asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) the percentage increase in the total valuation of Scotland, and the percentage increase of each county council and large burgh, and also of each of the four cities, as a result of revaluation;(2) if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the amount of Exchequer equalisation grant provisionally allocated to each county council and large burgh, and to each of the four cities, in Scotland for the years 1960–61 and 1961–62.

The information asked for is given in the table below. This shows for each county and burgh, including counties of cities, in Scotland:in column (2): the amounts of the Exchequer equalisation grant for

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for the expansion of the National Library for Scotland to keep step with the proposed increase in the number of places in Scottish universities.

The Trustees of the National Library are fully aware of the needs of higher education in Scotland and the Library will, I am sure, play its part in meeting them. I understand, however, that the need in this particular connection is not so much for physical expansion of the Library as for extension of facilities available to readers. With this in mind, the Trustees intend to keep the reading room open for longer hours for an experimental period beginning in October.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the number of teachers employed in Scotland and the total salary bill, exclusive of further education, for the latest financial year for which figures are available.

The number of teachers employed whole-time in public and grant-aided schools in Scotland at 3rd October, 1960, was 38,367; the number of part-time teachers was 645. The salary bill for 1960–61, including superannuation and national insurance contributions, was approximately £42 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is satisfied that there are sufficient facilities in Scotland for training entrants to the dental profession.

Extensions planned for the dental schools in Glasgow and Dundee will increase the annual number of places in Scotland for new dental students from about 140 to 175. These facilities are expected to be adequate to meet the foreseeable demand for places in Scotland from suitably qualified students.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps have been taken to implement the recommendations of the Younghusband Report on Social Workers.

Pilot training courses on the lines recommended are now being arranged, including one course to start in Glasgow in October. Work is also proceeding, in consultation with the local authorities and other interests concerned, on the preparation of legislation to establish a National Council for Social Work.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will introduce legislation to ensure that premiums paid to finance corporations by leaseholders seeking the renewal of their lease are subject to tax.

Such premiums constitute trading receipts entering into the computation of taxable profit if the recipient is trading in real property. I have no proposals for legislation on this subject.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to increase the number of Welsh-speaking civil servants in the Inland Revenue department in Cardiff; and whether he will make a statement.

The present arrangements are regarded as adequate. There are very few occasions when it is necessary to transact the Inland Revenue's business in Cardiff in the Welsh language and there are sufficient Welsh-speaking officers in post to deal with these occasions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his reviewing committee on the export of works of art has advised him whether the picture of the Duke of Wellington by Goya should be granted an export licence.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he took any steps, before the auction, to acquire the portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Goya, in view of its great artistic merit.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer from whom he sought professional artistic advice before deciding not to bid for Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington; and what was the nature of the advice given.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultation he has had with his Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art regarding a licence to export Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer his reason for refusing a grant for the purchase of Goya's painting of the Duke of Wellington, in view of the fact that he recently authorised a grant of £163,500 towards the purchase of two Renoir paintings.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he will take to prohibit the export of Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington, and to make funds available for its purchase on behalf of the nation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has received an application for a licence to export Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington.

I explained the present position in respect of this picture in reply to the hon. Member for Richmond, Surrey (Mr. A. Royle) on 15th June. An application for a licence for the export of the picture has since been received and will be considered by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art as soon as possible.It is not for Her Majesty's Government but for the Trustees of national collections to decide whether or not to seek to acquire any picture. I understand that the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery authorised a bid at auction for this picture but were not successful. Attempts had previously been made to buy the picture for a public collection by private treaty.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he was informed in advance of the proposed sale of the portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Goya; and whether he will consider amending the existing procedure so that prospective purchasers would be given a clear warning that a particular work of art offered for sale would not receive an export licence.

I was aware of the impending sale of this picture. The second part of the Question raises an important issue, but the Waverley Committee advised against the giving of advance warnings in particular cases. Practice has been based on this rule and I am not satisfied that it would be right to alter it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he now proposes to take to check further deterioration in the United Kingdom's balance of payments.

The figures for the first quarter of this year published yesterday show some improvement in the balance of payments. I shall take what action I think necessary to avoid any overload on the economy which might prevent this recovery from continuing.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what grounds he reached his decision that gold coin and bullion valued at £361,499 is a sufficient backing for the Bank of England note issue, at 31st May, 1961, of £2,325,361,499; and if he will increase the gold backing.

At the beginning of the Second World War the whole of the gold reserve in the Issue Department of the Bank of England—except for a token amount—was transferred to the Exchange Equalisation Account, where it became, and remains, available for the purposes authorised by Section 24 of the Finance Act, 1932, as amended by Section 63 of the Finance Act, 1946. The creation of the Exchange Equalisation Account in 1932 and later the transfer to it of the gold reserve served to break finally the links between the gold reserve and the note issue and thus to insulate the latter from the direct impact of fluctuations in the gold reserve as a result of movements across the exchanges. I am satisfied that these arrangements, which appear to have been found acceptable by the Committee on the Working of the Monetary System, have been greatly to the public advantage, and I see no reason to alter them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that the amount of paper money in circulation on 31st May was £2,325,361,499 and that private banks, under the statutory requirement to hold 8 per cent. cash cover for credit loans, are thus able to issue means of exchange up to an approximate sum of £29,000,000,000, yielding about £1,450,000,000 per annum in interest, whether he will take powers to ensure that a proportion of this interest is secured for public use.

