asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if a general survey of the Aden Protectorates has been made in respect of the need and supply of water; whether the Abyan Scheme is being extended; what has been the total cost of that scheme to date; and from what sources it has been financed.

No general survey has been undertaken, but certain States have carried out surveys in connection with irrigation projects. Further surveys are proposed in areas where they may be expected to prove profitable. The Abyan Board continues to develop the irrigable area in Abyan. The total capital cost of this scheme to date is £1,216,000, of which £270,000 is loan from colonial development and welfare funds and the rest the Board's own revenue.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what charges are made for hospital treatment for inpatients and out-patients in Aden; what percentage of the Yemeni patients does not normally reside in Aden Colony or Aden Protectorates; and how successful have been efforts to recruit girls for training as nurses during the past 12 months.

My right hon. Friend is in communication with the Governor on this subject and is awaiting his reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when it is proposed to hold elections for the Legislature of Nyasaland under the new constitution.

I would refer the hon. Member to my written reply to the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. G. M. Thomson) on 20th December. The elections will be held as soon as administratively possible. The registration of electors, which will start on 13th February, cannot be completed before 13th March and it is not possible to forecast how long the remaining processes may take.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will state the names and status of the members of the Hong Kong Governor's Advisory Committee on Corruption.

Chairman: Mr. C. E. M. Terry, C.B.E., Unofficial Member of Executive Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Report of the East African Economic and Fiscal Commission will be available.

The Report is being published as a White Paper (Cmnd. 1279) today.

asked the Prime Minister if he has now decided what form of inquiry he will make into current problems of the newspaper industry.

I hope to make a further statement on Thursday.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what regulations he has made with regard to ferry charges.

I have no powers to make regulations in this matter. My specific statutory powers are confined to the approval of dues to be charged by an authority owning a ferry which has been deemed to be a marine work under the Harbours, Piers and Ferries (Scotland) Act, 1937.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the progress of revaluation at present being carried out in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

I have no reason to suppose that revaluation is not progressing satisfactorily, but I am watching the position very closely.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that many local authorities and occupiers are perturbed at the lack of information in respect of revaluation; and whether he will take steps to ensure that the assessors release the new notices of assessment to occupiers at the earliest opportunity.

I know that many people are anxious to know the outcome of revaluation and I hope to receive provisional estimates from assessors at the end of this month. Assessors are proceeding as quickly as possible in the circumstances of their areas with the issue of individual notices.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the necessity for another new town to deal with Glasgow's overspill problem; and if he will make a statement.

I have, for the present, nothing to add to my reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Craigton (Mr. Millan) on 8th November last, except to say that our investigations are proceeding as rapidly as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the extent of the shortage of physiotherapists in Scottish hospitals; and What action he proposes to take to increase their number.

The estimated shortage is about 100. To encourage recruitment, the North-Eastern Regional Hospital Board has arranged for a new physiotherapy school to be established in Aberdeen this year. Later on, another new school will be established at Mary-field Hospital, Dundee.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans the Forestry Commission has for planting trees in new areas of Scotland.

This year the Commission expects to plant about 32,000 acres in Scotland, which will be an increase of 2,000 acres over last year. There are practically no areas in Scotland where the Commission does not already have plantations, but it is always looking for new areas where extensions of its activities might be practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will arrange for anti-poliomyelitis vaccine to be provided for the use of doctors in rural areas in smaller quantities than 10 c.c. at a time.

Arrangements are already made to ensure that rural areas receive a high and increasing proportion of their supply of poliomyelitis vaccine in 1 c.c. phials each of which is equivalent to one dose.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when provision is being made for dual carriageways on the Glasgow-Greenock section of trunk-road A.8.

The Glasgow-Greenock section of A.8 is one of the main industrial routes which it is our intention to modernise within the next ten years, but no work on it is planned for the immediate future and I am unable to say when a start is likely to be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the yearly total collected in National Health Service charges in each year since such charges were inaugurated, showing each item separately.

