asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent advice he has given to local authorities regarding rent policies.

Government policy is stated in paragraphs 17 to 21 of the White Paper "Housing in Scotland". The most recent general advice is in Department of Health for Scotland Circular 28/1961, dated 16th March, 1961, which draws attention to the Reports of the Glasgow and Dunbarton Rent Inquiries.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what would be the economic rent of a recently completed four apartment house by the Scottish Special Housing Association.

About £148 per annum, without allowing for subsidy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representation he has received respecting the building of a maternity hospital to serve the needs of Clydebank, Bearsden, Milngavie, Duntocher and Drumchapel; and what steps he is taking to provide such a hospital.

Clydebank Town Council and Dunbartonshire Executive Council have represented that such a hospital should be built. The regional board's plans provide for the area to rely mainly on hospitals nearby, including new facilities at Yorkhill and Alexandria, but the programme of schemes which they hope to start by 1965, includes a general practitioner maternity unit at Clydebank.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the changes of plan and work in the herring industry, announced by Sir Frederick Bell, the Chairman of the Herring Industry Board; and what steps have been taken in consequence of those changes.

I am not aware that Sir Frederick Bell announced any changes of plan and work in the herring industry before he retired from the Chairmanship of the Herring Industry Board on 31st December last.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the results of his discussions with the Coatbridge Town Council, regarding the adoption of a scheme to remove the Monkland Canal; and when he proposes to make a start with this project.

The town council is considering a preliminary report by engineering consultants on piping and infilling the canal within the burgh. It is for the council to decide whether it wishes to proceed with the project; when the council submit a suitable scheme I shall be glad to discuss with it what grant will be payable.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to proceed with the building of the new technical colleges in Lanarkshire; where he proposes to site them; what will be the nature of the courses to be provided; and what qualifications will be the objective of the colleges.

The latest information given by the education authority, whose responsibility it is to provide such colleges, gives an estimated starting date of February, 1964, for two colleges at Motherwell and Hamilton. Negotiations for the actual sites at Knowetop, Motherwell and the Barracks, Hamilton, are proceeding.The College at Motherwell will provide, besides pre-apprenticeship courses in engineering, a wide range of craft courses related to virtually all occupations in the county which fall under the general classification of mechanical enginering, electrical engineering, or coal mining. Almost all these courses will aim at qualifications awarded by the City and Guilds of London Institute. Provision will also be made at a corresponding level for courses related to commerce, retail distribution, catering, and women's subjects such as domestic cookery and needlework.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a table giving the names of all approved schools, the area in which they are situated, the names of the respective organisations responsible for their management, the number of children and staff in each, and the weekly cost per child.

The information is given in the following table. In the current financial year the estimated average weekly cost of providing for a child in an approved school is £10 10s.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been spent on the maintenance and improvement of the Peal Hospital in Selkirkshire during the past ten years.

Over £230,000 has been spent on maintenance and improvements since 1951.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many uncertificated teachers are employed by Dunbartonshire Education Authority; and in which schools they are employed, giving the number of uncertificated teachers and of total staff;(2) how many of the uncertificated teachers employed by Dunbartonshire Education Authority are below standard; and in which schools are they employed.

On 2nd October, 1961, the latest date for which figures are available, 81 uncertificated teachers were employed by Dunbartonshire Education Authority, 19 of them with qualifications below standard. I am sending to the hon. Member details for the individual schools concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which subjects are being taught by uncertificated teachers in Lanarkshire.

Information about the subjects taught by uncertificated teachers in Lanarkshire is available only for secondary departments and special schools. Returns received from the education authority show that last October such teachers were teaching English, history and geography; classics and modern languages; mathematics and science; art; music; commercial subjects; domestic subjects; technical, nautical and rural subjects; physical education.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many teachers there are in each of the schools in Lanarkshire in which uncertificated teachers are employed.

This information is not available centrally, but I am asking the education authority for it and shall send it to the hon. Lady.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the schools in Lanarkshire in which uncertificated teachers considered below standard are employed and the number of such teachers in each of these schools.

I am sending the hon. Lady a list of the schools employing uncertificated teachers with qualifications below standard.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many uncertificated teachers are employed in Glasgow; and, of these, how many are over 60 years of age;(2) what is the number of staff in each school in Glasgow where uncertificated teachers are employed;(3) in which Glasgow schools uncertificated teachers, who are considered below standard, are employed.

On 2nd October, 1961, the latest date for which figures are available, 219 uncertificated teachers were employed by Glasgow Education Authority, 17 of them over 60 years of age. I am sending to the hon. Member details of the schools employing uncertificated teachers.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the present range of salaries of superintendents and deputy superintendents of remand homes in Scotland.

Salaries of remand home staff are negotiated locally and are related to the accommodation of the homes concerned, which varies from 8 to 80. Scales for superintendents range from £401 to £630 in the smaller homes and from £640 to £1,610 in the larger homes. Scales for deputy superintendents, of whom all but one are in the larger homes, range from £495 to £1,420

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many bottles of orange juice and of cod liver oil were distributed by each health authority in Scotland during the twelve weeks commencing 4th July, 1960, and during the twelve weeks commencing 1st September, 1961.

Counties						12 weeks from 4th July, 1960		12 weeks from 4th September, 1961
						Bottles of orange juice	Bottles of cod liver oil	Bottles of orange juice	Bottles of cod liver oil
Aberdeen	…	…	…	…	…	12,924	1,641	5,524	729
Angus	…	…	…	…	…	6,004	746	2,011	362
Argyll	…	…	…	…	…	4,529	703	1,809	412
Ayr	…	…	…	…	…	23,105	3,906	5,047	1,138
Banff	…	…	…	…	…	4,748	527	1,563	255
Berwick	…	…	…	…	…	2,004	303	673	94
Bute	…	…	…	…	…	1,493	165	382	53
Caithness	…	…	…	…	…	3,337	416	1,361	316
Clackmannan	…	…	…	…	…	4,495	712	1,556	312
Dumfries	…	…	…	…	…	3,847	597	1,373	234
Dunbarton	…	…	…	…	…	10,628	1,504	4,166	669
East Lothian	…	…	…	…	…	6,108	716	1,614	202
Fife	…	…	…	…	…	21,737	3,082	5,659	986
Inverness	…	…	…	…	…	3,222	677	1,308	445
Kincardine	…	…	…	…	…	2,650	281	813	123
Kirkcudbright	…	…	…	…	…	2,097	325	719	197
Lanark	…	…	…	…	…	30,662	5,759	8,026	1,958
Midlothian	…	…	…	…	…	13,472	2,089	3,290	656
Moray	…	…	…	…	…	7,764	691	2,780	373
Nairn	…	…	…	…	…
Orkney	…	…	…	…	…	1,521	299	718	167
Peebles	…	…	…	…	…	1,413	256	534	56
Perth and Kinross (inc. Perth Burgh)					…	12,293	1,470	4,563	661
Renfrew	…	…	…	…	…	11,561	1,623	3,725	687
Ross and Cromarty		…	…	…	…	3,497	923	1,459	565
Roxburgh	…	…	…	…	…	3,895	497	1,167	170
Selkirk	…	…	…	…	…	1,589	170	412	41
Stirling	…	…	…	…	…	11,951	2,056	3,670	581
Sutherland	…	…	…	…	…	1,189	315	372	133
West Lothian	…	…	…	…	…	9,180	1,545	2,108	426
Wigtown	…	…	…	…	…	1,977	345	850	224
Zetland	…	…	…	…	…	1,870	486	869	194
LARGE BURGHS
Aberdeen	…	…	…	…	…	22,430	2,457	8,590	1,265
Airdrie	…	…	…	…	…	2,918	609	897	254
Arbroath	…	…	…	…	…	2,436	305	638	69
Ayr	…	…	…	…	…	5,417	644	1,609	224
Clydebank	…	…	…	…	…	6,510	869	1,412	303
Coatbridge	…	…	…	…	…	6,388	1,382	1,991	558
Dumbarton	…	…	…	…	…	3,267	412	796	178
Dumfries	…	…	…	…	…	3,035	349	1,598	262
Dundee	…	…	…	…	…	19,607	3,428	6,985	1,561
Dunfermline	…	…	…	…	…	6,432	833	2,049	362
Edinburgh	…	…	…	…	…	54,789	6,985	16,058	2,430
Falkirk	…	…	…	…	…	4,860	728	1,950	285
Glasgow	…	…	…	…	…	86,929	14,524	26,691	7,243
Greenock	…	…	…	…	…	7,440	870	2,510	714
Hamilton	…	…	…	…	…	3,567	786	1,004	323
Inverness	…	…	…	…	…	2,789	387	915	191
Kilmarnock	…	…	…	…	…	5,867	901	1,992	463
Kirkcaldy	…	…	…	…	…	5,935	721	1,690	317
Motherwell and Wishaw			…	…	…	7,600	1,421	1,811	488
Paisley	…	…	…	…	…	11,357	1,343	3,071	762
Port Glasgow	…	…	…	…	…	2,210	286	867	249
Rutherglen	…	…	…	…	…	4,096	536	1,123	314
Stirling	…	…	…	…	…	3,151	456	1,158	221

The following is the information requested:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Glasgow children of school age are awaiting admittance to hospital for the removal of tonsils and adenoids; and how long is the average waiting period.

