek; and when such a school is likely to be ready for use.

The Staffordshire Local Education Authority included in its proposals for the 1962–63 building programme a new secondary modern school to serve the Leek area. I shall shortly be informing the authority of the projects to be included in this programme.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware of the dissatisfaction of the people of Leek, Staffordshire, because of the direction of their children into a school against their wishes; and whether he will remedy this.

The hon. Member wrote to me about the position in Leek on 26th July. I am discussing this with the Staffordshire Local Education Authority and I will send him a full reply as soon as I can.

asked the Minister of Education when he expects to be able to announce his decision regarding the 1962–63 major school building programme for Liverpool.

A letter has been sent today to inform the Liverpool Local Education Authority of their programme.

asked the Minister of Health (1) what steps he proposes to take to obtain full and reliable information concerning the costs and profits relating to proprietary drugs supplied to the Health Service; and when he expects to have this information available;(2) what action he intends to take to improve the machinery of his Department for investigating the facts about advertising costs incurred by the pharmaceutical manufacturers; and how big an ingredient these costs form in the price of Health Service drugs.

The hon. Member doubtless has in mind the recommendations made by the Committee of Public Accounts in its Report published on 27th July. My right hon. Friend would prefer at this stage to say no more than that he is giving immediate and earnest thought to these recommendations.

asked the Minister of Health what arrangements are made to accommodate senior members of the nursing staff of the Willesden General Hospital; and if, in view of the acute housing shortage in Willesden, assistance can be given to enable these members of the staff to have homes of their own within reasonable distance of the hospital.

The matron and assistant matron have flats in the hospital, and bed-sitting rooms are provided for sisters in a large house near by. The hospital authorities are not aware of any difficulty arising from these arrangements but if the hon. Member wishes and will provide me with details I will gladly make further inquiries.

asked the Secretary of Stale for the Home Department whether, in view of the communication sent to him by the hon. Member for Islington, East, regarding the conduct of police officers when acting as ushers in matrimonial proceedings, he will so amend the law as to ensure that such proceedings remain entirely confidential.

I have considered the hon. Member's communication, but I am not convinced that there is a case for legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has given further consideration to recommendation of the Report of Inquiry on the Disturbances at the Carlton Approved School on the desirability of his Department being retpre- sented for a substantial trial period at meetings of the salary-negotiating bodies concerned with approved school professional staff; and what further steps he has taken thereon.

I do not think it would be appropriate for my Department, which is not an employer of approved school staff, to be represented at meetings of the salary-negotiating bodies concerned with such staff. These bodies take steps to ensure that they are aware of any special considerations affecting approved schools and I have no doubt they will continue to take such considerations fully into account.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to implement recommendation 8 of the Report of Inquiry on the Disturbances at the Carlton Approved School on the housemaster's scale of remuneration and the advisability of extending housemaster training.

The scale of remuneration for housemasters in approved schools is being dealt with by the Standing Joint Advisory Committee for Staffs of Children's Homes, which is the appropriate negotiating body, and I understand that an offer has been made by the employers' side.Plans for extending housemaster training are being made, in consultation with the Central Training Council in Child Care. A one-year course for senior residential staff, including approved school housemasters, will start at Bristol in October, and it is hoped to enlarge the existing course based on Aycliffe School and to start at least one new course next year.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, if the survey which he put in hand on private street works arrangements has been completed; and if he will make a statement.

The survey has now been completed. It shows that there are at present about 54,000 private streets, that they are widely distributed throughout the country, and that during the next ten years local authorities hope to make up 24,000 of them at a total cost of some £75,000,000.Local authorities may make up private streets under either the 1875 code or the 1892 code. The codes have to some extent been assimilated under the Highways Act, 1959, but there remain certain differences between them, the most significant being that under the 1875 code apportionment of the cost to front-agers is based on frontage alone, whereas the 1892 code enables the local authority to take account also of the differing degrees of benefits derived by the frontagers. Most local authorities have adapted the 1892 code, but some 200 still operate the 1875 code.Under both codes, local authorities have power to contribute from the rates towards the cost of the works. Some £300,000 has been contributed in this way in the past three years towards costs totalling £10,000,000. Local authorities may accept payment by instalments. Under the Act of 1959, they may also contribute towards the cost apportioned to individual properties having only a flank or rear fronting the road.The 1892 code has provision for appeal to the magistrates on a wide variety of counts and, since the 1959 Act, this applies also to the 1875 code. Under both codes appeal may also be made to me. The survey shows that, of the 110,000 frontagers who have had charges made on them in the last three years, only 4,000 exercised any of the rights of appeal open to them. In areas where appeal to the magistrates was available, less than 5 per cent. of frontagers exercised this right. Less than 1 per cent. of frontagers appealed to me.The principle that the cost of providing new streets of a standard suitable for taking over as public highways should fall on the owners of the property which they serve has been long established and is, in my view, sound. The effect of the New Streets Acts, 1951–1957 is that the cost is now most often, borne as part of the initial cost of acquiring the property. It must be remembered that many present owners have directly or indirectly met the cost of making up the roads serving their property. Moreover the value of property served by a private street reflects the contingent liability for street works' charges, and much property has changed hands on this basis.I am aware that, in the case of an owner who bought his property before the war, the current cost of making up private streets results in a charge which is much greater than he then expected to pay. But the survey provides no evidence either that local authorities generally adopt higher standards or incur greater costs than are reasonable, or that the cost of making up private streets has increased to a greater extent than other costs involved in owning property—for example, repair costs. Generally speaking, the higher the cost the greater the growth in value of the house when the liability has been discharged.My general conclusions from the survey are that there is no ground for any fundamental change in the law on this subject and that the existing law, if sympathetically administered, enables equitable results to be secured and provides means of mitigating hardship in the relatively few cases where that occurs. There is no evidence of general dissatisfaction or complaint among the persons affected. Such dissatisfaction as there is would be reduced still further if all local authorities took full advantage of the opportunities afforded by the law to deal with hard cases. I propose to take this matter up with the local authority associations, with a view to guidance being given to the local authorities.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what steps he is taking to increase the size of the Sheffield Pneumoconiosis Panel so that the Pneumoconiosis Medical Board can deal more expeditiously with claimants of industrial disablement benefit.

