asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he is aware that women teachers over the age of 60 years and men teachers over the age of 65 years are not allowed to contract out of the graduated part of the National Insurance Scheme and are thus losing a portion of their pension rights; and if, in view of the importance of encouraging teachers to remain at school, he will introduce amending legislation to remedy this situation.

Under the National Insurance Act, 1959, no one can be contracted-out for the first time when over pensionable age, but people already contracted out remain so while continuing in that employment up to the ages at which they cease to contribute. In addition any graduated contributions paid rank for additional retirement pension under the normal rules. I have no proposals for amending legislation on this.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what provision is made to detect and adjust irrelevant deductions of graduated pension contributions prior to the end of a contribution year.

The collection of graduated contributions through the P.A.Y.E. system enables the employer to rectify erroneous deductions during the current year by refund to, or collection from, the employee and adjustment of subsequent payments to the collector of taxes. My inspectors are visiting employers to check that they are applying the scheme correctly and will require employers to correct any errors they discover. I am glad to say that in general the arrangements for the collection of graduated contributions are working well, and I am very grateful to employers for the care and trouble which they have taken.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how much would need now to be added to the 8s. and 10s. family allowances, respectively, to regain the value they had when introduced.

2s. 3d. and 1s. 1d. respectively.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what is his estimate of the amount required to be added to the pension and supplementary allowance of a pensioner with adult dependant with supplement of 18s. weekly to make up for the rise in the cost of living since 1st November when the pension increase was announced.

1s. 8d.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he is aware of the hardship which falls upon tourists who have to pay medical charges when taken ill abroad; with what countries negotiations concerning reciprocal arrangements for medical treatment as regards National Health Service benefits are in progress; and what replies have been received.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance with what countries negotiations about reciprocal arrangements as regards National Health Service benefits provided for visitors are in progress; and what countries have indicated that they are unwilling or unable to negotiate such arrangements.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Health and I are well aware of this problem and, when I am negotiating reciprocal agreements on social security, I miss no opportunity of seeing whether we can include a provision to enable tourists from this country to receive medical treatment under the sickness insurance schemes of the other countries. Fifteen of our agreements contain provisions about medical treatment but only five countries, namely, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Yugoslavia have been able so far to undertake to provide treatment for our tourists. No negotiations on this matter are at present in progress.

asked the Minister of Health what reduction in the waiting list of old people requiring hospital treatment in Bolton and district he estimates will result from the recent filling of a consultant vacancy.

No precise estimate can yet be made.

asked the Minister of Health if the new plan for hospitals in the Leeds area includes a children's hospital in Leeds.

I would refer the hon. Lady to my reply to the hon. Members for St. Pancras, North (Mr. K. Robinson) and Gateshead, West (Mr. Randall) on 3rd July.

asked the Minister of Health what assumptions he made, in estimating the cost of the pharmaceutical services for the current year, as to the reduction in number and increase in average cost of prescriptions, and the anticipated yield of prescription charges.

7½ million; about 5½d.; £2½ million.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to remedy the shortage of physiotherapists in the National Health Service.

A special shortened training course to increase the number of teachers is being arranged. Ministry of Health bursaries will be available to new students in the autumn. Salaries have recently been increased.

asked the Minister of Health how many approved schools of physiotherapy are closed are functioning on a reduced scale on account of lack of teaching staff; how many students' places are unavailable on that account; and how many physiotherapy recruits are awaiting a course of training.

No schools have been closed. The number of places is in practice limited by the number of teaching staff. Information on waiting lists is not available centrally.

asked the Minister of Health what is the extent in numbers and percentage of the shortage of physiotherapists, orthoptists, and occupational therapists in North Staffordshire and in the West Midlands, respectively.

I regret this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that, owing to the increase in prescription charges, chemists are now having to dispense medicine on credit in cases of emergency; and if, in view of this, he will now abolish these charges.

No.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make representations to the British Transport Commission to enable a modified Mini Minor car issued to a war disabled ex-Service man to be classed as an invalid carriage in order that it can be transported by British Railways at invalid carriage rates.

I understand that there are no special rates for invalid vehicles. War pensioners' vehicles which will go in a guard's van are carried free

asked the Minister of Health how many hostels for epileptics have been provided by local authorities under Section 29 of the National Assistance Act, 1948; and how many persons are accommodated in such hostels.

None.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) why effective negotiations on a pay claim on behalf of foresters employed by the Forestry Commission, which was submitted by the Civil Service Union on 8th September, 1960, have not yet commenced; and whether he will make a statement as to the reasons for this delay;

There have been informal discussions between the Forestry Commission and the Civil Service Union on the claim submitted in September, 1960, but the situation is complicated by the question whether foresters should in future pay rent for their houses which are currently provided rent free. The Commission hopes to be able to start formal negotiations shortly. When a final settlement is reached it will be back-dated to 1st May, 1958.In these circumstances it would not be appropriate to refer the claim to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the height, above the predicted level, of the mid-day high water on the River Hull, on Tuesday, 4th July; by how much this high tide was below flood level; and what were the reasons for an amber warning for the midnight tide, in view of the fact that tides were falling and that the midnight tide was below the mid-day one.

