asked the Minister of Health what is the total establishment for almoners in Wales; how many vacancies exist; whether he is aware that financial difficulties prevent the Glantawe Hospital Management Committee appointing an available professionally trained almoner to a vacancy; and whether he will now make available funds to enable the appointment to be made in Swansea.

There is no recognised establishment; most hospital authorities wish to recruit more almoners; the answer to the third and fourth parts of the Question is "No, Sir".

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a new form of restraint is now in use in some mental hospitals whereby an old person is firmly fixed in an armchair by a table across the arms screwed on both sides which prevents the patient from moving; and if he will prohibit this practice.

I understand that chairs with table attached are sometimes used on medical direction.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a large proportion of the case of schizophrenic patients who are discharged after a relatively short stay in hospital are being readmitted; and whether he will look into the matter to ensure that proper treatment and care is given to these patients.

The proportion appears to be about 40 per cent. There is no reason to infer that these patients have not received proper treatment and care.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent the plan for hospital development for North Staffordshire makes allowance for increases in population and industrial development in that area.

Fully, so far as forecasts permit.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the fact that the contract for the new Royal Eye and Ear Hospital has now been signed and that work is to begin immediately, what is the estimated cost; and when it is expected that the work will be completed.

£700,000; mid-1965.

asked the Minister of Health what economies in pocket money, the use of butter, and cinema shows have been carried out at Denbigh Mental Hospital during the last six months.

£800; £250; £540.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is satisfied that the absence of any provision in the law requiring a doctor to examine a corpse before signing a death certificate allows adequate protection for the public; and if he will make a statement.

I am not satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for such a requirement.

asked the Minister of Health what action he is taking to encourage the increased use of gynaecological cytology in order to prevent the development of cancer of the cervix; how many cytological technicians are estimated to be employed in the hospital service; and what plans he has for increasing this number.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 28th January to the hon. Member for St. Pancras, North (Mr. K. Robinson); I regret no estimate can be made of the proportion of laboratory technicians' time applied to cytology.

asked the Minister of Health if long-term engagements of a young medical practitioner as locum tenens could rank as an assistantship for superannuation purposes.

Only if the Executive Council consent to the practitioner being employed as an assistant.

asked the Minister of Health if he will consult local authorities with a view to removing major issues from the purview of the Medical Whitley Committee C in the same way as they have been removed from that of Committees A and B.

No.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the total number of unemployed in mid-March; what percentage this represented; what was the percentage of unemployed in the Northern Region; and what steps he will take to improve the position in Northumberland.

702,140 or 3·1 per cent.; the rate in the Northern Region was 6 per cent. We shall continue our efforts to reduce unemployment both in Northumberland and elsewhere.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the latest figure of unemployed in Newcastle-under-Lyme; what proportion of the working population this represents; and how these two figures compare with those at the same time of year is each of the last three years.

Following is the information required:

asked the Minister of Labour how many young people under 18 years of age are unemployed in Kent, Erith and Bexley, respectively; and what were the comparable figures for 1962.

On 11th March, 1963, 1,602 in Kent, 42 in Erith and 34 in Bexley. In March, 1962, 882 in Kent, 23 in Erith and 18 in Bexley.

asked the Minister of Labour, in view of concern in Kent at the deteriorating situation of the employment of young people where increasing numbers are staying on at school because of being unable to find work, what are prospects for the next six months; what is being done to provide training centres for young people; and what consideration has been given to utilise the equipment and staff at the Apprentice Training School at Woolwich, which is to be closed.

Unemployment among young people in Kent fell by 24 per cent. between February and March and I am hopeful that it will continue to fall in the coming months.I do not think the situation calls for the provision of training centres for young persons in the area at present. I understand that no decision has been taken to close down the Apprentice Training School at Woolwich, although the intake of apprentices is being temporarily suspended there. However, there are Questions about this matter down to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he is taking to secure the implementation by all sides of the shipbuilding industry of the recommendations contained in the report published by his Department on the conclusions of the Working Party chaired by Mr. P. St. John Wilson.

Although there have been some references to the Committee's acitvities in the Press the Working Party has not yet reached the stage of publishing a report. In view of the urgency of the problems facing the industry, I hope that it will not be long before the Working Party is able to produce an agreed report which will be of assistance to the industry.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Glasgow in 1951 and at the latest available date.

34,126 in mid-1951 and 20,930 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufactureres of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Dundee in 1951 and at the latest available date.

2,073 in mid-1951 and 1,455 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in the area north of Inverness in 1951 and at the latest available date.

2,216 in mid-1951 and 1,695 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Edinburgh in 1951 and at the latest available date.

