asked the Secretary of State for Wax what decision has been reached about the adoption of an 84 millimetre recoilless missile launcher for infantry use.

None as yet. Final trials have just begun. If they are successful, my right hon. Friend hopes to make a decision before the end of March.

Will my hon. Friend ensure that full consideration is given to the preference of the infantrymen who have been testing these weapons for the mechanically operated Carl Gustav launcher with a high missile velocity and low rate of barrel wear, and will he give a categorical assurance that, contrary to fears expressed to me by Army personnel, political considerations will carry no weight in the final choice of weapon to be adopted?

The answer to the second part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question is "Yes, Sir". The purpose of these trials is to discover which of these weapons is the best from the soldier's point of view, and that will be the determining consideration.

What are the political considerations which he proposes to ignore?

Each of these weapons comes from a different country, and both countries, presumably, would have an interest; but my right hon. Friend's decision will be taken on military grounds.

asked the Secretary of State for War in what circumstances his Department has paid special compensation to Service men; and if he will give details of the sums paid for each of the last 10 years, to the latest convenient date.

In a variety of circumstances; and in principle to make good some identifiable loss. If the hon. Member will let me know what kind of special compensation he has in mind, I will try to give him the details he wants.

I have in mind the case of a National Service man who would like to have the opportunity of prosecuting the War Office. Will the hon. Gentleman provide facilities and assistance to Service men who have been done a serious wrong by the War Department so that they may prosecute the Department?

So far as that question relates to a Question which the hon. Gentleman put to my right hon. Friend before the Recess about a specific case, I cannot add to what my right hon. Friend said in reply on that occasion.

asked the Secretary of State for War why it was proposed that 400 Sandhurst cadets should fly to Libya for a fortnight's camp; and why this proposal was cancelled.

This exercise, which was postponed for 24 hours but not cancelled, was held in Libya because the climate there is more suitable for training at this time of year than it is in this country.

Can the hon. Gentleman say what was the cost of flying 400 cadets to Libya? Was the operation fitted in at a time when aircraft would otherwise have been idle so that the cost was not a real cost?

The extra cost arising from air transport costs of holding the exercise in Libya instead of this country was £32,000, which works out at £80 per cadet. The air transport would in normal circumstances have been available on the ordinary routine which we work with my right hon. Friend's Ministry for these purposes.

If that is a real figure, it sounds a very big one. Is it in fact a real figure, or is the real figure the cost of petrol because the aeroplanes would otherwise have been idle?

I think I must have notice of that. Whatever cost there was must be set against the undoubted value of carrying out this exercise, which is the culminating point of a cadet's tactical training at Sandhurst, in an exceptionally favourable locality such as Libya provides.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will make a statement about the arrangements which were made for transferring troops to the Middle East in December.

The arrangements involved less than 30 soldiers.

That seems to be a rather surprising Answer. Was the announcement that leave had been cancelled, that people were standing by and the general alarm purely newspaper invention?

No, Sir. But there was no additional cost to Army funds.

I am not asking whether there was an increase to Army funds. We heard that there was a danger of war breaking out at any moment in this area, that leave had been stopped and that something which was not far from mobilisation had taken place. Cannot the Under-Secretary of State be a little more forthcoming and tell us what happened?

The hon. and learned Gentleman is quite right. Certain precautionary measures were taken, including the despatch of a small number of specialists from this country. I repeat that there was no extra cost to Army funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that there is a danger of the Scottish Hydro-Electric Board losing valuable staff because of the delay in approving new schemes; and whether he will urge the expedition of the inquiries upon which his further decision depends.

My right hon. Friend realises the importance of reaching an early decision on the question of further hydro-electric development. He is, however, satisfied that the Mackenzie Committee is pursuing its inquiries with all possible speed. Meantime, the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board is proceeding with preliminary work on further schemes and, as he said in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Perth and East Perthshire (Mr. MacArthur) on 23rd October last, he has agreed that these schemes can be brought to the stage of publication.

Does that Answer mean that hydro-electric work in the North of Scotland is to proceed? Is so, why is this Committee taking so long to report and why are schemes being held up until it reports? Is the Under-Secretary of State aware that many people consider that this is a device for holding up the work on the hydroelectric schemes or for producing a report which will enable the Secretary of State to stop the work of the Hydro-Electric Board? Can the hon. Gentleman give an assurance that that work will go ahead?

I cannot accept the implications in the last part of the right hon. Gentleman's supplementary question. He will be aware that the remit of the Mackenzie Committee covers very complicated issues and involves a very broad series of inquiries. It has not yet received all the evidence, but it is fully aware of the necessity to make a recommendation at the earliest possible moment.

Will not approval be given to new schemes until the Mackenzie Report has been published?

If my hon. Friend looks at my reply, he will see that new schemes can be brought to the stage of publication during this interim period.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the effect of the agreement which he announced recently of a grant of £8,000 to the Orkney Steam Navigation Co. upon the regular sea services between Aberdeen and Orkney and Shetland.

None, Sir. The agreement did not directly concern these services.

Then what is the purpose of the agreement? What effect would it have on the trade, industry and re-population of the North of Scotland? Why was the agreement entered into?

The assistance was given to the Orkney Steam Navigation Company to enable a ship employed on services to the North Isles of Orkney to continue in service until the end of 1961 when the services were taken over by a new company.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take to give effect to the Report of the Special Committee on the Transfer from Primary to Secondary Education; and whether he will now advise education authorities to provide secondary education to the extent of every child's ability without dividing the school population into the two groups of senior and junior secondary schools.

My right hon. Friend expects to make a statement about the Advisory Council's recom mendations generally when he has considered them further in the light of the comments which he is awaiting from the various educational interests.

Is it the case that advanced education authorities in Scotland have now abolished all this distinction and hurdle of what is called the 11-plus and are now free to allow children to go forward to the extent of their capacity? Is their any barrier to prevent a child from taking secondary education if the parents so desire?

That is a very generalised point, and it would be unwise for me to answer it until we have a considered statement on the issue when the Advisory Council's recommendations and the comments thereon have been studied.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in certain fee-paying schools children who enter at the preparatory stage can go right through to the secondary stage without any examination or hurdle whatsoever? What is to prevent that happening in all the schools of Scotland?

I am aware of that point, but I do not think that I should make any statement until a considered opinion has been given on the report as a whole.

How soon can we expect a statement from the Secretary of State on this matter? Will it be ready in time for educational authorities to make their plans for the next move forward to secondary schools? Is the Minister aware of the very strong feeling in Scotland that those who go to junior secondary schools are bearing the main brunt of uncertificated teachers?

As I have said, my right hon. Friend has not yet had the comments of the educational bodies. Therefore, he can give no assurance, but he hopes to be in a position to make a statement in the next month.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if the Town Council of Lanark has informed him yet how long it will take to demolish the 460 unfit houses in the burgh, and to provide alternative accommodation for the families concerned.

The Town Council has informed my right hon. Friend that it proposes to close 100 of the 460 unfit houses in the burgh in the three years 1962–64. I have no information about proposals beyond this period.

In view of the fact that the hon. Gentleman's officials have already made an approach to Lanark Council on this matter, is it his intention to encourage them to speed up the demolition of the rest of the unfit houses? Is he aware of the frightful state of many of them?

My right hon. Friend is always trying to encourage local authorities to get rid of slums.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many nurses aged 21 have been promoted after due qualification to the position of staff nurse in 1959, 1960 and 1961; and what proportion of the qualified nursing staff aged 21 these figures represent, respectively.

All student nurses become staff nurses on registration if, at that time, they remain in general nursing. I regret that the details asked for by the hon. Member are not available.

Will the hon. Gentleman agree that recent speeches on the recruitment of nurses have been misleading in the sense that they give the idea that the emoluments of nurses under the National Health Service are far higher than they are? Will he look at this matter in an attempt to try to get more nurses and in relation to the recent application for higher nursing pay?

I do not think that I can accept what the hon. Gentleman said at the beginning of his supplementary question. Quite frankly, I do not understand what he is trying to get at in his Question. If he will have a word with me afterwards, I will try to clear the air.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many education authorities have arranged for pupils to attend the ship-school on the m.s. "Dunera"; and whether he will arrange for a study of this experiment to determine whether it might not he brought within the arrangements of the Scottish camp schools at present operated under the auspices of the Scottish education department especially as a provision for junior secondary school children.

Since the start of the scheme in April, 1961, schools in the areas of 27 education authorities in Scotland have arranged to send parties of children on educational and holiday cruises on m.s. "Dunera". My right hon. Friend is watching the experiment with close interest, but it is doubtful whether it would be appropriate to bring the scheme within the arrangements of the Scottish camp schools.

While thanking the Under-Secretary of State for that Answer as far as it goes, may I ask him whether he is aware of the great need to give non-academic children in particular the feeling that education is exciting and worth while? Will he look more closely into the matter to see whether it can be changed from a commercial enterprise into part of the public service of education?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the development of the scheme has been very encouraging up to now. We do not think that at present there is any case for changing the basis on which it is operated.

If the scheme cannot be brought within the ambit of the camp schools scheme, is there not any other way whereby the Department can encourage it or take charge of it in view of the fact that schemes like this are being carried out in Scotland, particularly by a well-known school called Gordonstoun?

The scheme seems to be an excellent example of private enterprise working in the public interest.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he is giving to the position of older pensioned teachers; and whether he will consider arrangements to relate pensions of retired teachers to the salaries currently being paid to teachers.

The position of pensioned teachers and other pensioned public servants is continually watched, but no change from the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1959, is thought to be justified at present. The suggestion in the second part of the hon. Member's question would involve a fundamental change in the principle of all public service pensions.

I appreciate that this matter affects many other public servants apart from teachers, but is the Under-Secretary of State aware that the principle proposed in my Question is a matter of elementary justice in an inflationary age? Is he aware that it is applied in various ways in many continental countries, such as Sweden, Norway, France, Belgium and Italy? Will not the Scottish Office consider taking a lead and have these principles changed in a more progressive direction?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, these problems are dealt with under the Pensions (Increase) Acts which have general application to all people in a similar position. The position of retired teachers has not been dealt with as a separate issue.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of certificated teachers in service in public and grant-aided schools in Scotland in 1961; and how much that number was short of the total required to reduce oversize classes, replace uncertificated teachers and re-employed teachers over 70 years of age, and to fill other vacancies.

At 2nd October, 1961, the figures were 36,490 and 3,810, respectively.

These are the figures for only part of the year, up to October. Why cannot the hon. Gentleman give the figures for the whole year? What is wanted are figures that can be compared with those for the year 1960, which were quite inadequate, concerning teaching staff. Cannot the hon. Gentleman give the figures for the whole year?

I should like to take this opportunity of saying that the Fourth Report of the Departmental Committee on the Supply of Teachers is being published today and will be available in the Vote Office. Perhaps hon. Members would like to ask further Questions on the subject when they have studied the Report.

If I put down this Question for Wednesday next, will I get an Answer?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money has been spent in the current financial year to the nearest convenient date on hospital building in Scotland.

The provisional figure for the total cash payments on capital account by regional hospital boards to 31st October, 1961, is £1,885,000.

Why is it not possible for Scottish Members to read a progress report comparable to that published yesterday by the Minister in charge of the service in England and Wales? Is it because the gulf between promise and performance is even more appalling, or is it because it shows more clearly the fact that we ought to be getting twice the amount of building, either in terms of money or of the speed at which it is built, to meet the amount of money brought in by the increased health charges which have been operative since February last?

I do not think that the hon. Member's supplementary question in any way arises out of his original Question, nor are his deductions in any way accurate.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why he refused the request of the Edinburgh Town Council for a dispensation to enable all its members to vote on the recent discussions on rents.

My right hon. Friend has power to grant such a dispensation only on one of two grounds: that the proportion of members disabled is so great as to impede the business, or that it is in the interest of the inhabitants of the area that he should do so. In this case, where only 11 out of 69 were disabled, he did not consider that either condition was satisfied.

When the Minister disfranchised tens and tens of thousands of Edinburgh electors by refusing powers for their elected representatives to vote, did he also consider the fact that a great number of Tory Members are directly concerned in these issues by virtue of their association with building firms, surveying firms and all the rest?

All these matters were taken into consideration by my right hon. Friend.

Is the Under-Secretary aware that this decision has left a bad taste in the mouth of the public of Edinburgh? When he quotes a figure of 11 out of 69, what he is saying is that 11 Labour members of the council out of 26 or 27 were prevented from voting on this occasion. In view of the fact that a considerable number of Tory members are interested in the contracts mentioned by my hon. Friend, in which considerable profits are being extracted, and they are not debarred from voting, this will appear to the public of Edinburgh, and rightly so, to be a mean attitude on the part of the Secretary of State.

I cannot accept anything that the hon. Member has said. These powers have worked well for a long number of years and have been exercised in various towns in various circumstances. What my right hon. Friend takes into account is whether business will be impeded or a dispensation is in the interests of the inhabitants.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for the establishment of a Scottish national theatre.

As my right hon. Friend indicated in his Answer to the hon. Member for Dunfermline Burghs (Dr. A. Thompson) on 5th May, increased support is to be given to the repertory theatres in Scotland. My right hon. Friend remains of the view that that is the most appropriate way of helping the theatre in Scotland.

I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman is so bankrupt of ideas regarding the national theatre. Are the Government still prepared to do the same to assist in the formation or creation of a Scottish national theatre as they have done in the case of the creation of the National Theatre for England on the South Bank?

The situation is not at all parallel. What I understand my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in the English context was that the Government would be prepared to join with the London County Council in considering a scheme to embrace the Old Vic, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Sadlers Wells. This is not a parallel to the Scottish position.

Will the Government look at this again? While I fully appreciate and agree with the desire to help the repertory theatre, if the opportunity—which may not recur—should arise of acquiring a site for a national theatre in Edinburgh, I hope that the Government will not entirely rule out help similar to that which has been given in England.

I understand that the Scottish Committee of the Arts Council has recently decided to have a special look at the Scottish theatre problem. We are of the view, however, that the substantially increased help which could be given to the repertory theatre in Scotland is the most useful thing we can do.

Is my hon. Friend aware that opinion on this matter in Scotland is divided and that the view of the professional theatre has been voiced by Mr. Duncan Macrae, for one, urging exactly this view, that to start with at least the Government should begin by supporting the theatre in the country, namely, the repertory theatre, before they start on the theme of a national theatre?

Is the Minister not aware that there is an even greater need in Scotland for Government encouragement of the national theatre than there is in England, because here we have a Scottish culture which stands in jeopardy of dying unless it gets encouragement from the Government?

We are very much aware of the need for increased support for the Scottish repertory theatre, and it will be given.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what comments he has now received from the governors of the Royal College of Science and Technology on the proposals contained in his draft scheme of 19th September last dealing with the future of the college.

The governors have welcomed the proposals made in the draft scheme and have expressed their general concurrence with its provisions for the reorganisation of the government and management of the college. They have made a number of suggestions on the details of certain provisions, which are now being considered.

Is it not the case that the Government are asking that the college should be given power to set its own entrance standards and the power also to award its own degrees? Does the Secretary of State for Scotland support that, particularly in view of the fact that the major advantages in university education now lie outside Scotland?

That point is a matter for the University Grants Committee.

Is it not the case that the Secretary of State has asked particularly for the views of the governors on the two points that I have mentioned? Is he now running away from the issue that he himself has asked the governors to talk about and to advise upon?

The point is that the responsibility for this matter lies with the University Grants Committee.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the increased cost of transport causes hardship to those who, by reason of age or disability, find walking difficult or impossible and who must use public transport; and if he will now seek statutory authority to enable local authorities to provide free travel in public vehicles for such persons.

I have nothing to add to the Answer my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. and learned Member for Ilkeston (Mr. Oliver) on 22nd November last.

Does the Minister not realise that that is a disgraceful and contumacious Answer? Does he not realise that the beneficial legislation asked for in the Question would cost very little out of public funds and that it is time that beneficial legislation in favour of the old and the weak was enacted by the Government, especially in these days of large hand-outs to plutocrats?

I cannot accept the epithets which the hon. and learned Gentleman has used. All I can say is that this issue has been before Parliament on a number of occasions since 1955 and, as far as I am aware, Parliament has always said that travel concessions of this kind are not the right way of dealing with the problems of the aged and disabled.

Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that the present situation is quite absurd, that in one town a concession is given and in another town there is no concession, and that it cannot be given under existing legislation? Whatever Parliament thinks, there is one thing about it: Parliament never wished that this anomalous situation should continue for any length of time.

There are and always will be anomalies so long as such concessions are related to local authorities, because there are many parts of the country, particularly in London, for example, where local authorities do not provide bus services at all.

asked the Minister of Transport what facilities are available in London and the Home Counties for private motorists to have the use of prepared surfaces similar to those used by the Metropolitan Police and London Transport to train drivers to control skidding vehicles.

I understand that skid pan facilities are provided by two motoring schools in Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire. I am also informed that a police authority in the Home Counties hope shortly to be able to offer the public instruction on a skid pan.

Is my hon. Friend aware that that reply will bring much satisfaction? As the Department is keen on this sort of thing, would he approach the Minister of Aviation and the Secretary of State for Air to inquire whether some of the unused runways could be used for this purpose?

My right hon. Friend has no statutory power to run things of this kind. I think I should tell the House that some years ago a county police force in fact made use of a disused airfield for skid pan purposes but the demand was so great and claims on police manpower were so heavy that reluctantly the experiment had to be abandoned. We will do all we can to encourage better training in avoiding skids.

Can the hon. Gentleman arrange with the Prime Minister to give examples and lessons in this?

Perhaps we might take example from the hon. Member opposite.

asked the Minister of Transport how many proposals he has received from local authorities for building skid pans for giving skid training to motorists; in how many such cases he has been asked to recommend the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs to grant loan sanction for this purpose; and what has been his reply.

One, Sir, where my right hon. Friend was asked to recommend approval of loan sanction. In the light of recent representations from the local authority concerned, he is at present reexamining the application.

While welcoming my hon. Friend's Answer to that, may I ask if he would not agree that, in view of the fact that the Road Research Laboratory said 50,000 accidents were caused through skidding in 1959, it is most desirable to give every possible encouragement to local authorities or to other organisations which are trying to provide these facilities which are very rarely available to the average motorist?

My hon. Friend will no doubt have in mind the Answer I gave to a supplementary question a few moments ago on this subject. The fact that my right hon. Friend is prepared to reconsider this application should, I think, be some reassurance to him.

Would my hon. Friend not agree that there is some danger in making everyone a perfectionist in skidding and that it might be better, first, to save money and, secondly, to drive a bit slower?

asked the Minister of Transport how many accidents involving mobile cranes or vehicles with long, wide, and projecting loads have occurred since 24th January, and 20th June, 1961, respectively.

I regret that the precise information asked for is not available, but I do know of three accidents involving mobile cranes and double-deck buses since 24th January, 1961, two of them since 20th June.

As my hon. Friend cannot give figures, would he agree that there is no reason to imagine that they are any less serious than they were in the previous three years? Is he aware that exactly a year ago when the matter was raised he gave me information that my right hon. Friend was on the point of issuing regulations to deal with these dangerous vehicles? Is it not time that he told road hauliers and other interested parties that they can no longer delay the enforcement of these essential safety regulations?

I am personally painfully aware of the statement I made and to which my hon. and gallant Friend has drawn attention. The fact is that we have now been able to make a great deal of progress in clearing these regulations with the parties with whom we are obliged under Statute to consult, but I hope to clear up one outstanding legal difficulty, which I hope will not prove too difficult. We hope to have the regulations made some time next month.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he is taking to carry out the recommendations of the Consultative Committee on the Lighting of Traffic Routes within the London area.

These important recommendations will fall to be carried out by the 102 lighting authorities who appointed the Committee. My right hon. Friend welcomed the Report when it was published, and hopes the lighting authorities will take every opportunity of moving towards greater standardisation, in the interests of safety. On trunk roads, which are the only roads where he has powers in relation to street lighting, it will be his object to secure that new or improved systems, installed with a contribution from him, conform to the recommendations.

Does the Minister realise that in the interests of road safety it is most desirable that there should be much more uniformity about standards of lighting because of the danger there is when motorists pass from a well-lit area to a poorly lit area? The Report says there are far too many pools of darkness in the London area. Will the Minister do all he can to encourage local authorities to remedy this situation?

Yes, we certainly will. We are aware of the points the hon. Gentleman has mentioned, and the Report itself is a great help to us in securing better standards of lighting. We shall certainly do all we can to encourage local authorities who are responsible for these matters to implement the Report wherever they can.

asked the Minister of Transport when the Wilderness Lane junction at West Bromwich to the M.1, M.5 and M.6 will be opened.

It is too early to say when the Midland Motorway Links through West Bromwich, including this junction, will be completed. We are, however, pressing ahead with the necessary preparatory work.

In view of the importance of this junction, can the hon. Gentleman say what ancillary roads are likely to be provided there, and what control the Ministry will have over them, particularly as this is in the centre of a green belt?

I think I should prefer to see that supplementary question on the Paper. It is an extremely complex and difficult matter because here a number of motorways will be joining and the area is intensely developed. If the right hon. Gentleman would like to have a word with me, I could explain the situation a little more clearly to him, with the aid of diagrams and so on, than I can on the Floor of the House.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the recent announcement on the subject by the London Transport Executive, what are now his intentions with regard to the construction of the proposed new Victoria underground line to north-east London.

The announcement was made because the local authority's building plans were affected by the proposed change of route. It makes no difference to the position on the construction of the line, which remains as stated in my right hon. Friend's Answer to the hon. Member of 26th July, 1961.

Does the Minister realise that the traffic congestion in this part of London is getting worse and that the construction of this line is now overdue, and that it has been recommended and approved by all the responsible bodies and the Department? If cost is the only matter which is to blame, will he not consider that the line will have to be built sooner or later and that the longer it is delayed the more it will cost?

I have answered the Question on the Paper. So far as the wider issue of the construction of the line is concerned, the position remains as stated by my right hon. Friend last July. A decision on building the Victoria line has had to be deferred because of the difficult economic situation in which we are at the moment.

Is the Minister aware that the Government always give what in their opinion is some good reason why this line should not be built, and that the reason changes from time to time? Can the Minister tell us what the next reason will be when the present excuse is no longer valid? Is there the slightest chance that this line, which every expert has declared to be highly desirable and indeed urgent, will ever be built?

As the most recent estimate of cost is somewhere between £50 million and £60 million and that it will run at a substantial loss year by year, I should have thought, in the context of our present economic situation, that was a very important reason.

And will remain so permanently.

asked the Lord Privy Seal to what extent consideration of Great Britain's application to joint the Europeon Economic Community is delayed in view of the failure of the Six to reach agreement on the agricultural provisions by 1st January, 1962.

Consideration of other aspects of our negotiations continued during the period when the Six were discussing the agricultural provisions among themselves.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us whether he has been studying the full provisions which have now been agreed between the Six, whether he agrees with these provisions and, if he can accept them, whether in particular he is prepared to accept the idea of a fund to subsidise European agriculture?

I understand that the full texts were published yesterday. We have not yet received them. When we do, we shall of course study them immediately.

My right hon. Friend has said that he has not yet received the full texts. When he does, will he see that every hon. Member has an opportunity of obtaining copies of them so that they can study them and their important effect on British agriculture?

I will certainly look into that to see what is possible.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, according to his speech last Sunday, Dr. Mansholt is apparently holding a pistol towards this country in the matter of agriculture? Will the right hon. Gentleman make it perfectly clear to Dr. Mansholt why Britain is seeking a longer transitional period, as Dr. Mansholt seems to say that he does not understand why we require it?

Our position was set out in the Paris speech published in the White Paper.

Would the right hon. Gentleman make clear in all these negotiations our anxieties that the Six are trying to build a very inward-looking protectionist agricultural set-up with a high tariff wall vis-à-vis the outside world? In view of our crucial interest in the free entry of Commonwealth goods, would the right hon. Gentleman make plain that we are opposed to a protectionist set-up of that kind? Will he confirm the impression widely expressed in Washington that the United States Government are now coming round to the view that their attitude towards this organisation to some extent depends upon the Community's willingness to be outward-looking and not inward-looking and to have a low tariff vis-à-vis the rest of the world, including the Commonwealth and America?

I do not think that the right hon. Gentleman's strictures about the Community's present policy are entirely justified, when one looks at the action which it has recently taken and the agreement which it has signed with the United States and the part it played in the Dillon round in G.A.T.T. We are fully aware of the anxieties which the right hon. Gentleman has expressed. I discussed them in Washington, and other "third countries", to use a technical phrase, such as the Argentine and Yugoslavia, have also made their interests clear.

If we adhere to the present arrangements which the Six have made in agriculture, can my right hon. Friend say by how much the import bill for food will increase the figures in our balance of payments?

No, Sir, but we have made clear that the purpose of the negotiations is to make arrangements affecting our own Commonwealth and domestic agriculture.

asked the Minister of Labour what action has been taken by his Department as a result of the surveys of health in industry in Halifax and Stoke-on-Trent.

The Halifax survey was designed to establish the facts about a typical industrial area. The findings were of general application and subsequent action has included statutory provision for washing facilities, first-aid, and cleanliness in factories, and the publication of guidance to industry on hazards from fumes and dusts; a further booklet will be published shortly on the structural requirements of the Factories Acts. As regards the Pottery survey, I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's answer to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ellis Smith) on 6th December.

While thanking the hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask whether it was not clear from both these surveys that it was necessary and desirable now to move forward to the establishment of a comprehensive industrial health service, and that there is now a wide measure of agreement in medical, trade union and employers' circles on this? Could the hon. Gentleman say what his Department is now doing towards establishing it?

That is quite a different question and does not really arise out of the Question. Perhaps I can tell the hon. Member what I believe he knows—that it is the Government's policy at the moment to encourage the development of medical services in industry on a voluntary basis.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the nature of the experimental work in the field of industrial medicine which is being studied in his Department; what further information is required; and what contribution his Department is making toward this work.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the experimental schemes now being planned in Rochdale and Dundee with the assistance of a grant from the Nuffield Foundation to see whether group industrial health schemes can be successfully established in older industrial areas. Our Department is working in close collaboration with the Foundation in helping to further these developments in both towns.

Is the Minister in favour of the establishment of an industrial health service? If so, what further information is required by his Department to devise a scheme to establish a comprehensive industrial medical service in Britain?

If the hon. Member wishes to put down a Question of that fundamental kind, perhaps he would care to do so. I will repeat that we have collaborated closely both in Dundee and Rochdale in these two experiments and we are learning a lot from them. The Rochdale experiment is quite far advanced.

May I express the hope that my hon. Friend will not agree to the setting up of an industrial health service outside the National Health Service?

That, of course, is one of the major considerations in our minds.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that not only the Trades Union Congress but the British Medical Association as well has officially recommended him to establish an industrial health service?

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will take action to facilitate an early resumption of work by Messrs. Babcock and Wilcox Ltd. on their contract for the West Thurrock power station, Essex.

I am told that the parties are meeting shortly to try to find a basis for a resumption of work. In view of this, my right hon. Friend does not propose to take any action at present, but our officers will keep in touch with the situation.

Would the hon. Gentleman hold an inquiry into the cause of the dispute? There is a great deal of feeling in the area that the firm concerned, getting behindhand in a contract with the electricity board, has deliberately provoked labour trouble to escape the penalty clause.

I appreciate the hon. Member's anxiety and I understand that there are difficulties on another site, but in view of the discussions which are taking place, I do not think that it would be appropriate to hold an inquiry at present.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will take steps to collect, and publish at intervals, statistics showing price trends for specific food commodities, particularly those for which large deficiency payments are made from public funds.

On the advice of the Cost of Living Advisory Committee, the Ministry has for a number of years published in the Ministry of Labour Gazette at quarterly intervals indices for ten groups of related food commodities included in the Index of Retail Prices.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a considerable degree of dissatisfaction at the paucity of information particularly on the commodities on which, as I indicate in the Question, large deficiency payments are paid? Is he aware that every interested party denies having received this money? The farmers say that they are not receiving it. The butchers say that they are not receiving it, and, speaking as a consumer, I know that I am not receiving it. Therefore will the hon. Gentleman tell us who is getting this money? We are having a debate today on the control of public expenditure and that information might help us in our deliberations.

I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows that most of that supplementary question is not a matter for me, but perhaps I can help a little. There is another Question immediately following this one which bears somewhat on this point. The method used in calculating the retail prices index, which are the figures supplied by my Department, does not involve the calculation of average prices. If we went into this in great detail, an immense amount of labour would be required to compile them.