The following table shows the amounts collected annually in

—	1948–49	1949–50	1950–51	1951–52	1952–53	1953–54
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Amenity beds in hospitals	80,928	125,834	126,554	140,394	191,994	203,776
Hospital accommodation for private patients	205,377	233,706	231,487	288,544	236,407	244,046
Appliances etc. supplied by hospitals	98	10	178	2,313	9,229	16,847
Dental Services	—	—	—	147,103	539,589	661,103
Ophthalmic Services	—	—	—	252,730	369,943	454,996
Pharmaceutical Services	—	—	—	—	462,190	743,590
Local Health Authority Services (mainly home help service and children's nurseries)	76,000	109,000	133,350	158,369	174,589	204,212
TOTAL	362,403	468,550	491,569	929,453	1,983,941	2,528,570

—	1954–55	1955–56	1956–57	1957–58	1958–59	1959–60
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Amenity beds in hospitals	201,407	204,711	206,488	217,075	132,165	240,506
Hospital accommodation for private patients	237,056	244,348	260,609	270,678	274,113	287,784
Appliances etc. supplied by hospitals	19,207	21,911	26,392	27,775	31,522	36,535
Dental Services	719,648	770,466	836,213	873,496	898,069	940,161
Ophthalmic Services	502,343	552,404	573,484	548,830	537,907	557,761
Pharmaceutical Services	773,121	797,950	868,513	1,128,091	1,119,662	1,185,293
Local Health Authority Services (mainly home help service and children's nurseries)	228,831	263,923	292,819	316,742	320,000 (estimate)	350,000 (estimate)
TOTAL	2,681,613	2,855,713	3,064,518	3,382,687	3,413,438	3,598,040

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average size in square feet of four-apartment local authority houses completed in each of the years 1947, 1950, 1955 and 1959.

The available figures relate to houses in tenders approved each year, and are as follows:

1947	941 sq. ft.
1950	920 sq. ft.
1955	834 sq. ft.
1959	865 sq. ft.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the amount of housing subsidies paid to local authorities in each year since 1950.

The following are the amounts paid to Scottish local authorities in respect of houses provided or improved by them:

	£
1950–51	4,883,000
1951–52	5,498,000
1952–53	5,598,000
1953–54	7,192,000
1954–55	8,323,000
1955–56	9,398,000
1956–57	10,476,000
1957–58	11,962,000
1958–59	12,921,000
1959–60	13,529,000

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total amount paid to the agricultural industry in the form of grants and subsidies in each year since 1950; and what was the estimated total wage bill in the industry for each of those years.

Prior to 1954 subsidies in implementation of the agricultural price guarantees were borne on the vote of the Ministry of Food and separate Scottish figures are not available. The total amounts paid in subsidies and grants to the Scottish agricultural industry in each year from 1954–55 and the estimated total wages bill in each year from 1950–51 are as follows:

—	Subsidies and Grants	Wages Bill
	£ million	£ million
1950–51	—	28·1
1951–52	—	31·0
1952–53	—	31· 1
1953–54	—	32· 9
1954–55	28· 1	32· 1
1955–56	27· 4	33· 3
1956–57	34· 8	34· 3
1957–58	42· 5	35· 5
1958–59	39· 9	36· 8
1959–60	38· 5	36· 0

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average cost of a National Health Service prescription in 1956; and what is the comparable figure today.

The average cost of a prescription in 1956 was 5s. 10d. The provisional figure for 1960 is 7s. 11d.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average cost of a National Health Service prescription in Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively, in 1956 and in 1960.

In Edinburgh, 6s. 4d. in 1956 and an estimated 9s. in 1960. The corresponding figures for Glasgow are 5s. 11d. and 8s.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress is being made in the negotiations over the future of the transport services to the North Isles of Orkney.

I have put certain proposals to the Orkney Steam Navigation Company but I have not yet received a formal answer to them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the damaging effects on British industry of an increase in a production or works manager's salary from £2,000 per annum to £3,000 per annum resulting in Surtax taking £400 approximately of such increase and the manager retaining only £600, whereas a similar executive in Western Germany retains £700, in France £756 and in the United States of America £775 in strictly comparable circumstances; and, in view of the harmful effects of Surtax on Great Britain's industrial executives, notably affecting the national export trade, what fiscal steps he now proposes to take to assist British industry engaged in the export trade.

My right hon. and learned Friend is aware of the comparisons which are made between the tax rates of this and other countries, and has noted my hon. Friend's view; but he cannot anticipate his Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the policy of Her Majesty's Government to encourage married women, notably graduates, to return to the teaching profession, what steps he proposes to take to alleviate the effects of the married woman teacher's income, when aggregated to her husband's income, in lifting the combined income of the married couple into the Surtax bracket and thus discouraging the return of married women to the teaching profession.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. and learned Friend's Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost to the revenue in a full year of non-aggregation of the income of spouses for Surtax purposes; and what study he is making of the effect upon the economy that would result from the separate assessment of Surtax of spouses.