8,099 in mid-1951 and 6,954 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Renfrewshire in 1951 and at the latest available date.

2,763 in mid-1951 and 4,766 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Fifeshire in 1951 and at the latest available date.

3,667 in mid-1951 and 2,508 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in the Scottish Region in 1951 and at the latest available date.

82,130 in mid-1951 and 63,090 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Aberdeen in 1951 and at the latest available date.

3,955 in mid-I951 and 2,809 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Dunbartonshire in 1951 and at the latest available date.

1,150 in mid-1951 and 992 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Lanarkshire in 1951 and at the latest available date.

7,836 in mid-1951 and 4,437 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of railway employees in Ayrshire in 1951 and at the latest available date.

5,248 in mid-1951 and 4,078 in mid-1962. These figures do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Minister of Labour what percentages of males under 20 years of age wholly unemployed for more than 26 weeks were in the London and South Eastern Region and in Scotland, respectively, at the latest convenient date.

asked the Minister of Labour what percentages of females under 20 years of age wholly unemployed for more than 26 weeks were in the London and South Eastern Regions and in Scotland, respectively, at the latest convenient date.

On 14th January 6·4 per cent. of the males were in London and South Eastern Region and 23·2 per cent. in Scotland. 3·5 per cent. of the females were in London and South Eastern Region and 24·7 per cent. in Scotland.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were on the disabled workers' registers in Glasgow and Birmingham, respectively, at the last convenient date; and what percentage of these workers in each area was registered as unemployed.

On 15th October, 1962, 17,742 disabled persons were registered under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, 1944 in Glasgow and 17,565 in Birmingham. The number of disabled persons registered as unemployed on 6th March, 1963, represented respectively 13·6 per cent. and 6·8 per cent. of these totals.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of persons on the disabled workers' register in the Midlands and in Scotland, respectively, at the latest convenient date; and what percentages of these in each region were registered as unemployed.

On 15th October, 1962, 103,209 disabled persons were registered under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, 1944 in the Midlands Region and 64,351 in Scotland. On 11th March, 1963, the number of disabled persons registered as unemployed represented respectively 7·7 and 14·4 per cent of those totals.

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys and girls will be leaving school at Easter in the Maltby, Dinnington and Rotherham employment exchange areas; and how many he anticipates will be found employment.

About 450. I cannot forecast how long it will take to place them all in employment but the Youth Employment Service will do all it can to find them suitable jobs as quickly as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour what consideration he is giving to the establishment of a national redundancy scheme.

Methods of improving arrangements for dealing with redundancy are being studied by my Ministry and by the employers nationalised industries and trade unions on my National Joint Advisory Council. The subject was first discussed by the N.J.A.C. in January last. Discussion will be resumed at the Council's next meeting later this month. At this stage I do not want to prejudge the best ways of handling this problem.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the imports of New Zealand lambs during the past three months compared to the same three months in 1962.

The latest period of three months for which figures are available is December, 1962, to February, 1963. Imports of New Zealand lamb during this period were 55,000 tons, compared with 63,300 tons in the corresponding period in 1961–62.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what tests are carried out under the Food and Drugs Act to determine the amount of pesticides contained in food offered or sold for human consumption.

Officers of food and drugs authorities as part of their normal enforcement work under the Food and Drugs Act, 1955, sample and analyse food offered or sold for human consumption to determine among other things whether pesticide residues are present.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that the low beef prices caused by the recent imports of Argentine beef have caused parallel reductions in the price of pork pigs, with the result that Government subsidies for pig production in this country will be substantially increased; whether he will give an estimate of the increased subsidies which are likely to result; and whether he will now formulate a plan for the better control of all meat imports.

The pork market is affected by the present weakness of the beef and bacon markets, coupled with the current high level of home production. The cost of the pigs guarantee for 1962–63 is expected to be within the published estimate of £57·3 million. It would be premature to speculate on the outturn for 1963–64 which depends on the pattern of the market over the year as a whole.We are considering the whole problem of achieving a proper balance between home and imported supplies as part of the reappraisal of agricultural support policy foreshadowed in the Prime Minister's statement on 11th February.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present position in regard to the production of bull beef in this country.

