asked the Lord Advocate whether Her Majesty's Government accepts the recommendations of the Fifth Report of the Law Reform Committee for Scotland on the enforcement of orders in Scotland for maintenance.

This Report of the Law Reform Committee has been under careful consideration, but I am not yet in a position to say what action the Government propose to take upon it.

In view of the fact that this Report was sent to the right hon. and learned Gentleman four years ago, is not the consideration rather lengthy and is it not time the Government were table to make up their mind about the matter? Does not the right hon. and learned Gentleman think that it is about time the Government paid some attention to these Reports instead of leaving the job in abeyance until a private Member does something about it?

The Government have paid considerable attention to a number of the Reports of the Law Reform Committee for Scotland. I agree that a certain time has elapsed but, as the hon. Member will know, the Committee pointed out that, although there is a gap in this branch of the law, serious difficulties and problems arise in finding a solution to bridge that gap.

Could the right hon. and learned Gentleman give us an assurance that this is not a little more of Scottish legislation that is jammed in the pipeline?

As the hon. Member knows, the Scottish Standing Committee scrutinises Bills very thoroughly and as a result the speed is not always commensurate with the conscientious method with which hon. Members speak to these Bills.

In view of the time which has elapsed, may I ask whether the Lord Advocate can now tell us when he intends to introduce a Measure?

As I have already explained, I am not yet in a position to give any undertaking about legislation on this Report.

Very unsatisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when he and the Prime Minister of Malta will resume their talks on constitutional developments, financial aid and economic planning for Malta; and why the Leader of the Opposiiton in Malta is not being invited to attend.

These talks on financial and economic matters began on 27th June and will be continued as soon as my right hon. Friend returns this week. The Malta Government have not suggested that the Leader of the Opposition in Malta should attend and it would not be appropriate in such intergovernmental discussions.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the position in Malta is becoming more serious every day and that there are now over 6,000 unemployed in the island who are waiting to know exactly what economic and financial aid the island is getting from this country? Is the hon. Gentleman further aware that the Leader of the Opposition on the island leads 16 Members and the Prime Minister leads 25 Members in the new Parliament? Is he aware that the Leader of the Opposition, in all probability, after the next election, will be the Prime Minister who will have to administer the regulations? Ought he not, therefore, to be present with the Prime Minister to discuss this problem with the Colonial Secretary?

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the result of the further inquiries he has made into the allegations of irregularities and intimidation during the recent general election in Malta; what steps he pro- poses to take to ensure free expression of opinion in future elections; and if he will make a statement.

As regards the recent elections, I have nothing to add to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member on 13th March.

Further discussions have taken place since then and irregularities have been pointed out. People from Malta have declared that irregularities have taken place in their presence. If he cannot do anything about declaring the last election invalid, will the hon. Gentleman take serious steps to prevent a repetition of this sort of thing when the next elections take place?

All these matters can come before courts, but no one has yet used the court procedure to say that any of the elections were in any way invalid.

I want the Minister to hold an inquiry.

I know that this is a difficult matter, but I have here several affidavits from Maltese citizens who declare that they were refused absolution or were told that it would be a mortal sin to vote far the Opposition party in the elections. Does not this situation call for Government action under the provisions of the Constitution preventing spiritual intimidation?

I think that a great many of these points could not be pressed because they could have been taken up in a court of law under the electoral ordinance but this has not been done. There has on both sides been a good deal of talk of intimidation, and we have had to abide by what is brought before the courts. The matter will be brought to the attention of the present Malta Government.

Will my hon. Friend agree that, as regards the fairness or otherwise of the Malta elections, there is no real evidence that the suggestions that they were unfair are anything but ill founded, but will he encourage the Government of Malta to modernise the franchise and the arrangements at the polling booths so that some of the scenes where, for instance, electors were delayed during the recent elections before they could record their votes are not repeated, and the whole procedure is brought more into line with practice in a modern State?

As I have explained, future election arrangements must be the responsibility of the Government of Malta, but I am sure that these points will be drawn to the Government's attention.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many looms are in production in the cotton industry in Hong Kong.

