asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, in view of the continuing danger that a high tide will over-top the flood defences in the Thames and cause damage and distress, he will put into effect at an early date the proposals to construct a Thames flood barrier.

My right hon. Friend cannot reach a final decision on this matter until the consulting engineers have completed the further work mentioned in the reply to the hon. Member's Question on the 6th November, 1962.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many long-distance routes have been approved since the coming into operation of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949.

My right hon. Friend's predecessors have approved proposals submitted to them by the National Parks Commission for seven long-distance routes.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he expects the Pennine Way to be completed as a legal right of way.

As soon as a difficulty about a short stretch at the northerly end is resolved.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, if he will introduce legislation to control the building of office blocks on land now belonging to British Railways.

No further legislation is necessary. It is possible to control development of this nature under existing legislation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, in view of the need for a speedy decision, he will take immediate steps to bring forward the date at present fixed for the hearing of the appeal to him in respect of works at the building site of Scruton Limited at Beverley Road, Hull.

No. The Department would have arranged an earlier date but the council could not manage it; and the date now fixed is the earliest practicable for all concerned.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will issue a circular drawing the attention of local authorities to the need for introducing methods which will enable ratepayers to pay their rates by instalments at regular intervals.

I shall shortly be consulting the associations of local authorities about the whole question of payment by instalments. Meanwhile rating authorities were asked some while ago to consider enlarging and publicising their present arrangements for payment of rates by instalments and I am sure that my hon. Friend's question will underline the need.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what is the estimated number of houses now occupied by immigrants; where they are most densely housed; what specific problems they have created; and if he will make a statement.

No information is available to show the number of houses occupied by immigrants. Most immigrants have probably settled in places where jobs are easiest to find, such as London, the West Midlands and expanding industrial towns. Housing problems are bound to arise from any great influx of population to a town whether from abroad or from other parts of Britain. Inevitably there is greater pressure on the existing housing with the result that many of the newcomers have to share accommodation and often live in overcrowded conditions. Powers are available to local authorities under the Housing Act, 1961, to secure reasonable standards of management and equipment in houses let in lodgings or shared by several families.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (1) in what region Hull is to be included for the departmental surveys for regional planning and development; and when the plan for Hull and its environs will be available;(2) what steps are being taken for the regional co-ordination of housing with jobs and transport in the Hull area; and what additional schemes he will approve this year for this area.

In consultation with the authorities and Departments concerned, a survey of the area round the Humber estuary is in hand which I hope will provide the basis of a plan for the district. Meanwhile, my right hon. Friend is encouraging the council to speed up house building for slum replacement and other priority needs. They propose to build 6,550 houses in the next 5 years. He will approve a bigger programme if they find they can do more. Tenders for 599 houses have been submitted this year; 469 have been approved and the others are being considered.

asked the Minister of Housing 'and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will introduce legislation to enable local authorities to levy rates on unoccupied property, so as to encourage landlords to bring such property back into use and alleviate the housing shortage.

No. As I explained in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr. J. Rodgers) on 18th December, I doubt whether a scheme could be devised which would be equitable in its operation and yet produce sufficient in rates to justify the cost of administering it. I am in any case doubtful whether making empty property rateable would have much effect in bringing it into use.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he is aware that the proposed appropriation of corporate land to housing purposes by the Leicester City Council is to be made at a notional price of £100,000, to be charged over a period of 20 years to the Housing Revenue Account, but that the land in fact cost the council a much smaller sum, and that the effect of an appropriation on those terms will be to cause an artificial increase of rent or rate contribution; and whether he will make his consent to the appropriation conditional on the elimination or reduction of any such increase.

I am aware of the proposal. In accordance with normal practice the appropriation is to be at current market value. To appropriate at less than this would mean an indirect subsidy to housing in Leicester at the expense of the citizens at large, for whose benefit the corporate estate is held.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he now intends to take to help solve the unemployment problem in those development districts which have not yet benefited from the terms of the Local Employment Act.

My right hon. Friend will continue to use his powers under the Local Employment Act to encourage industrial development and expansion in the development districts. By removing areas from the list as their prospects improve, he is able to concentrate assistance on those places which stand most in need of help.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to amend the Hire Purchase Acts without further delay, in view of the opinions of judges in the Court of Appeal, in the case of Ashley Industrial Trust v. Rollinson, in which the defendant was dispossessed of a car even though he had been misled as to the terms or a contract by a dealer.

