asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will state the reasons for his decision not to advise the disallowance of the Vagrancy Act of Southern Rhodesia.

I am not satisfied that the circumstances would justify the exercise of this exceptional constitutional power.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if decisions have now been reached regarding the constitution of a legislature in Swaziland.

The consultations with regard to constitutional development in Swaziland are still in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what will be the status of the African delegates at the forthcoming discussions on the future of the Central African Federation; and if he will publish a list of all the delegates attending the conference, stating how many are European and how many are African.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Surbiton (Mr. Fisher) and other hon. Members.All delegates will naturally enjoy the same status.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what provision will be made in the new Constitution for the Bechuanaland Protectorate for representation of the interests of the Bushmen population.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the Hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Miss Vickers) today.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations by what means confidential official messages are sent between the Bechuanaland Protectorate and the Imperial Reserve at Mafeking.

Confidential official communications are normally sent by coded radio message, official bag or special messenger.

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, what steps he is intending to take to increase the number of qualified engineers in the United Kingdom.

The Government's plans for the expansion of technological education are ahead of schedule, and facilities now exist either in universities or in colleges of technology for the training of all who wish to become qualified engineers and who have reached the necessary educational standards. The output of engineers in 1961 is expected to be almost 30 per cent. higher than that in 1958. A further expansion in the number of places is now under consideration.

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, how many civil servants are employed in the office of the Minister for Science; and how many of these have a degree, or similar qualifications, in mathematics, engineering or the natural sciences.

Fifty-six of which sixteen are of the administrative grade. Of the latter, eight have one or more of the qualifications referred to in my hon. Friend's Question.

asked the Minister of Education what action he proposes to take to implement the suggestions contained in the Report of the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy, about a new approach to the teaching of mathematics and biology.

Improvements in the teaching of science and mathematics in the schools are being studied by teachers' organisations, by examining bodies on which school and university teachers are represented, and by Her Majesty's Inspectors. I do not control syllabuses or teaching methods, but I shall continue to encourage all those concerned to improve them.

asked the Minister of Education if he will now circularise all heads of schools and colleges where pupils have sought entrance to a university this autumn in order to discover the number of qualified pupils who have failed to gain admission.

This is the kind of information which I would expect would be asked for in connection with the review of higher education. Consequently, I do not think it would be justifiable at this stage to make separate inquiries which would have to be elaborate.

asked the Minister of Education what are the amounts he has authorised for the schools building programme for the city of Sheffield for the years 1960–61, 1961–62 and 1962–63, respectively; and what percentage these allocations each represent for the total amount authorised for the whole country in each year.

£667,000, £852,000, and £466,000 in the respective years. This represents percentages of about 1·2, 1·4 and 0·8 of the total amounts authorised among all local education authorities in England and Wales.

asked the Minister of Education if he will state the number of members of the Beloe Committee who had actual teaching experience in secondary modern schools, and the number of members who had served in secondary modern schools in Wales.

All eight members of the Committee had taught in secondary schools: three in secondary modern or comparable schools and the others, including the Welsh representative, in other types of secondary school.

asked the Minister of Education what is the global sum he permits the city of Sheffield to spend upon minor capital projects in a financial year; what percentage this is of the total national expenditure on such projects; and if he will remove the restrictions he imposes on the ceiling of minor capital projects of less than £20,000 used for the purpose of modernising old school buildings.

The sum varies from year to year: this year it is £165,000, or about 1·1 per cent. of the local education authorities' share of the total minor works programme for England and Wales. I regret that I cannot at present dispense with allocations for minor projects.

asked the Minister of Education why no qualifications were given for the delegate last in the list of those published in the official Press release, dated 9th November, 1960, concerning the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Conference in Paris; and What were the reasons for her inclusion.

I asked Mrs. T. C. R. Shepherd to be an alternate delegate on the United Kingdom Delegation to U.N.E.S.C.O. because we wanted a good speaker with experience in youth and social welfare questions, especially those affecting women.

asked the Minister of Education whether the extension he has announced of dependants' grants for mature students to such students studying for any length of time will apply to students who have already entered training colleges.

Yes. Mature students who have already enfered training colleges will be eligible for dependants' grants from September, 1961, subject to the normal requirement that they were married and satisfied the age requirement at the time when they started their course. Dependants' grants are not payable to students who marry during the period of their training.

asked the Minister of Education how many of the premature terminations for academic reasons of State scholarships and supplemental State scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in each of the years 1953–54 to 1959–60 were terminations within 12 months of the scholarships being taken up; and if he will state the nature of the academic reasons.

