asked the Lord Advocate what action he proposes to take to implement the proposals in the Eighth Report of the Law Reform Committee for Scotland for the constitution of securities over moveables.

The recommendations in the Report referred to are being carefully examined by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and myself, in consultation with my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. I am not yet in a position to make any statement as to the implementation of the recommendations.

As the Report makes it clear that the lack of this legislation is one of the reasons why insufficient Scottish capital is being invested in Scotland and is a barrier to industrial expansion there, and in view of the high level of unemployment in Scotland, will my right hon. and learned Friend please examine as a matter of urgency a Bill which I myself have prepared on this subject, and will he do all he possibly can to encourage it?

I assure my hon. Friend that I am fully aware of the force of the considerations on which the Committee's recommendations were based. I congratulate my hon. Friend on his initiative and I shall certainly read his draft Bill with interest.

Does not the Lord Advocate realise that the issues involved in this matter affect the business life of Scotland and are just as urgent and important as the other matter to which he addressed himself last week with such energy and in such a constructive way, namely, "Lady Chatterley's Lover", otherwise "Lady Loverley's Chatter"?

The hon. and learned Gentleman's supplementary question is covered by what I have just said to my hon. Friend. He will, however, realise that the recommendations in question raise difficult problems of Scots law and would also involve amendment of the Companies Act, 1948, which, of course, is a United Kingdom Statute.

asked the Lord Advocate what action he proposes taking against companies in Scotland operating credit schemes the propriety of which appears doubtful.

I am prepared to consider taking proceedings in any case where an offence appears to have been committed. One case is at present pending in regard to an alleged contravention of the Hire-Purchase and Credit Sale Agreements (Control) Order, 1960.

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman consider taking action against a company which has sued a young man, who signed his name as the guarantor for the purchase of a product, not to pay a debt owing on the product, but to pay for service repairs to the product after the buyer of the product had paid for it?

If the hon. Member will give me particulars of the case, I shall certainly investigate it to find whether any criminal offence has been committed.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that Members, certainly on this side, are being swamped with cases from Messrs. Napiers, of Ayr? Is the Lord Advocate taking steps to see whether the law cannot be reformed or modified to prohibit what amounts to this legalised form robbery?

The question of legislation is being actively considered by my night hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the President of the Board of Trade and myself.

That has killed it.

The swamping has reached me, too.

asked the Lord Advocate what advice he gives to chief constables in Scotland regarding the issue to the Press of photographs of wanted persons, where, in the opinion of the police, this is necessary for the protection of society.

The publication of a photograph of a wanted person may prejudice the evidence of identification at his subsequent trial. Accordingly the general practice is not to allow the publication of such photographs. If, however, a case arose where, for example, a dangerous criminal was at large and the publication of a photograph might be desirable in the public interest, the procurator fiscal who is in charge of the investigation would report the matter immediately to the Crown Office for instructions.

Surely, the Lord Advocate can give to the chief constable of a county or of a city the responsibility to decide whether it is in the interests of justice and is a help to citizens, who, after all, have a responsibility in helping the police? Surely, the balance of advantage is to give chief constables the power to authorise the issue of a photograph of a wanted man?

The hon. Member, although he comes from south of the Border, will realise that there are considerable differences between criminal law and procedure in England and in Scotland. In Scotland, the investigation is conducted under the supervision of the procurator fiscal and, accordingly, it is for him to decide whether the matter should be referred to the Crown Office in a particular case. It would be highly dangerous to adapt English procedure to Scotland. Indeed, it is a dangerous operation to take little branches of an English rose and try to graft them on a Scottish thistle.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has now considered further the desirability of issuing a small five-shilling piece of silver; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member on 31st May.

May I ask the right hon. and learned Gentleman, as Master of the Mint—which I believe he is—whether he is aware that this proposal was made publicly some time ago by his Deputy-Master and that in his annual report, issued today, the Deputy-Master is able to say that it was "well received"—by everybody except the right hon. and learned Gentleman and his predecessor? What is the reason for the delay?

