asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for a national referendum to ascertain public opinion regarding a revision of the Homicide Act, 1957, to permit the full restoration of capital punishment for murder.

No, Sir. The referendum is not part of our constitutional practice.

As the Homicide Act, 1957, was a compromise and does not seem to satisfy any opinion, and as Parliament does not seem to wish to resolve this unsatisfactory state of affairs, would it not be wise to test public opinion and ascertain what I consider to be the view of the majority, namely, that they require the full restoration of capital punishment as a deterrent?

I would rather the House of Commons expressed its opinion than that we referred the matter to a referendum. I do not wish to counter any of my hon. Friend's ideas or anything of that sort at this stage. All I am sticking to is the constitutional position, on which I would prefer the House of Commons to pronounce.

I respectfully agree with the Home Secretary's reply on that part of the Question which asks for a national referendum. Nevertheless, does he not agree that it is an extremely odd position that an Act of Parliament, which has been in operation for three or four years now and is defended by him as being in order to satisfy public opinion, should result in a situation in which, so far from public opinion being satisfied, it has the support of nobody?

It must have the support of some of those who voted to bring it into force, but that is a matter of opinion. It was, as my hon. Friend said, in some respects a compromise. I referred to this aspect of it in speaking on the Criminal Justice Bill. I do not think that I can usefully add to what I said then. On this question, which is a matter of constitutional procedure, I advise my hon. Friend to adhere to the processes of Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that immigration into the United Kingdom for the first two months of 1961 is running at about five times the rate of 1960, and that the 1960 immigration figures were higher than for any previous year; to what extent the number of immigrants will be taken into account when deciding whether control and limitation should be applied; if he will now introduce emergency legislation to deal with this problem in accordance with public demand; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the great increase in immigration from the Commonwealth so far this year, what stage has been reached in the consideration of measures to control the inflow.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the great increase of immigration into the United Kingdom from certain Commonwealth countries during the early part of 1961, as compared with a similar period in 1960; and whether he will now introduce legislation to deal with the problem.

My right hon. Friend has noted my hon. Friends' points, but he has nothing to add to recent statements on this subject.

We have been waiting for years for a statement. May I ask my hon. and learned Friend these questions? First, how many coloured immigrants does he think the country can safely absorb? Secondly, is he aware that the nation is frightened and alarmed at the flood of coloured people coming into the country? Thirdly, will he introduce legislation before the Summer Recess to cure it?

The answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's question is that it is a matter of opinion. The second part was, I think, with respect to him, not a question but a statement of opinion. With regard to the third point, I repeat what my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said the other day. He stated:

"I made it perfectly clear that, as stated in the debate, this matter was one which caused us considerable anxiety and that both sides sees the difficulties but that at present we had reached no firm conclusion.—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 13th April, 1961; Vol. 638, c. 491.]

In view of the alarming increase in the number of immigrants from India and Pakistan—there were 6,600 for the first three months of this year compared with 250 for the same period last year—can my hon. and learned Friend say whether the voluntary restrictions imposed by the Indian and Pakistini Governments have broken down? If so, will the Government make urgent representations to those Governments for the restrictions to be reimposed?

So far as we are aware, there has been no change of policy on the part of the Governments of India and Pakistan. I will make inquiries to explore my hon. Friend's statement that these arrangements have broken down.

In order to get this matter into better perspective, will the hon. and learned Gentleman consider breaking down the total figure of immigration into men, women and children, because this makes a great deal of difference to our judgment of the inflow?

Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman will table a Question on that point.

Is it not short-sighted to allow people to come here to create a problem which has been found insoluble elsewhere?

When the hon. and learned Gentleman is breaking down these figures for the information of hon. Members, will he at the same time furnish the figures of emigrants from this country to Commonwealth countries?

If the Government contemplate at any time restrictive action in this matter, will they bear in mind that there is a difference between imposing restrictions on a Colonial Territory and negotiating arrangements with an independent Commonwealth country? Can they at least defer a decision concerning the West Indies, at any rate until the West Indies become independent in a year's time?

What is the number that the Government feel we in this country can safely absorb? My hon. and learned Friend says that that is a matter of opinion. What is the Government's opinion on it? May I have an answer to that?

As I have made clear and as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear only the other day, we are considering these matters and have not yet reached a firm conclusion on them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters he has received in favour of limiting immigration of citizens from the Commonwealth and Eire.