In 1959–60, one State Scholar and 5 holders of supplemental State Scholarships at Oxford, and 2 State Scholars and one holder of a supplemental State Scholarship at Cambridge had to terminate their courses at the end of their first year. They had failed in their examinations.I regret that similar information for earlier years is not readily available.

asked the Minister of Education if he will state, for those in receipt of State scholarships and supplemental State scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in each of the last 10 years, the numbers who gained first, second, and third class honours degrees, respectively, and the number who failed to pass their final examinations.

The following table shows the first degree results of State scholars and Supplemental award holders at Oxford and Cambridge Universities for the five years beginning with 1955–56.Similar information for earlier years is not readily available.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has yet fixed a date for the visit to this country of General de Gaulle.

No. There are no present plans for a visit to this country by President de Gaulle. I would, of course, be very pleased to see him in this country at any time.

asked the Prime Minister what matters he proposes to discuss with Dr. Adenauer during the latter's forthcoming visit to this country.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will discuss with Dr. Adenauer when he visits this country proposals for establishing a zone of arms inspection and control in Central Europe.

There is no formal agenda for my discussions with Dr. Adenauer, and I cannot forecast what particular subjects may come up. We shall no doubt cover the whole range of matters of common interest to us.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his conversations with the Prime Minister of the Central African Federation on 27th November.

No. The conversations were informal and confidential.

asked the Prime Minister when he expects the next Commonwealth Prime Minister's Conference to be held.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 29th November to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Colonel Beamish).There is general agreement that the Meeting should begin on 8th March.

asked the Prime Minister what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to a merger of the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

This Question appears to be based upon a statement which I am alleged to have made in the course of a private discussion. Of course, I made no such statement. What I have felt for a long time, and have never concealed, is that in the long struggle between the Communist system and the Free World, the nations of the Free World will have to work more and more closely together not merely in military defence but in effective co-operation in the realms of economics, trade and human well-being. While the road to this may be long and difficult, it is an objective which we should keep always in our minds, and we should aim at avoiding national policies which operate against its realisation. It is not a question of merging of sovereignties; it is a question of co-operation in all these vital fields between various States and the various organisations of States. This is in fact the doctrine of interdependence which I have often stressed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why he has delayed the operation of the ban on the importation of pigmeat and edible pig offals from the Argentine until 1st February, 1961; and whether he will consider advancing the date.

The decision to ban the importation of pork and pork offals was taken before the beginning of the present outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The 1st February, 1961, was chosen as the date in order to give adequate notice. This is just as important to our own importers as to the producers in the four South American countries concerned.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why many of the appointments of members of river boards which he is required to make by Section 2 (2) (a) and (c) of the River Boards Act, 1948, are made either after the required date thus making it illegal for the members to take office until the following year, or so shortly before as to cause serious inconvenience both to the boards concerned and to the members so appointed; and whether he will give an assurance that future appointments will be made well in advance of the required date.

Every endeavour is made to make the appointments before the 1st November, but occasionally this proves not possible. I am considering Whether the Act needs to be amended as regards such unavoidably late appointments.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why, in view of his proposal to close down the Research Station, Greyhope Road, Aberdeen, he proposes to build and equip a similar research station at Leatherhead.

As the hon. and learned Member will already be aware from the information given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Education, the proposed new research station at Leatherhead is not the responsibility of my Department. In any case, the work proposed at Leatherhead is quite different from that done at Aberdeen.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what projects, and of What kind, have been undertaken during the last 12 months by the Government Research Station, Greyhope Road, Aberdeen; and how many, and which, of those projects have been undertaken for the United States Government.

The following projects have been undertaken at the Aberdeen Research Establishment during the last twelve months:1. The installation and operation of the Mark I commercial prototype accelerated freeze drying cabinet loaned to the Ministry by Messrs. Armour of Chicago. The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the capabilities of the new process and equipment, to provide information on the appropriate procedure and the most economical routine for each food and to establish realistic costing data.2. The production of field trial samples of the various foods processed by the accelerated freeze drying method and the production of experimental rations far large scale trials by the three armed services. Items of food have also been processed for hospital diets. The aim here was to produce a number of meals with precisely the same composition.3. Work on the quality and storage life of dehydrated foods and on the control of the hygienic conditions in the machines used.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will sanction the establishment of an advance factory in the Pwllheli-Portmadoc district of Caernarvonshire.

