asked the Secretary of State for War what decision he has now reached about refunding part of the £620 paid to his Department by Mr. Gilmour, of 38 Preston Grove, Trench, Wellington, Shropshire.

As I explained in my letter to the hon. Gentleman of 13th December, 1962, no repayment is due to Mr. Gilmour.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consult interested bodies, such as the National Association of Probation Officers, before he authorises the implementation of any of the recommendations contained in the Scottish Advisory Committee on the Treatment of Offenders' Report on after care; and when he expects to publish the report.

The Report was published on 1st April, and I have invited the National Association of Probation Officers to submit their views on its main recommendations. I shall also consult other bodies as appropriate. As the hon. Member will be aware, I have tabled amendments to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill to give effect to certain recommendations concerning the status of the After Care Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total cost of the school-building projects for which approval was sought by each local education authority for the year 1963–64; and what was the actual cost approved for each respective local authority for this year.

This information is given in the Table. The second column shows the total value of those schools in the three-year programme submitted by the education authority which the authority estimated it might be able to start in 1963–64. The third column shows the total value of schools which each educa- tion authority has so far been authorised to start in 1963–64.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans have been formulated to meet the short and longer term need for suitable planting land and the need for an increase in planting arising from the new demands on the Highland forests; what action has so far been taken to meet these needs; and if he will make a statement.

The Fort William Pulp and Paper Mill, which the hon. Member no doubt has in mind, will draw its supplies from the existing forests created by the Forestry Commission and private owners in Scotland. The planting and acquisition programmes of the Forestry Commission are at present being reviewed by the Working Party on Forest Policy which was appointed last year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the total amount of new capital expenditure on public works authorised in the last three months, designed to relieve the unemployment situation; and what the estimated number of jobs arising therefrom is expected to be.

As I informed my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Clark Hutchison) on 14th March I have authorised supplementary

asked the Minister of Transport what estimate he has made of the increased number of private cars which will come into Central London as a result of the proposed increase in underground and bus fares.

London Transport has not yet announced any specific proposals for fares increases. investment totalling over £20 million in programmes for which I am responsible. No precise estimate can be made of the number of jobs which this will provide, but I expect it to range between 3,000 and about 5,000 over the next two years.

asked the Minister of Transport it he will give separate figures of A, B and C road haulage licences issued in each year since 1951; how many applications were refused, and for what reasons applications failed.

The following are the figures. It is not practicable to show in detail the reasons why some applications failed. The great majority of failures are caused by lack of evidence that sufficient volume of work exists for the vehicles concerned.

asked the Minister of Transport what plans Her Majesty's Government have made to improve road and rail communications to areas of high unemployment.

Areas of high unemployment will benefit from continued investment in our road and rail services in accordance with the Government's policy of an efficient and well-balanced transport system. We have authorised additional road schemes in areas of high unemployment.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is now in a position to make a statement about the Report of the Franco-British Inter-Governmental Committee dealing with the Channel link.

I regret that I cannot add to the Answers my right hon. Friend gave my hon. Friend on 20th March and 3rd April.

asked the Minister of Transport what information he has sought, in relation to safety on railways, regarding the progress being made with the trials of fully automatic surburban trains; and if he will make a statement.

Our Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways has studied the various aspects, including the safety aspect, of the automatic driving of trains. He has also examined and tested prototype automatic driving equipment which the London Transport Board has developed and installed on trial on the track between Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park on the District Line and on one passenger carrying train for operation on that section of the line. He is satisfied that the trial does not endanger the public, and my right hon. Friend has approved it on the basis that the motorman remains in the driving compartment when the equipment is in use. The progress of the trial, which started on 8th April last, will be watched closely.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give details of the advice he has given to chambers of commerce and other interested parties concerning the latest date on which representations can be made on the proposals contained in the Beeching Report an the future of the railways.

I have asked representative bodies to let me have their initial comments on the general implications of the Report by 18th April. Most of them have been good enough to do so. Many could not, of course, complete their consideration of the Report by that date. I hope and expect that they will send me their further comments later.Representations about hardship that may be caused to users by particular passenger closures can be made to the Transport Users Consultative Committee when notice of closure has been given under Section 56 of the Transport Act, 1962.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that fire engines were recently held up for 10 minutes at the Chequers Lane level crossing and so delayed in tackling a fire at Solignum Ltd.; and whether he will take steps to get agreement to replace the level crossing by a bridge.

No. The Chief Fire Officer of the Essex County Fire Brigade has informed my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State that this allegation is incorrect.But our engineers are already examining in detail whether the traffic needs of the area justify the construction of a bridge.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will instruct his divisional road engineers to inspect and report on the roads in the Leigh and Tyldesley areas, in view of the proposal to close the railway stations in these industrial towns.

As I announced on 9th April, I have asked all my divisional road engineers to report on the implications for roads of the proposals in the Railways Board's report The Reshaping of British Railways.

asked the Minister of Labour how many hosiery and knitwear workers were registered as unemployed at the Sutton-in-Ashfield Employment Exchange and at all employment exchanges in the Midland region, respectively, on the latest date for which figures are available; and what were the corresponding figures one year earlier.