One hundred and sixty since the beginning of this year.

Will the hon. and learned Gentleman say how many of the letters came from local Conservative associations, some of which, as in Brixton, exploit the colour prejudice at election time for vote-catching purposes? Do they take the trouble to write to the Home Office representing their views on the subject?

I have myself seen a very large number of these letters. I do not say that I have seen all of them. I honestly do not recollect any single one of them having been sent by a Conservative association.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent there is a shortage of school crossing patrols employed by the Metropolitan Police; and, in view of the fact that pay has not been increased for a number of years, when discussions will take place with the trade unions concerned on the application made on 4th January, 1961, for an increase in pay and a review of the holiday agreement.

The Commissioner of Police, who is school crossing authority for the Metropolitan Police District, would like to recruit considerably more than the 1,200 school crossing patrols at present employed. I understand chat the application made on behalf of the patrols for an increase in pay has been discussed between representatives of the Commissioner and of the trades unions, and that a further meeting is likely to take place soon.

I am obliged to the hon. and learned Gentleman for that information. Is he aware, however, that there is considerable unrest among the school crossing patrols about their rates of pay, which have not been changed for some years and which compare most unfavourably with those of the traffic wardens? Is he further aware that the worst ever shortage of school crossing patrols is reported in the provinces, particularly in Manchester and in some of the other large provincial cities? Will not the hon. and learned Gentleman press on with this matter so that there may be satisfaction among this valiant body of people?

The last pay increase was made with effect from 1st January, 1958. There is recognised negotiating machinery and there is a right to go to arbitration. We should let that machinery work. It certainly would not be right for me to comment while a claim is being negotiated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation to prohibit male persons who have been convicted of sexual offences against children perpetrated in cars, lorries, or vehicles, from holding for life any form of driving licence on completion of their sentence or sentences.

My right hon. Friend has carefully considered the suggestion made by my hon. and gallant Friend and he well understands and sympathises with the feelings which have prompted it. He is not convinced, however, that it offers an effective or appropriate method of dealing with the problem.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for that reply, may I ask him whether he will agree that this type of crime is very much on the increase? There is an example in The Times today of a man attempting to rape a girl of 14 years, for which he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. Surely the imposition of this suggestion of mine would act as a deterrent and would prevent this loathsome type of crime being perpetrated by these individuals.

These crimes certainly attract a great deal of publicity. When the Cambridge Department of Criminal Science investigated sexual offences in 1957, it found that 3·4 per cent. of these offences were committed in a vehicle. The difficulty is that the possession of a car facilitates the commission of many crimes and it would be difficult to find a reason for singling out sexual offences as a reason for the prohibition of driving.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the observations by Mr. Justice Hilbery in the Court of Criminal Appeal on 27th March, when sentencing a Nigerian who had already had 16 convictions to four years' imprisonment for living on the earnings of prostitution, to the effect that the law prevented deportation orders being made in such cases where it was desirable to do so, if he will reconsider the need to introduce legislation concerning deportation; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to seek powers to deport Commonwealth immigrants who are convicted of crimes.

I have nothing to add to the statement made by my hon. and learned Friend the Joint Under-Secretary of State in the reply to the debate on 17th February.

When will my right hon. Friend have something to add? Does not he think that it is plainly stupid that we as a nation have not the power to deport men of this type from our midst? Is it not time that he took power to deport them?

The question of deportation raises big issues, but not quite as big issues as that of immigration. I have indicated that the power would not involve a great many people in the course of a year. We must, however, take it in conjunction with the other problem which is in process of being considered very carefully by the Government as a whole and is awaiting the Prime Minister's return from his tour. I should not like to give the House the impression that we are likely to have legislation this Session. Meanwhile, I should like to listen to the views expressed by my hon. Friends.

If the right hon. Gentleman decides to extend the law as indicated in the Question, will he take good care to ensure that he does it, not on a colour basis or on a basis which would discriminate against any particular class, but on a basis which will deal only with the criminality of the person involved? Is it not a fact that ample law already exists to deal with criminal aliens and their deportation to their own country? The extension sought in the Question would extend the law in a very undesirable way, perhaps to British citizens.