On 30th June, 16,383 looms were in operation out of a total of 19,691, producing piecegoods, and 785 looms out of a total of 896, producing cotton towelling. Six mills containing more than 500 looms, normally engaged in weaving piecegoods, had suspended production entirely.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this number of looms is not very much greater than the number in production in Blackburn alone and they could not possibly have produced all the cloth which is coming into this country under the voluntary agreement with Hong Kong? Is not Hong Kong acting as a gathering ground for cloth from all over the Far East, including China and Japan, this cloth then being imported into this country under the voluntary agreement? Is not this totally unfair to Lancashire, and will he raise the matter with the Governor of Hong Kong and the textile industry there?

Without going into technicalities with the hon. Lady—I read her article in the New Statesman and Nation and found it most interesting—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—I did not say the "Staggers and Naggers"; I referred to the New Statesman and Nation.

Is my hon. Friend aware that, unlike Lancashire, Hong Kong uses its looms 24 hours a day?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give details of the response by other Governments to the recent statement by the Hong Kong Government that offers of help with its population problem would be most effective if they took the form of increased access to overseas markets for Hong Kong manufactured goods.

There has been no response as yet; it is perhaps too early to expect one but I hope that other Governments will give the matter their sympathetic consideration.

In view of the severe restrictions operating against the Hong Kong Government and people in North America, will my hon. Friend give more publicity to the excellent statement recently made by the Hong Kong Government?

Yes, Sir. I certainly will. I will place a copy in the Library, and will have it made available to our diplomatic posts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in view of the fact that Hong Kong has no domestic market for its textiles, and to enable the Hong Kong Government to continue its policy of immigrant integration into the population which it has operated without help for 12 years, if he will press the Colony's claim to special treatment in the current negotiations with European Economic Community countries.

Her Majesty's Government are doing all they can to arrive at an agreement with the E.E.C. countries which will protect the vital interests of all Commonwealth countries, and Territories. Hong Kong is, of course, very much in mind.

Does my hon. Friend realise that there is great concern in Hong Kong regarding these negotiations, and will he continue to keep closely in touch with the Government of Hong Kong during the coming weeks?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many immigrants have entered the colony of Hong Kong during the last 12 years; how many multi-storey resettlement blocks have been built since 1955; and at what rate they are now being erected.

It is estimated that since 1950 some 800,000 immigrants have entered the Colony, legally and illegally, and that 200,000 children have been born to these people since their arrival. Two hundred domestic multi-storey resettlement blocks have been built since 1955, each capable of housing more than 2,000 people. They are now being completed at the rate of one block every nine days.

While thanking my hon. Friend for that Answer, may I ask whether he agrees that this splendid effort has been achieved without any financial assistance from Her Majesty's Government, which, therefore, makes it all the more necessary that we should ensure that the best possible terms are obtained in the Brussels negotiations to protect this Colony's exports?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what financial contributions the Colony of Hong Kong makes to imperial defence expenditure by the United Kingdom Government.

The annual contribution is £½million.

Does any other Dependency make a contribution on this scale? In view of this great contribu- tion, will my hon. Friend ensure that Her Majesty's Government keep United Kingdom forces in the Colony for as long as possible?

As no other Colony makes such a contribution, no other Colony has the same size of garrison as Hong Kong. Certainly, it is open to the Government of Hong Kong to raise with us, as they do annually, the question of what payments should be made. So far, however, this question has not been raised specifically by the Hong Kong Government and I think that both we and they are happy with the present arrangement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what improvements are proposed in the provision of adult education in the Gambia during the next two years.

The newly elected Government will, no doubt, be considering the subject, but clearly the main objective of educational policy will remain in the primary and secondary fields.

Judging by the Answer which the hon. Gentleman gave me recently, the closing of the office of the British Council in the Gambia means that no adult education in the sense that we understand it in England is going on at all. Will he please look into the matter?

As regards adult education, I am happy to say that we hope that two Voluntary Service Overseas students will be arriving to utilise the library and equipment of the British Council in Bathurst. As regards general education, I think that the hon. Gentleman will be pleased to see that in the revised development plan, instead of 8·5 per cent. of expenditure on new schemes going to education, the percentage will be 40 per cent. I think that this is a step forward.

Will the hon. Gentleman consider again the closing of the British Council office? Is it not quite shocking that this office should be closed and that what facilities there are should now be staffed by two sixth formers at a time when we ought to be doing a great deal more to encourage the adult education to which my hon. Friend referred?

I cannot look at it again. The office has been closed, and we have got to make the best use we can of our present available resources.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the independent Commission for the demarcation of regional boundaries in Kenya will start its work.

