asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the reason for the delay in publication of the Faulks report on the operations of the State Building Society.

It was necessary to hold back publication of Mr. Faulks's report, which dealt with H. Jasper & Co., Ltd., until criminal proceedings on matters covered by the report had been concluded. Thereafter publication was timed to coincide with the related report by Mr. Lawson on the State Building Society.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he proposes to take to enforce the statutory protections provided by Section 54 of the Companies Act, 1948, and to prevent the evasions of the section referred to in the Faulks report.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 27th June to the Question by the hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Marsh).

asked the President of the Board of Trade what land previously used as part of the former Royal Ordnance Factory, on the site of which the Wrexham Industrial Estate now stands, has been sold back to former owners; what are the amounts of such land; and who are the owners.

I understand that about 1,600 acres, regarded as agricultural, of the 2,400 compulsorily acquired by the Ministry of Supply during the war have been sold back to former owners. It is not the practice to divulge the names of the purchasers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Minister of State has reported on his visit to the United States of America; what was the nature of his report; and what representations he made to the United States Government about the desirability of increasing use by United States citizens of British air and sea travel services.

The main purpose of my right hon. Friend's visit was to explore the prospects for increased trade with certain parts of the U.S.A. and Canada. In talks with the Departments of State and Commerce and the Federal Maritime Board he emphasised Her Majesty's Government's view on the importance of liberal transport policies for international trade.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the latest figures since the beginning of 1961 of total exports to Commonwealth countries and the countries of the Six, respectively.

Exports (including re-exports) to Commonwealth countries and to Common Market countries (excluding dependencies) for the first five months of 1961 were £661 million and £273 million respectively.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he intends to take 'powers to require that all meat should be sold at net weight without any allowance for wrapping;(2) whether, in the Weights and Measures (No. 2) Bill, he intends to provide that all cheeses should carry net weight markings.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether, in the Weights and Measures (No. 2) Bill, he will consider including provision for the sale of milk in one-third pint bottles;(2) what consideration has been given to including in the Weights and Measures (No. 2) Bill, for the protection of retailers, a provision that, where a complaint is received of a loaf being underweight, a weights and measures inspector should arrange for the testing of a reasonable number of the other loaves for sale.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Weights and Measures (No. 2) Bill will require that the net weight of pre-packed fruit and vegetables will be given as the weight obtaining at the time of packing or the time of sale.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what types of cosmetics will be brought within the proposed new weights and measures legislation;(2) whether the forthcoming weights and measures legislation will require breakfast cereals to be marked with the net weight.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what compensation arrangements will be made, in the forthcoming Weights and Measures legislation, in respect of the displacement of local officers.

As I said in answer to Questions Nos. 32, 33, 36 and 37 at Question Time today, I should be grateful if hon. Members would await the Bill, which I hope to be able to introduce within a week or so.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is considering entering into barley-dumping negotiations with countries other than those so far decided upon.

Not at present. But as I stated in my reply to my hon. Friend, the Member for Newbury (Sir A. Hurd), on 7th July, if sales from any source are in future made at below a landed duty paid price of £20 per ton and are dumped or subsidised, I shall not hesitate, if the supplying countries fail to give assurances similar to those given already by Russia, Australia and France, to impose the appropriate duties.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how he now estimates the imports of barley into the United Kingdom during 1961 will compare with 1960.

Imports for the first five months of 1961 were 513,000 tons. This compares with a figure of 704,000 tons for the whole of 1960. I cannot make any forecast of the likely figure of imports for the remainder of 1961; this will depend, amongst other things, on the size of the new home crop and on the effect of the measures which I announced on 7th July to check imports at dumped and subsidised prices.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how soon he expects the measures he is taking to check the dumping of barley on the British market will be effective in restoring a reasonable price level for the home crop, so as to encourage orderly marketing through the year and save an undue subsidy burden falling on the Exchequer.

I understand that the market price for barley is already hardening. In the next few weeks prices will be determined mainly by the rate of home-grown offers, but I believe that the measures which I announced in my reply to a Question by my hon. Friend on 7th July will help to establish prices at a reasonable level.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what consultations he has had with the Machine Tool Trades Association about the future expansion of design, research and development within the industry.

