asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that the acreage for growing dried peas has fallen from 77,900 in 1957 to 27,600 in 1961 owing to the large importation of Alaska peas from the United States of America; and what is his policy for reversing this decline.

I have nothing to add to the views expressed in my right hon. Friend's reply to a similar question by my hon. Friend the Member for King's Lynn (Mr. Bullard) on 2nd April.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that, owing to the heavy landings of fish, especially at Grimsby, from Faroese and German vessels in particular, the distant water earnings during March fell more than £600,000 compared with a year ago; and, in view of the fact that a modern trawler costs up to £300,000, and £450 a day to keep at sea, what new steps he proposes to take to give British fishermen reasonable security in their own market.

I am aware that the value of British landings in March, 1962, was considerably lower than in March, 1961. In this, heavier landings by our own as well as by foreign vessels played a part. The industry is well accustomed to considerable variations in landings and prices have in fact risen again to high levels in April. I see no need for any special action.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the quantity of wet fish landed in Great Britain during the spring of 1962 and for the spring of each of the last five years; and, in view of the downwards trend, what steps he is taking, in the interests of the fishing industry and of the consumers of fish, to reverse this trend.

The figures are given below. As for the second part of the Question, the Sea Fish Industry Bill now before Parliament embodies the Government's policy for the fishing industry.

QUANTITY OF WET FISH LANDED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY BRITISH AND FOREIGN FISHING VESSELS, SHOWN SEPARATELY, DURING THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF 1962 AND FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS
	British Landings	Foreign Landings	Total Wet Fish Landings
	Cwts.	Cwts.	Cwts.
1962	3,279,594	564,461	3,844,055
1961	3,400,117	376,207	3,776,324
1960	3,549,663	444,276	3,993,939
1959	3,832,496	266,371	4,098,867
1958	3,780,491	307,884	4,088,375
1957	3,712,397	359,642	4,072,039

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present level of potato stocks in England and Wales; and how long he estimates that these will last.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave at Question Time today to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Donnelly).

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in view of the evidence confirmed in the Second Report of the Joint Committee of the British Trust for Ornithology and other bodies of the damaging effects of toxic chemicals, a copy of which is in his possession, he will now take urgent steps to control their use in agriculture and by highway authorities; and to what extent his own investigations confirm the conclusions of this report.

As my hon. and gallant Friend will have noted, the report which he mentions refers to the spring of 1961. Investigations carried out then by my Department confirmed that certain cereal seed dressings were the main cause of bird casualties. I therefore took steps long before this report was published and in agreement with, among others, the authors of the report, to restrict the use of these dressings. As a result there has been a marked reduction in the number of bird deaths this spring. We have, this year, intensified our survey of bird deaths and the results of this will be published in about a month's time. This will be quickly followed by a meeting with the interests concerned to review the effect of our new arrangements.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will stop the export of all military equipment to the Republic of South Africa.

No.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what steps the Admiralty are taking to increase the utilisation of naval establishments and buildings; and what establishments acquired for war expansion and not now essential are being considered for disposal.

The Admiralty maintain a constant review of naval (and civil) establishments ashore, including buildings, with the object of closing and concentrating these wherever possible: 20 establishments acquired for war expansion have already been closed. A list of a further 24 such establishments being disposed of is given below. In addition, we have closed a number of dockyards and other establishments which were not acquired for war expansion.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty on what competitive basis tenders for atomic submarines will be judged, having regard to the fact that Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness have built two atomic submarines without tenders and so are in a favourable position for tendering.

As I have said before our nuclear submarine building programme is not yet settled and therefore I have nothing to add to my reply of 7th March.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the naval establishments, other than dockyard and civilian establishments in the Portsmouth Command, their purposes and the number of officers and ratings, male and female, borne in each establishment and the totals.

The information for which the hon. Member asks is set out in the following table. Several of the establishments listed were in the Nore Command before it was closed. Apart from Headquarters and establishments such as hospitals whose function is obvious from their titles, these shore establishments are all concerned with the training, initial and advanced, of R.N. and W.R.N.S. officers and ratings.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the number of Greenwich Hospital properties in the London area, by postal areas, their total value and net income, the number of sales and purchases in the last financial year, and the increase or loss of revenue for Greenwich Hospital pensions.

The number of Greenwich Hospital properties in the Landon postal area are given below. There are about 300 of these with an approximate value rather less than £1½ million. They give a net income of approximately £75,000. This charity neither sold nor purchased property in the London postal area during the last financial year.