I would not say that it had been badly received by me. It is an interesting suggestion, but the Deputy-Master of the Mint linked it with a number of other reforms in the currency and one must consider the whole lot together.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will seek to arrange discussions with the finance Ministers of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries with a view to co-ordinating military expenditure within the alliance.

I propose to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Ministerial meeting next month myself, and I look forward, as is usual on these occasions, to discussing with my colleagues from other countries current financial problems affecting the alliance.

When the Chancellor attends that meeting, will he raise the question of the undesirability of the United States going cap in hand to Bonn and being rebuffed on the question of financial contributions? Will he also raise the question of the British contribution to the B.A.O.R. and the reduction in the German contribution, which will mean an extra cost of £12 million to this country?

I could not accept what the hon. Member is suggesting, nor do I think that it is a matter for me. What does concern me is the imbalance in international payments at the present time. Some of the matters to which the hon. Member referred are contained in that wider picture and I am quite certain that they will be discussed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he takes to assure that there is consonance in fiscal policy between the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.

The normal machinery for consultation between the United Kingdom and Isle of Man Governments ensures that we have an opportunity of commenting on any financial measures under consideration in the Isle of Man which might affect the United Kingdom.

Yes, but I hope that my right hon. and learned Friend will comment quite soon. Is he aware that a Measure has practically completed its passage through the Tynwald to abolish Surtax in the Isle of Man? Would he not regard that as an excellent example for his behaviour in his next Budget? In any event, will not this have a grave effect upon his revenue from Surtax in this country, leading, as it undoubtedly will, to substantial transmigration of Surtax payers to the Isle of Man?

In reply to the latter part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, I am not apprehensive about the consequences. As for the earlier part, he will, of course, not expect me to anticipate my Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revised estimate of the yield of Purchase Tax he has made for the current financial year, on account of credit-squeeze conditions, compared with his original estimate of £535 millions last April; and, in particular, what was his original estimate, and what is now his revised estimate, of Purchase Tax yields for motor cars in the current financial year.

It is not the practice to publish revised revenue estimates in the course of the financial year. The 1960 Budget estimate for Purchase Tax included £165 million in respect of motor cars.

Does not my right hon. and learned Friend recall that on 22nd June last I proposed an Amendment to the Finance Bill to reduce Purchase Tax on motor cars from 50 per cent. to 37½ per cent., which led to a substantial number of hon. Members voting in Committee against the Government? In view of the present condition of the motor car industry, does my right hon. and learned Friend still adhere to the extraordinary view then expressed by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury that a reduction of Purchase Tax on cars by 12½ per cent. would stimulate the home demand beyond what the industry could meet and so encroach on our supplies for the export market?

The only comment I would make on my hon. Friend's supplementary question is that I think that these constant suggestions about Purchase Tax and the idea that I might yield to pressure can do nothing but unsettle prospective customers at this time. I cannot be drawn at this stage on this matter.

In terms of revenue, has the right hon. and learned Gentleman calculated whether it would be more advantageous to drop Purchase Tax by 20 per cent. or pay unemployment pay to 20,000 motor-car workers this winter?

I do not think that is relevant.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to recover for the Government some share of the increased land values which are being created by the expenditure of public money on the Forth Road Bridge.

No, Sir.

Is the Chancellor aware that it is very frustrating to local authorities and others who have to spend money on these public projects to see people raking in fortunes, or at least large sums of money, from increased land values towards which the people concerned have made no contribution?

I think that the right hon. Gentleman will know that the whole question of the taxation of land values is somewhat complicated and controversial. Previous experience in this field throws some doubt on the efficacy of efforts made to try to tax land values.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much in dollars was transferred to the United States of America during each of the past five years by way of dividends to United States shareholders in British companies.

Payments of interest and dividends in respect of United States direct investment shareholdings in British companies—excluding oil and insurance—are estimated at 93 million dollars in 1958 and 104 million dollars in 1959. Figures on a comparable basis for earlier years are not available. These figures exclude portfolio investment by United States investors.