There is close consultation with the Association, and the Machine Tool Advisory Council regularly reviews progress in implementing the recommendations of the Mitchell Committee including those relating to design, research and development.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he will take to restrict inessential imports from hard currency areas in order to protect United Kingdom gold and dollar reserves.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to a similar Question by the hon. Member on 2nd February last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what applications he is at present considering for anti-

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he is aware that lack of industrial design is causing concern in some factories at present; and what steps he is taking in the field of research to find out the reasons for this and to effect improvements.

Yes, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for drawing attention to this important matter of industrial design. One factor, which recent investigations by D.S.I.R. and others, have shown up, is a shortage of engineering designers. Government plans for expansion at universities and colleges of advanced technology include major increases in the facilities for training engineers. In addition D.S.I.R. is making substantial grants to encourage research and design development, in teaching institutions and in research associations, as well as conducting research in its own laboratories. dumping duties; and when these applications were received.

The Board of Trade has at present six applications which it has advertised as being under consideration. Following are the details:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science how many applications for grants for special researches were received from Scotland in 1960; and how many were refused.

In 1960 the four Research Councils received 77 applications for grants for special researches from Scotland. Of these 61 were supported and 16 were refused.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what proportion of the receipts from industry paid to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in respect of work done at its establishments was paid by Scottish firms.

In 1960–61, receipts from Scottish industry amounted to about 4 per cent. of the total receipts from industry received by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in respect of work done at its establishments.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science whether he will give the figures for the tonnage per square mile per month of dissolved deposits recorded in the test stations of Derby, Doncaster, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, and Leicester.

The available figures are set out in the table below. I would emphasise that, since deposited matter tends to fall near to the source of origin, these figures are representative only of restricted areas within the towns and cities named. They cannot be taken

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science how many training awards were made by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in Scotland in 1960; and what was the type of these awards and the subjects respectively.

One hundred and five awards for postgraduate training in science and technology tenable by students in universities and colleges in Scotland were made in 1960 by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Their distribution by type of award and by subject was as follows:

asked the Minister of Works what damage was done at Stonehenge during the nocturnal celebrations on 21st June; what action he is taking to make good this damage; and what action he is taking to ensure that it does not recur next year.

One strand of wire was broken in the boundary fence. This has been replaced. One custodian's hat was lost: this is being replaced. I am considering ways of maintaining better general order on future occasions.

asked the Minister of Works what plans he has for expanding car parking facilities for hon. Members.

The space that can be assigned for car parking by hon. Members within the precincts of the Palace of Westminster is physically limited and it is difficult to see how it could be expanded. The responsible authorities of the Palace of Westminster do all they can to ensure that all available space is used to best advantage.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will make a statement on the shortage of cement in Cornwall.

Yes. I am in touch with the Chairman of the Cement Makers' Federation who is discussing the general problem of shortage with representatives of the building and civil engineering industries tomorrow.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what representations he has received against the South Essex Waterworks Company's proposal for a water treatment works and a service reservoir at Chigwell Row, Essex, in the Metropolitan green belt; to what extent these installations would benefit neighbouring parishes which suffer water shortage; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received representations from the Chigwell Urban District Council about this works and reservoir which will benefit parts of Ilford, Dagenham and Romford, though not Chigwell itself. The company has not yet found a site for the reservoir: my right hon. Friend has directed that the application for planning permission for the treatment works be referred to him for decision.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what recent action has been taken by the Alkali Inspectorate to deal with the public nuisance of the fumes emitted from the works of Derby Metals Limited.

Following an approach by the Alkali Inspectorate the firm has recently reduced the proportion of dirty scrap being used, in order to reduce smoke and fume emissions. It has also ordered a new unit for the treatment of molten aluminium, which should contribute to a further improvement.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, having regard to the volume of expenditure on development schemes by local authorities, consideration is being given to providing a supplementary source of revenue for local authorities particularly directed to the socially created increase in the value and price of land in order to help relieve the increasing burden of rates.

I would refer the hon. Member to the White Paper on local government finance which preceded the legislation of 1958, and which concluded that it was not practicable to devise a satisfactory new source of local revenue.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what estimate he has made of the additional charge to the Exchequer of the extra cost incurred by local authorities through the derating of British Railways' properties.

None. I assume that what my hon. Friend supposes is that the total payments made by the British Transport Commission in lieu of rates are less than the rates would be if the Commission were rated in the ordinary way; but that is not necessarily true. It certainly is not possible to estimate what difference the system makes to the financial position of local authorities or to Exchequer grants.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what estimate, expressed as a percentage, he has made of the increase in rates to be paid by industry as a net result of the new derating proposal together with reassessment.