I regret that it is not possible to estimate the cost for which my hon. Friend asks. The Answer to the second part of the Question is that my right hon. and learned Friend is considering various representations that the suggested step would encourage more married women to take up paid work.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, based on statistics at 1st January, 1961, and on current rates and allowances for direct personal taxation only, what would be the cost to the revenue in a full year of fixing the ceiling rate of Income Tax and Surtax combined at 12s. in the pound, instead of the current ceiling rate of 17s. 9d. in the pound.

To fix the top Surtax rate at 4s. 3d., which would then apply to the excess of chargeable incomes over £4.000, and leave the rates below that rate unchanged would cost about £50 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number of Surtax assessments in which the amount of Surtax payable is less than £5, £10, £20, £50, and £100, respectively; what proportion of the total number of Surtax assessments these numbers, respectively, represent; and what proportion of the total yield of Surtax is collected in amounts of less than £100.

The final figures of Surtax for 1958–59 are estimated as follows:

Amount of Surtax payable	Number of Surtax assessments	Percentage of total number
	'000	per cent.
Less than £5	16	4
Less than £10	31	8
Less than £20	58	15
Less than £50	120	31
Less than £100	185	48

About 4½ per cent. of the total yield of Surtax will have been collected in amounts of less than £100.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to state the maximum pensions commencing on 1st April, 1959, 1st April 1960, and 1st January, 1961, respectively, payable to civil servants retiring after 40 years' pensionable service as postman, clerical officer, executive officer, higher executive officer, senior executive officer, principal and assistant secretary, respectively.

The information asked for is set out below. The calculations are based on the London rates of pay.

—	Amount of pension commencing:
	1st Apl. 1959	1st Apl. 1960	1st Jan. 1961
	£	£	£
Postman	272	280	284
Clerical Officer	367	383	390
Executive Officer	522	545	558
Higher Executive Officer	640	672	691
Senior Executive Officer	807	860	894
Principal	1,031	1,102	1,146
Assistant Secretary	1,369	1,486	1,573

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to state the number of pensions payable under the Superannuation Acts, 1935 and 1949, respectively, to widows and other dependants of civil servants on 30th September, 1960, the average amount of each such pension, and the number of persons in these categories not receiving such pensions.

The following table relates to the numbers and average amounts of pension payable at 30th September, 1960, to the widows and dependants of civil servants, under the Superannuation Acts, 1935 and 1949.

—	Number of pensions in payment at 30th September, 1960	Average amount of pension per annum
		£	s.	d.
Superannuation Act, 1935:
Widows and other beneficiaries	6,481	105	2	2
Superannuation Act, 1949:
Widows	19,954	82	19	2
Children	2,757	28	0	11
Other dependants	68	93	15	11

I am unable to say what numbers of persons in the various categories are not receiving pensions.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, as a further incentive to recruitment to the Civil Service. he will arrange that candidates for Civil Service appointments should no longer be required to pay fees.

Yes. The Civil Service Commission has decided, with my approval, that such fees as are still payable shall be abolished as soon as possible. No fees of any kind will be payable in any competitions announced from now on; candidates in competitions already announced will be notified

£ million
	1953		1959		1960
	Sales	Encashments	Sales	Encashments	Sales	Encashments
January	10·0	0·6	8·1	1·2	4·6	2·2
February	7·8	0·6	6·0	1·1	3·7	2·2
March	7·1	0·8	5·3	1·4	3·5	2·3
April	6·0	0·3	5·6	1·5	5·7	1·8
May	6·2	0·9	5·1	1·4	5·6	1·9
June	6·2	0·9	5·7	1·6	4·3	1·8
July	7·0	1·0	5·3	1·6	6·3	2·0
August	7·0	0·9	5·2	1·3	11·4	1·8
September	7·6	1·0	5·4	1·5	6·9	1·7
October	7·3	1·0	5·7	1·5	6·3	1·5
November	6·8	1·0	4·4	1·6	6·1	1·8
December	6·7	1·1	4·0	2·0	5·0	1·7
Totals	85·8	10·5	65·9	17·7	70·3	22·7
Note: These figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000, and the totals therefore do not necessarily correspond.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury to set out in tabular form the percentage of the national income which was spent by the central Government during 1946, 1956, 1959, and 1960; what are the estimated percentages for 1961 for total expenditure and for education, health, child care, agriculture, social services, housing, and defence, respectively; and if he will give the equivalent figures for similar services out of local authorities expenditure.