174 and 2,136 on 8th April, 1963; 72 and 826 on 9th April, 1962.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of vacancies for all workers and for workers in the hosiery and knitwear industry at the latest date for which figures are available.

On 3rd April, 1963, there were 190,171 vacancies outstanding in all industries. Of these 1,449 were in the hosiery and other knitted goods industry.

asked the Minister of Labour the number and percentage of unemployed workers registered at the Sutton-in-Ashfield Employment Exchange at the latest count; and what were the corresponding figures one year earlier.

638 or 2·1 per cent. on 8th April, 1963, and 426 or 1·4 per cent. on 9th April, 1962.

asked the Minister of Defence what plans have been made regarding the function of his Department in the event of nuclear attack.

It would not be in the public interest to disclose these plans.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will make a statement on recent action by Her Majesty's Forces in North Borneo.

Her Majesty's Forces have recently been acting in aid of the civil authorities in Sarawak and Brunei.At the request of the Governor of Sarawak, Her Majesty's Forces have been assisting there in an operation which started on 19th April, and which is aimed at collecting in all weapons and ammunition at present in the hands of, or available to, the Chinese Communists.To assist in the rapid conduct of this operation, the following reinforcements were sent from Singapore:

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Auditor-General's Department is to have access to the accounts of Messrs. Wiggins, Teape & Co., relevant to the Government loan.

The Comptroller and Auditor-General will have access to the Board of Trade papers relating to the financial transactions of the Board with the company. Payments made by the Board to the company will be shown in the normal way in the Appropriation Account, and it will be open to the Comptroller and Auditor-General to require the Board to furnish such infor- mation and explanation as may be necessary to satisfy him that monies voted by Parliament have been properly applied.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what has been, and is being, done since the breakdown of the Brussels negotiations to encourage trade with other members of the Commonwealth and Sterling Area.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement my right hon. Friend made on this subject in his speech on the Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation on 4th April [HANSARD, cols. 669–670].

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what are the "M" rates for wages of industrials in Dorset, the South-West as a whole, and the North-East Coast, respectively.

The miscellaneous "M" rate of wages for unskilled labourers in all the areas mentioned was raised from 190s. to 194s. per week with effect from 1st April, 1963.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total deficit incurred by the Forestry Commission, since its inception, met by Her Majesty's Government; and what has been the deficit in each year.

Grants-in-aid to the Forestry Commission since its inception in 1919 total £143 million. For the annual details I would refer my hon. Friend to the Commission's Annual Reports, the latest of which is available in the Vote Office today.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the latest estimates available to him of the precepts being levied by individual river and catchment boards in England and Wales for 1963–64, in each case what percentage increase or decrease this represents on the precepts levied in 1962–63; what percentage aggregate increase or decrease this represents; and if he will publish these figures in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Education in how many cases, in England and Wales, the managers of schools whose buildings were destroyed by enemy action in 1941 are still seeking his permission to rebuild.

Most proposals of this kind take the form of replacing the accommodation into which the schools moved after the original buildings were destroyed. They are thus very similar to other replacement projects and I could not say without a special inquiry how many are still outstanding.

The percentage changes between precepts for 1962–63 and those for 1963–64 sent to the Ministry by river and catchment boards are set out below. The aggregate 1963–64 figures represent a 10·9 per cent. increase on those for the year before.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to prevent the further dissemination of Home Office classified information and secret civil defence plans by the Spies for Peace groups; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the replies given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to Questions on this subject yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now make a statement about the future of the Fugitive Offenders Act.

I have nothing at present to add to the reply I gave on 19th March to my hon. Friend the Member for I3rentford and Chiswick (Mr. D. Smith) and the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in the debate on 10th April.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what is the present salary of a civil servant whose pay was £1,750 on 31st December, 1957.

A civil servant's present salary would vary according to the class in which he is employed, and his personal progress. The current equivalent of a London salary of £1,750 at 31st December, 1957, ranges, in some of the main Civil Service classes, from £2,225 to £2,400.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will circulate with the OFFICIAL REPORT a table in similar form to that published in Appendix IV of the Report of the Select Committee on Members' Salaries 1954, classifying the amounts of Members' expenses allowed for Income Tax purposes against their salaries as Members of Parliament for the latest available year.

The following table classifies the amounts of Members' expenses allowed for Income Tax purposes against their remuneration as Members of Parliament for the year 1961–62 (ended 5th April, 1962). The total remuneration of certain Members exceeded £1,750 because it included any taxable amounts of road travel allowance.The table includes only those Members whose expenses claim related to the full year. Ministers have not been included.Final figures for the expenses of about one-quarter of the Members are not avail-

able: in these cases the amounts included in the table are those provisionally allowed in the codings for the purpose of determining P.A.Y.E. deductions. It is not expected that on the whole the final figures will be very different from the provisional figures.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what has been the percentage increase in expenses allowed from Income Tax assessments on Parliamentary salaries since the year 1957–58.

The total expenses allowed against the Parliamentary salaries of those persons (excluding Ministers) who were Members of Parliament throughout both 1957–58 and 1961–62 were 12·1 per cent. greater in the latter year than in the former.