asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the main terms of the agreement on pitwood prices reached last Friday between the National Coal Board and the home timber interests; and what representations he made, in view of his responsibilities for British forestry to the National Coal Board.

Small price reductions for nearly all categories have been accepted by producers and in return the present national price agreements will be extended to a wider range of produce. The new arrangements should help them to plan their production more efficiently and compete more strongly for a larger share of the market. Details of the agreement will be published in the trade press shortly.During the negotiations the Forestry Commission stressed the importance of reaching an agreement that would be acceptable to home interests.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has for strengthening the market for home-grown timber so as to ensure a fair return to producers and processors alike, and to reduce the need for Exchequer support.

The main way of strengthening the market in the long term is to ensure supplies of home-grown timber at a level which will encourage the setting up of industries in this country and thus lead to a steady demand. Exchequer grants for forestry are designed to encourage new planting and good management rather than to supplement producers' returns.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is encouraging new industries and outlets to deal with the growing volume of softwoods for which there is a declining demand from the mines and railways.

The Forestry Commission encourages the expansion of existing wood-based industries and the establishment of new ones to keep pace with the increasing volume of softwood. For example 2 pulpmills, 2 chipboard factories and a fibreboard factory based on home-grown timber have been set up during the last decade. The development of new industries and outlets for home-grown timber is already compensating the producers for the fall in demand from traditional consumers. The Forestry Commission will continue to do everything it can to encourage these alternative markets.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, how many cats have developed rabies in Great Britain since 1918.

None. Cats were not subject to quarantine until 1928 when some serious outbreaks of rabies in cats were reported from abroad.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the number of dogs who have developed rabies in Great Britain after the statutory six months period of quarantine; and in what circumstances any such outbreak has been detected.

During the past forty years two dogs have developed rabies after six months in quarantine, one at 6¾ and the other at 7¾ months. Both had been kept in quarantine for a further period for the convenience of the owners. A third dog died after six months, but symptoms had become evident before the end of the normal quarantine period.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give particulars of the deficiency payments on wheat, rye, barley, oats and mixed corn for the cereal year 1st July, 1961 to 30th June 1962.

The particulars of these payments are as follows:

1. WHEAT
Accounting Period	Seasonal Standard Price per cwt.		Deficiency Payment per cwt.
	s.	d.	s.	d.
1st July—30th Sept., 1961	24	6	5	6·5
lst Oct.—30th Nov., 1961	25	11	4	9·8
1st Dec, 1961 —28th Feb., 1962	27	5	4	0·8
1st March—30th April., 1962	29	1	5	9·4
1st May—30th June, 1962	29	6	5	11·0
			(Provisional)

3. OATS AND MIXED CORN
Cereal year		Yearly Standard Price per cwt.		Price Deficiency per cwt.			Deficiency Payment per acre		Total Payments
		s.	d.	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£m.
1st July 1961 to 30th June, 1962	…	27	5	7	9·82	7	3	1	12·8

An advance payment at the rate of £5 per acre has already been made. The

4. BARLEY
Cereal year		Yearly Standard Price per cwt.		Price Deficiency per cwt.			Deficiency Payment per acre		Total Payments
		s.	d.	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£m.
1st July 1961 to 30th June, 1962	…	27	7	7	7·36	8	11	4*	32·8
						(provisional)
*This is subject to a deduction (unlikely to exceed a few shillings per acre) when the calculations arising from the incentive scheme have been completed.

An advance payment at the rate of £6 10s. 0d. per acre has already been made but until the effect of the new incentive scheme can be calculated exactly it will not be possible to make the final payment on the barley acreages. This means that instead of the final payment being made in August-September as in previous years it cannot take place

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, whether he will now accept the recommendations of the Thorold Committee on milk distributors' remuneration.

The Secretary of State for Scotland and I have decided to accept the general principles on which the Thorold Committee based its recommendations on the price structures, namely that Government control of price levels and distributive margins should continue for a further period and that all processing dairymen should continue to be able to obtain bulk raw milk at the same basic price. We are glad to note the Committee's view that the sample of retailers in England and Wales used for costings purposes has been broadly successful in achieving appropriate representation of the main sectors of the trade. Many of the recommendations in the report dealt with highly complicated issues and it will be necessary to discuss them in detail with the milk industry before decisions can be taken on them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, whether he is aware of the difficulties of growers using glasshouses, particularly around London where production is becoming uneconomic; and what action he is taking to assist them.