No.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the number and value of clocks that have been imported into this country from Westeirn Germany in each of the last three years; and what proportion the figures represent of the total number and value of clocks manufactured in the United Kingdom.

Following is the answer:

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many applications for industrial development certificates from firms wishing to set up new factories or extensions in the Bishop Auckland constituency are now pending.

None.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many applications from residents in the Bishop Auckland constituency for assistance under the Board of Trade Advisory Committee scheme are still being considered by the Advisory Committee.

Three.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in HANSARD his estimates of the number of children staying at school beyond the statutory leaving age, the number of university places available, and the ratio between the two, for each of the next five years; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the chances of gaining a university education increase.

The total of 17-year-olds in maintained schools, in January, 1959, for England and Wales, and in January, 1960, for Scotland where university entry is normally a year earlier, was 63,600; not all of these will stay on till university age. It is estimated that the comparable total five years later will be 110,100. The university student population in the academic year which has just begun is 106,000. The present university building programmes are related to a student population of 124,000 by the mid-1960's, or 135,000 with some overcrowding; year by year estimates cannot be provided. The question of further university expansion is under consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total yield in 1959–60 of motor vehicles tax, driving licences, and Purchase Tax on motor vehicles, motor cycles, and motor scooters, disregarding the cost of collection of these taxes; and what was the total public expenditure on roads in that year.

£268 million and £190 million, respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many overseas Commonwealth Governments have subscribed to the capital of, or otherwise advanced moneys to, the Commonwealth Development Finance Company Limited, following the recommendations of the Commonwealth Conference at Montreal; and what is he amount invested or loaned in every case.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the last annual report of the Commonwealth Development Finance Corporation, which gives, on page 11, the names of the countries which have subscribed to the capital of the company but not the amounts involved. This latter information is not published.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates to be the approximate cost of replacing the existing coinage with coins made of a plastic material; and the cost advantage likely to be derived in the manufacture thereof over conventional coins, taking into consideration the need to prevent counterfeiting.

The effect on the cost of manufacture would be one of the many factors to be considered in any examination of the possibility of changing the materials from which coins are made. My right hon. Friend has no estimates relating to the manufacture of coins from plastic materials, and no present plans for making them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the names and the artists of those pictures in the Lane bequest of 39 pictures which will be included in the first consignment soon to be sent to Dublin; and what arrangements are being made for their safe custody in transit.

Particulars of the pictures to be included in the first consignment are given in the agreement dated 6th November, 1959, between the National Gallery Trustees and the Commissioners of Public Works in Dublin, a copy of which was placed in the Library. Arrangements for the safe custody of the pictures in transit will be the responsibility of the National Gallery Trustees.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted prisoners have escaped from custody during the last year; and how many are still at large.

During the twelve months ended on 24th November, 1960, 325 convicted prisoners escaped from prison custody. Of these 66 escaped from security and 140 from outside parties and escorts at closed prisons; 8 escaped from a medium security prison; and 111 from open prisons. Twenty-nine are still at large.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that large numbers of gaming machines which offer the chance of substantial cash winnings, such as fruit machines, are being imported into this country; how many prosecutions have taken place in the Metropolitan Police area; and whether he will make a statement.

Between 1st August and 21st November, 1960, there were 125 prosecutions in, the Metropolitan Police District which led to the destruction of gaming machines. Information given to me by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis suggests that some proprietors of cafés, restaurants and public houses have been persuaded to acquire machines of the type referred to in the Question for the use of their customers when the relevant part of the Betting and Gaming Act comes into force on 1st January. The Act does not permit the use of such machines in premises of this kind to which the public have access, and their use would render the proprietors liable to prosecution. The Act does allow the use of machines in premises to which the public do not have access (such as clubs) provided that certain conditions are fulfilled. The conditions are, first, that not more than two gaming machines may be installed in any one building or part of a building in separate occupation (as applied to clubs this means not more than two per club); secondly, that each go does not cost more than 6d; and thirdly, that the takings of a machine are used for purposes other than private gain. One consequence of the last condition is that any arrangement such as I have seen described in the Press by which a share of the takings goes to the commercial supplier of the machine would be unlawful.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that Mr. Justice Maude at the Old Bailey on 21st November drew attention to the fact that the maximum sentence for harbouring youths who escape from approved schools was two months and to the need for Parliament to reconsider this matter; if he will introduce legislation to increase the maximum sentence which can be imposed for such offence; and if he will make a statement.

