asked the President of the Board of Trade what extension of the terms offered by the Export Credits Guarantee Department has recently been introduced, or will be introduced shortly, to enable manufacturers to take advantage of the extensive orders for capital plant and other engineering goods being placed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Eastern European countries and to enable exporters to offer conditions no less attractive than those of their competitors in other countries.

In my view we are already giving adequate support for British manufacturers through the present range of facilities from the Export Credits Guarantee Department, and no changes are called for. These facilities are available on the same principles for trade with the Soviet bloc as they are for trade with any other country.

UNITED KINGDOM EXPORTS OF TEXTILE MACHINERY
(£'000)
To						1959	1960	1961	Jan.-Sept. 1962
U.S.S.R.	…	…	…	…	…	2,562 (6·2%)	6,600 (12·7%)	8,044 (13·0%)	3,478 (7·6%)
China	…	…	…	…	…	504 (1·2%)	251 (0·5%)	249 (0·4%)	95 (0·2%)
Eastern Europe		…	…	…	…	2,193 (5·4%)	2,743 (5·3%)	1,473 (2·4%)	1,798 (3·9%)
The percentages in brackets show proportions of total United Kingdom exports of textile machinery.
The figures for Eastern Europe include exports to Poland, Eastern Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Roumania.

asked the President of the Board of Trade in view of the rise of unemployment in Sunderland, what action he has taken, in consultation with the other Departments concerned, to promote Government building and works in Sunderland.

I restored Sunderland to the list of active development districts on 8th November, and as a result all Departments concerned can now grant it the special benefits provided under the

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of British exports of textile machinery to China, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Eastern Europe, respectively, in 1959, 1960, 1961, and to the latest convenient date in 1962; what proportion this represents of total British exports of this type of machinery in each of the four years; and what proposals he is discussing with the Export Credits Guarantee Department with a view to improving the terms which British manufacturers can offer when competing in these markets.

As regards the last part of the Question, the Export Creditors Guarantee Department's facilities already afford adequate support for British manufacturers to compete in these as in other markets. Following is the information requested in the first two parts of the Question:Local Employment Act. So far as the Board of Trade is concerned over a quarter of a million square feet of Government factory space, including an advance factory, is being built or has been approved in Sunderland.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what effect British membership of the European Economic Community will have upon the country's freedom to make trade agreements with East European countries; and to what extent the British application for membership is hampering current negotiations of such trade agreements.

Member states of the European Economic Community have undertaken to harmonise their commercial policies towards third countries during the transitional period and, from then onward, to pursue a common policy. We expect that by then individual Member States' trade arrangements with East European countries will have been merged in Community arrangements. Britain's application is not hampering current trade negotiations.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what applications his Department has received for assistance by industries wishing to start up in the St. Helens, Lancashire, area; and what assistance he is prepared to give to such firms, in view of rising unemployment in the district.

My Department has not received any applications. I should be prepared to issue an industrial development certificate for any suitable project which a firm wished to locate in the district.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made in the negotiations designed to develop trade with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and other Eastern European countries; and if he will make a statement.

Negotiations for a new three-year trade arrangement and quotas for 1963 have recently been completed with Czechoslovakia. The new quotas provide for an increase in trade of about £2 million in each direction. An agreement with Rumania establishing quotas for 12 months from 1st October, 1962, has been signed today which provides for an increase in quotas of about £800,000 in each direction. Talks with the U.S.S.R. and Hungary are in progress. Negotiations with Bulgaria and Poland are not due until next spring and summer respectively.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give a list of the 26 cotton mills still operating in the district covered by Accrington, Rishton, Church, Clayton-le-Moors and Oswaldtwistle.

The following is the list. The corrected total is 25.COTTON MILLS STILL OPERATING IN THE DISTRICT COVERED BY ACCRINGTON, RISHTON, CHURCH, CLAYTON-LE-MOORS AND OSWALDTWISTLE

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will include a reasonable proportion of the increase in British oil imports in the new trade agreement with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; if he will insist on an equivalent amount of British consumer goods exports to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, with a view to improving employment in this country; and if he will make a statement.

Negotiations to settle quotas from January, 1963, until the Trade Agreement expires in June, 1964, are in progress at present. My hon. Friend would not expect me to make a statement before an agreement is reached.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to be able to announce a decision as to the restoration of Merseyside to the list of areas eligible for the full facilities of the Local Employment Act, 1960.

The matter is still under consideration. I can add nothing to the reply that my hon. Friend gave on 20th November to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Kirkdale (Mr. N. Pannell).

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many factories belonging to Scottish Industrial Estates are being unused in Lanarkshire; in what areas they are sited; what is the remaining amount of industrial estates sites still to be built upon; and where they are.

One factory of 10,000 sq. ft. at Newhouse is vacant. The following table shows the approximate amount of land, including space for expansion of existing tenants, suitable for further factory building on Board of Trade industrial estates in Lanarkshire.

