asked the Lord Advocate what matters concerning goods held on hire-purchase and hire he has decided to remit to the Scottish Law Reform Committee.

I have decided to remit to the Law Reform Committee the question of the rights of creditors in relation to goods which are in the possession of, but do not belong to, a debtor. This will cover in particular a landlord's right to seize goods held by his tenant on hire purchase or hire in satisfaction of unpaid rent and the similar right of a rating authority to seize, in satisfaction of arrears of rates, goods held on hire purchase or hire by an occupier of property.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the names of the members of the Western Regional Hospital Board, the various organisations which he consulted before appointing them, and the date, in each individual case, when they were appointed to this Board.

The members of the Western Regional Hospital Board and the year of their first appointment to the Board are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many permanent school canteens have been built in each of the Highlands and Islands counties in the last five years; how many remain to be built in those counties to provide permanent canteen accommodation at all appropriate centres; and how many will be needed in the Outer Hebrides.

The numbers of school kitchens completed in the Highlands and Islands counties in the last five years are shown in the following table:

about how the provision made in unsatisfactory schools should be replaced it is not possible to reply to the second and third parts of the Question. The following tables show the numbers of schools which do not provide dinners.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the names of members of the new town corporations, together with the salaries and other emoluments attached to the office.

The names of the members are given below. Salaries of £1,500 a year are paid to chairmen, £750 to deputy chairmen, and £400 to members. There are no other emoluments apart from the usual travelling and subsistence expenses.CUMBERNAULD

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the total number of families who have been exported from Glasgow to other local authority areas under overspill agreements in accordance with the 1957 Act.

Between January, 1959, and March, 1962, 4,351 Glasgow families have been rehoused in overspill receiving areas, 2,980 of them by new town corporations and the balance of 1,371 by local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions during the past two years he has appointed commissioners to preside at public inquiries; of these, on how many occasions he has turned down the recommendations made by such commissioners; and, of those turned down, how many were concerned with the interest of other Governmental Departments.

The number of inquiries held at my instance during 1960 and 1961 was 563. Of the 526 decisions promulgated to date, 23 were substantially at variance with the recommendations of the person holding the inquiry. There was a direct Departmental concern in only one of these, where my road engineers were opposed to a planning application involving an access to a trunk road.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the unemployment in the building industry in Scotland, he will take steps to encourage local authorities to increase their present housing output which has fallen considerably in recent years.

The volume of house building in Scotland is already running significantly above last year's level. The number of local authority houses covered by approved tenders in the first quarter of 1962 was 978 more than in the first quarter of 1961, and the total number of houses under construction by all agencies in March, 1962, was 1,439 more than in March, 1961. It is expected that, as last year, the number of vacancies for building craftsmen will shortly exceed the number unemployed.

asked the Minister of Works what average rent it would be necessary to charge at present prices to cover the cost of maintenance and necessary improvements to the grace and favour residences in his charge.

Over the last ten years the average cost of maintenance and necessary improvements prior to occupation was equivalent to about 1s. 6d. per square foot per annum.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what advice he has given to local authorities about the advantages of large panel construction of houses, with a view to the economical use of national resources and labour.

No advice has recently been given to local authorities on this subject by my Department, but I fully support the use of large panel construction methods in situations in which they can be shown to offer financial and technical advantages.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he expects to receive the Report of the Working Party set up to examine Section 76 of the Local Government Act, 1933.

I have received this Report. I am considering it, and hope to make a statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total estimated nominal amout of fixed-interest investments such as Government and Municipal Stocks, Post Office and Trustee Savings deposits, Building Society shares and deposits, National Savings and bank deposits; and what were the approximate figures for 1939 and 1945, respectively.

I regret that it is not possible to give a single total for these fixed-interest investments because figures for certain items are not available, and because it would involve double-counting to add together the various items for which figures are available. I give below figures for individual items, in so far as they are available.The following figures are given as nearly as possible for 1st January of the years in question except where otherwise indicated. Quoted securities are shown at nominal value. Great caution is needed in using these figures: in particular any aggregation is likely

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total yield of Estate Duty and the amount thereof attributable to each of the rates then current in the financial years 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62; and the to involve both double- and under-counting because of conceptual and statistical difficulties.amount by which these totals would have been reduced if the lowest rate then current had been applied to estates or parts of estates consisting of, first, interests in partnerships; secondly, preference shares in private companies; thirdly, ordinary shares in all private companies, in all private companies with an authorised capital of £1,000,000 or less, and in all privates companies with an authorised capital of £500,000 or less, respectively.