The transcript of the judgment of the Court of Appeal in this case shows that the Court were of the opinion that the defendant was aware of the nature and extent of his obligations under the agreement, which was for hiring and not for hire purchase. It does not seem, therefore, that the defendant was dispossessed of the car as a result of a misleading statement by the dealer. No question of amending the Hire Purchase Acts seems therefore to arise from the case.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will reduce the duty on imports of Phthalic anhydride and pentaerythritol.

My right hon. Friend is always prepared to consider applications from representative domestic interests for changes in the import duty on particular goods.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what quantity of Phthalic anhydride has been imported into Great Britain from. France since 31st July, 1962.

Phthalic anhydride is not separately distinguished in the trade returns, and it would not be proper for me to give the information for which the hon. Member asks as it would reveal the business of an individual trader.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the increase in unemployment at Thorne, near Doncaster, to over 10 per cent.; and what action he is taking to encourage new industries to be established there.

The figure mentioned by the hon. Member includes workers temporarily stopped. My right hon. Friend hopes that the rate will be reduced as the weather improves. We have recently issued an industrial development certificate for the extension of a factory in this area, and my right hon. Friend is prepared to consider the issue of further industrial development certificates for suitable projects that could not go to a development district.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing, for each complete financial year from April, 1960, the total expenditure incurred within the terms of the Local Employment Act, the number of new jobs actually provided in each of those years, and the comparable figures for the first three quarters of the financial year 1962–63.

The expenditure in the financial year 1960–61 was £11·8 million, that in the year 1961–62 was £32·8 million and that in the period April-December, 1962, was £16·8 million. I cannot give the number of jobs actually provided in those periods, and in any event the number provided in any period bears no relation to the expenditure in that period.

asked the President of the Board of Trade which British firms built factories in Common Market countries during 1962; and which of these were notified of opportunities existing in North-East England.

The information is not available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the visit of the chairman of the Industrial Estates Management Corporation for England to the Common Market countries during 1962.

My right hon. Friend understands that the Chairman did not visit any of the Common Market countries during 1962.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that Remington-Rand factory at Hillington in Glasgow is paying off 1,100 workers within the next two weeks and what consultations he is having with a view to providing alternative work.

I have nothing to add to the Answer given on 14th February to the hon. Member for Glasgow. Craigton (Mr. Millan).

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in order to enable the Soviet Union, China and the Eastern European countries to increase their purchases of engineering and other goods from Great Britain, he will now review the system of licensing imports from the Eastern bloc countries with a view to bringing it into line with that applicable to the countries of Western Europe.

No.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he is giving to the liberalisation of trade with Czechoslovakia as part of the review of British trade with all members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

None.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he proposes to announce the Chairman of the Consumer Council.

As my right hon. Friend informed the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Darling) on 28th February, he hopes to announce the name of the Chairman of the Consumer Council in the fairly near future.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the loss of exports and of capital income caused by the unemployment in the engineering shops of Aberdeen during the last six months; and what steps he has taken and intends to take to minimise this loss.

My right hon. Friend is not aware of any large decline in total employment in the engineering industry in Aberdeen. There would, in any event, be no means of calculating the kind of figures for which the hon. Member asks.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the number of firms transferring their plants to Scotland at the request of his Department which were involved in paying legal expenses to his Department, and the amount of expenses in each case, for the period from January, 1962, to the latest available date.

In the year 1962 the Board of Trade offered loans to twenty-six firms developing in Scotland on the condition that they took a charge on property in Scotland. In such cases the Board of Trade Solicitor has no power to act. In accordance with normal practice he employed his Scottish solicitors to draw up the legal documents. The loans involved amounted to about £3·7 million, and the legal fees which went to the Scottish solicitors to about £5,300. I cannot give the figures in individual cases.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, if he will introduce legislation to reduce to 15 per cent. all tariffs protecting the chemical industry which are at present above that figure.

No.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many new industries have started up in Whitehaven and Cleator Moor during the last two years: and what numbers they employ.

Information on all new industry is not available. In the two years ended the 31st December, 1962, industrial development certificates were issued for 12 schemes with an estimated employment of 200.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, In view of the high rate of unemployment in the Whitehaven and Cleator Moor area and the possibility of an additional 1,000 men from contractors at Sellafield being made redundant, if he will now re-schedule the area under the Local Employment Act.