The Commission to delimit the boundaries of the regions and the Nairobi area is expected to begin work in Kenya early in August.

What about the other six regions? Will my hon. Friend agree that the nub of the political dispute in Kenya is between those who want a unitary State and those who want a semi-federal State? Therefore, is it not extremely important to have the six regions referred to in the White Paper demarcated at the first possible opportunity?

This is precisely what the Commission will do, setting the boundaries of the regions and of the Nairobi area. There are the six regions and the Nairobi area.

Will my hon. Friend say—I apologise in advance if the information is already available—when the names of the members of the Commission will be published?

Sir Stafford Foster-Sutton has accepted the chairmanship, and we hope that the names of the other members of these two Commissions will be announced shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what terms of reference have been given to the independent commission set up to study the Northern Frontier District of Kenya; and when he expects to receive its report.

It has not been appointed yet, but its composition and terms of reference will be announced as soon as possible.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the appointment of a special commission for this area is causing a spate of rumours among the Somalis that there will be a change there? Will he, therefore, see that the Commission is appointed as soon as possible with the clearest possible terms of reference?

Yes, Sir; I will.

In adopting the expression "as soon as possible", is the Minister hoping that this business will be accomplished before the rising of the House for the long Recess?

No, Sir, I do not think so, necessarily. We have to appoint someone of great eminence to undertake the task, and our object is that the report should be available by the late autumn. There is not such immense urgency about it owing to the various constitutional timetables laid out in Cmnd. 1700.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement regarding the agreement between the Federation of South Arabia and the Colony of Aden signed on 17th May, 1962.

I refer the hon. Member to the Answer which my right hon. Friend gave the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. G. M. Thomson) on 3rd July, to which I have nothing to add at present.

I read that reply with close attention. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Minister of Education, Mr. Abdullah Sa'idi, was forced to resign by the Governor because he declined to sign this agreement? Will he realise that, unless this calculated secrecy is broken, there will be grave disturbances in Aden because of this agreement which everyone seems to be treating as secret? Further, is he aware that the agreement has not even been discussed by the Legislative Council?

As has been explained to the House before, once these provisional talks have taken place between my right hon. Friend and the representative of the Aden Government and the Government of the Federation, there will, after publication, be full discussions in the Aden Legislature and with interested parties in Aden and, at the appropriate time, in this House. I refer the hon. Gentleman to Question No. 13 which deals with the Minister of Education.

I welcome the fact that these informal talks later this month are of a provisional nature, but can the hon. Gentleman give an assurance that no new constitutional arrangements will be made linking Aden Colony with the Federation of South Arabia without full opportunity for this House to discuss the matter or without full opportunity for the people of Aden to express their views on the issue?

As I have said, there will be debates in Aden. There will be debates in the Federal Council and, of course, the House also will have the opportunity to discuss these matters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what conclusions he has reached in respect of a proposed new constitution for Aden; what was the reason for the resignation of Mr. A. I. Sa'idi as Minister of Education and Immigration; and what submissions he has received concerning the fear that the prospective constitution may subjugate the present constitution of Aden Colony to the numerically larger protectorate.

The time for forming conclusions has not yet come; it will do so after my right hon. Friend has had conversations with Ministers of Aden Colony and the Federation in London. Mr. Sa'idi, while agreeing in principle with constitutional advance in Aden and closer association with the Federation, found himself unable to endorse unconditionally the proposals to which all other Ministers of the Colony and Federation subscribed on 17th May. The answer to the third part of the Question is "None".

Would not the hon. Gentleman agree that there is a genuine fear that this relatively democratic Colony may be subordinated to the quite undemocratic Protectorates? In these circumstances, will he see that this matter is fully borne in mind?

I will certainly bear in mind what the hon. Member has said.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many working parties were appointed consequent upon the constitutional talks between Aden Colony and Protectorates: what were the detailed questions considered by each working party; what decisions were reached on the question of closer association between the territories; what other decisions were reached resulting from the talks; and if he will make a statement.

Seven working parties were set up to consider questions relating to aviation, finance, education, health services, communications, public relations and public works. Their recommendations have been incorporated in the joint proposals put forward by the Federal and Colony Ministers which, as already announced, I and my right hon. Friend are shortly to discuss with those Ministers. My right hon. Friend hopes to make a statement after the talks.

