asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of bulls standing at artificial insemination centres were tested for vibrio foetus in the 12 months to the last convenient date; what proportion of tests were positive; and what steps were taken to reduce the risk of spreading the infection.

During the year ended 31st October, 1962, 182 bulls, or 16 per cent. of all bulls standing at artificial insemination centres in England and Wales, were tested for vibrio foetus (through test matings). Only one of these bulls gave a positive result to the test. This bull was a new entrant and was removed from the centre before it had been used for artificial insemination. All other bulls are subjected to sheath lavage when they first enter the A.I. centre and at regular intervals, and all A.I. centres add antibiotics to the semen during processing. No case of vibrio foetus infection has been attributable to the A.I. service for the past five years.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much 13ritish wheat is being used in making bread; and if the low prices for wheat are being reflected in bread prices.

Home-grown wheat accounts for only about one-fifth of the average bread flour grist, and is a minor item in the cost of bread. There has been no change in the price of the plant bakers loaf since February last.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the millers' grist will contain home-grown wheat during the next six months; whether he is satisfied that the millers will be using a large enough proportion of home-grown soft wheat, bearing in mind the exceptionally large harvest; and whether he will make a statement.

It is impossible to forecast what proportion of homegrown wheat will be used in millers' grists during the next six months but millers are aware of the large home crop, and they have assured my right hon. Friend that they will do their best to use as much home-grown wheat as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will revise the Feed Formula Addition so that it reflects the changing pattern of feedingstuffs.

The formula for adjusting pig and egg prices according to changes in feed prices are part of the guarantee arrangements which are determined only in the light of an Annual or Special Review. Any proposals for changes would need to be discussed with representatives of the producers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what further stages there will be in his review of forestry policy, after the receipt of the Report of the Working Party of Officials;(2) when he expects to receive the Report of the Working Party of Officials, set up to review the future of forestry.

The report of the Working Party of Officials should be ready in the spring. It will then be considered in consultation with the Forestry Commission and the other major interests in the industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much money has so far been spent of the £1½ million set aside for market research and development at the last Annual Price Review; and on which projects it was spent.

Since the commencement of the Scheme in June, 12 projects have been approved. No money has yet been spent because payment is normally made on completion of a project.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Whether he has concluded his studies of the advisability of providing grants for slatted floors under the Farm Improvement Scheme; and whether he will make a statement.

I cannot add to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland gave to my hon. Friend in answer to a similar Question on 7th November.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reports he has received from his officers Who have been investigating the suitability of importing beef from Rumania; and whether he will make a statement.

This veterinary mission reported that there are no public or animal health grounds for refusing to accept carcase beef from Rumania.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the value to the British livestock industry of orders for breeding cattle, pigs, and other livestock placed this year by countries in the Soviet bloc.

No information on orders is available. Excluding poultry and horses, £84,381 worth of livestock was exported to Soviet bloc countries in the first ten months of this year; details are given in the table below. Except for cattle, the information available does not show breeding animals separately.

asked the Minister of Defence what arrangements are being made by the Service Departments to ensure that Servicemen going on Christmas leave will be able to reach their homes in time, despite the closing-down of substantial sections of British Railways.

I have been asked to reply.It is traditional in the Armed Forces that those personnel not required for duty over Christmas, who wish to go home from duty stations in the U.K., shall be given leave in ample time for them to reach their homes. The cuts in rail services will, of course, have been taken into account by commanding officers in deciding the period of leave appropriate to individuals according to their circumstances.Personnel required for duty over the Christmas period as a whole (Boxing Day included) are drawn, as far as possible, from those who live near by and also from those who prefer to take compensatory leave over the New Year.

asked the Minister of Defence, in view of the part played by the Gurkhas in the Brunei uprising, if he will give new consideration to the rôle of the Gurkha Brigade in overall Commonwealth defence strategy.