On the facts at present available my right hon. Friend would not be justified in re-listing the White-haven/Cleator Moor area as a Development District. But he will certainly keep the matter under review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he includes Schedule A net annual values in Pay As You Earn coding notices for 1963–64 now being issued by the Inland Revenue when his predecessor said in his Budget statement for 1962 that proposals would be made in the Finance Bill, 1963, for bringing Schedule A tax on owner-occupiers to an end.

These coding notices are being issued on the basis of the current tax law on Schedule A. They are, of course, subject to amendment as the result of any changes in that law effected by the Budget and the Finance Bill as approved by Parliament.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why duty-free bonded goods are available to fishermen on middle-water and distant-water trawlers, but not to those on North Sea trawlers.

To extend the grant of duty free stores to North Sea trawlers would be unjustified and would involve risk to the revenue.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he intends to ask the National Incomes Commission to assume a continuing responsibility for advising the Government on university salaries.

University salaries are to be referred to the National Incomes Commission for a fundamental and wide-ranging review of the type that might formerly have been undertaken by a Royal Commission appointed expressly for the purpose. The reference does not imply a decision that the Commission should take over from the University Grants Committee a continuing responsibility for advising the Government on university salaries. When the Robbins Committee has reported on the institutional arrangements for laying out and controlling the expenditure of public money on higher education, it may become desirable to consider afresh what the permanent machinery should be. But the reference to the National Incomes Commission does not raise that question; and does not imply that the University Grants Committee will not have a continuing responsibility for advising the Government on this as on other university matters.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement about Exchequer grant-in-aid to the Arts Council.

Yes. After consultation with the Arts Council I have come to the conclusion that it would be both helpful to the Arts Council and in accordance with modern ideas on the handling of Government expenditure to determine the grant to the Arts Council on an expanding basis for a three-year period. I have therefore told the Arts Council that, subject to the approval of Parliament, provision will be made in the 1963–64 Estimates for a grant of £1,900,000 plus a provision of £830,000 for Covent Garden. This £1,900,000 compares with £1,500,000 in the current year. It takes account, among other things, of the requirements of the National Theatre, whose annual subsidy has been fixed at £130,000 a year for four years, and of the grant promised by the Arts Council to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company.I have told the Arts Council that the comparable figure for 1964–65 will be increased to £2,100,000 and for 1965–66 to £2,325,000. This should allow for a reasonable expansion in the Arts Coun- cil's work, which the Government feel is of great value to the nation. It is, of course, the intention that these grants should be varied only in quite exceptional circumstances. This arrangement does not affect the grant in respect of Covent Garden, which will continue to be dealt with separately under the formula introduced a year ago.

asked the Minister of Power what information he has gained, in his studies preparatory to legislation, about the number of sites for gas underground storage that have been located in the United Kingdom, apart from the Winchester proposal; and if he will identify the sites which offer the best prospects for further examination and development.

I am satisfied that there are in this country geological formations similar to those used abroad for the underground storage of gas. It will not be possible to prove the suitability of particular sites for this form of storage without detailed investigation. The purpose of the Gas Council's present exploration programme is to identify those areas which would offer the best prospects for these detailed studies.

asked the Minister of Power if he will state the number of applications lodged with his Department under Section 1 of the Pipe-lines Act, 1962, and the number of notifications received under Section 2 of the Act, specifying in the latter case the general classification of industries from which notifications have been received and, if practicable, an analysis of the length of lines covered.

I have received two applications under Section 1 of the Act. Seven notifications have been received under Section 2 from the cement, chemicals, china clay, industrial gases and petroleum industries, and from a harbour authority. Two of the pipelines to be constructed are shorter than a hundred yards. The other five vary between a mile and eight miles.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will name the members of the Departmental Committee on Jury Service; and when the Committee will commence its inquiry.

I am not yet able to add to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Miss Vickers) on 19th February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has now had discussions with the British Fireworks Manufacturers Safety Association about the analysis of injuries caused by fireworks in 1962; whether he is satisfied with the extent to which the educative publicity and other measures which have been taken by the Association with regard to the safe use of fireworks contributed towards the reduction of accidents; and whether these arrangements will be continued and developed effectively in the future in co-operation with his Department.

My Department had a discussion with the Association on 26th February. I have no doubt that the increased publicity helped to reduce the number of accidents on Guy Fawkes Day last year as compared with the previous year, and agreement was reached with the Association that efforts should be made to increase publicity further next November. Further consideration is being given to other matters discussed at the meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, following the representations of the French Government, he will ensure that all necessary steps are taken to prevent M. Bidault and his associates from carrying on their activities in the United Kingdom.