No, Sir; we would never envisage legislation on a colour basis. It would have to be passed on general considerations of the Commonwealth. There is quite a case for deportation of undesirable characters, as we do in the case of foreigners. Nearly every Government in the Commonwealth or in the colonial system has powers of this sort. Therefore, it is not altogether an unreasonable proposal. We are simply not yet ready to come to a decision.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the net value of the capital assets of the Carlisle State Management District.

The book value of the fixed assets of the Carlisle State Management Scheme, as shown in the Annual Report on the State Management Districts for the year ended 31st March, 1960, was £967,707.

In view of that Answer, it seems to me that the return of £100,000 to the Exchequer is on the low side. I hope that my right hon. Friend will give an assurance that the taxpayer is not being asked to subsidise the beer of those who live in Carlisle and district.

The point is that this is the original book value of the assets. Revaluation would show a considerably higher figure, which would go a long way to answering my hon. Friend's question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation permitting the Charity Commissioners to enable the idle resources accumulated in charitable trusts no longer operated, or in disaster and emergency funds which have met all their needs, to be transferred, under proper control, to useful social work.

My right hon. Friend feels confident that the enlarged powers of the Charity Commissioners under the new Charities Act to make schemes for the effective use of charitable resources will prove sufficient.

Will the Minister ascertain the extent of these funds, because they must amount to scores of millions of £s, dating back to the Boer War or even earlier, and are accumulating yearly? While I appreciate the Minister's Answer, can he tell the House whether there has been any action following the Charities Act, 1960, to see that these vast sums are transferred to useful social purposes?

Until registration under the Charities Act is complete, a process which is likely to take several years, it will be impossible to say what these funds amount to. From our information, however, they certainly do not amount to millions of £s. Possibly the best and most helpful suggestion that I can make to the hon. Member is that if he knows of any case or cases of unspent disaster funds, he should get in touch first with the trustees and then, if necessary, with the Charity Commissioners, who can offer helpful advice.

Will the Under-Secretary make it clear that there is no need to await registration before trustees who have these unspent funds can apply to the Charity Commissioners? Is it not most important that the new powers given by the Charities Act should be as widely known as possible and the fullest use made of them?

I fully agree with the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been received in the past two years by the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis from residents in the area of Furness Road, N.W.10, of nuisance caused by a waste recovery factory; if he will specify what action has been taken; and if he will make a statement.

I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that six letters have been received from local residents and several from the Furness Road Residents Association as well as two letters from the hon. Member himself. Representations were also received from the Willesden Borough Council. In addition, an unrecorded number of oral complaints have been dealt with on the spot. As my right hon. Friend informed the hon. Member in reply to a Question on 28th March, the police have continued to give attention to the matter and have taken appropriate action when offences have been observed.

Whilst I thank the hon. and learned Gentleman for his reply, and appreciate the efforts being made by the police, the number of complaints indicate that there is widespread anxiety in the area about the nuisance that is being caused. Will the Under-Secretary press the police to continue their efforts until a solution can be reached?

Yes. In fact, there have been a number of convictions. There have been seven convictions in nine cases and one case is still pending. The factory owners have agreed provisional terms with the county valuer for a new site in Hounslow and the purchase by the Willesden Borough Council of their existing premises in Furness Road is being negotiated by the district valuer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases local authorities have sought his permission to demolish air-raid shelters in each of the last five years; and in how many cases he has granted permission.

I regret that the information asked for in the first part of the Question is not readily available. Permission has been given to demolish about 12,000 shelters in the last five years.

Will not the hon. and learned Gentleman do something to try to speed up this process of demolishing shelters? Will he draw the attention of local authorities to the fact that many of these shelters throughout the country are in a state of decay and are both unsightly and frequently insanitary? Will he ask the local authorities to carry out an inspection of them so that the Home Secretary may approve of the widespread demolition of those which are objectionable?

Nearly all local authorities are conscious of the need to keep this question under consideration all the time and we get a number of applications. As, however, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary said in December, it remains the policy of the Government to preserve sound air-raid shelters as far as possible.

Is it not a fact, however, that some of these air-raid shelters gave only limited protection under the conditions of the last war and that under the conditions of today they act rather to harbour vermin and to attract young children under most undesirable conditions? Is my hon. and learned Friend aware that some local authorities advise me that they cannot take down these shelters because of the instructions of the Home Office? Will he look at the matter again?