Is the Chancellor satisfied with these figures or does he want to see them increased or reduced in the next year or two?

I should like to see the figures increased bath ways.

What amount of American dividends axe paid to British shareholders? Is it not a fact that more money comes from America to British shareholders than British dividends go to America?

It is difficult to arrive at precise figures, but the figures on a strictly comparable basis in relation to the Question asked by the hon. Member for Brixton (Mr. Lipton) are 17 million dollars in 1958 and 20 million dollars in 1959. These figures did not include the portfolio investment, which is very much larger in our case than it is for Americans in our country.

Why did the Chancellor exclude oil and insurance from the original figures?

Because of the way in which the figures in relation to those two are computed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women students have applied for admission to the London Medical Schools during the last two years; what is the percentage of acceptances; and what are the corresponding figures for male applicants.

This information is not immediately available. Arrangements are being made to collect it and I will write to the right hon. Member later.

In the event of his discovering that women students are being treated inequitably, will the Chancellor ask the University Grants Committee to withhold grants from those medical schools whose practice is not in line with current educational thought?

I should like to see the figures first to see whether that hypothesis is justified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce amending legislation to enable the trustees of the Tate Gallery to lend pictures for other than public exhibition.

I am looking into this and will write to my hon. Friend.

Perhaps it would be more helpful if I made sure that my right hon. and learned Friend was aware of the reason behind my Question. Is he aware that the Tate Gallery owns the picture called "The Lament for Icarus" by Herbert Draper, which is particularly suitable for display at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell? The College would like to have it and the Tate Gallery would like to lend it. Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that the only thing that prevents such an admirable arrangement is that the College is not, strictly speaking, a public place?

I will certainly take that into account in considering the matter.

Is a picture of Icarus, who crashed in "the drink", really particularly suitable for Cranwell? [Laughter.] But, seriously, as this is a matter of some public interest, would the right hon. and learned Gentleman consider circulating his answer in the OFFICIAL REPORT instead of only writing to his hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, Central (Mr. Collard)?

I would certainly consider giving fuller publicity to the answer.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the £2,000 million he stated had been invested abroad between 1950 and 1959 represents short-term capital is so far as interest on it contributes to the balance of payments.

The figure of £2,000 million refers to net private long-term investment abroad. Earnings of interest, profits and dividends on all our investments abroad, both short and long-term, other than oil, are estimated at £358 million in 1959. The corresponding payments are estimated at £276 million.

Is the Chancellor satisfied with the balance between long-term and short-term investment?

Quite obviously one cannot be satisfied with a position in which one is borrowing short and lending long, and one has to correct that position as best one can.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an estimate of the cost of administration and the yield, over any recent period, of a capital gains tax on either stocks and shares or land values, or both, at any given rate.

Such an exercise would involve so many assumptions as to the date of introduction, scope and other features of the hypothetical tax, and therefore would involve so many complicated calculations that I am not prepared to undertake it.

Are we to understand that no study of possible sources of taxation such as the taxing of land values is being made? Many people are extremely concerned that such a heavy weight of taxation falls through Income Tax on earnings and that other forms of gain apparently go entirely untaxed. Is it not time that there was at least a study made of these matters?

There have been studies of the capital gains tax, and evidence was given before the Radcliffe Commission on the Taxation of Profits and Income which, according to the calculations, indicated that the amount to be gained from a tax on capital gains was not very much.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on his official talks on Friday, 25th November, with Mr. Anderson, Secretary of the United States Treasury.

No, Sir.

But does not the Minister think that some statement should be made on this question? Is it true that the American Secretary of the Treasury failed to get more money out of the Germans and now he is hoping to get more money out of us? Did the Chancellor tell him that the dollar crisis is due to the big expenditure on armaments and that the best plan for the United States would be to cut that and not try to soak either the Germans or the British taxpayer?