I recognise that this Panel has been working under difficulties with an increasing load of work. Two more full-time doctors are being added to it, one of whom has already taken up duty. The hon. Member may also like to know that new and larger premises are being built for this Panel which should be ready for occupation by the end of the year. Meanwhile additional boarding rooms have been made available.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether, in order to provide a more convenient and rapid means of dealing with claims for industrial disablement benefit on grounds of pneumoconiosis in the East Midlands region, he will constitute a pneumoconiosis medical board in Nottingham.

The present number of claimants from the East Midlands area is not large enough to justify the establishment of a separate medical board at Nottingham. Arrangements already exist for claimants who are unfit to travel to the Sheffield Panel to he examined in their own homes.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give the dates and stages by which he expects to provide subscriber trunk dialling facilities to all telephone subscribers in the City and County of Bristol.

Subscribers on the Bristol Central, Avonmouth, Filton and Bristol South exchanges already have the new facilities. I plan to provide them at the remaining exchanges as follows: Westbury-on-Trym, September, 1960; Bristol North and West, February, 1961; Kingswood and Bedminster, April, 1961; Fishponds, May, 1961; Easton, June, 1961, and Stoke Bishop, July, 1961. A small number of subscribers in the county of Bristol are served by the Whitchurch exchange which on present plans will have subscriber trunk dialling in 1965—on the extension of the present exchange.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is experiencing any difficulty in recruiting petty officers and seamen to man the cable laying ships and what steps he is taking to make this a more attractive service.

There are a few vacancies in the lower grades but generally there is no great difficulty in recruitment, Petty officers are in general promoted from the lower ranks. As regards the second part of the Question, I am examining whether there is any evidence which suggests that the service needs to be made more attractive and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is satisfied that he can recruit a full complement of experienced petty officers and seamen to undertake all the deep sea cable-laying operations now planned; and if he will make a statement.

I do not expect any difficulty in recruiting men for these operations.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will now take steps to encourage the more general sale of postage stamps at retail shops and other places away from post offices.

Yes. I have arranged to relax the conditions in which licences to sell postage stamps may be issued and head postmasters are now being instructed to encourage the issue of these licences.

asked the Postmaster General if he will ask the Pilkington Committee to look into the possibility of more live television programmes being given from Yorkshire and from a television studio located in Yorkshire.

No. This is primarily a matter for the B.B.C. and I.T.A., but I am sure such matters fall within the ambit of the work of the Committee.

asked the Minister of Power when he expects the inquiry into the Six Bells mining disaster to be finished; and whether the findings will be published in a White Paper.

The necessary preliminary investigations are being carried out urgently in order that the inquiry can open as soon as possible. I cannot yet say when the report of the Chief Inspector will be available. It will be laid before Parliament, as required by the Mines and Quarries Act, 1954.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will draw to the attention of local authorities, in conjunction with the Scottish Committee of the Arts Council, the need to increase financial aid to the Scottish National Orchestra in order to reduce its deficit and to enable it to plan ahead for the next five-year period.

The local authorities and the Scottish Committee of the Arts Council have shown their appreciation of the importance of the Scottish National Orchestra and of its financial difficulties by their past generous support. The Scottish Committee has already made a substantial increase in its grant for the current year and I am sure that the local authorities, in response to the Directors' approach, will consider how far their contributions may also be raised as a further step towards meeting the orchestra's needs.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the number of single-handed practices which were vacant in the area of the Glasgow Executive Council during the past two years, and the number of these given to doctors not already on that executive council's list; and if he will make a statement.

Seventeen single-handed practice vacancies occurred in the two years ending 31st March, 1960. Doctors not already on the Executive Council's list were appointed to five. Five were advertised on the basis that the practice might be divided between suitable practitioners, and were in fact split up among doctors already on the list. The patients of the remaining seven practices were asked to select another doctor from among those already on the list. I have no reason to believe that these arrangements are not adequate to meet the circumstances.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will establish a shadow factory in the Pontardawe district of the Swansea Valley.

