asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what is the present position of deliberations on the proposed Malaysian Federation.

I have nothing new to report since the reply given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary on 8th February.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what further progress has been made with the provision of hostel accommodation for Commonwealth students in Reading.

One scheme for providing forty-five additional beds in Reading has been approved in principle. Another scheme for the provision of fifteen additional beds is at present at an advanced stage of consideration. These two projects when completed will do much to ease the problem in Reading.

asked the Minister of Education what was the cost of the British delegation to the Second Commonwealth Education Conference.

The approximate cost to United Kingdom funds is £13,000.

asked the Minister of Education why the names and qualifications of the British delegation to the Second Commonwealth Education Conference at New Delhi were not included in the report on the Conference, Command Paper No. 1655.

The Command Paper reproduces the official report of the Conference, which did not contain the names of the delegates from any country.

asked the Minister of Education what reply he has sent to the memorandum submitted to him by the National Association of British Manufacturers about raising the school-leaving age to 16 years and other educational reforms.

The Association has accepted an invitation to discuss its memorandum with officers of my Department.

asked the Minister of Education how many reports he has received from education authorities in Wales regarding the present state of the Welsh language in schools; and if he will make a statement.

A language survey was recently conducted by officers of the Welsh Joint Education Committee and its results will be used by the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire in its current inquiry into the Welsh language. They will also be used in a survey to be made by members of H. M. Inspectorate on the place of Welsh in secondary schools.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has considered the new evidence contained in the Report of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, a copy of which has been sent to him by the hon. Member for Dagenham, on the deaths from toxic chemicals for the first half of 1961; and what steps he is taking to prevent a similar death roll this year.

The Ministry is studying this Report and hopes to discuss it with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the other wild life societies concerned. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend, the Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Crowder), on 3rd April.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the proportion the skim milk which may be wasted during the five or six weeks' peak production this year bears to the total amount of skim milk which is now processed annually in this country.

It is extremely difficult for the Milk Marketing Board to estimate how much skim milk, if any, it may not be possible to put to use this year. The best forecast that they can make is about 250,000 gallons. This would represent 0·1 per cent. of the skim milk processed in 1961 in England and Wales.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent, in considering whether to allow imports of milk products, he takes into account the possible wastage of skim milk which occurs during a short period of peak production.

The import of milk products is not influenced by the possibility of a temporary seasonal surplus production of skim milk. Whatever the level of imports, the problem would remain of coping with skim milk which may be surplus to manufacturing capacity in the areas concerned, during the short period of peak production.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consideration is being given by Her Majesty's Government to the offer made to them by private industry to assist in processing the country's surplus skim milk supplies with a view to making them available to underdeveloped countries.

I know of no such offer to Her Majesty's Government. I understand that the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief has discussed with the Milk Marketing Board the possibility of transporting skim milk to Northern Ireland for processing. But in view of the very high transport costs and the technical difficulties that would be involved it has been agreed, very reluctantly, that the operation would not be justified.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the Potato Marketing Board in regard to the need for an increased acreage for potatoes to protect the consumer against high prices and poor quality.

It is the Government's objective to secure an acreage of potatoes sufficient to meet the needs of the home market at reasonable prices and my right hon. Friend is in frequent touch with the Potato Marketing Board. As regards quality, the Board already prescribes a minimum standard and is constantly trying to promote improvement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now consider the repayment of post-war credits to disabled ex-Servicemen.

My right hon. Friend has not found it possible to propose any further payments this year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage increase in the gross national product, at constant prices, between 1938 and 1961.

Figures for 1938 are much less comprehensive than those for post-war years and it is not possible to give a precise figure, but on the basis of the data available the increase between 1938 and 1961 in the gross national product measured at constant prices was probably between 50 and 55 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for removing the remaining air-raid shelters which were erected before or during the Second World War.

It continues to be the policy of the Government to preserve sound air-raid shelters as far as possible. My right hon. Friend is, however, always prepared to consider whether in an individual case there are compelling grounds for authorising removal at public expense.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to prohibit smoking in cinemas and theatres and similar places of public entertainment.

The wider restriction of smoking in public places was recommended in the Report of the Royal College of Physicians on Smoking and Health which is now under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the girls under 21 years of age receiving sentences of imprisonment of less than six months during the year 1961 were convicted of offences concerned with prostitution.