Total current expenditure by the central Government on goods of any change in the published arrangements

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what have been the monthly sales and encashments of Premium Bonds over the three-year period ended 31st December, 1960.

Sales and encashments of Premium Savings Bonds have been as follows:and services and transfers was equivalent to 48 per cent. of the gross national product in 1946, 30 per cent. in 1956 and 30 per cent. in 1959. These figures are based on expenditure as snown in Table 35 of the Blue Book "National Income and Expenditure, 1960" and include subsidies, national insurance benefits, debt interest, grants to local authorities, etc. The corresponding figures for current expenditure on goods and services only are 21 per cent., 14 per cent. and 13 per cent. respectively. I regret that similar figures for 1960 are not yet complete and that estimates for 1961 are not available either for central or local government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to give the total expenditure on the advertising of Government Bonds, Loans and Savings Certificates during the years ending 5th April, 1958, 1959 and 1960, and the figures applicable to the advertising of Premium Bonds alone during the same years.

Expenditure on poster, Press and television advertising of National Savings securities and Post Office and trustee savings banks met from Votes in the years ending 31st March, 1958, 1959 and 1960 was:

£'000
—	1957–58	1958–59	1959–60
Total	605	570	535
Of which, advertising of Premium Bonds	367	337	285

In addition, a small amount of expenditure was incurred on advertising by individual Trustee Savings Banks. I regret that the figures for this are not available.Government market securities are not advertised, but expenditure of the order of £5,000 a year is incurred on inserting formal notices of issues in the Press.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many new industries have been given financial help to establish themselves in the Isle of Wight under the Development Areas Treasury Advisory Committee and Board of Trade Advisory Committee schemes; how many applications are still to be considered; how many applications have been rejected; and how many jobs are in prospect.

Out of six successful applications, four are in respect of industries new to the island; ten applications have been rejected and ten are under consideration. Some 300 jobs are still to materialise as a result of successful applications; about 1,300 jobs are involved in the cases still under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of cotton grey cloth imported into the United Kingdom in 1958, 1959 and 1960 came from Hong Kong in each of those years.

The figures are 34 per cent., 29 per cent. and 18 per cent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many fewer men are employed in the Government-financed factories in Sunderland than were employed twelve months ago; and what factors have caused this fall in the numbers employed.

In November, 1960, employment of men in Board of Trade factories in Sunderland was about 180 less than in November, 1959. It is impossible to identify any particular factors likely to have produced this small overall reduction.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the unemployment which has been caused in the vicinity of Nenthead on the Northumberland-Cumberland borders by the recent closure of fluorspar mines there; what benefit this area will receive from the Local Employment Act, 1960; and whether he will do all he can to persuade suitable new industry to become established in this area.

I am aware that some fluorspar mines in this area have closed recently. About seventy jobs for men are in prospect in the Haltwhistle area, and I shall continue to try to encourage suitable firms to go there: the benefits of the Local Employment Act are available to those who do

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has now completed his consultations with educational bodies on the content of technical education; and what major reconstruction of courses he proposes.

Proposals for the reconstruction of courses were announced on 5th January in the White Paper on the future pattern of technical education in Scotland. These proposals were welcomed by the educational and other bodies whom I consulted before their publication.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress he is making in his efforts to obtain tenants for the Carfin Naval Stores for industrial production.

The attention of a number of firms has been drawn to the premises which will be available for industrial use at Carfin; applications for three buildings have been received and are now being considered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the amount of Treasury funds already paid, to date, for the scrapping of machinery under the terms of the Cotton Industry Act, 1959; and what is his latest estimate of the total cost to the Treasury for the scrapping of machinery under this Act.

£8· 9 million was paid from public funds up to 3rd February.I cannot yet make a more accurate estimate of the total cost than that given in my reply to the hon. Member on the 30th November last, namely, between £12 million and £13 million.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what will be the cost to Treasury funds of applications for re-equipment grants under the terms of the Cotton Industry Act, 1959, already received, assuming they are all fully accepted, and covering the first half of the period allowed for the submission of applications.

About £5·5 million, excluding the small number of applications rejected.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider setting up an industrial trading estate in North Monmouthshire similar to the four industrial trading estates now in existence in Glamorganshire.

No, I should be happy to see some new industry going to North Monmouthshire; but I do not consider that the setting up of an industrial estate—which could only be done in a development district—would be necessary or desirable for this purpose.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to strengthen the Monopolies Commission, in view of the fact that the break up of restrictive practices in some cases encourages the growth of monopoly.