Where an early operation is medically necessary, there is no delay. In non-urgent cases, of which 1,675 are at present known to be waiting, admission has been taking from a few weeks to over a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that large and rare long-finned bream and other tropical and sub-tropical fish recently caught in Scottish waters are now being examined by students in Torry Research Station, Aberdeen; and if he will make a statement, indicating the alterations in currents and other trends which bring tropical and subtropical fish to Scottish fishing grounds and the effect which such trends have on the size, numbers and habits of fish which usually inhabit these waters.

A large specimen of the rare long-finned bream was examined last year by scientists of my Department's Marine Laboratory at Aberdeen. While the occurrence of rare fishes round our coasts sometimes gives useful pointers to changing sea conditions which may affect our fisheries, detailed information about changes in currents and other conditions affecting fish can only be obtained by the regular surveys carried out by research vessels operated by the Fishery Departments and others.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will appoint a planning committee to consider the best pattern for the location of industry and population in Scotland as a guide to redevelopment and how best the Government can assist by diverting orders or industries to complement overspill and other arrangements.

I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to my reply of today to the hon. Lady the Member for Lanark (Mrs. Hart).

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that another fatal accident has occurred at the junction of Amroth Road, Ely, Cardiff, and the main Cardiff to Swansea Road; and whether he will now recommend the installation of traffic signals at this place.

Yes. The city council has been given authority to order and instal traffic signals.

asked the Minister of Transport what consideration he has given to invoking Section 128 (1) of the Highways Act, 1959, in respect to the depositing by the Dartford Rural District Council of a large number of caravans, lorries and sundry other articles, on the verge of the A.2 trunk road near Dartford.

When I answered the hon. Member's Question on 31st January I told him about the letter we had sent to the rural district council. When I learn the outcome of that approach we will consider which, if any, of my right hon. Friend's statutory powers should be invoked.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the bad condition of the roadway of Booth-ferry Bridge; and what steps are being taken to keep this in proper repair.

Yes. Ways and means of providing a new deck for the bridge are being investigated. In the meantime the present deck will be surface-dressed as soon as weather permits.

asked the Minister of Transport how many accidents have taken place at Boothferry Bridge during the past year; and what proposals he has for improvement of the bridge or diversion of traffic.

In 1961 there was one accident involving serious injury on the bridge, and one accident involving slight injury on the immediate approaches to it. Six other accidents caused damage only. We are looking into the possibility of providing a better crossing of the Ouse in this vicinity.

asked the Minister of Transport what recommendations have been made by the consulting engineers whom he appointed early in 1959 to make a survey of possible alternative routes for a motorway between Lancaster and Penrith; if he will now announce a line for a draft scheme; and if he will set out the reasons for his choice of route.

We have not yet received the consulting engineers' report. It was originally expected last autumn, but more time was needed to complete a full investigation of all possible alternative routes through this difficult area. We expect to receive the report shortly and we shall publish our proposals when it has been considered.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will consider putting back temporarily refuges for pedestrians during the one-way traffic experiment now taking place in Baker Street and Gloucester Place.

No. In one-way traffic, central refuges tend to be more of a danger than a help to pedestrians. But we are considering, with the St. Marylebone Council, what further assistance could be given to pedestrians.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will make a statement on the progress of the Port Talbot by-pass.

Work on the Briton Ferry-Baglan section was completed last October. My right hon. Friend has awarded contracts for the construction of a concrete raft to carry the road between Baglan Roundabout and Baglan Nurseries, and for part of the demolition work on the final section. We hope to invite tenders for the construction of the final section within the next two months.

asked the Minister of Transport what stage the development of the Port Talbot inner relief road has reached.

The position is still as explained in the Answer I gave to the hon. Member on 12th July last.

asked the Minister of Transport what further progress has been made in respect of main road reconstruction and development affecting the borough of Leyton and, in particular, the Green Man area; to what extent this involves Epping Forest; and whether an approximate timetable of stages in development has been prepared.