As I told the House on Tuesday, I have no ground for thinking that M. Bidault is now in this country.

asked the Minister of Education what communication he has received from teachers in schools in East Ham concerning the recent Burnham Committee decision; and what reply he has sent.

I have received eight telegrams from schools and one letter from East Ham Technical College. I have thanked the staff of the college for their letter and noted the points they raised.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will give the values of the school building projects submitted for the school building programme for 1964–65 by each local education authority; and what are the corresponding values of the projects he has approved.

The following is the information:

SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME, 1964–65
ESTIMATED COSTS OF PROJECTS PROPOSED AND PROJECTS APPROVED FOR ENGLISH AND WELSH AUTHORITIES AS AT 1ST MARCH, 1963*
Local Education Authority	Estimated cost of projects proposed	Estimated cost of projects approved
	£'000	£'000
Bedfordshire	3,277	832
Berkshire	3,763	549
Buckinghamshire	3,522	875
Cambridgeshire	577	71
Cheshire	8,000	1,592
Cornwall	724	—
Cumberland	1,000	360
Derbyshire	2,474	446
Devon	902	63
Dorset	841	372
Durham	9,350	2,356
Essex	3,683	1,285
Gloucestershire	1,789	308
Hampshire	4,844	1,788
Herefordshire	846	156
Hertfordshire	3,588	2,083
Huntingdonshire	846	300
*Explanatory Note: The total value of projects shown in the third column is about £42 m. Starts in 1964–65 will total £55 m. The difference is due to a number of factors: some reserve is kept back for contingencies; the details of all authorities' programmes are not yet finally settled; and authorisations for earlier programmes have allowed for the fact that not all work authorised will start in the year in question.

asked the Minister of Education which school building projects he has not approved of those submitted for the school building programme of 1964–65 by the Sunderland Local Education Authority.

The following is a list of the fifteen projects which my right hon. Friend was unable to approve. Most of these projects were replacements of existing schools similar to many proposals from elsewhere in the country.

asked the Minister of Education when he will authorise the following school Auilding programme in the Macclesfield area, namely, a one form entry primary school at Tytherington, Macclesfield, a two form entry junior school at Upton, Macclesfield, a five class instalment of a one form entry school at Gawsworth, a two form entry infants school at Hurdsfield, Macclesfield, a one form entry school at Bollington, additional accommodation at the County High School for Girls and Broken Cross Secondary School for Boys, and an extension of four form entry at Tytherington Secondary School.

These eight projects were included among the proposals, totalling £8 million, which the Cheshire Authority submitted for the 1964–65 major school building programme. My right hon. Friend has approved one of them, that at Gawsworth, and in addition a new Roman Catholic Primary School at Macclesfield. He has not been able to approve the remaining projects in view of other more pressing needs. Five primary schools and four secondary school projects have been approved in the Macclesfield area since 1958–59, representing more than 2,700 new school places.

asked the Minister of Education what building projects were submitted for the school building of 1964–65 by the Gateshead education authority; and how many were approved.

Two primary schools and one secondary school were proposed for 1964–65. Of these, one primary school was approved but because of its urgency it was included in the 1963–64 programme. The other primary school proved less urgent than had been expected because housing developments were delayed. I was unable to approve the secondary school.

asked the Minister of Education when he intends to publish the report of the Committee under Sir Lionel Russell on the organisation of sandwich courses.

This report will be published as soon as the usual consultations with the associations of local education authorities and technical teachers have been completed.

asked the Minister of Education what exchange schemes between teachers from Commonwealth countries and those of the United Kingdom are organised through his Department; and what numbers take part in such schemes from the various territories, respectively.

The official scheme for the exchange of teachers between the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries is administered by the League of the British Commonwealth and Empire, a voluntary organisation in receipt of Exchequer grant towards its running costs. Exchanges are arranged with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Central African Federation: the numbers of post-to-post exchanges for the current year are 50, 33, 15 and 5, respectively.

asked the Minister of Education if he will give the number of teachers at present employed in the United Kingdom from Commonwealth countries; from which territories they come, respectively; how many are receiving teacher training in the United Kingdom; and from which countries they come, respectively.