GREENWICH HOSPITAL PROPERTIES
Number of Properties	London Postal District
270	S.E.10, consisting of the buildings and grounds of the old Royal Naval Hospital, the Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich Market, shops, public houses, flats, dwellings, garages, etc.
2	E.C.
1	W.1.
1	W.C.2.
11	W.2.

In addition the Hospital has a 3/20th share in the Pollen Estate, which consists of approximately 100 separate premises in the London W.1 area.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the total number of officers and other ranks in all branches of the Royal Marines and the members serving ashore, respectively, and the number and whereabouts of all Royal Marine shore establishments with their personnel capacity and numbers borne, respectively.

The total strength of the Royal Marines on 1st April, 1962, was 9,120, of whom 7,537 were ashore. The location of Royal Marine Shore Establishments in the United Kingdom with their capacity and numbers borne are shown in the following table. (The men borne on the books of these Establishments include those on Foreign Service Leave, on passage between appointments and so on, who are not physically present to be accommodated. Many others live out of barracks with their families. It follows that numbers borne should not be compared directly with the capacity of each Establishment.)

Establishment	Capacity	Numbers Borne
R.M. Barracks, Eastney (Portsmouth)	733	1,283
R.M. Barracks, Stonehouse (Plymouth) (43 Commando)	434	692
R.M. Camp, Bickleigh (Devon) (41 Commando)	650	795
R.M. Infantry Training Centre, Lympstone (Devon)	894	1,079
R.M. Depot, Deal (Kent)	1,214	1,262
Amphibious Warfare Centre, Poole (Dorset) (Special Boat Section and 4th Raiding Squadron)	453*	311
* Includes accommodation for other Services.

In addition, 2,115 Royal Marines, including two Royal Marine Commandos serving ashore, are accommodated overseas or in small detachments or individual appointments with the Royal Navy or the other Services.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the number of beds for sick officers and ratings, respectively, in the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, the average daily number occupied in the last financial year, the number of medical and nursing staff, respectively, and the total cost, including maintenance, for the year.

The number of beds provided for officers is 59 and for ratings 481. The average daily number of patients (including N.H.S. patients) during 1961–62 was 456. Excluding those under training there were 30 medical officers and 308 nursing staff including sick berth ratings at Haslar.The total cost of the hospital for the whole of the last financial year is not yet available, but for the first six months it was £482,600. The figures for the second half of the year are expected to be about the same.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the cost and quantity of arms and munitions for the British Army purchased outside this country, giving separate figures for each country of origin.

£4·3 million was spent abroad during the last financial year on arms and munitions for the British Army. £2·1 million was spent in the United States, £1·1 million in Italy. £0·8 million in Australia, and the rest in various other countries.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) on what terms the new Navy. Army and Air Force Institutes' shop is being built at Aldershot; what rent is being charged; and how much money from public funds is being spent thereon;(2) what is the annual amount of local rates in Aldershot paid by the existing Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes' shops there; and what is the amount of rates anticipated to be paid in respect of the new Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes' shop building there.

The new shop is being built as part of the redevelopment of the military area of Aldershot. It is designed to replace two present N.A.A.F.I. shops. In accordance with practice, no rent will be charged. The cost of the building, which will of course be met from public funds, will he about £35,000. £346 is the annual amount of rates paid in respect of the two existing shops; the rates for the new shop will probably be about £700.

asked the Ministry of Transport what is the normal period of time between the imposition of a compulsory purchase order on property to be demolished for road widening schemes and the payment of the price offered.

Compensation is due on completion of the deed of conveyance. No generalisation is possible about the period between the making of a compulsory purchase order by me and payment of the compensation. This depends in each case on a variety of factors, such as the complexity of the owner's claim far compensation and the time taken by the valuers for both parties in carrying through the negotiations and by the solicitors in dealing with the legal formalities. Where delay would give rise to hardship I am prepared to mitigate this in appropriate circumstances, subject to suitable safeguards, by paying in advance of completion of the deed of conveyance up to 90 per cent. of the agreed or estimated compensation.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he put in a bid for the purchase of the toll bridge at Aldwark in Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

No. The Aldwark toll bridge is on a classified road and it would be for the local highway authorities to decide whether or not to make an offer for it. I understand that no such offer has been made by them recently. As I explained to the House on 16th March, in the debate on tolls initiated by my hon. Friend, the money available for roads is better employed in paying for improvements than in buying out tolls.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give the number of pedestrian subways completed this year, and the number under construction to the latest convenient date.

