asked the Minister of Transport (1) if he will consider increasing the permitted speed limit for light vans when they are unladen;(2) if he will consider increasing the permitted speed limit for vehicles not subject to Purchase Tax up to 10 cwts. unladen weight.

I am at present reviewing the whole question of vehicle speed limits.

asked the Minister of Transport in what percentage of the road accidents in the London area in 1960 taxis were involved.

I regret that the information is not available for the period asked for. In 1958, however, taxis were involved in 2 per cent. of all road accidents in the Metropolitan Police Area in which someone was injured.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the danger, noise and destruction of amenities caused by motor coaches approaching Victoria coach station being routed to pass along Eaton Terrace, S.W.1, he will instruct the Traffic Commissioner for the Metropolitan area to route these coaches along roads which are not exclusively residential, not so narrow, nor so liable to accidents.

The Traffic Commissioner has an application by some coach operators to vary their road service licences so that their coaches may run along Eaton Terrace. By Statute the Commissioner is independent in his decisions on these licences. Since the case might come to my right hon. Friend in his appellate capacity, there is nothing I can say about it at the present time.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) if he will give the number of deaths caused by road accidents for each year since 1947 in England and Wales;(2) if he will give the number of road accidents in England and Wales for each year since 1947.

The number of deaths caused by road accidents in England and Wales for each year since 1947 is shown in the table below.I regret that figures showing the number of road accidents in England and Wales are not available. Statistics of road accidents involving death or injury in Great Britain as a whole are available from 1949 onwards and there is information about the number of casualties in road accidents in England and Wales for each year since 1947. These are given in the table.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to commence work on the Morpeth, Northumberland, by-pass road; and whether he will make a statement.

It is still too soon to forecast when this scheme can be started. Preparatory work is continuing and construction will be authorised as soon as funds can be made available.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the estimated total of authoritsations to be made under the road programme for the current financial year.

I expect to authorise £98 million of new commitments in the current financial year. This figure includes all major improvements on motorways, trunk roads and classified roads. It excludes maintenance and minor improvements.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has taken steps to fulfil the assurances given to the North Riding County Council that he would instruct an official of the Road Research Laboratory to conduct an investigation into traffic conditions on the roads leading into Scarborough.

The Road Research Laboratory has accepted an invitation to conduct an investigation into the suitability of the various holiday routes between York and Scarborough and it is now studying the problem.

asked the Minister of Defence whether it was with his authority that officials of his Department including his scientific adviser, recently made a public statement on defence matters, including new strategic weapons and the joint development of light amplification by stimulated emission radiation by the United States of America and the United Kingdom.Mr. Watkinson: I assume the hon. Member is referring to an article which appeared in the

asked the Minister of Defence how many Service men were killed overseas in 1960.

Two hundred and twenty-four Service men were killed overseas in 1960.

asked the Minister of Defence what help is given to the parents of Service men of all three Services killed in Cyprus either to attend the funeral or to have the body brought home for burial.

When a Service man is killed overseas he is given a military funeral there. No financial provision is made either to have the body brought home for burial or to enable the parents to attend the funeral. If, however, the parents themselves elect to have the body brought home for burial, a funeral grant of £10 is payable. Service authorities naturally give all the information and practical assistance that they can in such cases.

asked the Minister of Defence what responsibilities were accepted by Britain as a result of the communiqué issued after the Conference of Military Advisers of South-East Asia Treaty Organisation from Bangkok on 18th November, 1960; and what is the cost of the programme of work issued from the military planning office as a result of the decisions reached.

On the first part of the Question I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 28th November last.I assume that the second part of his Question refers to costs to the United Kingdom. These form part of our normal military expenditure in the Far East, but it is not possible to identify separately costs arising from our membership of S.E.A.T.O.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will make available to the House of Commons a White Paper containing the obligations accepted by Great Britain towards the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation at the military advisers regular meeting in Bangkok in March, 1961.

I have nothing to add to their communiqué, a copy of which I am placing in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Defence what was the nature of his conversations with defence Ministers in the United States; and if he will make a statement.

The purpose of my visit was to enable Mr. McNamara and myself to become acquainted and to discuss subjects of mutual interest. Our discussions ranged widely in the defence field and I found the exchange of views most encouraging and rewarding.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state the numbers, at the latest convenient date, of applicants for telephones in Scotland, England, and Wales, respectively; and if he will specify the steps he has taken during the last five years, and the steps he now plans to take, to reduce the numbers on each of those waiting lists.

The numbers of applications on hand at 31st December last were: in Scotland 9,532, in England 136,199, and in Wales and Border Counties 8,193. Of these, 104,610 were under inquiry or in course of being met.During the past five years nearly 2 million telephones have been installed, and the total number of applications on hand has been reduced by 202,000. In this period the capacity of telephone exchanges and local cables has been increased by more than 25 per cent. This expansion is continuing as rapidly as capital resources permit.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will withdraw the regulations authorising the compulsory sharing of telephones.