Statistics for 1961 are not yet available. In 1960, 66 per cent. of the girls under 21 years of age sentenced to imprisonment for terms of six months or less without the option of a fine had been convicted of offences concerned with prostitution.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what inquiries he has made into the circumstances in which a motor car containing a six-month-old baby was towed away by the Metropolitan Police in Market

I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that the car was removed because it was illegally parked. It was locked and the windows were shut. It is not police practice to search cars that are being removed, and the fact that there was a baby in a covered cot in the car was unfortunately not noticed until the car arrived at the police pound. Arrangements were then made for a woman police officer to look after the child until its parents arrived.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women found guilty of first offences during 1961 are serving sentences of imprisonment of twelve months or longer; and what was the nature of their offences.

I regret that information in the precise form of the hon. Member's Question is not available.The following table shows the number of women with no previous proved offences who were received in prison during 1960 under sentences of imprisonment of twelve months or more. Similar information for 1961 is not yet available, but I will arrange for it to be sent to the hon. Member in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of prisoners proposed to be housed in Horfield Prison when it was built; what is the number now in the prison; how many of the cells are occupied by three prisoners; and when steps will be taken to improve the position.

Bristol prison was originally designed to accommodate 252 prisoners. On 5th April it held 421. 73 cells were occupied by three prisoners.The expanded programme for increasing prison accommodation set out in the White Paper "Penal Practice in a Changing Society" (Cmnd. 645 of February, 1959) is being pressed forward, as shown in the Estimates, as rapidly as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Central African Office), when he proposes to visit the Central African Federation.

I have nothing at present to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Wednesbury on 29th March.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that Germany's economic recovery is due largely to her having less than twenty trade unions against over 200 in Great Britain; if he will introduce legislation to get a consolidation and reduction in the number of British trade unions and so obviate inter-union disputes and their effect upon the economy; and if he will make a statement.

The economic recovery of Germany is due to many factors. I welcome steps by trade unions to amalgamate on a voluntary basis particularly where this will help to avoid inter-union disputes. But in my opinion legislation to compel trade unions to consolidate would not be helpful to the betterment of industrial relations.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the total insured population of England and Wales in 1951 and 1961, respectively; and what were the comparable figures for Wales and Monmouthshire, separately.

Following is the information required:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Central African Office) what assistance has been given by the United Kingdom to the relief of distress arising from floods in the Fort Rosebery area of Northern Rhodesia; and whether he will make a statement.

I am asking the Governor for a report on the floods and on the relief measures taken and will write to my hon. Friend when this is received.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the proposal of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to cease using the port of Liverpool as its main shipping terminal, and to transfer to a continental port, and in view of the need to stimulate trade, in particular the export trade, if he will take steps to increase efficiency in all United Kingdom ports towards this end.

My right hon. Friend's decision to set up the Rochdale Committee, whose report he hopes to receive this summer, arose from his anxiety to do everything within his power to increase the efficiency of our ports.

asked the Minister of Transport what are the financial considerations which affect his advice to the Minister of Housing and Local Government on the road development schemes to be included in development plans for periods more than five years ahead.

The likely order of cost is one of the considerations affecting the advice which I give to my right hon. Friend on the highway aspects of development plans. But the approval of road proposals in these plans does not of itself carry any assurance that Government funds will be available for the projects at any particular time.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give the total estimated commitments outstanding on 31st March last and the total estimated new commitments in 1962–63 in respect of new construction and major improvements for trunk roads, for classified roads and loans to highway authorities, respectively.

The figures for England and Wales are as follows:

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will change Schedule 10 of the Air Navigation Order, 1960, having regard to the desirability of more stringent requirements in the law governing the route-checking of aircraft commanders operating passenger charter flights.

The Schedule applies the internationally agreed standards to both scheduled and non-scheduled operations.I am considering whether the Schedule should be made more detailed in its application.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT figures indicating separately the number of fatalities which occurred in the course of the scheduled and non-scheduled operations of the British nationalised air corporations and the British independent airlines in 1961.

The number of fatalities in accidents to aircraft on the British Register engaged on public transport operations in 1961 was:

asked the Minister of Aviation what consideration he is giving to the use of arrester gear in airports to stop large jet aircraft from overrunning runways in emergencies, having regard to the recent tests made by the Federal Aviation Agency at the Lakehurst Naval Air Test Faculty, New Jersey, details of which have been sent to him.