24 pedestrian subways were completed on highways in England and Wales in the last six months of 1961 and a further 16 in the first four months of 1962. The number now under construction is 62.

asked the Minister of Transport why, in view of the fact that the North of Almondsbury—Tormarton, East of Almondsbury—Filton Bypass and Hambrook Spur Special Road Scheme, is the subject of a public inquiry to be held in the latter half of August, 1962, he has already published the North of Almondsbury—Tormarton, East of Almondsbury—Filton Bypass and Hambrook Spur Special Roads (Improvements) Order which provides for the closure, diversion, etc., of footpaths and other highways which will only be necessary on the assumption that the above scheme is confirmed without material amendment; and why this Order requires the lodging of objections to the closure of any of the highways concerned before the public inquiry is held and therefore before the recommendations of the inspector appointed to hold that inquiry are known.

As I explained in my Answer to the hon. Member on 3rd May, I am doing this so that objectors to the draft Scheme may have the fullest available information about the effects of my proposals before they appear at the public inquiry. If I waited for each stage of the statutory procedure to be completed before I started the next stage, I would add further delays to the completion of this project, which is essential for the proper use of the Severn Bridge. Section 284 of the Highways Act, 1959, provides for this concurrent procedure.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that confusion is sometimes caused to motorists when they turn right from a one-way street into a two-way street, especially if they are strangers and there is no indication that the street they are entering is a two-way; and if he will devise some means, such as by arrows painted on the road, to warn them to keep to the left-hand side of the street.

A traffic sign is already presribed for use as a warning to drivers in a one-way street that they are entering a two-way street. I am not aware that there is much confusion on this point, but if my hon. Friend will give me particulars of any junction where difficulties do arise, I will be glad to have an investigation made.

asked the Minister of Transport when he will reply to the request made by the hon. Member for Cardiff, South-East, on 19th April, asking him to receive a deputation from the Cardiff City Council about his decision not to include the Eastern Avenue in his construction programme; and what is the reason for the delay in fixing the interview.

I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 7th May.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will consult the Lancashire County Council and the county police on the need for the experiment with remotely controlled, illuminated signs to be installed on the Stretford Eccles-Worsley motorway; and if he will have trials made of other forms of lighting simultaneously with the experiment to meet the special circumstances which exist due to a combination of mist, air pollution, and bog-land.

No. I am already proposing to carry out an experiment with remotely controlled emergency warning signs on one of the main motorways. The experiment needs a greater length than the 6 miles of the Stretford-Eccles bypass. As I have told the hon. Member in correspondence, any question of lighting this bypass is a matter for the Lancashire County Council as highway authority and the lighting authorities concerned.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) what steps he is taking to authorise the construction of a by-pass or ring road round Beverley in order to check the growing congestion caused by through-traffic proceeding through the centre of the town;(2) when a decision will be reached about the construction of an internal relief road in Beverley; what route it will follow; and whether a public inquiry will be held.

I can see no prospect of authorising the construction of a bypass or ring road around Beverley in the near future. The East Riding County Council and my Divisional Road Engineer are, however, currently reexamining proposals for an inner relief road. But it is not easy to find a satisfactory solution because of the need to cause as little interference as possible with local amenities and property in this congested town. It is too soon to say whether a public inquiry will be necessary.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the fact, as shown in the latest returns, that Great Britain and Northern Ireland have now become the largest importers of new shipping tonnage, what further action he is taking to reverse this trend.

As the hon. Member knows, I asked Messrs. Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Company last year to investigate the reasons why British shipowners had been placing orders abroad. There have been signs of improvement in the shipbuilding industry's competitive position since the report was published, and I hope this will continue. I do not think the situation has changed in a way which calls for further action by the Government.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the United Kingdom share of world shipping tonnage has now dropped to under 16 per cent. and that the net earnings from foreign exchange from this source has dropped in 10 years from £200 million to £70 million; and, in view of these facts, what new proposals Her Majesty's Government has to help the shipbuilding industry.

I do not think that these facts constitute a case for Government assistance for shipbuilding.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a further statement in connection with the action of the shipping interests in the United States of America against United Kingdom shipowners.

If, as I assume, the Question refers to action by the Federal Maritime Commission, the answer is that we are examining the courses open to us in consultation with other maritime powers.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will make a statement on the action taken by the United States Federal Maritime Commission in requiring certain British shipping companies to produce freight-rate documents.

On 9th March, 1962, I sent a letter on behalf of Her Majesty's Government to seven British shipping companies requiring them not to produce or make available to the United States Federal Maritime Commission certain documents located outside the United States and relating to transactions which were effected wholly within the United Kingdom and were not within the substantive jurisdiction of the United States. I understand that the Federal Maritime Commission has since denied an appeal by the shipping companies concerned against a ruling by one of its officials that these documents must be produced. I cannot forecast what will happen next but the issue has implications of considerabe importance for Her Majesty's Government and will be treated accordingly.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on the recent meeting of ministerial representatives of European maritime Powers on shipping policy.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will make a statement on the recent meeting of European representatives to discuss shipping problems.