No.

asked the Minister of Works if he will allow the continued use of the special car parks in The Mall, Constitution Hill, and Horse Guards Parade, subject to the requirements of ceremonial occasions, until a sufficient amount of permanent off-street parking has been provided for motorists.

No. I agreed that these car parks should be made available as a temporary measure to meet the exceptional conditions of the Christmas period.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he will make available the report of the University of Wales Press Board, submitted to him, on the working of the scheme for the grant-aiding of Welsh books.

I have in fact received four reports from the University of Wales Press Board covering the period 1956–60. I am preparing a statement on the working of the grant scheme to date which will, I think, be more helpful and informative than simply publishing the reports as they stand.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will delete references to Monmouthshire from all State documents which refer to Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I am bound to say that in my view no useful purpose would be served by such a change, for although (as I am advised) Monmouthshire has to be regarded, as the law stands, as one of the counties of England, it is usually linked with Wales for administrative purposes. The separate references to it in public documents are surely intended to recognise this.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs to bring forward the inquiry date to consider applications for advertising signs on the Great North Road at Catterick in view of the fact that he has already held an inquiry into this matter on 8th March last year.

I offered to deal with these applications by sending one of my

Type of Advertisement	Total number of appeals decided	Number dealt with by hearing		Number dealt with by correspondence (a)
		Dismissed	Allowed	Dismissed	Allowed
Posters	854	1	2	708	143
Public information panels	50	—	1	31	18
Trade signs (b)	645	10	2	441	192
	(93)	(1)	(—)	(79)	(13)
TOTALS	1,549	16		1,533
NOTES:
(a) In all these cases the site was visited by an officer of the Department; in some cases he was accompanied by representatives of both parties to the appeal.
(b) The figures in brackets relate to appeals for direction signs not on the trader's premises.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware that the divergence of methods used by local authorities to measure air pollution presents a distorted picture of pollution trends over the country as a whole, in view of the fact that some officers to visit the site in company with representatives of the parties; this could have been arranged quite quickly. But the applicants asked for an inquiry, and because of the great pressure on my inspectorate Tuesday, 18th April, is the earliest date on which an inquiry can be arranged. The inquiry last March was into a different application.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what was the number of appeals by advertising interests dealt with during 1960 under the Control of Advertisements Regulations, 1948; how many of these were dealt with at public hearings and by correspondence, respectively; how many in each group referred, respectively, to posters, including bulletin boards but not trade signs, public information panels and trade signs on the premises of the occupiers concerned; and how many of each category were rejected or allowed.

The number of appeals decided during 1960 under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations was 1,549 Details are as follows:authorities measure pollution over the town as a whole, while others concentrate measuring instruments in the areas of highest pollution; and whether he will recommend to all local authorities a uniform method of measuring air pollution.

Local authorities who take air pollution measurements do so in co-operation with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research; there is a standing conference to co-ordinate action. Many sites at which measurements are taken were, however, originally selected for local reasons, and the measurements are an imperfect basis for showing national trends. A working party appointed by the standing conference has recently recommended an extension and improvement of local measurements in order to enable better national assessments to be made. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I propose to recommend these proposals to local authorities generally.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs to confirm a building preservation order in respect of the vicarage at High Wycombe, which is threatened with destruction.

The Buckinghamshire County Council has under consideration a notice which it has received of intention to demolish the vicarage. I do not yet know whether they or the High Wycombe Borough Council intends to submit a building preservation order to me for confirmation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what action he has taken to deal with housing camps on requisitioned land.

At the beginning of 1959 there were 162 camps on requisitioned land, housing 2,184 families. By the end of 1960, when requisitioning powers lapsed, my Department in cooperation with the local authorities concerned had succeeded in getting all these camp sites either cleared and derequisitioned or taken on lease from the owner.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many entries he has received in the competition for Awards for Good Design in Housing.

So far, only 16 entries have reached me from England and none from Wales, but I have had over 100 requests for entry forms, and I hope to receive many more entries before the closing date, which is 28th February. The competition is open to the designers of housing schemes comprising at least ten new dwellings which nave been completed in the last five years. Entries should be addressed to the Secretary, Awards for Good Design Competition, 1961, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Whitehall, S.W.I (for Wales, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff).

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty to give an assurance that redundant non-industrial workers, transferred to Messrs. C. H. Bailey, Malta, in 1958, will be transferred back to the Admiralty.