The estimated analysis by rates of duty of the net receipt of Estate Duty in 1959–60 and 1960–61 asked for in the firts part of the Question is given in the 104th Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (Cmnd. 1598) in Table 125. The corresponding figures for 1961–62 are not yet available.The Estate Duty statistics do not distinguish the categories of assets described in the remainder of the Question. The nearest comparable categories for which figures are available are:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated yield from Estate Duty for the financial year 1962–63 and the amounts thereof attributable to each of the rates in force.

£264½ million in total, but no estimate has been made of its allocation to the different rates of duty.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the yield from stamp duty, for each of the types of transactions on which this duty is levied, and in total, for the financial years 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62; and what was the effect of alterations in the rate of duty made in these years.

A full analysis of the net receipt of stamp duties for 1959– and 1960–61 is given in the 103rd and 104th Reports of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (Cmnd. 1258, Table 124, and Cmnd. 1598, Table 131). Detailed figures for 1961–62 are not yet available.There were only two significant alterations in the rates of duty in these years. In 1959 the ad valorem duty on policies of sea insurance was replaced by a fixed duty of 6d.: this change reduced the yield by about £2 million in 1959–60 and £3 million in 1960–61. In 1961 the ad valorem duties on bills of exchange and promissory notes were replaced by a fixed duty of 2d.: it was estimated that this change would reduce the yield by £1 million in 1961–62 and £1½ million in a full year, but the actual figure for 1961–62 is not yet available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many Orders in Council have been made under the Merchandise Marks Act in relation to imported goods over the last two years; and to what classes of goods they related.

Three Orders in Council have been made under the Merchandise Marks Act, 1926, during the last two years; they amended the existing Orders covering wooden tobacco pipe bowls, hand tools and ball or roller bearings.I am sending copies of the Orders to my hon. Friend.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what were the percentage changes in the imports of shell eggs and processed eggs from each of the main supplying countries during the first quarter of 1962 compared with the same period last year; and how the total of imports relates to the total consumption.

Below are details relating to imports from each of the main supplying countries. Estimates of consumption are not prepared on a quarterly basis. Imports of shell eggs accounted for 4 per cent. of estimated total supplies in the first quarter of 1961 and for

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science whether he is considering any reorganisation of the procedures for administering scientific effort within the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

I have been asked to reply.The responsibilities of D.S.I.R. will be considered in the review of the existing organisation for the promotion of civil science by Government agencies amnounced by my noble Friend the Minister for Science on 7th March.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what steps are being taken by the Atomic Energy Authority to keep in 2 per cent. in the first quarter of 1962. Imports of processed eggs represented 71 per cent. of estimated total supplies in the first quarter of 1961 and 55 per cent. in the first quarter of 1962.Following are the details:touch with Australian research into a compact high temperature nuclear reactor system.

I have been asked to reply.I am advised by the Atomic Energy Authority that it has for many years kept in touch with the Australian development plans directed towards a high temperature gas cooled reactor system. Over the past year collaboration has become closer and has been strengthened by a recent visit of Sir William Cook, the Authority Member for Reactors, to Australia.

asked the Minister of Power what research is now being carried out on the slagging gasification of coal to produce a gas which will meet industrial needs.

In accordance with the announcement I made in answer to my hon. Friend, the Member for Kidderminster (Mr. Nabarro) on 23rd June, 1961, the Gas Council last month took over the responsibility for all work on this subject except for work on producer gas plants which the National Coal Board is carrying on at coke ovens. The work sponsored by my Department on an experimental pressure slagging gasifier was brought to a close at the end of March, after useful results from a successful series of test runs on coke. The Gas Council tells me it is continuing research work on gasification under slagging conditions on the pilot plant at its research station at Solihull. The plant was completed in February and tests on it have now started. The Council is also conducting research on the Otto Rummel slag bath gasification process, and tests on a pilot plant have just started. Under a co-operative arrangement between the Gas Council, the National Coal Board and the Central Electricity Generating Board, work is being continued by the British Coal Utilisation Research Association at Leatherhead on the basic problems of operating under slagging conditions.

asked the Minister of Power what was the total cost of full-time and part-time members of electricity boards including allowances such as insurance and superannuation at the latest convenient date.

In the financial year 1960–61, the total cost for the Electricity Council and the Electricity Boards in England and Wales was £350,152. The corresponding figure for the Scottish Electricity Boards in the calendar year 1961 was £42,218. Details are given in the published Accounts of the Electricity Council and the Scottish Electricity Boards.

asked the Minister of Education what will be the effect on parents' choice of schools, so far as schools for which he is responsible are concerned of the Government's proposals for Local Government in Greater London.