I am aware that some districts around London and comparable areas elsewhere are becoming unsuitable for glasshouse production. I have asked my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Housing and Local Government, to consider particularly in the context of the survey of development needs in South-East England which he is making, whether the development of such land for other purposes might, in appropriate cases, be desirable.

asked the Minister of Aviation what steps he is taking to prevent the break up of the research and development team at present working on the Blue Water missile.

I am not yet in a position to make any statement.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will now state when he intends to make a statement on the decision with respect to further orders to be placed with Messrs Short Brothers and Harland for the Belfast air freighter.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Stratton Mills) on 1st August.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the anxieties of local government officers in Kenya as to the protection of their pension rights; and if he will ensure that the management of their superannuation fund be placed with the Public Trustee in the United Kingdom, in view of the fact that this would not involve any transfer of investments.

I am aware of the anxieties of local government officers over the protection of their pension rights and of their superannuation fund. The matter is now under discussion by a special working party appointed by the Council of Ministers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement about his talks on economic matters with the Ministerial delegation from Kenya.

Talks are proceeding and a statement will be issued as soon as they are concluded.

asked the Minister of Education if he will circulate in the Official Report a table showing to which schools providing separate secondary education the fifteen children from Lancashire schools for the deaf were transferred.

The schools are shown in the list below:

Mary Hare Grammar School for the Deaf and partially deaf	12
Lancaster Girls' Grammar School	1
Bickerton House School, Southport	1
Nelson and Colne College of Further Education	1

asked the Minister of Education if he will make a statement on the building of a new pimary school at Wallingford.

My predecessor had already decided to approve the building of the complete infants school at Wallingford as soon as the necessary resources could be made available. A notification to this effect will be sent to the Berkshire local education authority very shortly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the number of cases of farming losses of persons dealt with under Section 341 of the Income Tax Act, 1952, in the latest convenient year, and the estimated loss involved.

About 10,000 individuals and about 550 partnerships in the year to September, 1961, with an aggregate loss of about £12½ million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is now the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to the financing of the University Grants Committee up to the level which they consider necessary in order to provide for the university population envisaged by Her Majesty's Government.

Undertakings have already been given that salary scales will be reviewed next year; and that the university financial situation will be reviewed in two years' time in the light of the course of the university expansion, of prices, and the long-term econo- mic outlook. My right hon. Friend is also considering the submission by the University Grants Committee on erosion in the university capital programme which was invited by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary earlier this year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now establish a Press cuttings library for the use of hon. Members.

This is a matter for the authorities of the House in the first place, but on present information I doubt whether it would be desirable to incur the cost of a service of this kind.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why Exchequer assistance was lately refused for the purchase of a Rubens painting for acquisition for the Scottish public.

Because the case for imposing on the taxpayer a charge additional to the regular grant made for purchases of pictures to the National Galleries of Scotland was not strong enough to justify it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what special grants were made last year, apart from the regular grants to galleries, &c, to enable galleries in Scotland to acquire pictures of distinction.

None in 1961–62, but the National Galleries of Scotland received a special grant of £30,000 towards the purchase of a painting by Claude in 1960–61 and one of £14,000 towards a Gainsborough Landscape in 1962–63.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the limited interest of the detailed information provided, he is satisfied regarding the need for the publication in its present form of the annual return of persons naturalised as citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies; and if he will make a statement.

I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer necessary to publish all the details hitherto included in this return. The return for 1961, which has recently been presented, will therefore be the last in the present form; but I propose that the statistical tables, which are of general interest, shall continue to be published annually.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state, in respect of persons recommended for deportation under Part II of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, the offences of which the persons concerned were convicted; and what other penalties were imposed.

The particulars requested are as follows:

(a) Offences against the person (14)
Murder	1
Buggery	1
Indecent assault	1
Wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm	7
Other assaults	3
Throwing corrosive fluid with intent	1
(b) Offences against properly (70)
Robbery with violence or aggravation	3
Larceny	39
Breaking and entering, housebreaking, shopbreaking, or in enclosed premises for unlawful purpose	23
Malicious damage	5
(c) Others (41)
Possessing dangerous drugs	4
Possessing offensive weapon	7
Stowaways	11
Managing a brothel	1
Loitering with intent	7
Loitering for the purpose of prostitution	1
Wilful neglect of child	1
Indecent exposure	1
Common prostitute	1
Miscellaneous	7

In one case the court imposed no penalty in addition to the recommendation for deportation; in another case sentence has been postponed to the next session of the Central Criminal Court. The particulars of the remaining 123 cases are as follows:

Detained under Mental Health Act, 1959	3
Probation	2
Conditional discharge	5
Fined	7
Sentences of imprisonment or detention (106)—
One month and under	32
More than one month and not more than three months	43
More than three months and not more than six months	16
More than six months and not more than three years	11
More than three years	4

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recommendations he has received for the deportation of persons under Part II of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act; how many of these were from magistrates' courts; what were the territories of origin of the persons concerned; what action he has taken on the recommendations; and how many persons recommended for deportation are now detained otherwise than in pursuance of a sentence imposed by the court.

The position up to and including 2nd August is as follows. 125 recommendations for deportation have been notified to the Home Office. 109 of these are from magistrates' courts. 64 of those recommended are citizens of the Republic of Ireland. There are 21 from Jamaica, ten from British Guiana, eight from Trinidad and Tobago, eight from the Windward and Leeward Islands, three from Australia, two each from Barbados, Malta and New Zealand, and one each from Canada, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Parkistan and Tanganyika.Five persons have been deported, and I have signed deportation orders in seven further cases. These twelve comprise eight citizens of the Irish Republic, one Australian, one Barbadian, one Jamaican and one holder of a Hong Kong passport.Of the remaining 113, 81 are serving sentences of imprisonment or detention imposed by a court and one person is awaiting sentence at the next session of the Central Criminal Court. Three persons are detained in mental hospitals under orders made under section 60 of the Mental Health Act, 1959, by the court which also recommended deportation. In four cases the offender is not detained because the court directed release pending consideration of the recommendation. In one case there was a successful appeal to quarter sessions against the recommendation. In 19 cases I have decided not to act on the courts' recommendation; in two of these cases this has involved withdrawing a deportation order which had been made. In four cases I have authorised release, in one case for further inquiries to be made, and in the other three cases to await the outcome of an appeal to a higher court. There is at this date no case of a person detained in prison solely on account of a recommendation for deportation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were engaged in each of the meetings held in London during the last six weeks which were stopped by the police in consequence of breaches of the peace or apprehended breaches of the peace.

At the National Socialist Movement meeting in Trafalgar Square on 1st July, 244 officers of all ranks were engaged;. at the Union Movement meeting in Trafalgar Square on 22nd July, 522; and at the Union Movement meeting in Ridley Road, E.8, on 31st July, 160.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now announce the dates for Summer Time next year.

I propose to continue the experimental extension of the statutory period of Summer Tame by three weeks at each end, and shall accordingly in due course seek the approval of Parliament for the draft of an Order in Council providing for Summer Time next year to run from 31st March to 27th October.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations to what extent he is satisfied with the present arrangements for granting aid to Southern Rhodesia; what further financial assistance is contemplated by Her Majesty's Government other than through the Commonwealth Develop- ment Corporation; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.The present arrangements have enabled Her Majesty's Government to provide a significant measure of assistance to Southern Rhodesia. With regard to further assistance, I have nothing to add at present to the reply which I gave to my horn. Friend the Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) on 2nd August.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware that, since the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations, 1960, came into operation, eight areas of special control, including only one extensive area in England, have been approved; whether he is satisfied with this rate of progress; and what further steps he proposes to take in older to secure a wider application of special control as envisaged in his Circular No. 3 of 1960.

Local planning authorities are aware of the importance attached to special control both by my right hon. Friend and by his predecessors. I understand that several orders, covering extensive areas, are now being prepared. The preparatory work, including the detailed survey of a county area, necessarily takes time.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs on what date the Cardiff City Council made application for sanction to borrow the sum of £42,000 for parks at Llanrumney, Cardiff; and when he expects to sanction this loan.

The application was made on 27th June, 1960. It was originally held up because of the economic situation but could have been considered for sanction earlier than now if I had received the further technical information that was asked for.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware that many residents in Leicester are experiencing and have for many years experienced hardship by grit falling on and in their homes owing to emissions from the local power station, and that this week this hardship was greatly increased; and whether he will take steps to abate the nuisance.

The Alkali Inspectorate will go on doing its best to secure a reduction in the grit and dust emissions from this power station. On the 30th July a mishap caused a short but serious emission of black pulverised fuel. I understand that the Electricity Board has offered to meet the cleaning bills of residents affected.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will give the total numbers of permanent houses and flats in England and in Great Britain at the last convenient date; and if he will give the corresponding figures for 1938, 1946 and 1951.

The totals in June, 1962 were 14·9 million dwellings in England and Wales and 16·5 million in Great Britain. The figures for 1938, 1946 and 1951 were 11·1, 11·4 and 12·4 million dwellings respectively in England and Wales, and 12·2, 12·7 and 13·8 million in Great Britain. My right hon. Friend regrets that he cannot give separate figures for England alone.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Governmentment and Minister for Welsh Affairs how the total number of homes available in Great Britain compares with the total number of married couples; and which total is increasing at the faster rate.

In mid-1960, the last date for which figures are available, there wore 13,084,000 married couples in Great Britain and 16,098,000 dwellings. Compared with the position two years earlier, the number of married couples had increased by 1·65 per cent., and the number of dwellings by 2·70 per cent.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps he is taking to protect the rural amenities of Harting, in connection with the proposed new housing scheme in that area; and if he will refuse planning permission for multi-story flats in this part of Sussex.

I understand that an application for planning permission to erect two blocks of three storey flats in Harting has been made by the Mid-hurst Rural District Council to the West Sussex County Council as local planning authority. Consideration of the application has been deferred pending further negotiations between the two councils. The county council is primarily responsibe for planning control in the area and it will be for it to take into account the effect of the development on local amenities before reaching a decision.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will state the number of council and privately built houses on which building started in the first half of 1962 and 1961, and the estimated number for 1963.

53,434 council houses and 88,250 private houses were started in the first half of this year. The figures for 1961 were 51,295 council houses and 95,846 private houses. Houses built by new town corporations are included as council houses. I can make no estimate for next year.

asked the Minister of Labour how many applications for employment vouchers he has now received under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962; and how many he has granted.

Up to 31st July, 8,057 applications for employment vouchers had been received, and 6,221 vouchers had been issued.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of unemployed immigrants at the latest available date.

On 16th July the number of Commonwealth immigrants unemployed in Great Britain was 37,372.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what information he has about obstruction of visiting British cargo ships by the frontier guards of the Chinese People's Republic.

Certain cases of undue interference by the Chinese authorities with British shipping have been brought to my notice. These involve examination of vessels and of the personal effects of crews in a manner which has caused offence both to owners and to personnel. The Chinese authorities have also restricted the use of navigational aids in Chinese waters and in some cases impeded masters wishing to communicate with their principals.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many times each of the five permanent members of the Security Council has exercised the right of veto accorded by Article 27 (3) of the Charter of the United Nations; and in the case of the United Kingdom, whether Her Majesty's Government have persisted in its exercise.

The veto has been exercised by China once, the United Kingdom twice, France four times and by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics one hundred times. The United Kingdom vetoes were exercised on the 30th October, 1956, in opposition to resolutions on the situation in Egypt. Since the situation was thereafter discussed in the General Assembly, no question of persisting in the exercise of the veto arose.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he is aware of the ease with which passports can be falsely obtained without identification at employment exchanges; and if he will consider ways of stopping this falsification.

It is fully realised that British Visitor's Passports can be obtained more easily than ordinary passports by persons making false declarations, and the point is under constant consideration. People making such declarations are prosecuted under Section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1925. All applicants are warned that it is an offence to make a false declaration, and this warning has no doubt acted as a deterrent.The British Visitor's Passport was introduced in March, 1961, in response to public demand. The scheme is a popular one and is working well. It enables the honest applicant to get a passport easily and cheaply. It seems undesirable to make a change in order to catch the few at the expense of the very great majority. Offenders will be pursued vigorously.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) if he will require priority in the provision of transmitters in Band III, so that thickly-populated areas in the North Region which are at present unable to obtain proper reception of British Broadcasting Corporation television programmes may do so in future;(2) if he is aware that reception of British Broadcasting Corporation television programmes in certain populous northern areas distant from the Holme Moss transmitter, usually subject to interference in summer, has this summer been worse than at any other time; and what steps he proposes to take to deal with this.

Paragraphs 53 and 54 of the White Paper on Broadcasting (Gmnd. 1770) refer to the use of the unallotted Band III frequencies. I am aware, and so is the B.B.C., that television reception on the lower Band I channels has again been spoilt this summer in various parts of the country, including the North Region, by periodic interference from foreign stations. I have authorised eight B.B.C. television stations for the North Region in the first three stages of its satellite station scheme. The B.B.C. has already opened one of these and work is proceeding on the others. I am discussing the general question of improving reception with the B.B.C. and I.T.A. The introduction of television on ultra high frequencies will solve the problem of interference from foreign stations since the ultra high frequencies are not subject to this kind of trouble.

asked the Minister of Power what reply he has made to the letter sent to him by the Maltby Urban District Council, protesting against the surface extraction of the coal in its area during the four years following 24th April, 1962.

The West Riding of Yorkshire Urban District Council's Association wrote to my Department on behalf of the Maltby Urban District Council. The National Coal Board's proposal relates only to prospecting. The Association has been informed that my right hon. Friend has received no application for an authorisation to open or extend opencast coalmining sites in Yorkshire.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what investigations have been carried out by his Department or the Medical Research Council into the methods used by the Putney Migraine Clinic.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to my hon. friend the Member for Belfast, West (Mrs. McLaughlin) on 30th July.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science in what estab- lishments research into improved methods of immunisation against smallpox is taking place.

The major establishments carrying out such research are as follows:

• The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, London.
• Liverpool University.
• The Public Health Laboratory Service.
• Queen's University, Belfast.

Research on this problem is also undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will now take steps by way of civil development contracts, or otherwise, to ensure the future continuance in being of the research and development team at present engaged on the Blue Water missile, in view of the possibility that there may no longer be a military requirement for it.

The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has announced its willingness to consider, on their merits, proposals for the support of civil research and development projects. It is open to any firm to make proposals. Projects of this kind are, however, unlikely to receive support from public funds unless, in the judgment of the D.S.I.R., they offer a prospect of an important technological advance, which would be of value to the country as a whole, and involve an element of uncertainty which makes it unreasonable to expect the project to be undertaken on a purely commercial basis.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has now concluded discussions with fertiliser manufacturers on the matters raised by the Report of the Monopolies Commission on the Supply of Chemical Fertilisers; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The Monopolies Commission recommended that Fisons Ltd., should adjust its pricing policy to yield a lower level of profit than that earned in the years investigated; the firm immediately accepted this criticism and announced that its prices had already been reduced. The Commission did not criticise the profits being earned by Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. and made no recommendations about that company. Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. has subsequently given the Board of Trade access to its books as a result of which I am satisfied that its profits since have not been unreasonably high. There has in fact been a marked increase in competition within the fertiliser industry since it was investigated by the Monopolies Commission.However, since farmers are paid a substantial subsidy on the chemical fertilisers they use I have sought and obtained from these two companies assurances that they will not seek unreasonable profits from the materials for which they were found by the Monopolies Commission to be monopoly suppliers, and the two companies have agreed to afford to accountants appointed by me facilities to verify regularly that these assurances are being observed.The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has been closely associated with my Department in the discussions with the two companies.In view of these assurances I am satisfied that the profits which will be earned by Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. and Fisons Ltd. from chemical fertilisers will not be unreasonably high, having regard to the average rate of return on capital earned in manufacturing industry generally.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the result of his Department's inquiries into the suggestion of traffic control signals at the junction of Brook Road, Church Road, and Epping New Road, Buckhurst Hill.

After considering the report of a site meeting held on 1st August, I have reached the conclusion that the installation of traffic signals at this junction is not justified. But I have considered carefully what other measures can be taken. I have arranged for the erection of illuminated "Pedestrian Crossing Ahead" signs and for "Halt" markings to be laid on the carriageway of both side road approaches. These will supplement the existing "Halt" signs.I am also considering whether there would be advantage in providing a central refuge for pedestrians.The police have promised to make special efforts to secure observance of the 30 m.p.h. speed limit here.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if, when the United States Air Force Base in Bushey Park is closed down, he will arrange for the site to be cleared and the park restored to its pre-war condition and public use.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether all Army caravan sites have the amenities, and comply with the standards, suggested in the official booklet, "Caravan Parks", published by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

The amenities and standards of all Army caravan sites are required to conform to those laid down by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

asked the Secretary of State for War what has been the annual current and capital expenditure from the financial year 1953–54 to date on the Royal Army Pay Corps' electronic computer; what has been the value of lands and buildings appropriated; and what is the estimated annual cost of its operation.

The total expenditure to bring the computer assisted pay accounting system into operation is estimated at £1,800,000, incurred since 1958.