asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty, what was the cost of refitting H.M.S. "Manxman" at Gibraltar during the period 1957–60; and what percentage of the labour force in the dockyard was engaged in work on or in connection with this ship.

H.M.S. "Manxman" was under refit at Gibraltar Dockyard from 27th February, 1958, to 15th January, 1960. The expenditure incurred was £270,000. Averaged over the period of the refit, about 20 per cent. of the Dockyard labour force was engaged in work on or in connection with the ship.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty why the work, due to begin on H.M.S. "Manxman" in January, 1961, at Chatham, could not have been carried out at Gibraltar during the ship's extended refit there, which was only completed in April this year; and how much of the work carried out at Gibraltar will have been wasted, in view of the new plans for the future employment of this ship.

The greatly increased work converting and modernising H.M.S. "Manxman" would, in a relatively small Dockyard such as Gibraltar, have engaged such a high percentage of the labour force that it would have interfered unacceptably with the normal programme of work. The work completed at Gibraltar was almost all repairs, which, if they had not been remedied during the refit, would have had to be undertaken during the conversion.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how much he estimates will have been spent on H.M.S. "Manxman" during the period 1957–63; and if he is satisfied that, in view of this ship being 22 years old in 1963, the total cost of her six years of refits will be fully justified by the extension of her useful life.

Expenditure on H.M.S. "Manxman" in the period 1957–60 was £270,000 covering refitting work at Gibraltar. It is not the prac- tice to give an estimate of the expenditure which will be incurred on this ship over the next three years which will cover far more than a refit, but I am satisfied that the work involved in the conversion of H.M.S. "Manxman" to a modern ship in her new rôle as headquarters and forward support ship for minesweepers will be fully justified by the extension of her useful life.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many acres of potatoes are still to be harvested.

It is estimated that between 95,000 and 100,000 acres of potatoes in England and Wales remained unharvested on 1st December. This represents about 20 per cent. of the acreage of second earlies and main crop. The comparable figure for Scotland is about 5 per cent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that many potato growers are short of labour for harvesting their main crop potatoes; and if he has consulted the Potato Marketing Board regarding releasing some of its staff to farmers for potato lifting.

I am aware that some potato growers are short of labour for harvesting their main crop potatoes and the Services have already provided assistance in a number of cases. As regards the second part of the Question, this is a domestic matter for the Board.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of dogs and cats detained in quarantine have subsequently developed rabies after a period, respectively, of one, two, three, four, or five months, during the past five years; and whether this percentage has been different for animals imported from Europe, the United States of America, Australasia, Asia, and Africa, respectively.

No dogs or cats have developed rabies while detained in quarantine during the last five years. I am sending my hon. Friend some particulars of cases during an earlier period.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will make a statement about the future of the Fighter Control Units of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force.

After the formation of the three Maritime Headquarters Units about which my predecessor told the House on 6th November, 1959, there remained twelve Fighter Control Units. One of these, No. 3502 (Ulster) F.C.U., was disbanded when a maritime unit was opened in Belfast in July. We have now decided that the eleven remaining Fighter Control Units must also be disbanded. The reorganisation of the Control and Reporting system and the introduction of new air defence techniques has resulted in a reduction in manpower needs. The continued employment of auxiliaries in this rôle is thus now no longer justified. Very careful consideration has been given to the employment of the units in other rôles; but this has unfortunately proved impracticable.The following units will therefore be disbanded on 31st January, 1961:—

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will now publish the modified Green Belt Scheme for Hampshire, to which he has recently given his approval.

The Hampshire County Council has arranged for maps showing the effect of my proposed modifications to be on display as from today at local authority offices in the area concerned; and notices are being put in the local newspapers at the same time, telling people where the lists of modifications can be seen.

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys and girls, respectively, have been apprenticed to a trade in the Don Valley area since 1st January 1960.

317 boys and 26 girls started work as apprentices or learners in skilled trades.

asked the Postmaster-General what has been the British investment in trans-Atlantic telephone cables to date; what percentage of the total investment this British contribution represents; what has been the British income from this investment: and what percentage this income is of the total revenue.

British investment so far in trans-Atlantic telephone cables is £7·5 million, this being a half share in the cable laid in 1956 linking the United Kingdom with Canada and the United States. The only other existing trans-Atlantic telephone cable is one linking France with the United States. There is no British investment in that cable, but the United Kingdom will have a half share in a cable to Canada to be laid in 1961 and a cable to the United States to be laid in 1963, and also a 25 per cent. share in a United Kingdom/Iceland cable to be laid in 1961.The total British revenue from the 1956 cable and the associated radio facilities has amounted to £7·9 million. The information asked for in the last part of my hon. Friend's Question is, I regret to say, not available.