Non-industrial employees now on loan to Baileys will be considered for retention in Admiralty employment on a basis of equality with those who have continued in the direct employment of the Admiralty. As has recently been explained to the staff associations concerned, however, there will inevitably be some redundancy, either of the men on loan themselves or of un-established or junior men now in the naval base. Details are now being worked out.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty whether he is satisfied with the progress of construction of H.M. Frigates "Weymouth", "Hastings" and "Fowey"; and when it is hoped to complete these vessels.

Yes. It was decided to delay these ships, which were originally of the Whitby Class, so that they could be completed as the first three ships of the Leander Class, a development of the Whitby design. They are due to complete in about two years' time.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how many fender ships are in service with the Royal Navy; and what function is performed by ships of this type.

At the moment five of Her Majesty's ships serve as fender ships. Pending scrapping they provide temporary deep water berths for operational ships.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty why the Type 61 frigates H.M.S. "Gloucester" and H.M.S. "Exeter" were cancelled under the 1957 defence cuts; and whether he is satisfied with the number of aircraft direction ships available in the fleet.

The cancellation of the specialised air defence frigate, H.M.S. "Exeter", was in line with the policy of giving all frigates an all round capability including aircraft direction. Within the resources available, I am satisfied that this policy, under which the Tribal and Leander class ships building will have an aircraft direction capability, will provide sufficient escorts for this specialised rô le. No Type 61 frigate to be known as H.M.S. "Gloucester" was ever contemplated.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is aware that the three Bahraini prisoners now in St. Helena were put into British custody on a British ship before the Order in Council making this legal was promulgated in Bahrain; and, in view of this fact, what action he now proposes to take.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to my statement in the House on 30th January.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement about the arrangements made by Her Majesty's Government to supply civil aircraft to the Republic of Mali for the purpose of assisting them to start a civil air service.

Her Majesty's Government have made the Mali Government a gift of three DC 3 aircraft to start a civil air service. The gift will include adapting the aircraft and delivering them to Mali. Provision for this gift in a sum not exceeding £80,000, will be made in Estimates to be laid before the House in due course.

asked the Postmaster-General, in view of the need to safeguard the public against private monopoly of news and ensure the free expression of political views, whether he will amend the Licence and Agreement of the British Broadcasting Corporation so as to secure Government control of the publication of the Corporation's programmes in order to ensure sufficient revenue to finance an official national daily newspaper.

No. The B.B.C. was set up to provide broadcasting services rather than to run a daily newspaper, and, other considerations apart, I think people would be justifiably annoyed at not being able to see details of the B.B.C. programmes in the papers of their choice.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that restrictive practices of the trade unions in the printing industry are contributing to the difficulties of smaller-size newspapers in continuing publication; and whether he will have consultations with the unions concerned in order to resolve this matter.

The printing industry already has machinery for these matters to be discussed between the employers and the trade unions concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the unemployment percentage figure for North Monmouthshire, comprising Rhymney, Tredegar, Ebbw Vale, Blaina, and Abertillery, at the most recent available date.

I can only give a percentage figure for a slightly different area. On 16th January, 1961, the unemployment percentage was 3· 4 in a district comprising the Brynmawr, Abertillery, Ebbw Vale, Newbridge and Tredegar employment exchange areas.

asked the Minister of Labour what numbers were registered as unemployed in the Abertillery and Newbridge Employment Exchanges, respectively, in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1961, respectively.

The information is contained in the following table:

NUMBERS REGISTERED AT ABERTILLERY AND NEWBRIDGE EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES
Date	Abertillery	Newbridge
14th January, 1957	399	230
15th July, 1957	437	245
13th January, 1958	587	265
14th July, 1958	598	326
12th January, 1959	746	404
13th July, 1959	602	341
11th January, 1960	546	330
11th July, 1960	421	168
16th January, 1961	467	222

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many applications were made in Scotland for refund of National Health prescription charges in each of the years 1958, 1959, and 1960; and if he will state the amount of money repaid in each of those years.

It is estimated that the total amount of refunds of prescription charges in Scotland was about £65,000 in 1958, about £70,000 in 1959, and about £80,000 in 1960. It is not possible to say how many separate applications were made.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what was the total cost of meeting prescription charges for the years 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, and 1960–61, up to the latest convenient date; and what was the number of claims for refund made in each of the same periods.

The total sums refunded in respect of prescription charges were, respectively, about

	£
1955–56	477,000
1956–57	654,000
1957–58	1,078,000
1958–59	999,000
1959–60	1,043,000

A provisional figure for the first nine months of 1960–61 is £815,000. Figures are not available as to the number of persons who have claimed refunds.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how much the National Assistance Board has expended in each of the last three years for which figures are available on refunds of prescription charges to those in receipt of National Assistance, and to other applicants on hardship grounds.