There are too many imponderables to make such an estimate at the present stage. But I would invite my hon. Friend's attention to the general explanation which I gave to the House on 30th November last.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister of Welsh Affairs if he will take steps to make better known the fact that sub-tenants can appeal to a rents tribunal for a reduction in their rents where they believe them to be excessive and where the premises are in an unsatisfactory condition on grounds of public health; and if he will take powers, in cases where reductions are made because the premises are in an unsatisfactory condition, to enable such reductions to be retrospective.

Sub-tenants as well as tenants of furnished accommodation can ask rent tribunals to fix fair rents for the accommodation they occupy if its rateable value is within the rent control limits. I do not think any fresh publicity for this is needed, for I have no evidence of any general misunderstanding of this fact.The answer to the second part of the Question is "No".

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the conclusions of the conference with representatives from Tanganyika, Kenya and Uganda on an East African Federation.

My recent discussions with the delegations from East Africa were concerned with the immediate future of the East Africa High Commission services. I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which I made in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) on 4th July.The report on the discussions is to be published this afternoon as a Command Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on his recent talks with the leaders of political parties in Mauritius.

Yes.At the end of a series of talks held in the conference room, and held privately both with those parties represented at the Conference and those who came to London of their own accord to make their views known to me, I put forward proposals for constitutional advance in Mauritius. These are divided into two stages and rest upon the assumption that constitutional advance in Mauritius towards internal self-government is inevitable and desirable but that its extent and timing must take into account the heterogeneity of the population and include provisions for adequate safeguards for the liberties of individuals and the interests of various communities.The first stage is to be brought into operation as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made. The second stage presents the broad basis of the constitution for adoption after the next general election, if in the light of that election it is agreed by the Legislative Council and recommended to me by the Chief Minister. If all goes well, and if it seems generally desirable, Mauritius should be able in this second stage, to move towards full internal self-government.It is not possible at this stage to suggest what should be the precise status of Mauritius after the attainment of full internal self-government. It is the general wish that Mauritius should remain within the Commonwealth, but whether this should be achieved as an 'independent State, or in some form of special association either with the United Kingdom or with other independent Commonwealth countries, are matters which should be considered during the next few years in the light of constitutional progress generally.The changes proposed are:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will inform the House of the results of the discussions on Tanganyika now being held in London.

The talks have now ended and agreement has been reached on the constitutional and other related matters which have to be settled before Tanganyika becomes independent.Financial questions connected with Tanganyika's independence remain to be settled.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that the practice, referred to in his letter of 22nd June to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North, of the seizing by Her Majesty's fisheries cruisers under his Department of the fishing gear of fishing vessels suspected but not convicted of offences, inflicts unnecessary loss and damage to the owners and officers of such fishing vessels; and if he will take immediate steps to have this practice discontinued.

While I appreciate the concern felt by the hon. and learned Member, I am assured that there have been very few cases in which seizure of fishing gear has not been followed by a conviction. In such cases it is provided in the Sea Fisheries Compensation (Scotland) Act, 1959, that compensation may be paid if loss or damage is occasioned to the gear.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that British law relating to territorial fishing waters, as interpreted by the highest court in Scotland in the case of Mortensen in 1905, has ever since been wrongly enforced by his Department in the Moray Firth in favour of foreign fishermen and against British fishermen to the loss and damage of the latter; and if he will now take immediate steps to rectify this.

My understanding of the decision of the High Court of Justiciary in the case of Mortensen v. Peters to which the hon. and learned Member refers, is that the court held, as a matter of construction, that a byelaw of the Fishery Board for Scotland, prohibiting beam or otter trawling the Moray Firth, applied to foreign nationals as well as to British subjects. The judges did not go so far as to declare categorically that the Moray Firth was within the territorial jurisdiction of the British Crown, though they held that the contrary was not proved. As the hon. and learned Member knows, the Government of the day subsequently decided that it would be contrary to international law to enforce the prohibition against foreign nationals outside the three-mile limit and it has not subsequently been so enforced. However, by the Trawling in Prohibited Areas (Prevention) Act, 1909, foreign trawlers observed fishing in areas closed to British trawlers are not permitted to land fish in the United Kingdom within two months of being so observed.As I have said in reply to previous Questions on this subject, Her Majesty's Government are keeping United Kingdom policy on fishery limits under review in the light of all relevant factors.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if it is still his intention to plan a new dual carriageway from Balloch to Tarbet, leaving the existing road for cyclists and pedestrians.