No. My right hon. Friend would like everyone to have a choice of shared or separate telephone service, but until we have enough lines we must continue to ask some to share in order to help others. Although we are not trying to stimulate demand for telephones it is now at a record level.

asked the Postmaster-General when the new Commonwealth telephone cables across the Atlantic and the Pacific will be completed.

The Post Office cable-ship "Monarch" sails within the next few days to start laying the main section of the cable between the United Kingdom and Canada. Early next year she will lay the cable section between Australia and New Zealand. The long Pacific link from New Zealand to Canada, with landing points at Fiji and Hawaii, will be completed in 1964.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will amend the provisions of the Second Schedule to the Television Act, 1954, so as to enable him to control the amount spent on the advertising of tobacco and cigarettes.

No.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will take steps to amend the Charter of the British Broadcasting Corporation to make it obligatory on its General Advisory Council to disclose to what extent its panel for Wales has fulfilled its obligations under the Charter of consulting with such representative cultural, religious and other bodies in Wales as it thinks fit before selecting for appointment members of the National Broadcasting Council for Wales.

No. This is within the terms of reference of the Committee on Broadcasting and will fall to be reviewed in the light of any recommendations it may make.

asked the Postmaster-General what are the difficulties in obtaining a site in Skegness for the satellite television station; and what steps are being taken to overcome them.

As a reliable signal cannot be directly picked up in the Skegness area for rebroadcasting, a site has to be found for a link station as well as for the Skegness station itself.We understand that the B.B.C. is negotiating for a site for the link station and, if it succeeds, it hopes to put its proposals for both sites to my right hon. Friend shortly.

asked the Postmaster-General what action he has taken, or intends to take, to prevent the Commercial Neutral Broadcasting Company, of Royalty House, Dean Street, W.1, from broadcasting programmes on wavelengths allocated in the Copenhagen Plan to Switzerland, Portugal and Sweden, and from using a ship for these broadcasts in violation of the Radio Regulations in the International Telecommunications Conventions, 1952 and 1959; and if he will make a statement.

As the hon. Gentleman's Question raises many issues of a detailed and complicated nature I have written to him on the matter. I understand, however, the broadcasts directed to this country have now ceased.

asked the Postmaster-General what consultation he has had with the British Transport Commission in order to achieve speedier loading and unloading of mail and parcels at intermediate stations on main line train services.

Our officials, with those of the British Transport Commission, are currently examining, in the light of the railway modernisation programme, ways and means of speeding up generally the loading and unloading of mails. If the hon. Member has any particular case of difficulty in mind and will let me know about it, I will be glad to look into the matter.

asked the Postmaster-General what conclusions he has reached as a result of his study of the possibility of the introduction of a Giro system into the operations of the General Post Office following the recommendations of the Radcliffe Committee; and if he will make a statement.

I am still pursuing this matter but I am not yet ready to make a statement.

asked the Postmaster General what progress has been made with the provision of the new direct cable between the United Kingdom and the United States of America which was the subject of an agreement laid before the House last July.

Orders have been placed for the cable to be manufactured in this country and the repeaters in the United States. Everything points to a successful completion of the project in 1963. It is now expected that the United Kingdom share of the cost will be about £8 million, instead of the £6 million forecast last July. However, the rapidly increasing traffic will ensure that this cable will not only meet a very real need, but will also give a good return on the investment.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that facilities at Didcot Post Office are inadequate for a growing population; and whether he will expedite existing plans for its expansion.

I recognise the need for expanding the facilities at the Didcot Post Office. The extension of the present building is still in the early stages of planning, and I doubt whether it will be possible to start actual building work until about a year from now. I will, however, look into the possibilities and write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what further steps he proposes to take to ensure the continued payment of pensions to retired British civil servants who were employed under the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium in the Sudan.

The Sudan Government have paid these pensions with the utmost regularity to the British subjects who were formerly members of the Sudan Civil Service and I am confident that they will continue to pay them.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what gifts are being made by Her Majesty's Government to the King of Nepal as a result of his official visit to the United Kingdom last October.

The King of Nepal during his official visit asked whether he could obtain a horse, a bull, two cows and three ponies of well known British breeds. Both the Welsh Pony and Cob Society and the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society are generously each presenting a pony to the King. Her Majesty's Government have decided to offer the other animals, also as an outright gift, as a gesture of goodwill from Britain to Nepal. About £2,100 will be spent on purchasing the animals and shipping them to Calcutta. Parliamentary authority for this expenditure will be sought in due course by means of a Supplementary Estimate. In the meantime an advance will be obtained where necessary from the Civil Contingencies Fund.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty to what extent the Royal Navy is co-operating with the American officers at Holy Loch to protect Proteus and the Polaris submarines from frogmen.

The assistance of the Royal Navy is available to the United States Navy if required.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will take stricter measures to enforce security checks on the engagement of civil servants who will have access to secret technical information.

There is a common code of security checks on the engagement of civil servants which applies generally. Whether there has been any laxity in the application of this code in the Portland case will emerge from the inquiry which is to be set up.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the number of married quarters available for British Service personnel in Germany is inadequate; and what action he proposes to remedy the situation.

