asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what re-examination has been carried out of the proportion of senior officials and naval officers in his manpower Departments.

This is one of the matters included in the review now in progress of the working of the new organisation serving the Second Sea Lord.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations when the Ordinance providing for the establishment of co-operative societies in Bechuanaland was published; how many societies now exist there; and what is their membership.

I have been asked to reply.The Bechuanaland Protectorate Cooperative Agriculture Societies Proclamation was published in 1910. Although no societies are at present registered under this Proclamation certain tribal administrations run marketing organisations on co-operative lines.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what is the number of co-operative societies in Basutoland and Swaziland. respectively; and what is their membership.

I have been asked to reply.In Basutoland there are 136 registered co-operative societies with a total membership of 10487.In Swaziland there are four registered societies with a total membership of 1008.

asked the Minister of Defence what reorganisation he anticipates will be required in Forces' education as a result of the ending of National Service; and what is to be the future of the Central Committee for Adult Education in Her Majesty's Forces.

The smaller numbers involved will lead to some administrative reorganisation. The syllabuses will remain much as they are. They are linked to the General Certificate of Education examination and have proved as suitable for Regulars as for National Service men. The Central Committee for Adult Education in Her Majesty's Forces has been reconstituted under the Chairmanship of the Rector of King's College. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and will continue to co-ordinate the assistance given by the universities in furthering the higher education of all ranks of the Forces.

asked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, (1) if he will appoint a research council which will be responsible for research into the conservation of natural resources;(2) when he expects to receive a report from the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy concerning research into the conservation of natural resources.

The Advisory Council on Scientific Policy is now considering this problem and will in due course advise my noble Friend. When this advice has been received, any necessary consideration will be given to changes in organisation.

asked the Minister of Education if he will announce the composition of the United Kingdom Advisory Council on Education for Management, and the date of its first meeting.

The Council will be holding its first meeting on Monday, 6th February. Its composition is as follows:A.

asked the Minister of Health how many people in the Dartford area have been vaccinated against poliomyelitis.

31,500 people in the Parliamentary constituency of Dartford had had at least two doses of vaccine by the end of 1960.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (1) whether he is aware that for some local authorities his revised figures for transitional receipts under the Local Government Act, 1958, fall short of the amounts notified in January, 1959, and again in January, 1960, as being receivable in the ensuing years; and whether he will state the reasons for the discrepancy now revealed in the original estimates;(2) what steps he proposes to take to mitigate the effect on the finances of some local authorities of the lower revised figures now notified of transitional receipts receivable under the Local Government Act, 1958;(3) whether he will publish the revised amounts of transitional receipts notified to all rating authorities; and whether he will indicate how these figures compare with the original estimates.

The revised receipts and payments differ from those previously notified because they are based on a second estimate of gains and losses using the latest available figures, including the latest estimates by the local authorities of expenditure, rate product, etc., for the year 1957–58, in place of those which they supplied in 1958. The best estimates of gains and losses must be used for the final calculation of receipts and payments for each year of the transitional period.An adjustment in 1961–62 for the second estimate for the years 1959–150 and 1960–61 would have resulted in excessive fluctuations in rate poundages. I have therefore decided to postpone the adjustment for those years. I propose to have further consultations with the associations of local authorities about timing.The receipts of the losing authorities were £6,880,657 for 1959–60 and £6,192,591 for 1960–61. The revised amounts of the receipts are £6,769,164 and £6,092,248 respectively. I regret I do not consider that the expense of publishing individual figures for nearly 1,500 authorities would be justified, but I shall be ready to provide figures for any rating authority on request.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what machinery exists for the consideration of recommendations adopted as texts by the Consultative Committee of the Council of Europe.

Recommendations adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe are considered by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, usually after discussions among their permanent representatives at Strasbourg. The permanent representatives can themselves take decisions on recommendations on the authority of their Governments, and action thus need not await a formal meeting of the Committee of Ministers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the reluctance on the part of manufacturers to set up new industries in the County of Durham; and what further action he proposes to take in order to draw their attention to the facilities and amenities available in the county.

Some firms have been deterred from setting up in the County of Durham and the North East generally because it is too far away from their existing factories or their main market, but I do not believe that there is a deep-seated or universal reluctance to go there. The inducements offered by the Local Employment Act are available in those areas of County Durham which are Development Districts, and we shall continue to draw the attention of industrialists to the facilities available in the county.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he is satisfied with the rate of progress being made under the Local Employment Act in bringing new industries to the County of Durham;(2) how many additional jobs he expects to be available in the County of Durham in 1961 as a result of new industries being brought to the area.

It is estimated that there are at present about 14,500 new jobs in prospect in County Durham, of which about a tenth will be provided by firms new to the county. A substantial proportion should accrue this year. But I should like to see new firms coming in more rapidly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what period of time he proposes should elapse before assessing the success or failure of the Local Employment Act in bringing new industries to areas of high unemployment.

In ten development districts the successes already achieved or in prospect have enabled me to announce that we would not accept any further applications for assistance under the Act. This should eventually help the remaining development districts, including those in County Durham.

asked the Minister of Transport how many local authorities have submitted three-year rolling programmes for roads in accordance with the official statement of 28th July, 1960; and what is their estimated total cost.

All the major highway authorities have submitted lists of the schemes they would like to start during the next four years. These have been carefully considered by my Department and I hope shortly to let the authorities have a list of the schemes which can be approved for the next three years. The total cost of the approved programme will be about £100 million.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to receive the Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Rural Transport.

I have already received the Report. As I said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Mr. Speir) on 1st February, I intend to publish it as soon as practicable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money accrued to his Department during 1960 from persons who died intestate, in cases where no next-of-kin could be found by his Department.

The Crown share for bona vacantia for 1960. including assets from dissolved estates, is just under £326,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the annual cost to the Revenue of raising the Surtax limit from £2,000 to £3,000, £4,000, and £5,000.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given to the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr. John Hall) on 10th November last—OFFICIAL REPORT, Vol. 629, No. 8, cols 1215–16.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will make a substantial reduction in the price of £3,250 per acre for 78 acres he is charging the Jamaican Government for his Department's land, to be used for a national stadium at Briggs Park, Jamaica.

The price asked for this land was accepted as reasonable by an independent third party nominated by the Government of Jamaica, and in these circumstances I could not justifiably vary this price. I have, however, recently written to the Premier of Jamaica offering, subject to Parliamentary approval, certain concessions on the interest payments due on this sale. These will produce a substantial saving to the Jamaica Government. The House will in due course be asked to make appropriate provision on the Colonial Service Vote for this waiver of interest.