I do not think that it is advisable to reveal what takes place during confidential discussions, otherwise there is little value in having those discussions. We discussed the whole position. The hon. Member has not gathered the right inference in what he said.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether Mr. Anderson offered him any explanation of how this extremely wealthy country, with all its resources and with its economic system on which it relies and which it praises and advocates all over the world, finds itself in so parlous a condition that it has to go round with cap in hand to the Germans for aid?

We did not discuss this matter at these conversations, but the position had been made absolutely clear beforehand. It is due to the extreme generosity of the American people and the extent to which they have undertaken collective defence responsibility, because on current account they have a surplus.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the inquiry, which he announced on 24th May, into the work of the National Buildings Record and the corresponding work of the Ministry of Works and the English Royal Commission has now been completed; whether he will publish the report of the inquiry; whether he has yet set up a small working party under his own chairmanship to arrange the necessary reorganisation of the Government's various activities in this field; and when he expects to announce the Government's intentions.

The inquiry to which the hon. Member refers has now been completed but as it was a domestic inquiry by the Government it would be contrary to normal practice to publish the report. The working group under my chairmanship has now been formed to study the problem but its investigations will take some further time.

Will the Minister be good enough to indicate the scope of the investigations that the working party has carried out? Will he say whether it will also have the benefit of hearing the views of eminent persons in this field not connected with the Department?

In answer to the first part of the supplementary question, as my right hon. Friend indicated in an Answer on 22nd November, the working group will consider and where necessary reassess the nature, scope and organisation of all Exchequer financed work throughout Britain on identifying records and research into historical monuments and buildings. With regard to the second part of the supplementary question, I will bear in mind the importance of consulting the views of people outside.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state his policy towards the building of advance factories in areas of high unemployment.

Experience has shown that industrialists usually prefer to have factories built to suit their requirements. However, the Government accept that there may be some places where the existence of immediately available factory space may be decisive in attracting industry, and we have therefore, decided, as my right hon. Friend recently announced, to provide a further limited amount of advance factory space in England, Scotland and Wales.

Is the Minister aware that this policy will be welcomed in many areas of high employment, but would he go a step further and consider enabling local authorities and corporations to take all steps short of supplying the actual factory itself, that is, to purchase the land and get the plans drafted, because that would considerably reduce a good deal of the delay?

I am not certain that, as the law stands, there are not technical objections to the hon. Gentleman's suggestion, but I will certainly look into it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how long on average it takes his Department's Advisory Committee to deal with applications under the Local Employment Act, 1960.

Between three and four months from the time when the applicant supplies the necessary information.

Will the Minister look at this again? Where it is clear that the application is one of real substance, could not the procedure be expedited? A long delay of three or four months often frustrates very good applicants.

We hope to get the time down by possibly a month, but it is essential that there should be the fullest technical and accountancy examination of every application.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to see that firms receiving loans or grants of public money under the Local Employment Act, 1960, observe the conditions of the Fair Wages Resolution.

This is not a matter covered by the Local Employment Act. Our concern in administering the Act is to assist firms providing additional employment appropriate to local needs. The Fair Wages Resolution relates to contractors engaged in the execution of Government contracts.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that some of the firms which have been receiving public money in the form of loans and grants are refusing to allow trade union organisation in their works and are not observing trade union conditions? Does he not think that it is intolerable that public money should be used to encourage this out-of-date mentality? Is it not possible for him to arrange—and will he, therefore, do so—to make the granting of Government help conditional on the acceptance by the firm of the Fair Wages Resolution?

No, Sir; I do not know that that would be right. Our object under the Local Employment Act is to provide employment. If it is claimed that the terms and conditions in a factory which is set up with Government aid are not as favourable as under the nationally negotiated arrangement, then it is open to the employers' association or the employees' association to refer the matter to the Industrial Court under the Terms and Conditions of Employment Act, 1959.

Is the hon. Gentleman really saying that public money can be used to set up types of industry which will operate below the level which is enforced in other industries or other parts of the same industry? Is not this merely a matter of setting up scab conditions?

What I am saying is that we should not make such conditions in granting loans. It seems to me no more reasonable to make it a condition that the industry should comply with the Fair Wages Resolution, which does not apply to any but Government contractors, than it would be to make it a condition, for example, that the factory should comply with the Factories Act.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what further measures he now proposes to adopt to ensure that where sewing machines, other electrical appliances and similar products, are advertised for sale to the general public adequate stocks of such merchandise are in fact available for sale at the price mentioned in the advertisement; and whether he has considered the evidence from the Retail Trading Standards Association sent to him by the Advertising Inquiry Committee that switch-selling continues to be considered by certain retailers as a permissible method of sales promotion.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what measures he proposes to take to control the practice of switch-selling of sewing and other machines arising from misleading advertisements in certain papers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what further measures he now proposes to adopt to prevent switch-selling.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consult the Newspaper Proprietors' Association, the Periodical Proprietors' Association, the Independent Television Authority and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising with a view to the introduction of legislation to prevent misleading advertisements in the Press and on television for the purpose of switch-selling.

My right hon. Friend has arranged for the matters to which hon. Members have directed his attention to be discussed with the Newspaper Proprietors' Association and the Periodical Proprietors' Association which make recommendations to their members about the kind of advertisements which they should accept.

Is the Minister aware that this scandal has gone on, and on, and on, and that the action alleged to have been taken by these bodies and by the Advertising Association has so far proved totally ineffective? For how long will he tolerate these swindles being perpetrated on the general public?

I think that the hon. Gentleman is going rather far in saying that the action has proved totally ineffective. It may not have proved wholly effective, but we are going to discuss further with these bodies the action that might be taken.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that most daily newspapers, to their credit, refuse to carry these advertisements, but they still appear in such periodicals as the T.V. Times, and also that there is a lot of house circularisation with these kinds of inducements which are absolutely dishonest? It is up to his Department to do something about it.

As regards the T.V. Times, advertising on I.T.A. is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General.

The T.V. Times.

The T.V. Times, but this is I.T.A. I am aware of that, but the I.T.A. in its report shows that the Authority is very alive to this issue and that stringent conditions have been laid down in regard to advertisements. Under Section 8 of the Television Act there is provision for advice to be given on the standards of conduct in the advertising of goods and services with a view to the exclusion of misleading advertisements.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Act mentioned does not cover the T.V. Times. and therefore that is no answer to the question he was asked?

This is, of course, entirely similar to the Radio Times. I will certainly look at what the right hon. Gentleman has to say, but this is not a question of television.

Will the hon. Gentleman tell his right hon. Friend that he should include among the people who are to be consulted the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, who are the advertising agents who act as the mouthpiece of these swindlers? If the President of the Board of Trade does not know how to approach them, will he get in touch with Messrs. Colman Prentis and Varley who act as advertising agents for the Conservative Party and who would tell him how to approach the advertising agents?

We will certainly give attention to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in order to assist forward planning in industry, he will make a statement of his latest intentions concerning hire-purchase restrictions.

I would ask my hon. Friend to refer to the Answer which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Coventry, North (Mr. Edelman) on this subject on 17th November. While he appreciates my hon. Friend's wish that he should assist forward planning in industry, he does not feel that this is the time to consider making the control of hire-purchase deposits and instalment periods a permanent feature of our economy.

Bearing in mind the violent changes which take place in those industries which are affected by equally violent changes in official policy, would it not be in the national interest that there should be some semi-permament scheme which was mid-way between the extreme of absolute freedom and the present policies?

I do not know exactly what my hon. Friends means by a semi-permament scheme, but it seems that at the present time the removal of hire-purchase restrictions can be treated as a means of stimulating the economy and it would be undesirable to lose that particular weapon when it is needed.

Is the Minister aware that the Government's present policy is causing an ever-widening recession in certain industries without doing any apparent good to the balance of payments? When are we to have a change?

I am not aware of that, and my right hon. Friend has made it clear that the restrictions will be removed as soon as the economy of the country permits.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I beg to give notice that I will raise this matter on the Adjournment as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will publish separate statistics on the level of orders in the cotton textile and wool textile industries.