The total sums refunded by the National Assistance Board in respect of prescription charges were about £972,000 in 1958, £1,003,000 in 1959, and £1,066,000 in 1960.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what consideration he has given to revising retirement pensions, in view of the increased expenses of old-age pensioners that will result from the increase of the charge for medical prescriptions.

As my hon. and gallant Friend will be aware, the rates of retirement pension which already stand higher in real terms than at any date before they were increased in 1958, will be increased by 7s. 6d. on the single rate and 12s. 6d. on the married rate during the week beginning 3rd April, under the legislation passed by Parliament earlier this session.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many certificates have been granted in respect of non-participating employments; how many employees they cover; and how many applications for certificates are still undetermined by the Registrar.

10,318 such certificates have been granted by the Registrar covering 2,605,000 employees; 2,685 applications for certificates are now with the Registrar.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what estimated saving in National Assistance allowances will follow the introduction of higher retirement pensions on 1st April.

As the hon. Member is aware, the new scales of National Assistance approved by Parliament will come into operation at the beginning of April simultaneously with the introduction of higher scales of retirement pension and other benefits. Taking into account all these changes, the cost of National Assistance in 1961–62 will be somewhat lower than in 1960–61. For details of this I would ask the hon. Member to await the publication of the National Assistance Board's Estimates.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what was the ratio of National Insurance contributions to the average earnings of men and women, respectively, in 1948: and what were the comparative ratios in 1960.

For men, the total contribution payable in 1948 was 6· 7 per cent. of their average earnings and the corresponding figure in October. 1960 was 6· 3 per cent. For women, these proportions were respectively 9· 6 per cent. and 9· 9 per cent. The figures include the contributions for industrial injuries and to the National Health Service.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) to state the names of river boards and local authorities in Wales who have sought his permission for emergency expenditure on flood prevention schemes that will receive grant aid from his Department;(2) what emergency expenditure he has authorised for flood prevention schemes in 1961; what grant his Department will make towards these schemes; and what proportion will have to be raised by local authorities.

No detailed schemes have yet been submitted to my right hon. Friend by river boards and other authorities in Wales as a result of the recent floods. I understand that a number of these bodies have such schemes under consideration and my right hon. Friend will be glad to consider what grant aid can be offered towards any suitable schemes which may be submitted by them.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what use his Department now intends to make of Ouston aerodrome, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and whether he is satisfied that adequate use is being made of the modern houses and buildings owned by his Department there.

The airfield will be needed as a relief landing ground for a flying training school which will move to Acklington in the spring. It will continue to be used by Durham University Air Squadron. The buildings will be used by the flying training school; by the University Air Squadron; and by a signals unit and a fighter control cooperation unit which will remain on the station.

asked the Minister of Health what was the percentage of gross National Health Service expenditure borne by the Exchequer for each of the years between 1947–48 and 1959–60; and what he estimates will be the percentage for 1960–61.

The percentages are as follows (expenditure by, and grants to, local health authorities have been excluded throughout):

1948–49	74
1949–50	79
1950–51	84
1951–52	83
1952–53	82
1953–54	81
1954–55	82
1955–56	82
1956–57	83
1957–58	80
1958–59	75
1959–60	75
1960–61 (latest estimate)	76

asked the Minister of Health what would be the cost of the National Health Service in England and Wales for 1959–60 if the proportion of national resources devoted to it was the same as it was in 1949–50.

On the basis of the gross national product and the gross cost of the services in the National Health Service Appropriation Accounts, excluding local health authority services, the figure would be about £709 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, in view of the statement by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland that the perpetrators of the murder of Constable Anderson should be brought to justice, whether Her Majesty's Government will seek an assurance from the Government of the Republic of Ireland that the murderers, when apprehended, will be handed over to stand trial in the United Kingdom.

I have been asked to reply.There are no arrangements for bringing before the courts of Northern Ireland for trial an alleged offender who is in the Irish Republic. Mr. Lemass has appealed to his countrymen to do everything they can to bring the killers of Constable Anderson to justice.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, what protest has been made by Her Majesty's Government to the Government of the Republic of Ireland regarding their failure to prevent armed members of the illegal Irish Republican Army crossing the border into Northern Ireland, as a result of which Constable Anderson was murdered on 27th January.