As a result of proposals from the Farmers' Unions, my right hon. Friend and the Secretary of State for Scotland have recently made arrangements to assist farmers to carry out a limited number of trials to discover whether the production of beef from young bulls is a practicable and commercial proposition in this country.

asked the Minister of Aviation what is his policy with regard to facilitating the development of air services to areas of high unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

Central and local government can best facilitate the development of air services by providing well-equipped airports. My Department accordingly assists in the provision and operation of navigational services and in appropriate cases with the development of airports.For Belfast, we are building a new civil terminal on the R.A.F. aerodrome at Aldergrove, and this will come into use later this year.At Glasgow we are in negotiation with the Corporation about the building of a new airport at Abbotsinch.At Speke, near Liverpool, we have been providing the air traffic control services since the municipalisation of the airport.Where the North-East is concerned I would draw the hon. Gentleman's attention to the Answer which I have given today on Newcastle airport.We also take active steps to encourage contacts between airline operators and local authorities and Chambers of Commerce to bring about better understanding of traffic potentialities in difficult areas.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will give the names and total number of people, excluding members of the Royal Family, permitted to use the V.I.P. lounge at London Airport during the three months ended 22nd March, 1963.

I am having the information collected and will place a copy of the list of people in the Library of the House as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Aviation, in view of the need for adequate aerodrome facilities in the North-East, what steps he is taking to assist the development of Newcastle Airport.

The Government has offered to make a total grant of £250,000 towards the cost of new developments at Newcastle Airport. It is a condition of this offer that the local authorities should appoint an aerodrome consultant to plan the development and that work should begin within three months. The offer has been accepted on these terms.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will make a statement on the purposes of the conference which he held recently at Chequers, and on the results achieved.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply which I gave to

asked the Minister of Aviation how long the development of the BS100 engine for the P1154 is expected to take; and what estimate of the cost of development has been made.

It is not the practice to give detailed information of this kind about particular defence projects. I would not consider it in the public interest to make an exception in this case.

asked the Minister of Aviation what was the total number of aircraft booked for export in 1962; what types they were; and how these figures compare with those of 1961 and 1960, respectively.

The information is as follows:the hon. Member for Belfast, East (Mr. McMaster) on 25th March.

asked the Minister of Aviation what Government contracts for passengers and freight have been concluded with the British Overseas Airways Corporation and with British European Airways Corporation, and with independent operators, respectively, during the last six months.

Charter flights on behalf of the Service Departments and the Ministry of Defence are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air.My Department is responsible for chartering aircraft for other civil Departments and also, in certain circumstances, for journeys overseas undertaken by Her Majesty The Queen and other members of the Royal Family.

asked the Minister of Aviation what contributions have been made by the independent operators towards Government expenditure on modifications to aircraft development to suit passenger flying and route conditions, in recognition of the service from which they benefit when they purchase aircraft.

Independent operators are not asked to make direct contributions of this kind, but of course the price of an aircraft, as of any other manufactured article, normally includes an element for recovery of development costs.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when

I assume the hon. Member has in mind the supplementation by National Assistance of the earnings of men with large families. I see no reason to alter the provisions of the Act of 1948 in this respect.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many young persons between 15 and 18 years of age in the area of Slough were receiving unemployment benefit during the first weeks of March, 1963, and March, 1962, respectively and how many were receiving National Assistance during the same periods.

Figures for the first weeks in March are not available, but at 4th February 18 young persons were drawing unemployment benefit at the Slough Youth Employment Office compared with two at the corresponding date last year. No young person was receiving National Assistance at that office on 4th February, 1963, and one young person was doing so a year earlier.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent it is his policy to intervene with any local authority which reviews its municipal house rents when the result of such a review produces an average rent higher than the Scottish average.

I will intervene in any case where I am of the opinion that an investigation should be made as to whether a local authority have failed to do what is required of it by the statutory provisions relating to rents.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what reply he has given to the letter of 19th March from the Ayrshire County Council requesting that the proposed power station for Scotland

I have replied that I will bear in mind the representations which the County Development Committee has made. I am, of course, fully aware of the importance of this station to the coal industry; but this would have to be weighed against the disservice to Scottish electricity consumers, and especially to Scottish industry, if a coal-fired station were to result in the cost of electricity being higher than necessary.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will give figures comparable to Table II in his statement of 18th March for the years 1955–56 to 1961–62 incorporating the Exchequer Equalisation Grant for the period prior to the introduction of the Rate Deficiency Grant.

The figures are as follows (no figures are available for the year 1957–58).

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the fact that most of the money to be saved under the proposals of the Beeching Report will be at the expense of country towns and rural areas, what additional expenditure he puroposes to authorise on roads in those areas; and how much of this will fall on the rates.

The Government are considering every aspect of the Railways Board's proposals but it is too early to say what additional expenditure on the roads will be necessary.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he intends to take to ensure that the bus services which are to replace rail services under the proposals of the Beeching Report are to be sufficiently fast to form a reasonable alternative.