Does not the Minister consider it highly desirable that one or more of these working parties should apply their minds to the necessity of inducing the Protectorate rulers to introduce progressive measures of democratisation in view of the gross disparity in the internal structure of the Protectorate, on the one hand, and the Colony, on the other hand?

I think that a working party would be an inappropriate method.

In reporting on these discussions, will the Minister consider publishing the reports of the working parties as a White Paper?

That is precisely one of the matters we will discuss when we meet the Ministers next week.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will state, in respect of the prison at Aden, how many male prisoners, female prisoners, and lunatics it at present contains; and what are the plans for building new and separate institutional accommodation for these groups.

305 males, 5 females and 72 lunatics. It is hoped that work on a new prison for male and female prisoners and a mental hospital will begin towards the end of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps he is taking to alleviate unemployment in Basutoland.

There is no firm evidence of an increase in unemployment in Basutoland that would justify special steps being taken by Government; but the situation is being carefully watched, and I am in touch with the High Commissioner.

While welcoming that statement, may I ask the Under-Secretary whether, in view of the fact that two years have now passed since the Morse Commission made its Report, the Government will consider fully implementing all the provisions of that Report, in view of the tremendous importance of these territories and their special difficulties?

If the hon. Member will put down a Question, I will give him a more detailed answer. Various projects are afoot. There is already provision of £180,000 currently for agriculture, approximately £9,000 for the Basuto factory estate extension, and there is a current application to the I.D.A. for a development loan for roads.

Can the Under-Secretary say what is the proportion of unemployed in the Protectorate?

It is very difficult, as the hon. Member knows, to judge in a country with a very large seasonal agricultural employment, but, at the moment. I do not think there are any major signs of unemployment, except the seasonal unemployment which always exists in this part of Africa when agricultural contracts are terminating.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in which Colonies and Protectorates it is still the practice to attach ankle chains to prisoners; and to what categories of prisoners this treatment is applied.

I am asking colonial Governments for a full and up-to-date report and I will write to the hon. Member when it is received.

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that several years ago I put down a similar Question and received quite a lengthy list of Territories in which these restraints were still being practised. Will the hon. Gentleman indicate to the House that the Government of this country arc totally against the use of ankle fetters and leg irons, and will he pledge his right hon. Friend to take all the steps he can to have these mechanical restraints completely discontinued in these areas?

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the Report on mechanical restraints in prisons in Colonial Territories which was placed in the Library in 1957. In regard to a pledge, there are special conditions whereby I cannot give such a pledge. I can, however, give a pledge that these fetters and so forth are never used as punishment, but they have to be used in certain areas in order to prevent escape during block transfers, to prevent prisoners injuring themselves and for other types of purely preventive uses. [HON. MEMBERS: Shocking."] I regret to say that this is the fact, but I will certainly look into the matter and write to the hon. Gentleman when I have a precise statement from each of the colonial Governments concerned.

Would not the Under-Secretary agree in principle that it is most undesirable that these mediaeval methods of restraint should be used in a British Colony, and will not he seriously consider issuing instructions to the colonial Governments to adopt a quite different and more humane method of restraint?

I do not want to delude the House, but, quite often, in these Territories, where there are enormous areas to be covered and where there are not large gaols where prisoners have to be kept, it follows that there has, at least, to be some use of handcuffs or shackles of various sorts. This is the basis of the mechanical restraints. I will certainly look into it, and in the process of finding the information which the hon. Member wants I shall be prepared to come back to the House and make appropriate comment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give an estimate of the extent to which civilian employment in Gibraltar is likely to be reduced due to changes in defence arrangements; and what steps he is taking to provide alternative employment.

The altered defence arrangements proposed for Gibraltar will, I am afraid, entail some reduction and switching of the civilian employment offered by the Services there. The precise degree of this, the timing of it, and the provision of alternative employment are the subject of current study and discussion.

Is the Minister aware that figures have been produced from Gibraltar showing that the redundancy may be as much as 17 per cent.? Is he aware that Gibraltar is a Colony which has shown particular loyalty to this country, and will the Colonial Office show a good deal more urgency than it has so far, and give priority to the rights of Gibraltar citizens and not attempt to appease General Franco and the Spaniards too much over this problem?