Draft Orders showing our proposals for a roundabout at the Green Man were published on 12th December. These involve acquiring small areas of land from Epping Forest. Until we have considered any objections that may be received I cannot say what the timetable for the scheme will be.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will now make a statement on the subject of the brilliance of trafficators, as the result of the work on this subject which has been carried out by his Department.

The Road Transport Sub-Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe sought advice about this problem from a working party of experts to which the experience of my right hon. Friend's Department has been made available. When the Commission has reached conclusions on this problem we will consider whether any regulatory action is called for here.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the present traffic conditions on motorways and on other main traffic routes without street lighting, if he will, in the interests of road safety, make regulations making the fitting of direction indicators on all motor vehicles compulsory without delay.

We hope shortly to issue new regulations revising the technical requirements for direction indicators. We are not prepared to make their use compulsory until we have had some experience of the new type in general use.

asked the Minister of Transport what regulations he now has under consideration relating to the speed limit, outside built-up areas, of commercial vehicles not drawing trailers.

We circulated to interested bodies last week for comment proposals for raising the speed limit on most classes of vehicles. The main proposal is that outside built-up areas goods vehicles not drawing trailers should, like buses, be allowed to travel at up to 40 m.p.h.

asked the Minister of Transport when the committee to examine the question of accident proneness and insurance was formed; whether it has yet met; and when he expects to be in a position to report on their findings.

A small committee of representatives of the Road Research Laboratory, insurance interests and my Department was formed at the end of 1960. The insurance representatives are now considering a series of specific proposals on which they may be able to provide useful information. I hope another meeting to discuss these proposals will be held shortly, but I do not expect to make an early report. The proposals are not specifically related to accident proneness but cover a series of topics related to road accident research. Some of the proposals are for continuing studies.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has now withdrawn or modified his request to the Chairman of the British Transport Commission to send the claims of the railways unions to arbitration instead of their being first negotiated in the normal way.

No. As the right hon. Member knows, my right hon. Friend's request was considered by the British Transport Commission, who put it to the railway unions. The question of his withdrawing it does not therefore arise.

asked the Minister of Labour, if it is now his intention to close down, or reduce, the Government Training Centre at Waddon.

No. There are at present two classes each for electrical contracting and for scientific glass-blowing at this Centre. I have decided to close one class for each trade because the demand has not been enough to keep two classes well filled. A class for typewriter mechanics will open shortly and I am considering proposals for opening two further classes in other trades.

asked the Minister of Labour in what form he intends to publish the information on wage rates, etc., as mentioned in Command Paper No. 1626; and at what intervals such information will be published.

I propose to publish this factual information in a new handbook which will appear probably at quarterly intervals.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the number of persons registered as unemployed and

NUMBER OF PERSONS UNEMPLOYED ON 16TH JANUARY, 1961, AND ON 15TH JANUARY, 1962, AT EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:
——				Total Registered as Unemployed	Unemployed Registered Disabled Persons
					Section I	Section II	Total
16th January, 1961
Llanelly	…	…	…	1,904	137	31	168
Burry Port	…	…	…	131	29	4	33
Tumble	…	…	…	210	25	6	31
Ammanford	…	…	…	447	54	17	71
Garnant	…	…	…	183	55	27	82
15th January, 1962
Garnant	…	…	…	183	55	27	82
Llanelly	…	…	…	2,003	148	35	183
Burry Port	…	…	…	159	23	3	26
Tumble	…	…	…	122	29	5	34
Ammanford	…	…	…	256	49	7	56
Garnant	…	…	…	162	58	17	75
NOTE: Section II unemployed registered disabled persons (Column 3) are not included in the total numbers registered as unemployed (Column 1).

asked the Minister of Defence to what extent the central purchase of drugs by the Minister of Health has been used by the medical departments of the Services; and what has been the estimated amount of saving for one year.

Approximately 97 per cent. of the drugs purchased by the medical departments of the Services have been obtained through standing contracts arranged by the Ministry of Health at a total annual cost of £849,800. The estimated annual saving, compared with purchase from the trade at normal wholesale prices, is about £250,000.

asked the Minister of Defence when he proposes to reduce the number of British troops in Western Germany.

I have no proposals for any reductions at present.

The following table gives the information desired:

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how many graduate engineers are employed in Her Majesty's Dockyards.