I am not aware of any obstruction by the Home Office. As I said in my main Answer, about 12,000 shelters have been abolished in the last five years. We feel that the shelters from the last war would provide good protection against nuclear weapons outside the area of complete destruction, particularly if they were improved in various ways. Where they are clearly insanitary or dangerous, the local authority makes an application to get rid of them and we accede to that application.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of recent cases in which omnibus conductresses, whilst standing on the platform of their omnibuses, have been injured by hooligans, and have been refused benefit under the Industrial Injuries Act by the local tribunals; and whether he will now introduce legislation to ensure that compensation is received by innocent people who are criminally injured in the course of their employment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now make a statement on the policy of the Government regarding the compensation of victims of crimes of violence.

I have consulted my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance, and he informs me that he is not aware of any recent cases of the kind mentioned in the Question by the hon. Member for Stepney (Mr. W. Edwards). On the general question of the compensation of victims of crimes of violence, I have received the report of the official working party, which has shown that the subject is one of considerable complexity. This is still being examined and I hope in due course to make its terms public.

I am sorry that the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance is not present, otherwise I would have been able to put the question to him. May I, however, be allowed to inform the Home Secretary that there are recent cases as stated in my Question? There was a case only recently in Greenock. There was a case in 1958, when a bus conductor was hurt whilst carrying out his duties on the bus, but industrial injuries benefit was refused by the divisional court on the ground that the Act did not permit it. If the Act does not protect these public servants working on buses and in other forms of transport when they are hit on the head with a bottle, as was the case with the bus conductor in Greenock, surely something should be done quickly either to alter the Industrial Injuries Act or to introduce special legislation to help these victims.

This is a matter chiefly for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance. Benefits in the scheme are limited to accidents arising out of and in the course of employment. The interpretation of this phrase is, in the last resort, a matter for the courts. I think that the best thing for the hon. Member would be to give me particulars of his cases and I will consider them with my right hon. Friend.

Concerning the wider question of compensating victims of crimes of violence, will the Home Secretary bear in mind that a Private Member's Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, South (Mr. C. Johnson) is before the House? This is the second year in succession that there has been such a Bill. Could not the right hon. Gentleman adopt it, assist its passage and amend it as necessary in Committee? If he cannot see his way clear to do that, does he expect that the Government will introduce legislation, bearing in mind that the longer the delay that occurs, the more people will be injured without any scheme of compensation to protect them?

I am aware of the Bill which is before the House. The matter is a little more complex than that covered by the Bill. It is all a question of the sort of crimes for which there should be compensation and the method of doing it. That is why I should aid discussion if I were to publish at least the terms of the report in the manner most suitable and obtain public reaction to them, because quite a lot of principle and also a lot of money are involved. We should have to find the money and decide the principle. With the aid of the House, we might then be able to do so.

Concerning the special problem raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Stepney (Mr. W. Edwards), would the Home Secretary not agree that this is a matter for the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance? Will he again consult his right hon. Friend to make sure that these injuries would be regarded as injuries arising out of and in course of the employment of the people affected? On the general question, while I agree with the Home Secretary chat this is a complex matter, would he not agree that it is also an urgent one? While he has not yet made the report public, can the right hon. Gentleman say whether it deals merely with compensation or whether it deals also with the, perhaps, more difficult question of restitution by the criminal?

The report deals fundamentally with the question of compensation for crimes of violence. That is some advance. The question of restitution by the individual is one on which I have made several pronouncements and which we might, perhaps, discuss at the same time. With regard to the individual cases raised by the hon. Member for Stepney, there is, of course, a normal procedure which goes through the local insurance officers and appeal from them to the local appeal tribunals and from them to the Industrial Injuries Commissioner. We must be careful to preserve that position. What I suggest is that these cases should be examined by my right hon. Friend, to whom I will pass them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that domestic bleach, sodium hypochlorite, is sold in bottles similar to those used for beverages, without labels warning that it is dangerous to drink; and if he will take steps to ensure that it is packaged and labelled more appropriately.

Arrangements made by the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers are designed to prevent the use of bottles that might cause domestic bleach to be mistaken for a beverage. On the information at present before him, my right hon. Friend does not think that action on his part is necessary.

Does that mean that there has recently been a change in the kind of bottle that is used?