Blantyre	¼ acre
Carfin	½ acre
Chapelhall	⅓ acre
Coatbridge	4½ acres
Newhouse	11 acres
Larkhall	10 acres

asked the President of the Board of Trade what support he is giving to British firms in their efforts to secure export orders for nuclear marine reactors.

All the normal facilities provided by the Government to help exporters will be available for nuclear marine reactors as for other exports.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from the Irvine Valley Development Committee about the need for industrial development; and what reply he has made.

The Irvine Valley Development Committee of the Scottish Lace and Textile Workers Union has asked me to take action to secure the re-opening of a number of vacant factories in the Irvine Valley. The Committee has been told that the existence of these factories will be drawn to the attention of industrialists with suitable projects. The Board of Trade must, however, give priority to the development districts in steering new industrial projects.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will sponsor an inquiry into the present rating system with the general object of relieving the burden on ratepayers, particularly in respect of those services such as education and police which are to a large extent a national responsibility.

No. While I fully appreciate the burden borne both by ratepayers and by taxpayers, and it is of course the latter which has increased to the greater extent since before the war, my hon. Friend's Question raises very large issues which I do not think would be appropriately dealt with by an inquiry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the increasing number of university places required to meet the needs of qualified school leavers, whether improved building techniques can be introduced in order to provide a more rapid expansion of university buildings within the present finances available.

I understand that the University Grants Committee are actively considering the applicability to university buildings of recent developments in building techniques which might save both time and money.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury in what way, arising out of his predecessor's statement of 3rd July, it is intended that the three Royal Commissions on Ancient and Historical Monuments should be more selective in their work.

It is too early to say. The three Royal Commissions have been considering the matter and it will be pursued by the new Standing Committee on the recording of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings which will meat shortly under my Chairmanship. It is a question of balancing the intensity of the coverage against the need for speedier publication.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider amending the stamp duties levied in connection with temporary life assurance in order to bring them in line with the stamp duties levied in connection with personal accident insurance.

I have noted my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will add to the terms of reference of the National Incomes Commission a requirement that the Commission shall report from time to time on any undue growth in incomes derived, directly or indirectly, from the lending of money, and on the measures to be taken to restrain such growth.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's present policy regarding incomes.

The Government's policy on this subject was fully stated in the speech of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 26th July. My hon. Friend will have noted that following this speech the National Incomes Commission has been appointed, and has received its first reference.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the target for the university population in 1965; and whether he is satisfied that the Government's present plans for financing buildings and salaries will enable that target to be reached.

The aim is to provide 150,000 university places by 1966–67. The Answer to the second part of the Question is, Yes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount by which the Customs revenue of the United Kingdom would be reduced by the accession of the United Kingdom to the Treaty of Rome and the consequent reduction of tariffs levied here on imports from Common Market countries.

It is estimated that complete removal of the protective duties on imports from Common Market countries would reduce the revenue yield of these duties by about £40 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that standard equipment, such as spectrometers, is now very expensive, he will increase grants for equipment for the teaching and training of research students in science.

I take it that the hon. Member has in mind mainly the Exechequer non-recurrent and recurrent grants to universities for which the Treasury is responsible. As regards the former, a supplementary estimate seeking increased non-recurrent provision in the present year for £2·7 million (a 50 per cent. increase) on account of university equipment has just been presented to the House. This is in part due to the increased cost of scientific equipment now being installed. As regards recurrent grant, we are only in the early months of the present quinquennium.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he sanctioned the transfer of £200,000 to Belgium for the building by Slough Estates Ltd. of an industrial estate near Antwerp.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will withdraw the permission granted to Slough Trading Estates Limited to transfer £200,000 to Belgium for the purpose of establishing industrial factories in that country.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the approval given by Her Majesty's Government to transfer £200,000 to establish an industrial trading estate in Belgium.

The only approval by Her Majesty's Government which was required in this case was in respect of exchange control. This was given in accordance with the normal rules. The transfer was authorised in the form of switch dollars which are the proceeds of sale of foreign securities already held by United Kingdom residents stemming mainly from pre-war holdings.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what grounds he consented to Slough Estates Ltd. transferring capital to Belgium for the purpose of developing industrial estates in that country.

The only approval by Her Majesty's Government which was required in this case was in respect of exchange control. This was given in accordance with the normal rules. The transfer was authorised in the form of switch dollars which are the proceeds of sale of foreign securities already held by United Kingdom residents stemming mainly from pre-war holdings.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will provide a temporary stimulus by immediately removing the 50 per cent. Purchase Tax on radio and television equipment, in view of the uncertain expectations throughout the industry, especially among component manufacturers in areas of unemployment such as West Lothian, until new programmes become available in April 1964.

My right hon. Friend will bear this suggestion in mind; but I cannot anticipate his tax decisions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the latest annual totals issued by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation of university graduates in France, Italy and Western Germany.