This matter certainly has my most earnest attention at the moment, I can assure the hon. Member. As regards priorities, we will give preference over aliens to Gibraltarians, provided that they have the skills and are of the right age group. Clearly, one of the ways of dealing with the redundancy problem would be to retire persons over a certain age.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on his recent discussions with Sir Alexander Bustamante, the Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Discussions with the Jamaican delegation led by Sir Alexander Bustamante on financial, economic and defence matters ended last Friday. In the course of the talks I told the Jamaican delegation that we could make assistance available totaling £4¾ million. This sum includes the gift of War Office lands and buildings in Jamaica which we value at £2½ million an Exchequer loan of £1¼ million towards their current year's capital budget and various unexpended portions of Colonial Development and Welfare allocations amounting to about £1 million.

While welcoming the Government's decision to give assistance on this scale to the independent State of Jamaica, may I ask whether the Under-Secretary can tell us anything about the discussions concerning outlets for Jamaican produce if Britain joins the Common Market? In particular, can he say whether any progress has yet been made on what is to happen about the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement? Can he, at least, assure the House that if the Agreement is to end, the Government will insist absolutely on comparable outlets for Jamaican sugar in the enlarged Common Market?

Sir Alexander, while he was here, had discussions with my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal. So far as the other and much more general question relating to sugar is concerned, I can assure him that we are doing all we can to make certain that these outlets for Jamaican sugar are safeguarded.

Was there any discussion with Sir Alexander about the position of the Maroons of Accompong?

No, Sir.

Why not, Sir?

Because Sir Alexander did not raise it.

But is not the hon. Gentleman aware that I wrote to the Secretary of State a week ago asking that it should be raised with Sir Alexander?

asked the Minister of Works when work on the project to provide accommodation for hon. Members of Parliament in the roof space above the Committee Rooms, which was deferred in July, 1961, will now commence.

I propose to seek provision in the 1963–64 Estimates so that a start can be made as soon as the House rises for the Summer Recess of 1963.

Is the Minister aware that Members of this House have already had to suffer from the two-year delay in proceeding with work which, we were assured, would go forward in July, 1961? Can we, therefore, now have a categorical assurance from the Government that we will not once again be disappointed by having this protracted date altered at the last minute?

I am sure that I never told the hon. Lady that we would start in 1961. I do not know where she got that information. The Answer which I have just given is the right one.

Is the Minister aware that both my hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn (Mrs. Castle) and myself were Members of the Committee which proceeded on the firm assumption that the date would be the one which my hon. Friend has just given and that it seems rather odd that when a representative of the Minister's Department had been present at all the meetings, the Minister himself should not know what was in the minds of the Committee? Will the Minister, however, bear in mind that if he decides again to defer the date, it would be more courteous to a Committee of this House if he were to inform its members officially rather than by the stratagem of an inspired Question by the Chairman?

That is all rather unnecessarily cross. The perfectly understandable hopes of the Commitee are one thing. What I have tried to tell the House from time to time as the Minister responsible is perfectly consistent and I have never said anything about 1961.

asked the Minister of Works when he expects to receive the report of the Council of British Archàology on its pilot survey of early industrial monuments.

The Council for British Archàology is not yet able to forecast the date when the pilot survey will be complete.

Is it not the fact that this voluntary society has inadequate funds and resources to carry out this work? Should not the Minister provide more facilities and resources to enable the Council to proceed? This matter has been going on far too long.

I am not sure that it is a question of lack of funds, but I have asked the Council to have a talk with me to see whether we can get a move on.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that there is a great need to preserve early machinery and that there is a large number of very early steam engines and similar machines of great interest and character historically which should come within the survey?

Machinery is a rather different matter. As to early industrial monuments, I have powers under existing legislation to save anything that urgently needs saving without awaiting the report of the Council.

Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that the question of the saving of industrial monuments is not being held up while the report is being prepared and pending also the outcome of a further investigation which is now being carried out in Staffordshire?

I certainly give that assurance. Whenever anything arises as an emergency, if it has to be saved, it can be, and will be, saved.

asked the Postmaster-General if he intends to publish the terms of the recent agreement reached between the Independent Television Authority and the tobacco industry on cigarette advertising on television; and when the new code will come into operation.

My right hon. Friend is publishing a note on the agreement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Is the Minister aware that this modest advance is welcome so far as it goes? Is she further aware that there is not yet much evidence on the screens that the code is in operation? Is the hon. Lady satisfied that the Independent Television Authority will rigorously apply the code?

I am satisfied that the Authority will rigorously apply it. The hon. Member must watch and see.