These arrangements date from 1948, but they have been constantly reviewed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, when issuing licences, he will make it a condition that in future London taxicabs must be so constructed that passengers using the back seats do not have to remove their hats to avoid continually knocking the brim of the rear thereof against the back roof of the taxicab.

The current design of taxi which appeared on the roads for the first time in 1959 is, I am informed, satisfactory in this respect in the case of passengers and hats of normal dimensions.

While I thank my hon. Friend for his reply and I quite agree that the newer types of taxis are better, does he not realise—has he not found out for himself with his great height—that the lower doors make it more difficult for people to enter, and likewise the new taxis are more difficult for the aged because there is no step?

I do not think I am of normal dimensions. The point that I had particularly in mind was the back-shelf improvement in the 1959 version. I shall look at the other point which my hon. Friend has mentioned, but I think he will find that the 1959 version is more satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now been able to make special arrangements for refractory prisoners who hitherto have had to be segregated in solitary confinement; and if he will make a statement.

Yes, Sir. I have decided to set aside a small wing in Brixton prison for the reception of prisoners whose record of violence in prison makes it imprudent to allow them to associate with other prisoners in normal conditions. These prisoners, who have hitherto had to be kept in solitary confinement, sometimes for long periods, will be allowed a degree of association under careful supervision. They will receive special attention from the medical officer and the psychologist and, although discipline will be strict, every attempt will be made to give the régime a diagnostic and therapeutic bias. The wing can hold up to twenty prisoners and will, I hope, be in operation at the beginning of May.

While welcoming this experiment, which may obviously tend to make life easier for prison officers in some other prisons and which will also, as the right hon. Gentleman has pointed out, help to end the need for these unduly long periods of solitary confinement, may I ask him about one particular case which I have brought to his notice? Is it likely that my constituent, prisoner No. 1 in Dartmoor, will be among those sent there immediately?

I should like to have notice of that supplementary question.

I have already given the right hon. Gentleman notice of it, in two letters.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say why Brixton has been singled out in this matter? Is he satisfied that adequate staff will be available to see that the experiment does not lead to even greater trouble?

The experiment has nothing to do with the hon. Gentleman, but the staff will be adequate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent action has been taken to reduce car-parking on pavements in Westminster.

As the hon. Member was informed on 16th February, special attention is paid by the police, within the limits of available manpower, to the practice of parking cars on the footway. Since 24th February this year, in the Rochester Row Sub-Division, which includes the area to which the hon. Member's earlier Question referred, 31 drivers have been reported for obstruction of the footway and dealt with by way of process or written caution; 44 vehicles have been removed; and 265 oral warnings have been given for obstruction.

Is the hon. and learned Gentleman aware that some of the culprits, including Ministers of the Crown, one of whom is present at the moment, continue, according to my information, to indulge in this reprehensible practice of parking cars on the footway? Will he give an assurance that there is not one law for Ministers of the Crown and another law for ordinary citizens?

I can certainly give the assurance asked for. In our democracy, Ministers of the Crown are as much subject to the law as anyone else. It is, of course, a question for the police to decide whether or not there is obstruction of the pavement. Placing a car on the pavement is not in itself an offence, any more than is sitting on the pavement; but it is a question for the police to decide and not one upon which my right hon. Friend can make a decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the result of his analysis of recent murders has now been completed; whether he is yet in a position to say whether there has been any appreciable increase in the number of sexual offences against young girls since the passing of the Street Offences Act; and how many deaths have resulted from such offences.

This Question has been put down to rectify a stupid blunder I made last week.

Which one?

The analysis of murders being carried out by the Home Office Research Unit is continuing, and I shall arrange for the results to be made public when the work is completed. Since the Street Offences Act was passed there have been five deaths of girls under 17 initially recorded by the police as murder which were committed in circumstances suggesting that the motive of homicide was probably of a sexual nature; in a corresponding period immediately before the Act there were seven such deaths. As regards sexual offences generally against women I cannot add to the reply I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend on 16th February, which showed that the number of these offences had not increased since the passing of the Street Offences Act.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied that there is no connection between this apparent increase in sexual offences against children and young girls and the fact that men are now deprived of their normal access to satisfaction of their needs?