Experience of large civil jet aircraft does not suggest a need for arrester gear in their operation. The performance requirements for take-off and landing are designed to secure an adequate safety margin. I am, however, keeping in touch with developments of arrester gear, including the recent Federal Aviation Agency tests.

asked the Minister of Aviation if, having regard to the possibilities of emergencies arising at sea in which shipping could render assistance to aircraft, and the circumstance that radio-telegraphic equipment capable of communicating with ships has fallen into desuetude in aircraft since the introduction of high-frequency radiotelephony, he will consider taking steps to have some form of aircraft-to-ship communication system re-introduced.

Though aircraft cannot in general communicate direct with ships by radio, arrangements already exist for relaying messages from aircraft in distress to ships when these can be of assistance. Furthermore, ocean weather vessels stationed on the North Atlantic can communicate direct with aircraft and with shipping. I am satisfied therefore that action on the lines suggested would not be justified.

asked the Minister of Aviation what steps he is taking to ensure the more general use of radio aids by pilots of private aircraft, having regard to the increase in 1961 of unintentional infringements of controlled air space by private pilots with consequent danger to airliners.

Infringements of controlled airspace by private aircraft reported in 1961 showed no increase on previous years, although the amount of private flying has increased. Most of these infringements cannot be attributed to the absence of radio aids. I am nevertheless anxious to encourage the use of these aids by private pilots and the Standing Joint Committee on Private and Club Flying and Gliding has already discussed ways of facilitating the greater use of radio-telephony.

asked the Minister of aviation what investigations he is making into the dangers of taking-off and braking when there is slush on runways.

My Department has recently concluded a series of experiments to determine how braking efficiency on a wet runway varies with such conditions as speed, runway surface, undercarriage and tyre design, and locked or automatic braking.

asked the Minister of Aviation whether he will revise the information on take-off from slush in Civil Aviation Information Circular No. 8, published a year ago, having regard to the results of the recent United States Federal Aviation Agency tests on slush-drag at Atlantic City, details of which have been sent to him.

This Information Circular is being re-written to incorporate experience gained since its publication, particularly the results of the full scale trials with a Convair 880 jet transport aircraft in the United States. The draft revision is now under discussion with the airlines and the Air Registration Board. The main conclusions of the American trials on the depths of slush at which take-off distance might be seriously affected were made known to those concerned through the Flight Safety Committee, immediately the preliminary results became available last December.

asked the Minister of Aviation what investigations he is now making into fog dispersal on airport runways.

None. As I explained in reply to the hon. Member for Gillingham (Mr. Burden) on 28th March, 1961, it was then decided that no useful purpose would be served in attempting to install F.I.D.O. at Heathrow. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of that Answer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when designated officers who retired from the East African Common Services Organisation at the end of 1961 can expect to receive their payment of compensation which was due in December, 1961.

At a meeting with the East African Finance Ministers last week I conveyed to them an offer of financial help from Her Majesty's Government towards the local share of the cost of compensation for designated officers of the East African Common Services Organisation. This offer is now being considered by the East African Governments. I sincerely hope that they will accept it and that as a result the first instalment of compensation will be paid by the Organisation very soon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent the return of the Civil Service and police in Malta to the Maltese administration was considered at his recent interview with Mr. Borg Olivier; and what conclusions were reached.

I would refer the horn. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friends the Members for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) and Brighton, Pavilion (Sir W. Teeling).

asked the Postmaster-General what steps he is taking to replace the present head post office in Portadown, West Armagh.

My right hon. Friend intends to replace the Portadown head post office as soon as possible, and he is at present studying where the new building should be located in order to give the best service.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been paid out by way of compensation for poultry slaughtered on account of fowl pest in Scotland in each of the last five years.

The amounts paid out by way of compensation for poultry slaughtered and hatching eggs destroyed in Scotland on account of fowl pest during the calendar years 1957–61 respectively, were:£43,464; £4,849; £58,147; £1,099 and £27,837. During the first three months of 1962, £2,952 was paid out for this purpose.The amounts included in the above figures in respect of hatching eggs are insignificant.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation how will be spent this year on the scheme for sending low-priced books overseas.

The Estimates for 1962–63 include provision for £200,000 for the low-priced book scheme. I should like to take this oportunity of correcting the figure I gave the House on 3rd April, in this connection. Expenditure and commitments on the low-priced book scheme so far are estimated to be approximately £150,000.