The U.N.E.S.C.O. publication "Basic Facts and Figures" gives the numbers of those who are described as obtaining degrees and diplomas—pre-university, university and post-graduate. The figures given in the latest edition for the countries referred to are France 19,493 in 1958; Italy 20,379 in 1956; West Germany 30,960 in 1957.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many qualified applicants have failed to get university places this year.

Until the clearing house arrangements for applications which are being established by the universities are fully in operation, I regret that adequate information on this point will not be available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the revenue from Purchase Tax on motor cycles, scooters and mopeds for the year ended 5th April, 1962, and for the period 6th April to 1st September, 1962.

The revenue from Purchase Tax on motor cycles, scooters, mopeds and three-wheeler cars in the year ended 31st March, 1962, was about £5¾ million and in the six months ended 30th September, 1962, about £2¼ million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what number and what proportion, respectively, of incomes, calculated before tax, in the latest complete calendar year, were under £250, under £300, under £400, under £500, and under £600, respectively; and how many, and what proportion,

TABLE: ESTIMATED NUMBERS OF INCOMES BELOW CERTAIN LIMITS IN 1961
Income limit			Total number	Percentage of all incomes	Number of married couples	Married couples as percentage of all incomes in Column 2
£			million		million
250	…	…	1·5	7	0·2	12
300	…	…	2·6	12	0·3	13
400	…	…	4·6	21	0·7	16
500	…	…	6·7	30	1·4	21
600	…	…	9·0	41	2·6	29

The estimates given relate to incomes known to the Inland Revenue and they therefore exclude all incomes up to and including £180 a year.Any discrepancy between the percentages and the numbers given have arisen because the figures have all been rounded after the calculations were made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures giving the percentage rise or fall since October, 1951, until October, 1962, of the purchasing value of the £ sterling, the cost of living, unemployment, national production, balance of payments, terms of trade, company taxation, Income Tax and Surtax, council and private house building, national health and national insurance benefits and charges, coal production, Purchase Tax, Bank Rate, Public Works Loan Board interest rates, radio and television licence duty, rents and rates, taking October, 1951, as being equal to 100.

Yes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will initiate discussions with the other members of the consortium of powers providing economic aid for India, so as to consider the economic effects of the larger Indian defence effort arising from the conflict with China, and to ensure as far as pos-

The following is the answer.sible that the current Five-Year Plan is not retarded.

A meeting of the Indian Consortium is due to take place early next year. Meanwhile, the hon. Member will know of the exchange of letters on 27th November between my right hon. Friend the Commonwealth Secretary and the Indian Defence Minister about the free provision of arms and military equipment from Britain, which was published in the OFFICIAL REPORT on 29th November.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants in his Department over the past 10 years, went within two years of retirement or resignation to other jobs and sought permission within the ruling of paragraph 5 of Command Paper No. 5517, specifying which subsection of that paragraph was involved and the firms involved in each case.

My reply to the hon. Gentleman on 7th December, 1962, contained a list both of the Treasury officers who had been given approval to take up appointments with industrial firms during the past 10 years and of the firms and undertakings concerned.So far as I have been able to ascertain 6 of the cases fell under subsection (

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in view of the repercussions they may have on other wage and salary claims, he will refer directors' emoluments to the National Incomes Commission.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is yet in a position to make a statement on the Government's policy with regard to the establishment of a Sports Development Council as suggested by the Wolfenden Report on Sports in the Community.

Yes. This important subject has, as the House knows, been considered by a Committee set up by the Central Council of Physical Recreation under the Chairmanship of Sir John Wolfenden.The House will remember that when on 8th May my right hon. and learned Friend the former Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the willingness of the Government to approve substantial increases in local authority and educational capital expenditure on recreational projects, he added that the Government was studying this Report and that its suggestions on organisation required further thought.In the meantime considerable progress has been made with the provision of sporting and recreational facilities. On capital account, and this is the most important aspect from the financial point of view, publicly financed work on facilities provided exclusively for sport has risen from £3·6 million in 1960–61, to £9 million in 1962–63. In addition, capital expenditure on sporting facilities in connection with education will amount to about £18 million in the current year, and growing provision is made by industry and commerce for their employees. On the recurrent side, the annual grants to voluntary bodies such as the Central Council for Physical Recreation, the National Playing Fields Association and the Scottish Council of Physical Recreation have more than doubled since 1959 and now total £366,000.These large and mounting expenditures are however contained in many different programmes for which responsibility is distributed between my right hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Housing and Local Government. The Wolfenden Committee were, in the Government's view, right in drawing attention to the fact that this is a subject which cuts across the normal division of Ministerial responsibility.This is not a matter that can be solved, in the Government's view, by creating another agency that would be interposed between the responsible Ministers and local authorities. Schools and their playing fields must be planned together; local authorities must be in a position to plan their priorities.The Government, therefore, while agreeing with the diagnosis of the Wolfenden Report, do not agree with the remedy it proposes of establishing a Sports Development Council. Co-ordination is of course required in the development of sporting and recreational facilities in the various programmes so that we can get the best value out of them. My noble and learned Friend the Lard President of the Council has been given special responsibility for ensuring this. He will have access to expert advice from both outside and inside the Government service, including of course the voluntary organisations concerned with various games and sports.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what increased workshop facilities have been made at Horfield Prison, Bristol, during the last five years.

