asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will make a statement about the application of the Republic of Cyprus for membership of the Commonwealth.

In accordance with a resolution passed by the Cypriot House of Representatives, the President of the Republic has informed my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister of the desire of Cyprus to apply for membership of the Commonwealth.Her Majesty's Government support this application and will submit it to the forthcoming meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers.

asked the Minister of Education if, in view of the increase in building wages, he now proposes to increase the allowance per place for building new schools.

Increases averaging 7 per cent. were announced in a Circular issued yesterday. I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Minister of Education what other denominations than those previously specifically stated have received grants for their school buildings during 1960; what applications for grants were refused; for what reason they were refused; and, approximately, how many children are now receiving education in respective grant-aided denominational schools.

The five voluntary schools completed in 1960, referred to in my reply to the hon. Member's Question of 8th December, 1960, were all schools required by their Trust Deeds to give religious instruction in accordance with the Christian Faith. All received grants from my Department except one which was paid for by the local education authority as a controlled school.Following is the answer to the third part of the Question:

Type of school	Number of pupils
Church of England	858,822
Roman Catholic	547,088
Others*	146,797
TOTAL	1,552,707
* About one-tenth of them were in Methodist schools and most of the rest in schools giving undenominational religious instruction. There were also a few children in Quaker and Jewish schools.

asked the Minister of Education if he will give the annual rate of pension now drawn by a certificated teacher entitled to full pension who retired in 1939, 1946 and 1956, respectively; and what percentage these pensions form of the comparable maximum salaries payable to a certificated teacher in 1939, 1946 and 1956, respectively.

For a woman teacher who was employed outside London, with 40 years' pensionable service, who retired on 31st August, the figures are respectively £274, £277 and £290 per annum. The percentages of salaries drawn are 95, 66 and 47. The corresponding figures for a man are £348, £351 and £362 per annum and the percentages 95, 67 and 50.

asked the Minister of Education to what extent in secondary modern and grammar schools lessons are given outlining the main characteristics of world religions, other than Christianity; what text-books are used for this purpose; and in what part of the school curriculum such talks are given.

I cannot give figures, but I understand that local education authorities have adopted agreed syllabuses which include such material in the later years of secondary school courses. The choice of text-books rests with the teachers and many different ones are in use.

asked the Minister of Education what is the nature of the resolution he has received from the Rossendale Divisional Education Executive about the employment of welfare assistants; and what reply he has sent.

My right hon. Friend has not received any such resolution from the Rossendale Divisional Executive.

asked the Minister of Education what representations about an increase in teachers' salaries he has received from the teaching staff of the Sanford Street Secondary School, Swindon; and what reply he has sent.

I have received a letter urging that teachers' salaries should be increased, and have replied enclosing a copy of the answers I gave in the House of Commons on Thursday, 23rd February to questions by the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East (Mr. Montgomery).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consult with representatives from theatre and cinema owners' organisations to secure a ban, similar to that enforced in America and the Continent, on smoking in theatres and cinemas.

No. My right hon. Friend does not think that this is a matter calling for his intervention.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that, owing to the prompt action of all concerned, including his prison officers, all but one of the eight convicts who escaped from Parkhurst Prison, Isle of Wight, on 22nd February, have been recaptured; and whether he will investigate the circumstances of this escape and make a report to the House.

Yes. The speed and efficiency with which these prisoners were recaptured is much to the credit of the staff of Parkhurst Prison and of the local police.The circumstances of this escape have already been the subject of inquiry and the prisoners concerned are to be dealt with on disciplinary charges by the Board of Visitors.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue instructions to ensure that escaped prisoners are, upon recapture, sent to different prisons to complete their sentences.

No. Each case must be considered on its merits, and there may often be considerations which make such a transfer undesirable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the numbers engaged in mobile police patrols in the Metropolitan area in 1960, 1950, 1940, and 1930.

The number of Metropolitan police officers regularly engaged in patrolling in motor cars or on motor cycles was about 2,700 in 1960. Accurate figures for the earlier years are not readily available, but the number of officers so engaged was of the order of 1,800 in 1950, 1,250 in 1940, and 450 in 1933 (the year nearest to 1930 for which information is available).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the Metropolitan Police were called upon recently to recapture a wolf in the Clapham area; and how many police it was necessary to deploy for this operation.

The answer to the first part of the Question is, Yes; and to the second part, seven.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider introducing legislation to prevent private individuals keeping wild animals in captivity unless he is satisfied that adequate safeguards and conditions are provided.

My right hon. Friend has no reason to think that escapes of dangerous wild animals are so numerous as to create a need for legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that about 80 West Indians, mainly from Grenada and St. Vincent, have been deported by the Trinidad Government since the beginning of the year in a continued effort to keep a check on immigration, and since last year about 2,000 were repatriated to West Indian territories, British Guiana, the United Kingdom and Venezuela, if he will consult with the Trinidad Government with a view to adopting a similar policy of checking immigration into the United Kingdom from Trinidad.

Her Majesty's Government do not think such consultation would be useful. Any control by the United Kingdom over the immigration of Commonwealth citizens into the United Kingdom would have to be related to the Commonwealth as a whole. The difficulties in the way of introducing such a control were indicated in my speech on 17th February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a crossing patrol across Rose Lane, Chadwell Health, to the infants' school can be introduced, in view of the danger from traffic.

