asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give the number of Gurkha troops serving at present in Her Majesty's Forces.

There are eight Gurkha battalions. Apart from these, the Gurkhas provide various minor and ancillary units of other arms of the Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many Belfast aircraft he estimates will be in service use in 1964.

I am not prepared to forecast the detailed phasing of deliveries so far ahead.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the danger of smoking causing lung cancer, of which recent evidence is contained in the Report of the Royal College of Physicians, a copy of which has been sent to him; if he will give a general direction to the British Transport Commission to provide more non-smoking compartments on all trains; and if he will make a statement.

The scale on which nonsmoking compartments are provided is a matter of management for the British Transport Commission to decide. I understand that they keep the matter constantly under review and that they will have full regard to the Report to which my hon. Friend refers.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) whether he will refer to the appropriate Transport Users' Consultative Committee the proposed closure by the British Transport Commission of the electric railway on Tyneside, at present running at a loss, in view of the number of commuters involved;

asked the Minister of Transport if he will refer to the appropriate Transport Users' Consultative Committee the proposed closure by the British Transport Commission of the North and South Tyneside electrified railway, in view of the number of travellers involved.

The Commission would put any proposal for closing this railway to the Transport Users' Consultative Committee, who would then consider any objections from users. But I am informed that the Commission have made no such proposal and the question of providing alternative facilities does not therefore arise at present.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will now sanction an early start to the construction of the proposed Bristol-Exeter motorway, in view of the results of the recent traffic census taken in Somerset.

A scheme is being prepared for extending the Birmingham-Bristol motorway as far as East Brent in Somerset. Construction will not be possible for some time. It will depend on the completion of the statutory processes and on the availability of funds. I have no present plans for continuing the motorway beyond this point.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will state the estimated cost of providing a subway or bridge across the London Road, A.12, at or near the junction with Robin Drive in the Borough of Ipswich; and whether he will reconsider these projects.

The estimated cost of a subway or bridge is not less than £11,000. If the subway or bridge were constructed now and the road widened later, some £2,000–£3,000 of this would be nugatory. I propose, therefore, to review the position when my plans for widening this stretch of road have been worked out in greater detail.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is satisfied that proper arrangements have now been made for the provision of suitable alternative accommodation for residents of Winchester Avenue, Heston, Middlesex, in anticipation of the building of the new South Wales radial road.

Arrangements have been made with the Heston and Isleworth Borough Council to rehouse the tenants of those houses in Winchester Avenue which are being acquired without vacant possession. Owner-occupiers normally make their own rehousing arrangements. Twenty-one owner-occupiers have either moved or are about to do so. The remaining thirteen have not asked for any help beyond the market value compensation to which they are entitled.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will take steps to control the commercial adjustment and tuning of small motor vehicles designed to obtain higher speeds than the manufacturers intended.

I have at the moment no evidence that these conversions in general are against the interests of road safety, but I am keeping the matter under close review.

asked the Lord Seal what consideration he has given, in connection with his negotiations with the European Economic Community, to the conclusions on the European Common Market reached by Commonwealth representatives at the meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in Tokyo.

Her Majesty's Govment will take full account of Commonwealth views on the European Economic Community, whether expressed at this meeting or elsewhere.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what further action has been taken on the incident at Stahnsdorf on the night of 10th–11th March when Lieut.-Colonel Brown and Corporal Day of the British Military Mission were fired on by East German Grenzpolizei; and whether he will make a statement.

Since the statement by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence on 12th March, this incident has been taken up by the Head of the British Military Mission in the Soviet Zone of Germany with the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Forces in Germany, Marshal Koniev. The Head of the British Military Mission has protested at the incident in the name of the Commander-in-Chief, British Army of the Rhine. Marshal Koniev expressed regret at the incident and has undertaken to investigate it. We have not yet heard the results of this investigation.I am glad to say that Corporal Day's condition was sufficiently improved for him to be moved from the hospital in Potsdam to the British Military Hospital in Berlin on the 19th of March. A British doctor was allowed to visit him while he was in the East German hospital, and his medical treatment left nothing to be desired.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what has been the result of the discussions between his Department and the builders of H.M.S. "Dreadnought" regarding security measures in the shipyard at Barrow; what steps have been taken to strengthen security there; and if he will make a statement.

As I stated in my answer to the hon. Gentleman on 7th March, the builders, who are responsible for security in their yard, are providing some additional deterrents against this type of prank. To describe the nature of these deterrents would obviously reduce their value.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, in view of the fact that 3,000 houses are becoming obsolete each year in Birmingham, with a consequent increase in the number of homeless families, if he will seek information from the local authority with a view to estimating the increased expenditure needed to rehouse those people who are additional to the number already estimated at present to be in need of accommodation.

No. Such an estimate would be of no practical value. No one disputes that Birmingham needs to build more houses. The problem is to get them built.I do not know how the hon. Member has arrived at his estimate of the rate of obsolescence. In any case it would be wrong to assume that the whole task of replacement will fall on the City Council.

asked the Minister of Aviation what delivery dates he can offer for the supply of the Vigilant weapon to the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines.

Since neither the Royal Navy nor the Royal Marines has a requirement for Vigilant, the question does not arise.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much has been paid out to farmers under the Small Farmers Scheme, from its beginning to the last convenient date; how many farm businesses have been accepted for grant under this scheme; and how many of them have been in Dorset.

39,033 farm business plans had been approved in the United Kingdom under the Small Farmer Scheme by 28th February, 1962; of these 460 were in Dorset. By that date just under £11 million had been paid in grant under the scheme in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what was the average actual aggregate net farm income on the Department calculations for the five years 1946–47 to 1950–51 inclusive; what was the average for the last five years for which complete figures are available; and if he will give comparative figures both adjusted to normal weather conditions and on the raised sample basis.

The average level of actual aggregate farming net income in the United Kingdom was £2623/4 million in the years 1946–47 to 1950–51 and £378 million in the years 1957–58 to 1961–62. Adjusted to normal weather conditions the corresponding figures are £266½ million and £382 million. On the basis of the "raised sample" calculation the average for the earlier period was £199 million. Figures on this basis are not yet available for 1961/62 but the average for the four years 1957–58 to 1960–61 is £349 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent the sales of shotguns, air-rifles and air-pistols have increased during the period 1960 to 1962; and whether he will make a statement.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Minister of Works whether the increase of £350,000 to the cost of the works in Downing Street takes account of all possible repairs which may be needed; and to what extent further sums may be required.

I am not in a position to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Brixton (Mr. Lipton) on 20th March.