I recognise the problem of providing sufficient married quarters in Germany, and, as my hon. Friend announced in the debate on the Army Estimates, we are completing about 3,000 multiple hirings during the coming financial year; with a further 1,500 to follow in 1962.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many additional married quarters have been provided for the use of British Service personnel in Germany during each of the last ten years.

The following is the information:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that Manchester November Handicap sweepstake tickets printed with a counterfoil blank, save only the serial number, attract no Purchase Tax, whereas faint dots or lines on the counterfoil to guide the handwriting of the buyer cause tickets and counterfoils to be chargeable to Purchase Tax; and why there is this difference.

Because in the first case mentioned the article is not identifiable as stationery, whereas in the second case it is.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Revenue yield of Purchase Tax on printing and stationery; how much revenue comes from business and how much from private printing and stationery; why plain typing paper under 229·5 square inches is subject to Purchase Tax and over that area is tax free; and what reforms he proposes with a view to the elimination of the tax and administrative burden on business and commerce.

The Revenue yield from paper stationery, excluding greeting cards, picture postcards and pictorial calendars is about £27 million a year. Information on the amounts derived from business and private sources respectively is not available. Paper of 229·5

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent, under his regulations, property held on a long lease enjoys the concessionary basis of assessment under Schedule A which is described in Income Tax Concession No. 6 in the list of Extra-Statutory Conces- square inches and over is tax free because it is not regarded as "stationery". As regards the last part of the Question, my hon. Friend will not expect me to anticipate my right hon. and learned Friend's Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Service candidates took the Civil Service open competition in the summer of 1960; how many were accepted by the Civil Service as a result of the competition; and how many of those accepted had been found posts at the last convenient date.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the competition for posts in the Executive Class open to ex-members of Her Majesty's Forces. Of 939 candidates who took the examination, 145 were found to be of the necessary standard. Of these, 14 declined appointment, 1 was found to be ineligible, 22 are still in the Forces and 108 have been allocated to individual Departments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the total of British Government expenditure abroad, and the separate figure for expenditure in Germany, for each year since 1951.

Following are the figures:sions published in the 103rd Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue; and whether he proposes any change of practice in regard to such property.

The object of this concession was to prevent unfairness, primarily to owner-occupiers, but also to tenants paying a small rent who were not able to pass on the whole of the Schedule A tax to their landlords by deducting it from the rent. In the case of property held on a long lease, i.e., for a term exceeding fifty years, the practice hitherto has been to grant the concession in all cases and to assess in accordance with the "tone of the list".Cases have come to notice in which property which is being let at a rent equivalent to the full annual value has been let on a long lease, with certain options to the tenant to break the lease, in order to take advantage of the concession. There is, however, no ground for any concession except to the extent that the rent payable falls short of the full annual value of the property. In future, therefore, where new annual values have to be determined for purposes of assessment under Schedule A for 1960–61 or any subsequent year, in the case of property let on a long lease, they will be determined either (

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the recent acquisition by the National Portrait Gallery of two miniature portraits by Samuel Cooper and Nicholas Hilliard.

These two miniatures are of John Maitland 1st Duke of Lauderdale, my Samuel Cooper, and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, by Nicholas Hilliard. Although both subjects were already represented in the National Portrait Gallery, the Trustees decided that miniatures as fine as these of two persons of such great historical importance should, if possible, be acquired for the nation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many off-licences and on-licences have been granted, and how many refused, since the 1945 Brewster Sessions in the Borough fo Richmond, Yorkshire.

I regret that information for the years before 1956 is not available. In the years 1956–60, three applications for off-licences were granted and none refused; three applications for on-licences were granted and one refused.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many off-licences and on-licences have been granted, and how many refused, since the 1945 Brewster Sessions in Redcar.

I regret that information for the years before 1956 is not available. In the years 1956–60, four applications for off-licences were granted and none refused; six applications for on-licences were granted and one refused.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what part the Metropolitan Public Carriage Office played in the closure of the taxi rank which was formerly in New Palace Yard; and, in view of the present difficulties encountered by hon. Members in obtaining taxis, if he will authorise the provision of a new taxi rank in the immediate vicinity of the precincts of the Palace of Westminster.

The Commissioner of Police has power to fix taxi standings in any street, thoroughfare or place of public resort. The standing in New Palace Yard, which was appointed in 1850, was discontinued in 1953 because it seemed doubtful whether the Commissioner's power extended there. A standing exists in Bridge Street. A standing in Old Palace Yard was cancelled because it was not used.

asked the Minister of Health what is the incidence of cases showing excessive calcium in the system, over a convenient recent period; and how these figures correspond with an equivalent period before the 1939–45 war.

I regret that this is not known.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1) how many wives of ex-officers of the Royal Air Force who retired before 1939 are in receipt of National Assistance;(2) how many ex-officers of the Royal Air Force who retired before 1939 are in receipt of National Assistance.

I regret that the information asked for is not available.

asked the Minister of Works how many West Indians are employed by him in the Palace of Westminster.

None, so far as I am aware.