asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July, 1961, so far as they affect the Royal Observatory and the Nautical Almanac Office, both at Hertsmonceux, the National Institute of Oceanography, and the establishments and other bodies listed under the heading Defence, Research and Development—Admiralty, in Appendix II of the Report; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them.

These recommendations of the Committee are generally accepted. Admiralty practice already conforms broadly to that advocated by the Committee, but procedures are being reviewed in a quest for more effective technical and financial control of development projects.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July, 1961, so far as they affect the establishments and other bodies listed under 1 (c) of Appendix II of the Report; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them;(2) whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July, 1961, so far as they affect the Research Station of the Forestry Commission at Farnham; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them.

I agree with the general principles put forward by the Committee. Many of its recommendations are already current practice in my Department and in the Forestry Commission. Those that are not are being closely studied to see whether and to what extent they are suitable for adopttion in the establishments referred to by the hon. and learned Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July, 1961, so far as they affect the Meteorological Office and the Institute of Aviation Medicine; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them.

The way in which the Meteorological Office and the Institute of Aviation Medicine conduct their research accords generally with the recommendations of the Committee.

asked the Minister of Aviation whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July, 1961, so far as they affect establishments and other bodies listed in Appendix II of the Report under the heading Ministry of Aviation; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them.

The main recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development which affect my Department are contained in Chapter VII of the Report. As the first paragraph of this Chapter brings out, much was already being done in the Department at the time when the Committee was taking evidence and the procedures that the Committee finally recommended in this field are, to a considerable extent, already the Department's current practice. I am, however, giving further consideration to the detailed arrangements in the light of the Report.

asked the Minister of Health what statistics he keeps relating to the emigration of doctors from Britain; and if he will seek such information on this subject as is available from the British Medical Association or other professional organisations.

None. The British Medical Association has no statistical information on this subject and I know of no other professional organisation that has.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the names of the members of the sub-committee appointed by the Standing Medical Advisory Committee of the Central Health Services Council which is advising on the field of work which the family doctor may be expected to undertake in the future developments of the National Health Service.

The members of the subcommittee on General Practice are as follows:Dr. Annis C. Gillie, O.B.E., M.B., B.S., M.R.C.P. (Chairman) (General Practitioner, London).Dr. G. O. Barber, O.B.E., M.A., M.B., B.Chir. (General Practitioner, Dunmow).Dr. S. Whately Davidson, M.D., B.S., F.R.C.P., F.F.R., Hon. F.C.R.A. (Radiologist, Newcastle-upon-Tyne).Dr. T. S. Eimerl, D.S.C., V.R.D., M.D., Ch.B. (General Practitioner, Warrington).Dr. R. F. L. Logan, M.D., B.Ch., B.A.O., M.R.C.P., D.I.H., C.P.H. (Reader in Social Medicine, University of Manchester).

asked the Minister of Health if he will take action to expedite delivery of a hearing aid prescribed by King George Hospital, Ilford, in September, 1961, for Mr. R. H. A. Roberts, aged 84 years, of 169 Henley Road, Ilford.

I understand that Mr. Roberts will receive his aid within the next few days.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what success the Metropolitan Police have had in checking hooliganism and petty crime in parts of Loughton as a result of the reinforcing of the local station.

Several arrests have been made; and the Commissioner of Police will continue to have a watch kept on the situation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs which local authorities, water undertakings or State commissions have under consideration the acquiring, as reservoirs, of lakes in the English Lake District; and whether he will ensure that there is a full public inquiry into any such proposals.

None, so far as my right hon. Friend is aware. Such proposals if made would require either the authority of Parliament obtained by local Act, or an order under the Water Act, 1945 which, if opposed, must by Statute be the subject of a local inquiry.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what action Her Majesty's Government proposes to take with regard to Recommendation 308 on the free circulation of educational materials, adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 16th January, 1962.

Her Majesty's Government are considering the proposals made in this recommendation, which is likely to be discussed in the near future by the Committee of Ministers' Deputies.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what action Her Majesty's Government proposes to take with regard to Resolution 216 on the ratification of the European Social Charter, adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 28th September, 1961.

Arrangements are now in hand for the publication of the text of the Social Charter in the Foreign Office Miscellaneous Series of Command Papers. When copies are available, the Charter will be laid before Parliament in the normal way. Ratification will take place as soon as practical thereafter.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will consider increasing the number of student exchanges through the British Council between the United Kingdom and the countries of Eastern Europe; and if he will make a statement.

Under the Anglo-Soviet Cultural Agreement the British Council is responsible for long-term exchanges of British and Soviet postgraduates and in addition co-operates with representative student and youth organisations in arranging short-term visits by groups of students and other young people. In the last three years some sixty from either country have taken part in the long-term and some 700 in the short-term exchanges. The Council has its own office in Poland and in the last three years has given help to over 400 Poles wishing to study in this country, including the award of some fifty scholarships to post-graduates. Assistance has also been given recently to post-graduate exchanges with other East European countries, although these are at present on a smaller scale.Such exchanges can make a valuable contribution to East-West understanding and I hope that there will be opportunities for extending them as our cultural relations with Eastern Europe develop.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the facilities agreed to be given to the United States of America on Christmas Island are temporary.

My hon. Friend's Question refers, presumably, to facilities for nuclear testing. I cannot at this stage add anything to the replies given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 23rd January, when he said that he hoped to make a statement shortly on this question.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what contributions Her Majesty's Government made during 1961 to the United Nations, its subsidiary and voluntary funds and the specialised agencies, respectively; and what proportion these contributions were of the respective total budgets.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what estimate he has made of the financial viability of the United Nations Organisation on the basis of the payment by every member of its share of the expenses in accordance with Article 17 (2) of the Charter; and if he will name those members of the United Nations which are now two years or more in arrears in the payment of their financial contributions.

In terms of ordinary budgetary expenditure the United Nations is viable so long as the assessed

The following is the information:contributions of members are paid within a reasonable period. The present financial difficulties of the United Nations stem mainly from the failure of certain countries to pay their contributions in respect of the special operations in the Middle East and the Congo.By resolution of the General Assembly, the International Court of Justice has been asked to give its opinion on whether the costs of the Middle East and Congo operations are expenses of the Organisation. If the answer of the Court is affirmative, the implication will be that the failure of a member to pay its share of these costs exposes it to the penalty of loss of vote in the General Assembly as provided for in Article 19 of the United Nations Charter. The United Kingdom, as a cosponsor of the General Assembly Resolution inviting the opinion of the Court, intends submitting a written statement in support of the contention that the costs of the Middle East and Congo operations are expenses of the Organisation to which members are under an obligation to contribute.Article 19 states that a member of the United Nations which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organisation shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two years. I understand that, at the beginning of 1962, there were a few member countries who had just become two years in arrears with their contributions to the regular budget. At the present time we understand that there are no countries in that position.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what changes have taken place in the amount of family allowances, and in respect of which children, since provision was first made by the Act of 1945.

The family allowances scheme came into operation in 1946, when 5s. a week was provided for each child in a family except the eldest. This was raised in 1952 to 8s. a week for each child except the eldest. In 1956 the rate for the third and subsequent children was raised to 10s. a week.

asked the Secretary of of State for Scotland whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July 1961, so far as they affect the Marine Laboratory at Torry, the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory at Pitlochry and the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them.

The practice of the Marine Laboratory and Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory already accords with a number of the recommendations made by the Committee. The Report as a whole, however, is being considered by my Department and the Astronomer Royal.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement of the damage done in northeast Scotland by the storms during the Christmas Recess; what steps are being taken by his Department to minimise the losses caused thereby; and if he will compensate people who have suffered those losses.

Little material damage appears to have been done by the snow storms and I have no evidence to suggest that special Government help is called for. I should like to take this opportunity of congratulating all those who dealt so efficiently with the effects of these storms.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July, 1961, so far as they affect establishments listed under Development Commission in Appendix II of the Report; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them.

My right hon. Friend has carefully considered the Committee's Report and is consulting the Development Commissioners upon it so far as it affects the scientific bodies which receive grants from the Development Fund.

asked the Minister of Power whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July, 1961, so far as they affect the Safety in Mines Research Establishment; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them.

I have carefully studied the recommendations. My Department's practice already accords with many of those relating to civil research and development. I am considering if there are any ways of improving our procedures in the light of the recommendations.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has yet received a report on the future of the Kennet-Avon Canal from his advisory committee; and if he will make a statement.

The Inland Waterways Redevelopment Committee reported to me on the future of this canal on 15th January. Its recommendations require careful study and it will be some time before I can make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has now considered the recommendations of the Committee on the Management and Control of Research and Development, submitted to the Minister for Science on 5th July, 1961, so far as they affect the establishments listed under the heading, Defence, Research and Development—War Office, in Appendix II of the Report; which of them he accepts; and what steps are being taken to implement them.

The section of the Committee's Report which affects my Department is generally acceptable and Departmental instructions, which are already broadly in line with the Committee's recommendations, are being reviewed to see whether detailed amendments are desirable.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will state the number of cases since the establishment of the Courts Martial Appeal Court in which convictions by general courts martial have been quashed by the Army Council after review by the Judge Advocate General, and by the Courts Martial Appeal Court after refusal by the Army Council to do so, respectively

Fifty-five and seven respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) if he will set out in tabular form in the OFFICIAL REPORT the level of wages, as opposed to earnings, expressed as percentage rates, taking July, 1914, as 100, for the years 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1961, for engineering patternmakers, fitters, moulders, labourers, and in other industries and services;(2) if he will set out in tabular form in the OFFICIAL REPORT the rates of wages in pounds received in 1914, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1961, in engineering for patternmakers, fitters, labourers, and in other industries and services.

The tables below show the average minimum or standard time rates of wages for patternmakers, fitters and labourers in engineering and for certain occupations in other industries and services at July, 1914, and at December, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950 and 1961, in (a) monetary terms, and (b) expressed as percentage of the level at July, 1914 = 100.