Will tobacco advertising feature in the discussions between the Postmaster-General and the Authority, which were promised in the White Paper, on the content of advertising? When will these discussions begin?

The hon. Member can be assured that the discussions between my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General and the Independent Television Authority will be very wide-ranging. I cannot state the actual contents of the discussions, but they will take place as soon as possible.

Is the hon. Lady aware that this agreement is just another smokescreen put up by the tobacco manufacturers and advertisers between them and that all these proposed modifications are really not worth a light?

The Authority has concluded its review of cigarette advertising in the light of the Report of the Royal College of Physicians: and, with the support of its Advertising Advisory Committee, has asked the programme companies to secure modifications that will include the avoidance of those aspects of the advertising which could reasonably be taken to make a special appeal to young people. Neither the Authority nor its Advisory Committee think it reasonable to be so discriminating as to use their powers to exclude all cigarette advertising from Independent Television alone. Action has already been taken by the tobacco industry voluntarily to withdraw all cigarette advertising until about 9 p.m.

The Authority is now securing modifications of the advertising so that in the future there will be no advertisements that can be seen clearly to come within the following broad classes:—

(1) Advertisements that greatly over-emphasise the pleasure to be obtained from cigarettes.

(2) Advertisements featuring the conventional heroes of the young.

(3) Advertisements appealing to pride or general manliness.

(4) Advertisements using a fashionable social setting to support the impression that cigarette smoking is a "go-ahead" habit or an essential part of the pleasure and excitement of modern living.

(5) Advertisements that strikingly present romantic situations and young people in love, in such a way as to seem to link the pleasures of such situations with the pleasures of smoking.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that the British Broadcasting Corporation's television reception in the Bideford district is unsatisfactory; and if he will ensure that urgent steps are taken to introduce the Stage III programme for this area.

The B.B.C. is aware of the need for improvement in television reception in the Barnstaple-Bideford district. It is pressing on as fast as it can with the planning of its Stage III satellite stations, including the station to be built in the Barnstaple area which will serve Bideford as well. It hopes to complete all the Stage III stations before the end of 1964.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the Corporation has been pressing on with this for three years and that nothing has happened? Is she aware that reception in our area is at times non-existent but that we still pay £4 for a licence, which is ridiculous? Will my hon. Friend ensure that the pressing on is really pressing on and that it is done before the new B.B.C. channel is started?

I recognise that my hon. Friend has had to be very patient in this matter. The B.B.C. has a very big programme, but I assure my hon. Friend that the Corporation is getting on with it as quickly as it can.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will ensure that full coverage, to enable all existing broadcasting and television programmes to be heard and seen efficiently at all times in all parts of England, and in particular Lincolnshire, is provided before he takes any action to extend the scope of broadcasting or to increase the cost of licences with the object of creating new broadcasting services.

Both the B.B.C. and the I.T.A. have plans for improving and extending the coverages of their services in England, and these will go ahead.

Does the Minister consider that there is any chance of the cost of the licence being increased before these things come into operation? Does not it seem very hard that some people who have television sets which receive only half of the programmes, or who can hear only a certain number of programmes on the other system, should have to pay a higher charge to enable other people to have expensive and new services?

The question of the licence is another matter. Regarding the poor quality of reception, I can assure my hon. Friend that by 1964 there will be a marked improvement.

Will my hon. Friend look at the correspondence which I sent to her right hon. Friend about the Grimsby area where it seems that the reception of B.B.C. programmes is a great deal worse than that of I.T.V. programmes? Cannot something be done for these people before 1964? Why should they have to wait until that time?

The difference in reception in these fringe areas is due to certain atmospheric conditions and very often the I.T.V. broadcasts which are on a higher frequency can give a better service. The answer is a satellite station, which is being built as quickly as possible.

Is the hon. Lady aware that the views expressed by the hon. Member for Horncastle (Sir J. Maitland) and by the hon. Member for Louth (Sir C. Osborne) are shared by hon. Members on this side of the House as well as by viewers? Is she aware that there is a feeling that this development has not had the degree of priority which it should have had? May I ask her, therefore, to convey to her right hon. Friend the sense of urgency felt by hon. Members on both sides of the House about the need for a high priority for this service?

Yes, Sir.

Why should north Lincolnshire be regarded as a "fringe area"?

It is "beyond the fringe".

