asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many persons received refunds of prescription and similar charges during the last twelve months; and how many of these were persons in receipt of National Assistance grants.

The records available do not indicate the total number of persons who have received grants from the National Assistance Board in respect of charges for prescriptions and other charges under the National Health Service, but I Friend that the total amount of grants made in respect of all these various charges in 1960 was £2,154,000 of which £2,002,000 was paid to persons already receiving a regular weekly National Assistance grant and £152,000 to other persons

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will take steps to grant all agricultural workers complete exemption from the earnings rule for so long as they remain in full-time employment after reaching pensionable age.

I think my hon. Friend has misapprehended the position. People in full-time employment would not when under 70 in the case of men be treated as retired. And, as he will be aware, where people have not retired there is no pension to which an earnings rule could apply.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many employers in Wales have made applications to contract out of the graduated pensions scheme; and how many have been allowed to date, with the number of insured persons involved.

I regret that separate figures for Wales are not available.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many public service employees, including local government officers, teachers, police and fire service, have been contracted out of the graduated scheme; and what proportion this is of the total number contracted out.

By the 24th February, 3,041,372 employees had been contracted out. Of these 1,417,858 were public service employees.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what is the number of old-age pensioners in the City of Glasgow; and what is the number receiving supplementation from the National Assistance Board.

Statistics relating to the numbers of retirement pensioners are not available for particular areas. I am informed by the National Assistance Board that 26,838 weekly National Assistance grants supplementing retirement pensions, and 1,837 supplementing non-contributory old age pensions, were being paid on 13th December last in the City of Glasgow and some adjoining areas served by the Board's offices in the city. Same of the grants provided for households with more than one pensioner.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many insured persons connected with the coal-mining industry made claims for disablement benefit in respect of pneumoconiosis during the twelve months ended on 31st December last; how many cases were referred to the pneumoconiosis medical panels; and, of those so referred, how many were found to be suffering from pneumoconiosis, suffering from pneumoconiosis accompanied by some other chest disability, or suffering from a chest disability not accompanied by pneumoconiosis, respectively.

During the twelve months ending 30th September. 1960, the latest period for which figures are available, 14,183 claims for disablement benefit for pneumoconiosis were received from persons in the coal-mining industry and referred to the Pneumoconiosis Medical Panels for preliminary X-ray scrutiny. During the same period 8,418 claimants were clinically examined following X-ray scrutiny and of these 3,558 were found to be suffering from pneumoconiosis. The numbers suffering from pneumoconiosis accompanied by some other chest disability and the numbers suffering from a chest disability not accompanied by pneumoconiosis are not separately distinguished.

asked the Minister of Health if he will establish poison

asked the Minister of Health if he will state his policy with regard to water fluoridation.

Studies of fluoridation in this country are at present being made in three areas: I must await the outcome before deciding policy.

asked the Minister of Health from whom he has received written protests against his proposed increase in National Health Service charges; and how many such protests he has received.

I have received representations from between eight and nine hundred individuals and organisations.

A report on this and other connected topics from my Standing Medical Advisory Committee is at present under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health what were the dates of payments made to hospital doctors and to general practitioners in connection with the recent pay increases; and what is the amount of money still to be disbursed in this connection.

Following is the Answer:

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of diphtheria and death from the disease occurred in 1960 and in the first six weeks of 1961; and what was the condition as to immunisation of such cases.

The provisional total of cases of diphtheria in England and Wales in 1960 was fifty-three. Of these thirty-nine had never been immunised, eight had been immunised in infancy but had received no re-inforcing dose and two had been immunised very recently. In four cases definite information about previous immunisation could not be obtained. Of the five cases which were fatal four had not been immunised, and one had been immunised very recently. Comparable figures for the number of cases in the first six weeks of 1961 are not available. During this period five children died of diphtheria, of whom four had not been immunised and one had been immunised in infancy and given a subsequent re-inforcing dose ten years ago.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the quantities of orange juice, vitamin tablets and cod live oil issued under the welfare foods scheme for the last six months period for which figures are available.

In England and Wales during the six months ending 24th September, 1960:

11,385,000 6–oz. bottles of orange juice;

1,130,000 packets of 45 vitamin A and D. tablets; and

1,145,000 6–oz. bottles of cod liver oil.

asked the Minister of Health if he will consider exempting from the increased prescription charges all those drawing a retirement pension from whatever source.

No. To do so without regard to their resources would be unfair to other persons in comparable financial c rcumstances.

asked the Minister of Health if he will consider introducing a prescription form of a separate colour for use by the chronically sick and the aged which will not attract a charge when presented to the chemist.

I do not consider that the task of assessing need or awarding exemption can properly be placed on the doctor.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the number of communications he has received during the past year concerning the need for a second plastic surgery unit in South Wales; and what reply he has sent.

Six. I have explained in reply the reasons for favouring a single centre for plastic surgery to serve South Wales.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the shortage of beds for geriatric patients in the area of the Blackburn and District Hospital Management Committee; and what he is doing to meet this situation.