Ministers, Ambassadors and officials representing ten European maritime Powers had a valuable meeting in London on 3rd May, 1962. The following is the text of an agreed statement issued at the end of the meeting.

1. Ministers together with Ambassadors and officials responsible for shipping in Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom met in London on 3rd May, 1962, under the chairmanship of the Right Hon. Ernest Marples, M.P., Minister of Transport of the United Kingdom.

2. On the basis of a report prepared by officials since their meeting on 6th March, 1962, the meeting had a useful further exchange of views concerning the problems resulting from the exercise by the United States Government of their regulatory powers affecting international shipping.

3. At the meeting on 6th March the Governments agreed to proceed collectively. Today, in considering further collective action, a wide measure of agreement was reached and substantial further progress was made.

4. The meeting arranged for certain further studies to be carried out and agreed to meet again when these studies were completed.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has any new plans for the building of the Victoria underground line, as recommended by the Chairman of London Transport.

I regret that I can add nothing at this stage to the Answer I gave to the hon. Member for Edmonton (Mr. Albu) on 3rd May.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in the light of his recent discussions on the matter, he has now readied a decision on tthe construction of the Victoria underground line.

I regret that I can add nothing at this stage to the Answer I gave to the hon. Member for Edmonton (Mr. Albu) on 3rd May.

asked the Minister of Transport what action his Department is taking to implement the unanimous recommendation of the Council of Europe concerning the compulsory attachment to motor cars of safety belt fittings; and whether he will make a statement.

The recommendation to which the hon. Member refers is, I believe, one of the conclusions approved at a recent conference of road safety experts convened by one of the Working Committees of the Council of Europe. It has not yet been forwarded to or considered by the Council of Europe or any of its constituent bodies.

asked the Minister of Transport when he proposes to introduce regulations to control the movement of mobile cranes.

I hope to lay before Parliament about the end of this month regulations for the control of long, wide and projecting loads and appliances. They will come into effect in the early autumn.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will introduce legislation to require industries and companies concerned to initiate a scheme of free, or token fare, travel by all old-age pensioners, at off-peak periods, on production of their retirement pension books.

I am not prepared to introduce legislation on the lines suggested by the hon. Member. The Government do not consider that such benefits in kind are the best way to help old people.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons in the city and county of Aberdeen were unemployed at the latest convenient date, giving trades and sexes separately; and how these figures compare with the corresponding figures during each of the last five years.

The tables given below contain figures of unemployment by sexes for each April from 1957 to 1962, inclusive, and analyses by industry and sex from 1960 to 1962. The analysis by industry is not readily available for

NUMBERS OF PERSONS REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED AT EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN ABERDEEN AND THE REST OF ABERDEENSHIRE
Date			Aberdeen			Aberdeen County (excluding Aberdeen)
			Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total
9th April, 1962	…	…	2,374	687	3,061	1,388	471	1,859
10th April, 1961	…	…	2,252	619	2,871	1,098	454	1,552
11th April, 1960	…	…	2,669	830	3,499	1,371	623	1,994
13th April, 1959	…	…	2,972	1,000	3,972	1,227	653	1,880
14th April, 1958	…	…	2,818	888	3,706	1,269	650	1,919
15th April, 1957	…	…	2,249	742	2,991	1,190	557	1,747

NUMBERS OF PERSONS REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED AT EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN ABERDEEN AND THE REST OF ABERDEENSHIRE BY INDUSTRIES
							9th April, 1962
							Aberdeen			Aberdeen County (excluding Aberdeen)
							Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total
Agriculture and horticulture					…	…	105	7	112	149	19	168
Fishing	…	…	…	…	…	…	152	—	152	548	—	548
Bacon curing, meat and fish products						…	66	50	116	94	141	235
Shipbuilding and Ship-repairing					…	…	102	1	103	22	—	22
Spinning and doubling of cotton flax and man-made fibres			…	…	…	…	26	19	45	1	1	2
Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, etc.					…	…	42	1	43	4	—	4
Timber	…	…	…	…	…	…	98	1	99	24	—	24
Construction		…	…	…	…	…	281	5	286	140	2	142
Sea Transport		…	…	…	…	…	118	—	118	33	—	33
Distributive Trades			…	…	…	…	286	171	457	76	70	146
Entertainment and Sport				…	…	…	48	15	63	3	10	13
Catering, hotels, etc.			…	…	…	…	98	55	153	6	19	25
Private domestic service				…	…	…	14	26	40	3	54	57
Local government service				…	…	…	127	11	138	15	3	18
Other industries and services					…	…	811	325	1,136	270	152	422
Total, all Industries and Services						…	2,374	687	3,061	1,388	471	1,859

asked [the Minister of Labour if he will set out in tabular form the average number of people unemployed and the number on short-time during 1961 in an area of approximately eight miles radius of Stoke-on-Trent and eight miles radius of Burnley, respectively; and if he will give the same figures at the latest convenient date.