Information about the number of Commonwealth teachers employed in the United Kingdom or the countries from which they come is not available. The answer to the second part of the Question is shown in the following table:

Aden	8
Australia	15
Bahamas	27
Barbados	25
Basutoland	5
Bechuanaland	1
Bermuda	15
British Guiana	10
British Honduras	8
Canada	28
Ceylon	14
Cyprus	20
Fiji	7
Gambia	8
Ghana	26
Gibraltar	19
Gilbert and Ellice Isles	3
Hong Kong	37
India	79
Jamaica	43
Kenya	87
Leeward Isles	10
Malaya	31
Malta	26
Mauritius	16
New Hebrides	I
New Zealand	7
Nigeria	261
North Borneo	2
Northern Rhodesia	29
Nyasaland	30
Pakistan	38
S.Rhodesia	25
Sarawak	4
Seychelles	2
Sierra Leone	39
Singapore	10
Solomon Islands	2
St. Helena	2
Swaziland	3
Tanganyika	41
Trinidad	51
Uganda	90
Windward Isles	14
Zanzibar	13
GRAND TOTAL	1,232

asked the Minister of Education if he will list the research projects which are being or are about to be conducted at his request, with the date of commencement, and the inquiries

Institution	Project	Approximate total cost	Estimated duration	Date of commencement
		£
Department of Education, Birmingham (in association with the Department of English, Leeds).	Oral English tests in the Certificate of Secondary Education.	6,000	3 years	Later in 1963
National Foundation for Educational Research.	Merits of block and day release.	20,000	4 years	July, 1962
National Foundation for Educational Research.	Effects of "streaming" in primary schools.	58,000	5 years	January, 1963

2. My Department also took part in the planning of some of the other research projects listed in my Answer to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) on 11th December last.

Committee or sub-committee	Terms of reference
The Central Advisory Council for Education (England).	To consider the education between the ages of 13 and 16 of pupils of average or below average ability who are or will be following full-time courses either at school or in establishments of further education.
The Secondary School Examinations Council:
(1) English Language Examining Committee.	To consider any proposals that may be made for examining sixth form pupils in the use of the English language for purposes of University matriculation; and in this context to consider whether, and if so, what, changes are desirable in the examination of the English language at Ordinary level.
(2) Syllabus Committee:
General Studies Sub-Committee	To consider existing regulations and syllabuses and proposals for new syllabuses in General Studies and General Papers, to scrutinise question papers and sample scripts.
(3) Advisory Committee	(i) To consider matters arising on the routine procedure and conduct of examinations;
	(ii) To receive and where appropriate advise upon information submitted by the Syllabus Committee relating to Subject Panels and considerations of syllabuses;
	(iii) To consider any matter affecting examinations raised with due notice by any member of the committee.
(4) Sixteen Subject Panels	(i) To study existing syllabuses in the various examinations;
	(ii) To consider new syllabuses submitted to the Council;
	(iii) To suggest lines on which the examination for the Certificate of Secondary Education might develop.
(5) The Certificate of Secondary Education Standing Committee.	To advise the Council on the criteria which should be applied in granting recognition to Examining Bodies for the Certificate of Secondary Education and in approving their examinations, and on the principles on which such examinations should develop, and to consider and offer advice to the Council on applications from individual Examining Bodies and on any other appropriate schemes of examination.
	It is the responsibility of the Committee to devise, co-ordinate and supervise examinations for this certificate and to deal on behalf of the Council with any matters concerning the regulations, syllabuses, marking schemes, standards and other arrangements of Examining Bodies.
The Central Advisory Council for Education (Wales).	To consider the place of mathematics and science in a balanced system of education in Wales.

1. The following educational research projects are being or are about to be undertaken at my direct request:3. The following inquiries are being or are about to be undertaken by committees or sub-committees which I have set up:

asked the Minister of Labour, in view of the fact that there are over 850,000 unemployed, if he will introduce legislation to amend the Commonwealth Immigrants Act to stop the issue of any more work permits until all British workers who are fit and willing to work have found a job; and if he will make a statement.

No. The issue of vouchers is controlled, but I am not prepared to stop them altogether.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give the total numbers in Great Britain of persons unemployed for 12 months or more, for six to 12 months, for three to six months, for less than three months, and for one week, respectively; and if he will state the total number on short time, in particular those working for three days or less a week.

The following table gives the latest available information:

Wholly unemployed at 14th January, 1963
Duration	Number
Over 52 weeks	64,865
Over 26 and up to 52 weeks	63,153
Over 13 and up to 26 weeks	96,645
Over 1 week and up to 13 weeks	324,605
1 week or less	79,760

Statistics of short-time working are collected on a different basis. In the week ending 19th January, 1963, the estimated number of operatives on short-time in manufacturing industry was 156.600, of whom 12,600 were stood off for the whole week. A more detailed analysis of the amount of time lost is not available.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the number of men, women, and boys and girls, respectively, registered as unemployed at the White-haven and Cleator Moor Employment Exchange; and what steps are being taken to find jobs for them, especially the boys and girls.