Yes. A further fifteen beds and a day hospital are expected to be available shortly.

asked the Minister of Health what inquiries were made of hospital authorities by the court as to the availability of accommodation and treatment facilities for Peter David Hastings, who was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the supposed absence of such facilities; why the proper procedure was not followed in this instance by those for whom he is responsible; and what steps he is taking to ensure that this man receives the treatment he needs.

Such inquiries are the responsibility of one of the two doctors examining the offender. This was an isolated case of failure on the doctor's part to make due inquiry. As regards the last part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, on 23rd February.

asked the Minister of Health (1) what is the average waiting time of admission to hospitals in County Durham for gynaecological cases:(2) what action he is taking to provide additional hospital beds to deal with the waiting list of gynaecological cases in County Durham hospitals.

The waiting time depends on urgency but averages rather under a year. The regional hospital board will take this need into account, along with others, in its current planning.

asked the Minister of Health what were the totals of medical and non-medical staff, respectively, employed by the regional hospital boards in the years 1949 and 1959.

Staff directly employed by regional hospital boards—whole-time equivalent:

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will set up a small committee to inquire how Members of Parliament can be helped in exercising more scrutiny and control over the work of his representatives on the various agencies of the United Nations.

No. I am satisfied that the existing Cabinet Committee machinery is adequate for ensuring that Her Majesty's Government's representatives receive adequate instruction. I do not consider that yet another committee would be advantageous nor that an inquiry is necessary.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will give the names of his representatives on the various agencies of the United Nations, and the number of staff employed by each of such representatives, with particulars of the work performed.

The following is a list of United Kingdom representatives to the United Nations and Specialised Agencies. With the exceptions of the United Kingdom Missions at New York and Geneva our representation on these various bodies is not in the form of a permanent representative and staff. The representative is in most cases a senior Government official supported as necessary by staff drawn from Ministries in London or from Her Majesty's Missions abroad.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what reply has been received from the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the British Note protesting against the publication in the newspaper Trud of a forged document purporting to be a British Cabinet paper on policy in Africa.

No reply has so far been received.

asked the Lord Privy Seal with whom he had consultations before choosing the participants to represent Great Britain in the conference with Russian representatives at Wiston House, Sussex.

The British participants in this conference were not chosen by my noble Friend, but, I understand, by the Great Britain-U.S.S.R. Association, under whose auspices the conference is being held.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the number of persons registered as unemployed in the exchange areas of the Durham constituency for each month from February, 1960, to the latest available date.

Following is the Answer:

Hughes asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement on the progress of the Resettlement Transfer Scheme relating to grants and allowances to transferred workers, with particular reference to Scottish workers seeking work in England who later have been declared redundant in England.

The number of workers transferred from Scotland under the Resettlement Transfer Scheme to work in England rose from 626 in 1959 to 2,006 in 1960. This total included 1,184 in the first half of 1960 and 822 in the second half of the year. It is not possible to say how many of these workers may have become redundant subsequent to transfer.A worker who becomes redundant while still receiving a lodging allowance under the Scheme may continue to draw the allowance for three weeks while looking for fresh employment. He is also entitled to a free fare back home. On the other hand, if a worker has been transferred for more than two years or has permanently moved his home and dependants with assistance from the Scheme, he is not entitled to any further benefit under the Scheme.I am sending the hon. and learned Gentleman a leaflet setting out further details about the Scheme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in which counties myxomatosis has been a killing disease in recent months; and to what extent it now appears in mild form.

Myxomatosis is reported to be active in fifty-two counties in England and Wales. It is still killing the majority of infected rabbits, but milder strains of the disease continue to be found.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will take steps to make it obligatory on the owners of milk-vending machines to print the quantity and quality of milk supplied on each carton, and to ensure that the cartons are made in such a way that they will not leak.

The law already requires cartons to be marked with the designation of the milk they contain. Since milk can be packed for retail sale only in half-pints or multiples of half-pints, it has not been considered necessary hitherto for the quantity to be marked on the container, but the Weights and Measures Bill now before the House provides that three years after it becomes law all pre-packed milk will have to be marked to show the quantity. I am confident that dairymen are aware of their responsibility to ensure that the cartons they use do not leak and I do not think that any action on my part is needed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his attention has been drawn to a scheme organised by the Egg Marketing Board on behalf of the manufacturers I of a cake mix which gives a free egg with every packet of their product; and to what extent he was consulted before the Egg Marketing Board gave official support and preference to a particular manufacturer.

I do know of the scheme to which the hon. Member refers. I was not consulted beforehand about these arrangements which are a domestic matter for the British Egg Marketing Board.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the total cost of the farm ditch improvement scheme, drawn up last summer by officers of his Department, for Onnerley, near Crewe; what grant is payable by his Department; and under what conditions he is prepared to carry out the scheme.

This scheme was drawn up two years ago. Its cost was then estimated at about £450 and sihould not be substantially greater now. My Department has offered a grant of 50 per cent. of the cost. It is for the occupiers of the land to decide whether the work should be done. My Department cannot carry out the work, but is willing to help the occupiers to get it done by a contractor.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer What would be the cost to the Revenue in a full year of allowing interest on hire-purchase transactions, as in the case of house mortgage interest, to be charged by the purchaser against his or her liability to Income Tax and Surtax.