The mid-day high-water level on the River Hull on Tuesday, 4th July was 1 ft. 11 in. above prediction, At Hull mouth the high tide was 2 ft. 11 in. below the level specified in the Hull Corporation Act of 1925.No amber warning was issued for this division covering Hull.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the number of warehouses on the River Hull, between North Bridge and the River Humber, with portable flood dams which are puddled in with clay; and what steps the Hull and East Yorkshire River Board intends to take to ensure that permanent flood barriers are fitted, to prevent flooding at the higher tides.

There are twenty-three openings in warehouses on this stretch of the river with slots for the fitting of dam boards, some of which may be puddled in with clay. I have not been informed of any intended steps of the kind suggested in the second part of the Question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will use his power under the Diseases of Animals Act, 1950, to ensure proper signposting at the approaches to a foot-and-mouth infected area.

Local authorities undertake the signposting of foot-and-mouth disease infected areas by arrangement with my Department. My information is that, in general, these arrangements work well and that roads are effectively signposted hut, if my hon. Friend has any particular difficulty in mind, I would be glad if he would let me know.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has had recently from the Public Service Pensioners' Council concerning an increase in public service pensions; and what reply he has made.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer my right hon. and learned Friend gave the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Dr. King) on 21st February.

asked the Minister of Education the number of oversized classes in primary and secondary schools, respectively, for the latest available date.

I refer the hon. Member to my Answer of 27th October, 1960, to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Swingler) of which I am sending him a copy. Figures for January, 1961, will not be available until later in the year.

asked the Minister of Education if he will publish the names of the twelve teachers' training colleges, classified as general colleges, whose costs, in total, per student, per year, were the most.

Following is the information:

• Avery Hill Training College, London.
• The Training College, Bedford.
• Furzedown Training College, London.
• Shoreditch Training College, Egham, Surrey.
• Newton Park College, Bath.
• Offley Training College, Hertfordshire.
• Bath Academy of Art, Wiltshire.
• City of Leicester Training College.
• Maria Grey College, Twickenham.
• Wall Hall Training College, Hertfordshire.
• Westminster College, Oxford.
• City of Liverpool C.F. Mott Training College, Lancashire.

asked the Minister of Transport whether inquiries by his officers into the discharge of oil into the Avon and Feeder Canal in Bristol have now been completed; and whether he is yet in a position to state whether proceedings in the matter will be taken.

Yes. I have been advised that the harbour authority has decided to take proceedings.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the financial losses incurred by the British Railways, if he will give a general direction to The Britisth Transport Commission not to undertake prestige advertising.

No. This is a matter for the Commission's commercial judgment.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will make a further statement on the situation in Kuwait.

As announced by my Department on 12th July, the commander-in-chief h as recommended certain withdrawals from Kuwait. These are expected to take place shortly and will be announced as they happen.I shall be considering the report on conditions in Kuwait brought back by my right hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for War, with a view to making any further improvements necessary for the well-being of the forces there.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the present position with regard to the hovercraft industry in this country.

The National Research Development Corporation has already announced that arrangements have been made with four firms to develop further prototypes, all of which will, I understand, be undergoing trials by the end of this year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the names and status of the United Kingdom Government representatives at the international cotton textile conference due to meet in Geneva on 17th July, 1961.

The United Kingdom delegation to this meeting of the contracting parties of the G.A.T.T. will be led by Sir Edgar Cohen, our permanent delegate to the G.A.T.T., and will include officials from the Board of Trade of Trade and the Colonial Office, with representatives of the Government of Hong Kong.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of the success of the trade fairs in both Moscow and London, he will consider the possibility of promoting, in consultation with industry, a similar fair in Pekin.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 9th May to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ellis Smith).

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the values in each of the last ten years of the locomotives and railway carriages and wagons exported from the United Kingdom.

No. This information is available from the Trade and Navigation Accounts, which are documents presented to the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the development of research on delinquency and the treatment of offenders.

The Home Office continues to encourage and assist research undertaken by universities and other agencies on delinquency and related subjects. The origins and causes of delinquency are still baffling and little understood, and recently arrangements have been made with the London School of Economics for a long-term study, consisting mainly of the investigation of, and experimentation with, various methods of research into these questions, directed by Dr. Belson, of the Division of Research Techniques, under the supervision of Professor Kendall. This will be the largest single research project hitherto sponsored by the Home Office.

asked the Secretary of State for War when he expects to be able to reply to the letter of 5th June from the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme about Private B. Smith.

My hon. Friend wrote to the hon. Member on 14th June, 1961, and has now sent a further letter.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the revaluation of salaries of medical laboratory technicians; and what replies he has sent.

Representations from groups of medical laboratory technicians about Whitley Council delays have reached me through three hon. Members. It has been explained to these Members that the evidence produced by the Staff Side in March made it necessary for the Management Side to carry out detailed inquiries involving visits to various laboratories and that the Council would meet again on 26th July. I have also myself received and acknowledged the circular letter of 7th July sent from the Glasgow office of the Association of Scientific Workers to all hon. Members for Scottish constituencies.