The following is the information required.

—				Number of Persons registered as wholly unemployed		Estimated Number* on short-time
				Average 1961	At 9th April, 1962	Average 1961	Week-ended 5th May, 1962
Areas within eight miles radius of:—
Stoke-on-Trent		…	…	2,805	2,935	400	1,200
Burnley	…	…	…	1,290	2,534	1,200	3,800
* These estimates are based on reports received by Employment Exchanges and are not necessarily comprehensive.

asked the Lord Privy Seal when he now expects the negotiations on Great Britain's application to join the Common Market to be concluded; and what prospects he has now determined for the association of African members of the Commonwealth with the Common Market.

It is not possible to forecast when these negotiations will have been concluded. On the prospects for the association of African members, I cannot at this stage add to my statement of 7th March.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the appointment of a new military staff commander for the Central Treaty Organisation.

The Central Treaty Organisation Governments agreed in principle last year that CENTO'S military structure should be strengthened by the appointment of a senior General as Commander CENTO Military Staff. The question of making this appointment is still being discussed between the Governments of the CENTO countries.

asked the Minister of Aviation to what extent there is co-operation with the Americans and the United States Air Force on the research and development of a space aircraft; if the United Kingdom is receiving information from the Americans regarding progress now being made with the X-15 aircraft and the Dynosaur programme; and whether he will ask the British aircraft industry to submit design studies.

I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air said in the Air Estimates debate about our interest in space aircraft. We are receiving information on American progress on the X-15 and Dynosaur programme through our arrangements with them for exchange of technical information.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken to accept The Cloud, near Buglawton, on the borders of Cheshire and Staffordshire, in settlement of estate duty; and if he will make a statement.

In 1958 the executors of the late Lord Egerton of Tatton offered 135 acres of Cloud Hill to the Inland Revenue in part settlement of Estate Duty. The land has now been accepted by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue at a cost to the National Land Fund of £3,760, and has been transferred to the National Trust. The Cloud is a well known local landmark, affording extensive views over the surrounding countryside, and is easily accessible from industrial Staffordshire. The Cheshire and Staffordshire County Councils and the Congleton Borough Council have given financial assistance to the National Trust towards the maintenance of this stretch of open countryside.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in view of the brief and strenuous period of training given in the detention centres, if he will take steps to ensure that nobody is exposed to such exertions before a court has received proper reports that he is both fit and suitable for such training.

Normally healthy young offenders find little difficulty in standing up to the detention centre régime; courts have been informed of the physical and mental demands which it makes, and there have been few boys who proved physically or mentally unsuitable for it. In such cases wardens have been able to arrange a special modification of training.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs to what extent he is satisfied with the progress being made to level or beautify spoil heaps; and if he will offer further assistance and financial aid to rid the countryside of these eyesores, paying particular attention to coalmining areas.

The hon. Member will appreciate from my Answers to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ellis Smith) on 11th April that schemes for reclaiming or improving the appearance of spoil heaps are being carried out by local authorities as part of their programmes for the rehabilitation of derelict land. I hope that this work will continue on an increasing scale. Minor works for improving the appearance of certain colliery spoil heaps to which Circular No. 26/59 refers are undertaken by the National Coal Board, and my right hon. Friend has reminded local planning authorities of the provisions of this circular. He is preparing a booklet describing schemes carried out for the treatment of derelict land, including spoil heaps, and is always ready to assist local authorities with advice on the preparation of schemes, and to consider applications for grant under section 5 of the Local Employment Act, 1960.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what steps he is taking to make public information about the quantities of caesium 137 and carbon 14 now being released by the United States nuclear tests on Christmas Island, the effect of these components by irradiation of the body, the likely damage to reproductive cells, and the results of research on the genetic effects.

I have been asked to reply.Measurements of caesium 137 are published in the Government's monitoring reports. The quantity of carbon 14 from nuclear tests can be estimated but is small compared with that which occurs naturally. The Medical Research Council's assessment of the possible hazard to health from radioactive fallout, including caesium 137 and carbon 14, was published in their second report "The Hazards to Man of Nuclear and Allied Radiation", Cmnd. 1225.