I am considering the suggestion in connection with legislation now before Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there are in Dorchester Prison; how man of them are suitable for outside work; and how many have taken part in outside working parties in the last year, to the nearest convenient date.

Of 207 prisoners in Dorchester Prison on 25th November, 56 were considered suitable for outside work. The number employed outside the prison this year has varied from 52 to 66.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the anomalies in the system, if he will set up a committee of inquiry on all forms of censorship in the United Kingdom, with power to make recommendations.

I have nothing to add to the Answers which I gave to the hon. Member's Questions on 14th July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is yet ready to announce his decision about the future of Dartmoor Prison.

Yes. I have studied with great care the report of the local public inquiry, a copy of which I am arranging to have placed in the library. The barrister who held the inquiry considered that, so far as a decision turned upon what was said at the inquiry, the Prison Commissioners should be allowed to build a new prison at Princetown. There are, however, wider considerations of policy which could be no more than touched upon at the inquiry, and I have come to the conclusion that the inconvenience of the site for the staff and their families, and the limitations which its isolated position imposes on the development of constructive methods of penal treatment, must be the decisive factors. I have therefore decided that a new prison should not be built at Princetown, and that the existing prison should be progressively demolished when, with the implementation of the prison building programme, other accommodation becomes available. A copy of the report and the letter announcing my decision is being sent to the interested bodies represented at the inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that publicity is a deterrent for the adult lawbreaker, if he will further investigate the possibility that the publication of the names of young offenders might act as a deterrent to juvenile crime; and if he will make a statement.

This question was considered by Lord Inaleby's Committee, who decided to recommend no change in the present law for the reasons set out in paragraphs 253 and 254 of their Report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to make the act of raping a dead human body a criminal offence.

I have noted this for consideration when a suitable opportunity for legislation occurs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement regarding the suspension of Mr. C. Gash, of Lowdham Grange Borstal establishment.

Mr. Gash is a teacher employed by the local education authority whose services have been made available for full-time teaching in the borstal institution. He has been employed as a teacher of illiterates since August, 1959. On 5th September, 1960, he tendered his resignation as from the end of the year, which was accepted. On 22nd November a newspaper published, in the form of a letter from Mr. Gash, the results of unauthorised inquiries which he had made from his pupils about their views on corporal punishment. In canvassing the opinion of boys in the institution on a matter of current controversy and giving the results to the Press, he was acting contrary to accepted practice and, in my view, improperly. When the Governor took exception to his conduct, I am informed that his attitude was defiant, and the Governor therefore considered it proper to suspend him from duty until the matter could be investigated and considered by the Prison Commission. The Governor properly reported the action he had taken to Mr. Gash's employers.I have been in touch with the local education authority. Mr. Gash will continue to receive his salary until his resignation takes effect, but he will not, in all the circumstances, undertake further duty in the Borstal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what grounds convicted prisoners are allowed to receive only one letter every two weeks, save in exceptional cases; and if he will review this policy.

Apart from other considerations, the need to examine prisoners' correspondence sets a limit to the number of letters which can be allowed. I have, however, recently reviewed the present allowance and hope that some increase may be possible next year.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if Her Majesty's Government will instruct the United Kingdom representative on the Trusteeship Committee of the United Nations to support the petition that a resolution be put before the General Assembly supporting the move by Liberia and Ethiopia to bring before the International Court the question of the mandate for South West Africa.

I assume that the hon. and learned Gentleman is referring to a draft resolution tabled in the Trusteeship Committee on 23rd November by Ghana, Nigeria and the Sudan. This has already been once revised and as I do not know the final form in which it may come to a vote, if at all, I cannot say how the United Kingdom Delegation will vote. Meanwhile, the Trusteeship Committee adjourned its consideration of the question of South West Africa on 25th November.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the £500,000 compensation which the Japanese Government undertook to pay under the Arrangement of 7th October, which was laid before the House on 29th November, has yet been paid; and when and how it will be distributed.

The sum of £500,000 was paid on 10th November. It has been decided that this money will be paid to the Exchequer and a Supplementary Estimate for £500,000 will duly be laid before the House in respect of the compensation to be distributed to claimants. In the meantime, an advance is being obtained from the Civil Contingencies Fund. The distribution will be made by the Claims Department of the Foreign Office and will begin immediately.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many African teachers are now teaching in secondary schools in Nyasaland.

Nineteen.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will have a further search made for books on the British Constitution and on economic development sent to Mr. Dunduza Chisiza, whilst in detention in Nyasaland, from Brandeis University, Massachusetts, United States of America, which have neither been delivered to him nor returned to the senders.

All possible inquiries have been made in an attempt to trace the other missing books without success. If more precise information can be obtained as to where the books were addressed, further inquiries might prove useful.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will review the leave periods of the overseas service with a view to reducing the length of each leave but making it available at shorter intervals than at present.

Leave periods are a matter for the overseas Governments to decide. But as part of the new Overseas Service Aid Scheme I am suggesting shorter tours in some territories and general improvements in family passages.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the establishment of the Kariba Lake Development Company and give details of the participation of the Northern Rhodesian Government; and whether the scheme has the support of the Gwembe Native Authority, in whose area the company will operate.

The proposals for the establishment of the Company have been abandoned. The Gwembe Tonga Native Authority were opposed to it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, before approving expenditure on new offices or extensions by county councils, he will take account of the consequential reorganisation of staff arising from the proposals of the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London.

In my view, the county councils concerned would be well advised wherever possible to avoid new projects for offices or office extensions until the future pattern of local government organisation for Greater London has been settled; and I shall have this in mind in considering any applications for loan sanctions for these purposes.

asked the Minister of Defence why he has agreed to merge part of the Royal Air Force Fighter Command in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation under General Norstad.

The North Atlantic Council has recognised that in modern conditions N.A.T.O. Europe needs a unified Air Defence system. The way in which this principle should be applied in practice to the United Kingdom is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health what training is received by those who fit artificial limbs to war pensioners.

The artificial limb manufacturers by whom limb fitters are employed arrange for them to receive considerable practical training, in which assistance is given by the Ministry's medical officers.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance to what extent X-rays are used to determine the length of bone left in an amputated leg in cases of dispute between the war pensioner and the medical authority.

Only rarely.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will make available to members of the public on request copies, which they may take away, of his leaflet stating last dates of posting for Christmas for the convenience of those who find it difficult to make repeated visits to post offices to consult the leaflets posted there.

I assume the hon. Member has overseas postings in mind. Although the posters about these displayed in post offices are not supplied to the public, leaflets giving rather more information may be obtained on request at certain offices and I am considering extending this facility next year.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the experiments of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation of the United States of America in speeding up global mails by using an electronic mail delivery system which can be immediately coupled to satellite transmission; to what extent Post Office engineers are conducting research into this technique; and what progress Her Majesty's Government are making towards a satellite communications system.

I am aware of the experiments in the United States in the transmission of facsimile copies of letters over telephone circuits and of the claims that this system might eventually be used for transmitting global mails via satellites. My officers are closely studying the possibilities in the field of satellite communications and are keeping in touch with other countries. Technical investigation of the design of communication satellites and of the equipment that would be needed at ground stations is in train. A technical mission has recently returned from a visit to the United States, and I am hopeful that before very long it will be possible to arrange certain experiments in which the United Kingdom will fake part.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the width of the new road now being constructed between Apex Corner and Bignall's Corner; how long has work been in progress on this road; and when it is likely to be completed.

The second carriageway under construction between Apex Corner and Bignall's Corner is 24 ft. wide. Work has been in progress for 13 months and, including the resurfacing of the existing carriageway, is due to be completed by June, 1961.

asked the Minister of Transport what further progress is being made with research into the noise caused by motor vehicles.

I am not yet in a position to add to the Answer I gave to a Question on this subject by the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas) on 26th October.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will make a statement on the plan to acquire Carlton House Terrace for building a new Foreign Office.

Yes. The scheme, first approved in 1946, provided for the building of a new Foreign Office on the site of Carlton House Terrace, behind the existing Mall facade. In view of the difficulty of meeting the up-to-date requirements of the Foreign Office in a building on this site the Government have now decided that as soon as it is feasible to do so the houses in Carlton House Terrace, which my Ministry holds on lease, shall be released to the Crown Estate Commissioners. I understand that the Commissioners intend to prepare a scheme for the internal conversion of the houses, while preserving the existing Nash facades both to the Mall and on the north side.