My intention is to provide dual carriageways by stages on the section of A.82 from Balloch to Luss. These will follow the line of the existing road with diversions where necessary. The future standard of the road on the difficult section between Luss and Tarbet, and its alignment, have still to be decided and alternative lines are being examined at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will expedite and co-ordinate the building projects by public authorities in Dundee, including the new hospital, the trades college, the Tay Road Bridge and local authority building so as to end the present unemployment in the building force and keep it fully and steadily employed.

I recognise that the building industry in Dundee is underemployed, but I am afraid that the essential preparatory work involved makes it impracticable to start either the Tay Road Bridge or the new hospital before 1963. The Trades College has however now started, and I will see that my Departments deal expeditiously with applications for authorisation of housing or other work by the town council.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in view of the concern of the Ayrshire County Council about the future water supply to the county, what action he is now taking in the matter; and if he will make a statement.

I am seeking to persuade Kilmarnock Town Council that the right course is for it to join with the county council and other Ayrshire authorities in exploiting Loch Bradan as an additional source of supply.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what investigations he is making into the probable effects of British entry into the Common Market on horticulture in Scotland; and whether he will publish the results of his investigations.

The common agricultural policy of the European Economic Community is still being worked out. In view of this, and in advance of any negotiations Which might be undertaken with regard to British association with it, it is impracticable to make any detailed investigation or forecast of the probable effects on horticulture in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he is aware that the Birmingham Indian population which is already over 10,000 will be greatly increased because many who left India without valid travel passports are now to have their illegal travel documents regulated by the Indian High Commissioner in London, which will allow them to send for their families; what conversations he has had with the Indian Government on this matter; what action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Kirk-dale (Mr. N. Pannell) on 7th July.As the passports do not contravene United Kingdom law the question of action by Her Majesty's Government does not arise.

asked the Minister of Defence (1) if he will now state the number of men serving in the Persian Gulf requiring medical treatment, and admitted to hospital, respectively, on each day from 1st July onwards;(2) if he can now state what special dietary arrangements have been made for British forces serving in the Persian Gulf in order to prevent heat hyper-exia;(3) if he can now state whether special arrangements have been made for the Air-Officer-Commanding British Troops in Kuwait to secure the advice of senior consultants in connection with the prevention and treatment of heat hyper-exia; and which specialists with wide experience in this field are serving with the forces.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply this afternoon to a Question by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Belper (Mr. G. Brown).

asked the Minister of Defence how many officials of his Department and the Service Departments are authorised to enter private residential and landed property without the necessity of obtaining the owner's or occupier's permission.

None.

asked the Minister of Education if he will state the number of new teachers who were recruited for full-time employment for the latest 12-month period and the numbers recruited from training colleges, university departments of education and other sources, respectively, showing graduates and non-graduates separately.

The following table gives provisional statistics of teachers who entered service in maintained

asked the Minister of Labour what action he proposes to take on the Report of the Committee on the Truck Acts.

I am giving most careful consideration to this very valuable Report which will be published tomorrow. I should like to thank the chairman and members of the Committee for their work.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) why, for the year 1958–59, recurrent grant to English universities was at the average rate of £365 per student, and to Scottish universities at the average rate of £317 per student; and what were the corresponding figures for 1959–60 and 1960–61;(2) why, for the year 1958–59, non-recurrent grant to English universities was at the average rate of £180 per student, and to Scottish universities at the average rate of £100 per student: and what were the corresponding figures for 1959–60 and 1960–61. primary and secondary schools (excluding special schools), between 31st March, 1960, and 31st March, 1961:

The allocations made by the University Grants Committee, which are not based on any fixed formula, but on their assessment of the requirements of the universities concerned, were as follows for 1959–60:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend the supply of free copies of Public General Acts to urban and rural councils.

I would refer my hon and gallant Friend to the Answer which I gave on 9th February to a Question by my noble Friend the Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel).

asked the Postmaster-General how many officials of the General Post Office are authorised to enter private residential and landed property without the necessity of obtaining the owner's or occupier's permission.

No Post Office official is authorised to enter private residential and landed property without the owner's or occupier's permission unless he has a warrant or a court order.