No, Sir. Information about orders is supplied voluntarily to the Department on the understanding that figures for separate industries will not be published.

Will the Minister consider the matter again? Will he bear in mind that we are dealing with two very different industries and that the present classification obscures that fact?

The difficulty is that the indicies are intended to indicate the changes in business confidence in a general way, but we are under an obligation not to disclose information relating to particular industries.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what has been the change in the level of net new orders for clothing and textiles for the third quarter of 1960 compared with the third quarter of 1959.

Net new orders received by the textile and clothing industries in the third quarter of 1960 are estimated to have been 18 per cent. less than in the third quarter of 1959.

Is not this a very serious decline indeed? Is the Minister satisfied that the prospects for production are reassuring at the present time?

With regard to the first part of the supplementary question, there was heavy forward ordering in the second half of last year, and that is the period with which the comparison is being made. With regard to the second part of the supplementary question, it may reassure the hon. Gentleman to know that orders on hand at the end of September were 9 per cent. more than at that time last year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will appoint a Northern Ireland representative to the new Export Council for Europe.

Appointments to the Export Council have at my right hon. Friend's request been made by the Council's chairman, Sir William McFadzean. He has told me that the Council will consist of representatives of Government Departments and of the sponsoring bodies, and individuals drawn from a wide variety of exporting industries who have been asked to serve in their personal capacities. I know that the chairman is considering further appointments and has my hon. Friend's point in mind.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will introduce legislation to forbid the sale of lethal weapons on hire purchase.

No, Sir. My right hon. Friend considers that questions of public safety should be dealt with by means other than hire-purchase restrictions.

That is all very well, but is my hon. Friend aware that a very large number of air guns, rifles, shotguns and pistols are being sold free from hire-purchase restrictions of any kind, and if it is important that the Government should damp down consumer demands in various other industries, the advisability of which is open to question, could not the Government damp down consumer demand here so that we do not have murder on the cheap as well?

The purpose of the hire-purchase controls is to curb the growth of credit outstanding as the result of these methods of trading. It would not be proper to use them for a totally different purpose.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will propose a meeting of export executives of companies concerned to emphasise to them the potentialities of trade with the Far East and the need for increasing the British share of that market.

My right hon. Friend does not believe that a general meeting of this kind would be effective. We are, of course, in touch with the appropriate trade bodies about ways and means of increasing our trade in the Far East.

Would my right hon. Friend agree that Japan is by way of becoming a first-rate industrial nation with an enormous potential market in which Germany and the United States have a much larger share than we have, and that there are other markets in the Far East, such as Hong Kong and China, which also need developing? Is it not time for a bit of an urge to be given to British industry to go forward in that part of the world as it has done in other parts?

I fully agree with my hon. Friend when he says that we should do all we can to urge industry to move forward particularly in that part of the world but, by the very nature of the supplementary question, I think he would agree with me that it is too diffuse an area to be covered effectively by a single meeting of the type which he describes.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman help this trade if he were to remove some or all of the restrictions that are placed on the trade at the present moment, particularly with China?

We have, of course, removed most of the strategic embargo restrictions in the case of China.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the factual survey of the tariff decision proposals of the European Economic Community and the European Free Trade Association has been undertaken; and with what result.

An examination of particular difficulties in European trade which may arise from the existence of the European Economic Community and of the European Free Trade Association is being made in Paris by a study group of the Trade Committee of Twenty One. The Group is expected to report before the beginning of the G.A.T.T. tariff negotiations in February.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when the extension at Cummins Diesel Engine Company, Shotts, will commence.

We are awaiting confirmation from the company of its acceptance of the detailed plans for this extension Until this is received I am unable to say when work will start.

Has the hon. Gentleman any idea when this confirmation will be received, and can he give me a guarantee that immediately it is received work on this extension will begin?

With regard to the second point, I would hope that that would be so. With regard to the first point, confirmation is required, of course, by the American parent company.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to schedule further areas on the north bank of the Tyne under the Local Employment Act.