I am satisfied that in fact the figures show the opposite, namely, five since, in the comparative period, and seven before, in the comparative period. I do not attach particular importance to statistics, but if they show anything they show that there has been a decrease. With regard to the other observations of my hon. Friend, I would say that in my view the Act has been of great benefit, if only through example, and I believe that it has been widely recognised as such, at any rate in the Metropolis and other main centres.

Apart from sexual offences committed against young girls, will the right hon. Gentleman consider whether or not it is more difficult now for the police to keep track of young girls coming to London, particularly some ex-Borstal girls who on being set free may get into undesirable company?

This is a matter of opinion. I shall take it up with the police, particularly with the Metropolitan Police, for whom I am responsible, in view of the hon. Lady's question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to increase the number of prison officers.

An increase of pay ranging from 18s. 6d. to 25s. 6d. a week for the basic grade was agreed in January last. The excellent opportunities for men and women in this service should be more widely known, and I am therefore embarking on a very intensive series of test advertising campaigns in the North and North West of England. The service is doing a fine job and offers an attractive career.

Will my right hon. Friend answer one point? Does he regard the present establishment as altogether satisfactory? There are, I believe, something like six prisoners to one officer. Is any attempt being made to raise the establishment as well as to bring the force up to the level of establishment?

As I shall be saying in answer to a later Question, the whole matter of the present régime is under review by the Prison Commissioners. In general, contrary to certain reports in the Press, the establishment is, in most cases, sufficient, but I am paying special attention to any claims made that in certain overcrowded prisons there may be difficulties and I will, if my hon. Friend desires, keep in touch with him on this question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement about the recent disturbances at Walton Gaol, Liverpool.

On the afternoon of 17th April, seven of the 161 prisoners in the canvas workshop suddenly stopped work, picked up chairs and began to break windows. On being restrained they went quietly to their cells. Shortly afterwards 240 men from another shop sat down in the exercise yard. When ordered to return to the prison they did so. That evening there was some shouting and banging on cell doors, but the prison quietened down at about 11.15 p.m.

Does not the Home Secretary think that these disturbances at Walton Gaol, Liverpool, following upon disturbances and riots at other prisons in various parts of the country, indicate that there is something seriously wrong with the staffing of our prisons? Is not the real remedy to increase the numbers and improve the conditions of present staffs?

I would not say that there is something fundamentally wrong with the staffing. In most cases it is all right. What is wrong is the overcrowding of prisons, which is really what has caused this. I have the whole matter under review, however, and I am obliged to the hon. Member for enabling me to make that public.

Does my right hon. Friend accept the possibility that his reluctance to confirm awards of corporal punishment for attacks on warders has been a contributory factor to recent outbreaks?

I saw something in the newspapers which was totally inaccurate on this question. I should be glad to give the figures on confirmation if my hon. Friend puts down a Question. He will find that in most cases, at any rate recently, awards have been confirmed at the request of the visiting committee.

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider whether these disturbances are due to complaints about the food in these prisons, which has deteriorated in the last two years? Would he look into this and satisfy himself that it is not a contributory factor?

I have visited many prisons and have partaken of the food. It is one of the features of the life of a Home Secretary that he does so when he visits a prison. I do not think that in general the food is bad, but when we have had complaints we have done our best to remedy matters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to make a statement on the report of the Streatfeild Committee on the Business of the Criminal Courts.

The Streatfeild Committee has produced a most valuable and stimulating Report, and I am glad to be able to express the Government's appreciation of its work. My noble and learned Friend, the Lord Chancellor, and I are studying carefully the important issues which the Report raises and the steps needed to implement its recommendations, but I have as yet no statement to make.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that speeding up the business of the courts is one of the ways in which gross overcrowding in our prisons can be alleviated? Is he aware that about 10,000 people a year are remanded in custody and that of these about 1,300 stayed in prison on remand for over eight weeks? Would the right hon. Gentleman not agree that, apart from the effect on individuals, this in one way in which, to use the words of the Streatfeild Committee, we can alleviate the clogging up of the prison system?

Yes, Sir. It was because of this that I appointed the Streatfeild Committee as one of the several reforms that I have undertaken. Now, having received the Committee's Report, I think that we shall be able to do something about speeding up matters, and that in turn will alleviate prison conditions.

asked the Secreary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that approved schools get 100 per cent. grant from the Government and remand homes only 50 per cent., if he will increase the amount payable in respect of remand homes.

The hon. Member is misinformed. The cost of approved schools, like that of remand homes, is shared equally between the Exchequer and local authorities.