On this, as on other relevant matters, we shall take account of any views expressed by the Transport Users Consultative Committees before deciding whether to give consent to a passenger closure and what conditions should be attached to it.

asked the Minister of Transport what are the conditions of traffic and climate in this country that are so different from those of the United States of America as to prevent the acceptance by his Department of the findings of the American Association of State Highway Officials road test that concrete roads were superior to asphalt roads for fast heavy traffic.

The concentration in time of heavy axle loading in the test traffic was from five to ten times that on a normal heavily trafficked road in Great Britain. It was not mixed traffic such as is carried on roads in Great Britain. The depth of frost penetration at the test site was almost double that normally experienced in Great Britain.We are advised that highway engineers in the U.S.A. recognise the limitations of the test and that further experiments under normal road conditions are being staged.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to announce his decision about the proposed Stowmarket Relief Road Order.

My right hon. Friend has decided to make this Order as advertised. Letters have been dispatched to those concerned, and the statutory notices will appear in the London Gazette tomorrow and in the local papers tomorrow and on Friday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to prevent a party who is acquitted in a case before a magistrate's court being tried twice by the same court for the same alleged offence.

Legislation is not needed if the object is to secure that an acquittal on the merits should bar a second trial on the same charge. But I would not be prepared to introduce legislation to remove the power of the High Court, on an appeal by way of case stated, to reverse the determination of a magistrates' court on a question of law.

asked the Secretary of Sate for Commonwealth Relations in which Commonwealth countries British High Commissioners and their Staff are entitled to obtain domestically produced spirits free of excise duty.

British High Commissioners and their diplomatic staff are entitled to obtain domestically produced spirits free of excise duty in five Commonwealth countries. These are Canada, Australia, Pakistan (gin only), Ceylon (Arrack only) and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how much money was spent on agricultural research and extension work in the Seychelles in 1962.

It is estimated that £4,380 was spent on agricultural research and £1,390 on extension work. The latter figure covers only half the salaries of two officers who, in addition to extension work, have other agricultural duties. Under schemes recently approved much larger sums are to be spent on research and extension work in 1963.

asked the Minister of Power to what extent the financial objectives agreed under the White Paper on the Financial and Economic Obligations of the Nationalised Industries, Command Paper No. 1337, are responsible for the increased charges recently announced by the electricity boards; and to what extent these are due to other causes.

The difference between the average annual surpluses which the Area Electricity Boards have agreed to earn during the five-year period from 1962–63 to 1966–67 and the average surpluses which they earned during the previous five years is about 2½ per cent of revenue, calculated on the basis of revenue in 1961–62. The Boards have also to take account of other increases in costs.

asked the Minister of Power to what extent the requirement in paragraph 19 of the White Paper on the Financial and Economic Obligations of the Nationalised Industries to provide from revenue adequate allocations to general reserves as a contribution towards capital development, is responsible for the increased charges of the Southern Electricity Board; and what proportion of these increases is to be borne by domestic and industrial consumers, respectively.

The Southern Electricity Board has announced new tariffs, which will increase prices on average by about 7 per cent. The difference between the average annual surpluses which the Board has agreed to earn during the five years 1962–63 to 1966–67 and the average surpluses earned in the previous five years is about 2½ per cent. of revenue, calculated on the basis of revenue in 1961–62. The distribution of the burden of higher prices between different classes of consumers is entirely a matter for the Board to decide after consulting the Area Consultative Council and the Electricity Council.

asked the Minister of Power if he will arrange with the National Coal Board for an investigation into the density and effects of diesel fumes on the health of miners working underground in enclosed conditions in the proximity of diesel engines.

My right hon. Friend would be willing to consider any grounds that the hon. Member may have for suggesting that the precautions against diesel fumes required by the Mines and Quarries Act are inadequate.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science how many Government scientists are engaged in biological pest control research; and what is the annual sum spent by Her Majesty's Government on such research.

Nine scientific officers at research institutes and units financed by the Agricultural Research Council are engaged in research into biological control of pests and into the integration of biological and chemical methods of control. In addition, some university research is supported by the Agricultural Research Council and the Nature Conservancy. As this work forms a part of a larger programme of research in this field it is impossible to make estimates of annual costs.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what type of meat research is conducted at the Low Temperature Research Station, Cambridge.

The Low Temperature Research Station conducts research into the biochemistry, biophysics, and bacteriology of animal tissues, the anatomy of meat animals and the application of knowledge in these fields to the preservation, processing, and improvement of quality of meat and meat products, including poultry meat. Further information is contained in the annual reports of the Station and I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the most recent of these. The bulk of this work will, as already announced, be transferred to the new Meat Research Institute at Bristol.