My right hon. Friend does not consider that high and persistent unemployment exists or is to be expected in these areas. He has no power therefore to list them as development districts. But he will continue to watch the position.

Can my hon. Friend tell me what has happened to the undertaking that his right hon. Friend gave to the Conservative candidate in the Blyth by-election, that he would be looking into the matter of new industries on the north bank of the Tyne? Will he also inform me whether he is aware that certain coal mines are closing down and that there is an imminent possibility of shipping and shipbuilding declining on the Tyne? When are we to have some action in this matter?

I understand that my right hon. Friend was asked about the particular constituency of Blyth, and he said he would look into it and, if necessary, schedule Blyth as a development district under the Local Employment Act. That is what the report was. At the moment, all I can say is that in view of the position regarding coal mining and shipbuilding, my right hon. Friend is keeping a very careful watch indeed on those areas and will continue to look into the matter.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that, because no assistance was forthcoming from his Department, the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne has just lost a factory which would have employed 600 or 700 men? Is he aware that his right hon. Friend has today sent me a letter absolutely refusing to give any assistance to a new industry which is starting in the area? How long are the Government going to ignore the existence of the North-East in this way?

The Government are not ignoring the existence of the North-East. In November the unemployment percentage in North Tyne, East Employment Exchange district was 2·9 as against 3.7 at the same period a year ago, and in North Tyne, West 2·5 per cent. in November against 2·6 at the same period last year.

Does the hon. Gentleman's answer mean that, as with all the other subjects about which we have heard today, the Government are doing nothing at all?

The Government are doing their duty under the Local Employment Act.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what additional employment has been provided on the Cowdenbeath exchange area as a result of the area being scheduled under the Local Employment Act; and to what extent such employment relieves the unemployment problem of juveniles and women.

No employment has so far been provided in the Cowdenbeath Employment Exchange area itself as a direct result of the Local Employment Act, but the numbers unemployed there have fallen from 1,100 in March last to 900 in November, the period since the Act came into force. Juveniles and women have shared in this improvement, and I am glad to say that further employment is in prospect in the area.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the fact that the area is scheduled under the Local Employment Act has nothing to do with the case, that there is no improvement there directly due to the Local Employment Act, and that this area is probably among the hardest hit in the United Kingdom? Can he say what he means by future work in prospect in the later part of his Answer, because the juveniles and the women in particular are very much concerned about the dismal prospect which appear to face them?

There are further jobs in prospect. There are three projects in Dunfermline, which is within the travel-to-work area, to give 120 jobs, and eventually the jobs in one factory are expected to rise to 250.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will approach the United States Government in order to obtain an assurance that applications for a licence to export to China goods manufactured in the United Kingdom which, under the United States Trading with the Enemy Act, 1917, any American-owned company in this country is required to make will not be rejected by the United States authorities where such an application does not conflict with the export policies of the United Kingdom.

No, Sir. If the hon. Member has in mind a specific case, my right hon. Friend would be glad to consider the matter further.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the American Government have placed a complete embargo on exports to China and that, under the foreign assets control regulations under the 1917 Act referred to in the Question, this embargo applies automatically to exports from any American-owned company in this country or any subsidiary manufacturing in Britain? Is he aware that in 1957 Remingtons were prohibited and prevented from exporting typewriters to China under those regulations, and that, therefore, Fords can also be prevented from exporting lorries, cars or tractors to China? Is not this a very serious matter, and will he do something about it?

I am in full agreement with the hon. Lady that this is a serious matter. The regulations have been in force since 1951, and we have not so far found any reason to make representations about their operation, but if we are presented with a current specific case, I can assure the hon. Lady that my right hon. Friend will be very glad indeed to look into it.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in the House last week I made a statement that Fords in Detroit had used exactly this method and refused to allow the Dagenham company to export tractors to China? Has he made any further inquiries into that aspect?

That matter is being looked into. However, I should like to point out that the Question relates specifically to regulations under the Trading with the Enemy Act, 1917. There are, of course, certain other regulations which are not covered in the Question.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I give notice that I shall try to raise this matter on the Adjournment.