I have been asked to reply.In considering the future of the Brigade of Gurkhas we shall take full account of all the military tasks which they can perform.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will give an assurance that, unless and until Parliament passes legislation designed to alter the regulations under which Servicemen are discharged from the Armed Forces on notifying their intention of contesting a parliamentary election, no attempt will be made to anticipate the decision of Parliament by modifying in practice the application of these regulations.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary yesterday.

asked the Minister of Defence to what extent he has discussed with Mr. McNamara the possibility of the manufacture of Skybolt by Her Majesty's Government; and what estimate was made of the likely expenditure in which Great Britain would be involved.

asked the Minister of Defence what consideration he has given to the United States proposal that Skybolt should be manufactured in Great Britain; and what estimates his financial advisers have submitted to him about the possible cost.

I have been asked to reply.

asked the Minister of Defence when he was first informed that the United States Department for Defence had doubts about the technical efficiency of the Skybolt missile.

I have been asked to reply.I have nothing to add at this stage to the statement made by my right hon. Friend on 17th December.

asked the Minister of Defence (1) whether, in view of the doubts about the technical feasibility of Skybolt, he will give immediate instructions for the design and building of at least one British Polaris-type submarine;(2) whether he will endeavour to acquire immediately a submarine armed with Polaris-type missiles from the United States of America, in order that the Royal Navy may have an opportunity of gaining experience of this important weapon.

I have been asked to reply.Discussion with the United States on Skybolt and possible alternatives to it are now in progress. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence made clear in his statement on 17th December, the most important of these possible alternatives is Polaris; but no decisions have yet been taken.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he is now in a position to give a definite statement of the naval shipbuilding which can be brought forward to ease the position of many shipyards.

The position remains as indicated in my reply on 5th December to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Clark Hutchison).

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how many ratings left the Royal Navy before their term of service had expired during the last two years.

The figure for all causes of premature ending of contractual engagement for the two years from October, 1960 to September, 1962, is 5,339. This figure, which represents wastage of about 3½ per cent. per year, includes 1,238 discharge by purchase.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what public funds have been paid to Vickers Armstrong for plant extension schemes to allow for the building of nuclear submarines.

The Admiralty share of capital expenditure amounts to just over £1 million. This includes about £370,000 spent on equipment which remains exclusively Admiralty property.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will consider building nuclear submarines in Her Majesty's Dockyards in view of the facilities available and increased security.

Our building programme beyond the third nuclear submarine ordered last week from Messrs. Vickers is not yet settled.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many acres of land in Norfolk are reserved specifically as a military battle training area; how much longer it will be necessary to use this land for this purpose; and if he will make a statement.

The battle area at Stanford, where live ammunition is fired, comprises about 16,000 acres of which some 15,600 acres are War Department freehold. It will be necessary to use this land for as long as I can foresee.

asked the Secreof State for War if his Department will bear the cost of conveying to this country the cremated remains of the late Private Winston Kirk, who died from injuries whilst serving in Her Majesty's forces in Malaya.

I very much regret that existing regulations do not allow me to agree to bring the ashes of the late Private Kirk to this country at public expense. However, during the debate on the Motion for the Adjournment of the House on 8th November, 1962, my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for War undertook to look into the whole question of cremating the bodies of Servicemen who die overseas and of repatriating their ashes. This study, which of course involves all three Services, is still going on, though I hope that it will soon be completed.

asked the Secretray of State for War if he will make an extra allowance to those married men serving in the British Army of the Rhine who are having to find their own accommodation for their families and are having to pay high rents for such accommodation.

Married men living with their families in private accommodation in Germany already receive special rates of allowance which take into account the rents they are currently asked to pay.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give the number of married Servicemen stationed in Western Germany, and the number in that category whose families are domiciled in Germany.

There are some 21,000 married servicemen serving in the British Army of the Rhine, of whom 16,250 are living with their families in Germany.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give the number of married men serving in the Army in Western Germany who have their families with them and are living in rented apartments.

49 officers and 1,193 other ranks serving in the British Army of the Rhine have their families with them and are living in privately rented accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for War what contracts his Department placed with North-East firms during 1961 and 1962 up to the latest available date.

In the financial year 1961–62 my Department placed some 400 contracts which involved the execution of work in the North-Eastern counties: the value of these contracts amounted to about £2,500,000. In the first half of the financial year 1962–63 some 250 contracts were placed at a total value of about £3,500,000.In addition to these contracts, the Royal Ordnance Factory at Birtley received orders valued at about £2,000,000 in 1961–62, and at about £1,250,000 in the first half of the current financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for War under what circumstances Signalman Kenneth Egerton was recently discharged from the Army.