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation if Her Majesty's Government will consider raising the sums pledged to the United Nations Expanded Technical Assistance Programme and to the Special Fund for 1962 in view of the vote recorded by this country in support of the United Nations Development Decade.

I have been asked to reply.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that after the General Assembly passed a resolution to create the Development Decade in the 1960s with the objective of doubling the rate of growth of the under-developed countries by 1970, the first step was to set up a new target for the Special Fund for 1962 of 150 million dollars? Would not it be a good test of our sincerity and that of others to raise our target for this year so that we pay a proportionate share of the new target and not of the old one?

I do not think that the resolution to which the hon. Gentleman referred, No. 1715, called on the member States to review the appointed objective. We are reviewing our programme for 1963, as I have already indicated, in the autumn. As the hon. Member knows, we give very great help and we are the largest contributor to voluntary programmes after the United States of America.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that in considering how much aid could or should be provided, it is very desirable to take into account the prices of raw materials and foodstuffs and the way in which the fall in these prices has affected the economies of the countries we wish to help while, on the other hand, helping us because of the fall in the price of our imports?

I would agree with that. The main object of the Development Decade is a sound economic growth of the less well-developed countries and we are wholeheartedly behind this object.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what decision he has now reached as a result of his consideration of the four reports on the working of the leasehold system in Wales; and whether he will make a statement.

As I informed the hon. Member on 5th June, I am examining the problems relating to the renewal of ground leases of residential property, on the basis of market value. I do not expect to complete this complex task before the Summer Recess.

Is the Minister aware that this news will be received with great disappointment throughout the Principality? Is he aware that he had led us to believe that a statement could be expected? His last Answer given in this House indicated that he was considering this question? In view of the fact that people are holding up their decisions on leasehold while the Government make up their mind, can the Minister tell owner-occupiers when they can expect an announcement of Government policy on this important issue?

I did not say in the statement I made in the House five weeks ago that the study would be completed by the Summer Recess. This is a complex problem as a study of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1964, will exhibit. I am pressing on with all seriousness and vigour, but it will not be completed by the Summer Recess.

May I press the Minister, because this is a vital matter to our people? Will he indicate to leaseholders when they can expect an announcement of Government policy, because they are faced with the question now of the cost of the renewal of leases or obtaining the freehold if they can? Is he aware that they ought to know the mind of the Government on the matter?

The latter part of the statement which I made to the House related to the few people now confronted by the problem as an immediate one. As soon as the study is complete——

When?

—I will indicate the view of the Government. I cannot forecast with exactness when the study will be complete but it is being pressed on with all vigour.

Deplorable.

In his further consideration of this matter will my right hon. Friend use his good offices and influences with his right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General to have amended the Settled Lands Act which restricts trustees from increasing leases for over 50 years? Is he aware that an amendment is necessary especially in view of the wider terms of the Measure introduced last year relating to trustees?

I will convey the point made by my hon. Friend to my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General.

If the Minister really cannot make a statement about this matter before the Summer Recess, will he bear in mind that we might find ourselves back in this Chamber in September for other reasons and that he might consider that time appropriate to make a statement.

I will make a statement as soon as the study is complete and the view of the Government has been formed.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter at the first possible moment.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will introduce legislation to alleviate the hardships of leaseholders facing eviction due to redevelopment.

I presume that the hon. Lady is referring to occupiers whose leases are about to expire. I do not think that any protection of the kind envisaged would be practicable without seriously impeding redevelopment, and in general that would be against the public interest.

Since the number of people in this plight—many of them elderly—is increasing with every fresh scheme of urban renewal that is under- taken will the right hon. Gentleman include a study of this aspect of the problem in the general study he is making to see if he can find a way of helping these people without hamstringing the redevelopment schemes?

I agree with the hon. Lady that there is a problem of rehousing involved, but what I am resisting is the suggestion that redevelopment should not be a ground for possession at the end of a lease. That is a proposition I cannot accept, but in general the problem of rehousing prior to redevelopment, particularly in twilight areas, is an important one to which I am giving attention.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are pockets of the population who are suffering grave injustice and hardship under the Leasehold Act? Will he take steps to bring this matter urgently before Parliament so that this injustice can be removed?

The leasehold issue in terms of renewal of leases is being studied, but, as the hon. Member will appreciate, the redevelopment aspect is excluded from that study as it is from the Landlord and Tenant Act.