Workshop space has been increased by 2,800 sq. ft.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which Parliamentary constituency Horfield Prison, Bristol, is situated.

The prison is in the constituency of Bristol, West.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that betting shops are greatly increasing in numbers, and that there is growing abuse of the provisions of the Betting and Gaining Act in connection with continuous betting; and if he will review the hours of opening of betting offices, with a view to making regulations to curtail them.

The hours of opening of betting offices were fixed having regard to the views expressed in debate during the passage of the Betting and Gaming Bill and to the demands of people wishing to place bets. I think it is too early to consider taking action to alter them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will issue an instruction to the Metropolitan Police to specify, in motor accident reports, whether or not safety belts were fitted and worn.

Standard forms are in use by police forces all over the country for reporting on road accidents. I shall keep my hon. Friend's suggestion in mind when these are next reviewed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if Her Majesty's Government will grant political asylum to Chief Anthony Enahoro, at present in this country, whose return to Nigeria has been requested by the Nigerian Government on political charges.

Enahoro was arrested under the Fugitive Offenders Act, 1881, on a warrant issued by a Metropolitan Magistrate following an application made on behalf of the Nigerian Government. He was committed at Bow Street Magistrates' Court on 13th December for return to Nigeria, but I understand that he is applying to the Divisional Court for leave to issue a writ of habeas corpus, so that his case is still sub judice. It is only after the judicial proceedings have been finally concluded and if the decision of the magistrate has been upheld that it will be open to me, if I think it just, to order Enahoro's return. Before making any order I shall take carefully into account all relevant considerations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants arrived during the month of October; and from which countries they came.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to immigration from the Commonwealth. The following figures show that far the Commonwealth as a whole there was a net outward movement of 588 persons during October.

Territory which issued passport	Admitted	Embarked	Net Balance
Aden	75	88	-13
Australia	4,642	4,422	+220
Barbados	120	182	- 62
Basutoland, etc.	31	35	- 4
British Guiana	292	202	+ 90
Canada	6,208	6,650	-442
Ceylon	303	326	- 23
Cyprus	541	481	+ 60
Ghana	340	343	- 3
Gibraltar	114	82	+ 32
Hong Kong	290	316	- 26
India	2,760	2,380	+380
Jamaica	921	971	- 50
Kenya	464	496	- 32
Leewards and Windwards	195	135	+ 60
Mauritius	184	234	- 50
Malta	338	354	- 16
Malaya	255	239	+ 16
New Zealand	1,570	2,379	-809
Nigeria	974	521	+453
Pakistan	1,008	1,065	- 57
Rhodesia	440	542	-102
Sierra Leone	106	133	- 27
Singapore	114	145	- 31
Tanganyika	130	144	- 14
Trinidad	480	506	- 26
Uganda	151	142	+ 9
Zanzibar	37	29	+ 8
Others	358	487	-129
Total	23,441	24,029	-588

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of telephone tapping were authorised in the past year; and if he will make a statement on the use of his powers in this respect.

As the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, the Government accepted the report of the Committee of Privy Councillors on the Interception of Communications which was presented to Parliament in 1957, and effect continues to be given to its recommendations. As the Committee stated in its Report, it would not be in the public interest to give figures such as are desired in the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the Report of the Royal Commission considering the question of Sunday Observance; and whether he will make a statement.

I regret that I cannot yet say when the Departmental Committee is likely to report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the large number of would-be candidates in forthcoming by-elections, he will introduce legislation to ensure that the successful candidate shall not forfeit his deposit if he fails to obtain the appropriate proportion of votes.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to his Question on 11th December and to the statement I made to the House on 18th December.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in the event of a successful Parliamentary candidate forfeiting his deposit by reason of the multiplicity of the number of candidates, the £150 forfeited will be counted as election expenses, in which case he might be unseated for excess expenditure; and if he will amend the law so as to prevent this situation.

So far as I am aware, the deposit has never been regarded as part of election expenses.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest information he has received about the number of Service men applying for nomination papers for the Colne Valley and Rotherham by-elections; and what proposals he now has for dealing with the matter.

At 10.0 a.m. yesterday the returning officer of Colne Valley had received 132 applications, of which 68 were known to be from Service men; and the returning officer of Rotherham had received 465 applications, of which 185 were known to be from Service men. As regards the second part of the Question I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which I made on 18th December.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fires were caused by bonfires and fireworks on 4th and 5th November.