It rests with the Commissioner of Police to decide where to station school crossing patrols in the Metropolitan Police District. I understand that the Commissioner does not regard the posting of a patrol at Rose Lane, Chadwell Heath, as warranted at present, having regard, among other things, to the amount of traffic, but he will keep the position under review.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what action has been taken on the recommendations of the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy to create a seismological research station in the University of Edinburgh and to expand the existing centre at the University of Cambridge.

The Chairman of the Council communicated the recommendations to the University Grants Committee and the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. It is for those universities to decide what further action should be taken. I am informed that an application has been made to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research for a grant for seismological investigations at Cambridge, and one is expected shortly from the University of Edinburgh.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what representations he has made to industry and the existing research councils to encourage more research facilities in small firms.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research encourages the formation of industrial Research Associations which provide jointly financed research and development facilities at a cost small firms can afford. These now number 52 and serve about 55 per cent. of British manufacturing industry. D.S.I.R. gives special support to schemes designed to encourage industry to be more research-minded.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, if he will make a statement on the recent proposals put by Her Majesty's Government to the Six.

At the Western European Union Ministerial Meeting in Paris on 27th February I gave Her Majesty's Government's view on Recommendation 53 of the Western European Union Assembly which deals first with the United Kingdom's relations with the European Economic Community; secondly, with the United Kingdom's relations with the European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom; and thirdly, with the question of political consultation between heads of Governments. In doing so, I described the explorations of these matters which have been carried out by the United Kingdom with some of the other Governments present at the meeting, namely, the German, Italian and French, and gave an indication of some ways in which it might be possible for the United Kingdom to help towards a solution of these problems.

asked the Minister of Health if he is yet in a position to give a building starting date for the extensions to hospitals in Ilford and Barking.

I regret I cannot yet add to my reply of 7th November to my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Iremonger) and the last part of my right hon. Friend's reply of 25th January to my noble Friend the Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel).

asked the Minister of Health whether, and in what circumstances, bone-conductor transistor hearing aids are available under the National Health Service; and whether he has any proposals for the issue of combined spectacles and hearing aids.

Bone conduction transistor hearing aids are not at present available under the National Health Service but a Medresco aid of this type is being developed.I have no proposals for supplying combined spectables and hearing aids.

asked the Minister of Health what is the average gross remuneration of a general practitioner including the recent increases; and what are the average figures that this would include for the expenses factor, capitation fees and loading, temporary residents, initial practice allowance and other payments from the central pool, mileage, maternity services, drugs, training grants, sight-testing, hospital service, local authority services, Government Departments, and the Exchequer superannuation contribution.

The average gross payments per head from public sources to be received by general practitioners under the new settlement are estimated approximately as follows for 1961–62:

1. From Executive Councils	£
(a) Capitation and loading payments	2,970
(b) Temporary residents fees.	55
(c) Initial practice allowance and other payments from the central pool	10
(d) Mileage allowance	90
(e) Payment for maternity medical services	300
(f) Payment for drugs	135
(g) Reimbursement of training grants and allowance for the supervision of trainee practitioners	20
(h) Payment for sight-testing	5
	3,585
2. From hospital authorities	75
3. From local authorities	55
4. From Government departments.	35
	£3,750

In addition, a sum of £1 million, representing an average of about £45 per head, is being temporarily reserved for further discussion. The allowance for practice expenses cannot yet be finally determined.Exchequer superannuation contributions, which are no longer taken into account in the central pool calculation, are provisionally estimated at about £230 per doctor for 1961–62.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance why Mr. F. W. Hart, 8, Oak Street, Shrewsbury, was not informed until 1953 that in 1920 his disability had been found to be only aggravated by war service instead of being caused by war service as noted on his discharge papers; and whether, in view of the effect this omission has had on the subsequent history of this case, he will now give Mr. Hart the opportunity of putting his case to a tribunal, as would have been his right in 1920.

As my hon. Friend has been informed, there was a right of appeal to the Pensions Appeal Tribunal against the decision notified to Mr. Hart in March, 1922, that he was then no longer suffering from any disablement which could be ascribed to his war service. Mr. Hart did not exercise that right and my right hon. Friend is clear that it is not now possible to reopen it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to encourage greater British participation in overseas trade fairs.

As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State told the House during the debate on export trade on 22nd February, 1961, the Board of Trade are proposing to provide greater assistance to British firms wishing to take part in specialised fairs overseas and the Department will assume greater responsibilities for national pavilions in those fairs where exhibitions from a particular country are grouped together in a single national pavilion. We shall also continue to assist all-British fairs abroad and to give greater help to the organisers of British Weeks and similar events. In the current year our total expenditure on fairs of all kinds and on British Weeks is expected to be about £330,000. Proposals will shortly be laid before Parliament seeking to increase the provision in 196162 by £200,000, making a total of £530,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will describe the types of case in which tax is remitted by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue on grounds of equity.

These are largely cases in which the tax charged in an assessment cannot be reduced under provisions of the Income Tax Acts (because the assessment has become final and conclusive) but a smaller amount would have been chargeable under the law if all the relevant facts had been known at the time when the assessment was made. Where it appears to the Commissioners that it would be inequitable in all the circumstances of the particular case to enforce payment of the full amount, the difference is remitted.