Signalman Egerton was discharged from the Army when his domestic circumstances became such that he was unable to fulfil his service obligations.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the number of men who have intimated their desire to stand at coming by-elections; and what are the regiments in which they are serving.

One officer and five other ranks are known to have applied to stand at forthcoming by-elections. Two of them are serving in the Royal Corps of Signals, two in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, one in the Royal Engineers, and one in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will release any airfields within a radius of 15 miles of York to enable a civil airport to be established there.

If any specific requests are made to me I will naturally examine them.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what action he is taking to secure the reduction of noise from the United States Air Force base at Wethersfield, Essex, made by stationary aircraft, particularly on Saturdays and Sundays.

Baffles and earthworks have been put up at the engine test pads and the running of engines on the ground is prohibited between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. except when there is a strong operational need. Periods of running at full throttle are kept as short as possible. Experiments into ways of reducing the noise disturbance are continuing. Engines are run on the ground on Saturdays as required to meet operational commitments but only very exceptionally on Sundays.

asked the Minister of Transport when he will announce his decisions on the recommendations of the Rochdale Report.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to a Question on the same subject on 21st November to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Vauxhall (Mr. Strauss).

asked the Minister of Transport (1) how many traffic engineers are employed by the London County Council, county councils, county boroughs and other highway authorities, respectively; whether he is satisfied that this number is adequate in view of the greater volume of traffic; and what steps he is taking further to encourage their greater employment in view of London's experience in improving traffic flow by employment of traffic engineering methods:(2) how many local authorities have traffic engineering sections; how the number compares with 31st December 1960, or the nearest date when the information is available; and if he is satisfied with the response to his circular, sent to highway authorities in December, 1960, advocating employment of traffic engineers.

There are no regular returns of the number of engineers employed by highway authorities upon traffic engineering, or of the manner in which the staff is organised. The information asked for could therefore only be obtained by circularising the large number of authorities concerned. Last year 39 authorities in England and Wales had traffic engineering sections. I believe that since my Department made available to the Association of Municipal Corporations a memorandum on traffic engineering the number of engineers engaged in it has increased. This may in part be due to local authorities taking note of the success achieved by my London Traffic Management Unit in applying traffic engineering techniques to London's traffic. I am considering issuing a circular to highway authorities on the recruitment and training of staff for traffic engineering.

asked the Minister of Transport what qualifications are required under his regulations for the training of drivers for public service vehicles, heavy road haulage vehicles and other forms of mechanically-propelled road vehicles, respectively.

I have no power to make regulations to require qualifications of the kind referred to in the Question.At present, regulations relate only to qualifications for driving. Drivers of public service vehicles need a special licence in addition to the normal driving licence. To obtain this special licence, an applicant has to show that he has the ability to drive such a vehicle; he must also produce satisfactory evidence as to his health, character and education.

asked the Minister of Transport at what date he expects to commence the construction of a bypass to the town of Newent, Gloucestershire.

I have nothing to add to the Parliamentary Secretary's letter of 22nd August to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Transport if, in view of the new off-street parking arrangements in Lower Thames Street, he will now prohibit the parking of private cars in that thoroughfare between 8.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays inclusive.

I am discussing this matter with the Commissioner of Police for the City of London.

asked the Minister of Transport what reply he has sent to the residents of Water Lane, Ospringe, Faversham, concerning the heavy flow of water through their property, due to work proceeding in the Medway by-pass road, about which they wrote to him recently.

The method by which this flow of water was to be carried in an open ditch was established with the land-owner before the erection of the houses in which these residents live. Nevertheless, I appreciate their anxiety, especially about the possible danger to their children. I have therefore instructed my consulting engineers to see what can be done.

asked the Minister of Transport if the additional money allocated to road development in the north-east excludes the Tyne tunnel project and the Darlington bypass scheme, now in progress.

The additional Government expenditure of about £750,000 for major road development in the North-East which I announced on 27th November in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. P. Williams) excludes these two schemes. The speeding up of the road programme which will result in a doubling of the total expenditure on major road development in the North-East in 1963–64 as compared with 1962–63, which I referred to in that reply, does however take account of the two schemes.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is considering the advisability of introducing a measure to altar the law so as to oblige owners of land adjoining a highway so to fence it in order to prevent domestic animals from straying on to the highway and there causing damage to persons and property.

I agree that there is a problem here, but I have no highways legislation in prospect which would enable me to deal with it. In any case damage or injury to road users is only one aspect of the problem of straying animals. Nor is fencing necessarily the best, or the only, solution.

asked the Minister of Transport whether the Eggborough bypass on the Doncaster-Selby road A.19 has been approved; and when work is likely to commence.

This is a classified road scheme. The West Riding County Council who are the highway authority, have not as yet put it forward for consideration for inclusion in my road programme.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the expected duration of the road works at present in progress at Ham on the A.307.

I understand from the highway authority that the work on this Class I road should be finished by June next year, and perhaps earlier than that.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will now indicate his construction programme for the Sheffield-Leeds motorway.

As stated on 28th November in reply to the hon. Member for Batley and Morley, the preparation of this Scheme is bound to be difficult and lengthy, because of the further statutory processes and the complex engineering details. Construction will be put in hand as soon as these processes are complete and funds become available.I can make no firm forecast at this stage. If all goes well, I hope that preparation of the Don Viaduct, and of some substantial portion of the roadworks, could be completed in readiness to start construction during the financial year 1964–65, the remaining roadworks following by stages thereafter.Acquisition of the properties which will need to be demolished will probably be spread over a period of two years or so. It is my intention that nobody should be called upon to move until alternative accommodation has been provided or I am satisfied that he has the means of obtaining it.

asked the Minister of Transport what plans he has for roads in the North-East on which work could be started immediately to ease the unemployment position in the area.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answers I gave on 27th November to my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. P. Williams) and on 5th December to the right hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell).

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the traffic difficulty resulting from the large increase of traffic emerging from Rectory Lane on to the North Orbital Road at Denham, Buckinghamshire, particularly at the morning and evening rush hours; and what action he proposes to take.

Traffic using Rectory Lane is al present abnormal because of roadworks on the North Orbital Road. The highway authority are, however, altering the lane markings on the North Orbital Road from 3 lane to 2 lane between the Rectory Lane and Tilehouse Lane junctions. This should help to reduce the difficulty. When conditions on Rectory Lane are normal we shall watch the effect of the changes in lane markings and consider whether additional measures are necessary.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will now order a full investigation into the circumstances relating to the two recent incidents on the Beachley-Aust Ferry linking Wales and the west of England.

I am in possession of all the facts relating to the incident of 18th November. My surveyors have today sent me a report of last Sunday's incident, and when I have studied it I will consider whether to hold any further inquiry and I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will take steps to appoint a Trust representative of Government shipping and shipbuilding and put it in funds by a Government grant to the extent of £18 million with the purpose of safeguarding the future of British shipbuilding by giving immediate financial aid where it is needed.

No.

asked the Minister of Transport what embargoes or other restrictions are imposed on the export to China, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, respectively, of ships, including trawlers, tankers and cargo vessels.

The principal types of ship which are subject to embargo for the Soviet bloc and China are warships, tankers over 18 knots, fishing vessels over 17 knots and other vessels over 21 knots. The full list was published in the Board of Trade Journal of 28th September, 1962. These restrictions have not so far frustrated any orders for our shipyards.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will introduce legislation to deal with the question of the large number of Servicemen wishing to contest by-elections.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which I made yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the release of Service personnel to become Parliamentary candidates.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants in his Department during the past 10 years have waived any part of their pension rights when accepting posts in industrial firms within two years of their retirement from the Civil Service.

There are no such cases.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive and to publish the annual report of the Chief Inspector of Explosives.

I have received the Report. It will be published as soon as it has been printed.

asked the Minister of Education whether it was with the approval of Her Majesty's Government that a booklet by I. P. Tsamerian and S. L. Ronin, entitled, "Equality of Rights between the Races", was published under the imprint of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation; whether any British contributions to this organisation wore involved in its publication; and whether it is being circulated in the United Kingdom through Her Majesty's Stationery Office or any other Government agency.