The number of fires attended by fire brigades in England and Wales and caused by bonfires and fireworks was 129 on 4th November and 373 on 5th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of damage to property caused by bonfires and fireworks on 4th and 5th November.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to prevent homosexuality among the 8,532 male prisoners sleeping three to a cell; how soon he expects to reduce this number by increasing the number of cells or by encouraging more use of the Probation Service; and when he expects to receive the report of the Sub-Committee of his Advisory Council on the Treatment of Offenders.

Prisoners of known or suspected homosexual tendencies are not located three in a cell. If the population does not increase, it is estimated that the new establishments under construction or planned will enable the number of prisoners sleeping three in a cell to be progressively reduced to the point where in about five years' time this expedient will no longer be necessary.Courts are well aware of the forms of treatment which are available to them as an alternative to imprisonment. The Advisory Council is expected to present shortly the Report of the Sub-Committee on Preventive Detention and somewhat later the report of the Sub-Committee on After-Care.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants in his Department over the past 10 years, giving the ranks, went within two years of retirement or resignation to other jobs and sought permission within the ruling of paragraph 5 of Command Paper No. 5517, specifying which subsection of that paragraph was involved and the firms involved in each case.

My reply to the hon. Gentleman on 30th November referred to two officers of the Home Office who had been given approval to take appointments with industrial firms during the past 10 years and the names of the firms concerned.One case fell under subsection (

asked the Minister of Education if he will give an estimate of the number of school leavers at the end of the present Christmas term in the Port Talbot and Glyncorrwg area.

About two hundred.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will analyse by counties the figure of 92 deaf children referred to in Appendix E, Table II of the Report of his Department's chief medical officer, as requiring places in special schools.

The figures are as follows:

DEAF PUPILS WHO, IN JANUARY, 1962 WERE REQUIRING PLACES IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS
Geographical County	Day Places	Boarding Places
ENGLAND
Bedfordshire		1
Berkshire		1
Cumberland		1
Derbyshire		3
Durham	4	3
Essex		1
Gloucestershire	2
Hampshire		2
Hertfordshire		4
Isle of Ely		1
Isle of Wight		1
Kent	2	1
Lancashire	2	9
Leicestershire	1	2
Lincolnshire-Kesteven		1
Lincolnshire-Lindsey		2
London		6
Middlesex		1
Northamptonshire		1
Northumberland	2	3
Nottinghamshire		2
Shropshire		2
Somerset		1
Suffolk, East		2
Surrey	1	5
Warwickshire		2
Wiltshire		2
Worcestershire		2
Yorkshire, North Riding	3	1
Yorkshire, West Riding	3	5
WALES
Caernarvonshire		2
Glamorgan	1	1
	21	71
Total*	92
*Note: This total includes 57 children under five years of age and 4 children whose parents refused consent to their admission to a special school.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will analyse by counties the figure of 168 partially deaf children referred to in Appendix E, Table II, of the Report of his Department's chief medical officer, as requiring places in special schools.

The figures are as follows:

PARTIALLY HEARING PUPILS WHO, IN JANUARY, 1962 WERE REQUIRING PLACES IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS
Geographical County	Day Places	Boarding Places
ENGLAND
Berkshire		3
Buckinghamshire	4
Cheshire	4	2
Cornwall		2
Cumberland		1
Derbyshire		3
Devon		1
Durham	3	5
Essex	1	5
Hampshire		1
Herefordshire		1
Hertfordshire		2
Kent	6	3
Lancashire	2	6
Leicestershire		3
Lincolnshire-Holland		1
Lincolnshire-Lindsey		1
London	2	3
Middlesex		1
Norfolk		8
Northamptonshire		5
Northumberland	1	1
Nottinghamshire		2
Shropshire		5
Somerset	1
Staffordshire	10	10
Suffolk, East		3
Surrey	1	2
Warwickshire	11	4
Wiltshire		2
Worcestershire	1	2
Yorkshire, North Riding	3
Yorkshire, West Riding	16	4
WALES
Caernarvonshire		3
Glamorgan	3	2
Montgomeryshire		2
	69	99
Total*	168
*Note: This total includes 44 children under five years of age and 19 children whose parents refused consent to their admission to a special school.

asked the Minister of Education if he will authorise a temporary double class structure at St. Cadoc's Roman Catholic School, Llanrumney, Cardiff, to overcome the existing pressure on accommodation.

The number of prospective pupils entering this school is likely to fall appreciably in two or three years' time. The school managers, who are in touch with the local education authority and my Department, are considering, as a matter of urgency, how best to relieve pressure on existing accommodation in the interim.

asked the Minister of Education which local education authorities do not now have one or more audiometers in use for audiometric examinations of school children.

A special inquiry made in 1960 showed that 21 local education authorities had no audiometers. Nine of these authorities reported arrangements for using or referring school children to hospital audiometric services. In 1961 a circular issued by the Ministries of Health and Educaton asked local authorities to review the adequacy of methods of finding cases of impaired hearing in young children. The importance of adequate screening for hearing loss in young children was again stressed in Circular 10/62 issued by my Department in September, 1962.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, in view of the desirability of ending uncertainty in regard to the future of this area, he will communicate an early decision on the High Street, Cheshunt, Redevelopment Scheme.

The matter is now in its final stages and I hope to issue my decision shortly.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps have been taken within the last six months to combat the cement dust nuisance in West Thurrock.

A new electrical dust precipitator replacing an older unit has been fitted on one cement kiln at the Metropolitan Works. It has been agreed that the precipitator on the other kiln will be rebuilt or replaced. Two kilns at the Wouldham Works which were not fitted with precipitators have been shut down.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps he and the Minister of Transport are taking to provide co-ordinated advice to local authorities on the problems of urban traffic and town planning.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and I are extending my Department's Urban Planning Group to include officials of his Department. The joint group will continue to give local authorities general guidance on urban planning matters by means of planning bulletins. The new arrangements will strengthen the group in dealing with the techniques and realities of traffic engineering and highway planning, and provide a natural extension of the close contact already being maintained between the two Departments at all levels.They are in addition to the work being carried out by the long-term study group under the direction of Mr. C. D. Buchanan and the general guidance of Sir Geoffrey Crowther, which was set up by my right hon. Friend in consultation with the then Minister of Housing and Local Government.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what is the average cost of a four-apartment council house; and what are the average annual rents and rates, respectively, paid at the latest convenient date.

In England and Wales the nearest equivalent to a four-apartment house is a three-bedroom house. The average cost of council houses of this type—including land, site development and fees—approved during 1961 was £2,255.In 1960–61, the average annual rent received for all local authority dwellings in England and Wales—including flats and houses and ranging from one- bedroom to four-bedroom dwellings—was £54 12s. I have no information about the average amount paid in rates.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he expects to receive the report of the Local Government Commission for Wales on its review of local government organisation in Wales; and when he expects to publish it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when the Final Report of the Welsh Local Government Commission will be published.

I received the Report, including the proposals, on 10th December, and I shall publish it as soon as I can. It is a lengthy document, accompanied by a number of maps, and it is not likely to be printed in time for publication before February at the earliest.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the total number of boys and girls unemployed in the Port Talbot and Glyncorrwg area at the last convenient date.

Sixty-eight boys and 102 girls on 10th December, 1962.

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys and girls, respectively, were registered as unemployed in the Stornoway area at the most recent count.

115 boys and 110 girls on 10th December, 1962.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number and percentage of persons, registered as unemployed, in the Stornoway area at the most recent count; and what were the numbers in Barra, South Uist, Benbecula, and North Uist, respectively.

On 10th December, 1,532 or 27·7 per cent. and 113, 165, 21 and 107 respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour if, in view of the inability of some firms, due to size and economic limitations, to provide apprenticeship training, he will make arrangements for their employees to have similar apprenticeship training facilities as those given to the employees of larger and better-equipped firms.

I am well aware of the difficulties small firms face in providing apprenticeship training. Indeed, this was one of the factors which I had very much in mind in formulating the proposals for industrial training recently published as Command Paper 1892. It is my desire that the boards there proposed will be able to make arrangements of the kind the hon. Member has in mind.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the ratio of juvenile unemployment to overall unemployment in the Don Valley is higher than in areas of chronic unemployment, and that this reveals an imbalance of employment opportunity for young people in a highly industrialised region; and what steps he intends to take to remedy the situation.

The ratio of unemployed young people to overall unemployment in the Don Valley-Doncaster area is high. Several factors beside imbalance of employment opportunities cause this ratio to vary from place to place and time to time. While in the Don Valley, the range of employment for young people is limited, especially for boys, it is more varied in Doncaster to which many travel to work. The Youth Employment Service will continue to bring all suitable openings in the area to the attention of young people.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance why Mrs. Annie Hughes, of 26, Bedford Street, Oldham, was, on 13th December, 1962, asked to sign a form withdrawing her application for an industrial disease allowance for byssinosis, and was refused permission to take the form home to show it to her husband before signing it.

I am having inquiries made and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when, according to his Department's records, Mrs. Annie Hughes, of 26, Bedford Street, Oldham, was last engaged in insurable employment.

During the week commencing 18th March, 1946.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he is aware that Mrs. Harriet Mills, of Oldham, has been refused a widow's industrial insurance allowance on the ground that her husband died of bronchitis and not byssinosis, has been refused a pre-1948 widow's pension on the ground that she subsequently remarried and became widowed a second time, and has been refused a post-1948 widow's pension on the ground of excessive earnings; and, in view of the fact that she is at present ill and absent from work, whether he will reconsider her case.

I am aware of the decisions of the statutory authorities who have dealt with Mrs. Mills' various claims for benefit. As regards her title to widow's benefits under the National Insurance scheme, I understand that she was awarded widow's allowance followed by a widow's pension at the full rate. The latter is subject to adjustment for earnings, but no such adjustment is currently being made.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what would be the effect if the present graduated contribution payment, of 4¼ per cent. on incomes above the £9 level, were increased to 5 per cent. on all incomes over £9, and if a level rate contribution of 41s. for graduated pension, plus 8s. 4d. for level rate pensions per week were paid on all incomes above £50 per week, in order to obtain the same graduated pension as that obtained from an income of £50; and if he will make a statement on the practicability of this scheme, further details of which have been sent to him.

I see no prospect that a scheme on these lines would work out satisfactorily in practice, but I am writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what will be the combined amount of money allocated by the worker and by the employer, respectively, if 22 million people paid graduated pensions, and contributed on the average 10s. per week for graduated pensions, the average age when joining being 40 years and the rate paid being 5 per cent. instead of 4¼ per cent.; what pension would the worker receive when he retired at the age of 65 years; and, if he died at the age of 70 years, what would be the balance out of the combined amount.

On the assumptions stated, which seem to relate to average earnings of £19 a week, the graduated contributions would amount to £1,304. The hon. Member does not say on what terms benefit should be calculated for the purpose of the last two parts of his Question.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if the 4¼ per cent. contribution now made for graduated pensions on incomes over £9 to a £15 limit were changed to 5 per cent. for all incomes between £9 to £50, and all incomes above £50 were to contribute the same as the £50 income and were to receive the same graduated pension, and if the self-employed were to pay 6 per cent. on wages, what would have been the balance in 1961.

This would depend among other things upon what assumptions were made about contracting out and about benefit rates.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance why, when, on 15th January, 1962, the maxi- mum income which a person might receive whilst still remaining eligible to claim exception from liability to pay contribution as a self-employed or unemployed person was raised from £156 to £208, National Insurance cards bearing the printed revised figure were not issued until 3rd September, 1962; how many complaints he has received of the issue or renewal of cards which had not been amended in manuscript; and what would have been the cost of printing fresh cards before 15th January, 1962.

The printing of the 7 million contribution cards for issue at the beginning of March, 1962, had of necessity already been completed before the income limit was raised in January, and the printing of a similar number for issue at the beginning of June was already in process. Considerable publicity was given to the change by way of amendments to the Ministry's leaflets and announcements to the Press, and only one complaint, of which the hon. and learned Member is aware, has come to my notice. It would have cost £5,750 to reprint the March cards, and a corresponding proportion of this sum to reprint those of the June cards already printed. Apart from this consideration, however, it would not have been practicable in the time available before issue to reprint the cards in question.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many dependants of the men and women in the prisons of England and Wales in the last period for which figures are available were in receipt of National Assistance.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that some residents of Lyon Park Avenue, Wembley, are liable to have their gardens flooded when the Wembley Brook overflows and that improvement has been under discussion between the authorities concerned for about five years, but that nothing has been done and no date has yet been given for the work to start; and if he will have inquiries made to find the cause of the delay.

No. The Middlesex County Council which has permissive powers to carry out improvement works on these watercourses, is an independent local authority and my right hon. Friend has no power to tell it what priority it should give its works. I understand that it is considering the possibility of undertaking remedial works on the Wembley Brook as part of its major comprehensive proposals for the River Brent system.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many experiments in the use of narcotic poison for killing pigeons he has allowed both in East Anglia and London; and if he will give an assurance that there will be no extension of such experiments.

The purpose of these experiments is not to kill the birds but to render them inactive. The pigeons are then painlessly killed, and any protected or game birds which may have been accidentally narcotised are released. In East Anglia an experiment in narcotising wood-pigeons is being carried out in the Carlton area near Newmarket. In the London area some 20 experiments with narcotics have been carried out against feral pigeons.In view of the widespread and serious damage caused by these birds, my right hon. Friend feels that these experiments must continue so that we may see whether narcotics provide an effective, humane and safe method of control.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will grant financial allowances to pest officers who wish to keep properly trained retrieving dogs to ensure that all pigeons which they kill with narcotic poison are collected.

Allowances are already available to Ministry officials who keep and use dogs for pest control, but dogs have not so far been used in the experiments in the narcotising of pigeons.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how many civil servants in his Department over the past 10 years, giving the ranks, went within two years of retirement or resignation to other jobs and sought permission within the ruling of paragraph 5 of Command Paper No, 5517, specifying which subsection of that paragraph was involved and the firm involved in each case.

So far as I have been able to ascertain, 10 of the 12 cases referred to in my reply on 30th November, 1962, fall under subsection (a) of paragraph 5 of Command Paper 5517: that is the firms had some contractual relations with the Government. The firms were:

• Denny Brothers Limited.
• Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company.
• Gibson and Company (Shipbrokers).
• R. & H. Green and Silley Weir Limited.
• Hall-Thermotank Limited.
• Rye-Arc Limited.
• Sankey and Company.
• J. Thorneycroft and Company.
• J. S. White and Company.
• Yarrows (Shipbuilders) Limited.

The other cases do not appear to have fallen under any of the subsections of paragraph 5 of the Command Paper.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty when he proposes to implement the award of the Industrial Court to storehouse assistants; and if it will be back-dated to the date of award.

The Industrial Court, on 15th September, 1961, recommended an award of £1 a week, to be effective as from 14th February, 1961. This was during the period of the wage pause, when questions of effective date were temporarily withdrawn from the scope of arbitration. However, in accordance with an earlier offer, the Admiralty put into force an increase of 8s. with effect from 1st October, 1960, and the balance of 12s. a week was paid immediately on the end of the wage pause period, i.e. 1st April. 1902

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many civil servants, in his Department over the past 10 years, giving the ranks, went within two years of retirement or resignation to other jobs and sought permission within the ruling of paragraph 5 of Command Paper No. 5517, specifying which subsection of that paragraph was involved and the firm involved in each case.

The officers and the firms concerned were given in my reply to the hon. Member on 30th November. So far as I have been able to ascertain, the subsections of paragraph 5 of Command Paper No. 5517 which applied were:

Firm	Subsections Applicable
John Blackwood. Hodge & Co. Ltd.	(a)
Short Bros. & Harland Ltd.	(a) and (c)
Hoare Lea & Partners	(a)
William F. Rees Ltd.	(a)

asked the Minister of Aviation how many civil servants in his Department over the past 10 years, giving the ranks, went within two years of retirement or resignation to other jobs and sought permission within the ruling of paragraph 5 of Command Paper No. 5517, specifying which subsection of that paragraph was involved and the firm involved in each case.

TABLE 1
Grade of Officer		Business or other body			Subsection
1953
Permanent Secretary	…	Aberdare Cables Ltd.	…	…	(a)
		W. J. Fraser & Co.	…	…	(a)
		Silent Bloc Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Assistant Secretary	…	Jack Olding	…	…	(a)
Principal Executive Officer	…	Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd.	…	…	(a)
		Brockworth Engineering Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Principal Executive Officer	…	Maudslay Motor Co.	…	…	(a)
Principal Executive Officer	…	Briggs Motor Bodies Ltd.	…	…	(a)
		Hobourn Aero Components Ltd.	…	…	(a)
1954
Senior Chief Executive Officer	…	Nathan Agran Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Chief Scientific Officer	…	Vickers Armstrongs Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Deputy Chief Scientific Officer	…	Siemens Bros. & Co. Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Senior Principal Scientific Officer	…	Smiths Aircraft Instruments Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Director (Engineer)	…	Aldis Bros. Ltd.	…	…	(a)
		Glass Developments Ltd.	…	…	(a)
1955
Assistant Secretary	…	B. Elliott & Co. Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Senior Chief Executive Officer	…	British Thomson-Houston Co. Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Chief Scientific Officer	…	Hawker Siddeley Group Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Deputy Chief Scientific Officer	…	Tube Investment Research Laboratories		…	(a)
Senior Principal Scientific Officer	…	Ferranti Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Senior Scientific Officer	…	Hunting Aerosurveys Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Senior Experimental Officer	…	Marshalls Flying School Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Senior Experimental Officer	…	Epsylon R. & D. Co.	…	…	(a)
Senior Experimental Officer	…	Reid & Sigrist Ltd	…	…	(a)
Experimental Officer	…	C. W. Juby Ltd	…	…	(a)
Assistant Experimental Officer	…	Rolls Royce Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Assistant Experimental Officer	…	Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Assistant Director (Engineer)	…	S. G. Brown Ltd	…	…	(a)
Engineer II	…	Chatwood Safe & Engineering Co. Ltd.		…	(a)
Engineer III	…	Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd.	…	…	(a)
Engineer Technical Grade I	…	Handley Page Ltd.	…	…	(a)
1956
Chief Scientific Officer	…	Mullard Ltd	…	…	(a)
Deputy Chief Scientific Officer	…	Microcell Ltd	…	…	(a)
Senior Principal Scientific Officer	…	Air Trainers Ltd	…	…	(a)
Senior Principal Scientific Officer	…	Albright & Wilson Ltd	…	…	(a)

Table 1 below shows, by grades, 99 officers for whom applications have been approved over the last 10 years within the ruling of paragraph 5 of Command Paper No. 5517. It also indicates the subsection of that paragraph involved and gives the names of the firms concerned at the time of application. The list includes 22 officers in former Ministry of Supply posts no longer part of the Ministry of Aviation. There is no record of whether the appointments for which approval has been given were actually made.In addition to the 99 officers listed in Table 1, approval was given to applications by 15 other officers. These applications did not fall within paragraph 5 of the Command Paper, but were dealt with, under Departmental regulations, as a matter of general propriety. A list is given in Table 2, of all the applications considered, 25 were in respect of ranks more junior than those covered by the hon. Member's previous Questions.