On 11th February, 1,024 men, 212 women, 86 boys and 71 girls were registered. My local officers are doing all they can to help them find suitable jobs.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will reduce the sentences of eight months' imprisonment passed on the two Royal Air Force technicians accused at a court martial of planning to form a group of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, in view of the fact that there was no evidence at their trial of malevolent intent.

The sentences have been confirmed and will now be reviewed by the Air Council. It would not be proper for me to anticipate that review.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will seek to arrange an early meeting with General de Gaulle in order to discuss the future maintenance of good relations between the United Kingdom and France following the breakdown of the Brussels negotiations.

No.

asked the Prime Minister what preparations are now being made for a Commonwealth economic and trading policy to be submitted for the consideration of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers when he next consults them; and whether such a policy will be submitted to the future conference of Commonwealth Trade Ministers in preparation for its implementation as soon as possible.

I would refer the hon. Member to what I said in the debate on 11th February when I explained our views on Commonwealth trade and on the general purpose of the meeting of Commonwealth Trade Ministers.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the quantities of orange juice, cod liver oil and vitamin pills taken up in the years 1960, 1961 and 1962, respectively, in the White-haven and Cleator Moor area.

The following is the answer:

	1961	1962
Orange Juice (Bottles)	7,259	7,781
Cod Liver Oil (Bottles)	1,176	1,187
Vitamin Tablets (Packets)	837	617

Figures for 1960 are not available.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what arrangements have been made for the Lord President to visit West Cumberland in view of the high and rising rate of unemployment in the area.

As the Prime Minister told the House on 22nd January, in reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Peart), the special responsibilities undertaken by the Lord President relate to the Counties of Northumberland and Durham and the North Riding of Yorkshire. No arrangements for him to visit West Cumberland are being made.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how much new office accommodation the Government took over in London last year; and how much more they plan to acquire.

Approximately 700,000 sq. ft. of new office accommodation in London was taken into occupation by Government Departments in 1962 and 153,000 sq. ft. of accommodation was given up. About half the additional space was required to enable certain buildings to be vacated for modernisation or reconstruction, and the balance for new organisations and the expansion of certain Departments.The need for accommodation is subject to the constantly changing requirements of the public service and to the results of the review now being made into further dispersal of Headquarters staff from London. No useful forecast of future acquisitions can therefore be made at this stage.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works, in view of the bad weather, when he now expects the restoration of the Treasury and Nos. 10–12 Downing Street to be completed.

In spite of the bad weather, the building contractors are making every effort to complete their main work at Nos. 10–12 Downing Street in August, and at the Treasury as soon as possible afterwards.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works when he hopes to obtain possession of the Banqueting Hall, Whitehall; and when he expects to complete its restoration.

The Royal United Services Institution has not yet been able to give me possession of the Banqueting House. I will make a further statement as soon as I can.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the estimated cost of the immediate repatriation of the remains of a deceased Service man from Singapore.

I estimate the cost to be between £250 and £300.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) what new proposals he now has for allowing deceased Servicemen to be brought home for burial if relatives so wish, or to allow the next of kin at public expense to attend the military funeral overseas, specifying in particular his proposals regarding the British Army of the Rhine, the Middle East and the Far East;(2) to what extent Royal Air Force Transport Command could assist in the problem of repatriation of deceased Servicemen from Far and Middle East stations;(3) if he will consult British United Airways, who are on contract to his Department for troop transport to the British Army of the Rhine, with a view to effecting a change in policy on the repatriation of deceased Servicemen from Germany.

I hope to be able to make a statement on this matter in the near future.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will introduce special safety regulations in respect of road tanker vehicles.

I am not aware of any need for special safety regulations to govern these particular vehicles as such.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will introduce compulsory annual tests of lighting on all vehicles over 30 cwt.

Certain vehicles over 30 cwt. unladen weight, namely, all passenger carriers and all dual purpose vehicles not exceeding 2 tons unladen weight, are already subject to an annual inspection of lighting equipment as well as of other items which affect their safe use on the roads. As regards other vehicles, it would not he appropriate to consider an annual test of lighting equipment separately from one that covered other items such as brakes and steering—and on this I have nothing at present to add to the Answer I gave my hon. Friend on 27th February.