As I explained in answer to the hon. Member for Lanarkshire, North (Miss Herbison) on 26th July, no decision has yet been reached about building further advance factories, but I am keeping the matter under review.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what provision has been made in the questionnaire issued by him in connection with the fact-finding inquiry into resale price maintenance for discovering the percentage of goods handled by retailers which have fixed or suggested prices.

None explicitly, but I hope to obtain much useful information on the subject from a general study of the answers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the average number of hours worked per week by factory and shop workers, respectively, according to the latest available figures.

I have been asked to reply.

—	Number of personal injury accidents	Casualties
		Killed	Seriously injured	Slightly injured	Total
1955	76	7	14	82	103
1956	71	6	22	68	96
1957	92	9	21	102	132
1958	87	8	27	92	127
1959	95	5	28	103	136
1960 (1st January to 30th June)	36	3	21	25	49

asked the Minister of Transport what is the likelihood of the construction of the Birmingham-Yorkshire section of the London-Yorkshire motorway being delayed owing to the Government's financial policy of limiting capital expenditure on the construction of new road developments; whether this will also affect other schemes scheduled to commence; and if he will give details of such projects.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which I made yesterday. In this I referred to the start of the Birmingham-Yorkshire motorway and to the other matters raised by the hon Member.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the number of accidents that have occurred on the A.1 trunk road between "The Comet", Hatfield, and "The Clock", Welwyn, during each of the years 1955 to 1959, and to the latest available date this year; how many fatalities have been reported; and how many serious and slight injuries have been reported.

The following are the figures:

asked the Minister of Transport what proposals he has for relieving drivers who are making deliveries within a limited radius from the obligation to fill in log sheets.

None. I am considering, however, some proposals recently put to me by the British Road Federation for substantially reducing the work of record keeping for drivers of small vehicles under "C" licences.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he received representations from Professor A. C. Aitken, F.R.S., 74 Trinity Road, Edinburgh, about the adoption of a decimal currency; and what reply he has sent.

The Chancellor received a letter from Professor Aitken on 10th June, 1960 and replied to him personally on 22nd June thanking him for his comments and assuring him that they would be taken into account in considering the future of the currency.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement about special Exchequer assistance to the British Academy.

The British Academy at present makes an annual grant of £4,500 to the Egypt Exploration Society, a British institution which has been engaged in archaeological work in Egypt and the Sudan for many years. The Society has secured concessions for three important projects in Nubia on ancient sites which will soon be permanently submerged beneath the Nile waters. I have agreed, subject to the approval of Parliament, to make a special grant of £20,000 payable over two years in order to enable the British Academy to increase its subvention to the Society during this period for this urgent work. Most of the additional grant will be for expenditure in the Sudan. A Supplementary Estimate will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible and meanwhile the money will be advanced from the Civil Contingencies Fund.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he will make a statement about special Government assistance towards the purchase of a picture by the Tate Gallery.

Yes. The Trustees of the Tate Gallery have decided to purchase the painting "Nu Debout" by Matisse. Matisse is one of the major twentieth century artists and this example of an important period in his development will greatly strengthen the representation of his work in the national collections. I have agreed, subject to the approval of Parliament, to make a special grant of £16,000 towards the purchase price, the balance of which will be provided by the Trustees from their own resources. A Supplementary Estimate will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible and meanwhile the money will be advanced from the Civil Contingencies Fund.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any changes to propose in the coinage.

Yes. It seems clear that the farthing has now outlived its usefulness and that the convenience of the general public can best be served by withdrawing it from the coinage. Her Majesty's Government accordingly propose to advise Her Majesty to issue a Royal Proclamation under Section 11 of the Coinage Act, 1870, by which farthings will no longer be legal tender as from 1st January, 1961. Until that date, it will be open to anyone who possesses farthings to change them at a bank for coins of a higher denomination.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will make a statement about the investments in which building societies will be authorised to invest their funds.

It is the intention of the Chief Registrar that the regulations to be made in due course under Section 11 of the Building Societies Act, 1960, governing the investment of funds which are not immediately required for its purposes should have the following effect:1. Building societies will be authorised to invest funds without restriction in:

asked the Secretary of State for War how many British troops are still in South Korea; and how long they are likely to be there.

Thirteen. Two officers and eight other ranks are members of the Commonwealth Liaison Mission with the United Nations Command. They will remain in Korea until they are no longer required. A military attaché and two other ranks serve at Her Majesty's Embassy.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will take immediate steps to remove the five tons of chloride of lime which have been stored on behalf of Her Majesty's Government at Exmouth Docks, free of charge, since the latter part of the war, which present a potential danger to life, and which impede the rebuilding of the storage space for proper commercial use by the dock company.

I will look into this and write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Works when work on the new Colonial Office will restart.

As my predecessor informed my hon. Friend the Member for St. Marylebone (Sir W. Wakefield), on 25th November, 1958, it is now proposed to provide a new building for the Colonial Office on the site of Richmond Terrace. It is hoped to start this work in 1963. A Government building is also to be erected on the back part of the site formerly intended for the Colonial Office and it is hoped that this work also will start in 1963.