But is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in most cases the approved schools are run by voluntary organisations and local committees? Would he not agree that there is a desperate shortage of places in remand homes and that the Criminal Justices Bill will mean that more remand places will be needed than were needed before? Would the right hon. Gentleman therefore treat the provision of places in remand homes as a matter of great urgency?

My right hon. Friend certainly accepts the problem created by the insufficiency of remand home places. One must compare like with like and I was comparing remand homes with local authority approved schools, but even here there are negotiations going on to see whether any financial burden can be relieved for the local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (1) if he is aware that permission has been given by the Education Department for the building of 137 private schools in Swaziland and that their sponsors have been warned that it appears most unlikely that any will receive Government aid for many years to come; and what proposals he has for remedying the shortage of schools in this Territory;

The schools maintained by the Government of Swaziland, and Government-aided schools operated by voluntary agencies, together account for about 80 per cent. of enrolments. These schools cater for more than three times as many students as those mentioned in the right hon. Gentleman's Question, and are receiving priority in the allocation of available funds from the Government. Regarding teachers, the teaching establishment of schools for Africans has grown from 600 to 1,000 since 1955, and is growing at the rate of some fifty to fifty-five posts a year.

Is the Joint Under-Secretary aware that his very complacent answer will not give great satisfaction in Swaziland where, as is well-known, the education situation is very bad indeed? Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is Colonial Development and Welfare Fund money now available which should be used to help private schools which were started because of lack of Government schools? Will not he do something to improve education there generally?

I do not accept the implications in what the right hon. Gentleman has said. We agreed as recently as February to substantial rises in the salaries of teachers. In addition, a new teachers' training college built with Colonial Development and Welfare Fund money is to be opened early next year. It will enable us to train twice as many teachers as are trained at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will make a statement on his plans for the Protectorates of Swaziland, Bechuanaland and Basutoland, in view of South Africa's departure from the Commonwealth and the need for United Kingdom responsibilities to be exercised independently of the Union Government.

I am at present studying the effects on the High Commission Territories of South Africa's withdrawal from the Commonwealth. This study will take a little while. I do not, of course, accept the implication in the question that the United Kingdom's responsibilities have not hitherto been exercised independently.

Is the Secretary of State aware of the great importance of transferring the administrative capital of Bechuanaland into the Protectorate? Is he aware of the importance of having a separate Commissioner appointed to administer the three Protectorates apart from our diplomatic representation with Dr. Verwoerd? Is he also aware of the urgency of pressing ahead with the implementation of the Morse proposals for economic development?

I am, of course, aware of all those matters.

Is the right hon. Gentleman really saying that the Ambassador to the Union will be responsible in future for these Territories?

I do not know why the right hon. Gentleman thinks that I said anything of the sort.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how long he is likely to take with this? Surely it is not a very difficult problem to decide whether an Ambassador should continue to look after these territories or a separate High Commissioner or Governor or whatever he is called in the Territories themselves?

There are quite a lot of questions connected with High Commission Territories—

The right hon. Gentleman is not answering any.

They are questions which have to be studied to some extent together, but I may have something to say on this point in the course of the debate on Monday.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what steps he intends to take, in consultation with other Commonwealth Territories, to collect and publish information gained as a result of Commonwealth Technical Training Week; and whether he will consider the possibility of some form of continuing organisation for this purpose.

These are matters for the Central Advisory Committee upon which Commonwealth countries are jointly represented by the High Commissioner for Australia and this country by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour. I will arrange for the hon. Member's suggestion to be conveyed to the Committee.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that technical education and training are so important in every part of the Commonwealth that it is worth while trying to follow up any promising ideas or experiences in any part of it?

I agree wholeheartedly with the hon. Member and I am glad that he has raised this matter in this way today.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what arrangements he is making for a referendum of the African population of Southern Rhodesia with regard to the proposed new constitution for the Colony, in view of Her Majesty's Government's responsibility with regard to the African people, the latter's concern that the protective powers be retained, and the need for constitutional advance to be generally agreed.

It is not for me to arrange referendums in Southern Rhodesia.