The Government regard it as vital to maintain the existing wide choice available to parents in this area.This has always been an essential part of their plans. Precise areas for the new education authorities are not yet finally determined, but as soon as these authorities are established I intend to discuss with them jointly what arrangements they should make for co-operation to secure that parents' choice is at least as wide as it is at present.More generally, consideration will be given to the need for legislation to safeguard parental choice throughout Greater London.

asked the Minister of Education what plans he has for implementing the recommendations of the Younghusband Report on the training of social workers by the establishment of new courses of training in social work commencing in the autumn of 1962.

In September, 1962, four colleges of further education will start two-year full-time courses on the lines recommended in the Young-husband Report in addition to the three where courses are already running.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, if he will instruct the representatives of Her Majesty's Government at the United Nations to make further proposals to secure the enforcement of anti-slavery conventions.

The question of slavery is on the agenda of the next Session of the Economic and Social Council, which takes place in Geneva in July. The United Kingdom delegation will again take the initiative, as it has done at previous sessions, in urging members of the United Nations that have not already done so to accede to the Convention and to co-operate in carrying out its terms.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if the Egyptian Government has yet furnished information as to the reason for the seizure of property belonging to some fifty British subjects last year; and whether this personal property will be released or compensation paid.

Her Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo has again been in touch with the United Arab Republic authorities about this. Their study of the problem created by the re-sequestration of British property is progressing. It seems clear that they will accept the principle of compensation for any of this property which is not released from sequestration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in accordance with the recommendation made by the Departmental Committee on the Probation Service, he will appoint as Chairman of the Probation Advisory and Training Board a person independent of his Department.

Yes. I am glad to say that Mr. T. A. F. Noble, M.B.E., who is Vice-Chancellor-elect of Leicester University and who was a member of the Departmental Committee, has accepted my invitation to become Chairman of the Board from 1st September next.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet fixed the date for the public inquiry into the decision to build a prison at Honeybourne.

Not yet. I am awaiting a further communication from the rural district council.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state in respect of the Lancashire and Cheshire sides, respectively, of the Merseyside Development Area, as defined in the 1949 Merseyside Development Area Order, the number of factories reported to him as closing down, other than Royal Ordnance Factories, in the following periods, namely, January, 1946, to the making of the 1949 Merseyside Development Area Order, from the making of the 1949 Merseyside Development Area Order to April, 1960, from April, 1960, to July, 1960, and from July, 1960, to the present time.

This information, which is derived from reports received from employment exchanges and is not necessarily comprehensive in respect of smaller firms, is available only from June, 1952. Their reports indicate that between June, 1952, and the end of March, 1960, 26 factories closed on the Lancashire side of the Merseyside Development Area and 9 on the Cheshire side, and that corresponding figures for the periods April to July, 1960, and July, 1960, up to the present time are: 3 and nil, and 14 and 2, respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour what increase in the cost of living he estimates to have occurred since April, 1927.

Because of the considerable differences in construction of the Cost of Living Index, which was calculated between 1914 and June, 1947, and the Retail Prices Indices, which have been calculated since June, 1947, it is not possible to link the two series in order to measure the increase in the cost of living between April 1927 and March 1962. The Cost of Living Index rose by about 23 per cent. between April, 1927, and June, 1947, and the Retail Prices Indices rose by about 81 per cent. between June, 1947, and March, 1962.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that certain medical schools have recently conducted surveys to discover the approximate number and proportion of doctors who emigrate within a given period after qualification; and if he will ascertain and publish the results.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he took to satisfy himself that the proposed scheme for a loaded capitation fee in respect of the 1,000th to the 1,500th patients on a doctor's list would meet the objective of improving the standard of general practice before approving the recommendation of his working party; and what percentages of general practitioners have lists of more than 1,000, and more than 1,500, patients.

I was satisfied by the considerations stated in the Joint Working Party's Report, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy. The proportion of principals providing unrestricted general medical services in England and Wales who have personal lists of over 1,000 and over 1,500 is estimated to be about 82 per cent. and about 72 per cent. respectively.

asked the Minister of Health if he has now reviewed the experimental schemes involving the engagement of outside contractors to undertake such hospital services as catering and ward cleaning; what consultations he has had on the matter with the appropriate Whitley Councils; whether financial savings have accrued; and when he expects to issue general guidance to hospital authorities.

I have not completed my review.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he will publish the names and qualifications of those members of the Board of Governors of St. Mary's Hospital. Paddington, London, who have served for three years or more with an indication of the date of their original appointments; (2) if he will publish the names and qualifications of those members of the Board of Governors of St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, who have been appointed in the current year.

The following is the information: