asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now in a position to announce his decision on proposals put to him for future hydroelectric development in the Scottish Highlands.

Consultations with the Board about its future programme have not yet been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will ask and assist the county councils of Ross and Cromarty and Inverness to initiate a continuous 10-years' programme of road construction, major reconstruction and modernisation in the west of those counties and in the Western Isles to meet the tourist industry and other development needs of the region, to carry with greater safety and efficiency the rapidly growing road traffic in the north-west Highlands and Islands and to serve the new Western Isles' ferry services, in view of the burden which the proposed rail closures will throw upon the present inadequate one-track road system.

A continuous programme of road reconstruction for the Highlands already exists and I am in regular touch with the county councils of Ross and Cromarty and Inverness about adapting it to the needs to which the Question refers.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has studied the proposal made to him by Ross and Cromarty County Council, with a view to transport improvement, the promotion of tourist and other industry and the provision of work on essential schemes in the Isle of Lewis to reduce local unemployment from its current high level, that the council be assisted in starting work forthwith on the schemes in the Isle of Lewis, already proposed, for the construction of a road to link Ness and Tolsta, the major reconstruction of the Pentland road and the bringing up to standard and classification as a trunk road of the road from Butt of Lewis to Rodel: and what decision he has reached.

I am considering the letter which the county council sent me on 25th March about the various subjects mentioned by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the cost to date of the 13-man Deer Commission which has now been sitting for three years.

The net cost to date of the Red Deer Commission since it was set up in October, 1959, has been £37,650.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he intends to take to ensure further research into, and the co-ordination of existing work on, transport needs induced by industrial and residential developments, and changes in the relative demand for different kinds of transport, in the light of the views expressed in the Hall Report.

I am actively considering these matters.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he intends to take to initiate additional systematic studies of the transport situation in urban areas, and to ensure their completion in the shortest possible time, in view of the need for them revealed in the Hall Report.

Much work on the transport situation in urban areas is already in hand. Where further specific studies would be valuable I shall consider how they may best he undertaken.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has now received the report of the Franco-British Inter-Governmental Committee dealing with the Channel link; and when he expects to announce what procedure he intends to adopt.

I have not yet received the officials' report. As I have said before, I must see it and discuss it with my French colleague before deciding what further action is required.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will make provision to enable people coming to this country as permanent residents, and who have held full driving licences abroad, to enjoy the same temporary right to drive as visitors during the period while they are waiting to take their British driving test.

The degree of inconvenience caused to newly arrived residents by the need to take a driving test before they can get a full British driving licence is comparatively small. I do not think I could justify an amendment of the Road Traffic Act, 1960, to exclude a small number of residents from the general law of the land. The arrangements for visitors involve different considerations, arising from our obligations under international Conventions.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps have been taken to improve the road to Mablethorpe from Louth, which carries heavy traffic, following the closure of the railway between Mablethorpe and Louth.

This is a Class I road for which the Lindsey County Council is the highway authority. Improvements costing about £30,000 were completed during the year before the railway was closed. There has been no significant increase in road traffic since then. The Council has plans for further major improvements, but so far they have not justified a place in my roads programme.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the concern of the Bristol Council at the absence of pedestrian crossings or traffic signs near the Bristol Old People's Home near Flax Burton, and that the two councils concerned have failed to arrive at a satisfac- tory arrangement; and if he will now receive a deputation from the council's welfare services committee to discuss the authorisation of a special type of traffic sign near this home.

As I informed the hon. Member on 30th January, I do not regard warning signs for old people's homes as a reliable safety measure. I understand that the Somerset Council Council, who are the highway authority for the A.370 road adjoining the home, share my view. No purpose would, therefore, be served by my receiving a deputation to discuss a sign.

asked the Minister of Transport what was the national average of fatal and serious accidents expressed separately for two- and three-way trunk roads in the five years 1958 to 1962; and how these national averages compared with the respective accident rates on the A.51 trunk road between the Vicars Cross Golf Club and the city of Chester boundary.

Not all the information requested is available. The average number of fatal and serious casualties on all trunk and Class I roads in 1959–60 was 1·6 per million vehicle miles in urban areas and 1·02 in rural areas. In the period from 1st January, 1958, to 30th June, 1962, the fatal and serious casualty rate on the three-lane section of A.51 at Vicars Cross was 0·415 per million vehicle miles; in the period from 1st January, 1960, to 31st December, 1962, on the two-lane section between the roundabout and the city boundary it was 0·34.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the continuing concern in the shipping industry about the discrimination which is being shown by certain countries against British ships and cargoes; which countries now adopt this practice; how the discrimination is exercised; what representations have now been made to the Governments concerned; what have been the results; and what further action he now intends to take to remedy this situation.

I am well aware of and share the concern of the shipping industry about flag discrimination. The way in which it is exercised varies: in some cases legislation reserves specific proportions or certain categories of trade to national ships; in others, the means used are not published, but the effect is the same.Discrimination is experienced in many parts of the world. The most recent representations made by Her Majesty's Government have been to Morocco and Uruguay, but diplomatic efforts are continuous in many countries to forestall or correct their discrimination.I do not pretend that our efforts have been as effective as we could have wished. Our best hope lies in co-operation with the European maritime nations who share our views.The meeting of Ministers from ten European countries which was held at Lancaster House on the 15th March agreed unanimously to work in unison to ensure liberal treatment for shipping. It was decided to begin a detailed study of the ways and means of resisting flag discrimination, and to hold a further meeting later this year.

asked the Minister of Transport why his regulations prevent a caravan fitted with calor gas being carried below deck on a car ferry, when a similar caravan can be sent by air.

Subject to certain safeguards, caravans fitted with calor gas can be carried below deck on a car ferry. This, however, is a matter for the shipowner to decide in the light of conditions obtaining on the ship.

asked the Minister of Education if he will name the school building projects for Newcastle-under-Lyme which he has approved for the next annual building programme, and the projects submitted by the Staffordshire Authority for Newcastle-under-Lyme which he has not approved.

My right hon. Friend has included in the 1964–65 programme a new infant school at Roe Lane. He has been unable to include the following projects which were also submitted:

• Westlands Girls' Secondary School: replacement.
• Wolstanton Grammar School: extensions.
• Knutton Church of England Junior School: replacement.
• Wolstanton Church of England Junior School: replacement.
• Clayton Roman Catholic Primary School.

asked the Minister of Education what was the public expenditure on education in the administrative county of East Sussex over the last 12-month period for which figures are available; and how much of this sum was expended in the non-county borough of Hove.

In 1961–62, the last financial year for which figures of actual expenditure are available, the East Sussex Local Education Authority incurred expenditure of £4,867,714 on educational services covered by general grant. In addition, they spent £444,762 on the provision of school milk and meals the whole of which is reimbursed from Exchequer funds. The information I collect refers only to the local education authorities as a whole; I regret, therefore, that I have no figures relating to the non-County Borough of Hove.

asked the Minister of Education what decision he has reached on the proposals of the Burnham Committee regarding the salary scales of teachers at technical colleges.

I shall be writing shortly to the Chairman of the Burnham Committee about this. It is my intention that any salary increases arrived at for teachers in establishments of further education shall be payable with effect from 1st April, 1963.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what effects the Rent Act, 1957, has had on the provision of housing accommodation in the city of Sheffield.

I am not aware that the Rent Act is causing any special difficulties at Sheffield. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind perhaps he will send me details.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware of the desire of the corporation of Hove and the residents of the borough to acquire county borough status; and whether, in view of the desirability of arriving at an early decision on this matter, he will augment the membership of the Boundary Commission so as to enable it to inquire into more than one place at a time and thus deal with the south-eastern area earlier than 1964 as at present envisaged.

I appreciate the desire for an early decision. But the commission already has eight areas under review and I do not think that it could undertake more at the present time even with additional members.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will give, for each year from 1946–47 to 1964–65, the expenditure or estimated expenditure by local authorities in England and Wales on the services covered by the General Grant; what was the amount of Exchequer grants paid in respect of services now covered by the General Grant from 1946–47 to 1958–59, and, after 1958–59, the amount of the General Grant; and if he will give the latter figures expressed as a percentage of the former figures for the same year.

The first full year for which local authorities were responsible for all the major services now covered by the general grant was 1949–50. The figures for the years 1949–50 to 1964–65 are as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the monetary value of the imports of fish into Great Britain in the last two years under the European Free Trade Area treaty.

British imports of fish covered by the European Free Trade Association Convention in 1961 and 1962 amounted in total to £13,892,000. This figure excludes fish listed in Annex E to the Convention.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in view of the hard winter experienced by many hill sheep farmers, he will make an interim payment on the hill sheep subsidy in England and Wales.

This winter hill sheep farmers in some parts of England and Wales have had to contend with unusually bad weather and, as a result, have had to buy substantially more fodder than usual at quite heavy cost. Because of these very exceptional conditions I have decided to make an interim payment to each regular applicant who asks for one, of up to half the face value of his claim for hill sheep subsidy in 1963. Details of how to apply will be included with the usual forms that will be going out during the next three or four weeks from Divisional Offices to farmers who received the subsidy last year.

asked the Minister of Defence whether, in the reorganisation of the Services, the political head of each Service Department will retain his existing title.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to his earlier Question today and to those of my hon. Friend the Member for Hartle-pools (Commander Kerans) and the hon. Member for Coatbridge and Airdrie (Mr. Dempsey).

asked the Minister of Defence what proportion of the gross national product is at present comprised by the Defence Budget; and what the corresponding proportion was in 1951.

7 per cent. and 8·6 per cent.

asked the Minister of Health if he will list the hospitals in the Greater London area which will be provided with additional maternity beds this year, stating the number to be provided in each case, the date by which such provisions will be nude, and the arrangements to be made for the staffing.

St. Stephen's Hospital, twenty, April; Lewisham, twenty-one, July. Additional staff is being sought in the normal way.

asked the Minister of Health if he will indemnify water undertakings in the event of court actions against them by consumers for damage to health by the addition of sodium fluoride to water supplies.

There is no question of damage to health by fluoridation on approved lines.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance to what extent the pension rate of men who retire in this country and who later go to another part of the Commonwealth is increased when the pension rate is increased in Great Britain; and if he will amend the present regulations on this matter.

When retirement pension rates are increased for pensioners in this country, those pensioners who are abroad and have ceased to be resident in this country do not receive the increase unless they are in countries with which we have concluded reciprocal agreements providing that anyone who has qualified for a pension under the legislation of one of the two countries will receive this pension at the current rate while he is in the other country. The only Commonwealth countries with which we have concluded agreements of this kind are Cyprus and Malta. I do not propose to amend this policy, which has been followed since pension rates were first increased in 1946.

asked the Postmaster-General how much trunk revenue has been lost to the Post Office as a result of early closure of pre-billing of accounts and what has been the gain in terms of interest.

No revenue has been lost as a result of the early closure of accounts. The gain in interest amounts to £100,000.

asked the Postmaster-General which railway stations in the Parliamentary Division of North Dorset are used for handling mails.

Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Sturminster Newton, Stalbridge, Verwood, West Moors, Wimborne.

asked the Postmaster-General what plans he is making for giving contracts for the handling of Her Majesty's mail to road transport operators in the Parliamentary Division of North Dorset, in view of the proposed closure of railway lines in the area.

It is too early to say how any changes which might be needed in the arrangements for conveying the mails will be met.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what is the weight and value of depleted uranium held in stock by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authrity.

The Authority is unable, for defence and commercial reasons, to disclose the value or weights of any of its uranium stocks, whether enriched, natural or depleted. In the particular case of depleted uranium, a statement of total weights would give an indication of the total production of enriched material. The current selling price of depleted uranium in billet form is £1 per lb. and stocks are ample in relation to foreseeable demand.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that, in the last 12 months the average percentage of unemployment in the Gateshead and district employment exchange area has risen to 4·3; and if, in view of the high rate of unemployment for the last six months, he will now add this area to the list of development districts.

Although the rate of wholly unemployed in the Gateshead and Felling Group of Employment Exchange Areas for the past twelve months is now 3·9 per cent., I have nothing to add to the Answer my right hon. Friend gave the hon. Member on 19th February.

asked the Secretary of State for War what provision is being made to safeguard future supplies of small arms ammunition in view of the decision of Imperial Chemical Industries Limited to cease production in the near future.

There is ample capacity to meet all requirements at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Radway Green.

asked the Secretary of State for War to what extent the purchase of foreign arms has deprived the Royal Ordance factories of work which they are equipped to undertake.

We adopt a foreign weapon only if a suitable British weapon cannot be available when the Army requires it. The question of depriving the Royal Ordnance Factories does not therefore arise.