I am afraid that I do not accept my hon. Friend's facts, figures or conclusions.The banks are under no statutory obligation to hold a fixed proportion of their assets in cash. By convention the London clearing banks hold the equivalent of at least 8 per cent. of their gross deposits—which amounted to £7,350 million on 17th May, 1961—in the form of coin and Bank of England notes in their tills and deposits at the Bank of England. These two groups of assets together constitute their "cash"—amounting to £593 million on 17th May, 1961—and the 8 per cent. is known as the "cash ratio". The total amount of notes in circulation is irrelevant in this context, since the greater part of it is in the hands of the public outside the banking system. What counts for this purpose is the amount of notes and coin actually held by the banks themselves and their deposits with the Bank of England, upon which they can draw to replenish their holdings of notes and coin as may be necessary to meet the requirements of their customers.For reasons explained in the Report of the Committee on the Working of the Monetary System (Cmnd. 827, paragraph 376):

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that the continual demand for more wages for less work is causing inflation at home and making it more difficult to sell United Kingdom goods abroad, if he will resist proposals for higher salaries and expenses for Members of Parliament in order that Parliament may set a good example to the nation; and if he will make a statement.

I agree that in determining the remuneration of its Members this House should be careful to set a good example to the nation.With regard to the second part of my hon. Friend's Question, I have no statement to make.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will print several millions of copies of extracts from the Bank of International Settlement's recent report, such as those which show that British exports rose in the last seven years by only 28 per cent. as compared with 156 per cent. in Germany, 180 per cent. in Italy, 92 per cent. in the Netherlands and 50 per cent. in world trade generally, because British prices rose 10 per cent. against 2 per cent. in Germany and a 4 per cent. drop in Switzerland; if he will circulate these to all employers with a request that they be placed in every wage and salary packet; and if he will make a statement.

I sympathise with my hon. Friend's ideas that these facts should be widely known. I will bear in mind this particular suggestion.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has received the Romer Report; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement which I made on 13th June.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the effect on the British film industry of Great Britain joining the Common Market.

It is still uncertain how films will be treated by the European Economic Community. My right hon. Friend is therefore unable to predict what would be the effect on the British film industry if Great Britain were to join the Common Market.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the recent census evidence of the continued trend of industry from the North to move south, whether he proposes new measures to discourage over industrialisation of certain parts of the United Kingdom.

As my right hon. Friend said in reply to Questions put on 8th June by the hon. Member for Chester-le-Street (Mr. Pentland), the policies embodied in the Local Employment Act, 1960, are already securing a more equal regional distribution of industry. He is, of course, watching the working of the Act to see whether any further improvements can be made.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give an assurance that no licences for the export of arms or ammunition will be given in respect of deliveries to Angola or Mozambique.

No. Applications for licences for the export of arms and ammunition are considered by the Government Departments concerned in the light of the political, strategic and economic implications of each individual case. As my right hon. Friend, the Lord Privy Seal said on 26th April, we shall follow this policy in respect of Portugal and her overseas territories.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if an invitation has yet been received from the United States Government for the United Kingdom to be represented at an international conference of the principal textile importing and exporting countries; whether the United Kingdom will be represented; and by whom it will be represented.

The G.A.T.T. Council decided on 16th June to arrange for such a conference to take place in Geneva at the earliest possible moment, taking into account the need for adequate preparation. Her Majesty's Government would expect to take part but will decide later by whom they will be represented.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that British firms are seeking to establish subsidiaries or other alliances inside the boundaries of the Common Market countries; and to what extent this is likely to endanger future prospects of employment in Great Britain.

My right hon. Friend is aware that British firms are investing in Common Market countries through the establishment of subsidiaries and otherwise. My right hon. Friend does not regard overseas investment by British enterprises in Europe or elsewhere as being a threat to employment in this country.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he is taking to stop the dumping of barley on the United Kingdom market.

The Board of Trade has received an application from the National Farmers' Unions for action under the Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act, 1957, against barley imported from France, Western Germany, Russia, the United States of America and Australia. The application may be extended to other countries supplying barley at prices which appear to be dumped or subsidised. The Board is investigating the application urgently and my right hon. Friend has already approached some of the countries named in it. While he cannot prejudge the outcome, he recognises the need for a quick decision.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many applications for assistance under the Local Employment Act, 1960, have now been received from Caernarvonshire; how many have been granted, rejected or are still under consideration, respectively; and what is the total financial assistance so far extended to applicants from the county under the Act.

Ten applications for financial assistance under the Local Employment Act have been received for projects in Caernarvonshire. One offer of assistance has been made, four applications have been unsuccessful and five are under consideration. I cannot give the figure of financial assistance offered since it would disclose the offer made to an individual firm.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many applications for assistance under the Local Employment Act, 1960, have now been received from, or relate to, Wales, England, and Scotland, respectively; how many have been granted in each case; and how many have been rejected or are still under consideration.

The following table sets out the information requested in respect of applications for financial assistance under the Local Employment Act received up to 31st May, 1961:

asked the Minister of Works what facilities will be provided for hon. Members in the building to be erected by his Department on the site of St. Stephen's Club; and whether in due course he will display a model of the proposed building in the House.

The preparation of detailed schedules of requirements for the proposed development of the whole Bridge Street/Parliament Street/Embankment site, of which the St. Stephen's Club forms part, must await the decision of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government on the London County Council's amendment to its Development Plan covering the designation of this site. If my right hon. Friend approves the proposal, I shall consult the authorities of the House about the facilities to be provided in the development. In due course the design will be displayed for the information of Members.