Under the normal hire-purchase agreement interest is not payable as such. The cost of altering the law so as to give tax relief on some part of hire-purchase instalments would depend on the precise terms of the legislation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state his estimated loss of revenue in both direct and indirect taxation in the current financial year, to date, arising from the credit squeeze.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for War when the Black Watch, less one company, the Devon and Dorset Regiment, the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment and the 46th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, were posted to Cyprus; when they will be relieved; if they will be replaced; and what percentage of their establishment of officers and men they have with them.

The dates were, the Black Watch, 25th November, 1958; the Devon and Dorset Regiment, 12th November, 1958; the 2nd Battalion the

asked the Minister of Defence how many widows of Regular officers of each rank in the three Armed Services, including the Indian Armed Services, are receiving widows' ordinary pensions; in each case how many of them lost their husbands on or after 4th November, 1958; how many widows of Regular officers of each rank are now over 73 years of age; and how many Regular officers' widows' husbands were on each of the six codes of retired pay, showing separately those whose 1919 code retired pay was reassessed.

To answer the last part of my hon. Friend's question would involve the Service Departments in a great deal of detailed work, which I do not feel justified in asking them to undertake. The answers to the remaining parts of the Question consist of the following table of figures:Parachute Regiment, 12th February, 1959; the 42nd Field Regiment, R.A., 7th May, 1960. All the units concerned are at or near full establishment. I cannot yet make public the dates or details of their reliefs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many of the Northern Rhodesian African leaders have indicated their willingness to accept the Bill of Rights which, it is proposed, should be included in the new Northern Rhodesian constitution; which of them has done so; and when.

As the hon. Member will see from paragraph 28 of the White Paper (Cmnd. 1295) this was not a proposal which delegates were expected to accept at this stage. It is Her Majesty's Government's view, however, that a Bill of Rights would be valuable and there is no reason to believe that it is unacceptable in principle to African or European political leaders in Northern Rhodesia.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if it is the intention, under the new proposed Northern Rhodesian constitution, that the Governor should at once appoint six official Legislative Council members.

No date has yet been fixed for the coming into force of the new constitutional proposals. There are already six official members in the Legislative Council under the existing constitutional arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement about the proposals for constitutional advance in Fiji.

Yes. The Governor of Fiji and I consider that the elected representatives of the public should be more closely associated with the formation and implementation of Government policy. It is proposed that unofficial members of Executive Council shall be invited to undertake supervisory functions over groups of Government Departments. If this arrangement proves successful I hope it will be possible to progress to a Ministerial form of Government with executive responsibility.I have placed in the Library copies of a statement which is being issued by the Governor of Fiji and which sets out the proposals in broad outline for local discussion.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations how many white and African refugees from South Africa sought asylum in Basutoland in 1959 and 1960, respectively; and how many were granted political asylum in this British High Commission Territory.

No exact figures are available of persons who came to Basutoland from the Union of South Africa for political reasons in either year.

asked the Minister of Education how many local education authorities are paying maintenance allowances to secondary school children over the age of 15 years above the Weaver scale, according to the Weaver scale, according to his own recommended scale, and below this scale, respectively.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to his Question on 27th May, 1960. I have not asked local education authorities for further information about their arrangements since then, but I propose to do so before long.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will provide a pillar box at the corner of Lacock Road and Penhill Drive in Swindon, in view of the inconvenience caused to local residents, particularly elderly people, by the recent removal of a pillar box from this position.

The pillar box which used to be at the corner of Lacock Road and Penhill Drive was moved roughly 200 yards—to Charlton Close—in order to give a better distribution of posting facilities in this part of the Penhill Estate. The facilities in the area are well up to standard and I am sorry that the provision of an additional box could not be justified.

asked the Prime Minister if, in view of the danger of a breach between Her Majesty's Government and the British Central African Federal Government, he will publish as a White Paper all communications which have passed between the two Governments from the setting up of the Monckton Commission to the present time.

No. In accordance with longstanding Commonwealth practice such communications are regarded as confidential.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many additional maternity beds have been provided in Glasgow during 1960.

None, but the work done during 1960 should enable the following additional beds to be brought into use this year:

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that a large number of accidents, many of a fatal character, still take place every winter in Great Britain through the skidding of motor vehicles and motor bicycles on ice-and frost-bound roads, and that widely different practices exist between highway authorities as to the amounts of grit, sand and salt they spread on the roads for which they are responsible; and whether, in the interest of accident prevention, he will arrange for regular, timely and efficient anti-skidding precautions to be taken by all highway authorities on a uniform basis.

Yes, I know that many accidents happen in this way. On the roads for which I am the highway authority, a sustained effort is being made to improve the speed and efficiency of preventive measures, and is showing good results. The results of our experience with any new materials, appliances or techniques are made known to local highway authorities, who can adopt on their own roads those which prove successful. Local highway authorities are increasingly alive to the importance of timely and effective action, especially on the busiest and fastest traffic routes. Varying standards of performance are, however, inevitable, particularly in relation to secondary roads, in view of the wide differences of topography, traffic and climate between one area and another.