I have been asked to reply.None, Sir. The Prime Minister of the Irish Republic issued a statement on 27th January saying that the news of this brutal murder would be received by all Irish people with horror and disgust and urging Irishmen to do everything within their power to bring its perpetrators to justice. In view of Mr. Lemass's state- ment, which Her Majesty's Government warmly endorse, I do not think that any useful purpose would be served in protesting to the Government of the Irish Republic.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will introduce legislation to reduce motor exhausts by compelling all private and commercial motor vehicles to carry an anti-exhaust device similar to those being made compulsory by the California State Legislature, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Dunfermline Burghs.

The Californian legislation requiring the fitting of exhaust control devices for vehicles does not become effective until at least two suitable devices have been approved and are on sale. I am keeping in close touch with the position, but so far as I know no device has yet been approved, or is likely to be approved, in the near future.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will state the number of reported accidents involving shale lorries proceeding to and from the Spencer Steelworks Project at Llanwern since the commencement of work at the site; and how many injuries and how many deaths were caused by such accidents.

I am informed that in the course of this immense road transport operation 980 accidents have occurred since the work started on a large scale in January, 1960. In 750 of these accidents no one was injured; in the remaining 230 accidents, I am sorry to say, 18 people died and 280 were injured.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of widespread public interest in the improvement in the British Railways superannuation scheme, if he will undertake to make an announcement to the House about this scheme as soon as the details are published by the Transport Commission.

Following are the details of the scheme which has recently been published by the British Transport Commission:APRIL, 1961, SCHEME OF SUPPLEMENTATION FOR SUPERANNUITANTS OF THE BRITISH TRANSPORT COMMISSION:

asked the Minister of Transport how many of the road accidents resulting in death on 24th. 25th, 26th, and 31st December, 1960, were attributable to drinking intoxicants.

It is not possible to provide figures for all fatal accidents in which intoxicants, taken either by drivers or other road users, were a contributory factor. Statistics are available only for those accidents in which a driver or cyclist was reported as being intoxicated; these reports are confined to cases in which an arrest was made, or would have been made but for the death or serious injury of the person concerned. There were four such fatal accidents in the period 24th-26th December, 1960. Information is not yet available for 31st December.These figures probably understate the number of accidents in which drink may have been a contributory factor. The investigation early last year by the Road Research Laboratory into fatal road accidents at Christmas 1959 showed that in at least 56 per cent. of the accidents one or more of the persons involved had been drinking alcohol in some form not long before the accident, but in only 4 cases was a driver or cyclist reported at the time of the accident as being intoxicated.

asked the Minister of Transport whether provision will be included in the new Road Traffic Bill to prevent access to fire hydrants being impeded by parked cars.

Discussions with interested bodies have so far indicated that cars parked near fire hydrants do not in practice cause serious difficulties for firemen. I have therefore no present proposals for legislation on the matter.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of the Tops of the Valleys Road, South Wales.

Work on Stage One of the Heads of the Valleys Road, between Abergavenny and Brynmawr is due to be finished in July, 1962. The contractors are making steady progress but have been hindered by bad weather for several months.Work on Stage Two, between Dowlais Top and Hirwaun, should start this year

Subject	Total number of First Year students	Qualified by G.C.E.	Qualified by O.N.C.	Qualified by other qualifications
Aeronautical Engineering	83	65	16	2
Applied Biology	38	38	—	—
*Applied Biochemistry	13	13
*Applied Pharmacology
Applied Chemistry
Chemical Technology	219	180	36	3
Industrial Chemistry
Building	12	5	5	2
Chemical Engineering	54	47	5	2
Civil Engineering	86	59	22	5
Electrical Engineering	467	325	129	13
Instrument and Control Engineering	14	12	2	—
Mathematics	74	74	—	—
Mechanical and Production Engineering	493	263	196	34
Metallurgy	36	23	11	2
Physics	178	149	27	2
Naval Architecture	2	—	2	—
TOTALS	1,769	1,253	451	65
*The first two years of these courses are common.

asked the Minister of Education to publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the number of students in each of the years of the courses for the

asked the Minister of Education how many of the present first year students in each subject for the Diploma in Technology qualified for entry by the General Certificate of Education, and how many by possessing an Ordinary National Certificate.

Of the 1,769 first year students, 1,253 qualified by the General Certificate of Education and 451 by the Ordinary National Certificate. The remaining 65 students had other equivalent qualifications.The details are shown in the following table:Diploma in Technology, distinguishing the subjects of their courses.

The National Council for Technological Awards has given me the following information: