asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will consult the British Travel and Holidays Association and the Scottish Tourist Board, with a view to making know those buildings open to visitors as ancient monuments, and also places assisted by the Historic Buildings Councils, and thereby increasing their use as objects of interest.

We are in close touch with the British Travel and Holidays Association and the Scottish and Welsh Tourist Boards over publicity for ancient monuments and historic buildings in my care. We encourage similar publicity for privately-owned houses for which repair grants have been made.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works, in view of the long-standing unemployment in the construction industry in the North-East, why Her Majesty's Government plan to expand this industry's capacity before existing capacity has been fully employed.

The total load on the construction industries is expected to be heavy this year and to continue to increase. This necessitates a continuing increase in capacity to meet future demands. Special steps have already been taken, and publicly announced, to utilise the spare capacity immediately available in the North-East.

asked the Postmaster-General what steps are being taken to improve reception of British Broadcasting Corporation sound radio in Northern Ireland, in view of the widespread complaints which have followed the recent change to a new wavelength.

The recent change in wavelength for the Northern Ireland Home Service has, by enabling the Northern Ireland and North-East England services to be separated, benefited the great majority of listeners in Northern Ireland, and I am sorry that some find that their reception is now worse.The normal survey which the B.B.C. makes after a change of this sort has not been made because of the recent weather but it is now about to start and, until the results of it are known, I cannot say what can be done to improve matters.The B.B.C. is developing its VHF sound service and, when the Enniskillen station is opened later this year, some 95 per cent. of listeners in Northern Ireland will be able to get all three sound services on VHF.

asked the Postmaster-General what is the estimated revenue for the financial year 1962–63 in respect of radio licences and television licences.

The total revenue is about £41½ million gross and £38½ million net.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that three letters marked "urgent" were posted at the Leicester head office at 6 p.m. addressed to the hon. Member for Louth at the House of Commons, and were not received 24 hours later; what is the reason for this lack of efficiency in the postal service; and if he will make a statement.

The letters should have been delivered on the morning after posting. They were delayed at the Leicester Post Office. A searching investigation has failed to reveal how this occurred, and I can only express my regret to my hon. Friend for the inconvenience he has suffered.

asked the Postmaster-General what further consideration he has given to the introduction of a postal giro system to enable persons, without banking accounts, to cash cheques paid as wages more easily.

I would refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend's reply to the Adjournment debate on 4th March.

asked the Post- master-General what decision he has reached on the introduction of a rebate scheme for elderly telephone subscribers on small fixed incomes, so that they may retain their telephones and continue to benefit from the service provided.

I should like to refer my hon. Friend to the Answers my hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friends the Members for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Costain) and Richmond, Surrey (Mr. A. Boyle) on 26th February.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) how many applications for telephones in the Canterbury area are still outstanding; and how many have been outstanding for six months or more;(2) how many telephone exchanges in the Canterbury area cannot accept a new customer because of lack of equipment.

I am sorry that the connection of new customers is limited by shortage of equipment in 26 of the 107 exchanges in the Canterbury Telephone Area.At the beginning of the year, 1,053 applications for telephones were outstanding in the area. In addition, 1,569 were under inquiry or in course of being met. The present waiting list represents 0·7 per cent. of the total number of exchange connections in the Area.I am sorry that the number of applications outstanding for six months or more is not readily available.

asked the Postmaster General if he will give the number of shared telephone lines in the Dearne Valley constituency area up to the latest available date.

At the end of January the number was 444.

asked the Postmaster-General what are the arrangements for the printing of the Dundee and East Central telephone directory.

The printing of all telephone directories is handled on our behalf by Her Majesty's Stationery Office; the Dundee and East Central telephone directory is printed at their works at Harrow.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science how much progress has been made by the Atomic Energy Authority and the consortium of Belgian companies to develop an advanced version of the pressurised water reactor for marine propulsion.

The research and development programme is proceeding speedily and satisfactorily. Manufacture of experimental fuel elements has started.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what action he is taking, as the result of British participation in the United Nations Conference, on the application of science and technology for the benefit of less developed areas.

The substantial contribution of the United Kindom to this Conference was a reflection of the active help Her Majesty's Government has been giving to further the application of science and technology for the benefit of less developed countries. It is too early to say whether the scale or direction of our help will need review as a result of this conference.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science whether he will review the existing arrangements for international exchange of scientists as they affect the United Kingdom.

I would refer the hon. Member to my written reply to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Boyden) on 11th February 1963.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what steps are being taken to ascertain what factors, other than the effects of thalidomide, have caused abnormalities in newly-born babies.

Units of the Medical Research Council concerned with population genetics, clinical genetics, obstetric medicine, radiobiological research and statistical research are studying possible causes of congenital abnormalities. Summaries of the work of these units are given in the Council's Annual Reports. Research on congenital malformations is also being undertaken in a number of university departments and hospitals.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science why Her Majesty's Government have given permission to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority to proceed with the building of a prototype steam generating heavy water reactor; and what is the estimated cost of the project.

The Atomic Energy Authority development on thermal reactors has up to now been concentrated on one basic system—the gas cooled, graphite moderated reactors—and improvements on that system. The power stations built in this country are of this type. The Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor at Windscale, which is now running at power, is an advanced version of the same family of reactors, providing higher gas temperatures and reduced capital costs. The high-temperature reactor under development in collaboration with the O.E.C.D. countries at Winfrith is a still further advance of the same type of reactor.Both my noble Friend and the Atomic Energy Authority have been concerned for a considerable time about the narrow technical base on which our reactor development rests. We have kept in as close touch as possible with developments abroad, notably those in Canada, Sweden and the U.S.A., on a variety of water moderated reactors. For some five years the Atomic Energy Authority has inten- sively studied water moderated reactors in order to evolve a design which would achieve good neutron economy allied to low capital costs. The type designated S.G.H.W. (Steam Generating Heavy Water), the outcome of these studies, is a heavy water moderated reactor, with boiling light water coolant and a potential capacity for superheating the steam. The reactor employs pressure tubes as distinct from the pressure vessels of the gas-cooled, graphite reactors. For the past two years, a design and research and development programme has been undertaken to ensure that feasibility and design problems could be solved. I am confident that this type shows promise as an advanced water reactor and will enable the basis of reactor technology in this country to be broadened in the way required. There has been close collaboration and agreement with the nuclear consortia in the assessment and design of this reactor.The capital cost of the prototype is £16 million and this sum includes the cost of built-in experimental facilities and a contingency against the uncertainties in estimating.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what consideration is now being given by Her Majesty's Government to the Canadian development of a water-cooled type of reactor.

We are in touch with the Canadians and have been kept informed of the progress of their reactor development.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science whether he is aware of the shortage of money for research as a result of which senior research personnel use part of their time raising funds for their work and what proposals he has for increasing the amount of money available for research in 1963–64.

Grants in support of research in universities, made by the Research Councils for which my noble Friend is responsible, are designed to support new and promising lines of research. They have increased from £1·4 million in 1959–60 to an estimated £4·5 million in 1962–63. Subject to the approval of Parliament, these funds will again be increased substantially in 1963–64.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if Her Majesty's Government will give consideration to granting financial support to the Associated Electrical Industries research laboratories at Aldermaston to prevent the closing of these laboratories and to enable the team of scientists there to continue their work.

No.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what new sporting facilities have been developed by Her Majesty's Government in the North-East since 9th January.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Education gives grants for sporting facilities both under the Physical Training and Recreation Act, 1937, and to the Youth Service. Approval was given to plans for a £54,000 Sports Centre in Newcastle on 1st January, 1963, and more recently my right hon. Friend has confirmed an offer of a grant towards the cost of erecting a new clubhouse and pavilion at Pickering and paid two small grants in respect of projects at Tynemouth.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will authorise transfer of a greater proportion of the nation's scientific research resources from defence to civil industrial problems, and so increase British industrial efficiency and ability to export; and if he will make a statement.

The effectiveness of the nation's scientific research effort depends not only on the amount of resources deployed in different fields but also on the choice of aims and the exploitation of results. In the industrial field the National Economic Development Council proposes to devote early attention to this problem and the Government is giving high priority, in the deployment of the nation's resources, to increasing industrial efficiency and to promoting faster economic growth.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the fact that the removal of the add-to agreement has not resulted in any improvement in the furnishing industry, he will now remove the Purchase Tax altogether.

The intention of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is not to remove add-to agreements, but to permit them. The necessary Order has not yet been laid, and it is therefore too early to assess the effect of this proposal on the furniture industry; but in any case, I could not anticipate my right hon. Friend the Chancellor's Budget decisions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of paying out all post-war credits; and if he will now take steps to pay out this money at an early date.

If all post-war credits could be paid forthwith the cost, including accrued interest, would be about £290 million. The hon. Member's suggestion has been noted.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many copies of the Defence White Paper and the Explanatory Statements on the Navy, Army and Air Force, respectively, were sold in 1962.

The numbers of copies sold by 31st December, 1962, were:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what restrictions are placed on immigrants into Swaziland; and what differentiation there is between white immigrants and Africans, Asian and coloured immigrants, respectively, from the Republic of South Africa.

In Swaziland, African immigration is covered by the African Immigration Proclamation of 1959 as amended, and European, coloured and Asian immigration by the Immigration Proclamation of 1956 as amended. Classes of African prohibited immigrants are detailed in Section 10 of Proclamation No. 56 of 1959; classes of their European, coloured and Asian counterparts are given at Section 8 of the 1956 Proclamation.Immigrants from South Africa of all categories are required to obtain temporary or permanent residence permits, except for short visits not exceeding three months.The provisions of the immigration laws relating to Africans on the one hand and to Europeans, coloureds and Asians on the other are very much the same. Principal differences are:—

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will request the Government of Hong Kong to publish the names of the 21 Kuo Min-tang sabotage agents who have been arrested since 1st January, together with the details of the sentences passed upon them for their use of territory under British rule for unlawful and dangerous action against a Government which Her Majesty's Government have recognised as the lawful Government of China.

No. The cases are still under investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what assurance has been received from the Sultan of Beihan that no assistance will be given by him to the troops of the Imam of the Yemen; and what steps have been taken to see that this assurance is honoured.

Her Majesty's Government are responsible by Treaty for the external relations of the Federation of South Arabia and of the Beihan State, which forms part of it. It is therefore unnecessary to seek any such assurance from the Ruler of the State, who is fully aware of Her Majesty's Government's policy of non-involvement in the internal affairs of the Yemen.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the number of unemployed in the island of Malta in 1959 when it was decided to dispose of the naval base; and what are the most recent figures.

The number of persons registered for employment on 31st July, 1958 when the decision to lease the dockyard was announced was 3,350; the figure at 31st March, 1959, when the lease to Bailey (Malta) Ltd. was given was 3,185 and at 31st January, 1963, 6,699.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the representations made by the Somali Republic on the subject of the Somalis who live in Kenya.

The discussions were confidential.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will make a further statement regarding the number of civilians engaged in administrative and clerical duties in the Admiralty.

I regret that in answering the noble Earl's question [OFFICIAL REPORT, 20th February, 1963; Vol. 672, c. 70] I said that the number of civilians currently employed was 143,100. I should have said 141,500. The percentages of office staffs, defined as administrative, executive, clerical and typing grades, are 9 per cent. now and 7·9 per cent. ten years ago.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will introduce early legislation to implement the main recommendations of the Reports of the Roberts Committee and of the Working Party on co-ordination of library service units.

It is my intention to introduce the necessary legislation as soon as time can be made available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs on what grounds he rejected the advice of his inspector, the Croydon Borough Council, the head teachers of local schools, and a petition signed by over 100 local residents, that a planning application to open a betting shop at No. 372 Lower Addiscombe Road, Croydon, should not be approved.

I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the official letter which explained the reasons for my right hon. Friend's decision. He did not consider that the planning objections to the proposal were sufficient to justify a refusal of permission.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will give the number of appeals made to him under the advertisement regulations of the Town and Country Planning Acts for the years 1959, 1960, 1961, 1st January to 30th June, 1962, and from 1st July, 1962, to the latest convenient date; how many appeals were the subject of local public inquiries; how many were allowed outright; how many were allowed subject to conditions imposed by him; how many were dismissed; and how many still await his decision.

The following is the information:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will now establish a regional office in the North-East.

Yes. It is my intention to establish there an office which will be able both to advise me on the needs of the North-East and to help local authorities in their plans and proposals for stimulating growth.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) if he will state, at the latest convenient date, the total number of insured wage-earners and self-employed in the City of Leeds in the following occupations, namely, wholesale clothing, distributive trades, general engineering, building, woollen and worsted, printing and bookbinding, coal mining, boot and shoe, hotels and restaurants, furniture trades, public works contracting, iron castings and general ironfounding, iron rolling mills and forges, leather manufacture, railway wagon building, gas, water, electricity, miscellaneous metal working, professional, legal, medical, etc., haulage, garages, etc., bleaching, dyeing, making-up textiles, drink, bricks and fireclay goods, railway service, motor cars and aircraft, chemicals, electrical motors and switchgear, brush making, sawmilling, scientific instrument making, hat and cap making, electric wiring and contracting, jobbing woodwork, basket making, etc., glass, other than bottle and optical, and saddlery, including leather belting, together with other trades and occupations in which the total number of insured employees is less than 100 in each case;(2) if he will state, at the latest convenient date, the total number of insured wage-earners and self-employed in the City of Leeds in the following occupations, namely, national Government services, oils, soap, polishes, inks, laundries, blouse and shirt making, tram and omnibus service, cocoa and sugar confectionery, entertainments and sport, banking, insurance, finance, brass founding, local government, bolts, screws, nail making, bread, biscuit making, brass, copper, etc., smelting, rolling, vehicle building and repair, embroidery and small-wares, textile, cardboard boxes and paper bags, glass-bottle making, dress and mantle making, jam making, spices, sauce, canal services, linen manufacture, wallpaper manufacture, tobacco manufacture, musical instruments, grain milling, carpet industry, watch, clock making, engineering, bridges, rope, cord, twine manufacture, paper making, patent fuel, packing case making and iron and steel tube manufacture.

The information is not available in the precise form requested, but I am sending to my hon. Friend details of employees analysed under the headings of the Standard Industrial Classification. Figures for self-employed are not available for local areas.

asked the Minister of Labour how many vacancies for hosiery and knitwear workers, male and female, respectively, were notified at the Sutton-in-Ashfield Employment Exchange on the latest date for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures a year earlier.

On 6th February, 1963, there were 11 vacancies for female and no vacancies for male hosiery and knitwear workers the comparable figures for a year earlier were 48 and 4.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation if he will state for each year of the period 1960–62 how many United Kingdom teachers were teaching in Commonwealth countries under official schemes of secondment, and in which territories they were serving; and if he will give estimates of the numbers of United Kingdom teachers in each Commonwealth territory under non-official arrangements co-ordinated by his Department.

Although full statistics are not available for each of the last three years, the experience of my Department and that of other recruiting bodies indicates that there has been an appreciable increase over the period in question in the number of British teachers serving in the developing countries of the Commonwealth.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the balance of trade betwen the United Kingdom and the European Free Trade Area countries in the years 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962, respectively.

My right hon. Friend is always ready to help hon. Members in matters relating to statistics, but is not prepared to give information that is readily obtainable from published documents available in the House of Commons library. Hon. Members can obtain the balance of trade between the United Kingdom and any other country or groups of countries, i.e. the difference between imports valued c.i.f. and exports plus re-exports valued f.o.b., from Account IV of the appropriate issues of the Accounts relating to Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom which is a Return to the Order of this House. The Research Division of the House of Commons Library is always willing to help hon. Members with information of this sort.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the desirability of re-establishing British shipping prestige on the North Atlantic run, of giving encouragement to the shipbuilding and shipping industry and of reducing unemployment in the shipyards, when he will make a statement on the discussions with the Cunard Company regarding a subsidy to the company in replacing the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) on 27th February.

asked the Minister of Transport what conclusions have emerged from the studies of future demands for transport supervised by Sir Robert Hall, of which he hold the House on 27th June, 1962.

The group under Sir Robert Hall's chairmanship has now reported. The report will be published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office tomorrow, and copies will be available then to hon. Members in the Vote Office.

asked the Minister of Transport, following the additional road maintenance expenditure which has been incurred by highway authorities as a result of the severe winter, if he will undertake to make advance payments of supplementary grants in the current financial year in order to avoid the need for highway authorities to curtail expenditure on other roadwork.

No, this would not be practicable. But in any case there is no reason why other road work should be curtailed on that account. The first thing is to find out what abnormal expenditure there has been, and I have asked county councils to let me have their estimates.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will now state the policy of Her Majesty's Government regarding authorisation of extra expenditure for repair of roads damaged in the recent severe winter.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave yesterday to the hon. Member for Leicester, North-West (Sir B. Janner). The first thing is to know what abnormal expenditure there has been so far, and I have asked county councils to let me have their estimates. But to get a proper appreciation of what needs to be done to repair frost damage and of the cost is bound to take longer.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects the report of the Committee on Traffic Signs under Sir Walter Worboys to be submitted to him; and, in view of the fact that road signing and carriageway markings are being held up pending the Committee's report, whether he will ask for an interim report.

The Committee hope to complete their task by the end of this month and to submit their report to me in April. I do not consider it necessary, therefore, to ask for an interim report.