Does not the Secretary of State realise that the African people in Southern Rhodesia look upon this country as the protecting Power and that they regard the protective clauses in the Constitution as their safeguard against exploitation by the tiny white minority in the country. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] This is very important for them. In view of this, why is the referendum to be conducted among that 3 per cent. of the population which happens to be on the electoral roll and which is a percentage almost wholly white? Why cannot the African population who are greatly concerned about these proposed changes be consulted?

The hon. Member has asked me a lot of questions at the same time. First, I recognise, of course, our responsibility to ensure that the powers at present reserved to the Government in the United Kingdom are not dropped unless we are satisfied that equally effective or more effective safeguards can be put in their place. That is why the proposals for the new constitution include a provision for a Declaration of Rights, a Constitutional Council and a right of appeal to the Privy Council. This particular referendum is no concern of mine. I cannot decide that there should be a referendum among Europeans, or the existing electorate. That is a matter that is decided out there. I am fully satisfied that most Africans would be very sorry indeed to lose the substantial advances that the new Constitution offers to them.

As the right hon. Gentleman was president of the Constitutional Conference, has not he taken steps, albeit informally, to ensure that there is ample opportunity to consult African opinion about these proposals?

That was the purpose of the Conference.

asked the Minister of Education how many projects for comprehensive schools he has approved since he took office, how many such projects he has rejected, and in what areas, respectively.

I have approved twenty-nine proposals and rejected four. I will, with permission, circulate details in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that information, but now that he and his Department are beginning to abandon their doctrinaire opposition to comprehensive schools, and more and more local authorities, whatever their political complexion, are considering the advantages of these schools, would not he agree to the suggestion, which I made some time ago, that he issue a document for the guidance of local authorities, describing and explaining the nature of the different types of comprehensive school which are now in operation?

The guidance is there in the White Paper of 1958. The hon. Member may like to know that in the same period I have approved 460 other types of secondary school, including 57 grammar schools. None the less, I am in favour of reasonable experiments.

There is no need for the right hon. Gentleman to be too modest about his change of mind, but in view of the Crowther Report and the widespread interest in comprehensive school education, will he consider issuing a White Paper, or perhaps a chapter in the Annual Report, giving a record of the achievements of different types of schools?

I will consider that suggestion for the Annual Report, but the hon. Member would be wrong to think that I have changed my mind. It is exactly the same now as it was when I was previously Minister of Education.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that a great many schools may be called comprehensive but are not comprehensive because they have to compete with selective grammar schools in that category?

That is a matter of looking at each school in turn.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many per sons have been convicted in Kenya since 1st January, 1961, on the charge of assisting in the management of an un lawful society in connection with Mau Mau activities.

Two, Sir, but in both cases the offence originated in 1960.

In view of the fact that there is evidence that the Kenya Freedom Party is being organised as a successor to Mau Mau, and that there is oath-taking in many parts of the country, is my hon. Friend satisfied that sufficient proceedings are being taken?

Yes, Sir. I am convinced that the police and the Special Branch are taking every necessary step to deal with secret societies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether in constitutional discussions between the Government of the South Cameroons and the Government of the Cameroun Republic the official opposition in the South Cameroons is represented.

Discussions on the detailed constitutional arrangements for the unification of the Southern Cameroons with the Cameroun Republic have yet to be held. The arrangements for the discussions will have to be worked out in consultation with the authorities of the Cameroun Republic. I hope that means will be found of associating the official Opposition in the Southern Cameroons with the discussions at an appropriate stage.

Am I right in saying that, in the preliminary discussions at Yaounde last month between the Government of the ex-British South Cameroons and the Government of the Cameroun Republic, the Opposition was not represented?

The opposition was not represented, but these were preliminary discussions. The main discussions will take place after a decision has been reached in the United Nations on the outcome of the referendum.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, while the United Kingdom remains the administering power for the trusteeship territory of the South Cameroons, he will ensure that there is a general election in the territory so that the will of the people can be made known, before the details of any constitutional agreement with the Cameroun Republic are ratified.

We must await the conclusion of the current discussions in the United Nations on the future of the Southern Cameroons before considering what detailed steps will be necessary and practicable to implement the result of the plebiscite.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that the Opposition is in a minority of only one in the house of Representatives in the South Cameroons? Would it not be better, before a method of integration into the Cameroun Republic is settled, that the will of the people should be made known?

We shall certainly bear what my hon. Friend says in mind, but, of course, these are complex questions. There are many imponderables before we can come to a decision on this matter.