In H.M. Dockyards there are 38 professional mechanical or electrical engineers with University degrees and another 59 with the broadly equivalent qualification of a professional certificate from the Royal Naval College or the Royal Naval Engineering College.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what is the present strength of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors; and how many vacancies are unfilled.

The present strength of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors is 184. There are 59 other posts filled by constructive officers who are not members of the Royal Corps. Broadly, while there are enough constructors in the Royal Corps for the purpose of its essential tasks at the moment, we still need to recruit men of the necessary all-round qualities.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is now able to release the land area at Westward Ho! and to remove the Bailey bridge astride the Pebble Ridge.

Yes. The land area at Westward Ho! has already been released. I hope to arrange for the removal of the Bailey bridge astride the Pebble Ridge by the end of April. As my hon. Friend has already explained, we shall continue to use the beach for training drivers of amphibious vehicles but approach will be from the sea only.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish in HANSARD a table showing the number of deaths, and the approximate number of working days lost, as a result of bronchitis and other respiratory diseases, in each month of each year since 1945; how closely these figures are related to the incidence of fog and frost, and to other climatic conditions, in urban and in rural areas, respectively; what is their approximate distribution in the various age-groups; what is the approximate total annual cost to industry, to the National Health Service, to National Insurance, and to the National Assistance Board, that may be attributed, directly or indirectly, to these diseases; and what research is being done into their cause and cure.

These statistics of deaths and of weather conditions are published in the Registrar General's Returns. I regret that figures of the cost of particular diseases to industry and to the National Health Service are not available. The question of working days lost because of illness and the cost of illness to National Insurance and to the National Assistance Board is for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance and that of research for my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for Science.

asked the Minister of Health what county councils in Wales and Monmouthshire have taken favourable action arising out of the joint circular No. 17/59 of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and circular No. 4/59 of the Ministry of Health dealing with the provision of accommodation for homeless families.

All except Denbighshire, Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire.

asked the Minister of Health how many additional places in the dental teaching hospitals will be provided for women students in 1962, 1963 and 1964, respectively.

I have been asked to reply. Of the 300 additional places which it is planned to provide in England and Wales by 1964/5, none are allocated to men or to women, selection of students being a matter for the university concerned. It is not possible to give precise figures for the additional places which will become available in 1962/63 and 1963/64.

asked the Minister of Education (1) how many teachers are on the retired list in the United Kingdom; how many of these retired prior to 1952; and how many of these retired prior to 1945. (2) how much it would cost to double all pensions of school teachers who retired prior to 1952 and of those who retired prior to 1945, respectively. (3) how many retired teachers receive a pension of less than £200 and £150 per annum, respectively.

At 31st March, 1961, 81,670 teachers were in receipt of pensions under the Teachers (Superannuaation) Acts of 1918 and later years in respect of service in England and Wales. I regret that the detailed figures required could not be extracted from existing records without great expense of time and labour.

asked the Minister of Education what are his plans for developing technical education in west Middlesex; and if he will give details about the projected Brunel College of Advanced Technology at Uxbridge.

I hope to include the first phase of work on new buildings for the Isleworth Polytechnic in the 1963–64 Programme. In addition, a list of projects has recently been agreed by my Department with the Middlesex Authority for possible inclusion in building programmes for 1964–65 onwards, which includes the following in West Middlesex:

• Ealing Technical College: classroom block.
• Isleworth Polytechnic: completion.
• Harrow Technical College: additional accommodation for engineering and commerce.
• Uxbridge Technical College: completion.

It has been agreed with the Middlesex Authority that the Brunel College of Technology should be designated a College of Advanced Technology as from 1st April next. The Governors are acquiring, with the help of the Authority, a site of at least 85 acres near Uxbridge on which new accommodation will be provided for about 2,000 full-time and sandwich-course students.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will abolish Purchase Tax on all appliances needed to comply with the Clean Air Act, when an order under this Act is imposed on a district.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total amount of money stolen in bank raids in 1961; how much money was recovered; and how many bank employees were injured during these raids.

Figures are available only for the Metropolitan Police District, where the total amount stolen in bank robberies in 1961 was £6,054, none of which was recovered. No bank employees were reported to have been injured during these robberies.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he will be able to announce his decision on the Glamorgan (Area No. 2) Development Plan.

I hope to be able to publish within the next few months a list of the modifications which I propose to make to this plan. Until the public have had the opportunity of seeing these modifications I cannot say what the date of my final decision on the plan is likely to be.