The answer to the first part of the Question is no, since responsibility for publication lay with U.N.E.S.C.O. There was no direct British contribution to the cost of publication; but any general deficit arising from U.N.E.S.C.O.'s publishing activities is met from the Organisation's budget, to which the United Kingdom contributes an assessed percentage. All U.N.E.S.C.O.'s publications are available in this country through Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

asked the Minister of Education if he will take steps to ensure that students paying fees to correspondence colleges receive satisfactory instruction, that grants paid by local education authorities to students taking correspondence courses are used to the best advantage, and that overseas students taking correspondence courses are protected from fraud.

Correspondence colleges are not subject to my control, but I will consider whether there is anything I can usefully do to help in achieving those objectives.

asked the Minister of Aviation how many civil servants in his Department during the past 10 years have waived any part of their pension rights when accepting posts in industrial firms within two years of their retirement from the Civil Service.

I know of no such case. Almost half of the civil servants in my Department who obtained permission during the last 10 years to take up industrial appointments resigned before reaching the age of 50: no pensions are payable to officers who resign before reaching that age.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the maintenance allocation to the group management committee in respect of hospitals in Gateshead for the current year; the amount requested when estimates were prepared; and the percentage increases in monetary and real terms over the allocation of the previous financial year.

The initial allocation to the Gateshead Hospital Management Committee for 1962–63 was £1,074,500, an increase of 6·2 per cent. in money terms over the initial allocation for 1961–62. The notes to my reply to the hon. Member for Greenwich and others on 17th December apply.

asked the Minister of Health why physics technicians in the National Health Service have been refused an increase in salary comparable to that granted to the medical laboratory technicians last February.

I understand that the Management Side of the Whitley Council concerned did not consider such an increase justified.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, if he will give the number of prefabricated houses that were or are being built by local authorities in the years 1960, 1961 and up to the latest available date in 1962; and if he will give the average superficial area in square feet, per house, and the cost involved.

The house-building returns made by local authorities do not distinguish between prefabricated and other kinds of houses.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, what stage has been reached in the negotiations between his Department and the county council of Ross and Cromarty over the provision of a jetty and shelter facilities at Brevig, Isle of Lewis.

The county council have been asked to reconsider the alternatives to their scheme which I mentioned in the reply I gave the hon. Member on 1st August. I have told them that I should be prepared to consider offering a 75 per cent. grant on either of these alternatives which are estimated to cost £25,000 and £24,000 respectively. The Council's reply to this offer is awaited.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, what progress has been made with the jetty scheme in Vatersay Island.

In consultation with my Department Inverness County Council have selected a site at Uidh and have chosen a design for the jetty. They are now preparing detailed drawings and estimates of cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals have been submitted to him by Inverness County Council for construction of a jetty at Eriskay; and if he will give the estimated cost and date of commencement.

Inverness County Council have made proposals for modifying the existing jetty and for constructing a new jetty in association with it. They have estimated the cost to be £20,000. These proposals are now being discussed by my department with the County Council but no date for starting can yet be given.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects Hunterston nuclear power station to be completed; whether any estimate has yet been agreed for the final cost; and if he will make a statement.

I am informed by the South of Scotland Electricity Board that the installation of the graphite blocks in Reactor No. 1 is proceeding ahead of the revised schedule agreed in September, 1961, and that last weekend the pressure vessel in Reactor No. 2 was tested successfully about a month ahead of the schedule. The Board expect the first reactor to be on full power by the middle of 1964 and the second by the end of that year.The negotiations about the contract between the Board and the General Elec- tric Company have made progress but no estimate of the final cost has yet been agreed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received from the Scottish Peat and Land Development Association on its proposals to expedite land reclamation schemes which could provide employment in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

The Association have asked me for a meeting to discuss two resolutions which were passed at their recent conference on land reclamation, and which deal, respectively, with land development and with the marketing of agricultural produce particularly in remoter areas. I have invited them to meet me at an early date.